Ranma and The Doctor

Chapter 10

There's something in the air...

Nerima

Screeching noises, a miniature whirlwind, and a loud clunk signalled the arrival of a blue box. The air was still for a moment while it settled and a door opened.

Stepping out of the TARDIS, the Doctor sniffed the air, "Ahh, nothing like the good ol' smell of excess carbon dioxide and sulphur..." He was beaming wide, "Pollution, there's nothing quite like it!"

A shorter redhead wandered out, puzzled at his hyperactivity, "Doctor, what's wrong with you?" She grinned wryly, "You're a little too happy for sniffing fumes."

He turned to her and spread his arms wide, "That's the thing though, isn't it? You humans! You spend a whole lifetime finding a planet and using the resources wildly. Yeah, you may end up killing the planet or starving it, but you sure have fun while doing so! This smell, this is what I sense as human, it's your natural aroma." He walked to the fence at the edge of the building and looked down at the city.

Ranma rolled her eyes, "Great, now you're comparing us to smoke; it makes me feel good that you think so much of us."

The irony was not lost on him, "No, I mean it, this isn't meant as an insult. Every species has a particular smell and feel to them, for me, this is what it means to be human..."

"So, you mean we all smell like it, throughout the years?" Ranma was dubious at best, "It sounds strange..."

She walked besides the Doctor and only just noticed where they were.

"Wait a sec, this is my school!"

She looked around, hearing the school chime for lunch break, and looked down into the playground to see some students enter it from the school. She opened the door to go down from the roof, before turning back, "Hey Doctor, you comin'?"

"Yeah, why not..." Hands in his pockets, he lazily walked to the door.

Meanwhile
Downstairs

Akane sighed loudly as she stared out of the window, idly poking at her bentou, not feeling very hungry. Nabiki, having walked in from another class was sat opposite her in the empty desk, munching away at her rice and toppings.

"Cheer up Akane, it's not the end of the world!" Her gaze devoid of merriment made Nabiki speak on, "Gees, you're a little under the weather today. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just miss him, you know..."

Nabiki sighed and put down her chopsticks.

"Look Akane, he's still with that Doctor person, for all we know he could be halfway across the galaxy zillions of years in the past."

"Ah, there you are, been a while huh Akane?"

The old voice shocked Akane to sit up fully as a confident redhead sauntered in, as Nabiki rolled her eyes whilst slapping herself lightly on the forehead, "Feels like a week since I saw you..."

"R-Ranma..." Jumping up from her desk, knocking her bentou off making Nabiki reach out to grab it. She ran to the girl and hugged her, "You're back! You're finally back!"

"H-Hey! Akane, y-you're hugging me in front of everyone!" The red faced girl was embarrassed as some of the class giggled and pointed in their direction.

"Ah, sorry..." Akane moved back, also blushing, as the Doctor poked his head in.

"Hello, don't mind me!" He wandered in and looked at the room, "Ah, now this brings back memories..." He stared at the blackboard, the desks and chairs, "Been a while since I went to school..."

"Hello Doctor..." Nabiki coughed to get his attention, "Care to tell us why you've been gone for so long?"

"Long?" Ranma looked about the place, "Wait, how long?"

"Umm..." The Doctor pulled out a small watch and grimaced, "Ouch, we're around four months late, Ranma..."

"F-Four months!" Ranma stared at Akane and Nabiki, not seeing much of a change in them, but also getting the impression that he missed a lot, "You mean, you've been waiting for me...?"

She didn't finish that sentence because her anger flooded her system, "Doctor... Take us back, and make it a week, no two days since we saw them!"

"I... I can't..." He was stunned at her anger, but collected himself, "Can't interfere in your own timestream, once we land, we become a part of events and we can't go in-between consecutive trips to your home, sorry."

Ranma rubbed her face and growled in frustration, "Man... It's only been two days for me... I'm sorry Akane, I had no idea -"

"It's okay Ranma..." She smiled weakly, "At least I know you're okay now."

Smelling the distinct burning of a grill, Ranma looked out of the window to see someone making food for people, "Come to think of it, I'm starved..."

"Ah... You can have some of mine, Ranma..." Akane held out her bentou, and she glanced at it before looking back out the window.

The redhead smiled, "It's okay Akane, you can have it, I gotta say hello to Ucchan at least, I'll be back soon..."

Leaping out the window, she left the Doctor and the two Tendos sitting there watching her land and chat to Ukyo, who immediately swatted him with her battle spatula.

"Never learns, huh Akane?" Nabiki said in boredom.

Akane didn't reply and began to eat her food, her demeanour lightening somewhat.

"I'll just be heading downstairs now; I need to check up on a few things..." The Doctor turned around only for someone to pipe up next to him.

"If it's alright with you, I'd like a few words, I'll be happy to give you any information you need."

Nabiki was there, smiling with a glint in her eye. Worrying slightly, but knowing that if he didn't want to tell her anything, she wouldn't get anything out of him.

"Okay then - Nabiki wasn't it? - let's walk..."

Meanwhile
Elsewhere in Nerima

In a fairly unremarkable building, where a lab was based, on the top floor a test was being conducted.

"At last..."

The man stepped away from the windows, watching his new invention go through its paces.

"It's finally complete! The world will see its power once and for all..."

It had the appearance of a series of gridworked metal bars with wires rotated around each one. Looking like a small tripod for a camera, the strange device was charging up, crackles of power flooding its systems and cycling around the central coil.

The wires at the bottom fed to the console interface the man was reading, and his eyes shone from the green writing imprinting on his glasses.

"Amazing, the functions this could have... I'll be famous... Yes!"

Calling it in to his supervisor, the entire building found out about the discovery, and soon it was reported to all interested parties outside of the organisation.

Back at the school

Nabiki was grumbling to herself, getting information out of the Doctor was an impossible task. Getting even the smallest inkling of what the immediate future held, let alone the far future, was proving to be a big headache. She didn't even have anything useful to trade with him, seeing as he knew almost all of Earth history.

"So, you can't even tell me where and when you and Ranma travelled to?"

He shrugged, "That's up to Ranma, but I don't think she'd tell anyone, it's not really that fun anyway."

She sighed and stretched her arms, giving up finally, "Doctor, you're a hard man to talk to..."

"Well, I'm not that tough, just try talking to me softly if you must. I'm a good listener." His smile won her over and she began to act as if she was talking to Ranma.

"Well, things have been pretty dull since you left, the only things worth mentioned, those that you don't know that is, involve Gosunkugi and myself."

"Gosunkugi, that was the boy from when I was first here, right?" After receiving a nod, the Doctor frowned, "Why, what happened to him?"

"Oh nothing bad, but people weren't too good to him..."

The Doctor understood in and instant, "I see, how bad was the bullying?"

Nabiki looked grim, "It wasn't pretty... He left the school three months ago, and no one has really been to see him since..."

The Doctor was quiet, taking this in.

"He's been alone from what little I know, but he seems to have started up some magazine, and even a small website on the internet." She smirked slightly, "It's like a place where people can chat or just put some pictures of themselves, nothing too serious. 'No-something' it was called, I can't remember the exact name since I don't use it that often..." She looked out the window, "I have an account, just for the hell of it. I tried emailing him, but he never replied, I guess he feels guilty about it still..."

"The Internet?" The Doctor scratched his head, "That's a surprise, it's still a little early for that, social networking hasn't become popular yet..."

Nabiki's eyes widened as he revealed a potentially profitable avenue to explore. He didn't mean a beat and smirked.

"Well, just a friendly warning, you can't make money that easily, so don't bother trying, at least not now..."

Giving her no dates still annoyed her, and she took his advice to heart, "If you say so, then it must be true..."

"Go on then, tell me about yourself, what happened?" The Doctor was intrigued now.

"Sis has been enrolled in an elite academy."

Akane strode in to the empty classroom, having been searching for them for a short time.

"Elite academy?" The Doctor looked to Nabiki in mild awe, before wrinkling his forehead, "Wait, elite in what way?"

Nabiki tapped her head, "Is there any other?" She grinned widely, "It is some kind of bureau, and all we do is answer questions to do with maths, biology, chemistry, history, and some other new types of science that I never learned as yet."

"Congratulations!" The Doctor knew where to praise someone on a personal achievement, "How did they find you?"

"Well, there was a small recruitment drive at the school and in the local area, I just applied for fun, and it turns out I'm one of the top on the list..."

She tapered off as Akane chuckled to herself, sharing in some private joke, "Yeah, but Kodachi is with you, isn't she?"

"Kodachi, who -?"

"Let's just say... She's a friend, and an enemy of Ranma's..." Akane didn't want to explain the whole dynamics of that volatile relationship.

"Speaking of which..." Nabiki turned to Akane, "Kuno's still not here... Where did he go?"

"Kuno was that person who attacked with the bokken? He went missing?"

Akane nodded, "Yes, four months ago to be precise..."

Meanwhile
Outskirts of Nerima

The man in question was smiling, his face shone as he recognised the old sights of his neighbourhood.

"I am home, finally... This has been a long adventure."

He held up the engraved sword and had a look at his left arm beneath the sleeve to see the red lightning veins, proof that what he had been through was not just a dream or a fantasy.

"I must see if things are still the same... I have to return to school..."

Finding his bearing, he tore off in the direction of Furinkan High.

Elsewhere

"Im-Impossible!"

The boy shook his head, "Just try believing me for a moment..."

"But, this is simply not possible, the year, the location... It..."

"It matches up?"

"Y-Yes..."

Ryoga sighed as Yuko acknowledged the truth at last, her emotion circuit staying stuck on disbelief for several minutes as she cross-referenced her star charts a thousand times.

He looked around, guessing that he was somehow back in Nerima, and that it was close to his normal time, though he couldn't tell how long it had been.

"According to all the data I have, the year is 1997, the month being August."

"Four months..." He hung his head, feeling pain rushing to it, "I've been gone for that long? But it was only two days for me..."

Yuko was running more checks, "It appears that a basic form of networking is in use here on Old Earth, something collectively called the Internet. The encryption methods on all the systems I can access are easy to hack into at any time."

"Well, we won't be needing that, I hope..."

"I'm sensing a strange vehicle nearby, it's radiating all sorts of exotic atoms and molecules, and it's seeped in chronometric particles, but they're mostly gone by now..."

"Hmm... That could be where Ranma is, I saw him leave in a blue box..." He looked to the hologram, "Yuko, plot me a course there, and help me out with the directions."

"Of course, Ryoga..." Four waypoints flashed up on the map and she smiled, "All plotted, and... what?"

She paused at seeing his embarrassed look, "Umm, Yuko, in my time nobody has talking AI or holograms like you... If you could make yourself smaller or hide for now, it'd stop the looks I'm getting."

As Yuko scanned the area with her own eyes, she saw at least ten people staring curiously at her, "Ah, yes, that would be preferable..."

Vanishing back into her original source, she sent a vibration to Ryoga's new watch he bought. Looking at it, he saw a small text scroll across the smooth surface of it.

"This should be okay, right, Ryoga?"

He nodded, knowing that she could sense the movement. "Okay, vibrate whenever I'm going the wrong way."

He moved two steps before the first vibration hit him.

Meanwhile
At the school

"But that's impossible..." The Doctor was frowning and pacing around the room, "How could he vanish with the TARDIS? I've not received any..."

He stopped in his steps, knowing that there was a particular warning the TARDIS detected almost immediately, one he disregarded for Ranma's ki.

"But why did he synchronise with the TARDIS? It's unheard of!"

Nabiki shrugged, knowing from past experience, "Nerima is a place where weird things happen all the time..."

The Doctor pursing his lips, thinking of an answer, "There must have been something else, something must have established a link between the TARDIS and that boy..."

Nabiki yawned loudly, "Well, that could've been Ryoga, I think I saw him run in to get to Ranma, but he disappeared. He tends to get lost easily, so it's not surprising to see him gone for so long."

The Doctor looked at Nabiki, before groaning loudly, "Oh what's the use? It'll blow over before I know it, so it won't make much difference in any way. Perhaps it's some leftover residue of the ki, I haven't the foggiest to be honest…"

The speaker of the classroom crackled into action, as well as the rest of the school.

"Well, hey there keiki!" The Doctor was flabbergasted as the translation came through they way he thought he heard it, "Dis be the principal, coming to you live from my office!"

Angry mumbles and moans emanated from the building. Raising a finger at the speaker, Akane waved him off, "Don't bother asking... It'll only confuse you..."

"After lunch time be compulsory school announcement in da gym. Don' be tardy, or da penalty be clippers!"

"Does he always speak like that?" The Doctor couldn't get over the distinctly Hawaiian accent, and the slang he used.

Nabiki nodded, "Yep, and I wonder what wonderful new 'rule' he has for us..." She got up off her seat and was about to walk out of the room, before pausing at the doorway. Turning to her left, she held out a hand, remembering the Western gesture, "Doctor, it's been a pleasure to have talked with you."

He came nearer and took her hand, gripping and shaking firmly but friendly. Bowing slightly whilst doing so, he smiled back at her, "Likewise, Nabiki... I think I'll stick around though, so you'll see me in the assembly."

She released the hand and stood taller, "Good, we may need your help..." She winked at the joke and left the room, leaving him and Akane alone.

Seeing that there were a few minutes to go before the end of lunch, the Doctor looked at Akane and quietly closed the door of the classroom.

So as not to scare her, he went to stand away from her by the window, looking over the playground.

"Akane..." He began, glancing back once to see he had her attention, she knew that this was going to be a private conversation, "How well do you know Ranma?"

"I..." Her face grew redder involuntarily, "Q-Quite well... H-She stayed with us for almost a whole year..."

The Doctor still had his back to her, his voice sounding unearthly tiredness and empathy, "Do you know of the things Ranma has been through in her life?" He stared at her fully this time, "Can you understand the hardship she has suffered?"

Akane was curling her fingers into fists, leaving them at her sides as her face grew watery, "Y-Yes..." She began to sob, "I don't know what you know, Doctor, but Ranma's had to go through so much, and h-she's still going on as if nothing had happened."

"Do you want her to be free of all that pain, even if it means she'll lose who she is now?" He was looking out the window.

"What do you mean, Doctor?" She sniffed a few times, wiping her face with the back of her hands.

"Our lives are subject to our experiences, without them we are all the same, boring people. Ranma has seen things few people can remain sane against, let alone survive unharmed. She did this as if it was a daily chore, typical for her. For me, this is normal practice, I get in danger too often, but Ranma should not be so jaded by same things as me at this age..."

Akane moved closer to the Doctor, finding him more open and approachable, joining him by the window, "What did Ranma fight? Was it bad?"

"Ranma fought many opponents, she changed..." He closed his eyes, recalling the wild savage power in New Earth, "But she is still acting the same. I can help her with the pain of the present, and of all the things in the past. However, Ranma will be a different person, and things that were hard before will become easy, and vice versa..."

"I... I don't understand..." Akane mumbled in confusion.

The school bell went off, and the tension in the room only increased.

"Do you care for Ranma?" The Doctor's deep eyes stared into Akane's own pair, "I can see you love her, and not just as a friend."

"I..." Her face flushed brightly, "No... It's not like that..."

The Doctor reached out and touched her arm lightly, "Sorry, that was too personal, even for me... Forget I ever said it." He walked off to the door, "Shall we see what your headmaster has to say?"

"The principal? Okay..." She looked at him as he opened the door, "Uhh, how are you going to blend in?"

"Easy!" Holding up a tattered old wallet with a piece of paper, he grinned widely, "I'm John Smith, your substitute English teacher."

Jogging off down the stairs, Akane couldn't help but feel a tightening in her chest at the talk they had earlier.

One minute later
The gym

All the students were seated in orderly rows, the teachers, including the Doctor, were standing at the back of the hall. On the stage was the eccentrically dressed principal, one that the Doctor made his jaw drop at all the stereotypes it portrayed wrongly.

"Aloha keiki! You be happy to know that lessons for today be cancelled for sometin' special!"

A hushed whispering spread through the student populace, as fear and happiness mixed awkwardly.

"A new machine today be shown to you all by da government, one dat will help da world! Dey be bringing it nearby to test, and we can watch it."

He picked up a pineapple and threw it above the audience, "So go now keiki, have fun!"

It exploded, sending streamers everywhere, but also several small automated clippers, catching some students unawares and shredding their hair.

Cried of outrage and jubilation went up, as most ran out of the building to get home early, whilst a few stood on their chairs staring at the tanned man with the palm tree on his head.

"I'm gonna kill that guy!" Ranma held up a fist, as Akane and Ukyo also glared at the principal.

"No, bad keiki! Punishment be coming for you!" Throwing up a pineapple above him, smoke poured out of it, and moments later he was gone through a trapdoor.

"Why that no good...!" Ranma grit her teeth as her ki seeped out.

The Doctor moved through the crowds of students fleeing the school to get to Ranma. Sensing his ki, she turned round.

"Doctor?"

"Let's get out of school for a bit, he did mention this demonstration, I'm actually intrigued to find out what it is."

"Do you think it could be trouble?" Ranma asked, seriously.

"Quite possibly, I don't remember anything of interest in this era..."

"Great, let's go!" Ranma grinned and started running, the Doctor close behind.

Seeing nothing else to do, having overheard their conversation, Ukyo, Akane and Nabiki followed suit.

Ten minutes later
The local park.

A group of news reporters and government ministers were present at the hastily constructed stage, having just been two minutes away from the laboratory. A short man with thick glasses was tending to some equipment on an elevated platform so people could see.

Some of the school pupils were there, Ranma noted them to be from the science department from their amazed looks, as well as a few residents. Apparently the broadcast wasn't well known outside of the local area.

Akane saw a metallic tripod being set up, and frowned. "That must be the machine the principal talked about."

The Doctor looked at it frowned in puzzlement, "I don't know what it is... Never seen it before..."

Ranma moved in closer, "Does that mean it's deadly?"

"Not necessarily, it could just be a rubbish device, and not do anything..." He pulled out his glasses and put them on, "I'll have to take a closer look at it to see what it's about."

"Well, you'll have to wait; it looks like they're going to make an announcement..." Nabiki moved back a bit, in case whatever it was exploded.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The cameras began rolling, filming the whole event, "This is a momentous occasion for mankind and Earth!" The Doctor perked up at this, "We have decided to conduct the first real life test here in Nerima! You will watch as the heavens change for you!"

The balding scientist went to his portable console and pressed a series of buttons and the air began to tingle with energy.

Slowly, it began to coalesce around the central coil of the tripod, before spinning around each individual girder, before heating the air up. Glowing orange, the stage began to steam up, only to get sucked into a massive beam of orange energy that fired into the sky.

Everyone watched as it ascended, before stopping at a certain height. Before their very eyes, clouds began to form and expanded until they were dark. Half a minute passed, and snowflakes floated down onto the crowd and most of Nerima. Cries of surprise rose up as the speaker returned to the microphone.

"Obviously, this was just for show, as snow is not something you'd want on a daily basis. However, with this invention, we can now guarantee crops around the world with accurate and useful weather patterns, reduce the likelihood of tropical storms and hurricanes, and even give us a few days of sun during the summer months. I'm sure you will congratulate the person who came up with it; please raise your hands to Mr Nakata."

A rapturous applause resounded as the bald man bowed lightly to all of them, not expecting such acclamation.

At the same time, the Doctor was staring at the man with suspicion, worrying about the device.

"This is wrong..." He spoke, just loud enough for Ranma and the others to hear.

"Why? It seems like a good idea..." Ukyo replied back, not really understanding his reasoning.

"Simple, the technology is too advanced for your people. Weather manipulation is only perfected in the 24th century, and even then it isn't absolute." He held his hand out, catching some of the snow and gazed at it melting in his hand, "Something like this makes no sense, an instant change in weather to such extremes must require a lot of power, more than you can imagine."

Nabiki looked up at the snow and smiled, "Isn't it possible just somehow one person can make a breakthrough like this without you knowing?"

"I'm not saying that I know everything, but whatever that thing is, it wasn't made by a human."

Ranma turned to him, "You mean..."

"Yes, that pylon there is alien, no doubt about it..." He turned to the group as officials took away the pylon and put into a truck, "Has there been anything strange over the past months, things like meteorites or even odd weather?"

The three girls were thinking hard about that, until Akane spoke up, "Well, there was a small outbreak of cholera, the water supply got poisoned. We had to drink bottled water for two days."

"Yeah, that's right, I forgot about it..." Nabiki clicked her fingers, "It happened three months ago, they say that the germ got past the treatment plants, and that even sulphur got into the supplies, but they didn't say where from, or how they stopped it..."

Ukyo frowned, "My restaurant got the worst of it... For one day, all my customers got ill, before the warning got out. I had a visit from the Department of Health, it wasn't good news for the business..."

"You run a restaurant?" The Doctor chimed in, sounding impressed.

Ukyo 'meeped' as his sudden closeness and backed away, turning her head and reddening slightly, "I-It's nothing much, just a small okonomiyaki place..."

"But still, you work there, and go to school? That's a great achievement for someone your age!" He started walking, encouraging them to follow, "Let's go to your place, I'd like to have a look, and to try your cuisine."

Stunned by his winning smile, Ukyo stumbled forwards, Umm, yeah, sure... Th-This way..."

Smacking her face a few times to force the blush away, she walked on to her home.

Meanwhile
Furinkan High

"Huh, what's going on here?" Ryoga looked at the abandoned building as the snowflakes began to dissipate.

Yuko's form floated up again from her holder, "Scans detect no humans within visible range. Sorry, I have half my processing power going into analysing the sudden snowfall, I'll let you know when it's ready. The school is currently empty, save for one person. Whoever it is has elevated blood levels and is running through the corridors. There's also two unknown signals being emitted from the person, ones I can't determine."

"You mean, even your technology can't figure it out?" Ryoga gasped, not having heard this before.

"Yes, something which requires further study, because that person is heading for the exit, coming right at us."

"You!"

Ryoga stared ahead at the yell, seeing someone he parted before, he growled to himself, "Kuno..."

"Yes, it is I, foul knave!" He strode towards Ryoga and Yuko holding out the sword, "What evil sorcery have you committed to banish the students of this school?"

"I... What?"

"I see, you have spirits following you..." The sword was pointed at Yuko, and she involuntarily trembled, "You converse with the dead, for she floats freely in the air and passes through you, a phantom, perhaps a former student..." He tore up his sleeve, revealing the pathways that started to glow red, "I will extract the details of your massacre through honourable combat. Use your vile techniques, I will not yield!"

"Is he serious?" Yuko asked, dumbstruck by his elaborate words, but at the same time incredibly insane.

Kuno put up an attacking pose as the sword began to crackle with electricity, with steam rising from it, as the two jagged veins in his arm glowed brightly, his eyes flaming up.

"Yes he is..." Ryoga growled, removing his backpack, "Yuko open the subspace pocket portal, I need to store this there for now."

"Okay, allocating space for... Hang on, the scales must be broken, 'One tonne'? Running diagnostics... None found!"

"Yeah, that's about right... Just pop that in there and give me your analyses of him as we fight. He can't touch you, but I'm not going to risk it, because he's changed since we last fought. Keep away from his sword and especially that left arm."

"Roger, Ryoga. Commencing DNA structure and genetic separation. Level 10 penetrative scan of weapon engaged. Establishing links to energy manufacturer in opponent's left arm." Yuko's eyes filled with data as a dozen windows popped up and closed around her, complex calculations and extrapolations taking place at the same time.

Ryoga grinned, one fang peeking out above his lower lip, as he felt his ki balloon, increasing his weight tenfold. The school grounds were cracking beneath him as he placed his feet in a neutral stance, ready to both attack and defend. Holding his fists out, he smiled, relishing the upcoming fight.

"Come on Kuno, I'm waiting..."

Needing no further invitation, the kendo champion charged at Ryoga, his sword growing redder from the flames. His movements to Ryoga seemed to be a multiple of five times faster than usual, yet with no lack of agility or strength. Not wanting himself to be caught out on the spot, Ryoga pulsed the ki into his foot, sending him lunging fists first at Kuno.

Both fighters roared as their blows collided, creating a sonic boom and crushing pressure on the environment around them.

Meanwhile
Near Ukyo's restaurant

Three out of the five people stopped moving and turned back sharply, feeling the spike in ki energy.

Akane let her jaw drop, "But... That's Ryoga-kun... He's fighting at full power!" She wouldn't forget the long battle with Ranma using the Shi Shi Hokodan, and from that day memorised his ki signature.

Ukyo nodded, "Yeah, that's Ryoga alright... But who's the other person?"

Ranma was sweating hard, "Impossible... Kuno! His ki... It's too high for him... Not as much as Ryoga, but he must be equal to him somehow..."

Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "Kuno, strong, you're just making this up Ranma..." Her sardonic smile was twitching at the edges.

"No..." Akane nodded with Ranma, "He's really strong now..."

The Doctor looked to the soft green glow in the distance and held his sonic probe out, "I'm detecting large amounts of life energy from there, as well as extremely advanced technology and magical sources of power, though I can't determine what from this distance."

"Technology? Magic...?" Ranma rubbed her chin, "No... But that doesn't -" Her eyes widened as she looked up at the Doctor, who stared back at the same time, "We were there... Katasdemoi, New Earth... Magic, Technology..."

The Doctor closed his eyes, and sighed, "Well, we'll let them deal with it for now. It's not easy to just take things from a different place like that; you need to earn the right to use whatever it is too."

Ukyo point at her shop, which had the sign down since it was currently closed, "Here we are, Doctor."

"I like the look, very rustic..." He felt the wood beam of the doorway and marvelled at its construction, "Very classical."

"It was all I could afford..." Her fringe covered the top half of her face for a second, "But thanks to the customers, I'm making some money."

Walking inside, the Doctor pulled out his probe and started scanning, holding it horizontal and aiming it into the kitchen. Walking by the grill he aimed at the tap and the beeping intensified.

"Right, you served tap water to your customers that day, so we know where to look. I've detected trace amounts of it here, not enough to make anyone sick any more, but its remnants are still around. If I get a map of the water pipes in this area, we can find out what was going on back then..."

"So, are we going to find it now?" Ranma asked, eagerness reflected in her eyes at the hint of adventure.

"Nah, the pipes never change, it wouldn't hurt to rest for a short time..." He looked at the grill in the main room and faced Ukyo, "If it isn't too much trouble, I'd like to try one of your okonomiyaki, I feel like I haven't eaten in months!"

Ukyo stood there, flattered that someone, an alien no less, would actually want to spend some time out eating her food, "O-Of course! What kind of chef would I be if I let someone go hungry? Sit down and I'll fix you up a special!"

"Ah..." The thought of food, in particular Ukyo's cooking, made Ranma's mouth water, her stomach getting jealous, "Come to think of it, I haven't eaten either..."

"No problem Ranchan, I'll make up one for you too..." She looked at Nabiki and Akane, "Anything for you two?"

Nabiki waved her hand, indicating she wasn't hungry, and Akane nodded, "I'm a little peckish, though I just had lunch, make me a small one please, Ukyo."

"Coming right up, sugar."

Minutes later, they all had the meals prepared and were eating it quietly, having moved from the grill to the table by the window.

"Mmm, this is great! Maybe I need to get your recipes for the TARDIS..." The Doctor spoke through a mouthful, flecks of it coming out.

"Yes please, Doctor!" Ranma did the same, although more food spilled from her mouth onto the napkin.

"So, Doctor, how far have you got with the cure for Ranma?" Akane asked, testing the waters with that question.

Ranma gave a warning glance to everyone, though they all guessed that she hadn't revealed the secret of what the curse actually was.

"Yes, we have one ingredient so far, a green crystal from the far future know for its reproductive and energy uses, quite valuable too."

Nabiki's eyes lit up at the sound of 'crystal', 'reproductive' and 'valuable' thinking of the financial benefits. The Doctor was quick to dampen it though.

"Not what you expect it to be, Nabiki." The Doctor called her by name directly, "Tiberium is more of a contagion, and mutates humans who remain in proximity to it for too long..."

Her face turned to disgust and disappointment in level doses, "Yeah, I like the thought of jewellery, but having one that turns me green and gives me four arms doesn't really sound appealing..."

Ranma chortled over his food, but spoke after swallowing it this time, "Well, little green people aren't so bad, they're very polite. They had three eyes too!" She went on further, to describe her adventures.

The girls watched as Ranma gave the vague explanation, seeing her eyes flash with excitement and adventure, and although she wasn't the best storyteller, they were hooked by every word Ranma said. Nabiki did glance from time to time at the Doctor, only for him to wink at her secretly, making her wonder why he didn't worry. Not once did the Doctor intervene, perhaps it was too far in the future to matter, or maybe he allowed her to speak because if Ranma trusted them not to spread it any further.

"But..." Akane interrupted his story as it was nearing the end, "Those Ferals... They were cats, weren't they? How did you...?"

Her question died in her throat as the visage of Ranma twisted around from joy to utter fear then to a deep depression.

"That... That I can't tell you..." The tone of her voice broached no argument, and no one dared to force Ranma to speak up any more than she wanted to.

The Doctor looked outside the window, "Looks like it stopped snowing. From what I saw, it was only activated for a short period of time, so it shouldn't have lasted for long." The sonic screwdriver was removed, and the beeps were steady, "Whatever that item is, it's not good to have them use it too often." He searched the restaurant with his eyes, "Ukyo, do you have a TV or a radio here?"

She nodded, "Yes, I have a radio, just to the left of the kitchen is the door to my home, you'll see it on the right."

Getting up, the Doctor found it and brought it back, switching it on to the voice of some Jpop singer, "Now, I need to find a news channel, preferably local..." Passing the screwdriver over it, the static mingled with the voices of a hundred people, from documentaries to songs, until settling on one station, "There, that's done it!"

"... successful testing of the weather manipulator has led to many inquiries from around the globe to purchase it. Currently limited to Nerima, the subsequent tests will be taking place and being observed by the world's media. News of the next test state that it is going to be at 4pm local time, where they say they will attempt rain. This is On Air, signing off for today."

"So, the next test is going to be in two hours, huh?" Ranma chewed over the information.

"But, even if it is alien, isn't it a good thing to have?" Akane asked sincerely.

Nabiki shook her head, "Definitely not good. You have something that can basically control the weather. Now what's to say that, instead of using it to help people like they said, they used it as a method of war?"

"War?" Ukyo frowned, "I don't know how a little rain can kill people..."

Ranma, half-lidded, spoke, her own experiences contributing somewhat to her mood, "It's not just rain, they can probably create hurricanes, tornadoes, hailstorms, and even too much rain can cause flooding." She looked up, "I've seen things that were created, just for war, just to fight, just to kill. This is no different."

The Doctor agreed, but added one more idea, "You're right Nabiki, Ranma. The only problem I have is that, given that it's alien to begin with, I don't believe that they know how to use it properly. Maybe they just got lucky with connecting to it and creating this effect. All I know is, sometimes it's better to just leave unknown items, than to risk using them only to make things worse. What if there is a cost to using the weather manipulator? There doesn't seem to be a power source for it..."

At that moment, the building shook, the tables rattling slightly for a few seconds. Nobody moved in case there was another one.

Ukyo sighed, "Thank God, just a small one... I almost thought it was the big one."

Nabiki wiped her brow, "Yeah, I never liked earthquakes... They make me seasick."

The Doctor and Ranma however froze, their eyes not hiding the horror behind it, "What if..." The redhead began, "What if the power source, is the planet?"

The three girls stopped what they were doing and stared at Ranma incredulously, until they saw the deathly white face.

Akane swallowed before speaking, "Y-You're not serious, are you Ranma?" She began to shiver, "But that's..."

The Doctor intervened, "It is possible, planets do have incredible energy inside them, but we don't know for sure if it intends to destroy the planet at the same time..." He stood up, "We need to find out where the water pipes lead to... I need a computer with access to the Internet, no matter how slow."

"My room has one, with the latest 56k modem." Nabiki replied, "We can go there."

"Okay, let's do it." The Doctor stood up, and then picked up the portable radio, "Might as well bring that with us."

"Eh, why Doctor?" Ukyo asked.

"I modified it slightly. I boosted the signal, so now you can get any channel from anywhere in the world, and it also picks up secret channels and military broadcasts." He grinned, "Maybe even a few alien ones if you're lucky."

Staring at the device like it was a miracle she held it as if it were made of glass, "I... I don't know what to say..."

"Thank you would be a start," He smiled, then thinned his lips, "Don't tell anyone about it though, or abuse it, or else I can easily break it."

"I promise Doctor, I won't do anything of the sort."

Giving him a full smile, she carried it as they ran to the Tendo home, ever mindful of the time remaining.

---
Author's Notes

Nerima eh? Nice to be home again! Long chapter here, but having your main desktop computer die can lead to lots of inspiration on the old Jornada.

Like will most Ranma stories (in the manga that is) not all of the crew is going to star in this chapter. Still, let's hope that nothing bad happens here and that everyone remains happy...

- J