Sorry, I don't own it.  And I barely own my own characters, I have given them a license to live, that way I can't be to blame when they cause trouble!  ;)

      Okay, this story begins somewhere near the middle of the first Piccolo saga of Dragonball.  If you don't recognize the part right away, then you probably didn't see it, but you should get the idea pretty quickly anyway.  If you don't... well... hehe.  ;)

      *Quick note: As I said in my bio, our family computer is kaput.  I finally managed to find a place to upload from, but the formats don't exactly match between the computer I write on and this one, so I only have the obvious bold and italics here.  When I finally get the regular computer back, I will replace this here with the original, but that could take a while.  -_-+*

      Well, that's it, now on with the story.

      ~~~~~~***   INTERVENTION   ***~~~~~~

      A deathly wind blew through the valley as the results of the latest happening were revealed.

      The only sound, the sole, solitary sound in the eerie silence of the valley, was the lonely clanking of a falling rice-cooker.

      Master Roshi, the Turtle-Hermit, gasped in surprise and lost hope.  "AAAHHH!!!  I MISSED!!!"

      The Demon King Piccolo gasped a few lingering gasps from his experience with the Evil Containment Wave technique.  Standing in triumph, he laughed in an insane manner.  "AHHAHAHA!!  HAHAHAAA!!  I DID IT!  THE EVIL CONTAINMENT WAVE HAS BEEN DEFEATED!  HAHAHAHAHA!!!"

      Master Roshi summoned the last bit of his strength to try to dampen the Demon's hopes.  "B-but don't think you've... won.  We humans, we have... a spirit.  An indomitable spirit...  And no matter what... no matter how bad it gets... we... will... survive..."

      Plump.

      Piccolo regarded the dead man gruffly.  "Feh, the last mutterings of a senile old man at his death.  Oh well, the point is that you're dead and I'm not."  'That was close, I never knew there was a man alive who knew the Evil Containment Wave.  Oh well, now he's dead too and there's no one left to defy me.  And that's not all.' Motioning to the spot in the ground where the other five Dragonballs were stored, he pointed one finger upward and they popped out.

      BLEAHHH!!!

      Spitting out the last two pieces to the puzzle, he united the seven balls on the ground and proceeded to call forth the dragon.

      But Tien had other plans.

      {Chaotzu!  Can you hear me?}

      {Tien?}

      {Good, listen, Master Roshi hit me with some kind of sleeping potion so I can barely keep my eyes open right now.  You have to stop him.}

      {Me?  But how?}

      {Listen.  Just make your wish before he does!  Just yell out: I want the Demon King Piccolo destroyed!  Okay?}

      {Yeah.  I got it.  I will.}

      "I wish..."

      Chaotzu was just running from his place in the outcropping of rocks as Piccolo started his wish.  'Here I go...'

      {NO!!  DON'T DO IT!!!}

      "for my..."

      The surprise of hearing another voice in his head besides Tien's prevented him from saying another word.  {H-huh?}

      {I said don't do it!  Hide!}

      {But!}

      {Listen!  He's too fast, he'd kill you before you could say anything!  So just lay low, trust me!}

      "youth to be..."

      Finding time to have run out anyway, Chaotzu ducked beneath the rocks again, deciding that was the only remaining course of action.

      "RESTORED!  Back to when..."

      {Who is this?}

      {You'll see, soon enough...}

      {Chaotzu!  Why did you stop?}

      {Tien!  Someone told me to stop!  They said... that I wouldn't be fast enough... that he would kill me... before I could finish.}

      {That's correct.}

      {Who are you?}

      {Does it matter right now?}

      "I was most overflowing with power!!!"

      "This can be done easily." With a bright flash, the Dragon fulfilled the requirements of the wish, and Piccolo's body began to bulge.

      "Nnngh... augh... hahah...  HAHAHA!!!  THIS IS GREAT!  I AM OVERFLOWING WITH POWER!!  AHAHAHA!!!" Calming immediately, he smiled in the direction of the dragon.

      "Your wish is granted.  Fare well."

      "Hehehe... sorry dragon.  But there's a change this time." Calling up energy to his mouth, he called out a beam of energy that blasted forth straight at the scaly one.

      KSHEEW!  K-BOOM!!!!

      Plop. The Dragon's disembodied arm fell at the feet of his killer, and soon disappeared.

      "Hehehe... now there is no way for one to challenge my power."  'I'm free yet again.'  "HAHAHA!!  THIS FEELS GOOD!!!" Flexing his muscles, Piccolo tested his newly won youth.

      'Feh, there is no longer any reason to stay here.' Rising slowly to his airship, he formulated the next part of his plan.  'And now to the King's castle...'

      As the airship took off, gaining on the King's castle, those on the ground tried to come to grips with what had happened.

      Tien laid with his head against the ground as Chaotzu crawled to where Master Roshi laid.  "M-master Roshi..."

      The sound of something coming in contact with the ground caught his attention.  Turning around, he saw her.

      She was a girl about Bulma's age, in her late teens.  And she had blue eyes and a hair style to match.  Of course, if her hair wasn't so black, they might have been twins.

      "Don't worry, it's not quite as bad as it seems."

      "H-huh?  Who are you?"

      The strange girl frowned slightly.  "What?  You don't recognize my voice?"

      "It's not that... I just..."

      "Oh right.  You don't know my name.  Well, you can call me Alex.  That's what everyone else calls me, after all." She smiled as she waved the matter off.  "But what I told you is totally correct, trust me."

      "W-what do you mean?"

      "What I mean is, if you had tried to stop him, you would have gotten as far as 'Pic...!' and he would have killed you."

      Chaotzu looked frightened for a moment, then sad.  After a moment, he looked angrily into her face.  "I wish you hadn't stopped me!"

      "Huh?" Blinking, Alex regarded the little white kid curiously.  "Why?"

      "Because!  I let Tien down!  He was counting on me, and I chickened out!"

      Alex looked over at Tien, then back to Chaotzu.  "No, kid.  That's not it for you, trust me, it's better this way." She pointed to the unconscious man on the ground.  "And as for him, he'll feel a lot better knowing you're still alive."

      Chaotzu knew she was right, but that didn't change the fact.  He had never been a great fighter like Tien... but he never let his friend down.  He had never chickened out before...

      "And don't think of it as chickening out.  It wasn't fear that stopped you, I stopped you.  And the only change that came of it is that you're still here.  I didn't want to see you die for no reason."

      "B-but..."

      "No, listen.  I have an idea, an idea that just might allow you to help in the coming battle." Closing her eyes, she smiled contemplatively.  "Yes, it could be very helpful..."'

~~ At That Time ~~

      Goku and Yajirobe were nearing Korin's tower when the blips disappeared on the Dragon Radar.

      "Hey, the sky became light again.  Weird, I think that happened about three years ago too..."

      'The Dragonballs' signals are gone!  That means that he did make a wish... but what would a strong guy like that wish for?'

      The jet-car they were riding in came in for a landing near an Indian-style tent.  "Hey!  We're here, this is the place, right?"

      "Yeah, this is it..." Goku's tired voice came out in a rasping drawl.

      As they got out and looked around, they were spotted by a young boy in the trees.  "Hey!  It's Goku!  You're back!"

      "Upa..!  It's good to see you..!"

      "Hey daddy!  Lookit!  Goku's back!"

      A tall, muscular man came out of the trees and smiled upon seeing the tailed boy.  "Oh!  Goku!  You're back!"

      As this went on, Yajirobe looked around.  'Is that the tower Goku was talking about?  Geeze, it's tall...'

      "Oh!  Goku!  You're hurt!"

      "Yeah.. I got beat up real bad.."

~~

      As Goku tells the tale of Piccolo, Piccolo writes another tale of betrayal and evil...

      In other words, he throws the three flunkies; Pilaf and his cronies, out of his ship, rather than giving them the reward they had been seeking.

      Picking her head out of the ground, Mai sighed numbly.  "Lord Pilaf... Are we really that pathetic?"

      "Shut up Mai!"

~~ Enough of that... ~~

      "Oh, I see.  So he must have been very strong to have defeated you, Goku..."

      "Yeah...  That's why I was coming here, to see if Master Korin would train me again..."

      "But you'll never make it up the tower with those injuries!"

      Goku smiled.  "Oh, that's okay...  Yajirobe will take me up..!"

      "WHAT?!"

      "If anyone can do it...  It's Yajirobe..."

      "Now why would I do a stupid thing like that, huh!?"

      Goku smiled, he knew the way to get Yajirobe's cooperation.  Everything he did was for the food.  "The food's at the top of the pole..."

      "The-..."

      "Yeah, it's the Senzu bean.  Holy food."

      "You better not be making this up!"

      "I'm not..!"

      Yajirobe grumped as he looked at the pole.  "Well, if that's the only way...  Sure is a tall pole though..." As he slung Goku over his shoulder, he grumped aloud.  "Hang on tight, I'm not taking responsibility if you fall..." Grumbling incoherently, he readied to tackle the stone tower.

      "Here, let me give you a hand..."

      "Huh?  Uh, I hope you know what you're doing..." As the tall, muscle-bound man picked the two of them up into the air, Yajirobe prepared to be launched.

      "Hey, thanks..!"

      "Nnn... YEAAAAHH!!"

      "Whoa!" Yajirobe found the two of them sailing through the sky, and then grabbed onto the tower when they reached the peak of their flight.

      Looking up, he realized that he still couldn't see the top.  "Hey!  What gives!  We came all this way and I still can't even see the top?"

      "It's a very tall tower..!  But don't worry, you can make it..."

      "Yeah well, they better have that food you were talking about..." Yajirobe began his day long climb.

~~ At That Time ~~

      "So, Chaotzu, what do you want to do now?"

      Chaotzu looked at Tien's motionless form.  "How long will he be asleep?"

      "Hmm?  Uh, I don't know for sure." Looking at him a bit more closely, she regarded him curiously, crouching down to get a better look.  "He really could wake up any time now..."

      "Nngh..." Tien began to stir slightly just as Chaotzu got near enough to have to back off in surprise.

      "Tien?  Are you okay?"

      Tien sighed loudly as he rolled onto his back.  "Ohhhh...  I'll be okay in a while... but Chaotzu... we don't stand a chance against him... do we?"

      "No you don't, not like this.  So, Tienshinhan... what do you plan to do now?"

      Tien sat on the ground for a while, contemplating his fate.  'Our only chance now... is the Evil Containment Wave.'

      {Works for me.}

      "Huh?"

      Alex winked his way, giving him confirmation that it had been her voice in his head.  "Just don't kill yourself, okay?"

      Tien blinked once... twice... and then closed his eyes completely as the sleeping effect came back in full force.

      Smiling, Alex stood tall again.  "Well, shall we go?"

      "But go where?  And we shouldn't just leave Tien or Master Roshi here!"

      "Tien will wake up in a while, and he will take care of Master Roshi.  But what I have to teach you... it isn't easy, and you're going to need all the time you can get.  But before we get on with it... do you accept?"

      Chaotzu looked at his fallen friend (even though he was only asleep, he still looked fallen), and then at his fallen master.  How could he just stand back and not do anything?  He had to do something...  "Yes.  I will do whatever it takes, anything I can, to help fight Piccolo."

      Smiling, Alex nodded.  "Alright kid.  Then let's go."

      Nodding, Chaotzu floated up into the air, following the girl, who apparently also knew the hovering technique.

~~ It is now deep in the night-time ~~

      "Geeze... we've been climbing all this time and I still can't see the top!  This is some kind of trick, isn't it?  Come on, admit it!"

      "No trick... we're almost there..."

      "You said that an hour ago!" Looking down, Yajirobe frowned.  'And it's too scary to go down too... aw man!  I guess I'll just have to keep going up...  Why did I take this job anyway?'

~~

      Piccolo landed outside the gates to King's palace.  "So this is home... not bad."

      Walking down the walkway, he met the gate guard.  "Hey, who are you?"  Shaking his head, he decided it mattered little.  "I'm sorry, but no one is allowed past here without permission from the King."

      With a strike to the man's neck, he killed the guard, exclaiming "I am the King!"

      "Ahh!!" The other guard cringed in fear for his life as he tried to fill the intruder full of lead.  Failing that, he trembled in fear as Piccolo instant-fricasseed him with his eye-beams.

      Walking into the courtyard, he encountered a large number of armed guards, which were no trouble to take down or kill, whichever came first.

      Coming up on the inner courtyard, he encountered an unarmed man standing confidently in the middle of a large area.  He had his arms crossed and was smiling toward the green demon-man.  "Sorry, but I don't think I feel like letting you get any farther."

      "Oh look, a black sheep has come to the slaughter.  Well, I assure you, your death will be totally in vain."

      Another man stepped out from behind a bush.  "Oh, but we haven't even gotten to fight yet!"

      "Yeah, and we came all this way to see you..." Another man came from behind a large vase in the corner.

      As the man in the middle snapped his fingers, another four equally confident men practically came out of the woodwork and took their places beside him.  "You see, we came here looking for a good fight.  Honestly, we couldn't care less about the King or his Palace, but fighting a demon is something not everyone can brag about..."

      Smiling confidently, Piccolo chuckled.  "I see.  Well then, why don't I show you why you don't stand a chance?  HNNNN!!!" Opening his eyes wide, he launched a pair of eye-blasts at the closest man to him, going for the kill.

      But it wasn't meant to be, as he jumped away at the last second, and came down with his food against Piccolo's head.

      Moving his head back into its forward position, he frowned.  "I see.  You aren't like the rest of these idiots around here.  You actually possess slight skill and strength...  No matter."

      Without warning, Piccolo punched the first man in the face, only to receive another kick to his own face, and then another to the back of his head.

      And before he knew it, he was actually dodging the hits thrown at him by seven different humans!  He could have stood still and taken it all in stride, but like a hundred mosquitoes, they got annoying after a few hits.

      Surging his strength into one arm, he blasted forth his energy in a wave of air that knocked the seven men back against a wall.  "Augh..."

      "HYAAA!!" A hit from behind struck against his head as a slightly higher-pitched voice came out of hiding.

      As he recovered from his hit, he turned around to see his newest attacker.  "A woman dares to face me?"

      "Hey, who says it matters?  I'm facing you, man or woman." A girl in red hair set up in a pig-tail with blue eyes took a wispy pose across from him, practically daring him to attack.

      Crossing his arms, he stuck his nose into the air.  "Feh, I don't have time for this.  I have a world to take over." When he was done saying this, his neck bulged a bit and he threw his head back.

      As the girl cringed, Piccolo leaned forward and spit out a large egg.  But he wasn't done yet.  He soon repeated the process and made another egg.

      After a few seconds or so, two large monsters popped out of the eggs.  One was an obese creature with wide-set eyes and a perpetual smile.  The other was a tall twig of a monster with dangerous-looking knife-like protrusions all over his body, making a kind of full-body armor.

      "I shall call you 'Drum' and 'Striker'.  Now take care of these distractions as I take the throne of the world."

      "Hey!  Get ba-ACK!" The girl barely managed to dodge that blade-strike with her head still connected to her neck.  "Hey!  That wasn't nice!  Whoa!"

      "HYEAA!!" Bam!  One of the male fighters landed a hit on Drum's head, which had little effect until another of them added his own kick to it, knocking the giant off balance for a moment.

      "Oh, I'm going to enjoy killing you humans...  HWOARG!!!  HYAAAG!!!" Shouting loud battle-cries he threw heavy-set hits at each of them, knocking them down one-by-one.

      "Hey Drum, leave this one to me... she interests me."

      "Aw shut up!" The girl dodged several deadly swings as she backed away from the creature.  'Shoot, how am I going to do this?'

      "HYAAA!!" Crash! More hits connected with the larger monster as the skinnier one was led out of the area by the retreating girl.

      A large boulder flew through the air and hit Drum on the back of the head.  Crash!

      But the behemoth barely noticed.  "Oh, please!  You're tickling me!"

      The tallest man gasped in surprise.  He just saw a meter-wide boulder shatter against that monster's head and he said it tickled!!!  'This could be a problem...'

      Narrowing his eyes, he lowered his tone to a venomous level.  "Now playtime is over..."

      Before their eyes, the giant monster rushed after the nearest of them and put his hand through a wall!  Without losing his smile, he spotted the still moving man and launched another punch with his free hand.

      One down, six to go.

      Bam!  He took the hit in the shoulder, and used it to swing around to hit the hitter in, and through the stomach.

      Whish!  Crack!  Another man missed a kick, and received a neck-breaking blow for his trouble.

      "YYYEAAAA!!!!!" A boulder flew through the air, and was caught by the target.  It was then thrown at another fighter's head.  It missed, but the smaller stone Drum had kicked up didn't.

      "MONSTER!!  GAAAHHH!!!" Another of them found their neck bound in the creature's hand, and he couldn't breathe.

      "Uh...?" Losing his resolve, the sixth man stood unsurely as he received a blow to his head.  Drum had swung the previous man by the neck and used his foot to hit his next victim into next week.

      Dropping his make-shift weapon, he turned slowly around looking for survivors.  He had counted six, but if any ran away, or joined the fight, he wouldn't have noticed.

      He found the last man begging for his life.  "Please!?  Don't kill me!  I can join King Piccolo's side!  Please?  I can fight for him!"

      Drum crossed his arms.  He had nothing to fear from this human.  "And what makes you think my master would want anything to do with one so weak as you?"

      "I don't know!  But please!?  At least allow me to ask him in person?" He was still begging for his life when Drum approached him.

      Drum looked down on the man, and then sneered.  "Fine.  I will bring you to the master.  But if you waste his time, I will kill you instantly." He picked the man up by the waist and carried him down the hall, following the way his master had gone.

~~

      Striker was having a bit more trouble.  This one was fast, and he was having trouble predicting her moves.

      And the girl was having similar trouble.  'Great, now how do I stop those blades?' Looking down, she spotted a length of pipe sticking out of the ground.  It looked to be some kind of gas-pipe that was up-turned recently, and a good section of it was still underground.

      Hopping over to it, she pulled on it with all her might.

      Ssskhrrrraaaa... TING!

      Striker fell over as a good fifteen meters of ground suddenly up-lifted beneath him.  "What?"

      A bit of a drop of sweat formed on the girl's forehead when she saw what she had pulled out of the ground.  'Oh great, look at it.  I guess it was still in the ground, huh?'

      Now Striker looked annoyed... well, more annoyed.  "Rrrrgh...  Stupid human!  Die!!!"

      'Why is it that everyone wants to kill me?' The girl blocked with her make-shift staff (which was a whole lot longer than she had bargained for).

      SHHINGG!!

      But found it a whole lot lighter as the monster's blade cut right through it like a lawnmower through grass.

      "...  Oh shoot..."

      "EEYEAAAHHH!!!" The creature made a down-slice for her head, but she dodged nimbly away, using the tip of her staff to hit him between blades and knocking him away just a bit.

      "Stupid human!  Just DIE!!"

      "Sorry, I never listen to that one..." Each time she dodged, she struck with the tip of her now-a-meter-and-a-half long steel pipe.

      Smack!

      A hit to the head saw Striker hitting the ground and nursing a bump where the pipe hit him, having to reach his fingers between the blades there in order to reach it.

      Spinning the pipe around, the girl took a defensive stance with renewed confidence.  "Hey, you know what?  Your momma drinks swamp-water!"

      Striker was suddenly confused.  "What's a momma?"

      "... Uh?"

      "Are you trying to anger me?"

      "... Un?"

      "Because if you are, you needn't bother, I'm already angry."

      The girl braced for imminent attack, but was surprised when none came.

      "YEEIKES!!!" A white-hot blast of energy erupted from the monster's mouth and nearly singed the girl's pig-tail as she jumped into the air.

      "Hehe..." Striker launched himself after the girl, expecting an easier win with the earth-bound human stuck in the air.

      What he didn't know was that Anything Goes specializes in mid-air combat.

      "HEY!  You could put an eye out with those things!"

      "Rrrgh!  I'm trying to put your HEAD out!"

      Vish!  Swatch!  Sha-sha-sha-sha-sha!!!

      Each swing was either dodged, or parried (not blocked) as Striker's opponent seemed to have the advantage of speed.

      Tap.  Tap.

      As they landed, it was clear what each fighter was thinking.  Striker was vehemently and royally P-O'd, while the girl was as confident as ever.

      "Just DIE!  You pathetic human female!!!"

      Now it was the girl's turn to be angry.  Turning around, she used the staff to cut down a nearby tree, which she then grabbed with both hands.  "Cut out THE..." Whoosh. "HUMAN CRACKS!!!" CRASH!!!!!

      As Striker stood there, supported by the remnants of a tree almost as wide as he was tall, his dizziness was obvious.

      "And just to be thorough..." Bringing one hand back, she charged it with white energy of her own.  "MOKO TAKABISHA!!!"  As she brought her fist forward, a ball of energy bigger than she was shot forth and blasted the area with enough force to level a building.

      It was just enough to finish the creature, sending him to Otherworld in one loud shriek.

~~

      Piccolo noticed the loss of his child, and made a mental note.  'Remember to personally kill the one who killed Striker.'

      "I suppose extra hands couldn't hurt.  It's not like I'm really needed to do everything anyway..."

      "Oh thank you sir!  What is it you wish for me to do first!?"

      "First... prove you are worth my time.  Show that you will not be stopped by one of these pathetic human weapons."

      "What, like this?" He produced a hand-gun and shot his hand, making a show of having caught the bullet without barely having moved his hand.

      Grunting, he nodded to Drum.  "Acceptable.  Put him on guard-duty.  And if you see that girl you said Striker was fighting, I want you to kill her immediately."

      "Yes, master."

      Sighing, Piccolo turned to more important matters.  "Well, King.  How shall we do this?"

      King felt uncomfortable in front of the camera.  He knew what he was supposed to say, but he really didn't like having to say it.

      "I am ready..."

~~ In other parts of the world ~~

      Tien had finished his training with the Evil Containment Wave and was now heading in the direction he had seen Piccolo's ship head.

      Goku drank the Super Holy Water, increasing his strength dramatically while nearly killing him.

      Alex and Chaotzu completed their training, but the purpose to this training is still held secret.  Even Tien couldn't get Chaotzu to tell him what it was he was training for.

      And finally, the girl known as Ranma Saotome started on her way back toward King's palace.

      Things are about to get interesting.

      ~~~~~~***   End of Chapter 1   ***~~~~~~

      Well, that's how that one goes.  More of the story is revealed with time, as goes with my typical style.  Don't fret, as it will make sense as it goes.  And no, Ranma isn't weaker, s/he's just... holding back a bit.  ;)

      I'm gonna start on the next chappy now, so you can go ahead and review, kay?

      LATER