The Second Bet: Fusions

by Flashfyre5

The entries are in and now it's time to vote! Pick your 3 favorites and tell me who should win!

6. Iron Tears, A.K.A. The Opening Bet

Disclaimer:
Ladies and gents, all characters contained herein belong to Rumiko Takahashi, should they be Ranma, or Capcom, should they be Megaman X. All rights to the respective owners. For X buffs out there, only the events through X3 have occurred in the X timeline that I'm using. I've played the others, but that's where I'm setting the timeline. You'll find out why later. Now that that's out of the way...

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Toltiir looked up sharply, hearing the distinctive sound of metal being hit against stone. Finding the source of the sound was easy, since there was only one other person in the immediate vicinity, besides for 'Foxie'.

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Flashfyre5 Presents

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The armored humanoid approached Mimir's well with a calm certainty. He had a big grin on his face, and his ice blue eyes glittered in the morning sun.

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A Flaming Amarant Production

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His oversized, armored hands flexed every now and again, and the dark red jewel set in the middle of his forehead glinted, reflecting the sun. His silver and purple body shone, clean enough to reflect.

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In association with Digital Wizardry Studios, Minnesota

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"Hey," Toltiir hissed at Great Fox, rousing him. "You know who this guy is?" Great Fox looked up and located the unusual intruder.
"Yeah," Great Fox returned. "I met him on the job a few years back. He had a different body, though." Raising his voice, he called, "Hey, Siggy! How're you doing?"
"I'm fine," he replied, arriving at the well. "Been a while since we met."
"Yeah. You got a new body," Great Fox commented. "It's a lot classier than your last one."
"Thanks," 'Siggy' replied, his grin getting a bit larger.
"Excuse me," Toltiir interjected. "You going to introduce me?"
"Oh yeah, sorry," Great Fox said, chagrined. "Toltiir, meet Sigma, a Greater Spirit from a remote little timeline. Sigma, this is Toltiir, Elder God of Mischief."
"Nice to meet you," Sigma said politely.
"Pleasure's all mine," Toltiir returned, his politeness superficial at best. "You wouldn't happen to be the Sigma that's been reincarnated more often than any other being, would you?
"That I am," Sigma confirmed. "Ten times, last Wednesday. (Note: That total is accurate as of MMX5)
"I've heard things about you," Toltiir said, distrustful.
"That's just from a mind-affecting virus that they put into his mortal body when they reincarnate him," Great Fox explained. "He's actually a pretty nice guy, once you get to know him."
"Thanks," said Sigma.
"No problem. What brings you here, anyway?" Great Fox asked.
"I heard that you guys were letting spirits in on your Bet. Care to let me have a try?" Sigma asked.
"Sounds fine," Toltiir agreed. "You know the rules, right?"
"Yeah," Sigma confirmed, looking into Mimir's well. A few seconds passed, and images flashed in the bottom until one finally made Sigma smile.
"This one," he said. "Crash it into the baseline."
"Crash?" Great Fox asked, surprised.
"Yeah. I always wanted to see just how tough the human race was. Here's my chance," Sigma said, smirking. Sighing, Great Fox pulled on the indicated timeline until it followed a course that would fuse it with the baseline.
"May Kami-sama forgive me," Great Fox whispered. Toltiir, knowing the immediate effects of a crash, nodded in agreement.

* * * * * *

The Opening Bet
Prelude: Collision Course
A Ranma 1/2- Megaman X crossover
A fanfic for 'A Second Bet'

" " = speech
= panda board
= thought

* * * * * *

Ranma, standing next to his father, gazed at the 'mystical' training grounds and snorted in derision.
"Don't look like much to me, Pop," he commented offhandedly. "Kinda interesting, though. You ready yet?" Ranma asked, dropping his pack.
"Whenever you are, Boy," his father taunted, leaping atop one of the poles. Ranma followed suit, finding that the bamboo poles were more challenging to stand on than he'd originally thought.

* * * * * *

Unbeknownst to the inhabitants of Ranma's universe, another would soon collide with it, changing it forever. This kind of thing, however, was not uncommon. Fusions happened often, and crossovers almost weekly. What made them unremarked upon is the Planar Cosmic Law. It dictates that all crossovers and fusions are to be magically softened to the point that no mortal can notice them. In this case, the timelines were so close to convergence that they were already affecting one another. In temporal terms, there was five minutes left until the fusion.

* * * * * *

Ranma leapt agilely, avoiding his father's axe kick and landing neatly on a nearby bamboo shoot. His father, recovering from the failed maneuver, did the same, and they faced off again. This time, Ranma attacked his father, feinting a chop with his right hand while truly attacking from below with what would be a vicious snap kick. Genma, though, saw it, and deflected both blows, and the two found themselves regaining their balance upon the dried bamboo.

* * * * * *

A provision made upon the Cosmic Law of Fusions, however, is that a manipulated fusion need not conform to the 'soft landing' model, though it would do so naturally. If, however, this effect is refused, the two planes will 'crash' into one another, causing catastrophic damage and permanent change to the now-united universe. The effect is similar to a crash between an SUV and a sedan, the SUV being the baseline and the sedan being the fusing line. Though the SUV will sustain considerable damage, it will survive. The sedan, however, will be obliterated in the crash. In essence, during a planar crash, the more potent timeline will absorb the other, at significant cost to itself. This would be the case for Ranma's universe, his home plane being the more potent of the two lines. Time to collision: 3 minutes.

* * * * * *

Ranma grinned, enjoying the sparring match. He'd seen a few openings in his father's forms, any of which would have allowed him to send the old man into one of the springs below, but he hadn't. He was sure that Genma had extended the same courtesy to him, as extended battle on the poles was more than enjoyable. It was exhilarating, and Ranma could now see why this place was mystical. Finally seeing a hole in his father's defenses that he simply couldn't ignore, he side kicked the old man in the stomach, sending him tumbling into a spring below.
"That all, old man?" he called, waiting for his father to surface. A few seconds passed, and Ranma began to grow uneasy. Finally, a panda wearing a karate gi that was too small for it burst out of the spring, leaping for a pole. Ranma, alarmed, leapt backwards onto a pole that was much farther away from the bear than he had originally occupied. Left alone, the panda balanced atop a pole and assumed a kempo stance meant for power. Ranma fell into a guarding position, not knowing what else to do.

* * * * * *

Time to collision: 30 seconds.

* * * * * *

"Pop?" Ranma called. "Where are you?" The panda seemed to try and say something, but Ranma ignored it. Finally, something that he'd dismissed as background noise reached him.
"Oooh, is very bad. Customer fall in spring of drown panda," the guide to the grounds shouted. "Very tragic story of panda who drown there 3000 year ago. Now any what fall in spring take body of panda!"
"Pop?!" Ranma exclaimed, looking back to the bear. "Is that you?" The bear tried to make more noises, then finally produced a sign out of nowhere.
the sign read.
"Pop, look at yourself!" Ranma yelled.

* * * * * *

5...

* * * * * *

Genma examined himself, suddenly realizing what had happened. Seeing the Jusenkyo guide standing next to the pools and making his own connections, the panda made to leap.

* * * * * *

4...

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The guide, surprised and scared by the 800lb. mass of fur flying at him, did the only thing a sensible person would do: he ran.

* * * * * *

3...

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Ranma, resting atop the pole, suddenly felt queasy.
"Pop," he called, catching the enraged panda's attention. "Something's wrong!" Once the panda abandoned his rage, he too could feel the intense uneasiness that suddenly engulfed him.

* * * * * *

2...

* * * * * *

As he stood still, waiting for an attack, Ranma's queasiness grew swiftly. It felt almost as if something inside of him was changing, twisting. Moaning, he gripped his stomach and fought for his balance.

* * * * * *

1...

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Losing the battle to stay aloft, Ranma toppled from the bamboo pole and plummeted towards the springs below. As he fell, the queasiness inside of him turned into a cold, hard knot of pure pain, twisting and growing as he fell. Screaming in agony, Ranma fell.

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Collision

* * * * * *

For one eternal instant, Ranma's entire world was pain, in every sense of the word. He could feel his body and world warping and shifting around him, and as a martial artist highly in tune with his world, this was an agonizing occurrence. Then, as suddenly as it had hit him, it was gone. In blissful numbness, Ranma splashed headfirst into the spring below him, beyond caring what it would do to him.
Finding himself underwater and out of air, however, was something that Ranma quite quickly decided was something he did care about, and swam for the surface of the spring. Surfacing, he gasped in a deep breath of sweet air, ignoring the fact that his body felt very different.
"Oooh, very very bad," he heard the guide say. "Customer fall in spring of drown girl. Very tragic legend of girl what drown there 1500 year ago. Now, what fall in spring take body of girl!" Idly noting the guide's words, Ranma glanced at his body. He saw breasts. Breasts which were attached to 'his' chest. From deep in his gut, Ranma screamed, shocked and terrified at the change. After he'd exhausted his breath he took another, slowly and deeply. Building his resolve, he climbed from the spring and looked the guide in the eye.
"There any way to get rid of this?" he asked, barely keeping his voice under control. He wanted nothing more than to take off after his moronic father for bringing him here, but decided that that would solve nothing.
"No way I know to remove curse," the guide replied. "But hot water make you normal again until splash with cold. I get some water for Customers?"
"Yeah," Ranma agreed with a feral look in his eyes. "We'll be in in a minute or two." The guide, deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, hurried off to his hut and shut the door. As soon as he did, the sounds of battle broke out from the area outside his hut. Shaking his head, the guide went to heat water in a kettle that he kept for just such occasions. Just as it began to steam, the sounds of fighting died down and the young Customer entered the hut, dragging the elder one. Silently, the guide handed the kettle to the boy, who in turn poured half of the contents on his unconscious father. Instantly, the panda resumed its human state, still knocked out. Smiling in relief, Ranma poured the rest of the water on himself.
As soon as the change happened, Ranma knew that something was Not Right. It took a second for him to decide, but this body felt even more Wrong than the female one. As good a martial artist as he was, his joints were moving with absolute smoothness, and the aches that he'd sustained from his father had vanished. Also, his center of balance was off, even more so than it had been when he'd been female. His legs weighed too much, the kettle was too light, and he had something on his head. Also, the Jusenkyo guide, the singular man in the world that had seen more bizarre physical transformations than anyone, was staring in surprise.
"Never see springs do that before," the guide commented, glad that he was already sitting down. Ranma finally braced himself for whatever had happened to him and looked at himself. His scream set off an avalanche on the far side of a nearby mountain.

* * * * * *

The Apocalypse, as it came to be known, had much more far-reaching effects than an odd body for one pigtailed martial artist. As two worlds tried to merge without a magical cushioning, terrible things happened. In places where two buildings would share one plot of land, they were often both demolished. The Vatican, for example, long considered holy by even Maverick forces in the other world, had been left completely intact. However, two identical stone complexes attempting to occupy a plot of land that was barely large enough to hold one ended in dire results for both. The entire cathedral and all its surrounding buildings were flattened. None lived through the disaster.
Great Britain suffered badly. Though it had suffered during the Maverick Wars in the divergent timeline, there was enough left in many places for significant damage to be wreaked. Russia fared well, having been a major battlefield during the Wars, as did Japan, for much the same reason. Much of Europe and Africa was heavily damaged, but damaged in ways that were either easily replicable, in the case of the African nations, or the government was mobilized quickly enough to repair and restore with relative ease, despite the loss in life.
South America went relatively untouched, beyond the fact that much of the Amazon simply vanished in the moment that the planes fused. This was hailed as a Godsend initially, as farmers were now easily able to farm the land. However, the damage to the climate was horrific and, due to the vanishing of the forest, the cures for AIDS and cancer were irretrievably annihilated. Australia didn't change much, aside from the fact that Sydney was leveled. Most of the Australians, being Australians, simply packed up what they could and moved into the Outback. Nobody noticed, or cared, for that matter. There were larger problems to contend with.
North America, however, fared the worst. For a long time, it had remained aloof from the Wars, disdaining the use of reploids as a viable source of labor. Canada had remained neutral, as always, and America had just started to produce weapons, selling them to the highest bidder. Thus, when the planes merged, there was no such thing as a city left standing in the entire continent. Pristine monuments to democracy and capitalism shattered, finding that it truly was impossible for two objects to occupy the same space simultaneously. The death toll was horrific, and few that had lived in the cities survived. It took the United States decades to rebuild, Canada a full century, and the Central American countries never truly recovered, despite the dedicated work of their surviving populous. Eventually, the Central American nations united to form the Confederation of Central America. An alliance founded upon the need for money, the new oligarchy hoped to prosper. Just the opposite happened. The rich drug barons that now controlled the state grew even richer off Government funds, and nothing significant for reconstruction ever happened. The Confederation disbanded within the first decade of its existence.
All in all, the final death toll was estimated at 2.49 billion killed from falling buildings, resultant chaos, or simply ceasing to exist.
Wide scale destruction was no the only catastrophe that occurred on the Day of the Apocalypse. On a person-to-person basis, people were changed, forced into bodies that they could not control, nor did they want. Thankfully, this was a very small percentage of the remaining population, but it was truly unusual for a community to be free of any 'changed' members. Many times this change was anything but beneficial. Some children were changed into small construction reploids, barely possessed of an artificial intelligence. A few older people found themselves aged greatly, and kept alive only by the presence of nanoids in their systems. Young people found themselves with cybernetic modifications. Middle aged people became defense robots. Of course, this was not absolute. There was variance in all age groups, but those that this happened to were very few and far between. In fact, only a few thousand total were changed worldwide, with a mere handful being different from the archetypes.
Their change, however, forever marked them as a symbol of the Apocalypse. Many people shunned and hated them, believing that those few changed individuals had caused the event. Lives were upended. Faced with a sudden hatred from those that they'd known and loved, many of the changed killed themselves within the first year of their new existence. It became common practice for a community to quietly celebrate the passing of a changed person, however horrible that might have seemed to them before the Apocalypse. Nobody cared. So many people were dead; what would a few more matter?

* * * * * *

Ranma, in his girl form, stared at the still waters of the only spring in Jusenkyo that she could approach. She knew this spring, knew it intimately. This was the spring that had cursed her, that had changed her life. She hated this spring like nothing else, and yet it was the only one that she could even get near to, no matter what she did. Kneeling, she looked at the still waters more closely, making a decision.
she wondered. A minute passed as she stared at the spring. Finally arriving at a decision, she pulled a water bottle from her pack and dropped it into the pool. Using a dead stick to pull on a cloth loop tied around the thing's neck, she submerged it to fill the bottle. Pulling it from the spring, she stared at it, finalizing her decision.
I can't now, she thought as she screwed the top onto the bottle. Solemnly, she lifted the bottle by its cap and set it on a rock, so the water on the outside would dry. she wondered. Sighing, she dismissed it to the back of her mind and waited for her water bottle to dry.

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Flashfyre5 Presents
A Flaming Amarant production
In association with Digital Wizardry Studios, Minnesota

The Opening Bet
Chapter One: Here's Ranma!


" " = speech
[ ] = panda board
= thought
/ / = written

* * * * * *

Ranma trudged disconsolately beside her father. As some might think, this was not a result of her current form. No, quite the opposite there- she preferred being human to... her other form any day of the week, even if that meant that 'he' had to be a 'she'. Nor was it the fact that it was raining; she'd gotten used to that by her eighth birthday. No, it was the fact that her stupid father had decided that she needed to be engaged to one of the daughters of his friend. Despite the problems both his forms would cause in such an arrangement, the stupid old man refused to nullify the engagement without his friend's agreement.

* * * * * *

/Tendo- Bringing Ranma from China. Problem with engagement. We'll talk when I get there. -Saotome/
Soun held the postcard, shaking in excitement. His eyes tearing, he could just barely make out the first line. Shoving it in his gi, he dashed towards the kitchen.
"Kasumi," he shouted. The girl glanced up from the watermelon that she was slicing.
"Yes, father?" she asked quietly.
"Family meeting, right now," Sound said, then ran off upstairs.
"Nabiki!" he called.
"What's up, Dad?" she called back, from her room, where she was reading a manga on her bed. Soun stuck his head inside.
"Family meeting, downstairs," he told her.
"Should I get Akane?" Nabiki asked, rising from her bed.
"Err... no, this doesn't concern her," Sound answered.
"I thought that you said that this was a family meeting," Nabiki returned. "You've really got to stop doing this to her, Daddy. Ever since the Apocalypse you've been avoiding her like the plague. Why?"
"Err..." Soun stammered. Nabiki tapped her foot, waiting impatiently. "Well... it's just that she looks so much like my dear Kimiko did just after they found the cancer." Realization dawning, Nabiki's face fell.
"I'm sorry, Daddy," she apologized. "I didn't know. I'll go get Akane." Saying nothing more, she rose and exited the room, leaving her father to ponder the consequences of what he'd just said. Arriving at Akane's room, Nabiki knocked on the door softly. There was no response, by Nabiki was sure that she'd heard the creaking of bedsprings. "Akane, I know that you can hear me," she called through the door. "We've got a family meeting. You coming?" Akane said nothing, but Nabiki again heard the creaking of bedsprings. Silently, she cracked open the door and peered in. Akane was lying on the bed, asleep, her changed form making the bed creak despite the fact that both mattresses were box springs. Nabiki wondered again at the effects of the Apocalypse. It had changed so much in the world. Entire nations had been toppled, people had been changed, and people had been killed.
Her sister had been a victim of the changes wrought by the apocalypse. During school, right in the middle of a speech that she'd been giving, she'd suddenly fallen to the ground in agony. The entire audience had been forced to watch as her body had twisted and grown into what it was today. She'd heard that several of the students had lost their lunches on the spot. Remembering her sister as she'd been before the Apocalypse, Nabiki smiled a brief, sweet smile. She'd changed so much since then, and not only in body.
Her body, though, was truly something to marvel at. Made of some superstrong metal, and painted a beautiful shade of scarlet for the most part, her body was incredibly sleek. Akane's lower legs and ankles had been inflated to be as big and wide as her feet, which were about three times the proportions that they had been. They were trimmed with what Nabiki suspected was pure gold, but didn't test. She cared a little more about her family than that. Moving upwards, Nabiki trailed her finger after her gaze. Her sister's upper legs and upper arms were a solid black, as nondescript as if they were just normal legs covered in black tights. Her pelvic area was covered by a white guard with a small vent in the front. Her lower torso was covered in bands of silvery metal, while her chest area was armored in solid red. The only aberration was a white vent that jutted out at the juncture of her bust and chest. The bust itself was covered by a heavy, red breastplate, giving the appearance of a shirt, with two emerald orbs adorning the peaks. Akane's shoulders were covered by angular white shoulderguards, trimmed with red. Her lower arms and hands were changed in a similar fashion as her legs; from her elbows, her arms widened to about twice their previous size, and lined themselves in silver. Her hands were white, and it would've looked like she was wearing gloves, had it not been for the fact that her hands themselves were twice the size of any pair that Nabiki'd ever seen. Akane's hair was still long, but had been pulled back into a long ponytail that fell like an ebony river to her ankles. Nabiki smoothed her sister's hair, allowing herself a single rare moment of tenderness.
Reaching over to the bedside stand, Nabiki picked up her sister's helmet. It was an angular work of art that, when Akane chose to wear it, made her look both incredibly dangerous and quite alluring. The helmet covered her cheeks and forehead, but arced away from both areas to give her eyes plenty of room and excellent prehipheral vision. Starting at the peak in her brow, the red part of the helm arced away and up, coming to a pair of points on each side before arcing gracefully back together and down the back of her head. The middle of the helm was white, and held a great, triangular sapphire over her brow. Akane was truly stunning when she wore it.
Unfortunately, the change set her apart from the crowd. Her classmates, scared by her transformation, were repelled by the sight of Akane. Many of her former friends had grown distant from her as a result, and now the only people that would even talk to her were Yuka and Saryu, her best friends.
Sighing, Nabiki put the helmet down and reached over to grab Akane by the shoulders. Gently, she shook her sister. Slowly, Akane opened her eyes and looked at her elder sister, hovering above her.
"What is it, Nabiki?" she asked, rubbing the last of her sleep from her eyes. She didn't really need to, but it was a habit that she'd never been able to give up.
"Family meeting, downstairs. Daddy says that you don't have to be there if you don't want to, but I think that you should come," Nabiki told her. Internally, Akane marveled at the way her sister had changed since the Apocalypse. Nabiki had become, at least to her family, a warm, kind, caring person who would go to any lengths to help out her little sister. On the other hand, she was still the Ice Queen of Furinkan High. Akane nodded, and Nabiki smiled one of her all-to-rare smiles and left.
Left alone, Akane sighed, thinking of what this meeting would bring. As she rose, she wondered if whatever it was could possibly make things worse. Internally, she knew that she was no longer the person that she had been before the Apocalypse. She was no longer the center of attention- people avoided her, and whispered behind her back. Almost all her friends had deserted her. Too bad that Kuno hadn't followed suit. Within the space of a few days, Akane's entire world had fallen apart.
Not even her martial arts, which she'd prided herself upon so much, were of any interest anymore. The Change, as she referred to it, had made her so fast, strong, and tough that nobody could even think of challenging her. She could break whole towers of cinderblocks and hardly notice it. She could beat, even kill, anyone that was dumb enough to challenge her, but she got no pleasure from it. Thus, she had withdrawn from her normal life. Usually, she stayed in her room, thinking, sleeping, or whatever she happened to choose at the moment.
Akane arrived at the top of the stairs and glared down the wooden structure with thinly disguised loathing. She'd come to hate stairs. Taking in a breath, she put one foot forward and began her descent.

*Thump*
*Thump*
Akane hated the thumping noise that her legs made on the stairs, but it couldn't be helped.
*Thump*
*Thump*
*Thump
After the Change, she found that she weighed over 140 kilos, nearly twice what she had been. Add to that that she was made entirely of metal, and there was nothing that she could do to stop the noise.
*Thump*
*Thump*
*Thump*
*Thump*
It marked her, set her apart. People stared when she came down stairs, or went up them. She tried to smooth things over, but nobody cared. She had been touched during the Apocalypse; nobody trusted her.
*Thump*
*Thud*
Akane breathed a sigh of relief as she finally stepped down onto the ground floor. Much more quietly now, she walked to the kitchen table, where everyone was already waiting. Without a word, she took a seat at the table, one which she hadn't used since the Apocalypse.
"What did you call us here for, Father?" Kasumi asked once her sister had seated herself.
"Well, a good friend of mine, whom I trained with, is finally returning from a ten-year training trip," Soun began. "He has a son, and they both will be coming here sometime today."
"So?" Nabiki asked. "What does this have to do with us?"
"I must remember to prepare the guest room," Kasumi noted aloud. Akane stayed silent. She was sure that her father didn't want to hear her opinion anyway. He'd barely spoken to her since she Changed.
"Well," Soun said, sweating. "our families had an agreement to join our schools of martial arts. Thus, one of you two will be marrying him." A silence followed, as the three girls stared at their father in shock.
"A fiancee?" Nabiki deadpanned.
"Oh, my," Kasumi added. Akane just sat there, a thoughtful look on her face.
"Yes, they should be here any moment!" Soun said triumphantly. They'd taken things much better than he'd expected.
"Well, what's he like?" Nabiki asked.
"Umm... I don't know," Soun answered.
"You don't know?" Nabiki asked, incredulous.
"I've never met him," Soun explained.
"You said 'One of you two,'" Akane said quietly.
"What?" Soun asked, confused.
"You said that it was an agreement between the families, and then said that 'One of you two will be marrying him,'" Akane told her father. "You were referring to Nabiki and Kasumi. Does that mean that I'm not a part of the family?"
"Huh? Umm... err..." Soun stammered, dumbfounded.
"Of course you are, Akane," Kasumi reassured her.
"Right," Nabiki agreed. "Say it, Daddy," she commanded. Silence ensued. "Daddy," she said, a menacing tone in her voice.
"Wait, Nabiki. I want to hear what he has to say," Akane said. "Well, Dad, am I?"
"Well... after all that you've been through, I don't think that you should be burdened with such a commitment, but the agreement was between the two families...," Soun hedged. Akane looked down, into her lap.
"I see," she said quietly, then rose.
"Akane, where are you going?" Nabiki asked, worried.
"Just out to the dojo. I wouldn't want to intrude on the Tendo family's home," Akane answered, stepping out the shoji and onto the paved rock path the lead to the dojo.
"Akane...," Kasumi said, reaching out to her sister. Without a word or a glance backward, Akane shut the shoji and walked to the dojo, wincing at every sound her feet made as they struck upon the stones of the pathway.
"Real smooth, Daddy," Nabiki deadpanned. Soun looked appropriately ashamed. Suddenly, a sharp knock sounded from the front door, and Soun jumped up, excited.
"That must be them!" he shouted, running to the door. "Saotome, my friend, I'm coming!"
"I'll keep an eye on him," Nabiki told her sister, then got up and followed her father. Arriving at the door, Soun threw it open, expecting his best friend. That was not what he saw. Dominating the doorway was a giant panda and a short redheaded youth. Soun promptly turned and made what he would later claim was a 'strategic retreat.' In essence, he turned and ran. Nabiki, watching from the hallway, was unnerved but held her ground. She wasn't one to retreat lightly. she thought.
"Great, Dad," said the youth in a distinctly feminine voice. "I might as well have just shown up in my other form too." The panda held up a sign reading, [It's not my fault!] The youth just shook his/her head. Nabiki wasn't sure yet, as he/she wore rather baggy clothing.
"And you are?" Nabiki prompted the youth.
"Oh!" he/she said, looking back down the hallway, seeing Nabiki for the first time. "I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry 'bout this." Once again, Nabiki noted the rather feminine lilt of his/her voice, despite the male speech patterns.
"You're a girl, aren't you?" Nabiki asked, placing her bet.
"Umm... yeah, I guess so," Ranma said, looking down at herself.
"Daddy sure knows how to pick 'em," Nabiki muttered. More loudly, she called, "Well, why don't you come in. I'm sure that Daddy'll straighten things right out." She looked backwards in the hall severely, to where Soun was cowering. "Won't you?" she said menacingly. Soun, overwhelmed on all sides, fainted.

* * * * * *

Soun opened his eyes slowly, taking in the crisp afternoon air. His two eldest daughters hovered over him, and there was a damp cloth on his forehead.
"Ahh, Nabiki, Kasumi," he said, sitting up. "I just had the oddest dream." At this point, Ranma walked out of the kitchen, carrying a steaming washbowl. Soun froze, staring at her. "It wasn't a dream, was it?" he asked.
"Nope," Ranma said, setting the bowl down carefully. She was very careful not to slosh any of the hot liquid over the sides of the large bowl, even though it was only half full.
"So, Daddy," Nabiki stated, a feral glean in her eye. Not the 'hunting' kind either, the 'I'm gonna kill you for this one' gleam. You know, the one you mom makes at you whenever you get bad grades. "We can't exactly be engaged to a girl, now can we?" she asked, her voice matching her glare.
"Umm... no?" Soun replied, seeming to shrink in on himself.
"And Ranma's definitely a girl, isn't she?" Nabiki asked, grabbing Ranma by the breast to demonstrate her point.
"Hey!" Ranma exclaimed. "Stop it!" Hearing this, Nabiki released the girl, who backed away from the confrontation. Kasumi, sensing that this was one of those fights that shouldn't be broken up, joined her.
"Err... yes," Soun agreed.
"Then the engagement's off, isn't it, Daddy?" Nabiki asked, her eyes boring holes into her father.
"I suppose so," he answered meekly, trying to find a path of escape. Apparently, that answer had been it, because Nabiki immediately backed away.
"Good. I'm glad that that's settled," Nabiki said, calm once again. "Ranma," she said, looking around the room. It was decidedly devoid of redheads. "Umm, Kasumi, where's Ranma?" she asked her sister, who was standing nest to the shoji.
"Oh, she asked to see the dojo," Kasumi answered brightly.
"Umm... Kasumi, Akane's in there," Nabiki said.
"Oh, my," Kasumi replied. "Oh... my..." she said after a second, remembering how people tended to react to Akane these days.
"That's an understatement," Nabiki deadpanned, and prepared to deal with one scared, confused redhead who would probably be coming through that door any second now. Any second...

* * * * * *

Ranma sighed, sliding the door of the dojo open. She really didn't want to be around when her father told Mr. Tendo about Jusenkyo. That would involve a demonstration of the curses, and Ranma liked her cursed form better than her normal one. Not that she liked either; it was just a matter of being human to the alternative.
Stepping inside, Ranma immediately noticed the figure curled up and crying in a corner of the dojo. It's back was turned to her, displaying a wild river of ebony hair, and huddled inside of a pale yellow blanket. The figure's sobs were soft, but it hurt Ranma in a place that she wasn't too experienced in handling- her sympathy. Quietly, she walked over to the figure and tentatively touched the side of its head. It swiveled, revealing a distinctly feminine face, streaked with tears.
"Hey," Ranma said softly. "What's the matter? Whatever it is, I can promise you that I prolly got it worse off," she continued, in an effort to cheer up the girl. For some reason, as Ranma spoke, the girl hugged her blanket to herself more tightly.
"Who are you?" the girl asked, distrustful.
"Me? I'm Ranma Saotome, of the Saotome school of Anything Goes Martial Arts. Who're you?" Ranma answered.
"I'm Akane Ten... Just Akane," the girl replied. "I used to be a martial artist, but I had to give it up."
"Give up martial arts?" Ranma asked incredulously. "Why would you give up martial arts?" Akane visibly braced herself before replying.
"I was Changed during the Apocalypse," she said, looking away.
"What do you mean?" Ranma asked.
"I was Changed. I'm too strong now; I might hurt someone," Akane said, her voice trembling.
"Changed? Apocalypse? What are you talking about?" Ranma asked, bewildered. Exasperated, Akane stood up, faced her, and threw off the blanket, revealing her body. It gleamed in the faint afternoon light that shone through the dojo doorway. Seeing it, Ranma gasped in surprise.
"Now do you understand?" Akane asked, her voice thick. This was how things always were; as soon as someone saw her, they hated her for what she represented. Trying to keep from crying, Akane spun away. Another potential friend lost. A moment of silence passed as Akane stared at the corner, fighting to repress her tears.
"Have you ever been to a place called Jusenkyo?" Ranma suddenly asked.
"Jusenkyo?" Akane asked, surprised. "Training ground of accursed springs? No, but my fath... Mr. Tendo's mentioned it before. Why?"
"Then it wasn't the springs," she heard Ranma whisper to herself. More loudly, she asked, "How'd you get to look like you do?
"I told you already," Akane said, a hint of her old temper beginning to show. "The Apocalypse. Where have you been the last few weeks?"
"Training in China," Ranma answered flatly. "Don't get a lot of news out there. Ya get even less when you're running for your life."
"Oh," Akane said, slightly chagrined.
"What happened?" Ranma asked, motioning for Akane to sit. She complied, and Ranma followed suit.
"It happened almost two weeks ago, now. About one in the afternoon. I was giving a speech for a school tournament. I was doing really well, too. Then, all of a sudden, I start to feel funny," Akane said.
"Kinda like something in your stomach was tryin to get out?" Ranma asked.
"Yeah. Why do you ask?" Akane replied.
"I'll explain later," Ranma reassured her.
"Oh well. In any case, I just kept going. This jerk had just given a speech that said that anyone who wanted to date me had to beat me. I figured that if I won, nobody'd pay attention to him. Well, it just kept getting worse, until it hurt so bad that I collapsed. Next thing I know, I'm in this body, and it's a good hour later," Akane told her. "The Apocalypse had a lot of other effects too. A lot of buildings collapsed, and lots of people died."
"How many?" Ranma asked.
"I don't know. They're still counting bodies. Last I heard, though, they'd reached the two billion mark," Akane said.
"By all the Gods," Ranma breathed.
"Yeah," Akane agreed. The two sat together quietly for a few minutes, thinking. "So," Akane finally said, "Why did you ask that question?"
"Huh?" Ranma returned.
"You know, the one where I asked you why you wanted to know how I felt during the Change and you said that you'd explain later," Akane explained. "Well, it's later."
"I guess so," Ranma agreed. "Well, I guess that I was sparring with my Pop at Jusenkyo when the Apocalypse happened. Hmm... two weeks ago... yeah, that'd be just about right. In any case, I ended up in a spring, and my normal form got messed up. In any case, I just stay in my cursed form as much as I can these days. It's a damn sight easier than you'd think," Ranma told her.
"Curse?" Akane asked. "You mean that magic really exists?"
"Oh, yeah. I still gotta explain Jusenkyo to you," Ranma remembered. "Okay, it's this training field with about a hundred or so springs in it and a bunch of bamboo poles sticking straight out of each of the springs. You fight by hopping from one pole to another, and hitting the other guy in midair. If ya get knocked into a spring, you get stuck with the body of whatever last drowned there. Hot water turns you back to your normal body, but cold water activates the curse."
"What spring did you fall in?" Akane asked.
"Drowned Girl," Ranma said bluntly.
"Then..." Akane mused.
"Yep, this is my cursed form," Ranma confirmed her unasked question. "My normal form got... uhh... what did you call it?"
"Changed?" Akane supplied hopefully. she thought hopefully.
"Yeah, that's it," Ranma confirmed. "Anyway, I change back to normal with warm water. Well, if you can call having a big, blue hunk of metal for a body normal..." This comment caused Akane to smile in a mixture of sympathy and amusement.
"Can..." she started. A part of Akane berated herself for believing Ranma's crazy story. "Can you show it to me?" she finally asked, blushing. She looked down at her lap, somewhat embarrassed, but not quite sure why.
"Sure," Ranma agreed after a minute. "Lemme go get some hot water," she said, then left the dojo. Akane waited alone for a few minutes, wondering if Ranma would come back, if the girl had just pulled her leg as a sick joke, if maybe, just maybe, she'd get a friend that would actually understand what the Change had done to her. All in all, she worried. Finally, Ranma reentered the dojo, carrying a steaming teakettle and a glass of ice water.
"Sorry," she explained, "Your sister had this on the stove, so I had ta put a new one on before I left."
"It's okay," Akane said. "I'm sure that Kasumi won't mind. Now show me your other form," she commanded. Suddenly, she noticed that Ranma had figured out that she was Kasumi's sister, and therefore Soun's daughter. She hadn't said anything too obvious to clue her in; Akane's estimation of the girl went up a notch. Akane's musing, though, was immediately halted when Ranma began to disrobe. "Umm... Ranma? What are you doing?" she asked.
"I gotta strip if I wanna change," Ranma explained, tossing her red silk shirt to the floor of the dojo. "I get a lot bigger; my clothes'll rip if I'm not careful."
"Oh," Akane said quietly. Ranma released the tie on her black worker's pants, and tossed them with her shirt. Clad only in boxers, Akane could see that Ranma was blushing from head to toe. Literally. She wondered why; they were both girls, weren't they? Her mental question went unanswered as Ranma upended the teakettle over her head.
The most immediately noticeable thing about the change was the color blue. There was lots of it. In fact, the only parts of her ( Akane noted) that weren't one shade of blue or another were her hands, her face, and a gem that was set into her helmet. Further observation revealed a distinct lack of anything that might pass as breasts, and a distinctly more masculine facial structure.
"You were a guy, weren't you?" Akane asked.
"Before Jusenkyo? Yeah," Ranma confirmed. Her suspicions confirmed, Akane continued to examine Ranma's other body, mentally comparing it to her own.
As for overall construction, where Akane represented a earthy, fiery element wither her bodily decoration, wildly long hair, and machined edges, Ranma was definitely trended towards water and/or air. Though his boots were essentially the same as her own, Akane noticed that the lines were somewhat less pronounced, more rounded, and without decoration. The only exceptions were twin metal discs on each of his legs. His upper legs were done in the exact same fashion as her own, save that his were dark blue, rather than black. His pelvic guard was rounded on all sides, and without vents. In other words, it was so featureless that the eye tended to gloss over it as it traveled the body. His abdomen was seemingly bare, blue skin, even showing a 'six-pack' of abs that were most likely his internal micro fusion generator. Ranma's upper torso was armored with a sleek blue breastplate, with a thick band of light blue metal that started where each of his nipples might have been had he been human and wrapped around his back. Looking carefully, Akane noted that each had a line near the arm area, as if they could be removed.
His arms themselves were much like the rest of him: unremarkable. His upper arms were the same dark blue as his abs and upper legs, and his lower arms were simply egg-shaped constructs, sheared off at one end for his arm and at the other for his hand. His hands were stark white, just like hers. His face was hard, chiseled out of alabaster, but with a seeming mobility of emotion that belied this. His helmet was blue, and came from his brow to cover his ears and the back of his head. There was a lighter blue raising along the middle of it, and a large, beautiful ruby. The gem was incorporated into the helmet so as to seem to be the logical conclusion of the raised area of the helmet. A few small circles were etched into his helmet, but they didn't seem to be important.
"I aint as impressive as you," he conceded, "but it's what I'm stuck with."
"Looks aren't as important as function," Akane countered.
"I guess so," Ranma agreed, his hand rubbing the backside of his helmet.
"Hey," Akane said, remembering something. "Do you do martial arts?"
"Yeah. 'S why my Pop took me on the training trip," Ranma replied.
"You want to have a little match? I can't fight normal people, but I think that we should be pretty safe from one another like this," Akane proposed. Ranma, hearing this, smiled.
"That'd be great," he agreed. "I'm ready when you are."
"Then... let's go!" Akane cried, rushing at the blue robot. Her first attack, a straightforward punch meant to test his defenses, never connected. Ducking agilely, Ranma spun away from the fist and its thrower. Undaunted, Akane lashed out with her heavy leg, and nicked him on the shoulder. A sharp rapport rang out, and Ranma faded backwards, avoiding Akane's follow-up kick.
"You're pretty good," he said.
"I got a lot better from the Change," she admitted, charging forward once again. This time, instead of dodging, Ranma blocked her attacks and even launched a few of his own. "You're pretty good yourself," she added after a few seconds of close combat with him. The sound of metal crashing against metal rang through the dojo as the two combatants hammered at each other's defenses. This went on for a short while, Akane enjoying the first true test of her martial skills in two weeks, and Ranma just plain enjoying the fight.

* * * * * *

Nabiki drummed her fingers, still waiting for Ranma to reenter the house. Kasumi was off in the kitchen, getting beer for her father and some old friend of his that had suddenly popped up. She didn't know the visitor, and wouldn't have cared if she did. Idly, she noted the sound of clashing metal, but dismissed it as the sound of her sister getting ready for dinner. Daddy's guest, who was currently playing shogi with him, seemed considerably more alarmed at the sound.
"Tendo," he asked after a short pause, "did you hear that?"
"It's just Kasumi making dinner," Nabiki's father replied, moving a shogi piece. "Don't worry about it. Now, what was this problem with Ranma, aside from the fact that your 'son' turned out to be a girl?" Nabiki took a sudden interest in the conversation- she could smell when something sensitive was about to be discussed, and her father's friend was displaying all the signs.
"Well, Tendo, it all starts at Jusenkyo," he began. Suddenly, the sound of metal clashing against metal rang out again, and the overweight man went silent. It was soon followed by more sounds of a similar nature. "Soun, I certainly hope that that is not your eldest daughter," he said quietly. Nabiki herself was beginning to wonder. Especially so once she determined that the sounds were coming from the direction of the dojo. Nodding to herself, she quietly got up and padded out of the room. Silently, her father and his friend followed. Kasumi, carrying a tray laden with two mugs of beer, saw them leaving and decided to follow them.
As she approached the dojo, Nabiki noted that the noise level was growing, as was the frequency. Worried, she jogged the rest of the way to the dojo and slid the door open. Inside, she was Akane facing off against a blue robot, who was obviously giving her a run for her money.
"Akane!" she cried, worried for her sister.

* * * * * *

Akane was giving her all to her opponent. Her speed augmented from the Change, she found that she could just barely keep up with Ranma, and she had greater strength, reach, and toughness than he could ever hope to. All in all, she was able to hit him sometimes, and those blows were telling on him, but his little bee-sting hammering was finally beginning to wear on her too.
Suddenly, she heard Nabiki call, "Akane" from the doorway of the dojo. Instinctually, she looked to her older sister. Nabiki's face was a mix of respect, worry, and just a hint of fear.
Akane cursed mentally as Ranma cried, "An opening!" Helpless, she felt a heavy fist strike her in the gut, a heavy hit on one of the few areas in her armor which she had minimal protection. Suddenly, his hand disappeared, and Akane found herself knowing what would come next. Time seemed to crawl as she spun her head back to face Ranma, even as the whine of his plasma cannon built. Just as she was able to come face-to-face with her attacker, his cannon fired a blast of plasma carefully calculated to end the fight without seriously hurting Akane. Ranma's triumph was written clearly on his face.
Propelled backwards by the blast, Akane grabbed frantically around, and latched onto Ranma's arm. Her momentum was enough that Ranma was brought along for the ride as she flew backwards. Holding his arm tightly with both hands, Akane pieced together a hasty, all-or-nothing plan. As her back impacted the dojo floor, she allowed herself to skid, instead bunching her legs between herself and Ranma. He immediately knew that she planned a counterattack, and squirmed wildly, trying to escape. Unfortunately for him, he hadn't touched down yet, and had no leverage.
Knowing that she was out of time, Akane shoved upwards and outwards with her legs, catching Ranma right in the chest. The force of her kick propelled him upwards, and would easily be enough to send him across the dojo. However, this was not Akane's plan. Just as Akane's legs reached the farthest point that she could extend them to, she fired her built-in dash jets. Twin gouts of blue flame flared out, striking with more force than heat. The additional jolt of propellant jerked her legs back up to her chest and sent Ranma through the opposite wall of the dojo. He flew for some time, as Akane elated in her victory. Suddenly, she realized where he was going to land.
"Ranma!" she shouted. "The koi pond!" However, it was far too late for Ranma to adjust his flight path. He splashed into the pond with a loud *whoosh*, and all was silent for a split second, as the water sloshed in the pond. Then, a redheaded girl burst from the water. Kasumi, Soun, Nabiki, and Soun's friend stood around the pond, only Soun's friend looking unsurprised.
"Umm... hehe...," Ranma-chan stuttered, grabbing her pigtail. Akane suddenly realized what Ranma had been doing earlier when he'd grabbed the back of his helmet.. "Sorry 'bout all this."

* * * * * *

Flashfyre5 Presents
A Flaming Amarant production
In association with Digital Wizardry Studios, Minnesota

The Opening Bet
Chapter Two: The Divine Wind


" " = speech
[ ] = panda board
= thought
/ / = written

* * * * * *

"I am Genma Saotome," stated the overweight man that had joined Soun. He was seated at the kitchen table, with Ranma sitting on his left, Soun around the corner on his right, and the three Tendo girls sitting across from him.
"And I'm Ranma, his son," Ranma added.
"Son?" Nabiki asked, eyeing 'his' figure.
"I was born a guy. Don't push it," Ranma warned in return, giving the middle Tendo an evil look.
"So why are you a woman now?" Nabiki asked flatly, obviously hot believing Ranma.
"Well, my idiot father here decided to take me to a training ground with a bunch of cursed springs. I kinda sorta fell into one," Ranma explained.
"Aah, Jusenkyo. Until now, I'd never truly comprehended it's horrors," Soun said solemnly.
"Truly, it was exactly as the Master described it," Genma added sagely. Ranma struck a disbelieving expression.
"You mean," he said, turning to his father, "That you knew about Jusenkyo before we got there?"
"Well, I'd, err, heard of it in passing...," Genma stammered. Ranma was struck dumb for a second. Fortunately, this second was seized upon.
"Mr. Saotome, how could you?" Kasumi asked harshly, a look that might have been anger on her face.
"Taking your son to a cursed training ground when you KNEW that it was cursed?" Nabiki practically screamed. Quietly, Ranma stood up and walked to the kitchen. Nobody except for Akane noticed, and she said nothing. Meanwhile, Genma was sheepishly nodding, and looking for some cold water, so he could trigger his curse. "You engage your son before he's even born, drag him across China, then give him a curse when you know the consequences? Just how dumb are you?!" Nabiki continued.
"Too stupid to live," a quiet, feminine voice said from the direction of the kitchen. Everyone turned to see Ranma, standing in ht kitchen doorway, holding the kettle of steaming water that she's put on earlier. Genma, seeing this combination and knowing exactly what it meant, began to desperately back away.
"Now, Ranma, let's be reasonable here," he urged desperately.
"Reasonable?" Ranma asked, advancing upon her father. "Was it reasonable for you to take me away from my mother when I was five? Was it reasonable for you to put me through the Goddamned Cat-fist? Was it reasonable for you to get me cursed? No, Pop, we left reasonable when we left Momma," Ranma growled, raising the kettle as she spoke. Nabiki, having heard about the springs from her father and having seen the blue robot from earlier, put two and two together and, as was usual for her, came up with four.
"Ranma, the others didn't see you long enough to know, but I saw your other form. Don't do this; you'll kill him!" Nabiki pleaded, knowing what kind of power her sister had. This young girl, in her other form, had fought Akane to a standstill.
"Give me one good reason why not!" Ranma demanded, her knuckles whitening on the handle of the kettle.
"Where would you go if you did?" Nabiki asked. "If you kill him, everyone will know about you, in both forms. You'd be hunted for the rest of your life, never knowing a home or a family. Do you want that?"
"No," Ranma said quietly, "but that's the life that I get. I can't even go home to my mother now; my stupid Pop just told me that I signed a contract with her when I was a kid. If I'm not a 'man among men,' then I have to commit seppuku. No matter which form I'm in, I'm screwed. Soon as this engagement is dissolved, we'll get kicked out and keep on wandering till one or both of us die. Life aint fair, and it really aint fair to me."
"What if you had a home?" Akane suddenly spoke up. "Somewhere you could stay as long as you liked, with people who care about you?"
"Maybe then. Too bad my Pop screwed that up for me," Ranma snarled.
"Daddy! Let Ranma and his father stay here until they want to leave," Akane suggested. "We were going to do the same thing for the engagement anyway, weren't we?"
"We were," Soun mused, looking worriedly at his best friend. "Ranma, I'll make you a deal. If you leave Genma be, I'll put you both up indefinately." This, unsurprisingly, shocked Ranma, who lowered the kettle ever so slightly.
"As long as I want?" Ranma queried, a shadow of hope on his face.
"As long as you want, providing that Genma is forgiven whatever crime that you're so angry about," Soun declared. Inwardly, Nabiki smiled, just a little. Yes, indeed, this was her father. Ranma, meanwhile, was warring between the desire to kill his father and some unknown longing that he'd had for as long as he could remember. His Pop had called it homesickness, and a weakness, but it had never left Ranma, no matter how much he tried to squash it.
"Deal," Ranma finally said, dropping the kettle. Everyone, especially Genma, breathed a sigh of relief at his decision. "Don't think you're off the hook yet, Pop," Ranma growled. "You might've just gotten away with Jusenkyo, but You've got a lot to answer for otherwise." With that, he dropped the kettle to the floor with a loud *clang*, and stalked outside. After a minute, Akane followed him. Kasumi, sensing that the conflict was over, went back to her kitchen to begin preparations for a late dinner.
"Well, now that that crisis is over, I can get onto the taxes," Nabiki grumbled, rising. She turned and jogged up the stairs, hoping to finish the organizing that she had to do before she could start. Soun, at Genma's silent gesture, kept silent until his daughters had left.
"Are you sure about what Ranma said?" Soun asked. "I'm not quite sure as to what she could do to hurt someone like you, but you seemed so afraid. Why?"
"Her other form is Changed. Unlike my ignorant daughter, I paid attention to the news when we got home. I know what he can do when he's a robot, and I'm not anxious to have it done to me," Genma explained. "Anyway, Jusenkyo was the only incident where I knew what I was getting myself into, so Ranma'll just fight a bit harder in our sparring sessions. A few bruises, nothing more."
"Aaah," Soun said, understanding. "So that was the blue blur from earlier."
"Going into the pond? Yes, that was her. In any case, I think that it's agreed that forcing the engagement now would be rather counterproductive," Genma said.
"It is," Soun agreed, tearing up. "Now the schools will never be joined! Waaaahhh!!" he wailed.
"Calm down, Tendo," Genma commanded. "We may not be able to force the engagement this generation, but there's always the next." Suddenly, Soun cleared up, hope dawning in his eyes. "Sooner or later, Ranma will have to accept that she's a woman, in every way, and take the necessary steps," Genma continued. "We will have grandchildren, provided that you can get one of your daughters married and with child. Then, we transfer the engagement to the next generation. With any luck, we'll see the schools united by the time we die!"
"What a spectacular plan!" Soun exclaimed. "I take it, then, that we should find fiancees for our respective daughters?"
"Exactly," Genma agreed. "It's a foolproof plan!"

* * * * * *

Outside, Akane sneezed, and wondered who was talking about her. Sighing, she set that thought aside and continued to look around the Tendo compound, even though she'd already checked every place in and around it. Suddenly, a touch of inspiration hit her and she looked upward, at the Tendo roof. Positioning herself near it, she crouched, then leapt upwards with all her mechanized might. Though impressive, it was hardly enough to get her onto the roof. Thus, at the top of her jump, she fired her dash jets, propelling herself straight upwards with enough force for her to soar right over the edge of the house and land with relative lightness on the edge of the roof. Immediately, she noticed Ranma, who was staring at Akane as if she'd grown an extra head.
"Umm... hi," Akane said, suddenly self-conscious.
"What're you doing up here?" Ranma asked, sitting up.
"Looking for you," Akane explained, walking over to Ranma as softly as she could. "What are you doing up here?"
"Thinking," Ranma sighed, lying back down. Akane seated herself next to the redhead, looking up at the stars.
"About what?" she finally asked.
"Me. My Pop. My life," Ranma said, not looking at the robotic girl sitting next to her.
"What do you mean?" Akane returned, lying down and gazing out at the same patch of sky as Ranma.
"I dunno," Ranma answered. "Just... so much seems different now. I always thought that Pop was just really dumb, cuz he never read all the instructions. He did a lot of really dumb stuff, too. Now, I'm not sure how much he knew about and decided to go with anyway."
"Oh," Akane said, after a pause. A moment of silence passed, as both looked at the stars, not knowing what to say.
"I mean," Ranma finally continued, "everything we ever did was in the name of the Art. Ever since I can remember, we were going from place to place, doing all the training we could, learning how to perfect the Art. I guess it never really bothered me at the time, but I never really had a home, or a real friend." At Akane's shocked expression, he amended, "Well, sure, I knew people, and I even made friends with a few. Problem was, we always left after a week or two, so I never could really make any real friends." Akane mulled over this for a while, looking at Ranma instead of the stars. Ranma just stared upwards, thinking.
"You have a home, now," Akane finally said, prompting Ranma to look over at her.
"Only till your old man throws me out," Ranma countered.
"No, he'll keep his word. Besides, I was going to ask Dad to let you stay, even if that whole thing with the teakettle hadn't happened," Akane stated.
"Maybe," Ranma conceded, looking away. Another minute passed in silence, as Akane turned her gaze upwards again. "Lot of stars up there, aren't there?" Ranma finally said.
"Yeah," Akane agreed.
"Kinda makes you lonely, ya know? When I was on the road, I loved that stars. They were just about the only things that stayed the same, no matter where I went. They reminded me of Pop, always there and about as reachable as the moon. Now, what with Pop and all, it just feels empty, like one of the things that you count on every day suddenly isn't there anymore. You know, like you're all alone in the world," Ranma confessed.
"Like you're without a friend," Akane said.
"Yeah," Ranma agreed. Then, Akane rolled over to face Ranma, who turned her head to look at Akane.
"I'm Akane. Want to be friends?" Akane asked, holding out her hand. Ranma smiled and took it, gratefulness in her eyes.
"Friends. I haven't had one of those in a long time," Ranma said, a small smile dancing on her face.
"Well, you do now," Akane said. Both smiling, they continued to watch the stars.

* * * * * *

"School?" Ranma asked, confused. She was sitting in a tank top and boxer shorts, looking at her father as if he'd grown an extra head.
"Yes, school," Genma confirmed. "We're going to be living here for a while, even if you aren't marrying any of the Tendo daughters, so I believe that you should start attending school again." he thought,
"Whatever, Pop," Ranma gave in, sensing that her old man had something else that he wasn't telling her. "Where am I gonna go to school?"
"At the same school as me and Nabiki," Akane said, sticking her head into the room. For once, she was wearing her helmet, and the sight of the young warrior girl captivated Ranma for a split second before he turned his attention back to the matter at hand.
"Really? Cool!" Ranma said, grinning. Suddenly, she realized something. "I don't have any school supplies."
"That's okay," Akane said. "You're in my class, so we can share for today. We'll get you some stuff after school." She looked up at the clock. "Uh-oh! We're gonna be late!" With that, Akane ran from the room and charged out of the house.
"Okay," Ranma agreed, rising. She grabbed her favorite Chinese shirt, a red silk one with real gold clasps, and a pair of black cotton pants that were a bit large for her frame as it was. However, they had to be this big, just in case she got accidentally splashed by hot water. Dressing quickly, she made her way downstairs. Grabbing a pork bun and a bento left on the kitchen counter for her, she dashed out the front door. Using her fast, lithe body to her advantage, Ranma was soon able to catch up to Akane, and hopped up on top of the fence next to her, matching her stride for stride.
"Why are you up there?" Akane asked, turning a corner. Ranma followed suit.
"It's great balance practice," Ranma said between breaths. "You should try it sometime."
"My feet are just a little too big, don't you think?" Akane teased.
"Maybe," Ranma replied seriously. "Maybe not." They continued on in silence for a bit, Ranma eating her pork bun, until the school came into view.
"Hate Kuno, hate Kuno, hate Kuno, hate Kuno," Akane chanted under her breath as they drew nearer to the building. Reaching over her left shoulder, she withdrew a cylinder from a holding place on her back.
"Huh?" Ranma asked as her chanting grew loud enough for her to hear. However, Ranma never got her answer, as Akane charged through the front gates of Furinkan Senior High. Inside, a robot stood, waiting for Akane. He was tall, almost six feet, and silver from head to toe. Fluid of design, as if he were one great mirror, stretched and contorted into a humanoid, he stood tall and proud, a long katana blade sprouting from his right wrist. Lining the edges of his various parts were bands of gold, shining in the morning sun. From his back grew two great, silver wings, articulated like a birds. He wore an ornate helmet and had the look of a nobleman on his face. Ranma decided to stand back and watch from the school wall.
"Aaah, the fair Akane Tendo, I greet thee this morn," he said to Akane, who was standing across from him, the cylinder held like the hilt of a katana.
"Just get it over with, Kuno," Akane said, her tone obviously disgusted. Ranma decided to jump down and investigate.
"Hey, who's this bozo?" Ranma asked Akane, standing behind her.
Before Akane could speak, the other robot jumped in. "I, fair maiden, am the high champion of the high school Kendo club. Foes tremble at the sight of me, for I am Tatewaki Kuno, the Divine Wind of Furinkan High! You may adress me as the noble Sword Angel, however, good maiden."
"Sword Angel?" one of Nabiki's friends said,
"That's a new one on me," admitted the infamous moneymaker herself.
"Is this guy for real?" Ranma asked incredulously.
"Unfortunately, yes," Akane said. "He decided that the only way that I, in my 'maidenly virtue,' would let him date me would be for him to beat me."
"He can't can he?" Ranma asked, noticing the gathering rain clouds.
"Nope," Akane replied, a small grin on her face. Suddenly, the cylinder in her hand spat out a blade of green energy, and Akane charged Kuno, attacking with the fury of a woman scorned. Kuno, for all his glorious Kendo titles, was hard-pressed to defend himself from the furious attacks of his 'love.' The two, in their fighting, slashed down a tree, and tore a wall to shreds. Finally, Akane ended the fight with a powerful side kick to Kuno's chest, which sent him sailing over the school wall and out of the established boudaries of the fight.
"Well," Akane said, putting away her sword, which was now reduced to a mere hilt again. "Let's get to class."
"All right," Ranma agreed, making a note to ask her about her sword later.

* * * * * *

"This is Ranma Saotome," the teacher said, introducing Ranma, who fidgeted at the front of the class. "She and her father just returned from China. However, this does not excuse the fact that both you and Akane Tendo were late. Both of you, take the buckets and stand in the hall." Ranma sighed and grabbed a pair of buckets, which sat at the doorway. She noticed that Akane had risen from her seat, and was following suit. There was a judicious amount of whispering as the two walked out, but Akane just ignored it, her head hung. Soon, she joined Ranma in the hallway, holding a pair of buckets.
"What was with all the whispering?" Ranma asked, shifting from one foot to the other.
"They were gossiping at us. They said that someone else was a robot lover," Akane said, sighing.
"Really? Who?" Ranma asked. Akane turned and stared at her companion, disbelieving. Ranma suddenly blushed.
"They were talking about me, weren't they?" she asked, felling stupid.
"Yeah," Akane confirmed. "I'm really sorry about this. I'd hoped to keep your reputation intact for longer than one period. Now it looks like you're stuck with me, Yuka, and Saryu."
"Aaah, it's okay," Ranma said. "You're my friend. I don't really care what they think." At this, Akane relaxed, leaning back on the wall. Her bucket accidentally knocked against Ranma's and it sloshed over onto her. Unfortunately, the teacher had filled the buckets with lukewarm water, and it was enough to trigger Ranma's transformation.
"Aww, man," he exclaimed, dismayed. "Do you know where the bathrooms are?" I gotta go find some cold water."
"Yeah, they're down a floor and- Ranma, look out!" Akane yelled. Ranma turned and ducked to the side, just in time to avoid a vicious overhead slash from Kuno. A loud rip could be heard, and Ranma's shirt tore in half.
"Who are you that talks so familiarly with Akane?" Kuno demanded.
"Dammit, you ruined my favorite shirt!" Ranma exclaimed. A number of people were now leaning out of nearby classrooms, curious at this spectacle. "I'm err... uhh...," he said, noticing all the people around him and not wanting to blow his cover quite yet. "X! Yeah, that's it, X. In any case, I'm gonna beat the tar outta you for doing that."
"X? Surely, that is the name of a knave. Good Akane, surely you do not deign to associate with such a base and dishonorable creature," Kuno stated haughtily.
"All right, THAT'S IT!" Ranma shouted, and knocked Kuno out of the window with a powerful roundhouse kick. He followed, leaping out the window after his prey.
"Ranma, this is the third floor!" Akane called after him, just as he discovered this fact for himself. Kuno, however, was unimpressed, and flew just out of Ranma's reach. Ranma himself fell like a rock, and landed with a loud *crash* right next to the pool.
"Whew, that was close," he breathed, turning to face Kuno, who hovered at the third floor.
"Foolish knave, you cannot hope to defeat me, for I am the Divine Wind of Furinkan High, Tatewaki Kuno!" Kuno declared, a bolt of lightning punctuating his statement. Ranma used the time to build up a charge in his arm cannon.
"An' I'm X, the Blue Bomber of wherever the Hell I choose to be," Ranma made up on the fly, raising his arm to point at Kuno. With that, he retracted his hand and loosed a great bolt of plasma, which struck Kuno squarely on his left wing joint, shearing it off. Kuno fell to the ground unceremoniously. He rose slowly, badly unbalanced by the loss of his wing.
"You shall pay for that," Kuno said softly, standing tall again.
"Put it on my tab," Ranma sneered. Prevented from hurting his father, and still boiling from the panda's offenses, Ranma needed to vent badly. He had just found a target to vent upon, and vent he did. "You insulted my honor, and I'm gonna get you fer that. Besides, what kind of 'honorable' guy attacks a girl to get a date with her?" Ranma asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice. By the time he'd stopped speaking, Kuno was trembling with rage.
"I shall smite thee!" he screamed as loudly as he could, and charged at Ranma. Ranma flipped backwards, his boots catching Kuno in the jaw, stunning him. Ranma used the time to recover and back away some more, eyeing the keen edge of the katana with a bit of fear. He sensed that it was no ordinary metal, and would cut through his armor just as easily as it would flesh. Besides, he'd seen it shear down a tree in one slash earlier that morning. "You run from me, coward?!" Kuno taunted, hoping to get a rise out of Ranma. Ranma, with both his honor and courage insulted, could no longer contain himself.
"Okay, now you die," Ranma stated, and charged forward, enraged. Kuno tried to get the katana up to block, but Ranma was too fast, and opened his assault with a vicious uppercut to the gut. Kuno felt his armor creak as it absorbed the blow, and his respect for his opponent went up a notch. Ranma followed his opening blow with a barrage of attacks to Kuno's torso, even as the silverclad boy tried to get his katana into a defensive position. He finally gave up on defense, and struck Ranma a nasty jab in the side of his stomach. Ranma winced, and grabbed the katana, holding it by the flat of the blade. With one swift, decisive move, he brought his hand down on the side of it, hard. It snapped cleanly, leaving Kuno defenseless as Ranma continued his assault. Ranma finally kicked Kuno hard, in the groin, sending him upwards a good foot. His arm cannon charged once again, Ranma unleashed a great burst of plasma into the robot at point blank range. It exploded upon contact with Kuno's chest, sending him far across the schoolyard, smoking the whole way. He landed with a loud *crash*, and did not rise.
Ranma, yanking the remains of Kuno's sword from his belly, suddenly noticed the eerie silence that had descended upon the school, and looked around. From all three floors, people were staring at him, with expressions of awe, terror, and loathing on their faces.
"He beat Kuno," someone said. Slowly, a murmur rose among the student populous as they discussed the implications of this.
"Ranma!" Akane shouted, bursting out the school doors. "Are you all right?" she asked, running to his side.
"Ranma?" One student from their class asked. "Wasn't she a girl?"
"Yeah, and human too," agreed another.
"Weird," stated a third. The other two nodded.
"I'm just fine," Ranma said, clutching his side. Akane pried his had away from the wound and inspected it.
"We're going to have to get you to a doctor. When you change back, this is going to bleed really badly," Akane decided. "C'mon, I know a doctor that lives right nearby." With that, she dragged Ranma from the school grounds.

* * * * * *

"Dr. Tofu! Dr. Tofu!" Akane called, entering the small clinic with Ranma in tow, who was now thinking that Akane had been right. The slash was right on the edge of his torso, and hurt like Hell.
"Akane! I haven't seen you for a while," Tofu said, walking out of an examination room. "Who's your friend? I haven't seen a blue Reploid around here before."
"Reploid?" Ranma asked.
"That's what some scientist dubbed us," Akane said hurriedly. "We're not really robots, because we don't have to follow the Rules of Robotics."
"Oh," Ranma said, not asking what the Rules of Robotics were.
"Dr. Tofu, I need your help with Ranma here. He just got a nasty cut in his side from Kuno," Akane said to Tofu, who had waited patiently for them.
"I'm a doctor, not a mechanic, Jim! Err... Akane," Tofu amended, looking sheepish.
"Ranma turns back into a human with cold water," Akane explained, looking back at Ranma, who was clutching his side again. "I'm worried about what would happen when he gets splashed, so I brought him here."
"Understandable," Tofu agreed, nodding. "Ranma, have you ever been to Jusenkyo?"
"Yeah, that's why I can turn into a girl," Ranma confirmed. "Umm, Doc, I hate to hurry you, but could you do something about this already? It really hurts."
"Oh, of course, Ranma. Please lay down on the bed in the examination room, and I'll be in to sew you up in a few minutes," Tofu instructed Ranma, walking to a nearby sink to wash up and get a glass of cold water. Setting it on a tray alongside a needle, some thread, and a packet of rub-in anesthetic, he walked into the room, with Akane following him. She took up a position at the side of the room. Dr. Tofu set the tray on a small table nearby Ranma, and went to a small refrigerator he kept nearby, and withdrew a pint of blood. "Just in case," Akane heard him mutter.
"All right, Ranma, are you ready? I won't be able to apply the anesthetic until I've sewn you up," Tofu said, threading his needle.
"I'm fine," Ranma confirmed, grasping the sides of the examination table.
"Akane, would you wash up and come over here? I suspect that I'll need an extra pair of hands for this," Tofu told Akane, who complied. "Ranma, would you roll over on your side, please? I need to be able to work at the whole wound." Akane arrived, her hands wet from washing. "Akane, put your hands on either side of Ranma's wound, and push them together so that I can sew," Tofu commanded. "On the count of three, I'll splash Ranma," he continued, picking up the water so that he had the glass in one hand and the needle in the other. "One... two... three!" he said, pouring the water onto Ranma, who gasped in pain as he became human once more. Akane immediately began to push at Ranma's wound, staunching the bloodflow and allowing Tofu to sew. Ranma hissed just a little at each puncture of the needle, but did not complain otherwise. The seconds stretched into minutes, as Dr. Tofu closed off the wound bit by bit, moving with quick, expert motions. After two minutes and forty three seconds, Dr. Tofu tied a knot in his sixty-seventh suture and leaned back, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"There. That should do it," he said, setting the needle down. He picked up the anesthetic and rubbed it slowly and gently around the wound, which numbed quickly. Ranma sighed in relief at Tofu's ministrations. "And we only lost about three ounces of blood. Thank you, Akane, I would've had a real problem without you," Dr. Tofu said, relaxing.
"Thank you, Dr. Tofu," Akane said, bowing. "Ranma might have died without you."
"That's my job," Tofu said with a smile. "It's been a while since I worked E.R. It feels good to do that kind of thing every now and again. Now Ranma, I just want you to stay off your feet for a few days. I'll stop by later this evening with some anesthetic cream for your wound. For now, get outta here; I've got to clean up before someone comes in and thinks that I've killed someone," Tofu said with a chuckle. Ranma silently got up from the table and joined Akane as the two left for the Tendo home. Akane tried to start up a conversation a couple of times, but gave up when she realized that Ranma was too deeply in thought to reply. Most of the walk was spent in silence, as Ranma walked slowly beside Akane. When they arrived at the house, Ranma immediately went up to her bedroom, saying that she was tired, and wanted to sleep. Akane just wondered what was bothering him so much.

* * * * * *
***Later that evening***

"Sasuke, have you found a man that can repair my august body yet?" Kuno asked from his bed, nearly immobile from the beating that he'd received from 'X' earlier that day.
"I'm sorry, Master, but I've said before that nobody on the planet has the technology to repair a robot as advanced as you are," Sasuke said, his head bowed.
"Bah! Leave me, fool!" Kuno commanded. Sasuke left, leaving the Kendo master alone in his room, where he'd been left by Sasuke earlier that day. "What shall I do now?" Kuno wondered quietly.
"Nothing," said a mysterious voice, "Unless you'd like to talk to me."
"Who are you?" Kuno asked. "Show yourself!" A shadowy form seperated itself from the wall and approached Kuno's bedside.
"You wish to be repaired, so you can have a measure of revenge, do you?" the figure asked, its voice sneering and grating to the sound.
"I do. Can you help me attain this goal? I assure you, you will be well compensated for your troubles, sir," Kuno said with a noble air. It was somewhat spoiled by the condition that he was in.
"I can fix you, and I can make you so much better," the figure said. "But it does not come without a price."
"I told you already, the Kuno family is quite well off. You will be paid in full, I assure you," Kuno repeated, nodding. That nod was just about the only thing that he could do at the moment.
"I don't want your money. I want your assistance in regards to a few matters of importance to me. I assure you, you will not find them disagreeable, and you will be rewarded handsomely for your efforts," the figure stated, reaching down and tracing the lines of Kuno's shattered wings.
"If that is your price, then I agree to the terms," Kuno nodded. The figure gathered Kuno's various parts and left quietly out the window, flying through the moonless night on silent jets.

* * * * * *

Ranma was silent that night at dinner, still deeply in thought. The conversation was essentially unaffected by his silence, and he didn't seem to care too much. Akane was a bit worried, and her worry grew as she noticed that Ranma wasn't eating anything.
"Ranma," she said quietly, "Is anything wrong?" Ranma was silent for a minute before replying.
"Nah, but I wanna meet you in the Dojo after dinner," she said. Akane nodded, not knowing what else to do. For the remainder of the meal, which she sat at out of courtesy to her family, a cold knot rested where her stomach would have been, had she been human. She was able to maintain her end of the conversation, which mainly lay between herself, Nabiki, and Kasumi. Soun didn't talk to her much, for some reason that she'd yet to uncover, and Genma was too busy eating. Finally, Ranma stood up.
"Kasumi, I'm sorry that I didn't really eat tonight. I got a lot on my mind, so don't be mad," Ranma said.
"Oh, that's fine, Ranma. If you want anything later, I'll be happy to fix something for you," she replied, smiling. Ranma wondered inwardly if she ever stopped smiling. Shaking her head, Ranma left out the door for the dojo, walking slowly, due to her injury.
"Ranma wanted to talk to me in the dojo, so I'd better go too," Akane said to her family, leaving.
"I wonder what's going on between those two," Nabiki wondered aloud. Kasumi nodded her agreement, then began to gather up dishes from around the table.
Akane walked slowly into the dojo through the main door, which Ranma had left open. Ranma herself was standing in a corner, holding a big towel in one hand and a water bottle in another, which she was staring at intently.
"You wanted to see me?" Akane said tentatively, walking up to Ranma.
"When's your birthday?" Ranma asked suddenly, not looking up from the bottle.
"Huh?" Akane responded, surprised.
"When's your birthday?" Ranma repeated, lifting her gaze from the water bottle.
"Umm... It's in a month or so. Why?" Akane replied.
"You helped me out a lot today," Ranma said, changing the subject. "Kuno woulda cut me in half if you hadn't warned me, and I prolly woulda been in the hospital or worse if you hadn't helped me with that slash wound."
"That's what friends are for," Akane returned, smiling.
"Well, I wanna give you a present. It's kinda a thank you gift, and kinda an early birthday present. That okay?" Ranma asked.
"Sure," Akane answered, a bit flustered.
"Okay, but you gotta do what I say, all right?" Ranma said. Akane nodded, causing the other girl to smile. "Okay, wrap this towel around you like this," Ranma said, throwing the towel over Akane's shoulders and tugging it tight around her. Akane held it tight against her chest and waited. "Now, close your eyes," Ranma told her. Akane complied, shutting herself off from the world. A few seconds passed, as Akane wondered what was about to happen. Then, she felt a trickle of water sliding down her face and rolling over her hair. Suddenly, she froze. She FELT the water over he hair. She FELT the towel, wrapped around her shoulders. She FELT the cool wooden floor of the dojo beneath her feet. Slowly, with a trembling jaw, she opened her eyes and dared to look downward. The pink of her toes poked out from the cool cream of her feet, a sight that she'd not felt in what seemed like ages. She looked back up at Ranma, her jaw still trembling.
"H-How?" she asked, amazed at the feeling of air rushing down her throat, having never before realized just how good it felt to breathe.
"Nyanniichuan, straight from Jusenkyo," Ranma said, a note of forlornness in her voice. "Hot water'll turn you back into a robot, but cold'll fix that. Happy birthday." Akane, finding herself without words, just wrapped Ranma in her arms and sobbed for joy.

* * * * * *

Flashfyre5 Presents
A Flaming Amarant production
In association with Digital Wizardry Studios, Minnesota

The Opening Bet
Chapter Three: Explosion! Ryoga Blasts Onto the Scene!


" " = speech
[ ] = panda board
= thought
/ / = written

* * * * * *

Akane pulled away from Ranma slowly, not quite sure how to feel. Ranma herself was blushing furiously, even though she looked happy for Akane. Somewhere in there, however, Akane could see the melancholy that had plagued Ranma all day. Suddenly, Akane remembered that she was naked and, contrary to appearances, Ranma was a boy. Blushing, she pulled away and hugged the towel to her body.
"Thank you," Akane said quietly, looking in wonder at her toes. She'd honestly never expected to see them again. Also, it had the side effect of hiding her blush.
"'What're friends for?'" Ranma quoted her, a small, happy smile on her face. Akane looked back up and returned the smile, then started to look around the dojo, being careful not to let Ranma see any of her 'bits and pieces.'
"I know that Dad keeps a spare gi or two around here somewhere," Akane muttered, checking drawer after drawer.
"Umm... Akane? I already found it," Ranma said, holding up one of Soun's spare gi. Akane got back up and walked over to Ranma. Holding the towel tightly with one hand, she snaked her other out to grab the clothing. She was about to ask Ranma to turn around so that she could change when a delightfully evil thought occurred to her.
"Pervert," Akane suddenly said. "You just set this whole thing up so that you could see me naked." Ranma, shocked, facefaulted with a loud *crash* and lay there, twitching. Carefully, Akane prodded her with a foot. When she didn't move, Akane smiled to herself and dressed while Ranma was dead to the world. A few minutes later, Ranma regained her senses and sat up.
"Pervert?!" she exclaimed. "If I was a pervert, why'd I give you the towel?"
"I know that you're not," Akane said, smiling. "I just wanted to change while you weren't watching."
"You coulda just asked me ta turn around," Ranma said sourly, looking away.
"Yeah," agreed Akane, "but that wouldn't have been as much fun." Ranma looked back in surprise just as Akane gave her the red eye.
"Ooooh, you're gonna get in now," Ranma said, her voice on the verge of laughter. Akane squealed and leapt out of the dojo, her feet slapping against the paving stones as she ran. The sensation felt delicious. She could hear Ranma's pursuing footfalls and laughter as she ran, but Akane didn't care. She turned a tight corner around the side of her house, now on the grass of the lawn, and hid about two inches out of sight. Just as Ranma turned the corner, Akane stuck her foot out. Ranma tripped on it and went tumbling to the ground, while Akane doubled back, her father's oversized gi flapping against her smaller frame. Suddenly, Akane remembered Ranma's injury, but Ranma just scrambled to her feet and followed, as if the wound didn't bother her at all. Putting on a burst of speed, Ranma closed the gap between herself and Akane quickly, then tackled the bigger girl to the ground.
"Tease me, will ya?" Ranma said, her eyes gleaming. She pulled herself up to straddle Akane's body at the waist. The larger girl squirmed beneath her, but Ranma was just a bit too heavy for Akane to push off. With a mighty effort, Akane twisted underneath Ranma, putting herself face up. "Eat this!" Ranma cried, her hands darting downwards towards Akane's prone form. Akane saw the attack, but was too slow to stop it as Ranma snaked her hands beneath Akane's armpits. Akane clamped down her arms, trapping Ranma's hands, but it was already too late, as Ranma began to mercilessly tickle Akane where she had no defense. Squealing in laughter, Akane desperately squirmed underneath Ranma, trying to escape.
"Umm, Ranma," Genma's voice suddenly intruded, ending their fun. Both girls turned to see Ranma's father standing on the porch, staring at them. "Who is this girl, and what on Earth are you doing?" he asked.

* * * * * *

"How much for this rice again?" asked Asuka, a fairly average housewife. She cooked, cleaned, and cared for her husband and family, yet she got no recognition for it. Sometimes she wondered why she even bothered, and yet, every morning she got up and did the exact same thing.
"That's 3000 yen," the street vendor said in regard to a large bag of rice that Asuka was trying to buy.
"3000?" Asuka asked. "Surely that's too much, Hiro. I know for a fact that you sold a bag of the same size to Hitomi for almost half that."
"I did no such thing," the street vendor defended himself. "The price is 3000, take it or leave it." Nodding, he looked away, down the street.
"Please, sir, I only have 2500. Could you do me a favor just this once?" Asuka pleaded, hoping to appeal to his pity where shame had failed. He got a wide-eyed, frightened look in his eyes.
"Look, lady, I'll sell for 2000 if you just get outta here," he said, his voice carrying a note of panic. Asuka smiled and ignored it.
"That's much better," she agreed, handing over the money. He grabbed it and ran, taking his rice cart with him. Asuka smiled and hefted the big, fifty-kilo bag of rice and slung it over her shoulder. Suddenly, a shadow fell over her. She turned slowly, suddenly remembering the panic in the street vendor's voice.
Standing behind her was a metal behemoth. It stood well over eight feet tall, and was painted in earthy, brown tones. It had golden trim, and small ruby spheres embedded in its body. Instead of the head of a human, a great, shaggy boar's head erupted from the thing's shoulders. Its hands were ridiculously oversized, and it was obvious that one could easily crush a boulder with one. Or a human head. Attached to its back was a large backpack, which was connected by a snaking metal tube to a cylinder on the robot's right wrist. Its armor, from head to toe, was hard-edged, and shaped in various geometric shapes. It's eyes, a deep green in color, were cold and hardened by hatred. In one smooth motion, it bent down and drew a deep, long breath through its snout as it touched on Asuka's face. She was frozen with fear.
"You smell traveled," the boar-robot rumbled in a deep, masculine voice. "Do you know where Tokyo is in relation to here?" Dumbly, Asuka nodded, not quite sure what else to do. "Where?" he asked, looking up.
"Fifty miles," Asuka choked out, pointing her arm Southward. "That way."
"Thank you," the boar-robot rumbled, following the direction of her pointing. With great strides, it set off in the direction that she pointed. "Now, Ranma, you will pay for the Hell you've put me through," Asuka heard him say to himself as he walked away. She didn't know anybody named Ranma, and was glad that she didn't. She had a sneaking suspicion that if she did, she wouldn't for very much longer. His strides ate up distance like a shark does fish.

* * * * * *

"Umm, Ranma," Genma's voice suddenly intruded, ending their fun. Both girls turned to see Ranma's father standing on the porch, staring at them. "Who is this girl, and what on Earth are you doing?" he asked.
"Err..." Ranma stuttered, not sure how to answer.
"I'm Akane," Akane cut in. "Ranma gave me some Nyanniichuan as a thank-you present," she explained, seeing the confusion on Genma's face. That confusion turned to grave understanding at Akane's confession.
"I see...," he said, looking hard at Ranma. "You've decided to stay half-human for the rest of your life, then, Ranma?" he asked his son-turned-daughter. Ranma winced when her father said 'half human.'
"Yeah," she replied, standing up off of Akane. "If it weren't for Akane, I prolly wouldn't be alive to use it anyway. 'Sides, she likes being a girl a lot more than I do."
"That Nyannichuan was my greatest hope for the future of the School," Genma growled, shaking his fist. "Without it, the slightest bit of hot water could kill any child that you might one day carry." Ranma's face suddenly paled in remembrance.

***Two weeks earlier***

"Ranma," Genma said sagely, sitting across from his... child. "With your... condition, I have decided that I can no longer consider you the heir to the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts."
WHAT?!" Ranma exploded, jumping up. "I trained my whole goddamn life, and you decide to take it all away 'cuz one of YOUR stupid training ideas backfired?!"
"Training or no, I am the master of our School, and as far as the martial arts are concerned, my word is law!" Genma declared, rising to meet his daughter's height. "If you were merely a woman, I might consider it. Considering the fact that you are not even human half the time, it is absolutely out of the question. You may no longer practice martial arts, especially not the family school's." A dead, cold silence followed Genma's proclamation as the two glared at each other.
"There's gotta be a deal," Ranma finally said. "You never do something like this without there being a deal to get out of it. What're the conditions this time?" Genma paused a minute before responding, more to provide effect than to actually consider what to say. He'd planned this out hours earlier.
"There are a number of ways that you can regain your status as my heir," Genma started, drawing it out. He liked to have his... child's full attention. "First, you may replace your female side with a male one. You may also become fully a woman. I will train a half-man, but not a half-woman."
"What if I can't?" Ranma asked, already thinking about Jusenkyo. Genma was silent again, this time actually thinking.
"If you provide the family with an heir, I will allow you to practice the School, but not be the heir to it," Genma finally said. "You are a woman half the time. You have the 'equipment' to do it. In any case, until such a time as you've accomplished one of these three things, you may no longer practice martial arts of any kind, except in self-defense. As the patriarch of the Saotome clan, I deem this a matter of Giri." This final statement, that of Giri, or family honor, finally broke Ranma where starving cats, a lifetime of crime, a curse, and a grotesque bodily mutation failed to.
For the first time in ten years, Ranma broke down and sobbed, the turned and ran from the camp. Genma wouldn't see her for three days.

* * * * * *

Ranma stared at the Nyanniichuan, the cursed pool reflecting his mechanical form back at him. This was the only pool, out of all one hundred and twenty-seven at Jusenkyo, that he could approach. Whenever he tried to get near any of the others, he'd encounter an invisible barrier about three feet away from the pools. All except for this one.
His hopes of ever being a man again, even a half-man, were shattered by the Jusenkyo Guide. He'd told Ranma flatly that it was impossible for a newly cursed individual to approach any spring other than the one he or she'd been cursed by. Even if Ranma returned years later, there was no guarantee that the Nanniichuan would work at all, and there was a serious risk that the curses would mix instead of the new canceling the old. Even if the Spring of Drowned Man did work, it would wear off eventually, and Ranma knew that he'd never be able to afford more than one trip to China. Naturally, all this was considering that the spring could actually be found; the Guide had no idea which was which.
Sighing, Ranma decided that he couldn't bear to become a woman full-time. As much as he hated it, his robotic body was male in design, and was somewhat of a comfort to him. Idly, he rubbed the first two fingers and thumb of his right hand together, knowing that they were in contact, but feeling nothing. It still felt odd to him. Finally, he stood up, resolved, and dug around in his backpack. Pulling out a water bottle, he dumped the contents on himself, changing to his female, and more importantly, human form. Grabbing a stick, she carefully dunked the bottle under the surface of the spring, filling it with the cursed waters of Jusenkyo, planning to save it for the day that she would have the nerve to use it.

***Present***

"You know the conditions of the deal, Ranma. You made your choice," Genma said in a sad, regretful tone. "I will go tell Soun. He'll be overjoyed." With that, Genma retired to the Tendo house.
"What deal, Ranma?" Akane asked, looking at her friend. Ranma did not respond. "Ranma? What's wrong?"
"The water I gave you," Ranma said quietly, her voice trembling ever so slightly. "Was my ticket to being able to be the heir to the Saotome School. Pop said that he would never train a half-human woman, and he made it a matter of Giri that I couldn't practice martial arts anymore, 'cept in self-defense. If I'd used it on myself, Pop woulda made me his heir again."
"Ranma..." Akane breathed, suddenly understanding why Ranma had been so melancholy all day. "I'm so sorry. Maybe we can still get enough off the dojo floor..." she offered, hoping.
"Nah," Ranma replied. "I knew all o' this when I gave you the water. It was my decision, and I'd do it again if I had the choice. Now go inside; your family's waiting to meet their human daughter again." Ranma smiled at her friend, then turned and started to walk away.
"Ranma, where are you going?" Akane asked, worried.
"I dunno," Ranma replied, not turning around. "I just wanna go clear my head. I'll see you tomorrow morning." With that, she hopped up and over the perimeter wall of the Tendo compound and disappeared from sight. Akane stood stock still in the courtyard for a moment before she turned and walked in her home. The subsequent celebration lasted until midnight, with food, music, and general happiness. Despite her enjoyment of being able to taste things again, and to hear music without having to interoperate it electronically, all evening Akane wondered where Ranma had gone.

* * * * * *

Ranma hopped down off the fence that she'd been strolling upon. She'd arrived at a bridge over the local canal, and decided to see what was underneath it. Swinging down, Ranma discovered that it was uninhabited, and devoid of graffiti. The underside was flat for a few feet before falling into the canal, while the far end of the bridge's foundation angled upwards, following the hill, to meet with the bridge itself. Ranma decided that she'd stay here a minute or two, for some reason that she couldn't pinpoint.
Silently, she sat down, her back against the sloping hill of the concrete rise, and stared upwards at the cold asphalt of the bridge above her. Her thoughts were not on the bridge, though. They were on a certain black-haired girl named Akane Tendo. She remembered both of Akane's forms, and idly wondered which was better looking. They were so different, her face and wild, ankle-length hair being the only similarities between the two. Ranma thought. I always liked short hair on girls. Wonder why Akane's looks so damn good on her... She knew instinctually that someday, Akane'd make some guy really happy. And, as glad as she was to have a friend as good as Akane, it gnawed at her that she'd never be that guy. She'd never be a guy, period, which meant no martial arts.
Slowly, a single tear slid down Ranma's face. It was soon joined by others, as Ranma began to cry softly. I aint a guy, Ranma thought as a dull ache grew in her belly. With that thought, Ranma finally broke down and started to sob. She sobbed, curled into a fetal ball, for hours as she thought about all the dreams and hopes she'd given away with that bottle of Nyanniichuan. Around one in the morning, she finally ran out of tears, self-pity, and misery. Slowly, she stood, her legs trembling.
she finally thought, With that, she left the canal and returned to the Tendo house, to catch a quick five hours of sleep.

* * * * * *

Akane lay awake in her bed, staring at the ceiling. It was the first time in weeks that she actually needed sleep, but she just couldn't drift off to that particular place of thought that would allow her sleep. She was worried.
"Ranma, where are you?" she wondered aloud, sighing. Almost as if summoned, Akane heard the front door of her home open, then close. Knowing that it must be Ranma, she got up and walked to her own door. As she opened it, she could hear soft footsteps ascending the stairs, so Akane walked over to the top of the stairwell. Just as she'd suspected, a tired and disheveled Ranma had just returned home.
"Ranma, where have you been?" she asked, stepping down onto the top step. Ranma looked up, surprised.
"Akane? What are you doing up this late?" Ranma returned, ignoring her question.
"I couldn't sleep. I was worried about you," Akane answered, trying to see Ranma's face more clearly in the dim light of the stairwell. This statement caused the redheaded girl to smile, appreciating Akane's concern.
"Thanks for your worry, but I just had to take care of a coupla things," Ranma said, her trademark smirk appearing on her face. It also altered her face's positioning just enough for Akane to see something that surprised her.
"Ranma, you've been crying!" Akane exclaimed softly. She descended the two steps separating them. "What's wrong?"
"It's okay, really," Ranma waved her off, embarrassed.
"Ranma," Akane said, her tone serious. "What's bothering you?" Ranma searched for a quick lie, but then discarded the idea; she knew perfectly well that she had a horrible poker face.
"You know how if you have a really good cry, then everything seems better?" Ranma asked.
"Yeah," Akane said, looking a little thoughtful.
"It's kinda like that," Ranma explained, edging around Akane and continuing up the stairs.
"Does it hurt that badly to talk about it?" Akane asked softly. Ranma froze, one of her feet on the upper level, the other on the last step.
"Yeah, it does," Ranma answered. "It's why I hate Pop so much, it's why I gave you the damn water, it's why I can't even go to my real home!" Ranma ranted, her newfound peace of mind deserting her. "It hurts so damn much that I can barely get outta bed each morning, just knowing that everything I ever wanted, ever dreamed for aint never gonna happen!" Ranma continued, turning around to face Akane. "Look at me! I'm a man who got turned into a robot that's cursed to turn into a girl! People are afraid of my robot half and try to hit on my girl half! All I ever wanted was to teach in a dojo somewhere, but now I can't even practice martial arts cuz of my stupid Pop!" Ranma shouted. Akane could hear the sounds of people rousing in their rooms, but didn't even try to stop her friend. A short silence fell between the two as Ranma looked imploringly into Akane's eyes. "Look at me," she said softly, barely above a whisper. "All of my dreams are gone, shattered. Everything I ever wanted is outta my reach. Maybe I can make a new life for myself. Maybe. Right now, I don't really care." After that, Ranma's shoulders sagged, as if she were exhausted. Without another word, Ranma turned and walked the rest of the way to her room, then shut the door. Akane, shocked, simply stood on the stairwell, hurting for her friend.
"Geez," Nabiki muttered, sticking her head out of her bedroom door. "I wonder what that was all about."

* * * * * *

Akane sat at the breakfast table the next morning, poking halfheartedly at her rice. She'd gotten little sleep last night, thanks to Ranma, and was, for the first time in two weeks, feeling sleepy. She hadn't needed to sleep when she was a robot full time. She had slept, but she didn't have to. Hearing soft footsteps on the floor mats, Akane looked up at the dining room door. Sure enough, Ranma walked through, clutching her side.
"Mornin', Akane," Ranma greeted her. "Doc Tofu said something about anesthetic...," she trailed off as Akane held up a small packet of the rub-in painkiller that Dr. Tofu had left them with after Ranma had left on her 'walk.' Ranma took the packet, grinning wryly, and walked off to the bathroom to apply the cream. Satisfied that her friend was all right, Akane began to eat her breakfast with gusto, savoring the intricate tastes of Kasumi's cooking. I never really appreciated this stuff until I couldn't have it anymore, she thought to herself.
Soon, Ranma re-entered the room, looking much better. Obviously hungry, the redhead practically dove into her first bowl of rice, pausing only long enough to put an egg into the bowl and mix it in. The two finished their first bowls of rice at about the same time. Akane, scooping the last few grains into her mouth, looked at Ranma over the rim of her bowl. Ranma did the same, and the two broke out grinning. Akane grabbed the handle of the rice ladle and quickly refilled her bowl. Ranma did the same, and an impromptu eating contest began. Though Akane had to stop halfway through her second bowl, Ranma continued on through four, packing away enough food for three normal people.
"How can you do that?" Akane asked, rising from the table and grabbing her bento.
"Do what?" Ranma asked, grabbing her own bento and bookbag. Unconsciously, she was rubbing the silk of her shirt above where her wound was.
"Eat that much. If I ate like that, I'd have no figure at all," Akane explained. Then she stopped for a second at the front door, a small smile spreading across her face.
"Well, I do work out a lot and... Why you stopping?" Ranma asked, stalled behind Akane.
"I just realized that I have to watch my figure again," Akane said, looking backwards. "Thank you, Ranma."
"Umm... it's okay," Ranma replied, blushing. "C'mon, let's get to school before we're late." Akane nodded and continued out the door, with Ranma following her. Suddenly, Nabiki ran past them both.
"Arrgh!! How could I be late?!" she cried as she passed the two. Akane giggled a bit, while Ranma only smiled. Once they reached the sidewalk, Ranma hopped up atop the fence and kept pace with Akane.
"Ranma?" Akane started, uncertain.
"Yeah?" Ranma returned.
"About last night...," Akane probed, looking for answers. Ranma's face immediately went hard, and she stared straight ahead.
"I don't wanna talk about it," Ranma said softly. "Cuz if I don't talk about it, I can forget about it, and if I can forget about it, I can get on with my life."
"Well, what am I supposed to think, Ranma? You come home in tears last night, and now you won't talk about it. What am I supposed to think, huh?" Akane asked, her worry growing anew.
"All you have to think is that I'm a normal girl who turns into a robot when she gets splashed with warm water," Ranma said softly. Even as good as Ranma was at hiding pain, a little seeped into her voice.
"Ranma...," Akane breathed. Hearing this, and knowing what would come next, Ranma shook her head and leapt onto a nearby rooftop, taking the direct route the rest of the way to school. "Let me be your friend," Akane finished to the still air, her voice soft. "It'll kill you if you keep it in." Silently, she continued her way to school, more worried than ever for her friend.

* * * * * *

Kuno was not in school that day. This came as no surprise to anyone, because everyone had seen what the 'Blue Bomber' had done to the transformed kendoist. What nobody expected, however, was a notice that Kuno had transferred out of the school as a result of the fight. No forwarding address was given. The only person who actually cared was Nabiki, who simply sighed and marked off one of her sources of income. She didn't miss him too much, because the betting pool was running large on weather or not the 'Blue Bomber' would make a reappearance.
All in all, nobody missed the slightly insane noble.

* * * * * *

A cloaked figure, standing tall and proud, marched down the metal-walled halls of his fortress with purpose. Built two hundred feet into the base of a Chinese mountain that he'd cleared of inhabitants, it was invisible to anybody who might have cared. As of yet, nobody did. Their problem, as far as he was concerned.
He turned a corner, entering the former throne room of the great mountain palace. He'd left most of this room unchanged, having a keen eye for beauty. The monolithic statues of the phoenix people who had lived in the mountain stared down at him. He grinned, knowing that their stony glares were ineffective and worthless. He'd turned this room into a great workroom for an ally he'd gained in the taking of the mountain.
"How's the angel faring?" he asked in a grating, metallic voice. It was supremely uncomfortable to listen to, and had scared many of the phoenix people into running. Well, that and his appearance. His 'grim reaper' look had terrified those who hadn't heard his voice. Scared one way, scared the other, he didn't care. He'd slaughtered them all. The happiest two days of work in his recent memory were the two he spent hauling the bodies out of the various people into their incinerator in the heart of their mountain.
"Well, as far as repairs are concerned, he'll be fine. There's enough of his original superstructure intact for the drones to figure out what needs to go where. If it weren't for the upgrades you want on him, I'd just leave it to them," the beautifully built reploid that was the mysterious figure's assistant replied. He stood at five feet seven inches, and was plumed from head to toe in metallic feathers. They varied in color from red to yellow to blue. His head was a beautiful, streamlined bird's head, with his master's symbol painted upon it. His shoulders were thin, as were his arms. Jutting from his back was what seemed to be a pair of skeletal wings, fashioned in metal. They were currently folded against his back tightly. His torso emulated a bird's, with a great deal of bulk at the top, compared to very little at the bottom. His legs were long, and at the end of his swollen lower legs were sharp metal claws, designed to rip through the hardest metal. He looked regal, more than anything else.
"Will you be able to upgrade him?" the mysterious figure asked.
"Sure," the red reploid replied. "It'll just take a few days, that's all."
"Good," the mysterious figure praised. The hood of his cloak fell back just a hair, and a bit of Caucasian skin became visible. His hand, a large gauntlet of blue and white metal, came up and pulled the hood back into place. The action revealed that the gauntlet was attached to a blue painted metal arm, which disappeared into the folds of the cloak. "Also, I have a new ally," he continued, turning so that he could call through the door. "Typhoon! Get in here!" he shouted.
Through the great double doorway lumbered a huge Reploid. From the tip of it's nose to the point of his tail, he was almost twenty feet long. Standing on two big, sturdy legs, with his neck bent to seem somewhat humanoid, he stood at almost eight and a half feet. His head was a dark green, and built in the image of a feral reptile's, with metal scales allowing an incredible range of movement. Set in his forehead was a brilliant, diamond-shaped sapphire. His neck was long, and ridged. The ridges were a combination of dark blue and purple, while the neck itself was segmented, with each segment a little farther from the green of his head and a little more towards the dark blue of his ridges. His big, barrel-like chest was dark blue, trimmed with silver. His arms were big affairs, with each hand being easily a foot from palm to claw-tipped finger. On the back of each was a great throwing star, measuring a foot and a half from tip to tip. They were blue near his chest, but blended to silver through his scales. Coming from the base of his upper chest, a long, segmented tail began. Sprouting large, sturdy legs in it's first segment, it flowed in twelve segments of decreasing size and changing color. The top was the dark blue of Typhoon's torso, while the tip of his tail was brilliant violet. His legs, each as big as a tree trunk, were short and functional. They were blue, fading to silver, like his arms. Growing from his back were two gargantuan wings. The wingspan of the great things, when unfolded, was no less than thirty-five feet. They were blue at the base, but faded to a dark green towards the tips. He walked in great steps, his wings folded against his back, and his facial scales moving to allow a half-mouthed smirk.
"Inferno Phoenix, meet Typhoon Dragon," their master said simply, gesturing to the two Reploids. "You two are the most powerful Reploids that I've been able to find so far, and I suspect that you will remain that way. You will work together as best you can until our goals are accomplished. Afterwards, I couldn't care less," the cloaked Reploid instructed the two. "I'm returning to Japan. I've noticed more power signals from there then anywhere else." With that, he turned and walked from the room, leaving the two mythically-themed Reploids alone.
"Inferno Phoenix," Typhoon rumbled, his voice full and deep. It echoed as he spoke, as if it was bounced off of the walls of a cavern a number of times before reaching clear air. "You look delicate."
"Compared to you? Probably. I can dodge most of what gives me trouble," Inferno returned sharply. "You look like brawn's the only thing that holds you up in a fight," he observed.
"I was built to fly, not to walk. You should see me in the air," Typhoon stated simply. Inferno, noting his wings, folded in great bundles on his back, nodded in agreement. The two stood there silently for a minute, observing each other. Finally, Inferno Phoenix returned to his work on the silver-themed angel Reploid on his workbench. Typhoon just went off, found a corner, and went into a sleep mode.

* * * * * *

Ranma sat silently in school, gazing out the window near her desk. The teacher had already admonished her several times for not paying attention, but had eventually given up on the girl. Ranma, meanwhile, was thinking about Akane. she wondered to herself. I know she's worried, but I can't stand her pity.
Suddenly, the school shuddered, and a plume of smoke issued out from the downstairs chemistry lab. The fire alarm went off, and everyone leapt to their feet. Akane dashed over to Ranma's desk.
"Someone might get trapped inside," Akane said, trying to forget about Ranma's behavior. "I'm going to go get some hot water. You get outside; you're injured." Ranma opened her mouth to object, but then closed it and nodded to Akane. The long-haired girl ran off to the bathrooms, in search of hot water. Idly, she hoped that there wouldn't be too many uncomfortable questions once this was all over. Arriving, she twisted the hot water spigot and held her hand under the water, waiting for it to be warm enough to change her. After about half a minute, her transformation triggered. With a *riiiip* of tearing dress, Akane was a robot again.
"Oops," she muttered to herself, pulling the rags of her dress from her body. "Forgot about that." Shaking her head, she raced outside the smoking building. Just as she exited the front door, another explosion shook the school, and a gout of incendiary flame burst from a few adjacent third floor rooms. A loud *thud* was audible over the panicked shouting of the student body, which was milling about outside the school. Then, another great blast burst from three second floor rooms, directly below those that had been blasted from the first explosion. Finally, another explosion wracked the school, this one coming from the ground floor. With four explosions having rocked it's structural integrity, the left wing of the school could no longer remain standing, and collapsed with a great rumble of falling concrete. Very few students spoke, as they were torn between the desire to celebrate, the destruction of the school being an old fantasy for all, and the knowledge that this was a Bad Thing. Akane, being made of metal, had remained closer to the school than anybody else, and saw the figure moving in the rubble of the school first.
"Oh my God, someone's alive in there!" she cried, running towards the figure, which was obscured by the great clouds of dust that surrounded the ruins of the school. She soon slowed, then stopped when she realized that the figure was much too large to be human. Her fears were confirmed when the thing stepped through one last cloud of dust.
He was big, she noted- almost eight feet tall, though he might be more; the rubble allowed for poor footing, and he might be compensating for the lack of balance. He had the head of a wild boar, and the body of a robot, built for war. Akane began to get uneasy. Once he saw her, the big boar-robot stopped, and looked at her for a minute.
"I am looking for someone," he said, his voice deep and full. On one hand, it comforted Akane, but on the other, it reminded her just how big this guy was. "Can you help be find him?"
"Depends of who," Akane stalled, easing her hand towards her sword. She suspected that this robot had destroyed the school, and wanted to be ready to fight if she had to.
"Ranma Saotome," the boar-thing told her, oblivious to her actions. "He has made my life Hell. I wish to repay him for his kindness," it sneered. Akane gave up all pretense of hiding her movement, and grabbed her sword.
"Who wants to know?" she asked.
"I'm Ryoga Hibiki," the boar declared. Akane heard a muffled curse from behind her, and the sound of footsteps approaching.
"Aww, man, Ryoga. You get stuck with a body you didn't want too?" Ranma asked, arriving next to Akane.
"Who is this guy?" Akane whispered in an aside to Ranma.
"Some guy I pissed off in junior high. Last I knew, he was really strong, but pretty slow. Looks the same way in his new body, but I can't be sure," Ranma whispered back.
"Who are you?" Ryoga asked simply, looking at Ranma.
"I'm-" Ranma began.
"Ranko! Ranko Saotome!" Akane cut in, sensing disaster if Ranma's identity was revealed.
"Uhh... yeah!" Ranma picked up. "I'm Ranma's sister. What do you want with him?"
"I'll kill him. Thanks to him, I've been cursed with this body. I'm reviled and hated wherever I go. I can no longer enjoy even the simple things in life. Food, what few friends I once had, everything I had is gone. I've even lost my inability to find my way. For that offense, my family disowned me," Ryoga listed, his voice growing more menacing with each word. "He will pay. Dearly."
"Well, you're wrong about the body, but I'm not going to let you hurt my friend," Akane declared, activating her beam saber in a burst of green energy. To Ranma, she added, "Ranko, you'd better get out of here. It's about to get messy, and you don't have any hot water." Ranma nodded once, her face strained, then turned and ran from the ruins.
"Normally, I would forgive you for befriending Ranma," Ryoga said, his eyes beginning to glow a fiery red. "But you choose to harbor him, to hide the coward. This offense cannot be tolerated. Prepare to die!" With that, he screamed a deep, feral cry, and charged towards Akane, his head lowered. Not knowing what kind of damage a charge like that could do to her, and not wanting to, Akane rolled the side, slashing upwards with her saber as Ryoga passed. The energy blade cut a shallow nick in Ryoga's heavy armor.
"That's it?" Ryoga snorted, looking at the tiny scratch. "That's all you can do? This will be easier than I thought."
"We'll see," Akane returned with a smirk. Finally, for the first time in what seemed like ages, she felt truly at home, as if she were doing what she was truly called to do. Ryoga charged at her, but she rolled to the left again, not even bothering to slash at him. Instead, she got a good look at his backside, searching for any weak spots. Unfortunately, she couldn't see any obvious ones. She had no time to look for more well-guarded chinks in the big Reploid's armor, as he turned around to face her again.
"You're quick," he said, "but let's see you avoid this!" That said, he raised his right arm and pointed it at her. There was a large, metal cylinder attached to the top of it, which was hollowed out and attached to a metal hose. Instinctively, Akane dodged backwards. A mere second later, Ryoga fired a sphere about a half foot in diameter at the place where Akane'd stood a minute earlier. It struck the ground, and immediately exploded. The fire itself wasn't very impressive, engulfing only about a six foot radius, but the shockwave that the little bomb generated lifted Akane from her feet and sent her tumbling backwards. Her armor absorbed most of the blast, but her internal repair systems were still scrambling to repair the internal damage the shockwave had caused in her systems. Knowing that she was in danger, Akane rolled to her feet as soon as she regained her bearings.
"RRRRRAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!" Ryoga bellowed as he charged towards her, his head lowered. Instead of dodging, Akane leapt upwards, and landed heavily on his back, knocking the overbalanced robot to the ground. Seeing that the tube attached to the cylinder on his right arm ran to the backpack that she was standing on, Akane slashed downward, hard, with her sword. With a thousand pounds of force behind it, even Ryoga's armor couldn't stand up to the mighty blow. The hose, severed cleanly in the middle, whipped about like a snake, the systems on both ends short circuiting. The electrical surges caused Ryoga's already squirming body to go into convulsions, which threw Akane from his form like a rag doll. She landed heavily a foot or so away, and watched Ryoga, praying that the fight was over. Slowly, the convulsions stopped, and he lay still.
"Whew," Akane breathed, rising. "I'm glad that's over." Dusting her hands, she walked over to Ryoga's prone form. Bending over, she pushed it hard, rolling it over so that he was facing upwards. His animalistic face was twisted in agony, frozen in place by massive feedback loops, Akane surmised. "Poor guy," she murmured. "If only he'd stayed away."
Suddenly, Akane felt a strong tug on her left boot. She looked downward, and saw that Ryoga's hand had grabbed her boot in a viselike grip, the tips of his hand digging into the metal of her armor. She looked back up to see that the expression on his face had gone from one of pain to one of glee. He quickly rose to his feet, pulling Akane from hers as if she were little more than a child's toy. Grinning savagely, he dangled her by her leg, the rest of her flailing about in vain. In her surprise, Akane had dropped her beam saber. Otherwise helpless, Akane hammered on Ryoga's kneecap with her fists. She might as well have been trying to stop a freight train with a five yen coin- each were about as likely to succeed in their tasks.
"You maimed me," Ryoga growled, his grin turning to a sneer. "You'll pay for that." Lifting her high, Akane came even to his face. In spite, she slapped him, knowing that her carelessness had lost her the fight. Ryoga just laughed, and laughed even harder when her hand popped a rivet. Shaking his head, he brought his arm down hard and fast, causing Akane's body to follow it on it's course. Just as it reached the lowest point that it could go to, Ryoga reversed his swing back upwards, sending Akane snapping along the length of her body. The intense G forces wreaked havoc with her internal systems, and she could hear the rattle in her chest as she heard something break loose. Once again, Ryoga hoisted her, but Akane didn't struggle this time. Even if she'd wanted to, she was too badly damaged to do anything in this position. Thus far, her internal damage wasn't anything that her auto-repair systems couldn't handle, but they took time, time that she didn't have. Snorting, Ryoga dropped her to the ground.
"You're not worth my time. Ranma's here somewhere. I'm going to find him," he declared, marching slowly away. Something in Akane snapped, and she found herself shaking in anger. Her entire body shaking, she struggled to her feet.
"You... leave... her... alone!" she demanded, glaring daggers at Ryoga.
"Oh, you're still alive?" he asked, honestly surprised. The beating he'd given her would've crushed any lesser creation. However, his last choice of words was more than poor; they were disastrous. Shuddering, Akane let loose with a feral battle cry and charged forward, her right arm cocked for a great punch. Ryoga, knowing that his armor could take anything that she could dish out, just stood and waited. When Akane's arm began to glow, though, he began to worry, if only a little. Her entire weight behind the punch, Akane slammed her fist home to Ryoga's left shoulder, the glow around her arm being pulled into it. Upon contact with the armor, hatches in Akane's hand snapped open, and blasted forward in an incredibly powerful, point blank range attack. The explosion of energy caught Ryoga completely off guard, and it sheared most of the way through his arm. Teetering, he staggered backwards, crashing upon the ground as the remnants of her attack washed through the local systems housed in the area.
Ryoga glared at Akane, who glared right back. He clutched his arm to his body, trying desperately to keep it attached, while Akane just struggled desperately to remain standing. Finally, Ryoga turned to retreat, knowing that, even as damaged as Akane was, she could still fight. With his shattered arm and damaged subsystems, he could not. However, as a final spite, he dropped a shockwave bomb out of his backpack, the fuse set on a timer. He ran from the rubble of Furinkan High, while Akane stared at the bomb as the fuse counted down, unable to move.
Finally, the bomb exploded, the shockwave sending her straight up into the air. Akane tumbled about, airborne, for almost ten full seconds, before her systems shut her central consciousness down, in a desperate effort to conserve her waning energy. Her body fell hard, with a resounding metallic *clang* to the ground. Below her, something that had lain dormant since it's creation hummed to life. Slowly, raised on hydraulic lifts, a cylinder made of blue painted metal rose from the ground. It had a tube large enough for a person to stand inside of it, the capsule part of it being rimmed with green glass. Tubes ran along it's top and bottom, connecting red transistors and small, micro fusion generators. Elevated, Akane's body soon fall to the ground, and lay there, all but dead. Unbeknownst to her, the glass of the capsule slid down, and the AI of the capsule hummed to life.
"Oh, my," said the holographic human the stood upon the main pad of the pod.

* * * * * *

Flashfyre5 Presents
A Flaming Amarant production
In association with Digital Wizardry Studios, Minnesota

The Opening Bet
Chapter Four: Light From Another World


" " = speech
[ ] = panda board
= thought
/ / = written

* * * * * *

"Oh, my," the hologram said. It appeared to be an American man, in his late fifties. He was short and stout, with a bushy white beard, long hair of a similar nature, and a kind face. The hologram itself was only three-quarters opaque, allowing a person to see the capsule it stood in. "Zero, what are you doing here? And so badly damaged, too..," he trailed off, thinking. The artificial intelligence stored inside the capsule was a perfect copy of the personality and knowledge of its creator. It hummed, following the exact same thought processes that the creator himself would have. "I'll just have to fix you up a bit, then wait for X to arrive," the hologram finally said. A few cables then snaked out of the capsule, grabbed Akane, and dragged her inside. The hologram vanished, and Akane was stood in its place.
"You're not Zero!" the hologram's voice exclaimed, surprised. The glass of the capsule hissed shut, and a number of sensors did a detailed scan of Akane's infrastructure. The data was fed directly to the hologram's AI, and it pondered over the similarities and differences. "Incredible," the voice murmured. "Her physical construction is almost identical to Zero's. The only differences seem to be cosmetic in nature only. His central consciousness has been wiped from every area except for a few subsystems in her fighting protocol, though. I wonder what happened..." A few seconds passed as the AI pondered the situation in silence. "Well, there's only one way to find out, I suppose," the computer finally decided. With that, dozens of wires and cables snaked out of the capsule walls and looked into various hatches and slots in Akane's armor. Larger arms began to repair her armor in the places it could, and replace it in the others. Slowly, Akane began to look whole again.

* * * * * *

Nabiki walked home, her pace brisk. Her mind was awhirl with the events of the past day and a half. First, Akane'd been given her humanity back, if even only part-time. Then, Ranma'd revealed that she'd been forbidden from practicing martial arts. Finally, the school had exploded in what seemed to be a terrorist attack. Two of the items, Nabiki was sure, were directly something about Ranma, and she suspected the third was, too. Nabiki mused, turning the corner that her favorite ice cream shop was located on. For a moment, she paused by the door, then decided to go inside and treat herself, if just a little. After all, the school HAD been leveled, essentially.
Once she stepped inside, Nabiki quickly realized that she wasn't the only person who'd had this idea. Practically every booth and chair was packed with someone from Furinkan, and almost every one of them were talking loudly, joking, and generally having a good time. Nabiki spotted a table filled with her working partners, and walked over to join them. On her way, she ordered a simple fudge sundae. She wasn't sure why she loved that particular confection; she hated chocolate for the most part.
Pulling an empty chair up to the table, she sat down and asked, "What's the buzz?"
"Ranma and Akane," one of her rumormongers quickly responded. Hitomi, Nabiki remembered. She was great at what she did, and even better at being forgotten. Nabiki suspected that that was why she was so good.
"Something's up, Nabiki. You're not telling us everything," Aiko, Nabiki's second-in-command, said flatly. She was a willowy girl, with long blue hair. Her figure was impressive, but not as impressive as the mind that lurked behind it. Her specialty was manipulation, especially with the male gender. She currently had five boyfriends wrapped around her little finger, and was draining each for everything he was worth. The only reason that she was the second best was because she hadn't quite squashed her conscience in the way Nabiki had. She just couldn't close some deals.
"Yeah. Like, for example, why your sister showed up a human today. She was a 'bot yesterday. What happened?" asked Junko, a scrappy underclassman with a vicious sense of justice, a lean, small body that was about as dangerous as a wolverine's, and a really short temper. She was known as Nabiki's unofficial enforcer, but her real job was digging up dirt on anyone and everyone she could. She loved revenge.
"That is private," Nabiki answered firmly. Junko narrowed her eyes at this, and Aiko shook her head nearly imperceptibly.
The only boy in the group, an average looking youth by the name of Kenji, spoke up, "Not this time, Nabiki. We need to know, one way or the other." Though not particularly smart, Kenji could read people like a book. Nobody was safe; even Nabiki had fallen prey to his unnerving abilities before. He was also an excellent liar, the best that Nabiki had ever met. Most people assumed that he was a good liar because of how well he could read people.
Kenji was of average stature, with average facial construction. Though a bit muscular for his size, he was no fighter by any standard, and certainly not by Furinkan's. What made him stand out, though, is that one day he'd apparently decided that he liked long, silver hair. Nobody knew why; he just did. Now, he sported a braid that hung to his waist, dyed shining, metallic silver. His parents had nearly killed him when he'd presented them with the bill for the dye. He rounded out Nabiki's group of information and money gathering 'friends,' and was the last, and least important, member in the group.
"Kenji's right, Nabiki," Hitomi agreed, nodding. "If you want me to cover for her, I can; no problem. I just need to know the real story so that I can keep people away from it."
"I can keep the upper crust under control if I have a few bones to throw them," added Aiko. "But I'm in the same boat as Hitomi. I need information before I can do anything."
"I can find the people who figure it out, and keep 'em quiet," Junko told Nabiki, her tone brooking no argument. Nobody argued with Junko, at least, nobody who wasn't one of the real martial artists. Nabiki was silent for a moment, thinking.
"What about you, Kenji? Don't you have something to add?" Nabiki asked, cocking an eyebrow.
The youth looked up from his ice cream, two simple scoops of vanilla, and answered, "You know what I do, Nabiki. If you think someone's lying, bring 'em to me. I really couldn't care less about your sister." Nabiki nodded, having gained the answer she wanted from Kenji.
"All right, guys, here's the lowdown," Nabiki finally said, leaning towards the center of the table. Everyone else except for Kenji followed suit. "Saotome showed up two days ago. I'm not going into details, but she's staying with us for a while. Normally, she's the blue robot that everyone saw yesterday. She picked up an ability along the way that lets her be a human when she wants to. Akane helped her out after the fight yesterday, and she was thankful for it. In return, she gave Akane a similar ability."
"You're kidding me," Aiko said, leaning back.
"No she isn't," Kenji interjected. "Pulse never changed throughout the whole thing. Tone was the same, breathing the same. Weird, but true." Everyone was silent for a moment, staring at Kenji.
"You can hear her heartbeat?" Junko asked flatly, her tone obviously doubtful.
"No," Kenji denied. "I watched her Chorroidic artery. If you're good, you can see it throb with someone's heartbeat."
"Whatever," Hitomi said, shaking her head. "Assuming that it is true, what kind of interference do you want us to run?"
"Hitomi, spread some tales about vampires, the occult, you know, weird stuff that'll get people's dander up but pass into disbelief in a week or so," Nabiki instructed.
"It'll put a lot of heat on your sis," Hitomi cautioned.
"The school'll be under repair for two weeks, at least. By the time we all get back, I want there to be plenty of rumors, and none of them believable. Nobody'll have the guts to bug her if they don't have anything to go on," Nabiki replied. "Aiko, drop the bit about Saotome staying at my place, but make them think that something outside the household caused the change back," Nabiki continued.
"They're not gonna buy it; it's too close to the truth and doesn't carry enough details," Aiko protested.
"Make 'em up," Nabiki ordered. Turning to Junko, she continued, "Junko, find everyone else that's spreading rumors. If they're not too close to the truth, don't do anything. If they are, you know what to do."
"Oh, yeah," Junko agreed with zeal.
"And Junko," Nabiki added, "do it quietly." She was treated to a soft curse on the part of her enforcer, and smiled a bit. "Kenji, just run general confusion. If you hear a rumor, twist it. Try not to make 'em too weird. There's a reason that Hitomi's at the center of the rumor mill and you're not."
"I know," he answered simply. With that, the group rose from the table and went their separate ways.
"Hey, Kenji," Nabiki called, remembering something. "Can you really read someone's pulse by sight?"
"No," he replied.
"Then why'd you support me back there?" she asked, cocking her head.
"Because you were telling the truth," Kenji answered, shrugging his shoulders. He dropped a 2000-yen bill on the table that the group had shared, then turned to leave.
"How'd you know for sure?" Nabiki asked.
"I didn't," he called back, leaving the store. "Not until just now."

* * * * * *

Ranma ran through the streets like a woman possessed, looking frantically for some place that she could get some hot water and a little privacy. Her side ached where Kuno had stabbed it, but she ignored the pain, knowing that Akane would, at the very least, have trouble against the big robot that had decimated the school. Seeing a restaurant, she skidded to a stop, then dashed in the front door. Blowing past the surprised host, she ran into the bathroom, and yanked the handle on the sink for hot water. The minute that passed as she held her hand under the spigot, waiting for it to become hot enough to trigger her change, was the longest of her life.
Finally, she experienced the incredibly unnatural sensation of loosing the feeling all throughout her body, as it became mechanical. Ripping her, now his, clothes from his body, he barreled out, not even bothering to open the door. He noted in some part of his mind that a manager or someone shouted about paying for the door, but he ignored it and continued on, back to the school. He knew that if he was there to fight, her chances would be better, but he wasn't sure how much better. Just from their sparring match, Ranma knew that she was a better hand-to-hand fighter than he was. Even while distracted, she'd managed to pull off a brilliant counterattack that had won her the match.
When he finally made it back onto the school grounds, he knew instinctively that he was too late. Most of the students had left, and what few remained seemed to be talking among themselves. Ranma ran up to one and grabbed his shoulder. He recognized the student as Hiroshi, a guy from his class.
"Hiroshi, what happened?" he asked to the startled young man.
"Huh?" Hiroshi replied intelligently.
"Did you see a big boar-looking robot come out of the ruins?" Ranma asked, gesturing to the rubble of the school's left wing, which was still shrouded with billowing smoke.
"Yeah, he came and went about three minutes ago," Hiroshi replied, still not sure what to think.
"What about Akane?" Ranma queried, looking around.
"Haven't seen her. We think that she's still in there, but nobody's got the guts to go near the school. There might still be bombs or something," Hiroshi warned, but Ranma was already gone. He dashed into the ruins of the school, his metal boots striking a sharp rapport on the shattered concrete. Ranma quickly located the site of the battle, the crater of a detonated bomb marking the warrior's ground. He stopped, looking around for Akane's body.
Through the smoke, he saw the hazy shadow of a misshapen cylinder. Hoping that it might help him in his search, he approached it for a closer look. Upon closer inspection, he found that it was definitely not a part of the school; the design of the capsule spoke volumes about its technological sophistication. However, the capsule's design wasn't what caught Ranma's attention. The fact that Akane, stripped of her armor and with wires and cables connecting her to the pod, was held upright inside the main bay of the thing did.
"God, Akane, are you all right?" Ranma exclaimed, rushing forward to the capsule. When she didn't respond, Ranma reached for one of the larger cables that was holding her upright, with the intent of breaking it.
"X, what are you doing?" an unseen speaker boomed. Ranma froze and cast about, looking for whoever had spoken.
"Where are you?" Ranma called out, reaching out slowly for Akane again.
"I am the capsule, X," the voice replied, at normal volume this time. "What happened to Zero? Aside from the fact that he's been badly damaged, he's had a major remodeling job done. He's even got a new personality matrix."
"Who're you talking about? I don't know anyone named Zero. And who's X?" Ranma asked, his hand passing to the inside of the capsule again.
"X, if you want me to fix Zero, you're going to have to leave him alone for a little while. I know that he looks pretty bad right now, but I'm a much more advanced capsule than you've come across in the past. I can repair him tonight, if you just leave him alone," the voice admonished Ranma. Ranma looked at his hand, and found that a small laser pointer was painting a tiny red dot on his hand. Sheepishly, her withdrew it, but stayed ready for action. "As for Zero," the voice continued, "he's right here in the capsule. Were your optic sensors damaged recently or something?"
"My eyes are fine," Ranma countered. "And that's Akane, my best friend, that you've got in there. What're you doing to her?"
"Akane? Well, it seems that I'm mistaken, then. In any case, she was badly damaged in a fight with something. Many of her internal systems were destroyed. As I said, though, I am a more advanced capsule than you've encountered in the past. I can have her fully repaired by morning," the voice answered.
"You won't hurt her?" Ranma hedged, untrusting.
"Not a hair," the voice returned soothingly. Deciding to trust the machine, Ranma relaxed, dropping the ready stance that he'd assumed. "Now, X, I need a little information from you," the voice continued. Ranma decided to search a bit, and soon found a pair of speakers built into the top of the capsule, which were emitting the voice. "My communication net has been down for some reason, and I haven't received any reports on the Maverick Wars. What's happening?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Ranma shook his head, returning to the front of the capsule. "There hasn't been a real war in Japan since the Americans dropped the Bombs in World War 2."
"That can't be right!" the voice exclaimed. "The Maverick Wars have been raging for years, with Japan as the major battlefield. Before that, the Wily Wars almost tore it apart. Is there something wrong with your memory core, X?"
"First of all, my name is Ranma. I don't know who this 'X' is, and I don't really care. Second, I never heard about any 'Wily' or 'Maverick' wars. My memory's fine; in fact, it's a bit too fine in this body. I couldn't forget anything, even if I wanted to," Ranma replied, a hint of annoyance creeping into his voice.
"If the core's intact...," the voice mumbled, obviously musing aloud. Ranma waited patiently, the only sound audible being the clicking and whirring as the capsule worked on Akane's innards. "...A temporal distortion would account for almost everything," it finally continued. "X... err, Ranma, what year is it?"
"1997. Why?" Ranma replied, confused.
"My capsule must have been hurled back through time," the voice explained. "You bear a striking resemblance to my greatest creation, and your friend seems a lot like his partner. That's why I called you 'X', and her 'Zero.' Strange, though. My records don't...," the voice began, but was cut off as the whine of sirens suddenly blared through the air. "Oh no!" the voice exclaimed quietly.
"What? It's just the cops," Ranma brushed the voice's reaction off. "They're here 'cuz the school got blown up. Big surprise."
"Ranma, I was created in the year 2084, with technology that still won't be matched a hundred years from then. I carry weapons and armor schematics that won't be seen in their most primitive forms for a full half-century. Do you really want to see what this world could do with technology two centuries ahead of its time?" the voice explained.
"Good point," Ranma conceded, lowering his voice. "How we gonna hide you? I can't carry you; you're too big."
"I have enough energy to initiate an emergency transport away from here, and to somewhere safe, but I need a destination. Since it's only 1997, most of my 'safe zones' probably don't exist yet," the voice explained. "With your permission, I can access Akane's memory banks and use them to find a safe location for the both of us. May I?" Ranma looked around the site, thinking. Though he could see no officials at the moment, he knew that they were well on their way into the ruins, and it was only a matter of time until the capsule would be found.
"Do it," Ranma agreed, looking back to the capsule. "But I want to know where you're going."
"Agreed," the voice said. A soft hum built up from the pod, and Ranma saw the bottom pad of the capsule begin to glow. "Got one," the voice declared. "We'll be in the basement of the Tendo house, in the far corner near the water heater. No one ever goes there."
"Gotcha," Ranma replied, looking back around the school, looking for police. The capsule built up a whine, the top beginning to glow as well. Finally, it faded from sight, seeming to split in all directions at once. Hoping that the voice in the capsule had been telling the truth, Ranma turned and ran from the ruins of the school. He vaulted over the rear wall, and continued on his way back to the Tendo household.

* * * * * *

Inferno Phoenix leaned back from his current work-in-progress. Kuno's body had been greatly restored, with a large number of modifications and enhancements being added to the original body that he'd had. He would be, as soon as the more basic work of mundane reassembly was complete, a robot built and armed for war.
"It's good," Typhoon said softly from his spot in the corner. He'd taken up a semi-permanent residence there, and didn't much care to move or speak.
"Thank you," Inferno replied, nodding in his direction. "It's amazing what the Change has done to us. We never would have been able to agree on anything as Fleshies."
"Agreed," Typhoon said, sparing Inferno one of his rare grins. "Will you be the one reassembling him? He's rather eager to get back into his body, you know."
"No, I'll leave it to the drones. They'll take longer, but he needs to learn patience," Inferno decided with a snort. "I, actually, have another idea."
"Oh?" Typhoon prompted, looking interested. Inferno beckoned him, and the huge Reploid stood up and lumbered over to the homemade computer near Inferno's workbench. Inferno was already typing away at it, accessing hidden files and entering passwords. Finally, a wireframe schematic of a small robot sprung to life on the screen. Its body was streamlined, and its head was almost as large as it is torso. It had metallic spikes that jutted backwards from his facial area that resembled hair. Its face was simple- a steel plate where its mouth should be, secured by two large spikes on either side of the rounded head area. Above it was a curved area, looking to be two large eyes, joined in the middle.
Its body was fairly thin, and oval-shaped. In the middle of it was a large, parabolic depression peppered with hundreds of long slits from the center, spreading to the outside. In the center was a nub, holding the affair together and suggesting rotation. It's back had a long protrusion that curved to form a point. It followed the rim of the parabolic depression, as if the thing went all the way through its body. It's arms and legs were thin and lightweight. It's arms terminated in bladed claws, obviously meant for killing. It's legs stretched down to a pair of jointed, segmented half-ovals that looked for all the world like shoes.
"What is it?" Typhoon asked, cocking his head.
"My next project. I'm going to build a servant for the Master using a new concept entirely, one that hasn't been tested," Inferno explained. "Not brains, brawn, or toughness. No, not for this one. He'll be all speed."
"Will it work?" Typhoon countered, eyeing the prospective 3' 9" height of the construct. "Not much room to work with."
"It'll work, all right. It'll take a lot of elbow grease, but it'll work," Inferno confirmed.
"What're you going to call it?" Typhoon asked, standing back up to his semi-full height.
"Sonic Hedgehog," Inferno told him with a grin.

* * * * * *

Ryoga ran through the back alleys of Nerima, looking for a hidden place to rest. Finally, he noticed the Nerima canal, and saw a small bridge that over passed it. Grunting to himself, he jumped over the fence that prevented normal people from falling into the canal, and snuck underneath the bridge. Feeling safe, he rested against the sloping concrete and relaxed, letting go of his injured arm for a moment. It rolled away a bit, to lie next to him, the shattered joint facing upwards. He stared at it for a few minutes in horrid fascination, looking at the cables, wires, and metal that had replaced the flesh and blood that he'd once had. Reaching over, he separated the snapped wires and cables from the still attached ones, and found that his arm was still attached to the rest of him by three lonely cables, bunched together at the rear end of his arm socket.
Squelching his eyes shut, he ripped the limb free of its last anchors and stared at it in sadness. he thought, clutching his shattered arm in his good hand. Then, he heard approaching footsteps, and rolled to a crouch, looking up. The steps were being made my something metallic, and Ryoga wondered if the red devil had come to finish him off.
With a crash, a pair of metallic feet smashed into the canal floor, their owner having jumped from the bridge above. He was mostly shrouded in a big, black cloak, but the hood had fallen back to allow Ryoga a view of his face. It was hard, and chiseled, with a hint of a permanent sneer imprinted there. There was not a hair on his head, and his blood red eyes bore a permanent look of malice. This was further enhanced by the twin vertical slashes of purple psudo-skin, one through each eye.
"Who the Hell are you?" Ryoga snarled, digging his feet in to charge.
"Someone who wants to help you," the man-robot replied, his voice sneering and hateful. Somehow, though, Ryoga sensed that his hate was directed elsewhere.
"What do you mean?" Ryoga asked, standing up. At his full height, he was a good deal taller than the man-robot, but both parties knew that height mattered little enough.
"I have facilities that can repair you, and make you stronger. You can have your revenge on whoever did this to you," the man-robot tempted Ryoga.
"What's the catch?" Ryoga asked, suspicious.
"You just have to assist me with a few matters. Nothing that you'll find unpleasant in the least, I assure you," the thing replied.
"That's it?" Ryoga asked, not quite believing the other.
"That's it," he confirmed.
"Where do I have to go?" Ryoga agreed.
"Have you ever been to the Quainghai province of China?" the man-robot asked.
"Yeah," Ryoga confirmed.
"Find an area called Jusendo. Avoid the cursed pools of Jusenkyo, but find a certain mountain, called Mount Phoenix. I have a base there, manned by a number of Reploids. They are also in my service, and they'll be the ones that'll help you," the man-robot explained. "I would take you myself, but I have recently received news of more pressing business that I have to take care of in Siberia. I will meet you at the base," the man-robot explained, turning to leave.
"How will they know me?" Ryoga asked. The man-robot paused for a moment, then looked back at him.
"Tell them that Sigma sent you," the man-robot, now identified as Sigma, told Ryoga. Then, he flipped the hood of his cloak up and left. Ryoga waited for another few minutes, considering what had just happened. Finally, he nodded and left the same way that Sigma had, dropping his ruined arm as he left.

* * * * * *

Ranma shut the front door of the Tendo house behind him with a sigh, leaning against the wood. He'd gotten home without any police officers asking him awkward questions, which was a major relief to him. Even if Akane wasn't here as the voice in the capsule had promised, he was glad to be back.
"Hey, Saotome, is that you?" Nabiki's voice came from the kitchen. Ranma's sensitive audio sensors picked up the sounds of her getting to her feet and padding to the front hall.
"Yeah, it's me," he answered, standing away from the door. Nabiki entered the hallway from the far end and looked at him for a moment, leaning on the doorjamb.
"I owe you for what you did to Akane," she finally said, her eyes cold.
"Wh-what do you mean?" Ranma stammered, suddenly worried that Nabiki had found the strange capsule.
"With the Nyaniichuan," Nabiki explained. Internally, Ranma relaxed, but tried to keep it from showing. "I might be a money-loving bitch," she began, causing Ranma's eyebrows to rise slightly, "But I always settle my debts."
"Umm... thanks, I think...," Ranma replied, unsure of what else to do. Nabiki looked away from him, her gaze passing through the hallway and to the stairwell.
"I heard about your father restricting your martial arts as a matter of giri," she began, her left thumb rubbing her forefinger, as if looking for something else to rub. "So it's a family matter, right?"
"Yeah," Ranma confirmed, his uncertainty dissolving as soon as the conversation drifted to matters of honor.
"Just like the promise to 'unite the schools', right?" Nabiki continued, her thumb rubbing a bit faster.
"Yeah," Ranma told her, nodding. Nabiki looked back towards him, her thumb stopping.
"I could persuade Daddy to adopt you as a Tendo. It's unite the schools, and you wouldn't have to pay any attention to that stupid promise that your Dad made you make," Nabiki concluded. Ranma stood stock-still, realizing just how great a boon she was offering.
"I...," he uttered, his chest tight. Even as a robot, he could feel the psychosomatic manifestations of feelings, weather or not his body was capable of having them. "I... can't," he finally said.
"Why not?" Nabiki asked, surprised.
"He'd win," Ranma explained, relaxing a bit. "If I ran away, that'd be letting Pop win, and Ranma Saotome doesn't lose at anything."
"So you're willing to throw your life away, just so that you won't lose a fight with him?" Nabiki asked, incredulous. She spat the last word out like a curse.
"Nah," Ranma said, shaking his head. "I just said that I never lose a fight. I got a way out of this whole mess, it'll just take some doing."
"Explain," Nabiki demanded, folding her arms across her chest.
"Well, as far as the Government's concerned, I'm still a guy," Ranma started, a small grin on his face. "So I just find some open-minded girl and marry her. The state'll say that Ranma Saotome married whoever, and is her husband. Now, as far as I know, a woman can't be a husband, can she?"
"So you'll just blackmail your father into releasing you from your promise," Nabiki laughed, a grin spreading across her face. "That's great. How long'd it take you to figure it out?"
"Since he made me promise," Ranma admitted sheepishly, his hand behind his head.
"All right," Nabiki snorted, her grin staying in place. "You find the girl, and I'll make everything else work, guaranteed."
"Thanks, Nabiki," Ranma said, smiling. She pushed off from the doorjamb and walked away down the hallway slowly.
"No prob," she called over her shoulder. "But don't get any ideas. I'm not 'open minded,' as you put it." Ranma barked a short laugh, the thought never having crossed his mind.
Suddenly, another thought did cross his mind, and he called out, "Hey, Nabiki, where's the door to get to your basement?"
"Why?" she asked, pausing on the stairwell.
"Akane's staying at Yuka's tonight, and she wanted me to get something from down there," Ranma lied, hoping that Nabiki wouldn't turn around and take a look at his face. Though he could forcibly moderate his voice in this form, he still had an atrocious poker face.
"Oh. It's down by the bathroom, to the right," Nabiki told him, continuing on her way. Ranma nodded and made his way to the doorway as normally as he could. Nabiki chose that moment to glance back at him, and saw his jerky, mechanical movements. She immediately recognized them as the actions of someone who wants to look normal, but has a lot to worry about. Smelling a rat, she waited at the top of the stairwell for him to descend the stairs to the basement. She knew from experience with Akane just how well he could probably hear.
Meanwhile, Ranma was opening the door to the basement. He slipped in, only opening it wide enough for his body to fit. Easing it closed behind him, he practically ran down the bare wooden steps to the ground beneath. His feet struck loudly against the flat concrete, and Ranma hoped that nobody could hear him too well. Coming to the center of the underground room, he looked around, searching for the capsule.
Suddenly, he saw a flash of blue, and darted forward. Sure enough, the tall, blue capsule stood next to the water heater, just as it had promised. Inside, Akane was still under repair, but it was already apparent that her condition had improved. The armor all the way up her arms was pristine, and shone with a brand new coat of paint, which was still wet.
"Ranma," the capsule spoke softly as Ranma approached further. "You're here a little earlier than I expected, given the distance. Did you run the entire way?"
"More or less," Ranma admitted with a half-grin. "How's she doin', umm...," Ranma trailed off, unsure as to how to address the capsule.
"Doctor Thomas Xavier Light," the capsule supplied. "But you may call me 'Doctor Light', if you want to."
"Whatever, Doc," Ranma replied, brushing him off. "How's she doing?"
"I told you before, Akane will be fine. Most of the damage done to her is internal. Her operating systems were badly damaged by a shockwave of some kind," Dr. Light reassured Ranma.
"Can you wake her up?" Ranma asked. "I wanna know if you're doing weird things to her mind."
"You're not like X at all," the Doctor teased. "He'll trust anyone, but you don't seem to trust anything."
"Akane's been the only Changed person that hasn't tried to kill me the first opportunity they got. I'm not real trustful of stuff that looks like you," Ranma explained, his expression stony. "Now, can you wake up Akane?"
"Not for another couple of hours," Dr. Light replied.
"Fine. I'll wait," Ranma affirmed, sitting down opposite to the capsule. For a long time, the only could that could be heard in the basement was the whir and click of machinery as the capsule repaired Akane.
"When you said 'Changed,'" Dr. Light finally said, "I sensed that there was a capital 'c' in there. Why?"
"It was the Change," Ranma began, remembering how Akane had explained things to him. "About two and a half weeks ago, about two billion people died, just like that," he said, snapping his fingers. "Lotsa buildings were destroyed, and a lotta people were Changed."
"What do you mean?" Dr. Light reiterated, not understanding.
"In the time of a coupla seconds, they went from being normal people to being machines, like me an' Akane. Two weeks ago, we were both human," Ranma explained, looking upwards at the ceiling.
"Two and a half weeks...," Dr. Light trailed off. "That's exactly when I lost communication with the other capsules and my information network. This changes everything."
"What do you mean?" Ranma asked, looking back at the capsule.
"If so many were affected, it couldn't have been such a simple thing as time travel," Dr. Light mused. "It might be an instance of Jakob's Law..."
"What's that?" Ranma asked.
"It states that for each possibility in existence, there must be a reality that conforms to it. One of it's accompanying theorems states that there are small, divergent realities that occasionally collide or cross with our own. This causes discrepancies in reality that the world seeks to rectify. Essentially, it states that all natural disasters are caused, at some point, by a planar difference between the two," Dr. Light explained.
"So what does this have to do with anything?" Ranma asked, rising.
"Well, what if two major planes collided? Namely, yours and mine. The human population in my time and world numbered about four billion, reduced to such by constant warfare. Now, your own population matches it. People change into robots that are essentially the exact same models as existed in my world. Buildings are suddenly and inexplicably annihilated," Dr. Light listed.
"Whoa...," Ranma murmured, the implications hitting him.
"Whoa is right," Dr. Light agreed. "I think that your reality has absorbed mine."

* * * * * *


Flashfyre5 Presents
A Flaming Amarant production
In association with Digital Wizardry Studios, Minnesota

The Opening Bet
Chapter Five: The Virus


" " = speech
[ ] = panda board
= thought
/ / = written

* * * * * *

I inhale slowly, savoring the scent of burning flesh. The pungent scent of roasting human is quite unlike any other, a rare and intoxicating perfume that is to be savored on those occasions that one is fortunate enough to indulge themselves, either by action or chance. Suddenly, a skyscraper in front of me, ringed by palm trees and bushes, explodes with a thunderous explosion. The shock wave from the blast would be enough to send any person unfortunate enough to be nearby tumbling away like a rag doll. I should know. I set the charges that caused the explosion. How important can a company called 'Square' be, anyway? I stroll casually up to the still-warm rubble of the skyscraper that had dominated this part of the little island that I now walk upon until just recently. The perfume is so intense that it's staggering, especially with my sense of smell. I only wish that I could concentrate the smell and bottle it, that I might wear this scent as a testament to my glory.
Finally, I open my eyes, which I'd had screwed shut for the explosion. My eyes are more than a little sensitive, and such a flash of light would surely destroy them. No matter. The sight of the semi-molten rubble is almost as intoxicating as the scent of this place. I pivot on my left foot, the heavy boot scraping loudly on the rubble-strewn concrete, and look around at my handiwork. Not a single building remains standing in this once-great city, nor a single human left alive, as far as I can tell. As wonderful as the perfume of death is, it deadens my nose to other scents, and though gazing upon the blasted rubble of these pathetic human constructs is like seeing the gates of Heaven itself, it provides many hidey-holes that a human could hide in. It is of no matter. Should one survive, it would only serve to heighten my glory.
I sigh, knowing that my time here is up. As wonderful as this place now is, there are other places that I have to gift with my presence. Slowly, savoring every last minute on the now-dead city of Honolulu, I walk to the ocean, and dive in. My legs disengage, and fold into my body, and my twin water turbine engines kick in. They function much the same way as a jet engine does for a fighter, but these are made to work underwater. I relax and allow the powerful engines propel me toward my next target, which lies halfway across the Pacific. At my best speed, not more than two days away.
Not nearly soon enough.

* * * * * *

The man, huddled in the wreckage of what had once been his car, wondered if it was safe to emerge. This man in particular did not like to hide, to wait for the exacting toll that death would bring. His opinions and his job reflected that. He was, arguably, the best composer that the world had seen in generations, and was proud of the fact. He worked for one of the largest, most visible companies in Japan, one that had international renown. His name and work was known to people across the globe that had heard his music and idolized him, though they would never see his face.
In his line of business, one had to have an exceptional sense of hearing. Thus, pressed up against the seat of his overturned, American-built Ford Taurus, it was the only way he could tell of the happenings of the outside word. There had been one explosion, followed by a string of them and, finally, one huge one that sounded like it had been very near. Afterwards, silence. A long and agonizing silence that told him that, though there was no more destruction, there was nobody else around to notice.
Finally, restless, he pushed open the passenger side doorway and peeked out. The stench that immediately assailed him almost made him vomit, and the sight that assailed his eyes did the rest. Once he had recovered, he bared himself and rose from the wreckage of the American car, standing proud and tall, like a character from the games he wrote music for.
The city was a wasteland, the incinerated and boiled-alive dead littering the streets, making it look like a war zone. This was not that far from the truth, the man supposed, looking at the ruins of the Hawaii headquarters of Squaresoft. Suddenly, movement caught his eye, and he turned to see a small, semi-humanoid form walking into the surf. The sun glinted off its angled head, and the man immediately recognized the source of the destruction of the city. He'd seen the shark-like monster earlier, just before it fired a blue ball that had blasted his car to wreckage. Now, as he watched, the creature dove into the water, it's fin sticking out of the water as it surged away from shore, angling towards the setting sun.
The man thought about this for a few moments, his thinking processes dulled by the horrific damage that surrounded him. Suddenly, he remembered what lay, from here, in the west, where the sun set. He snatched his cellular phone out of his pocket and hit the speed dial labeled '1' in Japanese. Some bored-sounding young girl answered it, and he cursed at her until she transferred him to the head of staffing, which was the best he could get without providing verification information that he couldn't remember.
"Shin Kagami, head of staffing," a crisp male voice answered in Japanese.
"Put me through to Hironobu Sakaguchi, now!" the man practically yelled into the phone, speaking Japanese as well.
"The CEO? I'm sorry, sir, but I don't think that I can do that," the man replied, obviously miffed.
"This is Nobuo Uematsu, Gods damn you, and if you don't put me through to Hironobu NOW, by all the powers in the Heavens, I'll have your job!" the man roared, losing what calm he had retained. The line was immediately filled with the sounds of years-old muzak as he was transferred. Finally, a bored-sounding man picked up the line.
"Sakaguchi," he said simply. Nobuo liked Hironobu for his frankness and lack of patronization. Naturally, this only applied to his own company. As far as anybody else was concerned, he was as false a man as was ever born.
"Hiro, it's me, Nobuo," Nobuo said, reining in his temper and speaking in a normal tone of voice.
"Nobuo, so you've made it to Hawaii," Hironobu replied, his tone immediately brightening. Nobuo had no idea why Hiro liked him; few enough people did. Though he was brilliant, he was a hard man to work for, and this alienated many of his co-workers. "How is the work on the Tactics project coming?"
"Couldn't say, Hiro. The building's been flattened," Nobuo said bluntly.
"What?" Hiro returned, alarm seeping into his voice.
"When I got here, some kind of metal monster came out of the ocean, leveled the city, and left. As far as I can tell, I'm the only survivor," Nobuo explained.
"Nobuo, you're not making any sense," Hiro said, even though he knew that Nobuo was a no-nonsense kind of guy. He'd never made a joke, as far as Hiro knew, and would never even think of staging a practical joke, especially one of this magnitude. "Now, what came out of the ocean?"
"Some kind of metal monster, or maybe a robot. I don't know. I only got a glance at it before it blew up my car. It blew up the rest of the city, building by building, then left. I saw it go back into the sea, headed westward," Nobuo explained, calming himself again.
"Westward?" Hiro answered, his voice a little uncertain. Nobuo knew that the man had caught on to what this meant.
"Yes, westward, toward Tokyo!"

* * * * * *

Nabiki pulled away from the basement's doorway and leaned against the wall next to it. Her mind was racing , set alight by Dr. Light's suggestion about Jakob's Law.
she wondered.
"So," she heard Ranma say. Quieting her thoughts, she pressed her ear to the crack in the doorway so that she could listen more clearly. "Is there anything we can do to pull them back apart?" Ranma asked.
"I'm afraid not," Dr. Light answered, sounding truly regretful. "If things don't right themselves on their own, there's nothing that we can do about it."
"Damn," Ranma cursed softly, almost beneath Nabiki's ability to hear. Neither one of the two said anything for a long time after that. Nabiki sank to sit on the floor, her ear still pressed to the doorjamb. "So," Ranma finally said. "What do we do now?"
"Live, I suppose," Dr. Light replied. "As long as the Virus didn't make it into this world, there shouldn't be any real problems."
"What virus?" Ranma asked.
"Don't worry about it, Ranma. It's probably nothing that you'll have to worry about," Dr. Light answered.
"Whatever, Doc," Ranma sighed, obviously miffed. Dr. Light seemed not to hear him, and silence descended upon the duo once again. "What did robots do in your world, doc?" he asked after a while.
"Do you mean robots or Reploids, Ranma?" Dr. Light asked.
"Is there a difference?" Ranma asked.
"Very much so," Dr. Light said. "Robots, though they may possess sentience, are bound by specific codes of conduct that, no matter how much they may want to, they cannot violate. They must do what a human orders them to and, once given orders, cannot deviate from the specified task until it is completed. Reploids, on the other hand, can and do think completely for themselves. They accept orders if they want to, when they want to, and may ignore them at any time. They are unbound by the laws which govern robots, and follow only their own conscience. I believe that one person once described them as being 'humans in a metal body'."
"So I'm a Reploid, right?" Ranma asked.
"I should certainly hope so. After all, I designed you," Dr. Light joked. Ranma granted the bad joke a snort.
"So, what did Reploids do in your world?" Ranma asked.
"All sorts of things. Many were purchased by law enforcement agencies, and became police. Some were built to be scientists, and made some truly great discoveries. Others worked as secretaries, and other businesspeople," Dr. Light elaborated. "In the beginning, due to the great expense involved in creating them, a Reploid was only built to do a certain job, and mass produced with a predisposition towards that kind of work. However, as my original technology was refined, the costs involved dropped, and foundations were established for the sole purpose of building original, well-rounded Reploids to simply live and work, as productive members of society. Soon, the only mass-produced models were fighters and doctors, as most people found that Reploids were just like any other person, once you got past the body."
As these Reploids matured, they found themselves desiring to join the workforce, to make something out of their existence. Many returned to the factories where they were built to have new, more appropriate bodies built for them. Those that became Generals in an army, for example, needed stronger, more lethal constructs than those that became diplomats, who had their own needs. Since most were intelligent enough to know how they themselves worked, many chose to design their own bodies. Needlessly to say, this brought both great versatility and great diversity. There wasn't a walk of life that one Reploid or another didn't call his or her own. In short, they did everything," Dr. Light summed up.
"You like to talk, don't you?" Ranma asked sardonically. Dr. Light chuckled in response.
"I suppose that I do," he agreed.

* * * * * *

Above the icy plains of northern Siberia, a gleaming metal figure seemed to float through the air on soundless, motionless wings, searching for some un-nameable object. The dreadnought, for this construct truly feared nothing, moved slowly, as though he had all the time in the world. Indeed, he had all the time he needed. Those that knew he existed were loyal to him, would soon be as such, or dead.
He was powerful; no doubt about that. He stood well over six feet tall, every inch of that devoted in some way to destruction. His lower arms, gleaming silver cylinders that tapered to a point at the elbow, had enough strength to crush a car like it was a pop can, and enough hidden firepower to incinerate that car and everything in a good radius around it. His upper arms, armored with nine silver bands each, further amplified his already staggering strength, and housed the powerful generators that powered the weapons in his arms. His chest was silver with purple inlay that wove in and around his whole upper chest, giving it the illusion of depth and waviness. The bottom of his breastplate, terminating above where a human's abdominal muscles would be, was a thick purple band that started where each nipple would be, were he human, and wrapped around his back. The front part, where his pectorals might be, was hinged, and housed even more hidden weaponry. Even he knew which robot had inspired his main body, but he held no resentment. He knew a good design when he saw one, and even more so when he inhabited one. The only aberrations were the twin rods jutting from his back, each glowing with blue energy. They were three and a half feet long each, and stood at a forty-five degree angle to his back.
His 'stomach' was a model in simplicity; four bands of thick silvery metal wrapped around his midsection, the top one disappearing beneath his breastplate and the bottom vanishing beneath his pelvic juncture. The bands were thick, needing to protect the thunderously powerful fusion generator that generated the massive amounts of power that he needed to function in a fight. The amount of energy that the generator produced at full capacity could be used to power a small town. Even still, he needed the auxiliaries in his arms to supplement that, as the weapons he favored required a truly bestial amount of power them.
The pelvic juncture, too, was simple in design, but far more complex in its function. The semi-triangular construct was fairly lightly armored, compared to the rest of him, but housed the power buffers that protected him from his own power surges. Though it was somewhat of a weak point, destroying the buffers would result in an explosion that would annihilate whatever managed to do so. Though it would mean the destruction of his body, the robot was not concerned. He had a backup copy of himself.
His upper legs were armored like his arms, in banded silver, thirteen gleaming rings armoring his powerful legs from almost any conventional attack. His lower legs widened into boots, the smooth silver bordered by purple on the edges. They housed dash jets that could propel him to a land speed of over thirty-five miles per hour. They also contained the antigravity generators that would allow him to do so without ever touching the ground. His feet were small, just large enough to provide him with solid footing. They had sturdy rubber grips on the bottom for traction, and a large hole in the middle for his jets.
Truly, though, the most dangerous part of the robot was his head. It housed the brain of a man/monster that had both the desire and the capability to slaughter any and everything that crossed his path. Modeled, in what had become a tradition for him, after a human's head, it was designed to be the most menacing face that his builder could imagine. It was completely bald, the light colored psudo-skin reflecting light as if it were real skin. His jaw was large, and square, and his ears were fairly small. His nose was, if anything, a bit large and regal-looking, in the sense of the regality of a warlord of a great army. He was large lipped, those lips locked into a near-permanent sneer over his pristinely white teeth. One look into his eyes, however, would dispel any impressions of the robot's humanity. They were perfectly round gems, the deep crimson color of drying human blood. They were matched by a vertical slashes of deepest purple that extended from his mid-forehead to the middle of his cheeks. In the center of his forehead was a round ruby, similar to those in his eyes, set in silver.
After a time, it seemed that the war machine had finally found what it was searching for, and began a steady descent. Indeed, a speck of purple marred the pristine whiteness of the tundra, far ahead of the flying machine. As they drew nearer one another, its features came into focus, for it watched and approached the flyer as carefully as the flyer himself did.
Its design was much simpler than the flying robot's. Its head was lupine, pointed sheets of purple-painted metal giving the it appearance of a wolf. It's shoulders and breastplate, a single piece, were heavy, and purple bordered with light blue. Its arms were silver from the shoulder to the elbow, where they once again became jagged, hairlike sheets of purple metal that terminated in three-inch-long claws. The arms themselves were longer than usual, hanging almost to the robot's knees. His legs were simple affairs, lightly built and highly mobile. Though fairly thick, the jagged purple metal that they were composed of, built in the same fashion as its lower arms and head, were amazingly lightweight and ended in razor sharp three-inch-long claws, like his hands. Overall, he had a feral look to him, the look of a hunter waiting to pounce.
Soon, the silver robot landed in front of the purple. Now that they stand side by side, it is obvious that the purple one is much shorter than the silver, standing somewhere around five and a half feet. For a moment, the two looked at each other, examining one another for weakness. Finally, the purple robot knelt at the silver one's feet.
"My Lord, it is good to see that you are still in existence in this world. So many of our comrades have vanished in the past few weeks," the robot said reverently, his voice a surprisingly deep tenor.
"Get up. We don't have time for this kind of thing any more," the silver robot commanded. "Address me as Sigma. You are one of the few that survived. That doesn't make you worth the parts you're built out of, but you and a handful of others are all that I've got. What's your name and designation?" The purple robot rose, but kept his eyes downcast.
"I am Arctic Wolf, Lord Sigma, a scout. My commander commended me three times for decision making in the heat of battle, and four for excellence in reconnaissance," the purple robot said.
"Who was your commander?" Sigma asked, one part of his forehead where his eyebrow would be cocked, a bit surprised.
"I served under Blizzard Buffalo during the third insurrection, shortly after I was Infected, and did not receive a permanent assignment after that. All my commendations are from Lord Buffalo," Arctic Wolf explained.
"Impressive. Buffalo didn't like giving out awards," Sigma mused.
"Thank you, sir," Arctic nodded.
"I wasn't pleased when you called me out here. I was investigating something that may prove extremely important in the coming war," Sigma said, almost as if Arctic Wolf hadn't even spoken. His voice, though always sneering, sounded positively hateful while saying this, and Arctic Wolf cringed, fearing Sigma's temper. "However, you may be exactly what I need," he continued, and Arctic risked a hopeful look upwards. "Someone or something has been destroying Reploids in Tokyo. So far, the only times that that's happened were when humans were threatened. Go there and find out what it is."
"You think that it might be..." Arctic trailed off, fear growing inside of him. There were few things that a Reploid feared almost as much as Sigma, and two of them were X and Zero, the living, breathing Grim Reapers of Maverick society.
"X or Zero? Maybe. I'm not taking any chances. I would've won the first war if I hadn't underestimated them. I lost the second and third because Doppler and the X Hunters couldn't build a decent Reploid to save their lives. This time, though, I've got real power backing me," Sigma finished. "Inferno Phoenix and Typhoon Dragon have already gone Maverick, and Mine Boar will soon join them."
"Three of the Hunter High Command," Arctic breathed, in awe. "What about Riptide Shark? If the other three made it, he will have too."
"With three of the four and myself, there shouldn't be any problems. Besides, I have a stockpile of the Virus. If possible, I'll recruit him," Sigma explained. "Now get to Tokyo. I expect your first report there in two days. Keep me waiting and I will personally dismember you, piece by piece. Just because you're one of the Masters doesn't put you above my wrath." Stunned, Arctic Wolf could only stare at Sigma.
"A... A Master? Lord, are you sure?" Arctic stammered. Sigma turned away from him before answering.
"Blizzard Buffalo was one of the few things that Doppler did right. If Buffalo thought enough of you to commend you seven times, then you should be good enough. Just remember," Sigma warned, the rods on his back glowing red and beginning to roar. "Everyone else has proven themselves to me; you have not. Make one mistake and it'll be your last. With those ominous words, he blasted skyward, foregoing his usual silent flight for the speed that his fully powered flight could give him.
Arctic wolf stood, silent, in the crater of melting snow that his master had left behind, still stunned. Finally, he turned and began to run in a southeasterly direction. As he did so, he dropped to all fours, his long arms matching his legs perfectly. Slowly, as things began to settle in, he began to grin ferally. Eagerly, he ran towards the coast; Tokyo was a long way away, and he planned to make his first report early.

* * * * * *

"Umm... Doc?" Ranma ventured after a few minutes.
"Yes?" the Doctor replied.
"I was just wondering... just how much like people are Reploids?" Ranma asked.
"What do you mean?" Dr. Light asked in turn, confused.
"Emotionally. Like, could one fall in love, or dream, or something, you know, the stuff that makes people people," Ranma explained.
"Of course," Dr. Light answered. "Love was as common among Reploids as it was among humans. There were even a few cases where a Reploid fell in love with a human, and vice versa. Dreaming was also common among Reploids, though not as common as human dreaming. Usually, a Reploid didn't start dreaming until years after it had been manufactured. In other words, once it's personality core had stabilized. Do you understand?"
"I think so, Doc," Ranma answered, thoughtful.
"Why did you ask?" Dr. Light asked.
"Huh? Oh, umm... just curious, I guess," Ranma said, his hand behind his head.
"Seriously, Ranma. If it's a secret, I promise that I won't tell anyone," Dr. Light promised.
"Well... okay," Ranma agreed. "Before the Apocalypse and whatnot, me and my Pop were on a really long training journey to master my family's school of martial arts. We ended up at a place called Jusenkyo."
"Jusenkyo?" Dr. Light cut him off. "How interesting."
"You've heard of Jusenkyo?" Ranma asked, surprised.
"I have. In fact, it was one of the most intriguing finds of my time," Dr. Light admitted. "Unfortunately, that find ended what had been a dynasty of beliefs for the people that lived in the area."
"What do you mean?" Ranma asked.
"Everyone thought that the springs were magical in nature," Dr. Light explained. "However, under careful testing, it was found, much to our surprise, that the water was, in fact, a genetic symbiont. That's why a person 'cursed' in one spring can't become 'cursed' by another; the symbiont already has control and kills any intrusion upon it's host," Dr. Light explained. Ranma, stunned, stood silent for a moment.
"Could you cure it?" he asked.
"Given the proper facilities, yes. However, many tools necessary for the operation won't be invented for decades, and I don't have their schematics in my files. I'm sorry," Dr. Light apologized.
"It's okay," Ranma said, sounding dejected. He said nothing after that, looking dejected.
"You were telling me about your training trip?" Dr. Light prompted.
"Oh, yeah. Well, we got to Jusenkyo, and me and my Pop were fighting there. Great place for aerial combat. Anyway, I knocked him into the spring of drowned panda. He spazzed and went after the guide, 'cuz he hadn't listened to the poor guy's warnings earlier. I was still on top of one of the poles. Suddenly, this weird feeling started in my stomach, like there was something in it tryin' to get out. It really hurt, and I lost my balance and fell into the spring of drowned girl," Ranma said.
"So you become female with the application of cold water?" Dr. Light asked.
"Uhh... yeah," Ranma agreed, after figuring out what the Doctor had said. "Well, after that, my Pop forbid me from doing martial arts, 'cuz I was both half-human and I was female when I was. Martial arts is all I really know, so..."
"You want me to talk to him about your situation as a Reploid?" Dr. Light supplied. Ranma looked up, a hopeful half-smile on his face.
"Would ya? I've been trying to talk some sense into him for weeks. Maybe he'll listen to someone who actually knows that they're talking about." Ranma asked.
"I'd be more than happy to, Ranma," Dr. Light agreed. "However, I'd suggest that you wait until Akane is repaired."
"No, really?" Ranma asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Geez, Doc, just when I started to think you were smart or somethin'..."

* * * * * *

"No, no, no!" Inferno Phoenix exclaimed, smashing a fist on the steel tabletop that stood in front of him. Atop it lay the half-assembled shell of a Reploid.
"What's wrong?" Typhoon Dragon asked from his position in the corner.
"It's not going to work," Phoenix answered, annoyed. "His legs are too short, and if I make them any longer, they'll be unweildy."
"He can't run fast enough, then?" Typhoon asked, lumbering over.
"Exactly," Phoenix agreed, calming himself.
"What about his turbine? With the repulsors, he should be able to use that," Typhoon proposed.
"No good. I couldn't get decent materials for the repulsors, so he's only got a very general control of his height. The only way for him to be sure to be within striking range is to have them at their lowest setting. That means he'll only be a few inches above the ground," Phoenix said, shaking his head.
"Meaning that an errant rock could cost him a leg," Typhoon finished. "What about a temporal acceleration bubble?"
"A Mark I accelerator would be too big, and I haven't got a diamond of sufficient size for a Mark II," Phoenix negated.
"How big of a diamond do you need?" Typhoon asked.
"Big. At least twenty carats, and absolutely flawless at that. I need it for a lens to project the bubble. Anything less sturdy would fragment in seconds under the pressure," Phoenix answered. There was a hiss, and a small panel hidden in Typhoon Dragon's chest slid open. He reached in and pulled something out.
"Will this work?" he asked, holding an immense cut diamond out to his comrade.
"My God," Phoenix breathed, taking it carefully. "This must be at least fifty carats. Where did you manage to dig this up?"
"I found it in the treasury of the Musk, after I annihilated them. It is an ancient treasure, predating even their dynasty. I believe it is called 'The Dragon's Eye'," Typhoon explained.
"It's flawless," Phoenix said, as if he hadn't heard the words of the giant next to him. "Well, who says nothing good ever comes from a human, eh, Herb?" Typhoon was silent for a long moment.
"You will not call me by that name again. Just as I would not presume to call you 'Saffron', I expect the same courtesy of you. You may use the gem for your creation; I have no wish for it's return now," Typhoon sneered, then turned and retreated to his corner. Phoenix was about to apologize, but decided against doing so. The Virus changed many things about a Reploid, but some, like Typhoon's inability to accept apologies, were immutable and unchangeable. Grinning, he returned to his work, pulling components from the metallic hedgehog's chest so that he would have room for the accelerator.

* * * * * *

Slowly, Akane opened her eyes, the world coming into focus. Squarish clumps of blue, brown, and gray came together to resolve into Ranma's face, looking anxious and hopeful.
"Akane?" he asked, worry in his voice. "Are you all right?"
"I'm..." Akane managed, taking stock of herself. "Okay...," she said, with no small amount of surprise. "I don't get it. I should be trashed right now."
"Yeah, you were. Thanks to Doc Light, though, you're gonna be all right. He's almost done fixin' ya up; that's why you can't move," Ranma said, his relief apparent in his speech.
"Who?" Akane asked.
"Dr. Light. He's this computer program in a big blue capsule that found you. He's a really great scientist, and I think he's figured out what happened with the Apocalypse," Ranma explained.
"Really? Where is he?" Akane asked, intruiged.
"You're inside of me, so to speak," an elderly voice answered. "I've put you inside of myself so that I could repair you.
"Huh?" Akane asked, confused.
"You're propped up inside the capsule so that the Doc can work on you," Ranma explained.
"Oh," Akane replied, looking around. The inside of the capsule was a mass of jumbled wires and silver cables. On the top of the thing was a huge lens, with eight squarish lens-like windows placed around it. She couldn't see the bottom, since her feet were on top of it. Suddenly, she gave a lurch as one particularly large cable slid free from the back of her neck, a small, light grappler arm softly putting her long, black hair back into place.
"There, that does it," Dr. Light said. "You should be able to walk now." Even as he was saying just that, Akane had stepped from the capsule, and was flexing her arm, testing it's mobility. Finding it to her satisfaction, she turned and bowed deeply to the capsule.
"Thank you, Doctor. I owe you a lot," she said formally. Dr. Light's hologram popped up on the pad where she'd been standing, giving the two Reploids their first look at the aged doctor.
"Consider the debt repaid," he replied, bowing equally as low as Akane did. "Just the chance to study your construction from the inside out was enough for me." Almost as one, they both rose. Ranma just smiled through the whole thing.
"In any case," Dr. Light said, "About what it seems you have termed the 'Apocalypse.' I believe that, quite simply, it is an instance of Jakob's Law, which is... well, was more of a theory. Anyways, it states that-"
"Natural disasters are caused by friction between parallel planes of existence," Akane cut him off. "We talked about it in science a few weeks before the Apocalypse. This guy Jakob had just published it, so we were discussing it in class."
"Well, I'm glad that I don't have to explain," Dr. Light said. "It was hard enough to get Ranma to understand."
"You mean that he was right?" Akane asked, more than a little surprised.
"Surprisingly, yes. Though he himself suspected that his theory was false, he published it, in the hopes that his name would endure through the scientific ages. Imagine his surprise when, when he was on his deathbed, it was proven!" Dr. Light said, chuckling. Akane, conversely, was silent, thoughtful.
"There's nothing that we can do about this, is there?" she asked.
"About the planar meld? No. Unless things fix themselves, we're stuck," Dr. Light agreed.
"Doc? I'm gonna go get my Pop, all right?" Ranma suddenly said.
"That would be fine," Dr. Light said.
"I'll come with," Akane declared.
"Actually, Akane, I need you to stay down here tonight. I kinda told Nabiki that you were spending the night at Saryu's house, and if she finds out about Doc Light here...," Ranma trailed off.
"She'll sell him to the highest bidder," Akane finished. "You seem to know her pretty well, for only having lived here a couple of days."
"Let's just say that I think she's been taking pictures of me," Ranma said.
"What makes you think that?" Akane asked. Ranma walked over to his backpack, which he'd dropped by the stairs. He pulled a small square of paper from it and tossed it to Akane. She looked at it, then immediately looked away, blushing.
"Oh... my...," she muttered. "How'd she get this?"
"I think that she's got a remote controlled camera rigged in the bathroom," Ranma explained. "Haven't been able to find it yet, but I'm looking. In any case, I'm gonna go get Pop. Why don't you hide somewhere, so that he doesn't see you and screw everything up."
"All right," Akane said, moving to kneel behind a few old cardboard boxes that held party decorations. Ranma, meanwhile, climbed the steps leading to the main floor. When he opened the door, the hallway was empty; Nabiki had padded away when Ranma started to talk about coming up.

* * * * * *

"Hey, Pop," Ranma called, walking into the living room. His father was playing a game of Go with Soun, and did not look up at his son's summons. "Pop, I gotta talk to ya," Ranma repeated.
"Then talk," Genma growled.
"Jeez, what's your problem?" Ranma sneered. "Anyway, I want you to meet somebody. I think that he might have something pretty interesting to say about my curse."
"I don't care," Genma replied, moving a tile.
"C'mon, Pop. You made this a matter of Giri, and I think that I've found an answer. Gimme a chance," Ranma asked. Finally, Genma looked up from the board. "As a matter of honor," Ranma added.
"Fine, boy, but this had better be worth it. I'll talk to this...," Genma paused.
"Dr. Light," Ranma supplied.
"... Dr. Light when I finish my game," Genma agreed.
"Great! Meet me in the basement when you're ready," Ranma said, then left. Meanwhile, Genma sat and simmered, displeasure rising to cloud his face.
"What is the matter, old friend?" Soun asked, seeing Genma's expression.
"That boy... he's caused me so much trouble...," Genma trailed off.
"What do you mean, Saotome?" Soun asked.
"He's already been dubbed a 'bot lover' in his girl form. No matter who I try to arrange an omiai with, they all refuse. If this keeps up, Ranma'll be the end of the Saotome line," Genma explained. Soun nodded, having had his own problems in finding a match for his own daughters.
"A martial artist's path is frought with peril," he agreed sagely. Genma nodded.
"Too true, Soun. Too true..." Genma stated. Then, he pushed himself to his feet, moving a tile on the board. "Still, if this is anything less than a cure, the boy will pay, and dearly. That's game, by the way, Soun," Genma declared, making his way to the basement door. Soun, surprised, looked at the game board and found it to be so.

* * * * * *

Genma descended the stairs leading to the Tendo basement neither quickly nor slowly. He wanted to resolve this idiocy as much as his son did. On the other hand, his life and what little was left of his honor were at stake in making Ranma male again, or at least human. No matter what, he had decided, he would satisfy honor this one time. Failure would mean supreme, ultimate, and complete dishonor. And a chance to grow... more intimately acquainted with his wife's katana.
His son waited at the bottom of the stairwell, a hopeful expression on his face. Genma mentally snorted; the chances that the boy had found a cure were slim to none. Once he found that there was no realistic chance of finding a male fiancee for Ranma, Genma had practically moved into the local library, poring over every text that might even possibly have a hint of a solution to Ranma's... problem. The boy himself, of course, remained ignorant to his father's efforts. Regardless, there had been nothing in the library.
"All right, Pop," Ranma said, leading the overweight martial artist over to what seemed to be a huge, misshapen cylinder. It had a number of cables and bulges on the top and bottom, while the rest was simply smooth glass.
"What's this?" Genma asked gruffly. The capsule looked extremely technologically advanced, an aspect which he'd not considered in the search for a cure. His hopes lifted slightly.
"I am Doctor Thomas Light," the thing spoke. Genma, surprised, took a step back, while the glass slid down. On the pad in the middle, a grayish hologram of an aged scientist resolved, then bowed respectfully to Genma. Stiffly, Genma returned the courtesy. "You must be Genma Saotome," the hologram spoke.
"I am. Who are you?" Genma returned gruffly.
"As I said, I am Doctor Thomas Light. I am the scientist that invented the Reploids, and Ranma has asked me to speak on his behalf," Dr. Light explained.
"What's a Reploid?" Genma asked.
"A robot that can think and act for itself. Essentially-," Dr. Light began.
"What Ranma is, right?" Genma asked, cutting him off.
"Yes. Now, as I was saying-" Dr. Light answered, but was again cut off.
"Can you make him human again?" Genma asked.
"Human?" Dr. Light asked, confused. "But he's been to Jusenkyo. All he needs to become human again is a little cold water."
"I mean full time. If he's not completely human, or at least male half of the time, he is no good to me," Genma stated flatly.
"What you're asking is impossible, Mr. Saotome. We simply don't have the technology yet. In a few decades, maybe, but not now," Dr. Light said, shaking his head.
"Then why did you want to see me?" Genma asked, his voice cold and gruff.
"I believe that the sentence you passed on Ranma for his curse is unjust. Reploids are humans, by all standards that matter. The only difference between them and humans is the fact that their bodies are made up of circuits and metal, instead of flesh and bone," Dr. Light explained.
"He is a robot. When he isn't, he's a woman. Now...," Genma trailed off, his face coloring with rage. "He resorts to machines and lies to gain his freedom? Oh, the shame."
"He is human!" Dr. Light shouted, having finally lost his temper. "And he deserves much more than what you've given him! I've known him for hours, and he has already gained a great deal of respect from me; more, I suspect, than you give him after knowing him for his entire life. Your son is not weak, Mr. Saotome. You are, because you don't have the strength to stand with him," Dr. Light accused. Genma suffered silently through the tirade, his face darkening to a shade of red usually only seen on apples. By the end, he was shaking with anger.
"You side with this... machine?" Genma spat, turning to his son. Ranma, stunned at the display of emotion on both sides, merely nodded. Somehow, this seemed to calm Genma, because he stopped trembling, and his face resumed it's normal color.
"Very well, then," Genma said, his voice calm. "Ranma, as head of the Saotome clan, I revoke the oath of Giri that I forced you to undertake. You may practice martial arts as often as you choose. However, you will never be the heir to the Saotome school of martial arts." Ranma's heart, or where it should have been, leapt for joy, but another part of him was cold, and he knew that that wasn't the end of things.
"Why can't I be the heir?" Ranma asked. "I'm already better than you are, Pop." Genma didn't answer, but turned and walked to the stairs, his steps slow and deliberate. "Pop, why?" Ranma repeated. Genma, at the base of the stairs, paused. Finally, he spoke without turning to face his son.
"The heir to the Saotome school of Anything Goes martial arts must be a Saotome," Genma stated flatly, without a hint of emotion. "As of now, Ranma, I officially disown you from the Saotome clan. You are unwelcome in my presence. I will return home to my wife, in the hopes that she and I can produce a true heir to our school. Never darken our doorstep." Ranma, shocked, stood with his mouth hanging wide open as Genma ascended the stairs out of the basement. The door at the top opened, then closed, leaving Ranma alone with Dr. Light and Akane. Nobody said anything; they were all too stunned. After a minute, Ranma fell to his knees, then to all fours, the strikes of his metal body against the concrete floor booming loudly in the silent room.

* * * * * *

Flashfyre5 Presents
A Flaming Amarant production
In association with Digital Wizardry Studios, Minnesota

The Opening Bet
Chapter Six: The Death of Ranma Saotome, part 1


" " = speech
[ ] = panda board
= thought
/ / = written

* * * * * *

"I must thank thee, goodsir. Verily, I have never felt quite this capable," Tatewaki Kuno said, admiring his new body. It was less smooth than his old one, but it was much more heavily armed. His wings were no longer like a bird's; they were definitively mechanical, angular and sharp-edged. There was a sword jutting from each of his gauntlets, and his right hand was equipped with a beam emitter. His armor was heavier too, but his new wings could handle the load.
"It was nothing, really," Inferno Phoenix said, admiring his work. He felt no particular pride in this one; it was reasonably powerful, but nothing truly special.
"Now, what is the service that your master hath requested of me in return for your diligent work?" Kuno asked, turning to face Inferno.
"Just some easy stuff. First, swallow this," Inferno instructed, handing Kuno a large, purple pill.
"What be this for, I inquire?" Kuno asked, examining it.
"It's a spin-sealed gas that some of your systems need to work at optimum efficiency," Inferno lied smoothly, smiling. Kuno, unquestioning, swallowed the pill and forgot about it.
"What acts of greatness shall we now endeavor upon?" Kuno asked. He had a sick feeling in his gut, but he ignored it.
"I don't know. We'll have to wait until Lord Sigma decides to come tell us," Inferno said, leaning against a wall.
"Very well, then," Kuno agreed, sitting down. The sick feeling was intensifying, but he still said nothing. Time passed at a crawl. Inferno watched Kuno with an unwavering, unblinking stare. Kuno refused to allow the growing feeling of illness affect him, even though it had passed beyond his gut. Finally, he forced himself unsteadily to his feet. "I believe that there may be something wrong..." he choked out before his legs failed him and he fell to the ground in a heap. Inferno walked slowly over and watched Kuno's twitching, convulsing body.
When it stopped twitching, he commanded, "Get up." Slowly, Kuno's body rose from the floor, using its wings to steady itself in a way that no human being could know. When the silver Reploid was finally upright, Inferno sneered," Is this what you call military respect and honor? You're facing a commanding officer!" Kuno's body immediately snapped to attention, losing its unsteadiness. "Better," Inferno granted, looking him over. "What's your designation?"
"I am Sword Angel, Milord. At your service, naturally," Kuno's body said, its voice deeper and more respectful than it had ever been. Inferno Phoenix smiled, finally satisfied.

* * * * * *

The cargo freighter Yuki-o sailed through the choppy waters of the Sea of China. At first look, nothing seemed out of order with the ship. It had a full cargo hold. It was so full, in fact, that there were boxes tied down on the foredeck. No damage was apparent on the freighter, and its tank was quite nearly full of diesel gasoline. However, if one were to examine it more closely, the facts would quickly become alarming. The first thing that became apparent was the smell of the boat. It reeked of spoiled fish, the smell emanating from the cargo hold and the crates on deck. Secondly, all the crates were labeled in Mandarin, and dated for export over a week ago. Finally, the deck itself had traces of blood on it.

Something was not right with this ship.

There were no crew members moving about on the ship. It had, in fact, been recently listed as stolen property by one Hiro Shikata. Further investigation would reveal that he was the owner of the ship, and that there were six murders under investigation in connection with the ship's theft. Hiro himself was laid up in the hospital, having suffered severe lacerations and a collapsed chest cavity caused, the doctors had concluded, by the application of almost 500 kilograms of force.
At the wheel of the ship, though, was the most alarming thing of all. Crammed into the tiny cabin, Ryoga grasped the wheel of the freighter with his single hand. Checking his heading, he nodded. Another four hours would bring him to the shores of China. After that, it was a two-day trek to the Jusendo area, where Phoenix Mountain stood. The whole while, he was muttering to himself, his face twisted into a mask of rage.
"...red devil gonna kill her and Ranma, can't forget Ranma, no, he started this whole thing damn him, own family won't accept me now gotta kill them both...," Ryoga growled as he drove himself into a downward spiral of ever-decreasing sanity.

* * * * * *

Soun looked up as Genma walked out of the basement doorway. His expression was stoic, but Soun knew his best friend well enough that he could tell that the big man was hurting. His jaw was a bit too tightly clenched, his walk a little stiff, his eyes too fixed on something off in the distance.
"What's wrong, old friend?" Soun asked, concerned.
"Nothing that you can help with, Tendo," Genma said softly, closing the basement door. He stood silently for a moment, then said, "Tendo, it has been a true honor to know you, but I'm afraid that I must now leave," Genma finally declared.
"Why, Saotome? Did I do something wrong?" Soun asked, dismayed.
"No, Tendo, you did nothing. In fact, your family has done nothing more than make me feel at home," Genma shook his head, moving away from the door.
"Then why are you leaving?" Soun asked.
"I have disowned Ranma this evening," Genma stated flatly. Soun breathed a gasp of surprise, shocked to his very core. "My son is dead to me, now. It is not the place of the living to see the dead walking."
"I... see," Soun said, once he could gather his wits enough to speak. "Do you want your things?"
"No. I'll leave them as an offering to my son's spirit," Genma decided, slipping into his outdoor shoes. "I'm going to go back to my home, to face my wife. I will tell her that Ranma died at Jusenkyo. Perhaps I'll have a chance to father another son."
"I...," Soun began, not knowing quite what to say. "Good luck, old friend," he finally decided on, bowing deeply to Genma.
"You too, old friend," Genma replied in turn, bowing just as deeply. Without another word, he opened the front door and left the Tendo household.
"Father?" Kasumi's concerned voice intruded upon Soun, shattering the moment. "Are you all right? You haven't moved for the last five minutes."
"I'll be fine, Kasumi. I think I'll just go to bed a little early tonight," Soun replied. Keeping a tight hold on his emotions, he made his way to the stairs. Ignoring Kasumi's concerned look, he ascended them and entered his room, the room that he had once shared with his wife, Kimiko. He slowly, deliberately, closed the door, then leaned against it, finally allowing his tears to flow. Crying softly, he changed out of his gi and into a pair of pajamas. Then, he laid down in his large-enough-for-two bed and cried himself to sleep, mourning the loss of his best, and only, friend.

* * * * * *

"Pop..." Ranma choked out, smashing a fist against the concrete floor, sending a slim crack shooting a few inches forward. "Damn it, Pop. Why'd ya hafta go and do something like that? Why..." From his capsule, Dr. Light looked, speechless, at the pain he'd wrought. After a few painful minutes, he put the capsule on standby, shutting off the sight and sound of the hurting boy.
"Ranma..." Akane said, slowly approaching his kneeling form. She had emerged from her hiding place as soon as the door had closed. She wanted to comfort her friend, but wasn't quite sure if he wanted to be comforted.
"I just wanted him to respect me again," Ranma said, to nobody in particular. "He treated me like dirt, but at least he respected me. Is that really so much ta ask?"
"Maybe, for him..." Akane said, kneeling next to Ranma. "You remember how my dad used to treat me when you got here?" she asked.
"Yeah," Ranma said, looking at her.
"It was just too much for him. He couldn't handle it," she said anyway. "Then you came along. You treated me like a person, not a machine. You showed him how to do it too. You even gave me the one thing that would've solved this whole mess."
"Yeah..." Ranma said softly, looking away.
"Ranma, you can't let him beat you. You're better than he is!" Akane said, leaning towards him.
"Yeah, right," Ranma sneered. "He didn't get disowned, despite the fact that he's a thief, a liar, and a deserter."
"So, what? He's a moron. What's his opinion matter?" Akane asked, pulling backwards.
"A whole lot, since he's the head of the clan," Ranma answered, sitting back on his haunches. Akane didn't have a retort to that statement, so she remained silent.
"So," Akane asked uncomfortably. "What now?"
"Now?" Ranma asked, as if he hadn't thought of the future. "What do you mean 'what now'? Your dad'll throw me out now that Pop disowned me. I don't have anywhere else to go. There isn't a 'what now' for me anymore."
"He wouldn't!" Akane exclaimed, defending her father.
"Wouldn't he? You remember how he used to treat you," Ranma said. "He'd just throw me out with all the other trash. 'Sides, I might as well be burakumin, thanks to my Pop. If I stayed, it'd screw over your family reputation majorly."
"But..." Akane trailed off, not knowing what to say in response.
"It's okay, Akane. I'll spend the night down here, then leave in the morning. Just forget I was ever here," Ranma said, pushing himself off the floor. His face had some kind of fragile determination etched on it.
"What are you going to do?" Akane asked as Ranma turned and walked over to Dr. Light's deactivated capsule.
"Something I should've done a long time ago," Ranma replied cryptically.
"Ranma..." Akane said, worried. Ranma slowly sat down in a corner adjacent to Dr. Light's capsule.
"There's this really tall cliff in southern Honshu, near Osaka. Almost three hundred feet tall. It's beautiful, and plunges right into the sea. Always was my favorite place. Pop let me train there for almost a year, when I was eight," Ranma said, almost nostalgically. "It looks like the sea meets the earth meets the sky. It's far from civilization. Nobody ever goes there. 'Least I won't cause anybody any more pain," he finished softly, almost speaking to himself. "G'night, Akane," he said, his eyes drooping closed.
"Ranma..." Akane said again, feeling guilty. She knew that he blamed himself for not being able to help her against Ryoga. It killed her inside to know that she had only added to the pain that Ranma was feeling. "Damn it, Ranma, I just want to be your friend," she finally said, kicking the blue Reploid the leg. At the resounding *Boom* that it made, she cringed, hoping that nobody noticed. When nobody came to investigate, she relaxed and sat down with her back to Dr. Light's capsule /I hope he gets better,/ she thought to herself, then suddenly realized something.
"When did I start to think of Ranma as a guy?" She wondered aloud. After a moment of contemplation, she shook her head and activated her own sleep cycle.

* * * * * *

"Jeez, Saotome," Nabiki muttered to herself from her position near the basement door. She'd had to dive for the cover of the nearby furo when Ranma'd come up the stairs, and later, when his father had exited. Shaking her head, she got to her feet, and leg muscles that had been, for the most part, unused all day immediately sent her a very powerfully worded letter of complaint. Summoning her willpower, she ignored them and walked up to her room for the evening. However, as she passed the kitchen, her stomach decided to let her know that it too had been neglected, save for a pitiful offering earlier that day, consisting of a small fudge sundae. Though Nabiki Tendo was rarely a person to be commanded by anything, she decided to let her stomach have it's way this time, and made a detour for the kitchen.
"Why, hello, Nabiki," Kasumi greeted her, startling the younger girl out of her thoughts.
"Huh? Oh, hey Kasumi. What's up?" Nabiki asked, walking over to the refrigerator.
"Did you hear about what Mr. Saotome did?" Kasumi worried, leaning against the stove while rubbing her hands with a towel.
"Yeah. Idiot," Nabiki said, pulling out a couple of onigiri to munch on. "He's got no idea what he just did to Ranma."
"What do you mean, Nabiki?" Kasumi asked, looping her towel through the oven's handle.
"I've been watching Ranma, and from what I can tell, honor and his father have been the only thing that's kept him going.
"I thought that he didn't like his father," Kasumi said, confused.
"He hates the guy. That's the point. Ranma's been running on the idea that he'd be able to find a way to beat his old man at his own game. Now that Genma's disowned him..." Nabiki trailed off, taking a bite out of her first onigiri.
"Oh, my," Kasumi agreed. Suddenly, a resounding *Boom* echoed through the house, and Nabiki shook her head.
"I don't know what Ranma's going to be like now, but I'm not sure that I want to know," Nabiki mused.
"I don't know, Nabiki. Ranma's a very strong person. I think she'll be able to make it through this," Kasumi disagreed. "It's Akane that I'm worried about right now."
"Yeah. She probably blames herself for this whole mess. Thanks, Daddy," Nabiki said sarcastically, biting through the pickled plum at the center of her snack.
"Oh, heavens no!" Kasumi exclaimed, shaking her head. "Akane wouldn't blame herself. Ranma's been so much help to her with that. But... those two have become so close over the past few days. If something were to happen to Ranma, who knows what Akane might do." Nabiki was silent for a moment, considering this new facet.
"You know, Kasumi, you might be right," she agreed. Nabiki finished off her onigiri and picked up a second, chewing thoughtfully. After a few moments, Kasumi picked up a broom and began to sweep the kitchen, a chore that she'd traditionally reserved to be the last thing she did before going to bed. "Now that I think of it..." Nabiki finally said. "I might be able to help them." Her course decided, she picked up her plate of snacks and left for her room.
"Good night, Nabiki," Kasumi called to her as she left the kitchen.
"'Night, Kasumi," Nabiki replied, climbing the stairs. Quietly, so as not to wake her father, whom she assumed was sleeping, she slipped into her room and shut the door behind her. Collapsing onto her bed, she set her plate down next to her phone, which she immediately grabbed. From memory, she punched in a number and waited while the phone rang.
"Hello, Iwata residence," a voice finally sounded from across the line. It sounded slightly out of wind, as if someone had dashed to get the phone in time.
"I catch you at a bad time, Kenji?" Nabiki asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"I was in the shower. What's up, and why couldn't it wait till morning?" Kenji asked. Nabiki heard him sit down and slide something, most likely a pad of paper, across a flat surface.
"I'm pulling you from the rumormongering squad. I need you to find some way that Ranma and Akane can live easily, at least for a little while," Nabiki explained, twirling the phone line around her finger.
"Why? I thought you said that they could handle things," Kenji asked, confused.
"Something changed," Nabiki replied flatly.
"That big, huh? Can I ask..." he trailed off.
"No. Back to business. What can you do for Ranma and my sister?" Nabiki asked.
"Don't know. Not much, at least without help from the rest of the team," Kenji answered. Nabiki could almost see him shaking his head. "I could find some place for them to vacation to, but that'd be an obvious and temporary fix. Could run recon on what other nasties might be out there. Can't think of much else that I can do with the kind of money that I've got, Nabiki. My dad's rich as Hell, but I haven't gotten a yen of it since I dyed my hair."
"Was it really that expensive?" Nabiki asked, skeptical.
"Let's just say that I could be driving to school with what my hair dye cost me," Kenji replied. "There's real silver in the dye."
"Jeez...," Nabiki trailed off in awe. "No wonder you dad was pissed."
"He said that I had to work under you to learn just how hard money is to come by. Personally, I don't know what he's talking about. We sure don't have any trouble bringing it in," Kenji joked, eliciting a chuckle from Nabiki.
"Yeah, I guess," Nabiki replied, thinking of just how little extra money her family had after the mortgage payments on the dojo. "Anyways, I guess that running recon is your best option, but keep that vacation idea open, all right?"
"I'll do what I can, Nabiki," Kenji agreed.
"Kenji?" Nabiki said.
"Yeah?"
"Be careful. I don't want anybody getting hurt, you least of all," Nabiki cautioned, sitting up.
"I will," Kenji replied solemnly. "Where would you be without your human lie detector, eh?" Nabiki just smiled and shook her head.
"Good night, Kenji," she said.
"Good night," he replied in turn, hanging up. Nabiki dropped the receiver of the phone in its cradle and picked up her plate of onigiri again, thinking. Finally, after eating the last one, she gave up and undressed, then went to bed.

* * * * * *

Genma sighed and took in a sight that he'd not seen in over a decade: his home. It looked exactly the same as it had when he'd left it, except for the flowers out front. Nodoka had maintained a beautifully manicured garden at the time that he'd left, but now it seemed to have been neglected. He hoped that Nodoka hadn't taken the long separation too badly. Regardless, he walked up the pathway and knocked on the door. He wasn't sure why he did; it was his house, after all. For some reason, though, it just felt like the right thing to do.
Behind him, the sun peeked its way over the horizon, and Genma silently cursed his lack of foresight. He'd left all his supplies for Ranma. Thus, he didn't even have enough money to buy fare on the subway to make the trip to Juuban. Forced to walk, it had taken him all night to arrive at his house, and he was tired. He knocked again.
"Who is it?" called a voice from inside the house.
"It's me, Nodoka. It's Genma," Genma replied, recognizing his wife's voice at once.
"Genma? Come in, please," Nodoka called. Heartened by the hope in her voice, Genma entered. The first thing that he noticed about the house was that it was dark. All the lights were off, and all the windows had shades drawn over them. He removed his outdoor shoes while looking around.
"Nodoka? Where are you? I can't see," he called, stumbling over a stool in the hallway.
"I'm right here, Husband," Nodoka said, her voice right next to Genma's ear. "Follow my voice, and we'll go to the dining room to talk."
"It's good to hear you again, Nodoka. I've missed you dearly," Genma said, smiling.
"And you, Husband. Tell me, where is Ranma?" she asked, moving away from him. Genma immediately followed, biting his lip at the fact that Nodoka had come to the hard part so directly.
"I...," he started, following her footsteps. "I don't know how to say this, Nodoka," Genma said, shaking his head.
"Oh, no," Nodoka said. Genma could hear the worry in her voice, and it hurt him deeply that he would have to lie to her to save both Ranma's and his own lives.
"I'm so sorry, Nodoka. He died while we were training in China," Genma said his voice catching at the lie. Nodoka didn't seem to notice, as she was wracked by audible sobs. He moved to embrace her, but she flinched away. Genma stepped back, knowing from experience that it was best to allow her to make the next move.
"H-how?" she asked after a minute of crying. Genma, too, at this point, was beginning to shed tears. He realized that they had arrived at the dining room, and found a place at the table to sit. It hadn't moved an inch since he'd left. He could hear Nodoka moving to take a seat at the other end of the table.
"We were sparring at an accursed training ground. I had hoped that our skill together would be enough to outweigh the curse, but...," Genma trailed off, trying to keep as closely to the truth as he could.
"Did he die as man among men?" Nodoka asked, as if some immensely important piece of her sanity depended upon the answer, one way or another. Genma thought back to his journeys with his son, and all that had befallen them. He thought of his son, doubly cursed, to be both a robot and a woman, and how he'd given up his chance at acceptance for a stranger. He thought of many things, his tears coming harder as he continued.
"In all the ways that matter, he was a man above men. If it weren't for the damned training ground...," Genma finally answered. His declaration sent Nodoka into another series of sobs, but Genma sensed the subtle pride that was interwoven with her grief. he thought.
"I... I'm glad," Nodoka finally managed. "It's been so long, Husband. Do you know how hard it's been to keep going these past few years?" she asked rhetorically. "I've missed you so much."
"I've missed you too, No-chan," Genma said honestly.
"I'm glad, Husband. We've been apart for too long," Nodoka stated, and Genma found himself nodding in agreement. "I only wish that our son could have been here with us," she continued, her voice choking with emotion. Genma was just barely able to keep himself from telling her the truth then and there, but something inside of him told him that it was for the best.
"I... I don't know what to say, No-chan," he finally muttered.
"There's nothing that you can say, I suppose," she returned. "A mother and her grief. So stereotypical that it's sickening," Nodoka said aloud, almost to herself.
"No-chan, don't beat yourself up like that," Genma pleaded. Somewhere inside, he was wondering what had happened to the exuberant, proud woman that he'd married, but he ignored that part of himself as best he could. His wife was hurting, and it was his duty as her husband to alleviate it.
"Why shouldn't I?" she almost spat, shocking Genma. "I'm so horrible that my own family deserts be for ten years. Ten whole years! You never once wrote to me, Genma. Not once," Nodoka accused. Genma slumped a bit, hanging his head.
"I wanted to fulfill my side of the contract as best I could. That meant that I had to train myself as well as Ranma. I wanted to write you, to call you, but...," the big man trailed off. "But that was a weakness, and I had to be strong for Ranma's sake. I made you a promise, No-chan, and that's the only promise that really matters to me," he finished in a rush. "You know that I'd take any amount of dishonor and shame for your sake."
"I...," Nodoka tried to start, but had to swallow her own emotions first. "Thank you so much, Genma."
"I'm so sorry, Nodoka. Maybe I was wrong in wanting to train Ranma like I did. Maybe not. Only the Gods know the answer to that," he mused in reply. She rose and walked over to Genma, then kneeled beside him. For a long minute, the two looked at each other sillhouettes. Meanwhile, Genma wondered if his ears weren't going. He could swear that he heard a subsonic whine beginning to build. Finally, as if she could contain herself no longer, Nodoka threw herself into Genma's arms. Immediately, as Genma clasped his arms around her back, he knew that something was very, very wrong. Nodoka's arms around him felt like blocks, and her back was entirely too hard, and full of sharp angles.
"Then perhaps we should go ask them," Nodoka whispered, placing her steel lips on her husband's fleshy ones. Meanwhile, the whine had built to a crescendo, and Nodoka performed the last action that she had ever wanted to. With a roar, Nodoka's fusion core overloaded in a fiery holocaust, the blast designed to reduce herself and anything nearby to their component molecules. The shockwave from the explosion leveled the house and caused significant damage to neighboring ones. A shockwave accompanied the thunderous explosion as it rent the early morning air, setting off car alarms and shattering windows for blocks around.

* * * * * *

Ranma jerked forward, breaking his sleep cycle abruptly. He blinked a few times, trying to calm down, even as he got his breathing under control.
"Mom...," he muttered. "Jeez, what a dream."
"'Bout time you woke up," Akane said with a tired half-humor. She had walked around the corner into the alcove where the hot water heater and Dr. Light's capsule were housed while he was recovering from his dream.
"Yeah. A real sleeping beauty, huh?" Ranma asked sardonically. Akane chuckled a bit, a smile alighting on her face.
"I guess," she agreed, shaking her head. "You feel like getting out? There was an explosion down by Juuban. I want to check it out."
"You think that Ryoga might be back?" Ranma asked
"Uh huh," Akane nodded, a worried look on her face. Ranma rolled his eyes, and Akane burst out laughing. The morning light, shining through a small window, struck her from behind, giving her an almost angelic appearance. Ranma was silent for a moment, then saved the image to a backup memory drive. For some reason he couldn't identify, the sight of Akane, standing there with the sun to her back and her helmet underneath her arm struck him like nothing else ever had before.
"All right, all right. It wasn't that funny," Ranma grinned as Akane finally got her giggles under control.
"Yes, it was," Akane argued. "It's just so... you."
"Huh?" Ranma asked, confused.
"You know, how you always try to make everything better," Akane explained. "I'm so worried about Ryoga and you're trying to make it seem less important."
"Whatever," Ranma gave in, pushing himself to his feet. "Let's go."
"All right," Akane agreed, sliding her helmet over her head and pulling her wild ponytail through its slot.
"Ranma, would you wait for a moment?" Dr. Light suddenly called. Ranma turned to face the capsule, surprised that it was active.
"What's up, Doc?" he asked, his left leg on the first step.
"I'm sorry for what I did last night," Dr. Light apologized.
"It's okay," Ranma said, a half-grin springing to his face. "You were just tryin' to help."
"Regardless, I feel that I owe you a favor. Come here; I have plans for an upgrade," Dr. Light commanded.
"Huh?" Ranma said, turning around and approaching the capsule.
"I was constructed to give you enhancements, should you need them. There are three other capsules, scattered somewhere around the world, each designed to give you a specific modification. I am the fourth, and I contain an enhancement for your legs. If you step inside, I'll upgrade you, as my way of apologizing," Dr. Light explained. Ranma looked at Akane and shrugged.
"How long will it take?" Akane asked, wanting to investigate the explosion.
"Just a few moments, I promise you," Dr. Light reassured her. Akane looked back at Ranma and returned his shrug. Ranma half-grinned and turned to face Dr. Light.
"Sure, whatever you say, Doc," Ranma said, stepping up onto the base of the cylinder. Once he was inside, the glass wall of the capsule smoothly rose up to encase him. It closed with a hiss, and the pad beneath Ranma's feet began to glow brightly. Four lenses moved down along the sides of the capsule, stopping when they were level with Ranma's feet. Then, they began to spin around him, as the pulsating lights sped up. The base of the pod shone even more brightly, and issued forth three large black metal bars and one smaller golden one. Each bar came out of the floor in front of one of the lenses, each of which immediately released a beam of incandescent energy. The metal slowly shattered apart, but remained floating in the lower area of the capsule. Once the bars were completely dissolved, the lenses ceased the firing of their beams and began to spin at increasing speeds until one could not be told from another. Then, they each fired a beam of snowy white, these beams striking Ranma. Where these beams struck, the black and gold metal particles immediately moved to affix themselves, molding and re-molding themselves to form a new skin of armor atop the old. The lenses slowly moved up his legs, stopping at his knees. There, the beams dissipated, the lenses stopped, and the lights fell dead. Slowly, almost jerkily, the glass of the cylinder lowered itself, and Ranma stepped out, admiring his new 'boots.'
"Whoa," Ranma breathed, twisting and contorting so that he could get a better view of his modified legs. "Akane, did you see that?"
"Yeah," confirmed an equally surprised Akane.
"Ranma, you are now equipped with dash jets similar in design and manufacture to Akane's," Dr. Light cut in, his hologram flickering to life. "In addition, you should be able to use them to maintain a hovering position for a short time. Naturally, they also serve as increased protection for your lower body," he continued. Suddenly, his hologram dissolved into static, then slowly re-formed itself. "I'm afraid that I've drained my power reserves, Ranma. I've only a few moments left. Thank you for allowing me the chance to meet you both, and I wish you and Akane a happy and long life," Dr. Light said, his hologram flickering into static. One by one, the few lights still lit within the capsule flickered and died, until even the critical power reading displays had too little energy to remain lit. Ranma and Akane stared at the capsule in stunned silence. Finally, Ranma stepped forward and placed his right hand on the capsule wall.
"Goodbye, Doc," he said quietly. "And thanks for everything." Ranma took a deep breath, let it out slowly, then turned and walked towards the basement stairwell purposefully. After a moment, Akane turned and followed him. On her left cheek, defying whatever conventions that her blueprints had dictated, a somewhat grainy drop of liquid was slipping away from her eye. It splashed to the ground, allowing the iron suspended within the teardrop to settle to the concrete floor, unnoticed by anyone.


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And now, for any followers of the series, a special treat! Here's a preview of Chapter 7!

Flashfyre5 Presents
A Flaming Amarant production
In association with Digital Wizardry Studios, Minnesota

Iron Tears, formerly known as The Opening Bet
Chapter Seven: The Death of Ranma Saotome, part 2


* * * * * *

Ranma opened the basement door quietly, stepping up and out of the underground room as quietly as he could. Though he refused to allow anyone, especially Akane, to see it, he had a gaping hole inside of him, a hole left by Dr. Light's death and his own father's... actions. He could still barely comprehend the enormity of what his father had done. Still, he had Akane to think about. Resolutely, he kept a cheerful smile plastered on his face, determined that she, at least, would be happy. As he moved away from the basement door, he heard Akane coming up after him, not bothering to be so quiet. /She's probably right,/ Ranma thought, glancing out a window at the predawn city of Tokyo. /Nobody'll be up this early./ Regardless, he moved stealthily towards the front door.
"Morning, Ranma," a chilling, female voice commented casually from behind him. Ranma froze, cursing himself, and turned to face the one person that he had hoped to avoid this morning.
"Morning, Nabiki," Ranma replied to Nabiki, who was sitting calmly on the stairs in a blue robe, holding a steaming cup of tea.
"Morning, Akane," Nabiki greeted her sister as she rounded the stairs.
"Morning, Nabiki. Why are you up so early?" Akane asked, oblivious of the lie that Ranma had spun earlier.
"Just waiting for you to get home from Yuka's," Nabiki said as she sipped her tea, trying desperately to hide her smile.
"Huh?" Akane asked intelligently as Ranma buried his face in his hands.
"You know, Yuka, your friend, at whose apartment you just spent the night," Nabiki taunted, keeping her tone serious and her cup in place. Akane glanced back at Ranma, saw his reaction, and quickly realized that this was not the time to tell the truth.
"Oh, right, Yuka," Akane lied, laughing lightly. "Yeah, we had a great time."
"Could you be any less convincing?" Ranma asked flatly.
"Well, you didn't even bother to tell me," Akane hissed in reply. Faced with all this, Nabiki couldn't retain her composure and burst out laughing.
"Jeez, you two are rich," Nabiki finally said, once she got herself under control. "Seriously, though, you don't need to lie to me. I heard everything last night."
"Everything?" Ranma asked, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Pretty much," Nabiki confirmed. She took another sip of tea, then looked at them both seriously. "Whatever else happens, you two be careful."
"We will, Nabiki," Akane said, walking to the door. "C'mon, Ranma. Let's go."
"Yeah," he agreed, turning to follow her out.
"Hey, Ranma," Nabiki called after Akane had left.
"Yeah?" he asked, halfway out the door himself. Nabiki had gotten up and followed them to the door, and now stood mere inches away from Ranma.
"Don't go screaming off the deep end. My little sister's gotten a lot better since you got here, all thanks to you. I don't want to see what would happen if you left," Nabiki said quietly, praying inside that Akane couldn't hear her. "You've always got a place here, even if I have to throw out Daddy to make sure of it." Ranma was struck dumb by Nabiki's words; he simply had nothing to compare this kind of generosity to. "Now get out of here, you. Akane's waiting," Nabiki said, smiling. Ranma returned the smile and slipped out the door, shutting it behind him with a soft *click*.
"What kept you?" Akane asked, standing at the front gate.
"Nabiki just had something to say. C'mon, I'll race you to the train station," Ranma challenged. Akane merely grinned in reply, and the two fired their dash jets, arrowing for the nearby building.

* * * * * *

Nabiki shook her head as she heard Ranma and Akane blasting away from the house. She turned from the front hall and slowly made her way into the dining room, where she sat down and continued to nurse her tea and think. She turned facts and ideas over in her mind, discarding some and setting others aside for further examination. There was no real pattern to her musings, but she always came back to the great enigma that Ranma and Akane's relationship seemed to be. The two seemed to change to a different dynamic with each passing moment, moving between friends, friendly adversaries, shoulders for each other to cry on, just to name a few. There were others that Nabiki had identified and a few that she was still unsure of.
"Good morning, Nabiki," Kasumi's cheerful voice suddenly greeted her. Nabiki nearly jumped out of her skin with surprise, then turned to face her older sister.
"Jeez, Kasumi. Don't sneak up on me like that," she teased, clutching at her heart. Kasumi had to stifle a chuckle, and Nabiki grinned widely.
"You were so deep in thought," Kasumi said, moving to sit next to her sister at the table. She was dressed in a robe identical to Nabiki's, except for the fact that it was white.
"Yeah, I know. It's just fun to poke a little fun at you when I can," Nabiki agreed. "So, what's for breakfast?"
"Oh, I don't know," Kasumi said, sighing. "Maybe some okonomiyaki?" she suggested.
"That," Nabiki said, her smile growing wider, "would be just heavenly. We haven't had okonomiyaki in ages."
"Then I'll get started," Kasumi agreed, rising. Suddenly, the phone rang, and the eldest Tendo daughter immediately moved to get it.
"I'll get it, Kasumi," Nabiki said, getting up. "You go make breakfast." Kasumi nodded, and walked to the kitchen while the phone rang a second time. Nabiki walked over to it and managed to pick it up before it rang a third time.
"Tendo residence," she said simply.
"Boss, it's me," Junko's harried voice sounded across the line.
"What's up? You're calling awfully early," Nabiki said, her voice quiet. She knew that her elder sister frowned upon her 'business' dealings, but there was a mortgage to meet and bills to pay.
"We got trouble. Word on the street is that your sister and her friend caused the school's destruction. Me and Hitomi don't like this one bit," Junko announced roughly.
"What about Aiko?" Nabiki asked.
"Haven't heard from her since yesterday. Kenji said that he's got other things to do, so it's just us two," Junko replied. Nabiki bit her lip and twirled the phone cord around her index finger. "Boss, this aint good," Junko continued after the silence. "If this keeps up, you're gonna have the cops bangin' at your door in a few days."
"I know," Nabiki replied, silently thankful for the non-intrusive nature of the Japanese law enforcement system. "All right, here's what we do. You and Aiko go out and find some kind of proof that there was someone else in the area. I'll see what I can do to prove that Sis and Ranma aren't crazy," Nabiki decided, pushing the cord off her finger.
"And leave Hitomi alone with the rumor business?" Junko asked skeptically.
"It'd be a moot point that you're spreading rumors if my sister's in jail," Nabiki replied. "Find evidence. Soon."
"I'll do what I can, Boss," Junko agreed, hanging up.
"Do better," Nabiki said to the dead phone line, then hung up.
"Who was that, Nabiki?" Kasumi asked from the kitchen.
"Nobody," Nabiki replied, walking over to join her sister. "Absolutely nobody."

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