Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or Dragon Ball Z, but I do own a lot of Yu-Gi-Oh cards! Mwahahahahahaha-hack cough Ack…Sorry…

Author's Notes: A new chapter is upon you! Run in terror or read. You're choice. Now that I have drawn you into my web of superior storytelling (author's egomaniacal laughter heard here) let's get on with the show!

Dragon Fire

Chapter 7

Prelude to Chaos

The first impression the redheaded girl had of the planet of the Kai was that it had to be the most beautiful place she had ever seen. The greenery was so soft and inviting she could have lay down and fallen asleep in blissful comfort. Her brother was slung over her shoulder easily. He was actually heavier than he looked, but she was probably the strongest woman on Earth. When she was sure it was okay, she lay her brother down on the grass. Ranma looked so peaceful, Ranko thought as she checked on Gohan as well. Their hosts seemed to visibly relax as they looked around their home planet.

"When do you think they'll wake up?" she asked in concern.

"It shouldn't be too much longer." Kibito said. No sooner had he said it that the two boys began to wake up. Gohan rubbed his head as he sat up. The saiya-jin boy looked around in confusion before his eyes fell on the vision that had knocked him unconscious in the first place. The girl smiled at him, but before he could swoon again an image of Videl dispelled the image. He was a little more confused, but at least he could focus now. The pigtailed boy was staring at his new "sister" in openmouthed wonder. She grinned happily before scrambling into her brother's lap and giving him a big hug. Ranma instinctively hugged her back.

"Good morning guys." Ranko said cheerfully.

"Uhm…It wasn't a dream?" Ranma asked. The redhead shook her head.

"Where are we?" Gohan asked of the Supreme Kai. The explanation took some time and left the teens with a greater sense of wonder and confusion. The obvious question was why they were there, but the Supreme Kai explained that they were there for training. The power needed to defeat Buu would require a lot of hard work and discipline. The place they were going to start was mastering the Z Sword. The twins seemed less than enthusiastic about learning how to use a sword, but Gohan was genuinely excited about the prospect. With the promise of training also came a change of outfits for everyone. Ranko was already in her new outfit, but Ranma and Gohan still needed theirs. With a smile, she noticed how discomfited they were in their new finery. Supreme Kai showed them to the Z Sword and had them all try to lift it. Ranma went first and just barely managed to get it into the air for a practice swing. He had to admit it was an excellent weapon, but definitely not his style. Gohan took the sword next, but was having similar trouble with the weight. His own practice swing showed he had no kendo experience at all since the weapon flew out of his hands and landed between Ranko's legs. The girl gulped in apprehension at what almost happened. She tried to lift it next, but the point wouldn't even come off the ground. It frustrated her to no end to discover that she was that much weaker than her brother.

"You all will have plenty of time to grow stronger with it. Just because it is a weapon you do not use doesn't mean that you shouldn't work with it." The Kai admonished. The teens had to agree that he had a good point. The weapon was turning out to be quite a bit more of a challenge than they imagined. Over the next few weeks they would all grow to hate that beautiful, and weighty, sword.

Kami's Lookout-

Things were going from bad to worse for the remaining warriors of Earth. Goku was in a fit of rage over what Buu had done to his son and his friend Ranma. He glanced over at the girl, Akane, who sat holding the two boys in her lap. They were all at Kami's Lookout waiting to find out what was going on with the pink blob of goo. So far he had set up residence in an out of the way area and hadn't moved at all. There was nothing that could be done if he was capable of killing some of the planet's greatest warriors, but Goku had a plan that he revealed to everyone that same day. All the families were gathered to hear the brilliant idea.

"Remember the planet I ended up on before making it back to Earth? I had said that they had some truly amazing techniques besides the Instant Transmission. One of them is the technique that made them so formidable. The Fusion Dance." He waited as the assorted comments gradually subsided before continuing.

"It requires two people of similar ability and size. If the technique is done properly than a warrior should be created with the power and abilities of both warriors, using the best parts of both." The murmuring comments began again, but one question made the most sense.

"Who is going to do it?" Akane asked. Trunks and Goten were gradually coming out of their funk, but she held them anyway. Chichi smiled at the cute picture they made, but paid attention as well. Goku suddenly began sweating. Chichi was scary, but he had yet to see what this other girl could do. If it was anything like his wife, he better talk fast or the hurt would be coming.

"I propose Trunks and Goten. They're not only both half saiya-jin, but they have similar power and their friends as well." It was his best bet to just tell them the truth. The little boys jumped down with big smiles as they contemplated saving the world while the two women were flexing their fingers and giving the saiya-jin wonder murderous glares.

"Why can't you do it?" his wife asked. "I've already lost one son! I don't want to lose both!" Goku had nothing he could say to that. Bulma was reacting in much the same manner. Hearing about the recently deceased Gohan reminded Akane sharply of Ranma's death. She had told Nabiki and Shampoo about his death. The youngest Tendo was so busy comforting the children and the two girls that she had no time to grieve. The pain was growing and there was no help for it. The boys caught in the middle finally had enough of the arguing.

"We'll do it alright? Don't we get a say in it? My dad's dead and his brother's dead. We need to show that pink thing whose boss!" Trunks declared and slapped his friend's shoulder. The two nodded together, setting their mothers off into fresh wails of grief and pride. It was too much for the blue-haired girl as she stepped outside of the main pavilion to sit with the other two girls. Nabiki sat on the edge with her legs dangling over the side while Shampoo sat against her side, her knees drawn up to her chest. The grief washed over the Chinese girl in waves that threatened to drown her. First her great grandmother was dead, now her airen was gone, who would be next? The Amazon girl stood up and stepped closer to the edge, her hair swirling around her face as she came up with a great idea. She could join them on the other side. Nabiki looked up at her in confusion, but realization gradually came to her as she sees the muscles in the girl's legs bunch up slightly.

"Shampoo don't!" Nabiki cried as she leapt up, but she was too late. With a peaceful smile she plummeted off of the Lookout. A blue streak shot by that could only be Akane and flew down after her. The mercenary girl watched in stunned fascination as her baby sister pulled a Superman and caught the falling girl. A breath was released that she hadn't realized she was holding just before she collapsed in relief. Too many people that they knew were dying, even worse was that Ranma had died. It was silly, but if the Amazon were gone it would have almost been like he was dead all over again.

"Thank the kami…" she whispered fervently.

/-

Akane had seen the girl plummet and was instantly after her. The Chinese girl should have thought it out better if she was going to commit suicide since she was now faster, stronger, and better than she ever was. Shampoo reacted much like she expected. The distraught girl punched Akane in the face repeatedly, not even caring if no damage was done. The tears fell down as the violent girl held her former rival close, trying to soothe her as best as she could, but she would have none of it.

"Let me go! I want to die and be with Great Grandmother and Airen!" she wailed in agony. There was only one thing to do.

"Shampoo, who am I?" Akane asked.

"You Violent Girl…Akane Tendo…Why you forget that?" she asked in a confused voice.

"No, who else am I?"

"Y-you also elder…." Shampoo lowered her head. On an impulse, Akane kissed her forehead.

"That's right." She told the startled girl. "As elder I order you not to kill yourself directly or indirectly." The purple-haired girl boggled at her former rival with a measure of respect.

"As you wish." She acquiesced, suddenly realizing where she was and that Akane had actually saved her. The girl holding her was so strong, much stronger than herself. It had to have been because Akane was just better than her. Perhaps she should find out why that was the case. Could it be because she genuinely cares, despite her temper? She had never felt so small or so lost. A warm hug brought her back from the abyss of dark thoughts as a finger gently smoothed away her tears.

"I'm not any happier about this than you are, but whether we like it or not, we need each other. You need me to an elder and I'm going to need actual Amazon training. Deal?" Akane asked softly. The girl nodded her head softly before snuggling into the "elder's" protective arms.

"You want training…Fine, but all the techniques you will require would take too long to teach you." Shampoo said, her poor Japanese a myth as she began explaining about what would be involved. The girls would need to go back to the Nekohanten to collect the Amazon scrolls and to set things in motion back home in China.

"Okay, but we'll take Nabiki with us since we may need to have someone who can think clearly." The blue-haired girl said. As much as she wanted to say no to the girl's request, it made a lot of sense. Admitting they needed an outsider's help was terrible, but floundering about was even worse than that. Then again, an Amazon elder that was an outsider and not even twenty yet was pretty bad. When they got back up to the Lookout, Nabiki was still sitting there. The idea was discussed with the one with business sense and a more cunning mind than most criminal masterminds. The middle Tendo had to admit that the idea had a lot of merit. When asked how they would get there, she was informed that they would be flying. That didn't sit too well with her until Shampoo volunteered to piggy-back while Akane carried her sister.

"This had better not be a mistake." Nabiki warned. Her sister merely smiled.

"Hang on!" two female screams and one maniacal laugh suddenly trailed off into the sunset at twice the speed of sound.

Kai Planet-

Training with the Z Sword was difficult to say the least. Since there was only one, the three teens were using the sword in shifts while the other two would spar with each other. The Supreme Kai could only gape in amazement as they progressed by leaps and bounds. Gohan had mixed blood, saiya-jin and human, while Ranma and Ranko had superior genetics on their side. It was a lesson that the Supreme Being would remember forever. Never underestimate the potential of anyone.

Currently it was the redheaded girl who was using the sword and quickly becoming proficient with it. She could make it sing as it flowed through the air, taking all of her strength and dexterity to keep it under control. Ranko would have loved to have a sword like this, perhaps not as heavy, but definitely as sharp. Her attention was focused solely on the blade as she slowly became one with the weapon, feeling what the sword masters and kendoists she trained under describe as the sword becoming an extension of herself. The sword was held low in a two-handed grip before she flew at an invisible foe, slashing down with enough speed and force that it cleaved the air and the grass before her. A row of grass in a five hundred yard line in front of her was smashed flat by the powerful wind. She congratulated herself before taking out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her forehead and to look over at where the boys were playing. It looked as if Gohan was growing stronger by the second while Ranma was doing much the same. If she remembered the rotation, then it was Gohan next. She smiled happily as she realized she was sparring with her brother next. Today was a good day.

/-

Ranma grinned as he deflected another shot from his friend before quickly seeking to take advantage of the break in concentration to land a hit in. His next attack was a straight, powerful blow for Gohan's midsection, but after months of training with the pigtailed boy he wasn't taken in so easily. It turned into another rapid series of blows and counterblows that would be impossible to see unless you had skill and power similar to theirs. The two were growing closer to the edge. Non stop sparring for hours at a time did wonders for stamina, but they knew that if they were to complete this set than they needed to kick it up a notch.

"Ready?" Gohan asked with a grin.

"Only if you are!" Ranma replied with a matching one. The boys quickly adopted similar stances as they began drawing upon the massive well of power inside each of them. Their growing power began darkening the sky. The half saiya-jin's hair abruptly turned gold and his eyes turned green. Ranma smirked as his hair seemed to float up and freeze in a similar spiky manner, only without the color changes as he entered the first stage of the Neko-ken. With shouts that echoed across the landscape, the two juggernauts leapt back into the fray. Their manners making it appear as if they were genuinely trying to kill each other, but their smiles said otherwise. Still, this form of training is called "Training under critical conditions". It calls for going beyond your endurance, beyond your own limits, to call forth greater power and focus. To the uninitiated it looks like they're simply trying to slaughter each other. The Supreme Kai blanched at the sheer amount of power they were radiating. Neko Ranma fought tooth and nail against Super Saiya-Jin Gohan. Just as the pigtailed boy unleashed a Katchu Tenshin Amaguriken, Gohan used his own, further proving that not only Ranma can learn techniques just by watching them. Thousands upon thousands of blows rained down on both of them. As they broke apart, Ranma's hands were together with a ball of glowing ki forming just as Gohan brought his hands to his sides.

"Mouko Takabisha!" Ranma cried out as Gohan shouted.

"Kamehameha!" and throwing his hands forward. The two attacks clashed violently, blue versus gold, the boys straining to force their attacks to overwhelm the other. At the last second, Gohan surged into SSJ two and hurling his Turtle Destruction Wave through the Proud Tiger's Roar, blowing Ranma out of the sky. The startled boy was shocked beyond belief as he contemplated the birdies flying around his head.

"The score's tied at four wins each." Kibito said as he trudged wearily to heal the overactive martial artists.

Nekohanten, Nerima-

Mousse could barely restrain his joy at finding out two of the banes of his existence were gone, but with that fleeting happiness came a deeper sadness as he realized they were gone. He had finally got what he wanted, but it shouldn't have been like this. Saotome wasn't such a bad guy. He was an arrogant jerk and was too full of himself, but there was no denying that if you needed help he was there. Cologne, that was one tough old mummy, but she possessed insight and knowledge that had seen them through many difficult situations. Why does it always have to be that no one realizes these things until after the person's gone? He puttered in the kitchen making food for the three ladies waiting in Cologne's office. The myopic boy never thought he'd see the day when Akane would humble Shampoo or Nabiki not trying to scam someone just for the right to talk to her.

"The Apocalypse is upon us…" he muttered as he deftly served the ramen and scooped up the tea set before heading upstairs to the young women who frequently turn his life on it's head.

/-

Akane didn't particularly enjoy sitting in the old elder's chair, it reminded her too much of a throne. It was a large, leather affair with a high back and thick armrests. The whole thing was comfortable, but was obviously made to exalt a shorter person. Shampoo was trying to lever to lower the seat. With a small cry of triumph the chair lowered to manageable levels. Nabiki was busy poring over the books and was amazed to see just how much the restaurant raked in. Perhaps it wasn't the right time to think about this, but it had to be thought of eventually.

"Yen for your thoughts." Her little sister asked with tired humor.

"Something will need to be done about the restaurant." Nabiki said. Shampoo sighed sadly as she thought about it.

"Great Grandmother loved this place. Even if Airen had chosen me, we would not have returned to China. She loved it too much in Japan. I love it here as well. So many strange things and new experiences, but with her gone I have to go back." The purple-haired girl was on the verge of tears as she stood beside her Great Grandmother's chair. Akane slipped her arm around the girl's waist and gave her a one-armed hug.

"If I have anything to say about it, you won't be going back there." She said with determination. The Chinese girl gaped in astonishment. If anyone had told her when she had ruined Akane's wedding that they would be here in the Nekohanten and the violent girl would be actually friendly, if not caring, she would have suggested they get their head examined.

"Good to hear. I'm tired of being a second class citizen." Mousse said as he entered and set the trays down.

Further conversation was halted as the four teens stopped to eat. It was nice really. No fighting, no potions, no plots, and no stupid rivalries, but the cost was too high. There was a strange sort of peace as they forgot their problems, but it couldn't last forever. Just as they were relaxing a huge explosion rocked the street outside the Nekohanten accompanied closely by screams. The teens ran to the window in time to see Herb float by carrying a protesting Kasumi over his shoulder. Someone was trying to stop him. Akane extended her senses and could clearly feel it was Ryoga.

"Oh kami-sama…Kasumi!" Nabiki cried out in panic, but her sister merely glowered darkly. The martial artist girl opened the window before leaping out into the air. Mousse tried to stop her, but stared in astonishment as the new elder floated easily in the air and went out to join the battle.

/-

"Put Kasumi down now jerk!" Ryoga cried as he hurled a Shishi Hokodan straight for the Dragon King. The blast struck him dead on in the chest, but didn't affect him at all. The Lost Boy seethed, he had no way to stop this guy, but then his gaze rested on Akane. She was floating behind Herb, enshrouded in a corona of power, scowling fiercely. The King of the Musk turned to look at who would dare sneak up behind him, causing him to almost drop Kasumi in shock.

"A-Akane?" Kasumi cried out in shock and relief.

"Silence!" to his captive, to Akane "Stay out of this! She will be my bride and bear many strong children." He said with utter confidence and arrogance. He would have continued, but a fist to the gut left him gasping for air. His eyes reoriented on the girl only to notice that his prize had been stolen as well. She was visibly enraged, her power rolling off her in waves.

"I'll deal with you shortly." She promised in a low voice as she handed Kasumi off to Mousse through the window. She looked to Ryoga and gestured for him to scram, but he stubbornly held his place. The blue-haired girl sighed; she had tried to warn him.

"You ignorant little bitch! Perhaps you'd like to be my bride instead…I promise not to be too rough." He said with a sneer just before catching the snap kick to the face with his left hand as he unleashed a devastating punch with his right hand to her face. Much to his chagrin, she not only took the punch, but bruised his knuckles in the process. With a sneer, she returned the face, but managed to hurt him. His nose smeared and blood poured free, which would have been good enough, but a powerful uppercut tore into his jaw and hurtled him into the sky. The Dragon stopped his rapid ascent quite easily before gathering power. Akane was in a mild state of shock as his power easily soared into her range. With a roar of "Die!" he plummeted towards her at incredible speeds before plowing into her skull and knocking her into the pavement. He began unleashing ki knives at her in a veritable storm, but a quickly raised ki shield deflected the worst of the damage, still cutting her arms and chest lightly.

"Not bad…" she admitted grudgingly as she got back to her feet. With a flourish, instead of her war hammer, she conjured up a ki samurai sword. If he wanted to play rough then she couldn't afford to not do the same. Quickly ascending once more, a series of lightning fast sword strokes put him on the defensive before a hastily conjured ball of blue ki pounded into his chest. Herb growled as he whipped out a Chinese broadsword and began an assault of his own. It was quickly apparent to the martial artists watching that Herb was relying on sheer strength whereas Akane was using her greater speed and dexterity. The battle could have gone either way, but a startled "bwee!" drew their attention. A tiny black piglet with a tiger pattern bandanna was huddled in abject terror of the battle. If Ryoga had been human, it wouldn't have bothered him to be at ground zero, but he was infinitely more fragile now.

"P – chan?" Akane screamed. She knew she needed to end the fight, but she had been having fun. The girl noticed her two sisters watching from the window of the restaurant with worry in their gazes. They didn't know she could win at any time, but now she had to do it. She gripped the sword in both hands, shifting it into the war hammer. Herb's distraction would prove fatal as she gathered all her power into her hammer. The attack that not even Ranma could dodge. An assured victory. The Dragon's ears picked up a words that were frightening to all those who know their import.

"Herb no Baka!" she screamed as she swung her hammer up with all her might into her opponent's stomach, hurtling all the back to China. With a casual twirl of her weapon, she went back inside the Nekohanten.

Kai Planet-

Goku had arrived sometime after their heavy training began with a sheepish grin. When asked how it happened, he explained about the Fusion Dance and everything that had gone on. He had used up all the energy he had been allocated for the tournament, but was allowed to go to where his son was. Finding out he wasn't dead was a pleasant surprise, but seeing the twins almost gave him heart failure. They managed to explain everything that had happened to them since the Supreme Kai brought them there for training. As they got caught up, Gohan decided to show his dad what he had learned. The sword moved with grace and speed through the air as the boy went through the sword katas that Ranma and Ranko had taught him. It was obvious that somehow they were two distinct people and not clones of each other. When asked about that, it turned out that Ranko was always inside of Ranma. She was the collection of nearly everything he had either repressed or didn't want to face. Now she could be her own person. Goku was really curious about how strong the sword was.

"The Z Sword is able to cut through nearly anything." The Supreme Kai insisted.

"Well let's test it out!" Goku said enthusiastically. Kibito rolled his eyes as he prepared to witness childish behavior at it's most immature. Ranma and Ranko shared a worried glance, but Gohan merely grinned. The Kai brought his hand up and a huge block of some strange metal appeared above his head. With a light push he tossed it to Goku who caught it with quite a bit of effort.

"This metal is Kachine, the strongest metal in the whole universe." Supreme Kai explained. The Saiya-jin warrior blinked at the extremely heavy block and quickly turned to Super Saiya-Jin just to lift it. He prepared to pitch it like a baseball just as Gohan dropped into a batter up stance. The air of worry was growing, but failed to penetrate the Saiya-jins' and Kai's boyish enthusiasm. The first (and only) pitch resulted in disaster. The sword snapped in half as it tried to deflect the rapidly flying block of metal. Sweatdrops abounded.

"No! How is this possible? The Z Sword shouldn't break!" The Supreme Kai said in horror.

"W-when they say it's the strongest metal they ain't kidding…" Goku laughed nervously. Gohan blinked before dropped the hilt in shock. Ranma was watching his sister as she teared up over the loss of her favorite sword and gave her a hug.

"D-dad we b-broke it…" Gohan was stammering in a panic, but then Goku calmed down somewhat.

"Then again, maybe it wasn't the sword that was to defeat Buu, but the training you got just from wielding it. You do feel a hell of a lot more powerful now." His son blinked and checked himself before exclaiming.

"You're right! Wow! I never felt so strong!" he grinned and began throwing practice punches.

"That's great, but you broke the sword! I really liked that sword too…" Ranko said dejectedly.

"A sword is what you want? Then you can have one." The Supreme Kai said as he waved. A sheathed sword appeared on her back. The sheath was black with silver trim. The sword hilt and pommel were silver while the grip was lack. She squealed happily and whipped it out of it's sheathe, slashing thousands of times at near Amaguriken speed. What they failed to notice was the grass rippling from invisible waves. A voice startled them from their thoughts.

"What's going on here?" a wheezing, cantankerous voice asked. They turned to stare in shock at an old purple-skinned man that looked like an ancient Supreme Kai.

"A-an elder K-kai…" Supreme Kai stammered. The others continued to stare at the old man that had appeared out of nowhere…

End Chapter

Author's Notes: Whew…I know that it seems like the plot is moving a bit fast, but it always bugged me in DBZ when they would do all that buildup and then continue it next time. Don't get me wrong, I love the show, but some of those sagas could have been shorter. Whew, sorry for ranting. Thank you all for reading! Ja ne!