For Disclaimer, see previous chapters.

The small airlock aboard Sargon's ship was already cramped to begin with, yet with the number of people crammed into the tight space, it had become downright claustrophobic. Tristina found herself pressed against Kitt and Captain Mahoran, neither of which looked pleased. The elder Dorsai looked even less pleased as he was crowded by three anxious women. The airlock had only been designed for two people and just barely at that. Four people made things just a little too friendly. Sargon sighed to himself. When his wife heard about this she was not going to be pleased with the amount of female flesh pressed against his body, even if one of those bodies was related by blood.

Kitt quivered in anticipation, dreading the sight of Ranma's dead body but need to see that he was safe from the Senators. Deborah managed to remain cal, though it was a close call for her. She'd had many experiences watching fallen comrades brought back from the battlefield, but never had they needed to be rescued from supposedly friendly forces. She sighed internally. This shouldn't have happened. Ranma was invincible. He's always come through in the end. She'd lost track of the amount of times that Ranma had flirted with death, or the number of times that he'd saved her life.

Tristina stared at the airlock doors, each moment that ticked by just adding to the number of stressed nerves. She needed to see Ranma. She needed the time to grieve over his body that the senators had denied her when they stole the man she loved from his mother's arms. She eyes flashed black on black for a moment and a stray lock of her hair was tucked back in place by an invisible hand, a habit she had picked up from Ranma only a few months ago.

The hiss of the airlock broke her out of her thoughts as the doors swung open, revealing the forms of Makai and Becosea. The two men blinked at the group gathering in the airlock. "Well, we weren't expecting this kind of welcome. If we'd known, we have put on our formals," remarked Makai with a smirk.

The girls just glared at the mercenary. Tristina was the first to speak. "Where's Ranma?"

Makai jerked a thumb towards the inside of the ship. "He's in the infirmary waiting for all of you." A rush of wind was all he felt as the three women dashed by him and deeper into the docked vessel. Matthew gazed after the retreating forms and shook his head, smiling to himself. Sargon noticed the smile and asked what was so funny.

With an insufferable grin, Matthew patted Sargon on the shoulder as he walked by, "Just that the girls are in for a surprise. Looks like the legendary Saotome luck has come through again."

Tristina rushed through the corridors of the ship, having memorized the path while waiting for the mercenaries to return. It was only a matter of moments before she arrived at the infirmary and was through the doors. Her eyes quickly scanned the room. She found Ranma's body on the examination bed. An instant later she was at his side, laying her head on his chest, the tears flowing freely. If she'd been paying attention, she'd have noticed that something wasn't how she expected it.

Kitt noticed as soon as she entered the room. There was a subtle flow of energy that was almost like a caress against her skin. Her eyes snapped to Ranma's body, her mouth hanging open as the only explanation came to her. "Ranma, you're alive?" Her voice was slightly shaking, disbelief warring with another feeling. Hope.

Tristina stopped crying, looking down at the body and finally noticed the slight rise and fall of his chest. She stared in disbelief but couldn't deny the fact that here he was, alive and safe. She laid her head on his chest again, tears returning to her eyes, only these were tears of joy.

Deborah bit back her own tears, refusing to show any sign of weakness, though inside she was jumping for joy. Before he'd left, Ranma had acknowledged her feelings, but hadn't said what he planned on doing about them. Now that he wasn't dead, she would have the chance to properly interrogate him. Slowly. Once he fully recovered that is.

Ranma for his part went from sleeping to fully awake as he heard Kitt's voice, sitting up on the bed and accidentally sending Tristina tumbling to the floor. The first thing he noticed was that he was still in the infirmary when Becosea had brought him to rest. The second thing he noticed was the crying girl on the floor. He was instantly at her side, stammering apologies, wrapping his arms around her in an effort to get her to stop crying. He felt another pair of arms wrap around him as Kitt joined the ground. Tristina wrapped her arms around Ranma's waist, snuggling into his shift as her crying subsided.

Captain Mahoran watched the seen from a few feet back, restraining herself from joining the group, remembering how nervous Ranma got with physical contact. She smiled softly as the saw the big warrior fall apart when faced with a crying girl. The man could stand toe to toe with some of the strongest creatures in the known galaxy and not even bat an eyelash, but you put a crying girl in front of him and he turns to putty. She decided she'd get her own time with him. Later. In her cabin. Alone.

As Deborah drifted off to her daydreams, Ranma tried to disentangle himself from the mass of limbs wrapped around him. Once Tristina stopped crying, Ranma started getting nervous at how close he was to everyone. As he tried to pry his best from out of his lap, she suddenly looked up and pressed her lips to his, surprising him. He locked up, not moving or resisting the kiss.

Tristina pouted as she broke the kiss. Their first kiss was much better than that. At least he's responded that time. She was just about to lean in a try again when she saw a motion out of the corner of her eye. Kitt leaned forward and nips Ranma in the ear. A rush of wind later and the two girls with in a heap, Ranma on the complete opposite side of the room, a panicked expression on his face. From her spot on the ground Kitt could only sigh, "At least we know he's alright, if he can move like that."

Ranma had the good graces to look sheepish, rubbing the back of his head, "Sorry bout this."

Nodoka stood in her kitchen, the sound of running water overrunning the sound of crying as she tried to do the dishes to distract her. No parent should outlive their child and no parent should have their child taken away from them. That had already happened once in her life and this time…

She looked down at the plate in her hand and slowly placed it in the dish rack, careful to move slowly. The fragile ceramic had already felt stressed from the way she was gripping it. Instead, she turned away from the kitchen, turning the water off before heading towards the main room. Her thoughts flowed to her son and the few days she'd had him in her life again.

A loud boom echoed from the backyard and she went rushing to investigate, grabbing her new katana on the way out. What she saw took her breath away.

A ring of fire burned in the short grass, a naked body curled up in the fetal position in the center of the fire. Nodoka gingerly made her way closer and gasped at the sight. Long raven hair curled against a broad, muscular chest. One arm ended in a raged scar just below the shoulder. Ranma lay on the ground, barely breathing. She blinked and looked again. He was breathing!

She cradled his body into her lap, happy tears flowing freely down her face. A tender hand reached up to caress her face and she looked down into Ranma's beautiful blue eyes, though they appeared a little different than before. They were slit like a cat's eye. His lips curled up into a confident smirk, his voice soft, "I told you mom, a Saotome never loses." His eyes drifted closed again as he snuggled in closer, his arm falling slowly to his rest in her lap.

A pillar of light pierced the sky, crashing nearby. The light faded away, revealing the non-descript form of Jonathon Avery. The short man made his way over to Nodoka's side, bowing deeply before her. Nodoka regarded the strange man with a regal silence, waiting for him to identify himself. That he was dressed in the same uniform that Ranma normally wore was the only reason she was giving him a chance to talk rather than bombarding him with questions.

Jonathon look down at the sleeping form of Ranma and had to smile. Once again the boy had managed to surprise him. He'd felt the spark of life actually leave Ranma for a time, but somehow, Ranma had managed to fight his way back to life. Shaking his head in amazement, he smiled at Nodoka and bowed again. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jonathan Avery. I am the man who originally recruited your son ten years ago. I've also been one of your son's trainers. And, if I'm not mistaken, I'm the reason he's alive again."

Nodoka frowned as she considered his words. "What do you mean, alive again? He was just healing right? He told me he didn't lose."

Avery just nodded. "True. He didn't lose. He killed Grikor. But he died afterwards. I can only think of one thing that could have brought him back, and that would be fully bonding with the cat-fist training. You'll have to ask him when he wakes to learn more. It is not my place to say anything. I just wanted to be here and let you know what really happened. Your son did die and will be changed by this event. Try and help him adjust. Things will be a little tense for awhile. And I'll try and see what I can do about that arm of his."

The Saotome matron nodded and looked down at her son, gently stroking his long hair. The future seemed brighter with her son in her arms and she knew that no matter what was coming, they could face it together, though hopefully not alone. She allowed herself a moment to daydream about the many grandchildren her manly son would be able to provide for her. She slide her hand along the firm muscles of his back, tracing over his shoulder to the stump of his arm. For a moment she wondered how the missing arm would affect things, the shrugged it off, knowing her son could handle it.

Author's Notes

I know that this chapter is WAY shorter than almost any previous chapter, but I'm using it to get me back into writing. After almost a year break, I needed something to help me remember how to write things. Hopefully in the future I'll be able to write steadily again. Other than that though, hope you enjoy things. Looking forward to your reviews, suggestions and ideas.