Mirrors Multiplied, Original Flavor

by Skysaber

As it was when it was first posted, barring some minor spellchecks and formatting. This story lives, and will be continued. Chapter 20 is mostly done. (Please disregard old email addy - story's old)

16. 16

Mirrors Multiplied

Part Sixteen
The Sword of Kasumi

by Jared Ornstead
aka Skysaber

Disclaimer:
Um, like don't blame me, okay? I only work here.

************************************************
Somewhen, Somewhere

"Captain's Log, Stardate Unknown. A peculiar energy disturbance has
swept through the area, leaving certain changes in it's wake. The dates
in our computer and history logs are no longer the ones that I remember,
even if I could be certain of what I remember, as I seem to have two,
complete sets of memory regarding many incidents in question. In
addition, our history seems to have altered. The Enterprise now carries
added weaponry I'd previously recalled as Romulan and Klingon, along
with an upgrade to many of our existing systems. Reviewing past logs has
confirmed much of what I'd believed to be accurate, it's the changes
that disturb me. One part of me recalls a drawn out war against the
Klingons, while another knows of nothing of the kind. If I feel these
changes begin to interfere in my duty in any way, I will immediately
consult with Bones and Spock. I would have done this before, except part
of me seems unusually disturbed by seeing Spock regularly lose to Bones
at chess. Log out."

*****
Universe C

"Uh, Ranma, why don't you go on ahead? My sisters and I have some
things we've got to discuss."
"Sure Nabiki. See you at school."
"Sure Ranma."
Ranko ran off to school.
Serena twirled. "So Moneybelts, what was so important you had to
send Ranma away?"
Kasumi stepped forward. "I think I know what she was going to ask,
Serena. We were wondering if perhaps we could impose on one of your
friends to move in with them for a while. And don't call her Moneybelts.
It's not very nice."
Serena rolled her eyes and poked Nabiki's middle. There was a
distinctive rustle of cash. "Why not? She's always wearing one."
"Because it isn't very nice, and if she's wearing one then other
people shouldn't be allowed to know."
For the millionth time Nabiki wished she could understand her
youngest sister. Every time she pegged her for a fool Serena would go
and do something surprising, and every time she thought there might be a
brain in between those yellow locks then a rash of *extremely* ditzy
actions would chase that thought somewhere off into the next universe.
Nabiki could only conclude that her sister was very weird.
She sighed.
"Serena, this is important. Look, I wear the money belt to keep our
fathers away from our stash. Kasumi does the same thing by putting hers
in the bottom of the dirty diaper pail when she babysits next door every
evening. It keeps our fathers out of our savings, which is more than any
bank could do."
"So pointing out that she wears one is not helping. What if Happosai
were to want drinking money? Where would he go if he were to have
overheard you talking about this?"
Serena's face fell into an exaggerated, and entirely believable,
mask of sorrow. She hung her head. "I'm sorry."
"So could we crash at one of your friends' places?"
Her head snapped up. "What, tonight?!?" Serena bit her lip. Not
tonight. It *couldn't* be tonight. She was going out with Dawn's Avatar
and the Star of Twilight (aka, Rae and Mina respectively) to go trounce
some crime lords over in the west side of town. There was a even
spider-based cyborg that looked fit to provide *hours* of
villain-stomping, face-booting fun. Liquid Metal (aka Amy, who'd been
too busy to hang out with them of late) might even be showing. She
*couldn't* miss out on it!
And if her sisters found out they'd soon be sleeping in the Moon
Cave, bunking with Melvin. And neither one of them was careful enough to
keep their fathers out of her hideaway once *that* happened.
"Would your friends not like that?" Kasumi asked fearfully.
"Sis, we have *gotta* get away somehow. There's no way we can openly
go against Mr. Saotome's schemes if we're still living there. And I
don't fancy myself as his kind of 'entertainer'. Do you think a little
money could convince one of them? We *really* need a place. Even enough
to pay a low rent."
Serena smiled, they were *so* clueless. "No, I'm sure it will be
fine."
Both older sisters felt immense relief. Kasumi smiled. "Thank you,
I'm sure you know which friend of yours would be best for this. If you
could ask her we would both appreciate it. We can begin moving our
things after dinner tonight, when father and Mr. Saotome leave to go
bar-hopping."
"Look, if there's anything you need of me..." Nabiki left the offer
dangling.
Serena filed the offer away for future reference. "Nah, I'm sure it
will be cool. I'll ask Lita first. There's alot of empty room up in
stately Storm Manor."
"We would appreciate it." Kasumi nodded, then her eyes flew wide and
her jaw hit the pavement.
Nabiki could feel the flesh creeping along her spine. "Lita lives up
there? Look, we wouldn't want to impose. I mean, I'm sure her boss
wouldn't want two relatives of her friend showing up, would she?"
Serena had already determined that the time for *certain* secrets
was ending. "It's not a big deal." She singsonged. "Besides, she doesn't
*have* a boss, and I'm sure it will be cool for you to stay there."
"Waitaminute," Nabiki tried to collect herself.
"What is Lita's last name?" Kasumi asked suspiciously, realizing
that after all this time she still didn't know.
"Storm. What's the big deal?"
"Lita Storm?"
"Yeah."
"She wouldn't happen to be any relative of the owner of Storm
Industries, would she? I mean, if she lives there..."
Serena summoned mock anger to deal with this 'stupidity'. She
clenched fists and stuck her face toward her sister. "Nabiki! How
clueless can you get! Lita *is* the owner of Storm industries! She's
been an orphan since she was, like, five years old and has been running
the company since before puberty!"
With horrible clarity Nabiki could recall calling up that number and
browbeating Lita when Serena had been gone for long periods and gotten
them worried. It had always stuck her as odd how calm the girl remained
through it.
Serena shrugged one shoulder, now totally composed. "Anyway, I'll
ask her to have Securitech send a van over to pick up all our stuff.
They're a subsidiary of Storm. Hey! Maybe you could even join us on our
next Hawaii beach trip! That would be *so* cool! We can, like, talk that
over once the junk gets moved. Anyway, I'll be sleeping over at Amy's
tonight."
Excellent. Now both sisters were too dazed to be aware that they had
already accepted they weren't going to be upsetting her schedule of
disappearances. Cool!
Picking a flower from a nearby bush, Serena laid it on Nabiki's
tongue for a decoration and skipped off for school, humming cheerfully.
Bees soon began to investigate the flower.
About a minute later Kasumi summoned the resources to faint.

Ranko had long ago reached the school gates. She'd found another
girl waiting there, and the moment Ranko stepped into sight the girl's
undivided attention zeroed in upon her.
"I've been waiting for you, A-ko."
A-ko? Probably a nickname, she'd had worse. Ranko replied without
twitching a hair.
"Waiting for me? How very kind of you." She gave a small bow to the
other girl. "Shall we go in to school now?"
A crack appeared in the other girl's hostility. Not a thawing, but
more of a 'I can't believe I got that response from you' sort of crack.
The other girl covered it instantly.
"No, I'm afraid there was nothing friendly about it. You and I have
some very old business we have to discuss."
Ranko gave a weary sigh, drooping her arms and shoulders. "No, wait.
Let me guess. We knew each other in school a very, very long time ago
and I upset you. You gave me a formal challenge and claim I never showed
up, soiling your honor forever and leaving a lasting scar that has never
healed. Am I right?"
The young lady was eagerly astonished. "You mean you *do* remember!"
She gloated, finding some satisfaction in that her memory had lived on.
Ranko stuck a hand behind her head in embarrassment. "Ah, no,
actually. I just picked that out of the air. It's the usual reason for
people to attack me at the gates of a school, though... Well, this
wouldn't apply in *your* case, but the other reason is to give me
flowers and spout poetry. So that left the other one as a likely guess."

The girl had facefaulted.
Ranko bent down and lifted a lock of brown hair out of the other
girl's face. "Would it be too much if I were to ask your name?"
The girl came up shouting. "My name is B-ko and I'm challenging
you!"
Ranko blinked. "Well, okay. Would you like to set the time and
victory conditions?"
B-ko confidently crossed her arms. "Here and now, with victory being
decided when you give C-ko back to be *my* friend and *you* beg for
mercy."
Ranko also crossed her arms. "Nope."
The brown-haired girl facefaulted again. When she arose stuttering
in rage Ranko lifted a finger, stopping her. "In the first place I never
barter away a friendship with someone (even if I have no idea who they
are) based on something as stupid as a fight. And *secondly* your
victory conditions only provide for a win for you. They never even say
what I have to get *you* to do to acknowledge defeat."
"Oh, I don't think I'll have to worry about that." B-ko replied
confidently.
An industrial loadlifter glided by and dropped off a suit of powered
armor, one large enough to be a small mecha.
Ranko sighed a visible little mushroom.
"What do you want from me, B-ko?"
"I want revenge from when you stole *my* friend away!" The older
girl practically screamed.
Ranko's head came up. "How about restitution instead? Revenge is a
diet that only makes one hungrier, until you end up the main course in
somebody *else's* feast. Wouldn't you rather I made it up to you
instead?"
B-ko blinked, then assumed a more casual stance. "Well, I wouldn't
mind that. But, of course the only thing I want from you is to see you
humiliated. That, and to have C-ko back, of course."
Ranko wished she knew who or what a C-ko was. She got a feeling it
could be important.
"And what would be appropriately humiliating? For starters at
least?" Ranko inquired patiently.
B-ko had never even thought of that. She blinked. "Oh, well, I guess
having you on your knees begging me to spare your life would be a good
start."
Ranko squeezed her eyes shut. Why did she always get the weird ones?
Still it was only pride...
"Fine." She said. "You win three fights and I'll do that. But now I
get *my* terms. If and when you lose I get to...." She blinked
thoughtfully. "Um, what could you have that I would want?"
B-ko stood there, having no idea herself.
There was an agonizing moment of silence.
"Okaaaay." Ranko concluded. "If I win then you have to be my friend
for a day. And none of that sneaking or backbiting stuff, you have to at
least *treat* me as if we were honestly close friends, okay?"
B-ko opened her mouth to object but Ranko cut her off. "And do you
have anything *else* in mind? I won't allow you to shoot down one idea
unless you propose another."
B-ko closed her mouth. Getting pouty, she looked away. "That seems a
little extreme."
Ranko facefaulted.
The redhead came up shouting. "And what *I* have to do ISN'T?!!"
The older girl remained unruffled. "Yes, but that only comes into
play after I've beaten you *three* times. While your condition takes
effect after the first. It's not fair."
Ranko growled. "Okay. Propose something that *would* be fair."
B-ko blinked a few times, not used to this style of debate. "Oh,
well I suppose...." She snapped her fingers. "I've got it! Winner gets
to keep the loser, getting them to do whatever she says. In your case
you would be my humble and appropriately obedient servant, and in mine,
well, I guess that I could be your friend."
When it became obvious that the other girl wasn't going to have any
immediate improvements on that idea Ranko amended. "No immoral actions,
nothing you couldn't get a perfectly ordinary friend or servant to do,
but sure. Duration lasts only eight hours a day and only until the next
fight. Deal?"
"Becoming a permanent arrangement upon the third victory. Deal."
B-ko waved her powersuited friend forward. "Mina, kill."
The powersuit took one, massive step forward and stopped. Ranko
waltzed around it and breezed past B-ko, handing her a torn-out power
cable. "Here you go. See you in school! Let's go for lunch together
afterward, okay?"
The brown-haired B-ko stared unbelievingly at the cable for several
seconds, then clamped her fist around it and growled.
About a minute after the scene of battle had cleared three Tendo
girls came running in to school, followed a moment later by a redheaded
girl who really *was* named A-ko, towing her best friend C-ko along to
class.

That evening Ranma discovered the changes to his male form, and went
about town to get away from the madhouse back at the Tendo place of
Akane screaming at her three sisters about how stupid they were. And all
three sisters pleading with Akane to give up her fetish with cyberware
and hyper-strength boosters and come with them.
While he was out enjoying the city he was observed by a shadowy
figure, who fell back out of sight and reported on his radio.
"Yah, it's him alright. He's blond, muscular, and somehow no longer
Japanese. But there's no mistaking a Saotome, especially this one. You
can inform the men, and send out a call to a certain fleet admiral who I
know will be interested."

The second morning was strained at the Tendo house, as all the
daughters but Akane were missing, and Kasumi had left a note saying that
they no longer wished to remain while Mr. Saotome was their father's
guest.
Akane had started blaming Ranma (back in girl form), Genma had kept
cutting off the retreats, and the resultant discussion had left half of
the house in ruins.
Ranko had skipped out on the following waterworks and gone off to
beat B-ko's latest mecha invention, spending the rest of the day after
school with her newly acquired (albeit supremely reluctant) friend.
B-ko was getting quite upset by the defeats. But Ranko's charm was
having a mitigating effect. Or at least she was making it easy to lose
with good grace, something that the elder girl might eventually take
advantage of.
Back at the house, a woman entered calmly into the wreckage,
trailing a small team of dark suited men behind her. She seemed to
appraise everything in a few cool glances, pausing only to note the
drugs on the table with evident distaste.
The bald man sputtered. "Doka-chan, what are *you* doing here?"
The redhaired beauty regarded him without friendliness.
"Well, Genma. I guess you could say I became curious when you began
doing recent searches regarding the name of my son, whom you supposedly
killed. Now I don't care much for you, but recalling your experience as
a liar I began to wonder if my son ever really died. A little searching
on my own uncovered recent bank records, travel logs, school reports,
online files, indeed, all the trappings of a life being lived by a young
man, including some rather substantial medical records regarding
injuries one might receive being mauled by lions."
Nodoka's eyes became, if it were possible, even more severe. "So,
Genma. Where is my son?"
Soun intervened, stepping between them and reverting to familiar
speech habits. "What do you want with that cripple?"
A sharp glance assured the man that he had just become her enemy for
life, and that there was no idle threat to this, even for such as he.
"So he does live." Nodoka confirmed to herself. "Very well, you will
now turn him over or we shall see whether a few petty crime lords are
capable of withstanding the undivided attention of the Masaki Ninja."

*****
Heaven's Outer Court In That Same Universe

Shapely bronze fingers twisted the approach of the laser brush just
slightly and crafted a steady, curvaceous line on the holodisplay's
paint program.
Mara materialized in a cloud of sulfurous stench, in mid-gloat.
"Bite me, Urd!" The demoness presented her posterior and patted it.
"This proves that my tools are better than yours! I got my man to cast a
wish that will utterly destroy that man of your sister's."
The white-tressed goddess lay down her high-tech instrument and gave
an unruffled smile. "What makes you so sure, Mara? It's not as if you've
won already." She waved her hand and a richly detailed hologram
appeared, relaying pertinent information. The computer (sounding a bit
like James Earl Jones) spoke. "System estimate that subject will find
way to overcome current set of difficulties: 16.587%."
Urd smirked and regarded the demoness with a half-lidded expression.
"Are you so sure of everything that you want to start celebrating your
success now?"
The demoness pouted, grumbling. "Man, I liked you better when it was
all spells and witchcraft. Why'd you have to modernize?"
Urd appeared amused. "You know better, Mara. My realm is the past.
Skuld is already back to wearing bearskins and using a twisted length of
machine piping as a club. We all reflect our portfolios. This
techno-society is so unstable it is already about to fall, and as such
it's begun leaking into what I do. I can't help that any more than you
can stop dressing like street trash."
The demoness presented a fact sheet (slightly rumpled and showing
sign of fast food stains) and pointed to it, pointedly ignoring the
hologram. "I've got it right here. As a result of my servant's wish, the
boy remembers *too* much. The boy recalls his training under Queen
Beryl, gets twisted by that *other* thing my duplicate had done to him,
and before he's able to stabilize he gets to remember a hundred assorted
training atrocities like the Cat Fist, then gets washed under from the
evil of his servitude with the Phantom. Pluto had locked *that* away
from his mind for a reason. You've lost him, goddess. Get ready to pay
up on our bet."
Urd's lips neither scowled nor smiled but seemed to do both. "We
haven't lost him yet, Mara. And Belldandy does *not* give up on such
things."
Demoness poked goddess in the sternum. "You'd better start
memorizing lyrics, Urd. I'm going to hear the 'Itchy, Oochie, Coochie
Song' from you pretty quick."
Urd tossed an eyebrow skyward. "Just so long as you remember how to
sing Handel's Messiah, Mara."
The demoness shied at the reminder. "That ain't gunna happen. I'll
be watching you for tricks."
"Cheating's more *you're* style, Mara. And I remember no divine *or*
infernal influence directly on the principals in the life of the
subject. If I catch you at something like, say, going back in time to
influence Genma over his thirty years of life prior to that wish, say.
Then Father will have some words to say with you Himself on the
Subject."
Mara went all stammery and white for a second. In spite of her
*knowing* that Urd had no proof that threat chilled. The Almighty was
the only one excepted from the great doublet program. The backlash
programming in the Yggdrassil system that kept demons and gods from
slaughtering one another. If He thought her offense was bad enough (and
now that she thought about it, she *had* crossed the line a few times)
He could remove her from existence totally, and without remorse.
Mara scowled. "Good luck trying, Urd."
Then she disappeared in a foul smelling cloud.

*****
Meanwhile, In The Universe Next Door

Nabiki huffed arrogantly. "Oh, get it *over* with, Saotome. There is
no single thing that can solve all the problems *you've* managed to
accumulate. You KNOW that whatever you wish for will just make your
problems worse anyway. Why not just give it up?"
Ranma looked downcast at the table. "Well, Kasumi?"
"Ranma?"
"Everyone else seems to have something to add, I just thought I'd
give you an opportunity to throw in your bit as well, is all." Ranma's
voice was bitter. Here he had something that could end his curse, and he
couldn't get any help in figuring out how to do it.
"Actually, yes, Ranma. I do." Kasumi looked down at her sewing. This
was far too close to the spotlight for her to be comfortable. Her
analysis was complete. Kasumi estimated an 85% chance of eliminating
more than one problem. Maybe she could eliminate some of her own while
she was at it.
Everyone blinked a couple of times.
"You know of a way to do this?" Ranma couldn't keep the eagerness
out of his voice.
"You'd have to turn the wish over to me to avoid potential
conflicts, but yes." Deep down a tiny bit of worry developed. Did she
want to do this? If she did, then would it be for the better? If she
didn't, then did she want to watch all these unresolved issues and
conflicts continue to fester like some infected wound?
"Shampoo not sure about this."
"Hey, Kasumi, what are you planning?"
Akane sat back, stunned. KASUMI had an idea?
"Sis, I think I need to talk to you." Nabiki began to sweat. She
knew her eldest sister had a surface layer of obliviousness hiding many
deeper layers. The concept of losing certain sources of income was
horrifying.
"Wishbringer, grant Kasumi the wish you would have granted the
pigtailed girl." Ranma handed the sword over. If it had been anyone
else, he would have hesitated, but this was KASUMI.
Kasumi awkwardly took the blade in her hands. "Now then,
Wishbringer. Ranma here has many problems that he has a lot of trouble
dealing with. His father didn't do a very good job of raising him. He's
engaged to a number of girls, but, of course, he can only marry one.
He's often brash, egotistical, and self-centered."
"HEY!" Ranma looked hurt.
Kasumi continued. "Nabiki's trying to make a profit off the various
situations has made things worse, and she hasn't been very nice."
"Um, Kasumi," Nabiki managed nervously as a number of glares were
turned her way.
"None of his girlfriends get along with each other. Shampoo's from
such a different way of life that she tries to draw him closer, but only
drives him away."
"Hmm?" Shampoo turned introspective for a moment as she considered
this.
"Ukyo's viewed as an old male buddy. Kodachi," Kasumi paused, "I
have heard is probably not all right in the head. Akane neither trusts
nor listens to what he has to say."
"Nobody ever listens to me," grumped Ranma.
"What was that, Ranma?" Akane asked in a distracted tone. What was
Kasumi doing?
"Nobody listens to him, or believes him even when he's telling the
truth."
"He's not rich," said Nabiki, genuinely seeing this as a major
shortcoming. "He doesn't understand the value of a yen."
"He's not wise in money matters, either," translated Kasumi. "He's
not wealthy or that responsible. In short, he's got a lot of rough edges
that need polished."
"He also can't leap TALL buildings, isn't stronger than a
locomotive, tougher than a tank, or faster than a speeding bullet." Ukyo
put in, then blinked when Kasumi repeated all that word for word.
Kasumi paused, ignoring the strange looks she was getting as she
took a deep breath. "I wish you'd fix it so that all these shortcomings
and problems were no longer applicable to Ranma, and that he remains
both alive and male."
Everyone blinked a few times. Akane whistled, impressed.
GRANTED!> The sword grunted and shattered, having exceeded its
magical capacity.
Ranma vanished.

*****
Back In Universe C

Urd smiled at her monitor.
"Gotcha, Mara. That *dear* Tendo girl used a fifth class magical
object to make a first class wish. Now this could go one of two ways.
The poor sword could contact the nearest class one magical power and
petition it for energy to fulfill the wish, probably with nasty
consequences as most powers of that level are either mischievous or hate
to be disturbed. Or...."
The view focused in on perfect lips, expanding out to see Urd's
glinting, too-innocent expression.
"It could evoke a simple transport enchantment on the nearest Ranma
who fits those terms. Hmm, which will it choose?"
Her finger stabbed down on a button, Urd innocently looking the
other way as it did the dirty deed. Then she brought both hands to her
face and squirmed in giggles. Relaxing, she leaned back in her chair.
"And it's not as if I've broken the rules. My action was on a
magical object, not *any* of the major players."

Unfortunately, Skuld and Belldandy had been trying much the same
thing with other worlds at roughly the same times. And since Belldandy
was acknowledged as a principle player on one of those worlds her
intervention was allowed to be significant.
It was just bad luck that lots of other things started to happen at
once.

There was a gravitic disturbance of measurable proportions not far
from the third planet of the sol system. When the shimmering globe of
distorted realtime had stabilized a small fleet of warships had
appeared.
"De-fold operation completed Admiral. Any further orders?"
Lisa sat rigidly in her chair, unable to take any comfort. "No,
Claudia. Just monitor the local communications channels and try not to
be picked up on our approach to Earth."
"Well, I don't see how there's any chance of that." Offered one of
the bridge girls. "After all, at the era we're jumping into they
shouldn't have more than a few telescopes trained on the skies. Most of
*our* satellites from the period were trained on weather patterns."
"I only hope Belldandy knew what she was doing and coming here to
get him home is really as important as she says it is." Lisa sat in
concern. "I would rather have waited for him to get back on his own, if
we could."

Around Earth a massively armed space station orbited, and alarms
were sounding.
A woman ran up the stairs to the command platform in the open bridge
area. Panting, she slid into her console station before the commander's
chair.
"What do we got?" He asked of her.
The lady slid on her headset, expertly reading her monitors as the
rest of the command crew scurried about. "An object or objects which we
can't identify has penetrated our Absolute Defense Sphere and the course
it's now on will bring it into collision with this station in less than
eleven minutes!"
"WHAT?!!"
For the commander it had been like asking the time of day and being
told it was merely minutes until the legitimate end of the world. The
female crewer went on to state. "Unidentified object bearing intelligent
life forms. Estimated fighting power above level three hundred!"
The commander swept the room with his voice. "Sound action stations.
Condition Red!"
"Roger." The bridge girl who's job it was keyed the override,
station-wide alert channel and began speaking very calmly. "Action
stations. Action stations. All strike units scramble immediately. All
strike units, scramble immediately."
In the barracks pilots looked up from their games and scattered to
the music of alarms and running feet amidst a hail of falling cards. The
duty watch of pilots ran from their ready rooms into the seats of
waiting fighters. Automated control systems immediately began closing
hatches and feeding the launch fighters through their armament stations.

A local command officer gave authorization to open the weapon
magazines and soon bulky canisters potent enough to make normal missiles
seem like cartons of cream cheese were sliding down tracks where robotic
loading systems began fitting them to corresponding launchers on the
strike fighters. As the first rank of fighters completed arming the rest
of the pilots were already pouring in while new ranks of fighters were
brought forward to their bays.
A major sat in his cockpit and swallowed heavily as he triggered the
control that would bring his squadron into launch position.
The process was over sooner than many could have believed possible.
Intercom carried the flight leader's voice to the bridge. "Strike
units ready for takeoff."
"Roger, Strike One." The female officer pivoted to face her
commander. "Sir?"
The officer made the best decision he was able. "All strike units,
take off!"
"Aye aye, sir." The lady turned again to her communicator. "Strike
One, this is Command Center. Launch all units."
Thrusters lit up and began catapulting strike fighters in staggered
formation off of the launch pads. Soon they were taking positions as
squadrons and flights where overall command reverted to the strike
leaders.
The bridge spoke across the comm one last time. "Target maintaining
speed and has now penetrated Sector Yellow Two. No change in target's
course which is calculated to take it into Earth's orbit." The soft
female voice delivered the final orders. "All strike units intercept and
disable."
"Roger."
"Strike One to all units. Take up attack formation E. All units,
take up attack formation E."
Additional thrusters were fired as the very finest of Earth's
technological might hurtled through the deep. Monitors added their store
of computer data and predictions as they tore through space, pilots
checking stores lists in the seconds available.
All too soon the range had been closed and the destructive canister
torpedoes were fired, racing ahead to intercept the foe.

Warning alarms woke up all over the bridge of the SDF-2.
"What is it, Claudia?"
"Unprovoked surprise attack from the planet's vicinity." The black
woman at the tactical command console responded.
"Engaging Full Barrier Defense Field." Called another of the bridge
girls.
Lisa's face was illuminated by the flashes as explosions blasted
across their ship, rippling against their newly raised shield. "Contact
the planet, tell them that we intend them *no harm!*"
Sammy looked up from her board. "Really? That's not what we did the
*last* time?"
Lisa thought about it while the SDF-2 rocked with the explosions
against their defense field. As the bridge lurched she replied. "That's
right. If we take any more Earth missiles, strike BACK at them! Don't
pull your punches, begin launching our counterstrike!" Then to herself.
"Don't worry, Ranma, we're coming for you." The admiral again raised her
head. "Patch me through to all veritechs!"
"Roger!" Claudia tripped the appropriate lever. "You're on Admiral."

Lisa sat straight in her chair, composed and purposeful. "Men, this
is a day for death or glory! The key to our new homes, the survival of
our entire adopted universe and the man who singlehandedly saved all our
lives in our original depends on you. The one man we've all fought and
bled for is somewhere down on that planet. He is waiting for us, and no
one can retrieve him but you. God go with you."
Lisa had risen to her feet, as she sat down Claudia terminated the
channel.
"Orders, Admiral?"
"I couldn't do otherwise, Claudia. You know the *last* time we came
to rescue him we had only seconds to spare before a vengeful third party
tried to kill him. Diplomatic action takes weeks at best."
"I never questioned you, Lisa. Orders?"
"Signal full attack. Notify all Gun Commanders to open fire as
opportunity presents itself. Launch all veritech squadrons and deploy
the main gun for firing. I want arming teams ready to outfit all
veritechs with reflex, multi-warhead and nuclear-tipped missiles as they
return to reload! Equip the destroids with space maneuver packs and get
them out there on the hull. I've got a feeling this one will descend to
close fighting."
"Sir!" Sammy smiled from her station. "Zentraedi Commander requests
that the Ranko music be played to bolster troop morale."
"Do it, Sammy. Take one of the fight songs from one of her movies.
And here's the return message: All fleet units are free to engage!"

Two starships swam forth from a brief hole in the spacetime fabric.
The first blocky and angular with sharp, crystalline structures, the
other smooth like a sea mammal.
The sharp vessel leapt forward from its red-hulled companion. On the
bridge of the smooth Galaxy Police starship Ayeka's face appeared on the
intership viewscreen, looking down on those below with unyielding
command.
"Kiyone? Mihoshi? This will be a fight to the death. Under no
circumstances must Ranma escape alive!"
"Copy Ayeka." Kiyone agreed, professionally screening her own doubts
about this. "But are you sure that killing him is necessary to restore
our own pasts?"
The galactic super-genius Washu appeared on split-screen. "We won't
really be killing him. Once we've destroyed this aspect of his relative
incarnation, our past will resume, with its own copy of Ranma in it. The
disruption will be over and everything will revert to normal. So so long
as we manage to destroy him any damage we do here won't have happened.
Do ya copy?"
"I think so."
"Wow? Does this mean that we won't have to pay for any damages?"
Mihoshi hopped in her seat brightly. "That's good. I only got a teensy
scratch on a space station once and they made me pay three whole year's
salary just to fix it! Can you believe that?"
"Enough! Cover us here while we make our attack!" Ayeka commanded as
the angular starship made a lunge for the planet's surface. Ryoko's face
replaced Ayeka's on the viewscreen of the smoother galaxy policeship
they were leaving behind. "For once the princess and I agree on
something. Don't worry, we'll try not to give you any local trouble."
"Oooo, I hope not." Kiyone keyed her seat controls unwillingly.
"Assault on a neutral star system not even in contact with the Juraian
Empire. This place has been off-limits from *before* they developed
space travel. They'd lock me up for eternity. I hope you know what
you're doing."
Washu's laughing face reappeared. "Trust me."

On the SDF-2 the communication's girl giggled, selecting the style
of Ranko music. "This ought to keep 'em guessing!" She toggled a switch
and the tape began to play over all channels.
Once the instrumental intro was over Ranko's recorded image began to
sing in a revealing costume while dancing superbly with an assortment of
lethal weapons while an all-male chorus chanted support for her in the
background.
*

"Raise the flag of Piracy!
Sing the song of Victory!
For glorious in battle are We!

We've never known defeat.
We never will retreat.

We LIVE to hear the cannon Roar!
And TERROR is our Semaphore!
For gloriously lonesome are we!

We rob the rich and poor,
then steal a little more!

(chorus rising to full throated voice)
Victory!
We fight to win!
Victory!
Is ours again!
We are the scourge of the Endless Sea!
Beastly pirates are we!

*
Space was alive with explosions as the transforming veritechs
engaged the Earth strike fighters just outside Earth's atmosphere.
Missiles sped to targets and flaming debris scattered in clouds as
missiles, oxygen tanks and fuel detonated in silent blasts.
The angular spaceship bearing Ayeka and Ryoko dove through this mess
to reach the planet, blasting apart fighters from both sides as they
tried to oppose it.
The Galaxy Police craft Yagami hung back, trying to make sense out
of this madness.
In the Yagami, Kiyone glared at her partner, who was watching some
broadcast of some girl dancing and singing in a too cute outfit. "Hey, I
could use some help, you know!" Kiyone groused.
Mihoshi continued to munch on her potato chips, motioning to her
screen with a finger. "I know, Kiyone. But doesn't that look an awful
lot like the girl form of the guy we're after?"
Kiyone stared flabbergasted at the screen, remembering scrapbook
photos. "Oh, my word! I think you're right! C'mon, now we know what side
we're up against! Bring her around. We going to make sure those people
can't interfere with Ayeka!"

The SDF-2 shook as a hail of laser blasts penetrated their shields
and suddenly began raining down on all decks.
"What *is* that!" Lisa screamed, holding onto her command chair.
"A new opponent has engaged us. Their weapons are not stopped by our
Barrier Defense Screen at all!"
The bridge shook again and light from the explosions accompanied the
screams.
A ship began to decloak right off their flank.

"Photon torpedoes armed and ready, sir."
"Fire!"
A blip, a foreshadowing of energy that was merely a reflection of
the charging power, glowed from the leftmost torpedo tube on the
starship's main pylon. With a long streak of light a miniature red star
spat forth. Streaming across the heavens it struck Yagami in the flank.
Swells followed from the right, left and right tubes again as a total of
four of the mighty weapons sped forth to impact heavily on the armor and
shields of the Galaxy Police patrolship.
Spock looked up from his sensors. "Direct hits, Captain. There is an
overall 40% reduction in their shield capacity and a hole in their
defensive barrier under the point of impact. The hole is beginning to
regenerate."
"Phasors, Fire." The Captain curtly ordered the weapons officer,
looking away from the screens where transmissions of Orchid's performing
were being received from the SDF-2.
Down in the bowels of the starship crews worked rapidly at their
duties rearming the mighty torpedoes tubes. Toxic gasses were vented
from the firing chambers into space while inner surfaces were cooled by
injections of liquid nitrogen compounds. Locks were cycling even as the
main cartridges were gently being delivered down their armament racks.
Gates opened to accept the containers even while technicians prepared to
siphon power from the main warp core.
Interlocks closed over the torpedoes, securing them within the
arming circuits. The loading commander gave the go-ahead nod and power
conduits popped open, pouring into the sealed chambers the raw energy of
matter-antimatter reactions, awakening in the previously dormant weapon
cartridges the potential for the same vast destructive force.
On the bridge the stabs and licks of phasor fire could be seen
raking the Galaxy Patrol ship. Stabs of return fire shook the bridge of
the Enterprise but the helmsman was directing their ship in brilliant
evasive tactics even while the space around them was alive with
fighters.
Jewels came alight on the weapons console.
"Photon torpedoes armed and ready, sir." Chekhov repeated.
"Target the hole in their shields and fire." Captain James T. Kirk
ordered.
Four more bright red stars streaked across the heavens. Yagami
turned, trying to bring more of her shields to bear against the
brilliant maneuvering of the Enterprise. One torpedo glinted off at an
oblique angle, wasting much of its destructive force. Two more struck
forcefully on panels of shields, while the last sped unerringly into the
hole created by the previous volley of torps and kept open by the
phasors.
The back half of the Yagami exploded in smoke and shrapnel. Lights
of energy fires smoldered and flowed within her ruined rear decks,
showing through bulkheads blasted and broken. Follow through stabs of
phasor fire blossomed a huge concussive blast from the crippled
starship's flank, heeling the vessel about drunkenly. Engine power
fluttered on the Galaxy Police starship and she began to list heavily
and drift, trailing behind a sparkling cloud of debris.
Kirk leaned into one of his seat arms. "Send to commander Yagami:
Prepare to be boarded."
Uhura nodded, turning to her controls. "Yagami, this is Enterprise.
Surrender and prepare to be boarded."

"Signal the Enterprise." Lisa called, climbing back into her seat.
"Thank them for their assistance. Suggest a truce while we conduct our
rescue operation."
"Roger, Admiral."
Outside their viewing panes one of their accompanying Zentraedi
cruisers opened up full thrusters and barreled right into the Earth
space station that had been firing in assistance of its fighters.
Armored deck plates crumpled under the bow strike and cascaded from its
flanks as the starship rammed, tearing apart the station and shoving
itself completely through the expanding field of wreckage.
"At a guess our materials technology is higher than our enemies."
Claudia summarized.
And Lisa was quietly thinking that only a Zentraedi commander would
be fanatical enough to use that way to find out.

On the bridge of the Yagami, Kiyone was clinging to her command
chair even while the ship shuddered through sympathetic explosions in
her deep hull. Smoke from overloaded wall breakers poured into the cabin
through seams, controls shorted messily and violently while half her
screens and monitors had either broken or were displaying nothing but
static.
A pair of gray uniform clad legs jutted at odd angles from the mess
piled at the side of the main console, the upper portions of the body
concealed in the wreck.
"Ow." Mihoshi offered eloquently.
One wall monitor sprang back to life, displaying Uhura's features
fuzzily through static. "Commander Yagami, this is Enterprise. Repeat:
Surrender and prepare to be boarded."
Kiyone killed the communications, rising from her seat and trying to
extract her partner from the wreck. "C'mon, Mihoshi." She said tiredly.
"We've got company coming. We wouldn't want to disappoint them."
Mihoshi sprang out of the fallen equipment. "Wow! Company? Well,
first we have *got* to clean up the place. We *can't* have guests over
with it looking like this. I'll get the vacuum cleaner and you can
repair the control panels. Oh, and *then* we're going to need some
refreshment. I think that bottle of Scottish Whiskey ought to do
alright... What?"
Mihoshi put a finger to her lip puzzled at why her companion had her
face in her hands and was groaning.

Phasor bombs, beamed in by transporter, preceded the first boarding
parties. Their wash of explosive energy scouring the landing points
clear of any and all defenders or pre-prepared traps. Squads of armored
boarding troops materialized soon afterwards poised in firing positions.

Spock calmly activated the portable scanning unit, meticulously
sweeping for possible resistance while the commanding sergeant moved his
troops out to an expanded ring of control.
The second wave beamed in.
Spock's scanners locked onto their targets.
He spoke calmly to the commanding sergeant. "We will seize any and
all data regarding this period from the ship's main computer. This will
allow us to avoid having to repeat disruptions and hopefully minimize
our further impact upon this time period. You will take the first three
waves and contain the crew of this vessel so they will be unable to
interfere with my interfacing their computer. Do you understand?"
Third wave was beaming in. The veteran sergeant nodded.

Ranko, walking towards Graviton High School, vanished in a cloud of
sparkling motes.
This alarmed and amazed Kasumi, Nabiki, and Serena who'd been
waiting to meet him. Sufficiently that Serena excused herself to go off
and contact Luna to see if a scan could turn up whatever had
disintegrated Ranko right before their eyes.
Nabiki and Kasumi, on the other hand, were absolutely certain that
wherever Ranma had been last week, they had found a way to get him back.

This caused two things.
Ranko bounced once in one universe before hitting the other. And she
left a very easy to track multiversal trace on her way.

*****
Random Universe 7, Bounce Universe

Ranko appeared in her Graviton school uniform perched on the
pinnacle of the Saotome household. Below she could see a battle brewing.
Amazons on both sides, Ranma heading across the lawn away from his
mother. At a quick guess from everyone's posture he was about to
surrender himself into slavery to preserve those he loved.
Not if *SHE* could help it.

An annoying beeping sounded across the battlefield. Those who chose
not to pay attention to it were quickly remedied of their error when a
beam of light came down and incinerated a line across the lawn.
All looked up (they couldn't get any more ready for battle, everyone
there was already as ready as they could get).
Silhouetted against the sky was a girl.
A girl with long, flowing hair and a *very* BIG sword.
Ranko's lines either came on a whim or from external prompting, she
couldn't tell.
"The Sky, the Earth, and the pager have called! Summoning forth the
high school babe! The Greatest Warrior Maiden! Ranko Saotome, 17 years
of age."
Three Amazon Elders came to the front and readied their weapons
against her. Ranko could see great-grandmother among them and bit back a
tear. Man, she *hated* it when those she loved chose evil over good. But
the chi signatures here were unmistakable.
She swallowed her tears and summoned her chi. She *would* make an
effort to reclaim her, though. In desperation, she began to pour her
whole soul into the effort. Low drums began to sound, intermingled with
the tolling of a very deep bell.
Ranko's voice floated everywhere. Reaching into training she didn't
know she had it filled the entire city, leaving not a home, an apartment
block or a sewer tunnel unreached as she sang the question.
*

"Do you hear the people sing?
Singing the song of angry men.
It is the music of a people,
who will not be slaves again.

When the beating of your heart
echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start,
when tomorrow comes."

(Ranko had to stop for her tears. Unexpectedly, an image of herself
attired as an amazon appeared beside her, glowing softly like a fallen
Jedi in a Star Wars movie. The ghostly Ranko picked up the song where it
had left off, entreating those below.)

"Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?"

(A flickering Sailor Earth joined then on a neighboring peak.)

"Beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?"

(A second flickering and softly glowing Ranko appeared on the original's
other side, dressed in combat fatigues and wearing pistols on both hips.
She took over the next line.)

"Then join in the fight that will give you the right to be free!"

(Suddenly there were thousands of ghostly Ranmas and Rankos. Appearing
on every wall and rooftop and dressed in every style from nearly every
age. There were bankers and cooks and cyberware surgeons alongside
Chinese peasants and Japanese lords. All of them Ranma or his curse, and
all of them singing in thundering unison.)

"Do you hear the people sing?
Singing the song of angry men.
It is the music of a people,
who will not be slaves again.

When the beating of your heart
echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start,
when tomorrow comes."

(A glowing Ranma stepped forward from the rest, garbed in the arms and
armor of a feudal samurai.)

"Will you give all you can give so that our banner may advance?"

(A ghostly Ranma dressed in the robes of a physician to the Chinese
Emperor warned to all his friends within the flow of the music.)

"Some will fall and some will live."

(Next a Ranma dressed as an Arabian street rat cockily challenged those
watching.)

"Will you stand up and take your chance?"

(A Ranko stood out from all the rest, in a long, flowing white dress.)

"The blood of the martyrs will strengthen their fellows' advance!"

(The entire troupe of Ranma/Ranko's took up the chorus, singing in a
force to cut to the conscience and instill remorse.)

"Do you hear the people sing?
Singing the song of angry men.
It is the music of a people,
who will not be slaves again.

When the beating of your heart
echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start,
when tomorrow comes."

*
The horde of specters vanished as it had come, leaving only Ranko
still silhouetted upon the sky.
She regained her voice.
"Elder Cologne. As the eldest female of my house who is educated in
Amazon law I claim rights to decide the disposition of my brother."
Another elder, a lorekeeper, spoke up before Cologne could answer.
"He's stolen from the tribe, dearie. Alot of good your pretty tricks
will do about him taking two of our war slaves."
The sweep of her staff indicated Kasumi and Nabiki.
Cologne spoke, some regret in her voice. Laws passed when outrage
and anger were prevalent had lasted long after tempers had cooled, but
they were laws nonetheless. "Your brother is making a sacrifice to save
his family, child. There is treason against our law and all sorts of
things mixed up into this mess. If you restrain him now then we'll be
forced to kill you all."
"Trial by combat?"
"Too broad an issue, dearie." The lorekeeper answered. "This goes
beyond the Right of Combat and into sedition. War is the only way to
solve it."
Ranko's face went flat.
"Then so be it."
In the tradition of the Great Build-Up Ranko assumed a stance with
her weapon, calling. "I hold my family to be dear above all. To those
who would threaten to destroy any member of it, I can show no mercy!"
Blue Ranko brought her sword up, leaping a mile into the air. Even
as she disappeared in the distance her voice could be heard crying out.
"School of the Righteous Blade, Ultimate Sword Technique! Galaxy
Cleaver!"
That name, coupled with the performance to date, had Cologne hopping
out of that yard as fast as her legs and stick could carry her. Most of
the Amazons who respected her followed soon after. Those who remained
either condemned them for cowards or thought secretly about joining
them.
The Amazon Comb, formerly the Japanese girl Akane Tendo, was among
those who remained that condemned them. Beside her, the suddenly wary
lorekeeper readied a combat spell.
A dot appeared in the sky, resolving into a girl swinging a really
amazingly huge sword down on those Amazons who remained poised against
her family.
The lorekeeper fired off her bolt even as the attack came down.
The amazon elders had their defenses fail and were sawn in half by
the sheer chi energy of the strike. Those less fortunate Amazons without
centuries of experience were toppled into handily shredded and
bite-sized chunks.
Ranko could feel her blade smiting the enemy, even as lightning
ripped apart her stomach. At the back of her mind she was reminding
herself not to use this again soon against anyone capable of reprisal.
That particular technique didn't allow at all for her own defense.
She also felt surprise at the tug of being moved off to another
universe.
One of the gods of that world made a grab for the fleeing martial
artist, and held on.
Struggling to fill both imperatives, Ranma unconsciously activated
one of his rarer chi techniques.
With the result that half of Blue Ranma went to fulfill the wish and
half remained.

*****
Neighboring Universe

Ranko fell onto the floor with a resounding thump, falling backwards
she lay sprawled upon the wood.
"RANCHAN!!!"
"AIREN!!!!"
Nabiki's eyes were not the only ones to fly wide at the sight of the
gaping hole charred into Ranko's abdomen. All around her yen signs were
falling to the floor and shriveling. "Guess you forgot to say anything
about life-threatening injuries, Kasumi."
Now why did she feel so choked up about this? He was just a
freeloader, right? Just another source of income?
Why was she having such difficulty believing that?
Ranko groped for the closest female hand. Recognizing Ucchan's, she
softly smiled through eyes blinded by pain. Strangely no music began to
play as she half-sung her conversation.
*

"Now you are here, again beside me.
Now I can die in peace, for I know that you still love me."

*
"RANCHAN!" Ukyo flung herself over the prone form.
"Husband no die, okay?" Shampoo placed two hesitant hands on Ranko's
forehead, who smiled strangely at the touch.
*

"Yes, Shampoo. Forbid me now to die.
I'll obey."
(a slight cough filled with blood)
"I will try."

*
An old man cleared his voice behind them. "Ahem. Yes, well, touching
as this scene is. I'm afraid, Orchid, that my daughter would be rather
depressed if you didn't allow her to save your life. She's been wanting
to for days now."
"What!?!" All of Ranma's usual fiancees chorused.
They turned to see an old man dressed in the clothes of a Shinto
priest, beside whom stood three young ladies. One of them (the one with
spiky cyan hair) clenched a fist and lightning began to form around it.
"Alright. Which one of you did this to Orchid?!"
The old man restrained her with an out flung arm as a somewhat timid
girl took a few paces forward. Though her manner was not the most
confident, in her eyes there was unyielding determination.
And after one spectacular light display she had closed up all of
Ranko's wounds, patching them with visible fields of energy that
regenerated her flesh.
"Oh my." Kasumi blinked. "That was very useful of you," she said,
wondering if she could learn to do that.
"Where you learn do trick like that?" Shampoo was curious, her
thoughts curiously mirroring Kasumi's for once.
"Orchid taught me." The girl replied, kneeling down at Ranko's side.

Nobody denied her a place there.
Kasumi's wits were more shock-protected than Nabiki's were. She
asked the next question, noticing where the looks were going. "Do you
mean Ranma?"
The outsider woman who had not yet spoken replied for her party. "Is
that Orchid's name? When my brother found her she had no memory, and so
he named her for the mystery of her origin. Or at least so they told me.
I am Ayeka, princess of Jurai, and this is my brother Yosho. The girl
who has just saved your friend's life is Achika, my brother's daughter.
And this..."
Ayeka's face strained to fight off a scowl, a losing battle that she
fought anyway. "This is Ryoko."
"Howdy."
The home crowd blinked in eerie unison.
Achika spoke from beside the former near-corpse. "Ranma seems like
such a wrong name for her. Did her mother name her?"
Ukyo blinked at that. "Uh, no. I think it was his father."
Achika didn't seem to notice the pronoun, drawing comfort from her
friend's renewed presence in her life, even though the girl wasn't awake
yet. "Oh. I think I'd like to still call her Orchid. If she doesn't
mind, that is."
Yosho had a smile on. "Now, daughter. When has Orchid ever minded
anything you did for her?"
"What?!?" A handful of female faces suddenly acquired deadly
grimaces.
Yosho went on to say. "Yes, such a sweet young lady she is too. I am
glad you have her to learn your lessons on gentle behavior from."
Nabiki's hair hadn't unfrazzled yet and she remained out of this
conversation. The words 'Gentle Behavior' were resounding around in more
skulls than hers. Again it was Kasumi who spoke up. "Oh, I'm afraid
Ranma's not a girl."
It was the visiting team's turn to blink.
Yosho lowered his eyes and cleared his throat. "I am afraid that
when she arrived her clothes had been taken from her. Her gender was
quite apparent."
Kasumi excused herself to go heat some water.
After about a minute Ukyo had recovered enough to ask. "So, how did
you find Ranchan, anyway?"
Yosho had crossed to the door. He looked out and laughed, speaking
back over his shoulder to the people inside. "Well, dimension hopping
isn't entirely out of my experience. Besides, I felt I owed it to the
child. You see, Orchid was my guest when she was assassinated."
Akane sat up from her faint and asked what was happening. Only she
used stronger language.
Ranko moaned softly and sat up, holding her head. Seeing a sea of
concerned female faces before her, her eyes sought out the one most
unexpected.
"Achika!" She cried joyfully.
Nabiki's brain restarted. Ranma had glomped somebody. No, better
make that RANMA had *glomped* somebody?!?? Here, the guy who acted like
a seven-year old scared of cooties had actually glomped onto a *girl*?
And the two of them were hugging like better friends than *she'd*
ever had.
Shampoo was pulling out a bonbori when the amazon heard a crackling
from across the room. Looking there, she saw Ryoko holding a ball of
orange lightning hovering above her hand. The cyan-haired woman shook
her head no; Hitting people she cared about was not allowed.
Shampoo smiled weakly and put her bonbori away.
Kasumi returned with the water and stood next to the seated Ranma.
"I'm afraid Ranma is under a curse. His father took him to a training
ground, and I'm afraid it wasn't a very nice place. Now Mr. Saotome
turns into a panda, and Ranma becomes a girl. The curse is activated by
water temperature."
She poured the hot water over Ranma.
Nobody in the room was prepared for what he turned into.
Ranma almost didn't notice, being busy pouring all sorts of sisterly
affection into the hug with Yosho's daughter. Then suddenly the feeling
of the hug changed and he withdrew to look around himself, noting all
the eyes cast in his direction.
"Well!?" Akane demanded. "Are you...."
She kinda trailed off when she noticed what the rest of the group
had been staring at. Her eyes widened as she drank in the sight before
her. Akane mopped her head, wondering why the air conditioner seemed to
have given out. It was the only explanation she could think of for it
getting so hot and humid.
"Ranchan...." Ukyo couldn't think of how to put it. At first she was
merely intending to catalog the changes, but swiftly found that she was
undressing him with her eyes. She stopped that with a considerable
effort and a shuddering breath. "Oh my."
He grew increasingly nervous at this treatment, surreptitiously
checking his shirt for stains. He experience a moment of great relief
that he hadn't remained in his girl's school uniform.
Achika had released him and so he stood, not sure if he should be
angling for the door or not.
Kasumi blinked up at him, her eyes not quite focused as she seemed
to be imagining something. "How do you feel, Ranma?"
"Um, alright, I guess." He hedged suspiciously. "How *should* I
feel?"
Nabiki shook her head to clear it after Ukyo had momentarily blocked
her line of sight. She felt an unfamiliar surge of possessiveness as she
watched the others (including Kasumi?!) check out the changes on this
new Ranma from multiple angles.
"Just perfect, Saotome. Here you waste a wish trying to become a
worthwhile fiance and what do we get? Blonde hair. This is a joke."
Nabiki realized her voice had gone all husky and she wasn't going to
convince anyone. Ranma was clearly taller, broader of shoulder, thickly
muscled, with the sort of look of a David meets Adonis that would make
huge bucks in a modeling career.
Nabiki began to reconsider certain things. With the right agent he
would be *just* rich enough for marriage. And if not, well, a short,
passionate affair sounded right to her.
"Wow." Ryoko murmured, floating over to get a better look.
"Oh my!" Ayeka and Kasumi chorused, having regained their voices.
Achika had recovered somewhat and shot a delight-filled look to her
father that was clearly a request.
He thought about it for a brief moment and nodded.
"Okay, so he's a hunk." Ukyo chipped in. "What about the rest of the
stuff we ordered?"
"Shampoo curious. Want see how husband view amazon wife and customs
now."
Ranma tried hard to fight a grin... and lost. Shampoo, does this
mean that you really *do* love me?>
Her eyes grew round as saucer plates to hear him speaking fluently
in her native dialect. She remained still for just a moment, then
glomped onto him with a power and energy to make facehuggers from the
movie Alien seem noncommittal. All the while she was shouting in joy.
Oh, Husband I love you *very* much! Let's go back to the village
right now and make many many babies!> The beautiful amazon began looking
for the nearest exit wide enough for two people.
"RAAANNMMMAAAAAA!!!!!!!" The kitchen table was seized and began the
Swing of Jealous Female Fury (tm).
Said martial artist smoothly extricated himself from Shampoo's
embrace (to the astonishment of those who'd expected heavy machinery to
be required for that task) and had stopped Akane's blow effortlessly
while at the same time kicking her in the face.
Hard.
It was just enough to knock Akane out of the way as fields of
lightning and an orange laser ripped through where she'd been, tearing
apart the walls of the house behind her.
There was a loud thunk as Akane's limp and unconscious body hit the
tatami mats.
Ayeka and Ryoko dropped their stances. Ryoko blew on her fingers in
quite a clear gesture of warning.
Everyone sat staring.
After several minutes of this Nabiki reached over and borrowed one
of Ukyo's throwing spatulas, using it to pry her own jaw off the floor.
Ukyo blinked, and then her grin went from ear to ear. "Alright
Ranchan! About time somebody did that."
"Oh my." Kasumi found it hard to approve. Striking Akane just was
not right, even if she was a violent maniac.
Akane groaned and began to get up. Noting the burned out walls, she
became fairly subdued. It was either that or the faint electrical
charges surrounding that Ayeka girl. It *couldn't* be the expression on
Ryoko's face that said human life was not always that important to her,
and right now Akane was low on the list.
"What exactly was your wish concerning me?" Ranma asked, reducing
the hostility by drawing attention away from it.
There was the sound of a huge explosion and half of the neighborhood
outside was destroyed as a purple-armored giant skidded across it on its
back.
"And... excuse me please."
Ranma vanished outside the door to see what was going on.
The Tendo house in this reality was beachfront property, with a dock
leading out into the water and a pair of small sailboats moored there.
Far out in the water two giant creatures were battling, one mechanical
and ugly, the other organic and even uglier. A similar pair were
battling it out just inshore. The organic ones in both cases were
winning handily.
Ranma began charging up his chi just in case the battle shifted
their way.
And nothing happened.
Shocked, Ranma reached harder and tried more to get his inner focus
in line for battle.
Nothing happened.
He did a swift internal check that would have taken a Buddhist monk
centuries to perfect. There was nothing wrong with his system.
Everything worked fine. It was just that he had no batteries of fighting
chi to power his special abilities.
He took a full second figuring it out. His doppleganger technique?
He didn't remember activating it. That was an ability he'd created back
in the Robotech universe when someone had come close to uncovering his
dual identity and he absolutely *had* to be in two places at once.
At the time it hadn't mattered that it made him unable to use his
chi energy until it was over, he'd almost never had to pull on that kind
of resource back there.
Here it mattered, and it mattered big. Somehow, somewhere, another
one of him was running about, and neither one would be able to use any
of his chi powers until they rejoined. Which made finding his other self
a priority.
But important only *after* he'd assured himself that this situation
was okay.
The crowd had followed him out onto the dock.
"Oh, Ranchan." Ukyo spoke, looking toward the fight. "Both EVAs are
down. That means the UN is probably going to use an N2 mine to stop the
angel."
"We're dead." Akane summarized in horror.
Nabiki turned to Ranma. "I've always found you attractive, Ranma."
He smirked. His mind had been searching and it had found an
alternate energy source, one that not too many universes had available.
He looked toward her. "Thank you, Nabs. But you are going to feel
*awfully* embarrassed having said that when we get out of this alive."
He leapt to the top of a fence, flexing his muscles and shouting.
"Where monsters rampage, I'm there to take them down. Where treasure
glitters, I'm there to claim it. Where an enemy rises to face me...
Victory will be mine!!!"
"Yes, well. Enjoy fighting the demon." Yosho said from where he sat
sipping some tea Kasumi had brought him. "We can discuss the other
things when you return."
Achika's eyes glimmered in concern for Ranma, but she caught her
father's expression that said: "Wait and see."
"What husband do?"
Ranma grinned down from his perch. "No time to explain, Shampoo. I
gotta go."
"Wait, Ranchan, I'll go with you!"
He smiled back down at his best friend. "Sorry, Ucchan. You can't
help. And I'd worry about my cute fiancee if you got too close." He
leapt up into the air, not noticing that Ukyo suddenly had little hearts
floating in the air around her. Nabiki absently batted one away that got
too close.
"RAYWING!"
All eight girls watched dumbfounded as Ranma flew away.
"Oh my, he really *can* leap tall buildings in a bound now, can't
he?" Kasumi smiled, pouring a new cup of tea for the princess Ayeka.
"Hey, this guy looks like fun." Ryoko summarized, beginning to float
off after him.

*****
Random 7, Bounce Universe

Ranma awoke, determine that she was a she still, and blinked as she
recognized the figure above her. "Amy?"
Amy Anderson blinked down at her patient. "Ah, Ranma?"
Ranko's eyes flicked to the other occupant of the room and widened
slightly. "Tigar? Are you in trouble with the Elders again?>"
"You could say that,>" Tigar looked like she hadn't gotten much
sleep lately. "When did you pick up our language?>"
"Long story," Blue Ranko said with a sigh. "Okay, Amy, would you
mind telling me what's going on here?"
"Well, I..." Amy glanced nervously at the Amazon.
"You appeared in sky, scared hell out of loyalists." Tigar frowned.
"Like to know how you do attack. Then *bakun* you sucked into hole in
sky. Tigar see you split. One half go through. You fall down. Amy friend
catch you."
"That was Sailor Jupiter, I don't know any of the Scouts." Amy
blinked.
Tigar's expression went flat and unreadable.
Ranko recognized the expression from many lifetimes ago when she'd
lived in the Amazon village and the resident lone wolf/nonconformist had
been one of those most willing to befriend a mere male. (Which he'd been
at the time.) And she was four years younger than him, so he hadn't had
to consider her a potential fiancee at any point. Tigar was reacting to
what she knew was a lie and lack of trust.
"Amy, you must never have been formally introduced. This is Tigar,
sometimes known as Rie Ga. She's the best tracker in the entire Amazon
Valley. She can track a fly across a marsh or a cat across mountains.
Her father was a mountain cat who fell into the Spring of Drowned Man.
If she sees someone move, it doesn't matter if they're wearing a
disguise or not, she can recognize them."
Amy looked a little alarmed at that, and more so at Tigar's cold
faced nod. She'd noticed the slightly odd appearance of the Amazon
before: lightly pointed ears, elongated eyes, the slightly extended
fangs. Now she knew why.
Ranko swiveled her eyes and extended her senses enough to make
certain they were alone, then wearily reached out and pickpocketed Amy's
transformation pen long enough to show it to her before returning it.
"So she knows that you're a Sailor Scout as surely as I do."
Amy didn't quite know how to react to that.
Ranko smiled, though her eyes were closed. "On the plus side, I have
never seen nor heard of Tigar betraying any trust. Her friendship is to
be valued."
"You know me better than other you does." Tigar said after a moment.
"Saw you move in fight. Say that Ranma but not Ranma. Tigar not
understand."
"You're not the only one," Ranko started to do an inventory and
frowned when chi battery levels came up nil. Then she realized what had
happened and winced. A doppelganger. No available chi and there was an
Amazon battle imminent. Just great.
"I expected to die today. Whoever, whatever, you are, you have my
thanks.>" Tigar cocked her head to the side, regarding Amy. "We fight on
same side. You want keep secret. Tigar has kept secret. Not need
understand, just do."
"Amy, Tigar, I need some information. What's the situation?"
Tigar nodded, understanding the need. "Big fight. Amazons here
because village Enforcer Comb and Champion Shampoo lose to thief who
steal slaves. Not all Amazon agree with keep slave in first place. Tigar
come. Make friend-like with slave many year ago. Others agree with Tigar
also come. Other Ranma, friends, Tigar, Amy friend on this side. Elders,
Comb, other side. Shampoo confused not sure what side she on.
"Tigar not happy. Tigar sister on other side of battle."
"Sugar?" Ranma winced "I'm sorry you'll have to face your sister in
battle."
"Not worry. She die when you attack." Tigar sat back. "Tigar thank
Ranma again."
"I don't understand," Amy put in, glancing back and forth between
the two others.
"There are two preferred ways in their culture for an Amazon to pass
on to the next world, in battle or surrounded by grandkids." Ranma
solemnly bowed her head towards Tigar. "Having to kill one who is direct
blood is a great shame upon an Amazon."
"We outnumbered, maybe two-one now. Was twenty to one before you
attack." Tigar considered. "Both side have great magic. Both side have
good fighters. Both side do what they think right."
"How can it be right to do what they've done!" Amy started to get
upset. "Whose side are you on?"
Tigar turned her unblinking gaze to Amy for a moment. "Not say they
right. Say they think they right. There difference. Differences too
great blood be spilled. Whatever happen now, Amazons may no recover. Too
many die."
Tigar's gaze flicked back to Ranma. "Tigar think Cologne and Elders
wrong. Not first time. That why Tigar on this side."
Ranma sighed. On one side the Elders and the most veteran of the
Amazons from the sound of it. The Sailor Scouts and some of the younger
Amazons on the other side. Unless...
"What about Lilac?"
"Who Lilac?" Tigar looked to Amy who shook her head as well. "Not
know Lilac. She Chinese?"
Ranko held her aching head. "She's just this person I know. But if
you don't know about her then she's not close enough to do us any good."
Actually, the Amazon Healer Lilac was a fine soul with a down-to-earth
sense of humor and one of the best foils for keeping the other elders
from getting to uptight about things. But apparently she didn't exist in
this universe.
Amy shook her head. "Well, whoever you are, you've really stepped
into a situation. We expect the remaining Amazons to attack at any
moment..."
The door slid open, revealing some boy Ranko didn't know. "Ranma's
turned up missing, we think he might have gone to surrender himself to
Cologne after all."

*****
The Universe... Oh, Fiddlesticks. Call It D (Or would I rather call it
Fiddlesticks?)

Ranma shimmered with magical power. Okay, his chi stuff was offline.
That made *alot* less difference with access to a high class font of
magical energy to power the corresponding spells he'd learned so very
long ago.
Who would have expected that so obviously technological a world
would have one of his favorite magical sources active? Man, it had been,
what? He couldn't even remember how many lives since he'd had access to
*this* school of magic.
Dropping Flame Arrows and Elmikion Lances and Freeze bolts on these
things had been useless, and something told Ranma that time was getting
close to the wire.
The flight spell carried him over to a cleared section of beach
where some soldiers were scattering. If it was a UN force that was going
to detonate some kind of nuke here to stop this enemy, then he wanted to
get it across as fast as possible that that enemy was already being
dealt with.
Ranma landed in a circle of soldiers in uniform to be as obvious as
possible to them, then cupped his hands below himself and began to draw
power. The effect was to cloak him in a rainbow field almost
immediately, bubbling with little motes almost like a background of
carbonated soda.
He took aim at one of the creatures and began chanting.

*
"Darkness beyond the twilight
In crimson blood that flows.

(He could see that one of the officers had pulled out a field radio and
was shouting into it. Good. Let them be amazed, let them be curious, but
let them CALL OFF THAT
STRIKE!)

Buried in the stream of time
It's where your power grows.

(Ranma's hair was lifted straight up into the air, waving in the tide of
energy he'd created, even as his body began to float off the ground with
the force of what he was preparing.)

I pledge myself to conquer
All the foes who stand
Against the mighty gift bestowed
In my unworthy hand.

(Ranma brought his cupped hands back and between them formed a ball of
crackling energy, orange lightning zigging all over his form as he
brought around the attack, calling out the final words of the spell.)

DRAGON SLAVE!!!"
*

A beam of orange, multifracted light sprang forth from Ranma's
extended fingers, shooting off to impact on the nearer of the two, um...
whatever those big ugly things were. The enemy.
The most powerful attack in that style of magic struck the creature
in the chest and exploded, producing a blast and a fireball equal to
that of a nuclear weapon.
Except different from a nuke in many fundamental, important ways.
And besides, he'd aimed the force so that the creature's own body would
shield the dojo and the area around it.
Hmm, the creature was crisped but not fried. On anything less he'd
expect it to die from its wounds, but he could already see that that
wasn't going to happen. Still, he had a few minutes, maybe even a few
hours, to take out the other. And then he could finish off this one.
Except that the other creature was charging him with bullet-like
speed. He'd never have a chance to cast such a long spell again.
But what kind of techniques could he use with a natural chi of
practically zero?
Silently blessing Miss Hinako for her part in his life (and the
reminder of what a person with almost-unviable life energy could do in a
fight) he brought out a coin and pointed it toward the charging
creature.
"Happo Five-Yen Collection!"
Energy began to pour from the creature into him, momentarily
stopping its advance in shock. The energy began flowing freely, proving
that his low-chi state matched Hinako's metabolism rather nicely.
Actually, there was too much energy flowing in. He had to find a way
to burn off some excess soon because otherwise he was going to burst.
Grabbing more deeply into his bag of tricks, Ranma made use of one of
Happosai's old bluffs and inflated it into something a little more
dangerous.
Soldiers scattered screaming when Ranma suddenly started expanding
to 300 feet tall.
There was no way he'd bleed the creature dry, as he'd at first
intended (giants had particularly low chi, no one could tell why). But
when it swung at him Ranma caught the blow in one hand.
This was now more a battle of physical equals, and would remain so
as long as Ranma could keep siphoning off its energy to feed his own chi
powers. He blocked its punches and kicked it off into the deep surf.
Then discovered that he had a second as it was laboring in its recovery.

Never one to turn down an ally in a pinch, he jumped out into the
water (using stolen energy to heat the water around his legs and avoid a
change) and hauled on the leg of the monster robot that had been lodged
head-first in the bottom. His muscles bulged with augmented strength and
the red armored mecha came free. Then Ranma was off and fighting the
organic thing again.
He noted, out of the corner of his eye, that the red robot was not
moving. Oh well. Maybe the pilot was knocked out or something.
The creature he'd been fighting came at him with energy raging
around it.
Oh, man. This was too easy!
Ranma fell back before it, no longer launching any more offensive
moves. The creature followed. He almost laughed. Twelve seconds later
he'd completed the spiral and struck the thing with a cold-charged fist,
shouting.
"Rising Dragon Ascension!"
After flying many miles into the air being torn at by its own power
turned back upon it, the creature fell to a huddled lump beside the
incapacitated form of its twin.
Ranko had no leisure to appreciate this as she was, at the time,
swimming back to shore, having shrunk to human size rather abruptly when
the whirlwind attack had sucked his opponent and source of power away
from him, dunking him and reverting him to female.
Ryoko had compassion on her and flew down from her self-selected
cheering section to retrieve Ranko from the sea.
When they landed Ucchan was waiting with a kettle of hot water and,
laughing, Ranma gave her a glad kiss.
This was, unfortunately, too familiar a kind of stimulus for a
certain person.
"RAAANNMAAA!!!" Akane grabbed the nearest concrete lawn ornament and
began hefting it back for a swing.
An orange laser bolt passed by over her head.
The lawn statue dissolved into dust that rained down over Akane's
hair and shoulders. She looked up to see Ryoko posing with another
energy globe around her hand. Ayeka stepped past the posturing demon,
her own features dangerously hardening.
"Perhaps I should mention. Ranma is under the Royal protection of
Jurai. Any who would strike at him are infringing on that, and we have
quite a few starships I'd be willing to dispatch to track the villain
down."
"But I was just... I was... I was only..." Akane stammered.
"Only what, Akane?" Ranma replied in far too reasonable a tone.
"Only going to bludgeon me with a blunt instrument capable of crushing
skulls? Only going to act in unthinking rage at a violence level that
*CAN* and *HAS* killed me?"
Ranma suddenly paused as a thought stuck him. His teeth unclenched
and he blinked in surprise. "Or was it something deeper, Akane? Was it
simply administering just and a deserved punishment to someone who
*dared* question your superiority? That's it, isn't it? Or am I
mistaken?"
Most of that whizzed by Akane like a bullet train, but she caught
some parts. Her fists clenched in renewed fury. "Are you making fun of
me?"
His eyes brightened. His face broke open into a kind smile.
Ranma turned to address the crowd. "Please, by the love you bear for
me, and I in turn hold for you, do not interrupt what I am about to do.
What in a way I have to do." Seeing their reluctant obedience, he calmly
took Akane by the hand and led her to a separate room, closing the door.

Ranma took Akane's chin in his hand and look her gently, even fondly
in the eye. "Akane, thank you. After centuries of trying, I feel I can
finally understand you."
Understand her? What was he *talking* about? Wasn't he just teasing
her? Why was he being so nice *now* if...
Oh? Could he?
Akane's eyes grew wet with tears of joy as she raised her arms to
hug him. "Ran..."
He hit a few of her pressure points and her arms went slack, then he
carried her not unkindly to a chair before the rest of her went as limp
as a set of empty pajamas. Then the pigtailed martial artist crouched
down beside her to look in her eyes.
"Akane, you are not going to like what I am going to say. But then,
we often grow the most from the things that hurt, so I'm going to do it
anyway and hope you profit from it. I'll say my apology beforehand: I am
sorry for the pain I am about to cause you. I am going to tell you the
truth, Akane. And there is nothing more miserable for those who are
unprepared to hear it."
He leaned close to her, actually giving off an aura of affection.
"Akane. After all this time of knowing you I can finally, truly,
understand. You are absolutely, completely, and totally self-absorbed."
He leaned back, allowing her space but maintaining soft and even
affectionate eye contact. "That explains everything: Your cooking,
swimming, why you never feel a need to control your temper,
*everything*! You expect things merely because you feel you have a right
to them, like you ought to be able to cook merely because others can, or
sew because you feel like it. You expect to go from merely wanting to do
it to being an expert at it. You just have no concept of the stages
required to EARN things, and what ends up happening is that you are
absolutely abysmal at doing anything that cannot be bludgeoned into
submission."
He sighed softly. "And our engagement. Your family *gave* it to you.
I wonder how much else they gave you without your having to do a thing
to deserve it? Kasumi cooked for you and cleaned up after you and I
*know* she's always willing to support you or comfort you when you
cried. And yet you ignored her or forgot your promises to her and she
was too sweet to take it personally. Nabiki has struggled hard to get
the things she has, and I know also that she has had many sleepless
nights over the problems in her family. Problems you couldn't be
bothered with... many of which you'd even caused... carelessly or
inadvertently, it doesn't matter which.
"How much was freely given to you that you neither had to deserve
nor look after for fear of losing?"
Ranma cocked his head and radiated concern. "Think about it, Akane.
When have you ever had to deal with the consequences of anything you
did? You could freely destroy anything you saw and one of your sisters
was always there fixing up after you. In a word, you are spoiled."
He sighed as if in relief.
"I should have seen this so long ago. You don't have regard for
*anything*. You'd wreck your room and destroy everything in it over a
petty spat. You'd throw, crush, or bust anything you could see and
someone else was always there making it better and seeking a replacement
so no one would notice the loss. Your father would literally kill
himself in rage should anything threaten you, and you didn't even really
respect him for that."
He shook his head sadly. "Everyone else was so deeply set in
recovering from the tragedy of their mothers loss that they left you
completely uncontrolled. And now you've grown weary of the bounds of
your den and are venturing forth into the world expecting everything to
be the same. Everything has to cater to Akane. You expect to be a great
cook automatically merely because you *want* to be. The early stages of
recipe preparation and learning the basics never occur to you, not only
because you aren't used to struggling for anything you want, but because
you want everyone else to acknowledge your superiority right from the
start. It's a status thing. There are image points to be gained by being
a good cook, and so you are going to force everyone to acknowledge you
as the best of them all."
There was no anger or animosity in Ranma's eyes as he was talking.
He was even smiling gently. This was an explanation, not an accusation.
He was also figuring things out for himself at last.
"If you loved to cook you would learn the details, there would be no
avoiding it. Similarly with swimming or sewing or any other domestic
task. The concept of learning to do them right doesn't even cross your
mind. Anything you want you feel is yours by right and anything that
resists must be forced, anything that threatens that has to be defeated.
Your way must be right because it is your way, the only problem is
getting others to acknowledge that.
"But I'm sorry, Akane. Life does not work like that."
Ranma continued to smile softly and sighed with great relief. "And
that explains also why you hate me. Do you think hate is too strong a
word? I don't. It fits. It follows what your actions are. But really,
here I entered into your world and I was better than you at something.
That was pretty much what the crux of it was. It kept returning to that
one point. Akane, I have *died* at your hands because you were unwilling
to accept that I was better at something you thought you were good at.
That's pretty unfair."
He rose and kissed her on the forehead. "I want to thank you, Akane.
You have unwittingly helped me learn many things. But I'm sorry your
example had to be a bad one. You taught me what gratitude was by not
having any, the same way that Genma taught me honor. In a similar vein
you've taught me many things. I want to thank you for that. But that
doesn't mean that I want to associate with you any more."
He smiled down at her, standing up. "You and Genma have been the
greatest and the most difficult obstacles I've ever had to face. But I
have finally learned all I can from you, and you have nothing more to
teach me. Goodbye, Akane. For a thousand years my life has centered
around you like a moth returning to flirt with a candle flame. But no
more. I have finally learned all I can from you. I am scorched and
wounded, but I am also serene and at peace. You have nothing more to
teach me." He bent again and kissed her one last time on her forehead.
"I am now a graduate of *this* school of hard knocks. Take care of
yourself. I don't hate you. I never could. But you have a great deal of
learning to do and you must do it over wretched and parched ground that
*I* have already crossed. I cannot and do not wish to go there with you.
Remember: the one thing that kept drawing me back to you over and over
again was your potential, and I've been there watching as you've wasted
it time and time again over hundreds of different opportunities. Don't
let habit get to you this time."
Ranma turned and walked away, without looking back. He paused at the
door. "The ability to speak and move will return to you in about an
hour. Please make use of the time to think on what I've said." He gave a
somewhat weary chuckle. "It actually hurts less to admit to flaws and to
fix them, than to live trying to deny them, which is what you've been
doing."
Behind him rivers of tears were running down both of Akane's cheeks.

Ranma opened the sliding door out and a dozen people fell in on his
feet.

*****
Random 7, Bounce Universe

Ranko had known that in any fight after that first one the Amazons
would concentrate on her, so she'd planned for it. She had chosen a
bodyguard group as best she was able and focused the *real* plan on a
flanking party that would have been able to retrieve Ranma.
It would have worked, too. Except that the regular Nerima residents
had gotten involved.
Ryoga had shown up at the worst possible time, screaming about Ranma
finishing his fight with him. As the battle developed it became clear
that Ryoga wasn't on any side, only bashing everyone he could see in his
way to get to Ranma. Then the siblings Kuno had arrived and what was
left of careful planning had gone the way of the dodo (which Ranko had
owned one once and been rather fond of).
Ryoga's charge had been ended when he'd struck Nodoka (the chief of the
rescue party). He'd lost at least one eye, maybe both, when Nabiki had
gone into her Jusenkyo-cursed saber-tooth tiger form and bitten his face
as he stood staring at the former girl in shock.
The miracle was that Ryoga had survived it. In this world he didn't
have the Breaking Point training. But no one would ever again admire
this Lost Boy for his looks.
Ranko sighed, cold pavement at her back as she held both hands to
the deep, arterial cut in her chest. After Sailor Moon had dusted the
demon the Amazons had summoned they had beaten the Sailor Scout badly.
She'd recover, but Ranko was rather sad because at this moment with her
blood pooling on the street beneath her she was rather a bit beyond any
earthly medicine.
The battle having raged its last, rain began to fall as the war
parties separated with both just beginning to count their lost. There
was no hope for her, Ranko knew it, but she up looked and spoke to the
one who had come in curiosity to stand over her.
"Kodachi-sama, you are Ranma's best and only hope of freedom now.
He'll need you. Go to him, only know that the Amazons are as skilled in
stealth as you. Please rescue him, for I no longer can."
The Kuno girl silently nodded.
Ranko felt another presence appear at her side. It was Kuno, and it
had to be clear even to him that sweeping her up in his arms would kill
Ranko instantly. The poor fool. It really wasn't all that difficult to
cure his mind, but this experience would probably make him worse instead
of better. All he really needed was a massive influx of love. In spite
of appearances his mind was strong enough to cure itself if it had that.
But Ranko had never felt anything of the kind for him.
Taking as deep a breath as she was able, Ranko did the bravest thing
she had done in a long time, and told the kindest lie she had ever given
voice to.
Seeing as how the chi that formed her life was unraveling and
dissipating anyway, she made use of a few of the escaping strands and
soft music began to play over the stunned battlefield. Ranko reached up
and gently grasped Tatewaki's hand, while her head was softly cradled by
him.
For the first time in a very long while her astonishing voice
conveyed only a girl both sweet and vulnerable, knowing that these
breaths were her last, being brave for someone in spite of her pain.
The love she feigned was a lie so beautiful it scarcely felt bad to
sing it.
*

"Don't you fret, my dear Tate-chan
I don't feel any pain.
A little fall of rain
can hardly hurt me now.

You're here. That's all I need to know.

And you will keep me safe.
And you will keep me close.
And rain, will make the flowers grow."

(Tears tracked Tatewaki's face like never before. Again, his classical
education showed as he recalled the words of the play and sang
passionately, softly in reply).

"But you will live, pigtailed one... Dear God Above!
If I could close your wounds with words of love."

(Ranko stroked his hand, feeling very much at peace, and no guilt at all
from lying this one time.)
"Just hold me now,
and let it be.
Shelter me, comfort me..."

(Tatewaki's voice had gained strength in spite of his obvious anguish.)
"You would live, a hundred years, if I could show you how.
I won't desert you now."

(Ranko could feel her life force slipping further from her, and sang on
anyway. There was a good deed still to be sung in these last few
moments. The healing to this man was not yet to where she would call it
done.)

"Rain can't hurt me now.

This rain, will wash away what's past.
And you will keep me safe,
And you will keep me close
I'll sleep in your embrace at last.

The rain that brings you here is Heaven-blessed.
The sky's beginning to clear, and I'm at rest.

A breath away, from where you are.
I've come home, from so far...

Don't you fret, my dear Tate-chan
I don't feel any pain.
A little fall of rain
can hardly hurt me now."

(Tatewaki's choked whisper.)
"I'm here."

(Blue Ranko)
"That's all I need to know.

And you will keep me safe.
And you will keep me close.
And rain, will make the flowers.....

.....

.....

....."

(Kuno lay Ranko's head down, singing her last word with inexpressible
agony, and yet also a sense of sweet belonging.)

"Grow...."

*
Both sides of the battle had turned from tending their own wounds
for the display of her last moments. And as the final breath had softly
fled Blue Ranko's body a wave of indescribable loss swept all present.
Tatewaki, kneeling beside her, took Ranko's still hand from his own
and lay it across her breast, covering it with both his own as he took a
long, shuddering gasp of grief.
Tiny, sparkling motes of light wisped around Ranko's still form, and
then the redhead faded away, leaving no body behind. Instead, in the
pavement splashed by rain, tiny buds began to grow in a circle yards in
diameter, centered around Tatewaki.
Softly, ghostly, almost unnoticeable, faint notes could be heard
through the silence stretched over the field of battle as the former
combatants stood watching the flowers gently cover almost an acre.
*

"Do you hear the people sing?
Lost in the valley of the night.

(For those who were listening, and none weren't, the merest flickering
of images could be seen out of the corners of their eyes.)

It is the music of a people
Who are climbing to the light.

(Softly, a clear tone could be heard, merely a steady pulse that could
be mistaken for a drumming heartbeat.)

For the wretched of the Earth
there is a flame that never dies.
Even the darkest night will end
and the sun will rise!

(To the amazement of all present, hundreds and hundreds of images
appeared, softly glowing as they had before. Stepping forward with
joined hands the specters sang.)

We will live again in freedom in the garden of the Lord
We will walk behind the plowshare, we will put away the sword.
The chains will be broken and all men will have their reward!

(Ramna's phantoms all began to shine with a bright, brilliant light,
clearly visible through the rain as now their throng grew to a thousand
strong.)

Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
is there a world you long to see?

Do you hear the people sing?
Say do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring when tomorrow comes!

(From out past a Ranma in a RDF flight suit, standing at the foot of his
veritech, came a simple Ranko, blue shirted and smiling. Pressing out
before the throng she led them all in a single, united chorus singing to
her comrades below.)

Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
is there a world you long to see?

Do you hear the people sing?
Say do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring when tomorrow comes!"

*
All the images faded on their last, triumphant note, leaving only
the last behind. Hovering in the air, and glowing softly, bearing no
trace of the wounds that had felled her, Ranko remained a moment longer
and spoke.
"Great-Grandmother," her eyes first fell on Cologne. "I loved you as
my own dear parent. I have lived an Amazon, and died an Amazon. I can
hope that makes you happy. Please let Shampoo know that Perfume is proud
of her daughter."
Her eyes next fell on her own mother. "Mother, do forgive me. I did
not give you a chance to know me, but I loved you as a daughter should.
Do take care of yourself, and my brother."
Next they fell on Tatewaki, and acquired a smirk. "Tate-chan, if you
do anything stupid from here on I shall be very disappointed in you."
Her eyes twinkled. "And I would regard not finding a nice girl and
getting married as very stupid. Do not torment my brother, he is under a
curse to bear my face and form under some circumstances. See that he
doesn't suffer too much for it."
They last fell on the native Ranma of this universe. "Brother," she
termed him. "I could tell you of any number of your faults, but if I did
you'd ruin yourself with grief over them. All I can say is: Be wise.
Listen to those around you, even if you don't do as they say always. At
least learn from them. I would *not* listen to your father no matter
what he says. But you would be surprised at what you can learn from
others."
Ranko took a last breath as she seemed to fade away. "I love you
all. Be kind to each other...."
In the silence that followed there was only the sound of rain,
masking many tears, until Cologne finally, ritualistically, hawked and
spat.
"Thistle was a madwoman for inviting this fight upon us all, and I a
fool for permitting her to do it."
Hopping down to the ground off her cane, Cologne trudged the mud
across the field and came to Nodoka, sitting with broken legs in a
puddle. From there Cologne turned back and addressed her assembled
Amazons.
"From this time forth it is against our law to take or keep slaves
in our tribe. Let that which was passed in anger so long ago die the
death it has brought us. And..." it was impossible to suspect the old
crone of crying, yet cry she did, the rain masking her tears.
"It is decreed that the name of Ranko shall always live on among us.
Shampoo, your first girl-child will bear that name."
Cologne then looked over at the stunned Mrs. Saotome. With a visible
tremor, Cologne extended her staff, handing it over to the woman. "Now
dear, let us do what your daughter had asked us to do in the first
place. As leader of our tribe I pass that burden on to you, who spawned
a daughter I've never seen the like. Let's get this resolved before
*all* our clans fall to outside threat, and leave this field of battle
before we spill more of the blood of our children over it."
Swallowing deeply, Nodoka accepted the staff.

To Be Continued...

************************************************
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Author's Notes:

I would like to dedicate this section to my own son, Timothy, who
lived exactly 17 days.
My own little Tiny Tim.

Songs were from Les Mis, 'cept for the pirate one.