They found Brittany, hyperventilating in the kitchen, leaning up against the kitchen counter. Over her was another girl, another werecheetah.
"You okay?" The girl asked.
"You there," Julia said, "Who are you?"
"It's me," The girl turned, "Ranma."
"What?" Theo asked, concentrating at her.
Theo fell backwards into the chair.
"Theo?" Julia asked.
"Ranma, please explain," Theo said, "I wish to know why my daughter is hyperventilating."
"In china, there's a place called the Pools of Sorrow," Ranma said.
"Jusenkyo," Theo said.
"Yes," Ranma told him, "I was cursed to become a girl when splashed with cold water. Recently, through my studying of the Anything Goes Ideology, I've gained conscious control over my curse."
"If you had control over it," Theo said, "Shouldn't you not change?"
"I could," Ranma said, "But I don't. It's tied to how I learned to control it. I'm comfortable with both sides of the coin. Some days I'll choose to be male, others, female. Don't ask me why, I don't really know."
"Theo," Julia said, "Please try to work on a spell to make me able to understand what the hell they're talking about."
"Of course, dear," Theo said, "I'll get right on it. Afterwards, Ranma, I want to know about this Anything Goes Ideology."
"I'll have to ask the old coot," Ranma said, "It's his decision."
"Ah!" Ryoga said, "I hate spells!"
"Good," Julia said, "It worked."
"It makes my flesh crawl," Ryoga whined.
"Shut up, Ryoga," Ranma said.
"I hate you all," Ryoga muttered, sarcastically.
"Now," Theo said, "Have you asked Happosai?"
"Um… no," Ranma said, "Haven't found him yet."
"Found him?" Julia asked, "Where would he be?"
"More than likely in one of the girls' underwear drawers," Ryoga scoffed, "Damn perverted old fool."
The room went silent for a moment. Brittany, Brianna, Julia, and Gina all dashed towards their rooms.
There was a small explosion.
"Guess he was in Brianna's room," Ranma said.
"No," Theo said, sweating slightly, "That wasn't one of Brianna's explosives. That was one of the few that Gina has."
A rather crispy and bruised Happosai was dropped onto the dinning room table.
"…owie," Happosai said.
"Wow," Ranma said, "For one who's immune to heat, you still get toasted."
"It doesn't hurt," Happosai said, weakly.
"Really," Ranma poked Happosai with her pinky finger.
"AIIIE!" Happosai was suddenly clinging to the ceiling. All the crispiness disappeared suddenly.
Happosai's grip failed, and he slammed back into the table, where he laid on his back twitching.
"Now, what is the Anything Goes Ideology?" Theo asked.
"It… it…" Happosai said before his head slumped back, his mouth open wide, "Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep, this number has been temporarily disconnected, please try back at a later date."
The freaky thing was, was that Happosai hadn't moved his mouth to say the last part.
He was unconscious.
"…Okay," Ranma said, "He's never done THAT before."
A pause.
"The Anything Goes Ideology is a martial arts concept," Ranma said, "by finding the center of two opposites, and learning them both with your mind and body, one gains the power of the opposites. Such as hot and cold. Ryoga and I are centered on that point already, and have the ability to use the forces of heat and the lack thereof as weapons."
"Also, if you mix the two opposites, you get lightning," Ryoga chirped.
"Really?" Ranma asked, "I always get wind."
"Probably different amounts of them," Ryoga told her.
"Cool," Ranma said.
"Um… let's get back on subject," Theo said, "This sounds almost like Magick, but you say it's martial arts?"
"No, not really," Shampoo said (talking in Chinese now), "How did you explain it, Ranma? Every species has these abilities, it's just that they don't know how to use them?"
"Yeah," Ranma said, "Every species is effected by the powers of hot and cold, and when you center you mind and body with them, you gain the ability to control them. Watch."
Ranma placed her hand on the table. The table started to steam slightly as frost and ice suddenly spread from Ranma's hand, freezing the table.
"Whoa," Brittany touched it, "Ahh!" She yanked her hand back.
"What?" Gina asked, reaching for the ice as well. Brittany grabbed her hand.
"Don't," Brittany said, "That's so cold it burned."
"Sorry 'bout that," Ranma said, "I could have heated the table, but it would have burned."
"What other things are you 'centered' on?" Julia asked.
"Ryoga and I are centered on the same things," Ranma said, "Sense of reality, our physical self, our mental self, our curses, and hot and cold. Shampoo is centered on her physical and mental self, and her curse."
"What're your curses?" Gina asked, turning to the only werewolf present.
"I…" Ryoga said, blushing slightly, "I… um… turned into a pig. I'm never gonna change back into a pig. I hate the pig."
"A small housecat," Shampoo said, answering the same question.
"Shampoo hopes that one day she can turn into a hybrid form as well," Ranma said, chuckling.
"Ranma…" Shampoo said, "I just think it's cool."
"That may be true," Ryoga smirked, "But you also want to get into Ranma's pants."
Ryoga was slammed to the ground by a large Chinese Bonbori (mace) hitting his face.
"Ow," Ryoga said.
"So that explains it," Theo said, "Why you're bodies lack muscles and why you're aura is so strong. You've centered them."
"Yep," Ranma said, "When we centered out minds and bodies, we did it physically and mentally. Our bodies lost their tone and muscles, but are no weaker. Our muscles don't need to grow physically, so our limits skyrocketed. Our aura was affected by our mental center."
"Yeah," Ryoga said, sitting up, "Plus it gave us a few other things. Like a photographic memory."
"Even better healing skills," Ranma said.
"And harder bones and skin," Shampoo added.
"Hmmm," Theo said, "Then may I ask for more demonstrations. I would like to see what else you could do."
"Um…" Ryoga said, "Sure."
"Wind Cannon!" Ranma said. A small twisted burst from her hands, rocketing towards Ryoga.
"Thunder Clap!" Ryoga did the same as Ranma, but instead of wind, a blast of electricity flew out of his hands. The two blasts connected and canceled each other out in a large chaotic scene of natural energies.
Ranma's form shimmered slightly, and a series of three small shockwaves echoed through the backyard, making several trees bend away as the waves washed over them.
Everyone blinked in shock as Ranma traveled the distance between her and Ryoga at three times the speed of sound. They were even more surprised when Ryoga ended up catching Ranma as she tripped over a blade of grass.
Ranma ended up on the ground, lying on top of Ryoga. She quickly grasped her foot.
"Damn!" Ranma said, rolling off of Ryoga, "Ah, my foot."
"What's wrong?" Brittany asked, running up to them.
"My ankles broken," Ranma said.
"How did that happen?" Brittany said.
"I went too fast," Ranma said, "My foot hit the grass too fast for the grass to give leeway, and it was like kicking a steel wall."
"You broke your ankle," Ryoga laughed, "because of grass?"
"Shut up," Ranma said. Brittany helped the shorter werecheetah stand and limp into the house. Ryoga stood up, and walked after them, grumbling.
Theo and Julia just sat there in shock.
Julia's thoughts…
"How could someone be THAT fast? No one's ever traveled that fast before. And that recklessly. Ranma will need training to control his newfound speed. His abilities are now several times more than he can handle."
Theo's thoughts…
"Their moves, it draws not only upon their own power, but from the powers that are directly linked to the centers they have. That's why their movements and actions have a Magickal feel to them. If they became mages, they would probably quickly become the strongest in all of both worlds."
"Whoa!" Ranma yelled. Brittany had caught her in female form, and was now dragging the werecheetah through the mansion, "Where are we going!"
"Shhh!" Brittany said, "Quiet. I don't want my parents to know that I'm leaving."
"Why not?" Ranma asked.
"We're going shopping," Brittany said, her eyes started sparkling.
"S-shopping?" Ranma asked, slightly freaked out.
"What better way for sisters to get to know each other," Brittany brought the smaller werecheetah up to her side.
"I'm not a…" Ranma blinked, "Um…"
"Come on!" Brittany said as she carried Ranma out the door. They both shifted back to human mode as Brittany ran. Ranma got the chance to touch the ground as Brittany slowed.
"Like it?" Brittany asked.
"I don't like frilly stuff very much," Ranma said.
"Eh, to each her own," Brittany said.
"Spandex?" Ranma asked.
"Yeah," Brittany said, "It attracts a lot of cute boys."
"Oh, okay," Ranma said, looking away.
"You want a pair?" Brittany asked.
"What?" Ranma asked.
"A pair," Brittany said again.
"No," Ranma shook her head, "No, I don't want to attar… well, maybe that one."
"Honey," Theo said, "Where's my credit card?"
"Do you really have to ask?" Julia responded, sipping her lemonade.
"I sense a disturbance in the force," Cologne said.
Ryoga and Brianna busted out laughing.
"Shut up."
Ranma and Brittany walked into the house, each carrying many bags and packages, chatting and laughing. They stopped cold as they noticed Theo staring at them with a very annoyed expression.
Gina, who was walking through, glanced at them. Brittany and Ranma both had at least twelve bags.
Oh no, it's genetic.
"Hmm," Happosai said, "It seems that Ranma had finally gotten around to expressing his female side."
"He wasn't before?" Cologne asked.
"No," Happosai said, "He learned the physical differences, but mentally, he hasn't known how to be a girl until he met Brittany. She is a close relative that is a girl, so Ranma is subconsciously being affected by her."
"Ooo," Ryoga's voice came from where he and Brianna were sitting on the couch, actually doing a good Yoda impression, "Very strange it is."
He was rewarded by Cologne bopping him.
Brianna busted out laughing again.
"Ow, ow ow, ow, ow," Brittany said. She and Ranma had locked hands, and Ranma was currently applying a sense of cold to her hands, "That stings."
"Imagine having to stay in a tub of ice water for three hours," Ranma said, "You have to concentrate on how it feels, and how your mind registers it."
"H-how do I know when I've got it?" Brittany asked.
"You'll know," Ranma said, "I'm not going to increase the temperature, and since you body isn't recognizing this as an injury from a werecreature, it won't do any lasting damage. When it doesn't feel cold anymore, tell me."
A while later, Ranma was thinking about what Theo had done. He had scolded them, and then had somehow grounded Ranma as well as Brittany. They couldn't leave the house for a few days, and that's why Ranma was helping Brittany center herself.
Ranma stopped thinking about how in the world Theo grounded her as well, when she saw frost gathering on Brittany's clothing and the bed that they were sitting on. Her breath was now visible.
Brittany opened her eyes.
"It doesn't feel cold anymore," She said.
"Good, now we do hot," Ranma said, "Ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Brittany said.
Ranma's hand stopped glowing blue, and started glowing red-orange.
"Ow, god, that stings!" Brittany said loudly.
Theo knocked on the door a few hours later. He thought that the two had enough time to stew in Brittany's room.
"Yes?" Brittany asked.
"You two can come out now," He said, opening the door.
"Sweet!" Brittany charged through the door past Theo with Ranma on her heels.
Theo glanced at the retreating forms of the two furry girls. Brittany… felt different.
"Wee!" Brittany yelled, sliding along on the ice that she had made, "This is fun!"
"Try this," Ranma smirked, "A little cold with a lotta hot equals wind." She suddenly shot up into the air, her hands glowing a bright red-purple. The wind coming from her propelled her up into the air.
Ranma was flying.
Brittany looked at her hands, and concentrated. Her hands started to glow the same red-purple as wind suddenly rocketed from them. She angled the wind down and zipped up after Ranma.
Ryoga and Brianna were watching. Ryoga was amused at the two sisters zipping around in the air. Brianna was drooling, for the first time, not because of a boy.
"Must…" Brianna said, "Must learn… bwahahahaha…"
Ryoga, now used to Brianna's 'episodes', merely glanced at her.
"I AM THE GODDESS OF THUNDER!" Brittany's voice called. A huge electrical blast flew down and scorched the ground near where they were sitting.
Although not thought possible, Brianna started to drool more.
She grabbed Ryoga, and pulled him into the house.
Séance and Genn, who had been hiding, blinked as Brianna, a werecheetah, dragged Ryoga, a werewolf, into the house.
"I feel sorry for him," Séance said.
"Me too," Genn said, "But better him than me."
"Agreed."
"Teach me!" Brianna yelled.
"What?" Ryoga asked.
"I wanna be able to fly too," Brianna said.
"Whoa, whoa, wait," Ryoga said, "Are you sure? I… I don't think you're dad would be very partial to it. And I don't like your dad when he's angry. He's worse than Tendo."
"Who's Tendo?" Brianna asked.
"He had a demon head ability too," Ryoga said, "The entire family are idiots, and I used to really like one of them. But… your dads demon head is fifty times worse."
"I'll ask Daddy, no prob!" Brianna charged from her room.
Genn and Séance watched Brianna fly from the room, and run down the hall. The door was open to reveal Ryoga, still fully clothed, looking slightly confused.
"The world is ending, you know that right?" Séance said.
"E-yup," Genn said.
"What?" Theo said, "Ranma did WHAT!"
"Theo, you'd know if you had just looked outside the window," Julia said, "Brittany and Ranma have been flying around the sky for a while now."
"Flying?" Theo asked. He looked outside the window, "I don't see them."
Suddenly, Ranma zipped by the window, about three feet away. Brittany followed suit.
Now, zipping past the window wasn't much, being as this window was on the first floor, but Ranma and Brittany were going UP.
"…Brittany and Ranma are flying," Theo said.
"If Brianna wants to go through the training, let her," Julia said, "The effects are, like you said, wild and nearly uncontrolled. The only thing that seems to limit them is their imaginations."
"GODDESS OF THUNDER, BWAHAHAHA!"
Another bolt of lightning almost hit the house. Theo opened the window and yelled at Brittany.
"NO MORE LIGHTNING NEAR OR IN THE HOUSE, YOUNG LADY!" Theo yelled.
Brittany paused in midair, crossing her arms.
"Oh, alright," Brittany said.
Ranma zipped past her.
"TAG!"
Brittany zipped after Ranma.
"Was… was that just Brittany…?" Gina asked.
"Yes, she was flying," Brianna said, "And can Ryoga teach me?"
Theo sighed.
"Fine…" Theo said, "But there are going to be rules."
"Rules shmules!" Brianna said loudly, "I don't care as long as I fly!"
She bolted from the room.
Theo sighed, and walked into the bathroom to get some Advil. Julia chuckled, and then looked to Gina.
"I don't suppose you want to fly too?" Julia asked.
"Um…" Gina said, "Yeah, I do, but I want to know why my Lab equipment keeps going insane."
"That would be Brittany and Ranma," Julia said, "They keep throwing around lightning and stuff like th…"
"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Gina laughed as she rocketed out of the room at a speed that rivals Brittany's.
Julia stared at the space that used to be occupied by her daughter. Of her three daughters, Gina was probably the only one she HADN'T thought of doing that.
Meanwhile, in Nerima
"Hello?" Nabiki answered the cell phone in her pocket.
"Hello, Nabiki Tendo," A voice called.
"Who is this?" Nabiki said, losing her cool, "How did you get this number?"
"You may call me Pee-wee," the voice said, "And I want to give you a proposition."
"Sorry, not interested," Nabiki said as she reached to hang up.
"Even if it would allow you to get back at Ranma Saotome?" Pee-wee said.
Nabiki froze.
"Continue," Nabiki said.
"I'm glad you are interested," Pee-wee said, "I've heard that Ranma and his friend Ryoga are monsters. If there is any way for you to get a substantial amount of their DNA, I would like it very much."
"DNA, huh?" Nabiki said, leaning back, "Should be easy enough."
"Good," Pee-wee said, "You shall gather everyone who wants to hurt or maim Ranma Saotome. Have them all meet on the Furinkan school doorstep tomorrow night at midnight. Bring the DNA of anyone you know that has 'special abilities'."
"What's with you and DNA?" Nabiki chanced the question.
"Nabiki," Pee-wee said, "I am a scientist. DNA and genetic research are my major fields. Having DNA from people that have," Pee-wee cleared his throat, "SPECIAL ABILITIES would help my research greatly. Especially from a werecheetah such as Ranma and a werewolf such as Ryoga."
"May I ask HOW you intend to help us get back at Ranma," Nabiki asked.
"Now, now Nabiki," Pee-wee said, "I intend to give you the power to personally get back at him, as long as you leave them alive."
"Them?" Nabiki asked.
"Ranma's family," Pee-wee said, "He has a sister, who is also a beast. The entire family is, how do you say, unnatural. As long as I get live subjects to test on, I do not care what you do to them."
"L-live subjects?" Nabiki asked.
"Surely you don't believe evil beings such as Ranma and Ryoga should be allowed to walk around in the public, praying upon families such as yours whenever they wish," Pee-wee said.
"Fine," Nabiki said, "You have a deal."
"Good, gather everyone, and bring the DNA to Furinkan at midnight tomorrow," Pee-wee chuckled, "Till tomorrow, Tendo-san."
Nabiki listened as the oddly voiced man hung up the phone.
"Nabiki," Kasumi asked, "Who was that?"
"Nobody of consequence," Nabiki said, "Do you know where Akane is?"
"I believe she's in her room again," Kasumi told her, "I'm worried about her."
"Don't worry," Nabiki smiled, "I have some news that is sure to make her very happy."
