Saiyans Lost:
Chapter 3
Ranma poked his head out onto the patio, Akane looking shyly (which was odd for her) over his shoulder. Bulma grinned and gestured to
the two empty chairs she'd set out for them. Ranma grinned and sat down next to Yamcha, with Akane between him and the talking pig they
called Oolong.
Akane and Ranma had met several interesting people since they'd left the dojo, and heard about even more interesting ones. However,
they hadn't spent too much time with any of them. Vegeta insisted that Ranma train every day, and he'd only gotten a handful of free days in all of
these months.
Bulma, trying a new and rather interesting hairstyle that somewhat resembled an afro, went over to the grill. Akane studied the faces of
the men around the table. Oolong and Yamcha were arguing over the barbecue sauce while Vegeta studied them evident distaste. Her eyes
wandered past the others to rest on Ranma as he laughed and snatched the sauce from their fingers. The three of them continued to laugh and
fight, leaving Akane free to study her fiancé freely.
He'd gotten a lot more muscular since he'd begun these mysterious work-outs every day with Vegeta. Ranma came out of the gravity
room every day battered and bleeding to be put into the healing tanks for a couple of hours, only to come back out in perfect health. Over the
months, he'd gradually come out in better and better health, needing less and less time in the tanks.
Akane looked at him and had a hard time believing it was the same boy who'd been kidnapped with her a few months ago. His shoulders
were much broader and he was more muscular all around. He still had the same ponytail and wore the same Chinese clothes, even though he'd
had to have new ones made to accommodate his larger frame.
He looked over at her and grinned as he held the barbecue sauce over the pig's head. Puar smirked at the boy's distraction and hovered
a couple of feet into the air to snatch the bottle. Ranma turned back to counterattack as Yamcha burst out laughing, knocking over his soda as
he did so.
Ranma, now female, frowned at the still laughing Yamcha. "That's a good one Ranma!"
"Gee, thanks Yamcha. Don't forget who's won all of our matches."
Vegeta frowned at his pupil in disappointment, "Of course you won, Ranma. As a member of the Saiyan race, you have greater
capabilities than a mere human. With my training, you might be able to beat that brat Gohan now."
Oolong looked about ready to make a sarcastic comment when Ranma froze and looked up to the sky with an odd expression. Akane
cocked her head and studied him, a little worried.
"What's wrong Ranma?"
He shook his head a little in puzzlement, his eyes vague. He reached over and rested a hand on Vegeta's shoulder. "What's that?"
Akane frowned and looked up at the sky. "I don't see anything."
Yamcha gasped and began to look increasingly frightened. "No, but I sure sense it. Hey guys, tell me I'm dreaming, okay?"
Vegeta stood stiffly and snarled, "No, you're awake, and it's definitely him." His expression changed to a smirk. "It would seem that
Kakarot didn't do such a good job after all."
Ranma looked up at his sensei, a feat only possible because Ranma was seated at the time. "What do you mean, Vegeta? Who is it?"
Vegeta lost the smirk in exchange for a much more serious one as he whispered a single word that made everyone shudder involuntarily.
"Frieza . . ."
Gohan's head jerked up from his schoolwork, his face serious, just as the phone rang. Minutes later he was zooming off to the horizon as
his mother watched him once more fly off into danger without a backward glance for her.
Krillin dropped the phone and shot into the air, leaving a large and startled turtle on the beach outside the small pink house. Said turtle
blinked twice before turning and making his way into the house where Master Roshi was grumbling about being left behind again.
Akane snarled and shook a fist at the retreating forms of her fiancé and Yamcha. She spun around and snarled as she kicked a potted
plant. She hated it when everyone dismissed her out of hand when it came to fighting. She'd been training with Krillin and on her own, and
she'd improved a lot. She could almost throw a ki-blast.
"Don't just sit there girl, let's follow them!"
Akane turned as Bulma gestured to the small aircar. "It will be a little cramped, but we don't have time to get another one. Hop in and
we'll get there just a couple of minutes after them."
Akane grinned and climbed into the open aircar behind Bulma. As they flew off, Akane could only grin in triumph. For the first time since
Gohan and Vegeta had shown up at the dojo, maybe Akane could be of some use! Ranma hadn't seen how much she'd improved, after all.
Ranma landed next to Vegeta, his sensei, and scanned the others. Within two minutes, everyone in this elite group that was laughingly
called the 'Z Fighters' had arrived. For some reason, Ranma didn't include himself in that group even though he could beat all of them except for
Vegeta or maybe Gohan.
Everyone was antsy and nervous as they argued. Yamcha was silently sticking back, casting nervous and frightened glances around.
Ranma couldn't blame him, since he was the weakest one among them.
Krillin glanced once more to the sky, "Guys, I'm not so sure about this. How are we supposed to defeat Frieza?"
Vegeta snarled, "For starters, you could keep it down so his scouters won't pick us up. He won't be expecting us to be sitting here
waiting for him."
Vegeta spun on his heel and started walking toward the cliffs that separated the Z fighters from Frieza's expected landing spot. Ranma
glanced at the others and started after him.
"Ranma, wait!" He froze. Was that Akane's voice?
"We're coming down guys, look out!" And that would, of course, be Bulma. Ranma groaned and turned to watch the girls, with Puar of
course, land.
"Akane, what are you two doing here?"
Akane jumped from the vehicle before it had even landed and stomped over to him. "I'm going to help, of course. I may not be able to
beat you, but I could take Kodachi, Ukyo, and Shampoo all at once now with no problem!"
Ranma frowned down at her. "This is a little different and you know it Akane."
How could she be doing this? He'd thought that she was perfectly safe back at Capsule Corp. and here she was glaring at him. He
sighed and turned to follow Vegeta, who was also glaring at the two girls.
"Just make sure you keep up. Remember everyone, keep your power levels down. One slip up and Frieza's scouters will pick us right
up."
Vegeta spun on his heel and began climbing up the rocky hillside. The others fell in behind Vegeta and his pupil, climbing silently with
stern expressions as they pondered the great evil that had just landed on the other side of this rocky outcropping.
The climb was rough on some, and painfully easy for others. They were nearing the crest when everyone able to sense power levels
suddenly froze. Akane frowned angrily as she immediately realized what they were doing. She'd learned to generally sense power, but not like
Ranma and the others.
Bulma glanced between the wary expressions of her friends, her own face betraying her fear. "What is it? What's wrong now?"
Ranma took a halting step forward, "There's another power level now, and it makes that Frieza guy's look miniscule."
They stood silently for long moments and stared forlornly at the nearby crest. At some unseen signal, they all burst into movement and ran
to the top. Akane stuck back a little to help Bulma. She was tugging the older woman onto the final rise when she backed into Piccolo. He
reached back negligently and straightened her until she got Bulma up beside her.
She turned and blinked in confusion. An odd looking alien thing with white and purple skin was lying dead in several pieces in front of the
giant ship. An similar but larger creature was standing in front of the boy nearby. The alien was staring in shocked confusion up at the boy, fear
dominating his expression. Suddenly, the boy sent a massive ki blast toward the creature, disintegrating it, before giving the ship a similar
treatment..
The boy hovered there, mid-air, for some time. Finally, he began to lower to the ground as his hair, oddly enough, changed to a pale
lavender from its previous golden blonde. He wore regular everyday clothes; jeans and a jacket over a t-shirt. Suddenly, he was gone. Akane
scanned the peak franticly in search of him as everyone gasped. She glanced at them and followed their gazes to where the boy stood on the
ground.
The boy seemed to glance up at them from the corner of his eyes. "Hello up there! I'm going now to meet Goku, if any of you want to
come with me. He'll be arriving in a couple of hours, at a spot not too far from here."
They all looked at each other questioningly for a moment. The boy seemed to get a little impatient at that point, and took off. Gohan's
determined face, while not appearing particularly clear-headed, made his choice obvious.
"I'm going. He knows where Dad is."
Yamcha frowned, "How do we know that? I don't trust the kid."
Bulma glared at him, "Too bad, I say we go!"
Vegeta opened his mouth to snarl something, but Gohan took off after the boy. Piccolo wasn't more than a heartbeat behind. Everyone
else filed after them. Ranma was carrying Akane, and Yamcha had Bulma, but everyone else flew silently after the mysterious new fighter.
Ranma was standing a few feet away from the strange boy as they all pondered the situation silently. They'd followed the young and
incredible fighter to a deserted area where he insisted Goku would be landing.
Although they were all gathered loosely together, the young man was sort of set off to one side by himself. He had one leg pulled up with
his hands holding the knee. He was staring at the ground, but every now and then he'd glance over this way. Ranma had yet to determine if he
was staring at Ranma or Vegeta.
The boy stood suddenly and glanced about the group. "Hey, does anyone want a soda?"
He pulled out a capsule and threw it to the ground. A mini fridge appeared and the boy reached in to grab a can. Everyone glanced
amongst themselves for a long and uncomfortable moment.
Ranma and Gohan perked up and answered as one, "I'll take one."
There were some slight chuckles as others happily grabbed their own. Ranma brought one back to Akane, who smiled at him a little
shakily. Ranma cocked his head and studied the other boy for a moment before walking over to him.
His purple hair slid briefly away from his face as he looked up at Ranma. He had a curious expression as he studied Ranma, as if
Ranma shouldn't be there or something.
"Yes, can I help you?"
"Hey man, I just thought ya looked lonely. Ya did real good against that Frieza guy."
He smiled softly, "Thanks. I'm afraid I don't know anything about you. I was expecting everyone else, but your presence was a surprise."
Ranma shrugged, "I haven't been with these guys for long. Vegeta remembered my folks being exiled to Earth awhile back, and came to
take over my training."
The boy looked startled for a moment before he cleared his face quickly of all expression. "So you're a Saiyan and f-Vegeta is
personally training you?"
Ranma nodded and sat on a rock next to the other boy's. "Yeah, I'm doing stuff now I didn't think possible a year ago. Heck, who would
have thought people could fly?"
Trunks gave a brief chuckle, "Yeah, it hits ya every now and then that some of this stuff isn't quite normal."
The boy glanced at an odd clock and glanced at the sky. "He'll be here soon."
"Who, that Goku guy everyone is all excited about?"
Trunks glanced at him, "Oh, that's right, you wouldn't have met Goku yet either, would you? I've heard a lot about him, but I've never
actually met him either. He's supposed to be the best, ya know."
Ranma shrugged, "Eh, give me time. Ranma Soatome has always been the best, and he always will be."
His companion smiled knowingly and shook his head. Then he looked up again and narrowed his eyes. Ranma did likewise, feeling
out . . . and finding a power source that was heading right for Earth.
"Is that Goku?"
Trunks nodded as he glanced at the clock again, "Yeah, that'd be him, right on time."
Everyone was watching the sky avidly, the two girls vainly since they couldn't read the power source as the others could. Finally, Gohan
pointed happily at a small reflective spark.
"Look guys, there he is!"
Everyone but Vegeta, Ranma, and Akane had goofy grins on their faces as the sphere-shaped ship plummeted to the ground nearby.
They flew/ran to the edge of the crater moments before the door slid open on un-oiled hydraulics.
A hand rested on the rim, and a spiky-haired head poked out with a broad and vaguely confused grin, "Hey guys, how'd you know I'd be
here?"
"Daddy!" Gohan was practically jumping up and down in excitement as his father flew up to the rest of the group.
Bulma gestured to the boy, "He told us. I think he's a fan of yours or something, cause he knows a lot about you."
Goku blinked his wide eyes, "But that's impossible. I don't even know who he is."
Bulma shrugged, "That's what he said, but he was right on when he said where and when you'd land."
Goku shrugged and looked about. "But, who defeated Frieza? I sensed it, but I couldn't tell who it was. Was it you, Piccolo?" He smiled
cheerfully at the Namekian, "Or was it you, Vegeta?"
Vegeta glared at the stranger, "Neither. That boy showed up and defeated Frieza easily!" It was easy to see the Saiyan's discomfort
with the situation.
Gohan nodded rapidly, "Yeah Dad, he turned into a Super Saiyan and took Frieza out without a problem!"
Goku grinned, "Hey, a Super Saiyan at your age? That's great!"
Vegeta growled and gestured sharply to his chest, and then Goku's. "Aren't you forgetting something, Kakarot? You and I are the last of
the Saiyans. If you count your blasted brat, that makes three of us. There's no way he could have a drop of Saiyan blood!"
Goku shrugged, oblivious as usual. "Well, if he says that he's a Saiyan, I believe him."
The boy took a step forward, "Goku, may I have a private word with you?"
Goku stared wide-eyed at him and pointed to his own chest, "With me?"
The boy nodded, and Goku shrugged. "I guess so. We'll be right back guys."
Bulma took a hesitant step forward, "Wait-" But they were already flying across the crater.
Ranma stared at the ceiling of his room at Capsule Corp. late that evening, a pensive frown on his face. Could there really be two
androids coming that could take out all of these powerful fighters? Ranma had a hard time believing that, seeing as how he was only the fourth
or fifth strongest fighter in the group and he was used to being the best.
Actually, Ranma was a little saddened that boy (Was his name Trunks?) had left. It would have been nice to have another Saiyan around
that was about his age. Ranma and Akane were misfits in the group. She was the least powerful of the fighters, well under even Yamcha.
He smiled softly, she was brave though. She hadn't hesitated that afternoon as they chased down fighters so powerful she didn't have the
ability to accurately define their power ratings yet. He'd have to make sure she got enough training that she'd be safe when those androids
showed up in three years. Just to keep her out of the way, of course.
Really, that was all any of them could do. They'd have to train, pushing themselves as far as they could, then boldly taking one more step.
Ranma had seen a Super Saiyan that day, and he wanted to feel that power coming from himself. And he wanted it bad.
With a confident smirk on his face, Ranma slipped into a restful sleep that he would need the following day as the training regimen for the
coming of the androids began.
Shampoo cast a furious sidelong glance to her traveling companions. Ukyo had insulted Shampoo's cooking, but Great-grandmother
had forbidden them to fight amongst themselves until they found the missing Ranma and Akane.
After threatening Genma, who's real name they'd now discovered was Tomegen, he reluctantly admitted that there might be a way to track
them down. They'd all practiced and trained, and finally they found that they could vaguely track other people's ki, if the ki signatures were strong
enough.
So, one week ago, Ryoga had managed to find his way back to the Cat Café simply by tracing Shampoo and Cologne's power levels.
He'd then smiled triumphantly and pointed off into the distance, proclaiming that he could feel several powerful ki signatures there, and surely one
of them had to be Ranma's, right?
So, here they were, slowly making their way down streets and across rooftops as they struggled to pinpoint the ki sources they were
tracking. Abruptly, Ryoga froze.
"Hey guys, one of them is going off that way. Which way do we go?" He pointed west, and looked questioningly back at the rest of the
group. For once, they were following Ryoga since he'd proved to be the best at this after finally stumbling accidentally across the ability.
Shampoo shrugged, "That only one, there others where we been going. If Ranma been there, they'll know, no?"
Everyone nodded, and started off. Shampoo scanned their faces. Ryoga's was relaxed as he stared blankly ahead as they made their
way further into Tokyo. Ukyo was determined, and a little worried for her 'Ran-chan'. Nabiki, who'd insisted on coming, was tugging her father
along relentlessly. The two Tendos were keeping up surprisingly well, even if the others did have to help them when they made their way along
rooftops. Mousse and Great-grandmother followed behind Shampoo, neither with overly revealing expressions
The most surprising member of the group was Nodoka. The older woman had questioned her husband mercilessly about the meeting
with this so-called Prince Vegeta, whom they now termed their king. Genma had to be left at the dojo after the beatings he'd received. They'd
finally told her about Ranma's curse after she'd accidentally found out about Genma's. That made two beatings from his wife: One for letting
him be taken by their King, and another for getting him cursed in such an unmanly fashion.
Luckily, she'd determined that it was Genma who was unmanly for getting his son cursed, as opposed to Ranma who'd been cursed due
to another's idiocy.
Shampoo frowned and sighed sadly. Ranma had been gone for nearly a year now. She missed her Airen. She halted as the others did,
and they jumped from the building as they entered a pretty wealthy residential area where the buildings were too sparse for efficient
roof-hopping.
They made their way down a couple of blocks before they all halted in a small cluster, eyes closed as they tried to determine which
building the ki signatures were coming from. One by one they shook their heads and gave up until finally they turned to watch Ryoga.
His eyes were closed and his face slack as he rotated very slowly. Finally he held up a finger and pointed.
"I think they're . . . there." He opened his eyes and blinked. "That's a big place."
"Look," said Nabiki, "This is the headquarters of Capsule Corp., so no wonder it's huge. These guys have gotta be loaded." Everyone
ignored the drool and dollar signs floating around her head.
Ryoga frowned, "Why would Ranma be at Capsule Corp.?"
Ukyo shrugged, "Well, there's only one way to find out." Before anyone could stop her, she was walking up to the gate.
The guard held a hand out, "What's your business here, mam?"
"I'm Ranma Soatome's best friend Ukyo and--"
"Oh, well go on in then." He grinned and gestured up the drive. Ukyo blinked, then stammered her thanks before hurrying up the path.
She knocked sharply, then rang the doorbell. The rest of the group caught up to her and the eight of them waited patiently for a moment or two
before the door abruptly opened to a smiling blonde woman.
"Oh, hello, can I help you?"
Everyone glanced around at their group before Ukyo nodded, "Yes, we hope so at least. We're looking for Ranma Soatome and-"
"Oh, he's in the gravity room training with Vegeta right now. I'm afraid you'll have to wait for him. That Vegeta can get awfully testy if you
interrupt the training sessions."
Shampoo stared dubiously at the woman. From what she had heard, the man called Vegeta was always 'awfully testy'. "We wait then."
Nabiki shoved her way to the front of the group, "Excuse me, but what about my sister, Akane?"
The woman smiled, "Oh, are you that sweet girl's family then? Why didn't you say so! C'mon in, and I'll make some tea. Akane's flown
over to Master Roshi's to train with Krillin for a few days, but we're expecting her back later today."
The woman seated them around a table and left the room briefly to make tea. They looked around the table at each other, and Soun
leaned over to whisper to his daughter.
"Doesn't she remind you a lot of Kasumi?"
Nabiki nodded, "Yeah, but I'm more worried about Ranma and Akane. What's a 'Gravity Room' and who's this Roshi guy?"
Soun looked thoughtfully at the ceiling, "I seem to recall hearing of a famous master martial artist by that name, called the 'Turtle Hermit'
or something."
Cologne nodded sagely, "Yes, I have heard something of him as well. But he surely has retired, since I've heard nothing of him in
decades. Besides, she said he was training with Krillin, and I know I've heard of him before."
The blonde woman, she'd introduced herself as Mrs. Briefs, bustled back into the room with a laden tea tray. "Here we are, tea for all!
Vegeta and Ranma should open the gravity room in about an hour."
Ukyo smiled, "I can wait another hour to talk to Ran-chan!"
The woman smiled and shook her head, "Well, that's only if he doesn't need to go into the rejuvenation tank today. He's been doing very
well lately, and hasn't had worse that cuts and bruises more than once or twice a week in the last month!"
Everyone stared slack-jawed at the woman until a voice called from the hallway, "Mom, have you seen Dad's solar panel collection? I
can't find it any . . . where."
A woman with blue hair had come into the room, stopping abruptly at the sight of all the strangers. "Oh, we have guests."
"Bulma honey, these are friends of Ranma and Akane's. They came to visit, but they're both training so I brought tea for them while they
wait."
Bulma blinked once, "Oh. It's nice to meet you all. I'm Bulma. Ranma and Akane have been staying here with us almost since Vegeta
took Ranma on as a student."
Ryoga snarled, "You mean they've been this close the whole time and that jerk Ranma never once called?"
Nabiki, sitting next to Ryoga, drew back. Bulma, however, simply frowned. "Hey now, they've been training really hard to help the rest of
my friends save the planet again. They haven't exactly got time sit around eating ice cream and gossiping about girls ya know!"
Nodoka stood elegantly and studied Bulma. "You say my son is training to help save the world?"
Bulma grinned, "Hey, Ranma's your son? That makes you another Saiyan! Ya know, for awhile there we thought Goku and Vegeta were
the last ones."
"Yes, we'd heard that, but what of my son?"
Bulma grinned, "Oh yeah, sorry. Anyway, when Goku got back a few months ago, this boy told us about this scientist that's making these
horrible androids. My friends, with the help now of Ranma and Akane, are training to defeat the androids, who are supposed to be really tough."
Nodoka nodded and sat back down, a pleased smile on her face. Ukyo bit her lip, obviously worried for her friend, but Ryoga suddenly
grinned.
"Hey, I got it! If Akane and Ranma can help, why can't the rest of us?"
Bulma chuckled, "Sorry guys, but I doubt it. To tell ya the truth, I don't see what good Akane will be in the long run. Ranma, being a
Saiyan,
might be of some use. We humans just weren't bred for the type of fighting that is gonna be going on."
Ryoga frowned angrily, "Hey, I'm just as good as Ranma is!"
"Not anymore, pig boy."
Everyone looked back to the door as Ranma and Vegeta walked in. Both were sweaty and had multiple rips and tears in their clothing,
but Ranma was obviously in worse shape than his mentor. Ukyo and Shampoo jumped happily to their feet and ran over to hug him. They
looked up in shock a moment later to find themselves hugging each other, a frowning Ranma standing beside Bulma halfway across the room.
"Okay, first of all, you girls gotta stop doing that."
The two girls pulled angrily away from each other to glare at their mutual fiancé. However, before they could so much as draw air to yell
at him, Nodoka stood and crossed the room to kneel before Vegeta as he strode into the room.
"Your Highness, I am Nodoka and I am at your service."
He glared down his nose at her, arms crossed over his chest. "Humph, well, at least some of the survivors still understand their place."
He nodded curtly to her before crossing the room and taking what had been her seat at the table. Ryoga glared at the man, who glared back.
Bulma looked between them for a moment.
"Are you sure you two aren't related? That's pretty freaky how you guys have the same expressions like that."
The two men turned their glares to face her and she held up her hands, "Okay, geez, I'm sorry!"
Ranma walked over to help his mother stand, smiling nervously at her. She smiled and reached out to stroke his cut cheek, mindful of
his
injuries.
"They've explained everything, my son. Your father is still recuperating after his punishment for giving you that horrible curse."
He shrugged, "It's okay mom, Vegeta helped me out with that."
Ryoga jerked to his feet, "You mean you've found a cure?"
Ranma chuckled at the shocked expressions on the faces of some of those present. "No man, not exactly, I just keep up a little bit of my
aura at all times. That way, any cold water that hits me is heated just before it touches me so that it isn't cold enough to trigger the curse."
Ranma shot the lost boy a wink, silently promising to teach the other boy more about it later. Nabiki, on the other hand, wanted proof.
She poked a fingertip nonchalantly into her tea and found it to be dramatically cooled down. Quick as she could, she hefted the cup and hurled
its contents at Ranma.
She blinked, arm still outstretched, as Ranma caught the cup mid-air as well as catching its contents back in the cup. He laughed at her
good naturedly.
"I'm a lot faster than I was when I left you guys. I can show you if you want though." At a couple of nods, namely Shampoo and Ryoga's,
he sighed and got a small glass of water. He held it out and let Nabiki test the temperature, and she nodded in satisfaction. Ranma sighed
once more and upturned the glass over his head.
"At least I'm on my way to the shower anyway." To everyone's surprise, aside from permanent residents of Capsule Corp., Ranma
remained quite male.
Cologne nodded, "I'm impressed Ranma. How do you manage to maintain that much ki constantly?"
Vegeta snorted, "The hard part is keeping his power level lowered to a reasonable level. He doesn't have half the control he should."
Ranma glared at his sensei, "Hey man, I'm learning! I never would have thought it was possible to have access to this much ki a year
ago!"
Cologne leaned slightly forward with an unreadable expression, "Ranma, how much ki do you have access to now, exactly?"
Ranma shot his trainer a glance, and Vegeta shrugged, "I don't care if you power up, but you'd better do it outside so that annoying
woman doesn't gripe about her blasted decorations again."
Ranma nodded and waved for anyone who wanted to follow him out to the patio. He stepped just past the patio and into the grass,
turning
back to face his old group. He kept his eyes on Cologne's however, and then concentrated.
They watched as a breeze seemed to pick up and his braid and hair fluttered wildly about. Then small pebbles and loose blades of the
recently cut grass started to hover around him. Abruptly, his aura sprang into view as a soft blue glow surrounding him.
"This is about where my power was when I left you guys a year ago. This is where it is now . . ."
With a short shout, Ranma's aura expanded to a wildly pulsing glow that pushed the grass away from his feet in a small circular crater.
His hair continued to whip about his head and his eyes shone gleefully at the open shock on his old teacher's face.
"Well, Cologne, what do you think of the training I've gotten from Vegeta?"
"Son, you will call him King Vegeta, as is fitting."
Still glowing with his amazing aura, Ranma turned to his mother and pouted, "Aw Mom, but there's no Saiyan Kingdom anymore, why do
I
hafta call him 'King'?"
Nodoka studied her son sternly, "Because it is only fitting. As long as our race lives on, Vegeta will be our King."
Vegeta, stepping out onto the patio now, smirked, "That's right, boy, you can call me King!"
Bulma rolled her eyes, "Oh great, now he'll be beyond insufferable!"
Nodoka shot a glare at the other woman, but Bulma ignored her. Ukyo stepped up to Ranma, and he glanced at her, powering down as
an afterthought.
"Ranma, you will be coming back with us, won't you?"
He smiled sadly and opened his mouth, but Vegeta barked at her, "Of course not, woman. Ranma is my student, and we will need him
when the androids attack. He will of course be staying here to continue his training under me."
Nodoka nodded, "Yes, and the rest of you will have to leave so that my son will not be distracted."
Vegeta turned to Nodoka and actually gave her a small, if condescending, smile. "Excellent idea, and one I was about to insist on
myself.
The boy can't have all these silly women fluttering about disrupting his training. He's got a long way to go before he can hope to be of any real
use against the androids."
Ranma looked between the two Saiyans, "Uh, Vegeta, can Mom at least stay?"
Vegeta shot a glare at the boy, not approving entirely of the tone he used for the question, but finally sighing in impatience and giving a
brief nod.
"I suppose so, but if I catch you slacking in your training, I'll make you regret it."
Nodoka nodded, "As you should, Your Highness."
Ranma rolled his eyes, but nodded.
As everyone went back inside for a small get together before they had to return to Nerima, Ranma saw Cologne draw Bulma aside. He
shrugged and went to say goodbye to his friends, promising that if he ever got some free time he'd come see them.
"C'mon guys, as soon as we beat these androids I'll have lots of free time."
He stopped and studied Ukyo and Ryoga's suddenly stunned faces, turning to look where they were out the window. "What's wrong
guys?"
All he saw was Akane and Krillin arriving, nothing out of the ordinary. Ukyo pointed and began stammering incoherently for a moment
before swallowing.
"Ranma, Akane just flew into the backyard!"
He nodded, studying her curiously. "Didn't I tell ya she had been training? She gives Yamcha a good fight now, and beats him half the
time. After all, she's got better technique what with knowing the Anything Goes style and all."
Akane came into the room just then and smiled happily at everyone. She ran over and wrapped both Ukyo and Ryoga into a hug.
"What a surprise seeing everyone here! I thought there was a lot of power coming from here, but I just figured Ranma and Vegeta hadn't
blocked their power as tightly as they usually do."
Ryoga pointed up at the ceiling, "Akane, did you just fly?"
Krillin chuckled as he came in, "She sure did! She took to it like she was born with wings! I wish I'd learned as easily as she did! Of
course she'll tire easily until she learns to hold back a little." He shot her a smile to take the bite out of the final comment.
Ranma laughed and clapped her on the shoulder, "Yeah, Akane actually learned to fly weeks before she could even gather a tiny ball of ki
in her hands!"
Ryoga studied the girl, "Akane, what emotion powers your ki moves?"
She smiled, "Oh, Krillin and Yamcha taught me ways that don't require emotion! Ranma doesn't use emotion to harness ki anymore
either."
Ryoga and Shampoo turned stunned expressions to face Ranma, who nodded and swallowed the potato chips he was munching on.
"Yeah, actually, you get a lot more power if you know how to gather ki without any mental blocks like that. Of course, I still toy with the idea every
now and then. I got some theories I'm looking into."
Finally, Cologne and Bulma came inside from the patio, Bulma shooting Ranma an odd smile as Cologne studied the boy.
"Well Ranma, that certainly is interesting. Perhaps one day you and I can discuss this further." She gestured for Shampoo to pick up
Mousse, who Ranma had knocked out earlier after a slight misunderstanding. "Come Shampoo, we must return home."
"But, Great-grandmother-"
"Come along."
Shampoo shot Ranma a pitiful glance before picking up her fellow Amazon and following her grandmother from Capsule Corp. Soun
stood and gestured at the clock.
"It is growing late, and we have a long walk home-"
Bulma stood, "Oh, hey, why didn't I think of that? I'll fly you guys home if you want."
Ryoga sounded almost pitiful as he moaned, "You can fly too?"
Bulma laughed, "OH heavens no! I'll take you guys in an aircar!"
Nabiki smiled, "That would be greatly appreciated. By the way, would you mind if I asked you a couple of business questions?"
As the two girls broke into a conversation far above Ranma's head, he excused himself and walked over to Vegeta, who was sulking in
the corner away from the group.
"Hey, Vegeta?"
"What is it, boy?"
"Well, I was thinking about Ryoga over there. He's loads better than Akane was when she first started training with Krillin and Yamcha.
He already uses ki blasts and everything, so why couldn't he start training with Akane and the others? Wouldn't every little bit of help be worth
it?"
The former prince glared at the boy, then snarled, "Why should I waste my time on a worthless earthling?"
Ranma thought quickly, trying to find a way to make Ryoga seem like a very valuable commodity that would be worth keeping around. A
stroke of genius swept across him, and somehow he managed to hide it on his features as he shrugged calmly, "Well, I'll need a sparring partner
at my level all of the time. You can't spend all your time training me, or you won't have any time for yourself."
Vegeta studied Ranma's face for a moment before shrugging and walking over to Ryoga.
"You, come outside."
Ryoga gave Vegeta a funny look before turning to Ranma, who nodded. With a shrug, Ryoga followed Vegeta outside. Ranma jogged
over and caught up, catching Ryoga by the arm.
"Look man, give it everything ya got. Any injury you get, we can take care of it, but if ya want to impress Vegeta even a tiny bit, you'll have
to give it all from the start. No holding back, okay man?"
Ryoga nodded, his expression serious, and turned to face Vegeta. Ranma went back to the rest of the group from where they were
watching. He carefully positioned himself at the front of the group and in the middle. Krillin, seeing what Ranma was doing, nodded and joined
him.
Vegeta and Ryoga squared off, the boy taking a stance while Vegeta stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. Akane smirked
as she studied the familiar tableau.
"Look familiar Ranma?"
He blinked once at her before studying the pair. After a moment he smirked, thinking of their first sparring match so long ago.
"Alright human, attack me, and if you manage to hit me I'll personally see to your training."
On the sidelines, Ranma and Krillin exchanged startled glances. Bulma actually gasped. "Hey, how many of your students do you expect
me to feed here?"
Ryoga nodded, then leapt at the Saiyan Prince. His fist, of course, struck nothing but air as the shorter man simply wove around it. Ryoga
simply continued attacking, throwing everything he could into each individual move. Though his fists and kicks met nothing tangible, Ranma note
d that he managed to sruprise the Saiyan a time or two.
Finally, after two or three minutes of a distince lack of contact, Ryoga reached up as he flung a fist at Vegeta's face. Vegeta stepped
one foot back, rotating as he leaned back away from the fist. Smirking, the prince shot a smug glance at Ranma. As his face left Ryoga, the
Lost Boy snatched a bandanna from his forehead.
He twirled it as briefly as he could before letting it fly, all the while preparing himself mentally for his next move as he berated himself for
being unable to hit the man. Vegeta grunted as the bandanna wrapped around his feet, struggling for prescious seconds to remain upright. As
Vegeta was angrily finding his feet, Ryoga shouted to the skies.
"Shi Shi Hokodan!"
Vegeta's head shot up as the Ki blast left Ryoga's hand. Immediately he reacted, surging himself skyward. No matter how fast Vegeta
was, no matter how good his battle trained reflexes, Ryoga's hand had been only a foot and a half from Vegeta's chest as he released the blast.
The energy nicked the proud Saiyan prince on the feet.
Vegeta glared down at a startled Ryoga, letting out a screech as he gathered a mass of energy into his own palm. Ryoga yelped and
lept backwards, which happened to be toward the group of observers. Ranma cursed as he jumped forward, crossing his wrists over his face
as he braced himself for the coming blast just as it left Vegeta's palm.
Ryoga stared down at Ranma where he was braced against the energy driving into his forearms. Ranma's knees were bent just enough
to give without buckling as his face was clenched in concentration. Ryoga was amazed as he saw the leather bracers on Ranma's wrists flake
off as charred bits.
After a tense moment, Ranma cried out and pushed with another precious bit of energy to redirect the blast skyward. It flew past Vegeta's
shoulder. Ranma glared at his mentor, shoulders heaving from his heavy breathing.
"Vegeta, what were you thinking? You could have killed Ryoga, and probably everyone else too!"
Vegeta shrugged and landed directly in front of Ryoga. He cocked his head, arrogantly studying the boy with a frown. Finally he nodded
slowly, more a slight shudder of his head. "You'll stay here now and tomorrow Ranma can begin catching you up on your training."
Ryoga nodded emphaticly until Vegeta turned and stormed past the spectators and into Capsule Corp. before he turned a confused stare
to Ranma. "What exactly does that mean?"
Ranma grinned and clapped him on the back, "Congratulations, you impressed him! Starting in the morning you'll be training with me and
Akane!" He paused with a debating expression before turning to Krillin, "Hey, Krillin, could you come here to help us in the morning?"
Krillin nodded happily, "Sure thing! Hey, Bulma, can I just stay here for the night?"
With a resigned sigh she threw her hands into the air, "I don't see why not! I'd better go get a couple more rooms ready."
Akane ran up suddenly and wrapped her arms around Ryoga's neck, "This is great Ryoga! You'll love it here, and maybe Bulma can help
us come up with a way to keep you on the property until you can fly!"
Ryoga nodded numbly and tried very hard to keep his nose from bleeding. A movement over Akane's shoulder caught his attention, and
Ryoga gulped. Ranma was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, a ver self assured and very impatient frown on his face. A frantic
glance revealed that everyone else was filing noisily into the house. A breath later and the door was shut, leaving the three of thme alone outside.
"Hey man, why don't you step away from my fiancee?"
Akane blushed slightly before turning, hands on hips, to glare at her fiance. "Ranma, I was just congratulating him! Did I act like that when
Ukyo latched onto you earlier?"
He rolled his eyes and waved Ranma into the house. "C'mon man, we'll bring your pack inside and give you a tour."
Ryoga perked up slightly, "Do they have a dojo here too?"
Ranma laughed cheerfully for a moment as Akane rolled her eyes and walked away. Ranma clapped his new sparring partner on the
shoulder, "Nah, we've got something better. Ryoga, what do you know about Gravitiy?"
Next Chapter:
Ryoga learns to fly and gets a little bit of control over his curse. Akane and Ranma make some announcements (Gee, wonder what
those could be?) and everyone continues training. The rest of the Nerima gang can't just take this too easily, after all, they know where Ranma
and Akane are now. Ranma is a Saiyan and he's got a teacher now that he can respect, so I think he'll improve drasticly in a short time. Akane
will probably be about like Yamcha, but with more courage. Ryoga, well, who knows.
Chapter 3
Ranma poked his head out onto the patio, Akane looking shyly (which was odd for her) over his shoulder. Bulma grinned and gestured to
the two empty chairs she'd set out for them. Ranma grinned and sat down next to Yamcha, with Akane between him and the talking pig they
called Oolong.
Akane and Ranma had met several interesting people since they'd left the dojo, and heard about even more interesting ones. However,
they hadn't spent too much time with any of them. Vegeta insisted that Ranma train every day, and he'd only gotten a handful of free days in all of
these months.
Bulma, trying a new and rather interesting hairstyle that somewhat resembled an afro, went over to the grill. Akane studied the faces of
the men around the table. Oolong and Yamcha were arguing over the barbecue sauce while Vegeta studied them evident distaste. Her eyes
wandered past the others to rest on Ranma as he laughed and snatched the sauce from their fingers. The three of them continued to laugh and
fight, leaving Akane free to study her fiancé freely.
He'd gotten a lot more muscular since he'd begun these mysterious work-outs every day with Vegeta. Ranma came out of the gravity
room every day battered and bleeding to be put into the healing tanks for a couple of hours, only to come back out in perfect health. Over the
months, he'd gradually come out in better and better health, needing less and less time in the tanks.
Akane looked at him and had a hard time believing it was the same boy who'd been kidnapped with her a few months ago. His shoulders
were much broader and he was more muscular all around. He still had the same ponytail and wore the same Chinese clothes, even though he'd
had to have new ones made to accommodate his larger frame.
He looked over at her and grinned as he held the barbecue sauce over the pig's head. Puar smirked at the boy's distraction and hovered
a couple of feet into the air to snatch the bottle. Ranma turned back to counterattack as Yamcha burst out laughing, knocking over his soda as
he did so.
Ranma, now female, frowned at the still laughing Yamcha. "That's a good one Ranma!"
"Gee, thanks Yamcha. Don't forget who's won all of our matches."
Vegeta frowned at his pupil in disappointment, "Of course you won, Ranma. As a member of the Saiyan race, you have greater
capabilities than a mere human. With my training, you might be able to beat that brat Gohan now."
Oolong looked about ready to make a sarcastic comment when Ranma froze and looked up to the sky with an odd expression. Akane
cocked her head and studied him, a little worried.
"What's wrong Ranma?"
He shook his head a little in puzzlement, his eyes vague. He reached over and rested a hand on Vegeta's shoulder. "What's that?"
Akane frowned and looked up at the sky. "I don't see anything."
Yamcha gasped and began to look increasingly frightened. "No, but I sure sense it. Hey guys, tell me I'm dreaming, okay?"
Vegeta stood stiffly and snarled, "No, you're awake, and it's definitely him." His expression changed to a smirk. "It would seem that
Kakarot didn't do such a good job after all."
Ranma looked up at his sensei, a feat only possible because Ranma was seated at the time. "What do you mean, Vegeta? Who is it?"
Vegeta lost the smirk in exchange for a much more serious one as he whispered a single word that made everyone shudder involuntarily.
"Frieza . . ."
Gohan's head jerked up from his schoolwork, his face serious, just as the phone rang. Minutes later he was zooming off to the horizon as
his mother watched him once more fly off into danger without a backward glance for her.
Krillin dropped the phone and shot into the air, leaving a large and startled turtle on the beach outside the small pink house. Said turtle
blinked twice before turning and making his way into the house where Master Roshi was grumbling about being left behind again.
Akane snarled and shook a fist at the retreating forms of her fiancé and Yamcha. She spun around and snarled as she kicked a potted
plant. She hated it when everyone dismissed her out of hand when it came to fighting. She'd been training with Krillin and on her own, and
she'd improved a lot. She could almost throw a ki-blast.
"Don't just sit there girl, let's follow them!"
Akane turned as Bulma gestured to the small aircar. "It will be a little cramped, but we don't have time to get another one. Hop in and
we'll get there just a couple of minutes after them."
Akane grinned and climbed into the open aircar behind Bulma. As they flew off, Akane could only grin in triumph. For the first time since
Gohan and Vegeta had shown up at the dojo, maybe Akane could be of some use! Ranma hadn't seen how much she'd improved, after all.
Ranma landed next to Vegeta, his sensei, and scanned the others. Within two minutes, everyone in this elite group that was laughingly
called the 'Z Fighters' had arrived. For some reason, Ranma didn't include himself in that group even though he could beat all of them except for
Vegeta or maybe Gohan.
Everyone was antsy and nervous as they argued. Yamcha was silently sticking back, casting nervous and frightened glances around.
Ranma couldn't blame him, since he was the weakest one among them.
Krillin glanced once more to the sky, "Guys, I'm not so sure about this. How are we supposed to defeat Frieza?"
Vegeta snarled, "For starters, you could keep it down so his scouters won't pick us up. He won't be expecting us to be sitting here
waiting for him."
Vegeta spun on his heel and started walking toward the cliffs that separated the Z fighters from Frieza's expected landing spot. Ranma
glanced at the others and started after him.
"Ranma, wait!" He froze. Was that Akane's voice?
"We're coming down guys, look out!" And that would, of course, be Bulma. Ranma groaned and turned to watch the girls, with Puar of
course, land.
"Akane, what are you two doing here?"
Akane jumped from the vehicle before it had even landed and stomped over to him. "I'm going to help, of course. I may not be able to
beat you, but I could take Kodachi, Ukyo, and Shampoo all at once now with no problem!"
Ranma frowned down at her. "This is a little different and you know it Akane."
How could she be doing this? He'd thought that she was perfectly safe back at Capsule Corp. and here she was glaring at him. He
sighed and turned to follow Vegeta, who was also glaring at the two girls.
"Just make sure you keep up. Remember everyone, keep your power levels down. One slip up and Frieza's scouters will pick us right
up."
Vegeta spun on his heel and began climbing up the rocky hillside. The others fell in behind Vegeta and his pupil, climbing silently with
stern expressions as they pondered the great evil that had just landed on the other side of this rocky outcropping.
The climb was rough on some, and painfully easy for others. They were nearing the crest when everyone able to sense power levels
suddenly froze. Akane frowned angrily as she immediately realized what they were doing. She'd learned to generally sense power, but not like
Ranma and the others.
Bulma glanced between the wary expressions of her friends, her own face betraying her fear. "What is it? What's wrong now?"
Ranma took a halting step forward, "There's another power level now, and it makes that Frieza guy's look miniscule."
They stood silently for long moments and stared forlornly at the nearby crest. At some unseen signal, they all burst into movement and ran
to the top. Akane stuck back a little to help Bulma. She was tugging the older woman onto the final rise when she backed into Piccolo. He
reached back negligently and straightened her until she got Bulma up beside her.
She turned and blinked in confusion. An odd looking alien thing with white and purple skin was lying dead in several pieces in front of the
giant ship. An similar but larger creature was standing in front of the boy nearby. The alien was staring in shocked confusion up at the boy, fear
dominating his expression. Suddenly, the boy sent a massive ki blast toward the creature, disintegrating it, before giving the ship a similar
treatment..
The boy hovered there, mid-air, for some time. Finally, he began to lower to the ground as his hair, oddly enough, changed to a pale
lavender from its previous golden blonde. He wore regular everyday clothes; jeans and a jacket over a t-shirt. Suddenly, he was gone. Akane
scanned the peak franticly in search of him as everyone gasped. She glanced at them and followed their gazes to where the boy stood on the
ground.
The boy seemed to glance up at them from the corner of his eyes. "Hello up there! I'm going now to meet Goku, if any of you want to
come with me. He'll be arriving in a couple of hours, at a spot not too far from here."
They all looked at each other questioningly for a moment. The boy seemed to get a little impatient at that point, and took off. Gohan's
determined face, while not appearing particularly clear-headed, made his choice obvious.
"I'm going. He knows where Dad is."
Yamcha frowned, "How do we know that? I don't trust the kid."
Bulma glared at him, "Too bad, I say we go!"
Vegeta opened his mouth to snarl something, but Gohan took off after the boy. Piccolo wasn't more than a heartbeat behind. Everyone
else filed after them. Ranma was carrying Akane, and Yamcha had Bulma, but everyone else flew silently after the mysterious new fighter.
Ranma was standing a few feet away from the strange boy as they all pondered the situation silently. They'd followed the young and
incredible fighter to a deserted area where he insisted Goku would be landing.
Although they were all gathered loosely together, the young man was sort of set off to one side by himself. He had one leg pulled up with
his hands holding the knee. He was staring at the ground, but every now and then he'd glance over this way. Ranma had yet to determine if he
was staring at Ranma or Vegeta.
The boy stood suddenly and glanced about the group. "Hey, does anyone want a soda?"
He pulled out a capsule and threw it to the ground. A mini fridge appeared and the boy reached in to grab a can. Everyone glanced
amongst themselves for a long and uncomfortable moment.
Ranma and Gohan perked up and answered as one, "I'll take one."
There were some slight chuckles as others happily grabbed their own. Ranma brought one back to Akane, who smiled at him a little
shakily. Ranma cocked his head and studied the other boy for a moment before walking over to him.
His purple hair slid briefly away from his face as he looked up at Ranma. He had a curious expression as he studied Ranma, as if
Ranma shouldn't be there or something.
"Yes, can I help you?"
"Hey man, I just thought ya looked lonely. Ya did real good against that Frieza guy."
He smiled softly, "Thanks. I'm afraid I don't know anything about you. I was expecting everyone else, but your presence was a surprise."
Ranma shrugged, "I haven't been with these guys for long. Vegeta remembered my folks being exiled to Earth awhile back, and came to
take over my training."
The boy looked startled for a moment before he cleared his face quickly of all expression. "So you're a Saiyan and f-Vegeta is
personally training you?"
Ranma nodded and sat on a rock next to the other boy's. "Yeah, I'm doing stuff now I didn't think possible a year ago. Heck, who would
have thought people could fly?"
Trunks gave a brief chuckle, "Yeah, it hits ya every now and then that some of this stuff isn't quite normal."
The boy glanced at an odd clock and glanced at the sky. "He'll be here soon."
"Who, that Goku guy everyone is all excited about?"
Trunks glanced at him, "Oh, that's right, you wouldn't have met Goku yet either, would you? I've heard a lot about him, but I've never
actually met him either. He's supposed to be the best, ya know."
Ranma shrugged, "Eh, give me time. Ranma Soatome has always been the best, and he always will be."
His companion smiled knowingly and shook his head. Then he looked up again and narrowed his eyes. Ranma did likewise, feeling
out . . . and finding a power source that was heading right for Earth.
"Is that Goku?"
Trunks nodded as he glanced at the clock again, "Yeah, that'd be him, right on time."
Everyone was watching the sky avidly, the two girls vainly since they couldn't read the power source as the others could. Finally, Gohan
pointed happily at a small reflective spark.
"Look guys, there he is!"
Everyone but Vegeta, Ranma, and Akane had goofy grins on their faces as the sphere-shaped ship plummeted to the ground nearby.
They flew/ran to the edge of the crater moments before the door slid open on un-oiled hydraulics.
A hand rested on the rim, and a spiky-haired head poked out with a broad and vaguely confused grin, "Hey guys, how'd you know I'd be
here?"
"Daddy!" Gohan was practically jumping up and down in excitement as his father flew up to the rest of the group.
Bulma gestured to the boy, "He told us. I think he's a fan of yours or something, cause he knows a lot about you."
Goku blinked his wide eyes, "But that's impossible. I don't even know who he is."
Bulma shrugged, "That's what he said, but he was right on when he said where and when you'd land."
Goku shrugged and looked about. "But, who defeated Frieza? I sensed it, but I couldn't tell who it was. Was it you, Piccolo?" He smiled
cheerfully at the Namekian, "Or was it you, Vegeta?"
Vegeta glared at the stranger, "Neither. That boy showed up and defeated Frieza easily!" It was easy to see the Saiyan's discomfort
with the situation.
Gohan nodded rapidly, "Yeah Dad, he turned into a Super Saiyan and took Frieza out without a problem!"
Goku grinned, "Hey, a Super Saiyan at your age? That's great!"
Vegeta growled and gestured sharply to his chest, and then Goku's. "Aren't you forgetting something, Kakarot? You and I are the last of
the Saiyans. If you count your blasted brat, that makes three of us. There's no way he could have a drop of Saiyan blood!"
Goku shrugged, oblivious as usual. "Well, if he says that he's a Saiyan, I believe him."
The boy took a step forward, "Goku, may I have a private word with you?"
Goku stared wide-eyed at him and pointed to his own chest, "With me?"
The boy nodded, and Goku shrugged. "I guess so. We'll be right back guys."
Bulma took a hesitant step forward, "Wait-" But they were already flying across the crater.
Ranma stared at the ceiling of his room at Capsule Corp. late that evening, a pensive frown on his face. Could there really be two
androids coming that could take out all of these powerful fighters? Ranma had a hard time believing that, seeing as how he was only the fourth
or fifth strongest fighter in the group and he was used to being the best.
Actually, Ranma was a little saddened that boy (Was his name Trunks?) had left. It would have been nice to have another Saiyan around
that was about his age. Ranma and Akane were misfits in the group. She was the least powerful of the fighters, well under even Yamcha.
He smiled softly, she was brave though. She hadn't hesitated that afternoon as they chased down fighters so powerful she didn't have the
ability to accurately define their power ratings yet. He'd have to make sure she got enough training that she'd be safe when those androids
showed up in three years. Just to keep her out of the way, of course.
Really, that was all any of them could do. They'd have to train, pushing themselves as far as they could, then boldly taking one more step.
Ranma had seen a Super Saiyan that day, and he wanted to feel that power coming from himself. And he wanted it bad.
With a confident smirk on his face, Ranma slipped into a restful sleep that he would need the following day as the training regimen for the
coming of the androids began.
Shampoo cast a furious sidelong glance to her traveling companions. Ukyo had insulted Shampoo's cooking, but Great-grandmother
had forbidden them to fight amongst themselves until they found the missing Ranma and Akane.
After threatening Genma, who's real name they'd now discovered was Tomegen, he reluctantly admitted that there might be a way to track
them down. They'd all practiced and trained, and finally they found that they could vaguely track other people's ki, if the ki signatures were strong
enough.
So, one week ago, Ryoga had managed to find his way back to the Cat Café simply by tracing Shampoo and Cologne's power levels.
He'd then smiled triumphantly and pointed off into the distance, proclaiming that he could feel several powerful ki signatures there, and surely one
of them had to be Ranma's, right?
So, here they were, slowly making their way down streets and across rooftops as they struggled to pinpoint the ki sources they were
tracking. Abruptly, Ryoga froze.
"Hey guys, one of them is going off that way. Which way do we go?" He pointed west, and looked questioningly back at the rest of the
group. For once, they were following Ryoga since he'd proved to be the best at this after finally stumbling accidentally across the ability.
Shampoo shrugged, "That only one, there others where we been going. If Ranma been there, they'll know, no?"
Everyone nodded, and started off. Shampoo scanned their faces. Ryoga's was relaxed as he stared blankly ahead as they made their
way further into Tokyo. Ukyo was determined, and a little worried for her 'Ran-chan'. Nabiki, who'd insisted on coming, was tugging her father
along relentlessly. The two Tendos were keeping up surprisingly well, even if the others did have to help them when they made their way along
rooftops. Mousse and Great-grandmother followed behind Shampoo, neither with overly revealing expressions
The most surprising member of the group was Nodoka. The older woman had questioned her husband mercilessly about the meeting
with this so-called Prince Vegeta, whom they now termed their king. Genma had to be left at the dojo after the beatings he'd received. They'd
finally told her about Ranma's curse after she'd accidentally found out about Genma's. That made two beatings from his wife: One for letting
him be taken by their King, and another for getting him cursed in such an unmanly fashion.
Luckily, she'd determined that it was Genma who was unmanly for getting his son cursed, as opposed to Ranma who'd been cursed due
to another's idiocy.
Shampoo frowned and sighed sadly. Ranma had been gone for nearly a year now. She missed her Airen. She halted as the others did,
and they jumped from the building as they entered a pretty wealthy residential area where the buildings were too sparse for efficient
roof-hopping.
They made their way down a couple of blocks before they all halted in a small cluster, eyes closed as they tried to determine which
building the ki signatures were coming from. One by one they shook their heads and gave up until finally they turned to watch Ryoga.
His eyes were closed and his face slack as he rotated very slowly. Finally he held up a finger and pointed.
"I think they're . . . there." He opened his eyes and blinked. "That's a big place."
"Look," said Nabiki, "This is the headquarters of Capsule Corp., so no wonder it's huge. These guys have gotta be loaded." Everyone
ignored the drool and dollar signs floating around her head.
Ryoga frowned, "Why would Ranma be at Capsule Corp.?"
Ukyo shrugged, "Well, there's only one way to find out." Before anyone could stop her, she was walking up to the gate.
The guard held a hand out, "What's your business here, mam?"
"I'm Ranma Soatome's best friend Ukyo and--"
"Oh, well go on in then." He grinned and gestured up the drive. Ukyo blinked, then stammered her thanks before hurrying up the path.
She knocked sharply, then rang the doorbell. The rest of the group caught up to her and the eight of them waited patiently for a moment or two
before the door abruptly opened to a smiling blonde woman.
"Oh, hello, can I help you?"
Everyone glanced around at their group before Ukyo nodded, "Yes, we hope so at least. We're looking for Ranma Soatome and-"
"Oh, he's in the gravity room training with Vegeta right now. I'm afraid you'll have to wait for him. That Vegeta can get awfully testy if you
interrupt the training sessions."
Shampoo stared dubiously at the woman. From what she had heard, the man called Vegeta was always 'awfully testy'. "We wait then."
Nabiki shoved her way to the front of the group, "Excuse me, but what about my sister, Akane?"
The woman smiled, "Oh, are you that sweet girl's family then? Why didn't you say so! C'mon in, and I'll make some tea. Akane's flown
over to Master Roshi's to train with Krillin for a few days, but we're expecting her back later today."
The woman seated them around a table and left the room briefly to make tea. They looked around the table at each other, and Soun
leaned over to whisper to his daughter.
"Doesn't she remind you a lot of Kasumi?"
Nabiki nodded, "Yeah, but I'm more worried about Ranma and Akane. What's a 'Gravity Room' and who's this Roshi guy?"
Soun looked thoughtfully at the ceiling, "I seem to recall hearing of a famous master martial artist by that name, called the 'Turtle Hermit'
or something."
Cologne nodded sagely, "Yes, I have heard something of him as well. But he surely has retired, since I've heard nothing of him in
decades. Besides, she said he was training with Krillin, and I know I've heard of him before."
The blonde woman, she'd introduced herself as Mrs. Briefs, bustled back into the room with a laden tea tray. "Here we are, tea for all!
Vegeta and Ranma should open the gravity room in about an hour."
Ukyo smiled, "I can wait another hour to talk to Ran-chan!"
The woman smiled and shook her head, "Well, that's only if he doesn't need to go into the rejuvenation tank today. He's been doing very
well lately, and hasn't had worse that cuts and bruises more than once or twice a week in the last month!"
Everyone stared slack-jawed at the woman until a voice called from the hallway, "Mom, have you seen Dad's solar panel collection? I
can't find it any . . . where."
A woman with blue hair had come into the room, stopping abruptly at the sight of all the strangers. "Oh, we have guests."
"Bulma honey, these are friends of Ranma and Akane's. They came to visit, but they're both training so I brought tea for them while they
wait."
Bulma blinked once, "Oh. It's nice to meet you all. I'm Bulma. Ranma and Akane have been staying here with us almost since Vegeta
took Ranma on as a student."
Ryoga snarled, "You mean they've been this close the whole time and that jerk Ranma never once called?"
Nabiki, sitting next to Ryoga, drew back. Bulma, however, simply frowned. "Hey now, they've been training really hard to help the rest of
my friends save the planet again. They haven't exactly got time sit around eating ice cream and gossiping about girls ya know!"
Nodoka stood elegantly and studied Bulma. "You say my son is training to help save the world?"
Bulma grinned, "Hey, Ranma's your son? That makes you another Saiyan! Ya know, for awhile there we thought Goku and Vegeta were
the last ones."
"Yes, we'd heard that, but what of my son?"
Bulma grinned, "Oh yeah, sorry. Anyway, when Goku got back a few months ago, this boy told us about this scientist that's making these
horrible androids. My friends, with the help now of Ranma and Akane, are training to defeat the androids, who are supposed to be really tough."
Nodoka nodded and sat back down, a pleased smile on her face. Ukyo bit her lip, obviously worried for her friend, but Ryoga suddenly
grinned.
"Hey, I got it! If Akane and Ranma can help, why can't the rest of us?"
Bulma chuckled, "Sorry guys, but I doubt it. To tell ya the truth, I don't see what good Akane will be in the long run. Ranma, being a
Saiyan,
might be of some use. We humans just weren't bred for the type of fighting that is gonna be going on."
Ryoga frowned angrily, "Hey, I'm just as good as Ranma is!"
"Not anymore, pig boy."
Everyone looked back to the door as Ranma and Vegeta walked in. Both were sweaty and had multiple rips and tears in their clothing,
but Ranma was obviously in worse shape than his mentor. Ukyo and Shampoo jumped happily to their feet and ran over to hug him. They
looked up in shock a moment later to find themselves hugging each other, a frowning Ranma standing beside Bulma halfway across the room.
"Okay, first of all, you girls gotta stop doing that."
The two girls pulled angrily away from each other to glare at their mutual fiancé. However, before they could so much as draw air to yell
at him, Nodoka stood and crossed the room to kneel before Vegeta as he strode into the room.
"Your Highness, I am Nodoka and I am at your service."
He glared down his nose at her, arms crossed over his chest. "Humph, well, at least some of the survivors still understand their place."
He nodded curtly to her before crossing the room and taking what had been her seat at the table. Ryoga glared at the man, who glared back.
Bulma looked between them for a moment.
"Are you sure you two aren't related? That's pretty freaky how you guys have the same expressions like that."
The two men turned their glares to face her and she held up her hands, "Okay, geez, I'm sorry!"
Ranma walked over to help his mother stand, smiling nervously at her. She smiled and reached out to stroke his cut cheek, mindful of
his
injuries.
"They've explained everything, my son. Your father is still recuperating after his punishment for giving you that horrible curse."
He shrugged, "It's okay mom, Vegeta helped me out with that."
Ryoga jerked to his feet, "You mean you've found a cure?"
Ranma chuckled at the shocked expressions on the faces of some of those present. "No man, not exactly, I just keep up a little bit of my
aura at all times. That way, any cold water that hits me is heated just before it touches me so that it isn't cold enough to trigger the curse."
Ranma shot the lost boy a wink, silently promising to teach the other boy more about it later. Nabiki, on the other hand, wanted proof.
She poked a fingertip nonchalantly into her tea and found it to be dramatically cooled down. Quick as she could, she hefted the cup and hurled
its contents at Ranma.
She blinked, arm still outstretched, as Ranma caught the cup mid-air as well as catching its contents back in the cup. He laughed at her
good naturedly.
"I'm a lot faster than I was when I left you guys. I can show you if you want though." At a couple of nods, namely Shampoo and Ryoga's,
he sighed and got a small glass of water. He held it out and let Nabiki test the temperature, and she nodded in satisfaction. Ranma sighed
once more and upturned the glass over his head.
"At least I'm on my way to the shower anyway." To everyone's surprise, aside from permanent residents of Capsule Corp., Ranma
remained quite male.
Cologne nodded, "I'm impressed Ranma. How do you manage to maintain that much ki constantly?"
Vegeta snorted, "The hard part is keeping his power level lowered to a reasonable level. He doesn't have half the control he should."
Ranma glared at his sensei, "Hey man, I'm learning! I never would have thought it was possible to have access to this much ki a year
ago!"
Cologne leaned slightly forward with an unreadable expression, "Ranma, how much ki do you have access to now, exactly?"
Ranma shot his trainer a glance, and Vegeta shrugged, "I don't care if you power up, but you'd better do it outside so that annoying
woman doesn't gripe about her blasted decorations again."
Ranma nodded and waved for anyone who wanted to follow him out to the patio. He stepped just past the patio and into the grass,
turning
back to face his old group. He kept his eyes on Cologne's however, and then concentrated.
They watched as a breeze seemed to pick up and his braid and hair fluttered wildly about. Then small pebbles and loose blades of the
recently cut grass started to hover around him. Abruptly, his aura sprang into view as a soft blue glow surrounding him.
"This is about where my power was when I left you guys a year ago. This is where it is now . . ."
With a short shout, Ranma's aura expanded to a wildly pulsing glow that pushed the grass away from his feet in a small circular crater.
His hair continued to whip about his head and his eyes shone gleefully at the open shock on his old teacher's face.
"Well, Cologne, what do you think of the training I've gotten from Vegeta?"
"Son, you will call him King Vegeta, as is fitting."
Still glowing with his amazing aura, Ranma turned to his mother and pouted, "Aw Mom, but there's no Saiyan Kingdom anymore, why do
I
hafta call him 'King'?"
Nodoka studied her son sternly, "Because it is only fitting. As long as our race lives on, Vegeta will be our King."
Vegeta, stepping out onto the patio now, smirked, "That's right, boy, you can call me King!"
Bulma rolled her eyes, "Oh great, now he'll be beyond insufferable!"
Nodoka shot a glare at the other woman, but Bulma ignored her. Ukyo stepped up to Ranma, and he glanced at her, powering down as
an afterthought.
"Ranma, you will be coming back with us, won't you?"
He smiled sadly and opened his mouth, but Vegeta barked at her, "Of course not, woman. Ranma is my student, and we will need him
when the androids attack. He will of course be staying here to continue his training under me."
Nodoka nodded, "Yes, and the rest of you will have to leave so that my son will not be distracted."
Vegeta turned to Nodoka and actually gave her a small, if condescending, smile. "Excellent idea, and one I was about to insist on
myself.
The boy can't have all these silly women fluttering about disrupting his training. He's got a long way to go before he can hope to be of any real
use against the androids."
Ranma looked between the two Saiyans, "Uh, Vegeta, can Mom at least stay?"
Vegeta shot a glare at the boy, not approving entirely of the tone he used for the question, but finally sighing in impatience and giving a
brief nod.
"I suppose so, but if I catch you slacking in your training, I'll make you regret it."
Nodoka nodded, "As you should, Your Highness."
Ranma rolled his eyes, but nodded.
As everyone went back inside for a small get together before they had to return to Nerima, Ranma saw Cologne draw Bulma aside. He
shrugged and went to say goodbye to his friends, promising that if he ever got some free time he'd come see them.
"C'mon guys, as soon as we beat these androids I'll have lots of free time."
He stopped and studied Ukyo and Ryoga's suddenly stunned faces, turning to look where they were out the window. "What's wrong
guys?"
All he saw was Akane and Krillin arriving, nothing out of the ordinary. Ukyo pointed and began stammering incoherently for a moment
before swallowing.
"Ranma, Akane just flew into the backyard!"
He nodded, studying her curiously. "Didn't I tell ya she had been training? She gives Yamcha a good fight now, and beats him half the
time. After all, she's got better technique what with knowing the Anything Goes style and all."
Akane came into the room just then and smiled happily at everyone. She ran over and wrapped both Ukyo and Ryoga into a hug.
"What a surprise seeing everyone here! I thought there was a lot of power coming from here, but I just figured Ranma and Vegeta hadn't
blocked their power as tightly as they usually do."
Ryoga pointed up at the ceiling, "Akane, did you just fly?"
Krillin chuckled as he came in, "She sure did! She took to it like she was born with wings! I wish I'd learned as easily as she did! Of
course she'll tire easily until she learns to hold back a little." He shot her a smile to take the bite out of the final comment.
Ranma laughed and clapped her on the shoulder, "Yeah, Akane actually learned to fly weeks before she could even gather a tiny ball of ki
in her hands!"
Ryoga studied the girl, "Akane, what emotion powers your ki moves?"
She smiled, "Oh, Krillin and Yamcha taught me ways that don't require emotion! Ranma doesn't use emotion to harness ki anymore
either."
Ryoga and Shampoo turned stunned expressions to face Ranma, who nodded and swallowed the potato chips he was munching on.
"Yeah, actually, you get a lot more power if you know how to gather ki without any mental blocks like that. Of course, I still toy with the idea every
now and then. I got some theories I'm looking into."
Finally, Cologne and Bulma came inside from the patio, Bulma shooting Ranma an odd smile as Cologne studied the boy.
"Well Ranma, that certainly is interesting. Perhaps one day you and I can discuss this further." She gestured for Shampoo to pick up
Mousse, who Ranma had knocked out earlier after a slight misunderstanding. "Come Shampoo, we must return home."
"But, Great-grandmother-"
"Come along."
Shampoo shot Ranma a pitiful glance before picking up her fellow Amazon and following her grandmother from Capsule Corp. Soun
stood and gestured at the clock.
"It is growing late, and we have a long walk home-"
Bulma stood, "Oh, hey, why didn't I think of that? I'll fly you guys home if you want."
Ryoga sounded almost pitiful as he moaned, "You can fly too?"
Bulma laughed, "OH heavens no! I'll take you guys in an aircar!"
Nabiki smiled, "That would be greatly appreciated. By the way, would you mind if I asked you a couple of business questions?"
As the two girls broke into a conversation far above Ranma's head, he excused himself and walked over to Vegeta, who was sulking in
the corner away from the group.
"Hey, Vegeta?"
"What is it, boy?"
"Well, I was thinking about Ryoga over there. He's loads better than Akane was when she first started training with Krillin and Yamcha.
He already uses ki blasts and everything, so why couldn't he start training with Akane and the others? Wouldn't every little bit of help be worth
it?"
The former prince glared at the boy, then snarled, "Why should I waste my time on a worthless earthling?"
Ranma thought quickly, trying to find a way to make Ryoga seem like a very valuable commodity that would be worth keeping around. A
stroke of genius swept across him, and somehow he managed to hide it on his features as he shrugged calmly, "Well, I'll need a sparring partner
at my level all of the time. You can't spend all your time training me, or you won't have any time for yourself."
Vegeta studied Ranma's face for a moment before shrugging and walking over to Ryoga.
"You, come outside."
Ryoga gave Vegeta a funny look before turning to Ranma, who nodded. With a shrug, Ryoga followed Vegeta outside. Ranma jogged
over and caught up, catching Ryoga by the arm.
"Look man, give it everything ya got. Any injury you get, we can take care of it, but if ya want to impress Vegeta even a tiny bit, you'll have
to give it all from the start. No holding back, okay man?"
Ryoga nodded, his expression serious, and turned to face Vegeta. Ranma went back to the rest of the group from where they were
watching. He carefully positioned himself at the front of the group and in the middle. Krillin, seeing what Ranma was doing, nodded and joined
him.
Vegeta and Ryoga squared off, the boy taking a stance while Vegeta stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. Akane smirked
as she studied the familiar tableau.
"Look familiar Ranma?"
He blinked once at her before studying the pair. After a moment he smirked, thinking of their first sparring match so long ago.
"Alright human, attack me, and if you manage to hit me I'll personally see to your training."
On the sidelines, Ranma and Krillin exchanged startled glances. Bulma actually gasped. "Hey, how many of your students do you expect
me to feed here?"
Ryoga nodded, then leapt at the Saiyan Prince. His fist, of course, struck nothing but air as the shorter man simply wove around it. Ryoga
simply continued attacking, throwing everything he could into each individual move. Though his fists and kicks met nothing tangible, Ranma note
d that he managed to sruprise the Saiyan a time or two.
Finally, after two or three minutes of a distince lack of contact, Ryoga reached up as he flung a fist at Vegeta's face. Vegeta stepped
one foot back, rotating as he leaned back away from the fist. Smirking, the prince shot a smug glance at Ranma. As his face left Ryoga, the
Lost Boy snatched a bandanna from his forehead.
He twirled it as briefly as he could before letting it fly, all the while preparing himself mentally for his next move as he berated himself for
being unable to hit the man. Vegeta grunted as the bandanna wrapped around his feet, struggling for prescious seconds to remain upright. As
Vegeta was angrily finding his feet, Ryoga shouted to the skies.
"Shi Shi Hokodan!"
Vegeta's head shot up as the Ki blast left Ryoga's hand. Immediately he reacted, surging himself skyward. No matter how fast Vegeta
was, no matter how good his battle trained reflexes, Ryoga's hand had been only a foot and a half from Vegeta's chest as he released the blast.
The energy nicked the proud Saiyan prince on the feet.
Vegeta glared down at a startled Ryoga, letting out a screech as he gathered a mass of energy into his own palm. Ryoga yelped and
lept backwards, which happened to be toward the group of observers. Ranma cursed as he jumped forward, crossing his wrists over his face
as he braced himself for the coming blast just as it left Vegeta's palm.
Ryoga stared down at Ranma where he was braced against the energy driving into his forearms. Ranma's knees were bent just enough
to give without buckling as his face was clenched in concentration. Ryoga was amazed as he saw the leather bracers on Ranma's wrists flake
off as charred bits.
After a tense moment, Ranma cried out and pushed with another precious bit of energy to redirect the blast skyward. It flew past Vegeta's
shoulder. Ranma glared at his mentor, shoulders heaving from his heavy breathing.
"Vegeta, what were you thinking? You could have killed Ryoga, and probably everyone else too!"
Vegeta shrugged and landed directly in front of Ryoga. He cocked his head, arrogantly studying the boy with a frown. Finally he nodded
slowly, more a slight shudder of his head. "You'll stay here now and tomorrow Ranma can begin catching you up on your training."
Ryoga nodded emphaticly until Vegeta turned and stormed past the spectators and into Capsule Corp. before he turned a confused stare
to Ranma. "What exactly does that mean?"
Ranma grinned and clapped him on the back, "Congratulations, you impressed him! Starting in the morning you'll be training with me and
Akane!" He paused with a debating expression before turning to Krillin, "Hey, Krillin, could you come here to help us in the morning?"
Krillin nodded happily, "Sure thing! Hey, Bulma, can I just stay here for the night?"
With a resigned sigh she threw her hands into the air, "I don't see why not! I'd better go get a couple more rooms ready."
Akane ran up suddenly and wrapped her arms around Ryoga's neck, "This is great Ryoga! You'll love it here, and maybe Bulma can help
us come up with a way to keep you on the property until you can fly!"
Ryoga nodded numbly and tried very hard to keep his nose from bleeding. A movement over Akane's shoulder caught his attention, and
Ryoga gulped. Ranma was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, a ver self assured and very impatient frown on his face. A frantic
glance revealed that everyone else was filing noisily into the house. A breath later and the door was shut, leaving the three of thme alone outside.
"Hey man, why don't you step away from my fiancee?"
Akane blushed slightly before turning, hands on hips, to glare at her fiance. "Ranma, I was just congratulating him! Did I act like that when
Ukyo latched onto you earlier?"
He rolled his eyes and waved Ranma into the house. "C'mon man, we'll bring your pack inside and give you a tour."
Ryoga perked up slightly, "Do they have a dojo here too?"
Ranma laughed cheerfully for a moment as Akane rolled her eyes and walked away. Ranma clapped his new sparring partner on the
shoulder, "Nah, we've got something better. Ryoga, what do you know about Gravitiy?"
Next Chapter:
Ryoga learns to fly and gets a little bit of control over his curse. Akane and Ranma make some announcements (Gee, wonder what
those could be?) and everyone continues training. The rest of the Nerima gang can't just take this too easily, after all, they know where Ranma
and Akane are now. Ranma is a Saiyan and he's got a teacher now that he can respect, so I think he'll improve drasticly in a short time. Akane
will probably be about like Yamcha, but with more courage. Ryoga, well, who knows.