Joining

by Arinson Tidochi

Begins at the end of Ranma 12 and beginning of Dragon Ball Z. This story is now concluded. To find chapters 14 and 15 of the Episode Saga look for the seperate story Joining: Episode Saga.

12. Joining 12: Saga draws to a close

Joining 12: Saga draws to a close Written April 2003

By: Arinson Tidochi

I own neither Dragon Ball Z nor Ranma ½, and I don't have any money anyways, so please don't sue me. I'm not making any money out of this fanfiction, I'm just doing it for fun. Is anyone bothering to read this thing anymore? If you are then you're wasting you're time because I'm not making any changes to it.

"I miss it like I miss my own feces!" David Hable

"Never trust a girl, she might actually be telling the truth." BB

Authors note: Sorry about the long wait. I was just finishing up final exams at college but now that my freshmen year is over with I can get back to work! Now it's time for me to long-windingly respond to questions and comments

C. Rose and RLB71797: Sorry about the lack of scene breaks. On my computer I always included six or seven spaces between every section but they apparently don't show up on Fanfiction.net. For this chapter I included asterisk between every scene change, I really hope they show up. If they do I'll replace all of the earlier chapters with those as well.

Kinai: Thanks for pointing out just how clueless Piccolo would really be ^_^. We'll just see what happens next.

Final-Fan: As you may have already noticed with Vixen's review, Raku is indeed still cursed. The transformation showed up for a brief time earlier when he was hit by Ginyu's water crush spell. As for the tenaciousness of the curse, that just might play into something more important later.

Psycho King: Well I couldn't help myself. I like the idea of a super- saiyajin Raku as much as the next guy. Plus that gives room for even more interesting events to take place. Yeah, I know a Piccolo and Nabiki pairing is kind of odd. Unlike most things I kind of made it happen on the spur of the moment. It might not turn out to be a pairing though; I'll do whatever I feel like at the time.

Safire Ranmako: Vegeta is currently on his way back to that little planet that he went to in order to recover along the normal progression of dragon ball z. However what happens once he gets there should be very interesting indeed.

Flameraven: Don't think that Babbiti and Freezer are the same villains that they were in the original series. Freezer being an ancient demon is a little different from being some spoiled little super powered alien. And as for Babbiti. Well he's probably still a moron. We'll just have to see what happens.

Vixen: Well, I'm saving the longest for last. Thanks for pointing out those missing words. I especially love the second one: "The power of that cursed Raku has just increased so much that his may even be close to rivaling." It sounds like a badly translated Japanese sub!

Thank you again for all of your questions. This time most of them will actually be answered within this chapter so I'll just let you read without ruining anything. As for your question considering the canon of dragon ball z, I'll just tell you how I see things. The extent of the dragon's power and not its versatility is what's defined by Kami's power. Therefore it can use its energy for anything as opposed to Kami who can only use his in specific ways. Within the context of this story assume that the dragon is capable of using wishes that are made to it as if they were spells, thus making much more efficient use of its power then Kami is capable of.
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An unending green road was suspended above a mass of yellow clouds and below a clear blue sky. Off in the distance two figures could be seen running full tilt down the road. Closer inspection showed that they were men. One of them was wearing an orange gi and had black spiky hair with a scar across his face. The other was a bald muscular man who was wearing no shirt and who had a third eye above the other two. On the back of the muscular man a childlike man with completely white skin could be seen. The two men who were running were already breathing heavily.

"Just how long is this road supposed to be?" Yamcha asked between gasps for breaths. "It feels like it's going on forever."

"Well King Yemna did say that it was over 100,000 miles long." Tien responded. "But if this King Kai is as powerful as he says I just know that the training will be worth it."

The small white man on his back considered for a moment for piping in. "I agree with you Tien. I think that it would be worth a little trouble to receive training from someone as powerful as this King Kai's supposed to be."

They continued in silence for a moment longer before Tien came screeching to a halt. His eyes were wide in shock and he turned around to stare at the path that they had just come down.

"What is it?" Yamcha asked his friend. "Did Nappa escape from Hell and come to follow us?"

"No, it's not Nappa." Tien whispered. "It's someone even stronger then him."

"What, stronger?!" Chaot-zu yelled from his back. He quickly removed himself in order to fly above path. "Is he coming here Tien?"

"Yes he is." Tien said with a growl. "He should be here in only a few seconds at the speed he's going."

He was right. In only a few moments a blue energy could be seen flaring in the distance. "Get ready you guys!" Yamcha yelled while leaning back on his base leg and bringing his hands up to a fighting position. Their faces filled with tension as the blue energy flared brighter and brighter. Finally it stopped in front of them to reveal a small man who was bald and was wearing an orange gi identical to that of the man already on the path.

"What's the big deal guys?" Krillin asked causing the three of them to face fault onto the path.

"That was you the whole time?!" Tien yelled while leaping off ground. "When did you get so powerful, you put Nappa to shame!" Yamcha and Chaot- zu nodded their heads while slowly picking themselves up off the ground.

Krillin rubbed the back of his head and chuckled while blushing slightly at his words. "I just trained really hard." He said with a smile before a frown overtook his face. "A lot has happened since you guys died and unfortunately I was killed before I could see the end of it."

"Well we have plenty of time for your explanation." Yamcha said while walking up to him. He put one hand on Krillin's shoulder. "I'm just surprised to see how radical your powers have become. You might even be able to give that Vegita a good fight right now!"

"Maybe you can explain on the way to King Kai's place Krillin." Tien said with a smile. "I have a feeling that you won't be breathing as hard as the rest of us on the way there. Just start from the beginning and tell us all about what happened.

Krillin nodded. "I'll be happy to guys. Well, let's get moving."

Together the three of them began to run down the path and into the distance.

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Two figures were facing each other as a storm gathered in the sky and rage all about them. One man was a large and decidedly nude alien who was completely surrounded by an all consuming aura of darkness. The other was a much smaller man who was no less intimidating who had golden spiky hair with a flaring golden aura. His face was filled with unwritten fury as he surveyed the man in front of him. The cloudy and dark sky seemed strangely symbolic of the storm that was playing itself out in his eyes. A dramatic wind blew between them throwing dust and pebbles into the air. A suspenseful music began to play lightly somewhere in the distance. Once again the scene was perfectly set.

"You'll pay!" Raku yelled while leaping forward from his position. The rocks under his feet cracked and flew apart at the force of his steps. He cleared the distance in a single leap and punched Captain Ginyu directly in the stomach.

The alien's eyes widened in surprise at the force of the blow and coughed up blood while slightly keeling over. His eyes refocused on the man that was below him. His lips twisted to a smile as he brought his hands together and attempted to bash the head of the smaller man.

In a smooth motion the half-saiyajin stepped out of the way of his attack and punched his clenched fists, redirecting all of the force of his attack back into his own torso. This time Captain Ginyu couldn't keep on his feet and he collapsed to his knees. Raku's face was wrathful as he stared down at the monster and his fists were clenched so hard that a single drop of blood dribbled down from his hand and landed on the ground. His golden aura made a buzzing sound as it continued to move about him.

"You've done horrible things Ginyu, if you even are him any more." Raku said in a cold voice. "Ever since you came here all you've done is kill and bully those around you. Now you've sacrificed your soul to a demon and killed one of the people on this world that I cared for. All hope for redemption is now gone. There will be no mercy."

"A very pretty speech Raku." The monster hissed while crawling backwards on his knees. "But I am born from a single purpose which is to destroy you. You will not find me so easy to defeat. Ha!" With a single hand he launched a huge column of solid back energy.

"Too simple." Raku said before he leaped out of the way of the attack. With a cruel smile on his face Ginyu twisted his hands and his energy shifted its path to fly directly at Raku's back.

Raku shook his head as the attack rapidly approached him. "You just don't get it do you Ginyu?" He said to his enemy. In a rapid motion he dodged to side and allowed the energy to pass. Ginyu's eyes widened like a deer in the head lights of a car as his own attack hit him head on throwing a cloud of dust into the air.

"Before you can hope to control your enemy you must first learn to control yourself." Raku said. "That's the first lesson that a martial artist learns before they ever begin their training. Strength is worthless unless you can control it. Freezer's power in your hands isn't power at all, it's pathetic and weak."

"Shut up!" Ginyu yelled in rage. A monstrous aura of black exploded outwards from him. "The only purpose of my existence is to destroy you! I will not fail! It's time to pull out Freezer's full power!" He clenched his fists to his side and began to scream while his muscles pulsed and his energy raged about him.

"Is raising your power level the best you can do Ginyu?" Raku asked. "You already know that it's worthless to try to overwhelm me with strength."

"Maybe you're right." Ginyu said as his energy continued to grow. "But you can't say the same thing about your precious world!" With those words he planted both of his hands on the ground.

"What are you doing?" Raku asked in alarm. "Are you mad?"

"I've already told you the only thing that I care about." Ginyu said with a feral grin. "Raaghh!" Black energy filled his hands and began to spill outwards to erupt through the surface of the earth

"I have to stop him!" Raku thought to himself as the dark light played off of his eyes. "But how, I can't get there in time, but there has to be a way!"

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The sun blazed in the sky above the endless waves of the ocean below. In the midst of the water there was a small deserted island with only a few trees to provide shade against the great heat. On the small island a figure wearing black robes which seemed to suck in the light was standing still and examining a group of small orange balls that were lying on the ground. The balls pulsed with an eerie light as if they were awaiting some hidden command.

"At last they are all together." Mire said to himself, his scratchy voice dripping with triumph. "Now the time has come to summon the eternal dragon to find the location of that which I desire most."

"Arise Eternal Dragon!" He yelled to the dragon balls. After those words were spoken the balls began to flare with a light of greater intensity then the sun. As if that light was a catalyst storm clouds began to roll in out of nowhere and the waves were swept up so that they were lapping at the mages feet. One who was observant would notice that the water parted a mere centimeter from his boots, never touching them.

From the balls a serpentine shape arose and began to stretch for the sky. Higher and higher it rose and became greater in size until the top of it was well above the clouds themselves. After only a few moments it was a huge green Chinese style dragon and was staring below at the mage who had summoned it.

"I am the Eternal Dragon." It announced in a thundering voice. "As I will grant you any one wish, but I warn you that there will be only one. So ask!"

"Eternal Dragon," Mire began, "I wish to know the location of the Reality Shard!"

The dragon paused for a moment, as if it were deep in thought. "Your question is difficult." The dragon said. "However it will be granted." A great of energy surrounded the dragon and its eyes grew vacant as it extended its soul outwards.

Five minutes later its gaze again returned to the mage who was standing below it. "It is in the future of this world." The dragon said simply.

"In the future?" Mire asked in confusion.

"Yes. The artifact of which you speak is in the possession of an arch mage of great holy power who is exactly eight minutes in the future of this world. Now that your wish is granted I will return to my sleep." After saying that the dragon balls split apart and each one flew in a different direction across the seemingly endless waters.

"So it's true then." Mire said to himself thoughtfully. "The care of the artifact the Reality Shard was placed in the care of Mapleticiracianerfilintian, the leader of the mages that protect the barrier between the dimensions. I don't believe that Master Babbiti will be pleased to hear of this. Now it will be much more difficult for us to acquire. Teleport." He finished. With that word his body disappeared leaving the lone island again to be deserted.

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Two men sat across from each other in a small but comfortable Japanese dining room. One was a middle aged man who was somewhat overweight who was dressed in a white gi and hand a white clothe covering his bald head. Across from him was a young human teenager with slightly green skin and somewhat pointed ears who was wearing a school uniform. Both of them were sitting on their knees and appeared to be slightly uncomfortable with the silence.

"How the hell did I get myself into this situation?" Piccolo growled to himself. "Here I am sitting in a human home eating food. I don't have any ideas how their mannerisms or traditions work and I want to be careful not to give myself away. I guess my best bet would be to imitate those around me."

"I apologize for keeping you waiting Mr. Piccolo." Mr. Tendo said as he walked into the room and took a seat at the end of the table. "I placed Nabiki on her bed and Kasumi has already arranged for Dr. Tofu to make a house call later tonight. It is very kind of him to do this for us. Oh I apologize; this is Mr. Saotome, another guest in my home." He motioned to the middle aged man sitting across from Piccolo.

"Pleased to meet you." Mr. Saotome said as he bowed to Piccolo. Piccolo nodded and bowed slightly as well.

"Saotome." Piccolo thought to himself while eyeing the man across from him. "I think that he might be related to Ranma in someway. His ki is vastly lower then Ranma's but it's very similar.

"So am I right in saying that you're a martial artist Piccolo?" Mr. Tendo asked him.

Piccolo looked over at him. "I have studied it in the past." He said. "And I have achieved a decent amount of skill." "No need to tell these weaklings that I could destroy this world that we're sitting on." He thought to himself with a smirk.

Mr. Tendo nodded slightly. "I thought so, it was obvious from the way you moved. Well if you're looking for martial arts then you've come to the right place. Nerima has become a center for martial arts. Mr. Saotome actually is a martial artist as well along with his son Ranma. They've developed quite a high level of skill."

Genma continued to look at the boy sitting across from him. "Something isn't right about this guy." He thought to himself. "Something about his ki is wrong but I can't quite put my finger on what."

"The food is ready." Kasumi said pleasantly as she walked into the kitchen holding a pot in her hands. She then continued to fill up everyone's bowls with noodles and pass them around before finally sitting down herself to eat on the opposite end of the table. Outside the dark and cloudy day noticeably began to clear up.

"I suppose that Mire's wish is completed." Piccolo thought to himself as he noticed the greater light coming into the house. "I suppose that it's good that this world is still in one piece." He smirked to himself. He looked down at his chopsticks in disdain. "Now how the hell am I supposed to use these things?" He awkwardly picked them up in the same way that he saw the others doing and tried to get a handle on a few noodles.

"So where are you from Mr. Piccolo?" Mr. Tendo asked politely while setting down his bowl for a moment.

"I'm an exchange student from America." Piccolo responded while dropping a noodle an inch from his face. "Shit." He thought to himself.

"I can see that you're not use to those yet." Mr. Tendo said with a smile. Piccolo shrugged in response.

"So just how much time have you spent doing martial arts?" Genma asked in a serious voice.

Piccolo looked up at him curiously. "I haven't really spent any time in official training. I guess you could say that my style of fighting has always just come naturally to me." He grinned in triumph as he successfully maneuvered some noodles to his mouth. "This tastes really good!" He said in surprise.

"Why thank you." Kasumi said brightly with a smile. "The secret is in how you boil the water, it can't be too hot or too cold but just right."

"I had no idea that human food could taste so good." Piccolo thought to himself in private pleasure. "Maybe having a human body isn't such a bad thing after all."

"A natural style?" Mr. Tendo asked in confusion. "So you've never had a sensei? I've heard of people who've taught themselves to fight before but I've never thought that unofficial training could be as good as martial arts. But it's obvious just by how you move that you have impressive skill."

"He can figure that out without the ability to sense power levels?" Piccolo asked himself. "Maybe I should give these humans more credit." "So how do you tell how strong someone is just by looking at them?" He asked.

Mr. Tendo smiled and leaned forward slightly. "It has to do with how they hold themselves." He said simply. "You move with confidence and grace. It's easy to see that you're very skilled in some kind of martial art."

"I agree." Genma concurred. "I wouldn't mind seeing a demonstration of this natural style of yours." His eyes narrowed in slight suspicion.

"He's on to the fact that I'm not like a regular human." Piccolo thought to himself as he eyed the man across the table. "He's actually quite strong, maybe seven or eight times more powerful then a regular human; but I don't think that he sees the full extent of my superiority. It would be best if I could hide as much as possible."

"Another time perhaps." He said gruffly. "I was in quite a scuffle earlier today and I feel the need for rest. Would tomorrow morning be soon enough for you?"

Genma nodded in agreement. "Yes, tomorrow morning would be just fine."

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She found herself trapped in an utter darkness, a darkness that was so cold that it was freezing to the touch. "Where am I?" She asked herself. "Is this. Hell?" She brought her hands up to the darkness, trying to touch it, trying to find where it ended. Her hands only met empty air that on her mind felt heavier then lead weights.

In this vast darkness she felt her mind shifting, beginning to change. "Hold it together girl." She scolded herself. "You've never been one to let a little darkness scare you now have you? You have to hold yourself together; you just need to remember how you got into this mess in the first place."

She pushed her mind, struggling to remember something anything. Suddenly an image of a pair of cold blue fires came burning into her mind. "Mire." She hissed. "Mire put me here!" The rest of her memories came flooding back to her. She was Nabiki, the ice queen of Furinkan high and a born user of magic. Another image returned to her, one of a cute guy about her age with greenish skin. "Piccolo." She breathed. "He's expecting me to contact Kasumi, he needs my help!"

She again turned in circles, examining the darkness. "But my soul was trapped." She remembered. With a frustrated frown on her face she sat on what seemed to be the ground and clutched her legs to her chest. "Damn, I guess that I can't do anything to help him from in here. I really hope that he's okay."

Her eyes widened in alarm. "Wait a second, am I actually concerned about him? I'm the one whose soul is trapped, why should I be thinking about him at a time like this? Don't tell me that I'm actually interested in him." She shook her head in rejection. "A ridiculous idea." She concluded coolly. "Me actually interested in a guy. Besides even if I did like him and he liked me back then I would scare him off soon enough like all of the others. The idea of something happening between us is simply impossible."

Even with those words a slight hope still somehow budded in her chest and she gripped onto it with all her strength in an attempt to fight off the insanity caused by the darkness pressing in upon her. Eventually she could feel the darkness lift from around her.

"Is it over, am I free?" She asked in shocked joy. Before she could receive her answer she felt an overwhelming exhaustion like nothing she's ever felt before flood in upon her.

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The black energy continued to pour out of his hands towards the world that was suspended helplessly below while a grin of triumph filled his face. "This is where you lose Raku!" Ginyu yelled gloatingly. "Now watch your precious world disappear!"

"Wait a second." Raku thought to himself as he desperately stared at the earth's destruction seeping from the hands of the demon consumed mad man. "Space is finite, maybe I can find a way to destroy it or rip it somehow. But how can I get something sharp enough to rip space?" A feral presence presented itself in his mind.

"Perfect." Raku thought to himself with a smile. "Well, here goes." "Reeeeeeoooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!" He yelled in a high pitched screech as he forced his hands into claw like shapes. His eyes focused in front of him and his pupils lengthened to become cat-like as his claws pulsed intensely with a golden light. He then pushed them out ahead of himself and forced them apart desperately. In that instant all of space suddenly stood still as a ripping sound vibrated so greatly that the earth itself resonated its sound.

Raku stared to where his hands had just been. Hovering in the air was what almost appeared to be some kind of tunnel that a horrible black energy was pouring through. "You've seen your last day Ginyu!" He yelled in triumph. "Now, Kamehameha!"

A beautiful golden light erupted from his hands and flew into the tunnel. Almost instantly it made contact mid way with the black energy and the two began to fight desperately for dominance. The fight caused the rip to grow wider and wider until it was so large that Raku himself could have walked through it.

"What the hell did you do?!" Ginyu screamed in shock. "That's impossible!"

"If you knew who I was then you would never say that to me Ginyu!" Raku yelled. "This isn't good." He thought to himself. "This rip is getting too large; if this carries on for much longer it might consume the earth anyways! I have to finish it now!"

Hesitantly with his arm shaking Raku brought his right arm away from the Kamehameha leaving his left arm alone to handle the attack. "Are you a fool?" Ginyu gloated. "Do you think that you can beat me with only one arm?" With a grunt he intensified his attack and practically dropped Raku to his knees.

"You're the fool." Raku said with a strained smile that was cocky yet quiet. "In your haste to destroy me with force you missed the most obvious solution of all." He slowly but deliberately pointed his right palm towards Captain Ginyu.

Ginyu's insane eyes widened in understanding. "No," He whispered. "Impossible!"

"Mokou Takabisha!" Raku yelled causing a huge beam of blue energy to erupt from his right arm. Unable to release his own attack the alien could only stare at it in panic as it approached. "Noooo!" He yelled as he was caught from the side by the energy which literally picked him up and sent him flying into a nearby mountain which promptly fell apart and collapsed around him.

With a sigh of relief Raku banished the rest of the black energy. "That hole is large." He thought to himself while staring at the large rip that was still suspended in the air. "I should really find a way to close that." His face became determined. "But it can wait until Ginyu is dealt with for good." He turned to where the mountain had collapsed. "His power has taken such an extreme dip that it's almost back to where he started. Finishing him now should only take a few seconds."

With the force of his mind Raku quickly removed the rubble and debris that was left of the mountain until eventually the form of Captain Ginyu could be seen lying on the ground. His body was so bruised and battered that it was difficult to recognize and his insane red eyes shine shone brightly in the now bright day.

"So you've won Raku." He said in a weak voice. "But just look at yourself. I've a feeling that I've taken the greater victory here today."

"What are you talking about Ginyu?" Raku asked threateningly. "What you call a victory is just a chain of senseless murder and loss inflicted by your hands."

"But can't you see?" The insane man chortled. "You've strained your body too much. You're ripping yourself in half."

Raku looked down at himself only to stare in shock at what he saw. His entire body was vibrating ferociously and he could feel something inside himself being ripped apart. "What, what's causing this?" He asked himself in panic before he heard a scream of alarm from Ginyu.

He looked at Captain Ginyu to see him staring and something that was behind himself and then turned around quickly. There about twenty feet away was a silhouette of a man who was completely composed of golden light that appeared to be holding someone. "Is that the man of light?" Raku asked himself quietly. "Have we finally reached the future world?" He shook his head and frowned. "No." He said determinedly. "There's still one thing that must be done to make the transition complete."

He turned his head to Captain Ginyu. "It's time to end this Ginyu." He said in a serious voice. "Are you finally ready to die?"

Captain Ginyu sneered at him. "Yes I am ready." He said. "Now that you're too weak to stand against Freezer when he comes my job is done. You will die by his hand and that will be good enough for me."

"Kamehameha!" Raku yelled while throwing forwards a blast of golden energy towards the fallen warrior of darkness. It connected and when the smoke cleared just a few moments later he was completely gone, leaving only an empty crater in his place.

Raku turned back to where the brilliant light was coming together and fell to his knees. "Somethings happening to me." He whispered to himself. "Something inside me is pulling apart."

Suddenly it came back to him, a burning surge of regret that erupted from inside his soul and filled his entire being. "What is this?!" He asked himself in a panic before the face of a young girl with black hair and silver earrings made itself apparent in his mind. "Akane." He whispered. "I, Ranma never told you that he loved you. I regret it. I regret it so deeply that the regret is ripping me in half." Tears filled his eyes. "And now that you're gone I'll never get the chance. You'll never get the chance." Another voice echoed within him. "Goku?" He asked. "Was that you? Impossible, I'm. I'm splitting into Goku and Ranma. The Joining is being undone."

With this realization he was broadsided from all sides by a sea of twisting emotion. At first he was afraid because he realized that just in a few moments he would cease to exist but then his other memories came back to him. Images of Gohan, Krillin, Akane and Chi-chi and strangely enough even of Ryouga flooded his heart.

"So do you want to separate?" A female voice asked him. "Who's there?" Raku asked in a panic as he looked up, only to find himself surrounded completely by darkness.

"It was me; don't tell me that you've forgotten." The voice said again. Before their eyes materialized the form of a beautiful Amazon woman with black hair with blue highlights and piecing blue eyes. "I am Elder, one of the founders of the Amazon tribe. I believe that we've spoken before."

"Where are we?" Raku asked in confusion. "How is it that we've returned to this place?"

"We are once again in the cleft of your mind." Elder responded. "Goku and Ranma are separating and since you are the focus point of their respective existences the cleft between them is appearing within your very mind. Now it is the time for you to choose whether you want to stay together or separate."

"I thought that once we joined it was permanent." Raku said. "How is it that now I have a chance to take it back?"

"It's because you performed the technique incorrectly." Elder responded. "Ranma held regret in his heart that I was not able to weed out. Therefore your Joined form was inherently flawed. Normally the flaw would have been so slight as to not matter but the sudden surge in your power created a rift between your human and nonhuman halves.

Raku nodded. "I believe that the power was from the part of me that's saiyajin but the rage came from Ranma as well. So now I have to choose." He smiled. "But in truth there is no choice. I want to separate to become Ranma and Goku again."

Elder looked slightly perplexed. "But why?" She asked. "Why would you so willingly give up the incredible power that being Ranma and Goku gives you?"

"It's because of something that Freezer said to me." Raku said. "Something that even though he was evil he made very clear. That I was the best and that no one on earth would ever compete with me. But Goku and Ranma, well they lived to be challenged. I would rather be challenged by being two people then be one and live the easier life of simply being superior in power to anyone I might encounter."

"An excellent answer but I'm curious, is there another reason?" Elder asked gently.

Raku nodded sadly. "As long as I am Raku I will have trouble grieving for Akane's death. The only way to truly accomplish that is to separate Ranma and allow him to do it on his own. If Ranma and Goku ever need me again they know where to find me."

"You have chosen wisely." Elder said with a smile. "And by your choice I will split you apart into your separate halves as you originally were. Now close your eyes and relax, soon you will be two men again."

Raku closed his eyes in response to her words and relaxed his heart. Within a few moments he felt her cool hands on his face as they reached inside of him and grasped onto something else. Then his mind ripped apart. Every part of his body was removed from him, he could feel his very lifeblood leaving his body almost as if he were dieing. Far more disturbing, however, was what he felt happening to his mind. He could feel all of his emotions being taken apart piece by piece, he could feel aspects of his personality being taken apart and redistributed. The process continued until finally there was nothing left but the void.

And Raku was gone.

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Two beings were speaking in a desolate rocky landscape where a large hole was suspended in the air. One was an alien damaged almost beyond recognition that was lying on the ground. A weak black aura floated about his body giving the impression that it was embarrassed to be there. The other was a handsome but fierce looking man with blue pupils and spiky golden hair. The man looked down at himself and noticed that his entire body had begun to vibrate intensely. A shout of alarm from the man on the ground caused him to turn around to see a golden silhouette form almost twenty feet away from him. He stared at it for a moment before turning back to the battered alien. After only a few more words he lifted his hands and destroyed him, leaving only a crater behind.

Turning around he fell to knees, now unable to support his own weight. Some of his sharp golden hair fell away from the rest of his hair and settled across his forehead while becoming a solid black color. His pigtail also did the same as well as random other parts so that he had a collage of gold and black hair. His blue pupils became unfocused and his irises began to shift as if they were made of water. He closed his eyes and lowered his head and placed both of his hands on the ground. On either side of him energy began to condense and take on human form. Gradually his body faded away and the forms on either side of him became progressively more solid until he was completely gone and two men were in his place.

One was Ranma as he was before except before except for that his Chinese clothing was great disarray about his body and he looked as though he hadn't slept in a week. The other was Goku except for that he had golden spiky hair and blue pupils and his clothing was ripped and in similar disarray. After just a second his hair became black and fell back to his head and his pupils returned to their original color. As one their arms slipped out from under them and they collapsed onto the ground.

It was at this moment that the man of light completely condensed and his feet settled onto the ground.

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Ranma couldn't believe his eyes. "Akane." He whispered, staring at the girl in the arms of the figure wearing golden robes. "Is that you Akane?"

Maple chuckled for a moment while looking down at the boy who was completely spent on the ground. The mirth and gentle caring could be seen in his syrup colored eyes. "Yes it is Akane." He said with a smile. "I brought her to the future before she was killed."

"Thank Kami." Ranma whispered before his head bowed to the ground and his eyes closed on the world. A single tear of joy rolled down his cheek and wetted the stone beneath his face.

"It's good to see you man of light." Goku whispered as he also was overtaken by exhaustion. "Thank you. for everything."

"And you're welcome for everything." Maple said with a smile. "But if it wasn't for you, Ranma and Akane's combined effort everything would have been impossible. You have only yourselves to thank, but for now please rest." Goku managed a slight nod before his head too came to the stone ground and he was asleep.

Maple gently placed Akane on the ground so that her head was leaning up against Ranma's back. He then stood up and turned to the large hole that was suspended in midair.

"Did Raku create this?" He asked out loud. "Absolutely incredible." He began to walk in circles around it and stuck his hand deeply into it. "It's a rip in space." He stated. "Somehow Raku was actually able to create a rip within the reality of this universe. This wasn't even supposed to be possible without magic." He turned to smile at Goku and Ranma. "I guess that I was right when I said that Raku was a true master of improvisation. His skills were so versatile that he could do practically anything with almost no preparation." He smiled widely and shrugged. "But it's for the best that he was split in half by his super saiyajin transformation. Now Goku and Ranma can live their own lives and not get caught in between each other's. Besides, now that earth has a super saiyajin I don't think that Freezer will be dropping by personally for a while, which frees me up for other business."

"In any case, I should do something about patching up this hole before it gets worse." He turned to again look at the rip in space. "Simple time magic should do the trick." He extended each of his arms to their full length and physically grabbed each end of the hole. He then conjured holy golden energy around each hand within a span of about twenty seconds pulled the hole together until it was about a soccer ball in diameter.

"That should be good enough." He said as he looked carefully at the hole that was hovering in the air. In a swift grab he pulled it out of the air and tucked it into his robes. "Never know when one of these might come in handy." He said with a smile.

"Well is that everything?" He asked himself curiously as he peered up into the air. "There are some mortals on the way and I'd prefer to be gone before they got here. Oh yeah, one more thing to take care of!" He excitedly brought his left fist onto his right hand. "There's just the little matter of the parting gift.

He walked over to Akane and Ranma and kneeled in front of them. With both of his hands he reached into his robes and in each hand he pulled out a beautiful golden ring. The one in his left hand had a pure but small stone that was the same color as his maple hair and the ring in his right was small, beautiful and was arcane symbols.

"I recall that it's your custom to give these to each other." He said with a mischievous grin as he slipped the ring with the stone into Ranma's clothing and the other ring into Akane's. "You won't discover these until the time is proper but here they are anyways. This way I'll know when the time comes so I'll be sure to be there."

He stood up and opened his mouth as if he was going to begin an incantation before a light pulsed from under his robe. "That's right." He said, smacking his forehead with his palm. "I was so busy dealing with everything that I forgot to lift the seal on her magic. Thank you for reminding me." The light pulsed a few more times, emitting a sense of pride to any who would see it. Maple rolled his eyes in response. "Don't get a big head now just because you remembered something that I forgot. Remember that it was you who almost got her killed in the first place and I had to pull her out of the fire." The pulse came again, this time expressing mirth.

"In any case let's get this taken care of." He walked again to where Akane's head was resting against Ranma and kneeled next to her. He carefully placed his left hand on her forehead and a gentle glow emanated from it. An identical glow rose up and surrounded her body as her spirit reacted to his touch. A beautiful golden river of energy seemed to flow between them as their souls connected.

********************

A beautiful wooden door with a golden hand was resting completely closed at the end of a dark cave. Resting up against the door was a sleeping girl with black hair who was wearing marvelous golden robes and silver earrings. Her face was calm and peaceful and shined with both external and internal beauty.

There was a knock on the door that caused the girl's sleep to become restless. There was a louder knock, this time more persistent. Finally the girl opened her eyes and sat up. "Who's there?" She asked in weary confusion while rubbing her eyes. "Where am I?!" She asked in alarm as she noticed her surroundings and quickly jumped to her feet.

She spun around in circles as recognition gradually came into her face. "My soul." She whispered. "I'm in my soul again. Does this mean that I almost caused myself to die once again?" She turned too looked at the door. "Completely closed." She noted in disappointment. "I suppose this means that I'll have to start over. Oh well, I suppose that's better then being dead. I wonder what saved me anyways."

There was another knock on the door. "What the hell?!" Akane yelled in shock. "There's someone on the other side! I didn't think that was possible!" She stared hesitantly at the door. "What should I do?" She asked herself uncertainly. "Should I open it? What if I can't control it?"

She gulped slightly, remembering the time from before when she had too much power to control. She gritted her teeth. "Well, I guess there's only one way to find out. I'm going to go for it." She cautiously reached for the knob of the door and turned it. Once she was sure that it was safe she pulled the door open only a crack.

Nothing happened.

Akane frowned in frustration. "Well, I suppose that if I wanted to get through a door I couldn't fit through a crack that either." She pulled it farther so that someone of her own size could fit through.

The moment she did a fifteen year old boy slipped through the opening, causing Akane to jump back in shock. He had syrup colored eyes and light brown hair that was almost crystalline in appearance and was wearing robes to match Akane's. "Is that you Maple?" She asked in surprise while staring at the boy.

He shrugged. "Yeah, it's me. I just came through to help you get your magic back. Now that the door's open there shouldn't be any problems. I'll see you later." He turned to leave but was stopped by Akane grabbing his arm.

"Please don't go." She said quickly, hoping to stop him. "I have so many questions. Won't you please answer them?"

He shrugged and looked at a watch that was around his right wrist. Unlike a standard watch three hands floated about in three dimensional space. "I have a few minutes." He said calmly. "Just ask the important questions, there's a meeting over the security of an entire universe that's starting soon."

Akane gulped slightly and nodded. "What's the relationship between you and me?" She asked quietly. "I know that there's something there but I can't put my finger on what."

Maple looked abashed and he put his left hand behind his head. "Well that's kind of a complicated story but I suppose I owe it you to give a good answer." He said with an embarrassed smile. "I suppose the best way to begin is to tell you that I've been coming to members of your family for generations to awaken their magical powers. At the time of their awakening I always give some kind of vision of the best use they could put their powers too. All of them were extremely talented but all of them lacked the amount of sheer power that would take to become an arch-magi. But with you something. unexpected happened."

"What would that be?" Akane asked with a bewildered tone.

"Well, let me put it like this." Maple said, his face growing redder. "The god of death decided that since I already had a few thousand years under my belt I was ready to go to a party with alcohol. So I went and we both got outrageously drunk. When mortals get drunk generally they wake up with tattoos or piercings or whatnot but when an arch magi and a god get drunk different things tend to happen."

"Like what?" Akane asked, not liking where his story was going.

"Well when I woke up I discovered that something very interesting had happened." Maple continued. "Apparently the god of death had taken a piece of my soul and reincarnated it into the mortal world. Needless to say the mortal that received my soul would have all of the potential powers of an arch magus and would be vastly more powerful then would be normally possible for any mortal."

"Are you trying to say." Akane said with a sinking heart.

"You got it." Maple said with a slight grin. "You are me reincarnated."

"So does that mean that I only have a piece of a soul?" Akane asked.

Maple shook his head. "No, it doesn't mean that at all. Souls have a tendency to regenerate themselves rather quickly. Both of us have souls that are utterly complete. Now you understand why the link between us is so great."

"So I'm not an original person." Akane said in a whisper. "I'm just someone else." She fell to her knees under the weight of the information.

"Hey now, I wouldn't say that." Maple said awkwardly. "The soul is only a piece of who you are you know? There's also the whole genetics and gender thing going on. You're completely different from me in personality and appearance and everything, just that your soul is identical to mine. If you want to think of us an anything then consider us identical twins of sorts."

"Twins?" Akane asked slowly. "I guess this means that you're kind of like a younger brother."

"Well I don't know if I'd say that." Maple said with a frown. "I am your elder by a good margin after all. Heck, I don't even know how old I am anymore; I lost count after three thousand." He held out one of his hands to Akane. "In any case, I think I should be leaving, and you should be getting some rest. You've been pushing yourself too hard lately I think. Just go to sleep and everything will be alright when you wake up."

"Hardly." Akane thought bitterly to herself, ignoring his hand. "Ranma won't be there. But even so Raku would want me to rest well so I should go along with him." By the time she looked up again Maple was already gone. She did notice however that on the way out he had shoved the door open a few more inches so that it was now farther then half open. A second later a great fatigue filled her mind and she felt herself drift away on a sea of darkness. Not a single dream interrupted her perfect rest.

***************

A single pod flew through the endlessness of space. Inside a short man with black hair that came straight up off of his head was sleeping uncomfortably. Three stab wounds of significant size were in his torso and had ceased bleeding long ago as they were messily scabbed over. His breaths were short and strained and every so often he shifted his position and let out a short curse.

Finally his pod flew across a small world that had a base which was completely white and had pointed protrusions coming off of the top and sides. The pod landed on a landing spot and the door opened. Gasping with the effort the man stumbled out of the pod and fell onto the metal ground.

"It's an emergency!" Someone yelled. "Get him to the resuscitator immediately!" Two men with a stretcher ran up to where he was lying and gingerly picked him up and placed him on the stretcher. They then turned around and started to run off with him.

"I don't want to meet the guy who did this to him." One of the runners said. "Yeah." The other agreed. "Anyone who can do this to Vegita is not a person that I want to mess with."

After running for only two minutes they entered through a door into a room where a man who resembled a bird wearing doctor's clothing was waiting. "Get him in quickly!" He yelled to them while pressing a few buttons on a panel. A large glass case opened up slowly and the two men hastily placed him inside and began to hook tubes inside it to various parts of his body. After connecting the device that supplied the air they quickly jumped out of it.

"Good work, now leave!" The doctor said as he continued to press buttons. A screen showing various parts of Vegita's body and musculature came up as well as several breathing and heart rate graphs. A fluid quickly came down and filled the chamber that he was in. After a few minutes his breathing became less labored and he actually looked like he had started to relax.

"Phew, he's stabilized." The doctor said in relief as he walked over to look into the chamber at Vegita. "I wonder what could have done this to him." He said calmly. "I wouldn't want to meet that guy. And also there's no sign of Nappa, did he die on this attack as well?"

He sighed. "Well, I suppose that I have no choice but to fill out a report of his condition and issue it to Babbiti and Freezer. I hope that those two don't blame me for whatever he failed at." He shuddered slightly. "Those two are capable of doing things much worse then merely killing someone. I need to stay off of their bad side." After those words he returned to his terminal and continued to work.

**************************

Everything was moving in slow motion. Before his very eyes a red haired girl with blue eyes leaped from the turning water and charged. Battle instincts be damned he was surprised. Almost as if in slow motion she whipped her hands out in front of her, causing three spears of darkness to fly from her hands, impaling him. He coughed in pain and looked down in surprise at the holes through his battle armor. Still in slow motion he fell to his knees and coughed blood into the ground. He felt his surroundings shift and fluctuate, though he wasn't sure what he was sure that something had changed.

Looking up he saw someone who looked remarkably similar to the human boy that he had fought before, only now he was taller and more muscular with sharper spikes in his hair. The man before him looked furious, and electricity began to dance around his clenched muscles. With a scream of rage a yellow aura surrounded him and his pupils turned blue while his hair spiked out and turned golden. The force of the transformation was so great that he found himself shoved against the ground, unable to move.

"What is this power?" He asked himself in shock. "What does this mean?!"

A voice chuckled in the back of his mind. "This is the legendary super saiyajin transformation Prince Vegita. This is the transformation which you could not achieve."

"What?" Vegita asked, struggling to move. "It's real? Then how could someone else possibly achieve it? I am the saiyajin prince; I am the one who holds the hidden possibility of the transformation. It should be me, not some saiyajin that I've never even heard of!"

"Live is so unfair." The voice taunted. "The one you saw wasn't even a full blooded saiyajin, he was a half breed. To think that a half human half saiyajin would achieve the transformation to super saiyajin before the prince of the entire race, it's quite pitiful really."

"Shut the hell up!" Vegita yelled in frustration, hitting the ground beneath him leaving fist marks. "I will achieve the transformation and then I will destroy this half breed that would dare do it before me!"

"Destroy him?" The voice asked. "But you were driven away from the earth by a mere human boy. What makes you think that you stand a chance against a super saiyajin?"

"You misunderstand." Vegita said, now slightly calmer. "I left only because I was in no condition to continue to fight against the other defenders of that pathetic planet. I destroyed that boy before I left."

"Did you now?" The voice chuckled. "I have reason to believe that you're wrong. That child is tougher then you could possibly imagine. He survived that attack, and I would propose that you wouldn't stand a chance against him if you fought again."

"Bullshit!" Vegita yelled. "Who the hell are you and what are you trying to do to me?!"

"I just want to offer you a deal Vegita." The voice said calmly. "I have the ability to release your hidden powers from deep inside you. If I did you would be very close to achieving you transformation and you would soon after be able to take your revenge against the planet that humiliated you."

"You could give me that power?" Vegita asked hesitantly.

"Yes of course." The voice responded. "That power and so much more. Think of it prince, you might even have the power to overthrow Freezer at last and take his empire for yourself. As the prince of saiyajins that would be your right."

Vegita paused, deep in thought. "All right, release my powers." He finally agreed. "But remembered," He continued threateningly, "I don't serve you or anyone. I'm my own man and I'll do whatever I choose at any time. Piss me off and I'll kill you, it's as simple as that."

"Yes of course Vegita." The voice agreed. "All you must do is heal and then we will begin. Since we both share the same goal it should be easy for us to get along."

Vegita nodded and then relaxed. The stony backdrop faded leaving him in darkness. "So the boy survived." He thought to himself. He smiled evilly. "Perfect, I guess that gives me a chance to achieve revenge."

*************************
Three figures were lying in a broken rocky landscape. Though they were all tired and battered their faces were at peace with a sleep that was long in coming. From above a small object became larger and larger it was seen to be a large air bus. It hovered down to the stone ground and landed loudly as the engine was turned off.

The door opened and people began to pile out. First to come was a black haired woman. "Goku!" She yelled, running to one of the men lying on the ground. She fell to her knees by his side and hugged his body tightly even though his was unconscious. "I'm so glad you're alive." She whispered into his ear.

Next a pretty woman with blue hair stepped out of the bus. "Well, it looks like the action's already over." She said thoughtfully while rubbing her chin. "I wonder who these two are." She said while examining the two others who were lying with Goku.

"That one's a martial artist by the look of his clothes." An old man said who had also left the bus. "And a dang strong one too by what I can tell. And the girl, well there's something that's different about her but I can't quite tell what."

"Maybe she uses magic like your sister Master." An extremely large man wearing a horned hat said.

Master Roshi nodded sagely. "That would explain her clothes." He said simply while examining her. "But I must say that I've never seen anything like her even in all of my travels. As a user of magic she's probably quite extraordinary." A smile came to his face. "And she's quite a looker too. Maybe she's extraordinary in other ways as well."

"Well in any case we should get the three of them medical attention immediately." Bulma said while rolling her eyes. "I don't know who those two are but I'm pretty sure they're the good guys."

"Good idea Bulma." Master Roshi said while turning around. "Ox-King, take care of it."

"Yes master." The large man agreed as he effortlessly picked of the three unconscious forms from off the ground. "Please be careful with him father." Chi-chi said with concern as he picked up Goku.

"Yes of course honey." Ox king agreed, being very gentle. With the sleeping forms in tow they returned to the air bus and flew off into the sky.

************************

"Ah thank you Kasumi." Mr. Tendo said with a smile on his face. "That was an excellent meal as always." He looked over at where Genma was sitting. "Care to finish that game Saotome?" He asked. "Of course Tendo." Genma responded. Together they stood up and left the room. "Oh, and Piccolo." Mr. Tendo said while popping his head back into the room.

"Uh, yes?" Piccolo responded slightly startled.

"You're welcome to stay as long as you like for helping my little girl." Mr. Tendo said with a smile.

"Thank you." Piccolo muttered while lowering his head slightly.

"I'm so glad that you could stay for supper Mr. Piccolo." Kasumi said politely while clearing the table. "Won't you please spend the night here too?"

"No that will not be necessary." Piccolo said, returning to his feet. "I must be going." "I have no reason to stay here in this world of humans." He thought to himself. "It would be best if I left as soon as possible before I start taking on their weaknesses."

"Oh really, that's too bad." Kasumi said while carrying dirty bowls back to the kitchen. "I'm sure that Nabiki would feel more comfortable if you were with her when she woke up." She called from the kitchen.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Piccolo asked in shock while blushing slightly.

"Exactly what it sounds like." Kasumi said with her trademark smile while returning to the kitchen. "I spoke to her soul before fixing dinner tonight and she really seemed to want you to be around for awhile in case that monster comes back. Please won't you stay around at least until she wakes up?"

One thing that could be said about Kasumi was that she never forced anyone to do anything. But when she politely asked someone for a favor it was impossible for anyone to resist her. Even the successor to the king of hell.

"Well, sure." Piccolo said gruffly. "Don't expect me to like it though." He muttered, walking out the front door and over to the pond. He closed his eyes and drew his legs up to his body and began to levitate in the air over the water.

Kasumi smiled as if she didn't hear his last comment. "Nabiki's such a gentle girl." She thought to herself. "It will be nice for her to finally have a friend. Maybe they'll even get married someday." She gasped and stood still for a moment before returning to her work. "Their children would be so cute." She thought to herself.

************************

The sun was beginning to wane in the sky above a well paved street in a Japanese city. A man wearing simple brown clothing was walking down the street with a thoughtful expression on his face. He had brown hair and brown eyes with glasses and was simple although handsome in appearance.

"I wonder what could have happened to Nabiki to have caused her to collapse." Dr. Tofu said to himself, moving off his path only to dodge water that an old woman was throwing on to the street. "I checked her just last week and there weren't any disruptions with energy flow, she was perfectly normal." He chuckled to himself. "Well, as perfectly normal as any of those girls ever are. I could tell straight off that their ki was different from everyone else's. Not to mention how handy Akane's magic came in while she was here. And Kasumi." a strange light came over his glasses, "Kasumi is the most magic of all."

With that thought he tripped over something on the road and fell onto his face. "Ouch!" He exclaimed as he slowly returned to his feet. "I need to learn to watch where I'm going."

"Are you alright?" A male voice asked him somewhat awkwardly.

"Why yes, I'm just fine." Dr. Tofu said while turning to look at the speaker. "Thank you very much. Whaaa?!" He exclaimed in alarm as he saw who had asked him. It was a teenager who was dressed in the Furinkan uniform who had green tinged skin and green hair. What was oddest about him however was that he was currently levitating above the surface of the pond.

"How are you doing that?" Dr. Tofu asked in shock. "Are you using magic?"

Piccolo coughed slightly. "No, it's a martial arts technique. I'm merely using my ki to lift my body."

"Extraordinary." Dr. Tofu said quietly. "I've known people to do that with magic but it would take a great deal of energy to fly with a technique. Even Ranma isn't capable of such a feat."

"You'd be surprised." Piccolo said gruffly. "So are you the doctor that Mr. Tendo mentioned would be dropping by?"

"Why yes I am." Dr. Tofu said with a smile. "Normally I'm too overbooked to make house calls but for this family I can make an exception. Is she in her room?"

Piccolo nodded curtly before closing his eyes and continuing to meditate.

"What a strange boy." Dr. Tofu thought to himself while walking up to the door. He paused for a moment before knocking. "Well here goes." He thought to himself while taking deep breaths. "Kasumi will probably open the door. I have to do my best to keep my cool around here, not like every other time." He gulped and reached to knock on the door.

"Hello there!" Mr. Tendo yelled as he quickly threw open the door, causing Dr. Tofu to take a step back in surprise. "Isn't Kasumi here?" He asked.

Mr. Tendo shook his head. "No, she left to visit the store before it closed. I'm so glad you're here to check up on my little girl!" He caught Dr. Tofu in a bear hug.

"I'm glad too." He huffed. "But I can't breath." His face caught a notable shade of blue.

"Oh, sorry about that." Mr. Tendo said apologetically. "Well then, please come in." He opened the door more widely and took a step back. Rubbing his chest Dr. Tofu walked inside.

The green skinned teenager's eyes were tightly closed as he floated above the pond but a large sweat drop had appeared next to his head. "What is it with this place?" He asked himself in confusion. "Can it be that all humans are this odd? How come I've never noticed it before?"

*****************************

Nabiki awoke to a soft pleasant sensation surrounding her entire body. Opening her eyes she found herself lying on her bed in her dimmed room. "How did I get back her?" She muttered tiredly.

There was a knocking on the door. "Nabiki, are you awake?" A kind male voice asked from outside.

"Dr. Tofu?" She asked. "Yes I am."

The door opened slowly and Dr. Tofu walked inside leaving Mr. Tendo standing at the doorway. "I came to check up on you Nabiki." Dr. Tofu said softly.

"Thanks." Nabiki said quietly still feeling the exhaustion in her body. "But I think I'm alright. I don't really need you to be here."

"Oh no, I insist." Dr. Tofu said sternly. "Your father told me about had happened and requested that I come here. If you fainted during school hours it really would be best if I had a look at you. Now just lay back and relax."

Nabiki sighed and did as she was told. Dr. Tofu gently placed his hands on her neck and every minute or so moved them to a new position. "Everything normal." He whispered before he gasped slightly.

"What is it Doctor?" Mr. Tendo said in panic. "Please let me know what's wrong with my little girl!"

"There's no serious problem Mr. Tendo." Dr. Tofu said calmly. He paused. "There is something, but it's a matter of privacy between me and my patient. Would you mind stepping outside the room for a moment?"

Mr. Tendo was about to protest before he saw the look in Nabiki's eyes. "Please Daddy." She said sweetly. "The Doctor and I need to talk about girl related problems. It would be best if you left."

"Of, of course." Mr. Tendo agreed before stepping outside and closing the door. The sound of his steps moved away quickly from her room.

"Why Nabiki, why would you say such a thing to your poor father?" Dr. Tofu said with a chuckle.

"Well, it got rid of him didn't it?" Nabiki asked with a faint smile before her face became serious. "Now what do you have to say to me Dr. Tofu?"

Dr. Tofu's face became thoughtful and he started to rub his chin. "Well, it's kind of hard to explain." He said simply. "I'm sure you know that your ki has always been different from that of a regular human am I right?"

Nabiki nodded. "Of course, it's because of my magic."

"Well when I was examining the flow of your energy I noticed that something was different from the way it was before." Dr. Tofu continued.

"Different? How so?" Nabiki asked.

"Well, it's hard to describe. Before whenever I examined your energy I always came away with an image of a green flowing river but this time." He paused for emphasis. "This time there was a small black divide in the center of the river."

"A divide?" Nabiki asked in confusion. "Do you mean that something was actually disrupting my magic?"

"Well, since I don't know much of magic it's hard for me to tell." Dr. Tofu said with a shrug. "But that's the impression I got. It seems to me that everyone who uses magic has some way to symbolize it in their minds; I know that Akane used a door. If your magic is represented by a river then something very well may be interfering with its flow. Something black."

Nabiki nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you Dr. Tofu, I'll keep your words in mind. I need to do some work to find out what that is."

Dr. Tofu smiled and patted her head. "Other then that you're perfectly fine. It would be best if you didn't attend class tomorrow but you should be sufficiently recovered at least by the day after. Make sure to get plenty of rest." He stood to his feet and walked to the door and opened it. He then quietly closed it behind him and soundlessly walked away from her room.

"So he said that my river of magic might be corrupted somewhat." Nabiki thought to herself in slight alarm. She was about to concentrate in order to go inside herself but then another wave of exhaustion hit her and she found herself slipping away. "I'll check up on it in the morning." She thought before she completely returned to the darkness of sleep.

**********************

The sun is quickly setting on the beautiful sunny day. A hospital in the middle of the city is sitting quietly; things have been good for them this day. There have been relatively few emergencies and sudden surprises. Above a hospital landing pad an airbus slowly settled down.

"Why do I have to carry this guy?" Master Roshi complained in a huff after swinging teenager over his back. "Why can't I carry the pretty girl instead?"

"I think you know the answer to that." Bulma said while rolling her eyes. "So how are you doing Ox-King?" She said to the extremely large man who was carrying Goku in his arms.

"He's heavy; he must have put on a lot of muscle." Ox-King said with a smile. "But don't worry about me; I'll have no problem carrying him."

Bulma nodded. "I'm not sure what their condition is but we want to get them in as smoothly as possible." She looked down at the stretcher she was holding one end of that was carrying the girl. "Thanks for you help Puar." She said with a smile. "I can't believe that the air bus didn't have one of these so I really appreciate it."

"No problem." The stretcher responded in a high pitch voice. "She's heavy but I'm just happy to help."

"As for me I'm just glad that everything turned out alright." Chi-Chi said with a smile. "Goku's back and these children aren't hurt at all. If only those cities that were destroyed were wished back as well."

The three of them shared a moment of silence before Bulma perked up. "Well, enough time wasted. Let's get them inside."

They quickly made their way inside the doors to the waiting room. Bulma motioned for them to wait and walked up to the receptionist who was looking at them curiously from behind the counter.

"So what's the problem with these three?" She asked.

"They've suffered heavy exhaustion." Bulma replied. "I'd like for them to receive a basic check-up."

"Will you sign for their entry?" The woman asked.

Bulma nodded. "I will also pay for the full cost of them being here."

The receptionist made a call on a phone on her desk and then motioned for them to wait. "Someone will be out here for them shortly." She said with a smile.

Bulma walked back to the chairs and took a seat. "Nothing now to do but wait." She said while relaxing.

************************************

(six hours pass)

************************************

The beautiful day had turned into a dark but equally beautiful night. The cloudless sky was filled with bright stars and the crescent moon shined peacefully down upon the Japanese city below.

In the small district of Nerima there was a dojo with the label of the Tendo family situated next to a relatively small but very pleasant house. A lone figure stood in darkness outside of the house and was looking up at it, eyes scanning from window to window until he paused.

"That's Nabiki's room." Piccolo thought to himself with a smile. "I suppose that now's my chance to get this taken care of." He floated up into the air and slowly traveled over to the window that was outside her room.

"So there is a latch inside her window." Piccolo thought to himself. "That will make this much easier". As he looked at it the latch inside of the window slowly turned itself and with a slight creek opened up. Slowly and carefully he opened the window and slid inside as he cautiously closed it behind him.

Inside the room it was completely dark except for the soft light of the moon and stars coming in through the window. Piccolo could easily make out the shape of a girl that was sleeping soundly on her side with her body facing towards the window.

He kneeled down next to her and spent a few quiet moments looking at her face. "What the hell is happening to me?" He asked himself before shaking his head sternly. "No." He frowned. "I came here for a reason. I can't afford to lose my resolve."

He reached out one of his hands and gently brushed some of her hair away from her face. "Good bye Nabiki." He whispered quietly. "I'm leaving now, never to return. As much as I would like to stay I don't belong here in this world of humans. I never will truly be a member of this world I once wanted to conquer and all I can do now is fight to protect it. So goodbye, forever."

He stood quietly and turned his back to the sleeping girl and slowly made his way away from her bed. "It's for the best." He thought to himself clenching his fists. "I should leave before I hurt her and her family." He walked slowly to the window and began to open it quietly.

"Where are you going?" A female voice asked from behind him.

Piccolo's entire body startled and he quickly turned around to see who had spoken. What he saw was Nabiki laying with the front of her body down leaning on one of her hands staring at him.

Piccolo stared at her with wide eyes for a moment before speaking. "You were awake?" He asked in surprise.

"Not for the entire time but you kind of woke me up in the middle of your little speech." She said dryly. "So tell me, where do you think you're going?"

"Away from here." Piccolo said firmly. "I'm the kind of person who causes trouble to those around me. If I stay here your entire family will be in danger."

Nabiki stared at him incredulously for a moment before she began to laugh. At first it was only a chuckle but in a second it became so that Piccolo thought the rest of the house would wake up.

"Would you quiet down?" He asked desperately. "I don't want to bring your entire family out here at this hour!"

"Oh you're worried about that?" Nabiki asked lazily as she stretched and sat up in her bed. "What are you afraid of being caught alone in a lady's room in the middle of the night?"

Piccolo looked confused. "Why would that matter?" He asked. He frowned again. "And what was so funny about me saying that trouble tends to follow me?"

Nabiki chuckled again. "What's funny is that you've never met Ranma before. More trouble flocks to him then anyone I've ever seen. If all you bring along are evil mages then I'd consider myself lucky."

Piccolo scratched his head, an odd custom that he'd seen humans do. "I suppose that Ranma would probably be like that." He thought to himself.

Nabiki's face became a cold calculating mask. "So you're planning on leaving huh? Well then I have a proposition for you."

"It's not open to negotiation." Piccolo said sternly. "I know what's best for this situation and I'm following through with it."

Nabiki shook her head. "I'm afraid that you're mistaken Mister." She said coolly. "If you take so much as one step towards that window then I'm screaming at the top of my lungs."

"You wouldn't." Piccolo hissed in alarm.

Nabiki nodded. "The last time I yelled my father was in her in less than two seconds. Trust me; you don't want to know what he'd be like if he thought that you were trying something."

For no reason an image popped into Piccolo's head of a huge yelling Mr. Tendo head so large that it took up the entirety of his vision.

He shuddered slightly before shrugging. "Fine." He said equally coldly. "I'll hear out what you have to say. If I don't agree then I'm leaving never to return so you'd better make it good."

Nabiki gave her predatory smile as she crossed her legs. "We'll cut a deal then Mr. Piccolo. You stay around at least for one year and during that time I will teach you everything that I know about magic so that you can develop your own skills. As an added bonus you'll be able to spar with Ranma to improve your physical strength, I'm sure he'd be more then happy to have a friendly martial artist around to train with. Too many around here are out for his blood."

Piccolo paused for a moment and considered it. "Even though I have a great deal of magical talent I've never had the chance for formal training." He thought to himself. "And Nabiki has already shown herself to be very proficient. This may be the chance that I'm looking for. And training with Ranma couldn't hurt either. Even though by now I should be stronger then him, his ability to improvise would make him an excellent partner. The only question is what she wants in return."

He looked up to see Nabiki looking at him with that same smile on her face. He shivered slightly in spite of himself. "I don't like something about that look." He thought to himself.

"So what's in it for you?" He asked gruffly.

Nabiki's smile widened. "What makes you think that I want something other then the pleasure of your company?" She asked innocently.

"Don't joke around with me." Piccolo said angrily. "I know that you wouldn't cut such a good deal without getting something out of it."

"He's remarkably intelligent but such an amateur." Nabiki thought to herself. "Never let your opponent know that you like what they have to offer. It's best to always play it down to see if you can get something else out of them." She shrugged. "You're right of course." She said. "All I want from you is that you start attending public school."

"Start attending school?" Piccolo asked in shock raising his voice. "Why the hell would you want such a thing?"

Nabiki held one finger up to her mouth. "Quiet." She said with a smile. "I wouldn't want my father coming up here."

Piccolo grunted in annoyance and turned to the side so that he didn't have to look at her. "Tell me how you'd benefit from me attending your high school." He said firmly and slowly.

"Money." Nabiki said simply. "Do you realize how much I could benefit from your beautiful face at that school? Girls would flock to buy pictures of a guy like you."

Piccolo frowned. "Don't speak of me like that." He said harshly. "A warrior has no need for such a thing as beauty, only strength. I refuse your offer."

Nabiki chuckled. "Are you so sure?" She asked with a smile. "Think of the discipline that attending school would bring you. And there's so much to learn. A warrior needs to have a sound mind as well as a sound body doesn't he? Besides where else are you going to learn to fully utilize your magic and improve in martial arts? Face it; this is too good of a deal to pass up."

Piccolo stood still with his eyes closed for a long moment before a large sweat drop appeared next to his head. "Damn it, she's right." He cursed to himself. "The advantages of staying here by far outweigh whatever I might gain by leaving. And what she said about Ranma attracting trouble is probably true; my being here couldn't possibly make a difference."

He opened his eyes and turned to stare at Nabiki. "Very well then, I accept your deal." He said coldly. "But I want you to remember something." He continued before she could respond.

"And what would that be?" Nabiki asked with a triumphant smile budding on her face.

Piccolo stared into her eyes for a second before turning his head slightly to the side. "We are not friends." He said firmly. "I'm only here so that I can learn from you and you're only here to make some money off of me. Our relationship doesn't go any farther then that."

"Agreed." Nabiki said coolly. "I was about to offer the same condition." She held out her hand. "Care to shake on it?"

Piccolo looked at her hand curiously for a moment before he held out his own and held it out. "Her hand is really small." He thought to himself in surprise. Shrugging he turned away from her and walked to the window.

"Remember what I said Piccolo." She warned.

Piccolo grunted in response. "I'm just leaving the way I came so I don't have to worry about someone catching me leaving your room. After I get out through here I'll be coming back to my room to get some sleep." He paused for a moment after opening the window and muttered something and then quickly flew out closing it behind him.

Nabiki stared at the window for about ten seconds after he was gone. "Did he just say good night?" She asked herself in surprise. She shrugged and lied back down on her bed. "At least now I have some more time to figure out who he is and where he came from." She thought to herself in satisfaction. Her face became curious. "I also need to ask him why his soul changed in that space of time that I was captured by that evil mage. It kind of felt like he was a different person."

She stayed awake for another half hour staring at the roof of her room before she finally rolled over and went back to sleep.

***************************

"Hey, there it is!" Krillin yelled excitedly as he and his friends ran quickly down the snaking road.

"Yeah, I suppose so." Tien huffed alongside him, his face bright red with the exertion of the long road.

"Finally. there." Yamcha breathed as his pace slowed down to a jog.

"What are you guys tired already?" Krillin asked jokingly as he slowed his pace to match theirs. "I'm not even breathing hard yet."

"No need to gloat Krillin." Tien said with a strained smile. "We've heard of how you got so strong. Who knew that the room of space and time could be capable of such a thing?"

"I hope that Gohan's alright." Chaot-zu said softly.

"Yeah, me too." Krillin said, his face becoming downcast.

"What are you guys talking about?" Yamcha asked between gasps for air. "He's Goku's son. He'll be just fine; you just need to have some faith in him."

"Yeah!" Everyone said happily together.

"In any case I think it's just about time that we paid King Kai a visit." Tien said seriously. "I can hardly wait to see what his training's like."

The three of them nodded to each other and together flew upwards towards the planetoid that was far above their heads.

****************************************

A lone figure was standing on the edge of a tiled island from which the earth could be seen far below. On his face was a faint satisfied smile.

"So it is done." Kami said to himself with a sigh of relief. "Despite all of the complications for the time being the earth is at last safe. I have to say that getting Ranma involved with the conflict was an excellent idea, it's obvious that the earth would not have stood a chance without him."

His eyes darkened. "But it worries me that a wish was made on the dragon balls." He said with a frown. "I believe that the evil ally of Captain Ginyu who made his form known here may have had something to do with it. What could he possibly have been after?"

"How is it going for you Kami?" A concerned voice asked respectively from behind him.

Kami turned to see Mr. Popo standing behind him. "It is going well Mr. Popo," he said with a sigh, "The earth is now safe and for the time being I can rest."

"That is well Kami." Mr. Popo agreed.

"But there is still the matter of Gohan to deal with." Kami continued. "Mr. Popo, I want you to deliver him to his mother, wherever she may be. She will be able to take care of his as well as we could, and has long been without him. She will be thankful for his safe return."

"Of course Kami." Mr. Popo agreed. "It will be done like you have asked." He turned around and walked back into the lookout.

Kami turned away and returned his gaze to the earth. "But I still can't help but feel that something is terribly wrong." He thought to himself. "Something will come to challenge the earth again, but I can't be sure of when or where. I must do my best not to be caught off guard."

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Well, I hope you like it. This is officially the end of the Saiyajin Saga. Obviously in terms of power I skipped straight through the Freezer Saga, that was my least favorite one and I don't really want to deal with it. So is the Cell Saga next? Not quite, (smirks). What's coming up is a little saga of my own creation. I don't really have a name for it but a lot of things will be going on at once and it's kind of hard to explain. So I'm not going to bother and will just let you read it instead. I don't know how long it will be but it will probably last 3 chapters or so. In any case, see you soon!

And as always, thank you so much for your help Ranko! I'm really glad that you stuck it out with me and this story for such a long time!