A Heritage of Power: Chapter 2

A Heritage of Power: Chapter 2

Twice is two too many

The ideas and characters of Ranma ½ and Dragonball Z are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama, respectively. I claim no rights to any of the characters portrayed herein.

--

Akane, Nabiki and Ranma all stood around a giant crate in the dim light of the Tendo basement. The lid was slightly ajar from having been opened previously that day.

"Just look inside." Nabiki prompted Akane and Ranma.

Inside the crate sat a huge metal sphere with a small window. Seams ran around the window indicating an opening that a human could pass through.

"So it's a big tennis ball. What's so unbelievable about that?" Ranma asked.

"What's so unbelievable is that our Dad says that he found Akane in that thing."

"But Daddy just told me I was adopted." said Akane as she turned away from the crate to face Nabiki.

"I know, but after you…left, I asked Daddy a few questions."

"Like what?" asked Ranma as he continued to poke at the metal sphere.

"Well, for one, I asked him why Akane had a tail in the picture. He said that when he found Akane, she had a tail: a real, actual monkey's tail. I mean, I wouldn't have believed it, but Daddy said you would have a scar since he cut the tail off, and you do."

"Oh come on, that doesn't prove she's an alien." Ranma said skeptically.

"Well, of course not, Saotome. He also told me that he found Akane when he and mom were hiking. They saw a meteorite fall to earth. When they got to the site of the landing, there was this giant orb." Nabiki indicated the crate. "When they looked inside, there was baby Akane, tail and all."

"But still couldn't this just be some weird thing that Daddy found?" implored Akane

"Well, we all know our father is two punches short of a kata, so that's why I wanted to have you and Ranma here. You guys need to make sure this is some elaborate hoax, got it?"

Both Ranma and Akane nodded their understanding. Ranma then turned and pulled off one of the sides of the crate, allowing the metal sphere to be rolled out.

"There's got to be a way to open it." he said, continuing to poke at the orb.

Nabiki began to run her fingers around the seam of the sphere. The metal itself felt cool to the touch and had a slightly ceramic quality. "You know, its odd", Nabiki mused, "You would think there would be some sort of opening mechanism or switch."

"Hey Akane, what do you think?" Ranma said, turning away from the crate for a second to face his fiancée. Akane, however, did not respond. With her palm pressed to her forehead she appeared to be concentrating deeply.

"I…I think I remember something…Vegetable or vegetation." Akane stammered.

"What are you talking about, ya crazy tomboy?" Ranma said, only to turn in surprise as Akane's shout of, "Vegeta!" opened the door of the sphere. Again, fortune spared Ranma a severe beating.

"How did you know, sis?" Nabiki said as she stood up and dusted herself off.

"I just remember that word, is all." Akane said, looking as confused as before.

"Well let's see if we can get it to do something." Ranma said excitedly.

"Well this big blue button looks promising." Nabiki said as she pointed to the confines of the ball. Sure enough, a large button was mounted on the ceiling in front the seat that took up most of the room inside the sphere. The interior surface of the rest of the orb was devoted to switches and displays, all of which gave the trio a feeling that they should not touch until they understood more.

"Here goes." said Akane as she reached in and depressed the button in question.

Suddenly an image jumped to life in the air in front of the sphere. It was a man or, more precisely, a man with a tail. He was dressed simply and functionally, though he held himself with an air of confidence. He gestured broadly before speaking.

"Princess Vegeta, congratulations! Your Royal Highness has no doubt crushed the people of Elrani-3. You see, we Sayains are a proud and noble race with a long and glorious history of conquest. We have sent your Royal Highness to Elrani-3 to prove yourself as a capable heir to the throne of planet Vegita. Your father, King Vegita will be very proud to know that you have exterminated the lesser beings that inhabited that planet. I am now sending the message of your triumph; it should arrive in at the palace soon. Bear with me as I teach you what you need to know to be our ruler."

"Who are you?" Akane asked, hoping to cut off the vociferous hologram.

"I am Limar of the house of Beans and a program has been made to allow me to teach you all that a Sayain needs to know. I am not actually there with you, but I will attempt to answer any questions that you might have."

"Am I an alien?" Akane asked, crouching before the image.

"You are a Sayain! Proud and strong, you are a member of the best warrior race in the galaxy." Limar finished triumphantly.

"Aren't I human?" Akane implored again.

"You are a Sayain! Proud and strong, you are a member of the best warrior race in the galaxy." Limar answered again, just as strongly.

Upon hearing this Akane sunk to the floor, crying. Neither Nabiki nor Ranma moved to comfort her.

"Princess, do not cry. You are a Sayain! Proud and strong, you are a member of the best warrior race in the galaxy."

"Put a sock in bean-head!" Ranma said as he bent down and uncharacteristically put his arms around Akane, who cried unabashedly into the silk of Ranma's shirt.

"Um, Nabiki, could you give us a moment?" Ranma looked up imploringly.

"Yeah… Sure thing." Nabiki said as she nearly raced up the stairs and out of the basement.

--

The tension in the Tendo house the next afternoon was palpable. Soun had been studiously avoiding Akane all day despite the long, disapproving looks he was receiving from his daughters. Soun, though, was not a man without a coping mechanism. He had pushed himself so far into denial that even the great Genma Saotome thought that Soun needed to face the music.

Ranma, removed from the concerns of his father, sat on the cold wooden floor of the dojo. For the last half hour, he had been attempting to think of ways to cheer up Akane. Thus far all he had come up with was calling her a tomboy. For some reason Ranma couldn't put his finger on, that name probably wouldn't work in this situation.

Suddenly the door to the dojo opened and Ranma swiveled to face Akane. She was dressed in her practice Gi. All the tears and sorrow of yesterday were gone. Instead, the tear stains had been replaced by a look of…cunning? Ranma stood slowly, wondering what Akane was up to.

"Ranma, do you have a minute?" Akane asked in a surprisingly sweet voice.

"Sure thing, Akane." Ranma answered cautiously. One could never be too careful when girls asked for a minute of one's time.

Akane walked into the dojo so that she was standing just a few feet from Ranma. "I have a deal for you. We'll spar and if I land a blow on you, you have to answer one question truthfully."

Danger was flashing red in front of Ranma's eyes. If there was one thing his father had taught him, it was that women were not to be trusted with the truth. The truth was a powerful thing and it couldn't be given to just anybody. This could only lead to trouble… But still, she was Akane and he was Ranma. Either way, it was best to leave before things could go from bad to worse.

"I dunno Akane, I think I need to study or something." Ranma said as he turned to leave the dojo.

"Come on… I challenge you." Akane said provokingly.

"You…challenge…me." It was, as the saying goes, almost too easy.

--

Ranma and Akane stood at opposite ends of the dojo. Akane had taken her usual kempo stance, while Ranma opted for an almost unconcerned posture.

"Now remember, you agreed that this is only going to last for five minutes." Ranma reminded Akane.

"Just start already." said an already agitated Akane.

"Matte." they yelled simultaneously.

Akane charged towards Ranma intent on landing a quick jab. Her fist, however, met solid air. Ranma had already danced out of the way of the strike. Akane then broke into a complex series of kicks and punches. Two quick punches followed by a low, reverse roundhouse all met with the same results: Ranma had begun to weave between the blows, ducking and leaning so that each strike grazed past him.

"Geeze Akane, you're getting sloppy." Ranma taunted.

"Good." was Akane's angry reply.

Soon, though, Ranma found that the wide punches and kicks that Akane had started using were coming faster and faster. Rather than tiring, it was almost as if Akane were gaining strength. Ranma ducked a hook punch, only to find himself staring at an incoming uppercut. Before the blow could land, though, Ranma threw himself into a back flip. Seeing that her punches had missed, Akane screamed with rage and charged Ranma again. A furious series of blows rained down upon Ranma. He was hard pressed to block, and decided that the best course of action was to escape. As Akane launched a leaping straight punch, Ranma flipped over her head, intent on poking her as he had done so many months before. As he looked down, though, he saw Akane rising to meet him with a jumping uppercut. Suddenly Ranma's world went black.

As Ranma awoke, he saw Akane sitting cross-legged beside him. A barely contained look of joy was playing across her face. The words, "Hits like a Gorilla." were on the tip of Ranma's tongue as Akane spoke up.

"Ranma, you promised." Akane reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah. Just a minute. What is it you want to ask me?" Ranma groaned as he sat up.

"Just remember Ranma, this has to be the truth." Akane searched Ranma's face for a moment before she decided to continue. "Do you like me, even a little?" Akane asked, her eyes instantly darting towards the floor.

"Well, I…ya know." stammered Ranma as he searched for a suitable retort. Where was that tomboy remark when you needed it? "I don't really know why you're asking me this, but…um, yeah sure I like you."

"Oh Ranma, I knew you did. I like you too." Akane said as she threw her arms around Ranma, squeezing the air, and any caustic remark, out of him.

"I knew it because you were so nice to me yesterday." said Akane happily.

Perhaps it was the seriousness of yesterday's subject or some spark of maturity within Ranma's makeup, or maybe… just maybe it was the glow in Akane's eyes as she looked at him, that made Ranma take a deep breath and say, "Yeah, I just wanted to make you feel better."

"Thank you so much Ranma." Akane smiled again. After a few moments of silence, Akane couldn't resist, "So… do you want to know how I beat you?"

"You didn't beat me!" Ranma yelled. "I wasn't even attacking."

"Yeah, but I bet even if you were, you'd have lost." Akane said stubbornly.

"Ok tomboy, how'd ya do it, then?"

"Well, for your information, baka, I was talking to that hologram in the ship and he told me that the Sayains have a fighting discipline of their own."

"Discipline? Like technique?" Ranma asked, perplexed.

"Sort of, but it's more like a way to control your emotions in a fight, like your Soul of Ice."

"Really?" Asked Ranma as he scooted closer to Akane.

"Yeah, I guess it might just be a Sayain thing, but Limar said that we are better off losing control in a fight. The angrier, the better."

"Nah, it kind of makes sense, like Ryoga's Shi Shi Hokodan only with anger."

It was Akane's turn to ask, "Really?"

"Yeah, I bet you could do some cool things with it once you get some practice… Um, Akane, I noticed that you said 'we.' How're you feeling about this whole Sayain thing?" Ranma asked tentatively.

"To be honest, I don't feel any different. I guess it was such a shock to find out that I was adopted, that this whole thing doesn't really seem all that strange. I am still a Tendo, right? What does it matter if I'm from here or from Mars?" Said Akane wistfully. "What do you think, Ranma?"

"Me…well, you look human enough. Damn, who cares? Weird stuff happens to me all the time and you let it slide. Well, maybe not, but still, you don't really hold it against me." Ranma answered, surprised that Akane had asked for his opinion.

"Yeah, I guess with all the demons and gods around here, I should have guessed there'd be an alien or two. I just didn't think it would be me."

"Aw Akane, it's no big deal. You could have changed into a monkey or something weird like that. Come on." Ranma said standing up and pulling Akane to her feet. "I think you need a little more work on that new discipline of yours."

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