Disclaimer: "Ranma ½", "Sailor Moon", "Star Trek" and other genres belong to their respective owners.
Note: This is a multi-genre story.
Part 68
Location: Tattooine ("Star Wars").
Young, sandy-haired Luke Skywalker desperately roamed the terrain, trying to seek out the whereabouts of his R2-D2 droid. According to his protocol droid C-3P0, R2 was seeking the help of Master Ranma Saotome and Lady Usagi Tsukino, who, according to R2's message from Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, were Jedi Knights who served as military flag officers in "The Clone Wars" during the time of the Old Republic. Separately, they were talented in their craft; together, they were nearly unstoppable. However, the only two people that he knew that went by those names was the couple who help out at his uncle's moisture farms during the harvest, and wasn't expected back for a few months. Still, Luke needed to retrieve R2 back right away, and since he knew where they lived, he went out into the desert that very same day. Maybe he can get Ranma to teach him those martial arts techniques he's always talked about.
Luke continued his search, until he found signs that R2 was in the area. Both he and C-3P0 caught up with the little kind to admonish it, when the local Tusken Raiders caught them. The raiders, being what they are, attacked the trio. It looked like Luke was done for, when an unearthly sound saved them.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
"Oh, no!" said the lead raider in their own language. "It's that horrible, screaming girl again!"
Already, their Banthas were running away from the horrid noise, prompting some of the raiders to go after them. However, a few holdovers were still present.
"Let's get out of here!" said one of the raiders said.
"Not before I teach this kid to not go into our territory!" said another, as he took aim at the prone body of Luke Skywalker.
"Funny," said a voice. "I was thinking the exact same thing!"
The raider turns to see a smiling Ranma Saotome. He was dressed in a heavy tan "gi" (with black belt), and wore a reddish brown robe (with attached hood). The raider turned to take aim at the pigtailed martial artist…
SNATCH!
Ranma snatched the weapon out of the raider's hand, and tossed it aside. He then grabbed him by the lapel, raised the raider up into the air, cocked his fist, and belted the intruder 100 yards away. This gave the remaining raiders the good sense to run away.
"Let's get outta here-!"
While Ranma saw the remaining raiders off, another robed figure comes running off a nearby ridge. The figure quickly made it to where Luke's prone body laid still. Then, that same figure lifted the hood of her garments.
"Luke, lie still," says Usagi, as she helped Luke up. "It's going to be alright."
"Usagi? Is that you?"
Later…
"...And this weapon was your father's," Usagi said, as she handed Luke his father's old lightsaber. "It is an elegant weapon from an age long since gone."
"Oh, stop being so melodramatic, Usa," Ranma said, as puts away the box that held Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber back on the mantle. "It's just a weapon like any other."
"Oh, bite your tongue."
Luke takes the weapon and activates it, almost instinctively.
SNAP! Hzzzzz….
The blue light from the energy weapon made the room brighter.
Hzzzz-SNAP!
"So," Luke said, after shuting off the weapon. "What happened to my father?"
There was a look of pained in Usagi's eyes; Ranma merely turns away.
"Your father, my brother-in-arms, was betrayed by a Sith Lord named Darth Vader," Usagi says. "When that happened, everything that was your father...was gone."
Silence.
"Anyway, that's quite a mess my 'neighbors' have made of your land speeder," Usagi said, as she handed Luke a drink. "I'm sure RANMA here will be able to fix it."
"Hey, I ain't your grease monkey!" Ranma replies, as he hands Luke a mug.
"Thanks, Ranma. What's this called again?"
"It is called 'Iced Mocha'. It's a drink from my homeworld."
"And that is…?"
"Not here. Stop being so nosey."
"Oh. Sorry."
"And speaking of which, you seem pretty far from yours," Usagi says, as she took another sip of her drink. She was wearing a tan-colored "peasant dress", which is a far cry from her designer outfits. "Does Owen know that you're out here?"
"Yeah. My 'new' R2 unit was intent in finding you guys."
"You don't say. Well, it was a name that I was given a long time ago by an old friend."
"Feh…"
Usagi looked at Ranma sternly.
"Anyway, let's take a look at your R2…I can't believe it!"
"What? What's wrong?"
"I thought I recognized R2-D2."
The droid made whistles and clicking sounds in response.
"And this protocol droid must be C-3P0!"
"Oh, thank you, madam, for recognizing my functions!"
"And still self-assured, I see. Thumper! Guess who's here?"
From another part of the compound came a rather bizarre-looking creature. Where originally Usagi came from, it would look like a cross between a cat and a rabbit.
"Yee-OW, yee-OW!" the "cabbit" bounded towards the protocol droid.
"Oh, no! It's that horrid creature again!" it spoke.
Sure enough, it leaped on top of the droid, causing it to be knocked down. Then it proceeded to purr contently.
"See? Thumper still likes you."
"Oh, get it off of me!"
Ranma had to steel himself from his cat-phobia. Then again, if it hadn't been for his for Yoda, his old Jedi Master, he'd be worse off…
"Usagi, please?"
"Oh, alright, Ranma. Thumper?"
"Yee-Ow." And off it went to Usagi's shoulders.
"There, there," Usagi says. "Cookie?"
"Um, no. About R2…?" Luke began.
"You're no fun. So, let's see that message…"
Ranma tunes out a bit. He already knew whom the message was from: Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan. For most of her life, Ranma, disguised in his female form, protected and secretly tested Leia's potential in the ways of the Force. As Leia's nanny, Ranma taught the girl how to defend herself. And when she was sixteen years old, Ranma retired her disguise, and joined Usagi on Tattooine. Initially, Ranma was resistant to the idea of being Leia's nanny, but since Usagi was too identifiable, Ranma relented. He did come to see the wisdom of his disguise…though Ranma still regretted for his decision to "disappear".
And then there was Anakin Skywalker to consider. Even after all these years, his betrayal affected Ranma in particular…
"Ranma?"
Ranma turned to see Luke and Usagi staring at him.
"What?"
"Your…hand…"
Ranma looked at his now-bloody hand. He had crushed it, and the jagged pieces were embedded in his palm.
"Oh, sorry about that. Heh."
"Well, let's clean that up…" Usagi says, thinking that her and Ranma's seclusion was about to end. And with R2's arrival, a…new hope was about to take place.
Location: Somewhere in the Alpha Quadrant ("Alien Quadrilogy").
Over the course of 48 hours, the crew of The Betty, who had just delivered human cargo, would engage in rest and recreational activities aboard The Auriga, a ship used by the super-secret organization "Section 31". The crew was lounging around in the rec-roon, while a tall, dark-haired woman was "shooting hoops"; a blond-haired girl was watching "cartoons" on a nearby monitor, eating popcorn.
"Well, what do we have here?" A rather large man said.
"Perez, I didn't know that you had two…additions here," Mr. Elgyn said.
"They are recent arrivals," General Perez replied.
"I'll take the big girl," the large man of the group said.
"Just be careful," the man in the wheel chair said. "She might bite, Johner."
"I don't need your help, cripple," Johner replied.
"How about you and me play…ball?" Johner said to the dark-haired woman.
The dark-haired woman, who's name was "Ripley", looks at Johner…like a cat looking at a canary.
And that's when Ripley beats him up. Badly.
"You want to play?" the black man with dreadlocks said, as he took a barbell. "Lets!"
CLANG!
Christie, the black man in dreads, thought that his attack would knock out Ripley. Instead, she merely looked at him.
"What-?"
BAM!
With Christie on the ground, Ripley continued to play ball, while the blond remained oblivious…to all but her cartoons.
One person in particular was interested in Ripley, while her redheaded companion was focused on the blond.
"Usagi…" the redhead said quietly to herself…
After many years of travels, Usagi, Ranma, Hoshi and T'Pol arrived at their intended destination on Vulcan. And as everyone was concerned, no time had passed for the crew of the Serenity, and thus no one missed him or her. The most interesting thing about their journey was that every so often, one of Usagi's friends would join them. For example, in their first stop on Arrakis, a girl named Minako Aino was found amongst the Fremen. In another example, a girl named Ami Mizuno was caught up in the events that would lead directly to the infamous "Clone Wars" in the Lucas Galaxy. In every case, these individual Sailor Scouts would come, stay with the four for a time being, and then disappear when the same four left for their next stop. Incidentally, Usagi had activated Ranma, Hoshi and T'Pol's latent "Star Seeds" on Arrakis, just before the House of Atriedes was decimated by Houses Corrino and Harkonnen; Usagi, already sensitive to "the sacred spice", had a premonition of an impending disaster, and thus preemptively created three new Sailor Scouts: Sailors Helios, Earth and Vulcan. Ranma wasn't particularly thrilled becoming a Sailor Scout, but the side effect is that is male form was augmented (which wasn't much to begin with, since all it did was give Ranma a suit of light armor with cape, sword and metal headband with the Latin symbol for the Sun, a white tuxedo with top-hat, mask, cape and cane, and a white rose) to become "the Knight of Sol": The Magnificent Mask. Since Ranma was already augmented through intensive martial arts training, he didn't really notice much of an increase in power per se, since he's always in training!
After the Serenity returned, the four finished the goodwill tour that they were originally on, and went their separate ways. Hoshi went back to Earth to resume her duties as the "High Queen Hoshi of Crystal Tokyo", taking Tho-Ohki (Usagi's pet cabbit) with her to keep her company; T'Pol retired from Starfleet, and returned home to Vulcan to stay; finally, Ranma and Usagi retired from the respective fields, and took civilian jobs as part of the crew of the Nostromo, a civilian transport vessel. Since it was a transport vessel, it was a lot slower than a capital Starfleet starship. Still, it did allow the two to slow down for a change, so they took the assignment.
And it would be the biggest mistake they would ever make.
Eighty years later, a renegade android named "Annalee Call" would find a despondent Ranma, who was purposely in his female role, and was performing her duty as a Shrine Maiden at Hoshi's family shrine ("Cherry Hill Temple") in the Crystal Tokyo section of Tokyo, Japan. Annalee was part of an underground network that fought against the machinations of "Section 31". She had come across some interesting information that caused her to obtain Ranma's help. A month later, Ranma and Annalee hooked up with the mercenary crew of The Betty, and found themselves in the bowels of a ship operated by "Section 31". And now…
Ranma and Analee sneaks into Ripley and Usagi's holding cell. At first, they saw only Ripley…
SNATCHED!
Annalee felt herself being picked up and slammed into the wall.
"What are you doing here?" Usagi demanded.
Call took out her knife and stabbed Usagi. Usagi dropped Call and looked at the blade. Casually, she took out the knife in her body and examined it.
"Nice knife. I wonder what would happen if I do this?"
With a casual flick, Usagi threw the knife near Call's head…
SNATCH!
Ranma had intercepted the knife, and broke the blade in two between her fingers.
SNAP!
"Usagi, it's me, Ranma!" Ranma said, as she flicks the remains away.
Usagi tilts her head slightly, as her wound automatically heals itself rapidly. She then seemingly glides over to the redheaded female, and holds her head in her hand.
"Ranma-!" Annalee cries out, as Ripley grabs the android.
"What should we do about THIS one?" Ripley asks.
Usagi eyes seemingly changes, as she sniffs Ranma-chan's face. Ranma notices that Usagi possessed light green talons instead of ordinary fingernails. Usagi then kisses her full on the lips…
"!"
"Well?" Ripley asks again.
Usagi's eyes return to normal, as a broad smile adorns her face.
"I…I knew that you would come for me, Ranchan," she says, as the two fully embrace. "It's been, what, sixty years since 'Fury"?"
"Yeah," Ranma says, as she gets out her equipment from "pocket space". "As you know, 'Weyland-Yutani' is a front company of Section 31, and purposely woke us up around planet LV-426 for the express purpose of 'acquiring' alien bio-tech weapons from a downed alien vessel."
"I remember that now," Ripley replied, as she casually drops Annalee. "I figured out that both the Nostromo's computer and Science Officer Ash…an android operative of the company…were given 'Special Order 937', which essentially meant our…death sentence."
"And promptly buried the entire mission, ship and crew as 'lost'," Annalee managed to say, as she gets up. "All of you were set up for a fall, and if it hadn't been for 'Earth Dome', all of you could have been sent to a penal colony in New Zealand."
"Correct. However, Section 31 tried to get after that alien ship again, so they terra-formed LV-426 and set up a colony as a pretense. THAT blew up in their faces, which forced Earth to send in the United States Colonial Marines to investigate, thereby preventing the scrutiny of the Federation and Starfleet."
"We…were given another chance at redeeming our reputations," Usagi says, as she begins to remember her past. "They allowed us to get back our commissions as 'advisors'. Plus, Ranma and I did have military experience, so we were permitted to participate, and, if necessary, run interference."
Something painful runs through Usagi's mind.
"Usagi?" Ranma said, as she helps her friend remain standing.
"I…I died given you, Ripley and the others time to escape that colony, after we were attacked. I…remember given Ripley a special injection that would allow me a chance to be reborn…but something went wrong!"
"Indeed," Ranma says. "We did manage to escape with some survivors, after destroying both the processing stations and the rest of the colonial settlement…which were FULL of xenomorphs. Unfortunately, an embryo managed to be stashed on The Sulaco. It managed to cause enough damage to the ship to forced us to crash-land on Fiore "Fury" 161…a prison planet. That embryo managed to infect a dog, and birth a new xenomorph. But since there weren't weapons around, I…had to fight it alone."
Ranma absently felt the acid scars on her left shoulder.
"And you were the only one left that Starfleet had rescued," Annalee said. "Earth Dome" promptly took you in under a 'special protection' order, authorized by the High Queen herself, and allowed you to go underground. I had to run a cross-reference before even linking 'Ranma Saotome' with the Cherry Hill Shrine maiden, after I discovered that Ambassador Usagi Tsukino and Lt. Ellen Ripley had been cloned from the remains of, well, Lt. Ellen Ripley…and all because of Section 31's obsession with these damn xenomorphs."
Usagi sighs. She then looks at her hands.
"These bastards violated me and Ripley, dishonored Ranma and murdered who knows how many innocent lives. They need to be stopped, and my 'cousins' need to be eliminated."
Everyone turns to Ripley.
"I agree. Where do we begin?"
Annalee and Ranma looks at each other before returning their collective gaze back to Usagi and Ripley.
"Here's the plan," Ranma began…
Location: Unknown planet ("The Chronicles of Riddick" series).
"Here, Iman," Ranma said, as he handed his canteen of water to the Islamic cleric.
"Thank you," Iman Al-Walid said, as he took a sip. He was about to hand it back to the pigtail martial artist, but Ranma waved it off.
"Share it with your students. I'll be fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Trust me. I am already used to the desert."
After escaping from The Auriga, which was destroyed via "self-destruction", the Betty, which suffered from the effects of the exploding Section 31 ship, crashed into a transport vessel, causing both ships to land on a desert planet in a nearby star system. After unpleasant words were exchanged, which ended when Ranma beat up a bounty hunter who was threatening him. There were some indications of a human settlement in the distance, so a group of the survivors were heading to that settlement.
"Ranma?"
Ranma turns to his friend Annalee, who was carrying some equipment on her back.
"What?"
"Do…do you think Usagi and Ripley will be okay?"
Ranma sighed. He was still upset Usagi was purposely hanging out with that bald-headed, criminally inclined FREAK. Still, as long as Ripley was looking after her, he should relax.
Besides, Usagi's alien-ness had forced her to go to ground.
"I'm sure she'll be fine."
Meanwhile, up ahead, a miner, who was another survivor of the crash, goes down the dark hole. He was curious as to what minerals this planet possessed. He uses a flashlight to search for his canteen…
"Got it!"
Then, it happens.
The man hears a screech, just as something big was about to bite his head off-
BLOOSH!
Usagi drops from the shadows, as she lands on the creature. She takes her talons, and rips out the creature's brain stem. Her eyes glow a weird "off-white", an indication that her "night vision" was in effect, as she slinks back into the shadows with the carcass.
Needless to say, the man was scared 'spit-less'.
While the man crawls out of the hole, an impromptu meal was taking place.
"Pass the hot sauce," Riddick says, as he chows on his lunch.
Usagi tosses a bottle, stolen from the cargo ship, to Riddick, while Ripley snapped a piece of flesh from their latest catch. All around them were carcasses of the creatures that lived below the surface. The fire that was lit was to make sure that their meal was not disturbed. Usagi had asked Riddick to help her search for a water source, in exchange for a few lessons of survival. Thanks to her xenomorphically-enhanced physiology, Usagi had the skills of a hunter. Tens of thousands of possible scenarios played in her mind, thanks to the racial memory of her alien heritage. In fact, if she weren't human, Usagi would be hunting those who naively exist above her. Riddick, besides Ripley was perhaps the only who would appreciate her ways.
"You know, you're not bad," Riddick says between bites.
"Then you REALLY don't know me very well," Usagi replied.
Ripley merely smirks.
Since going to ground, the predatory creatures were being hunted relentlessly. As part alien, Usagi and Ripley ate like a pair of horse. Heck, if there were horses present, it would be part of the food chain.
Interestingly enough, their individual biological senses were fully in synch with the planet's environment. Instinctively, they knew that all three suns will soon be eclipsed, and that is when the hunt begins.
And it will be up to Usagi, Ripley and Riddick to protect those above them…if they were so inclined.
Location: Chikyuu ("Dragonball Z").
It all started simple enough.
After escaping that desert "hell", the survivors ran into a mercenary vessel whose captain used the life force of unsuspecting victims for sustenance, as they are used for sport.
Needless to say, there were very few survivors from that "experience".
Eventually, the few remaining survivors made it to a Federation outpost on the Earth colony world of "Chikyuu", where the local human and human-like animal population lived in harmony. Since the outpost was in deep space, it would be a while before anyone could leave the planet. So, the group, more or less blended in with the local population. And it was during that time that Ranma learned about the existence of the Dragonballs, a seven-piece artifact that is said to be able to grant wishes. Ranma became interested because it could allow him to either cure himself of his curse, or even bring back his deceased wife. So when a relief ship came by, Ranma remained behind. Usagi chose to remain behind as well, since she didn't want him to remain behind alone, after nearly taking a hit for her back on that mercenary ship. And it was during this search that Ranma and Usagi came across a boy…with a monkey's tail…who had just lost his grandfather from some unseen menace. The boy reminded Ranma of himself in many ways. After much discussion, Ranma and Usagi got married, since it was the only way to legally adopt the boy (named "Son Goku"). Thus, the Saotome Family was complete.
Sadly, the couple didn't consummate the marriage, since the ghost of their respective past prevented any emotional ties to fully cement. And more importantly, Usagi's physiology was dangerous to Ranma. Essentially, Usagi was a virgin, and since her blood was acidic in nature, the act of consummation would be a deadly affair.
When young Bulma Briefs came around to collect Goku's Dragonballs, the entire family joined Bulma on her quest. And from that point on, the various adventures that they shared would prove to be interesting to say the least. Ranma would train his son, while the family as a whole learned new techniques along the way. The unfortunate thing that tends to occur during these stints was that whenever Ranma gets a chance to make his wish, something ALWAYS mucks it up. And since the Dragonballs reactive, after the wish is made, after a year has passed, Ranma's stay on Chikyuu became indefinite. The irony is that the one time that Ranma's wish did work was when he made a selfless wish: when Ranma wished that Usagi were cured of her "blood ailment". Shenlong, the Dragon God who grants wishes, freed Usagi of the harmful affects of her acidic blood. That night, after Goku married his fiancée Chi-Chi, the daughter of the Ox King of Fire Mountain, Ranma and Usagi became man and wife in deed. And after Goku's son Gohan was born, the couple went back to Earth to live a quiet life.
Over the years, Ranma and Usagi traveled back and forth to Chikyuu, especially when the Saiyajins had took an interest in Goku. It still amazed Ranma to see his former foes end up becoming close friends, especially with the likes of Piccolo the Demon King and Vegeta the Saiyajin Prince. Incidentally, because of Vegeta, Usagi had created a serum, based on Gohan's biochemistry, that was suppose to merely increase her over all power; instead, meshed Saiyajin DNA with her own genetic structure (which is still mired in xenomorphic markers), which turned her into a demi-Saiyajin.
At any rate, because they had so many enemies to contend with, the Saotome couple has decided to wait until later to have children.
During this particular time, the Saotomes, along with Usagi's cabbit Tho-Ohki (aka "Thumper") had returned to help deal with a menace created by the late Red Ribbon Army scientist Dr. Henry Gero. Goku, Ranma, Usagi and their allies banded together to stop this anti-Federation paramilitary group, whose goals were to create an empire on the backs on the human-animal hybrids. Apparently, the son of Bulma and Vegeta (!) had traveled back in time to warn his parents and their friends of this impending danger that Gero represented, in the form of "androids". So, with only a year to prepare, the so-called "Z-Warriors" trained and got themselves ready for the arrival of Dr. Gero's androids…
Once Thumper entered normal space, the cabbit glides into Chikyuu's atmosphere.
"Where do you want to go first?" Usagi asks, as she steers Thumper.
"Well, Master Roshi's place first," Ranma replies. "I want to see how that pervert is doing, and then we should see Goku and his family."
"Okay…"
Meanwhile, down at the Kamehouse, Krillan the Monk was practicing his Art. Specifically, he wanted to increase the potency of his Kamehameha Wave for when the Androids come.
"Ka-me-ha-me-HA!"
As Krillan released his energy blast, an unidentified object went down to intercept it…
FZZZZ!
"Wha-?" said Krillan.
As the object headed towards Master Roshi's island, Krillan could make out something…
"Oh, ho!" smirked Master Roshi, as he got up from his lawn chair. "It looks like she actually came."
"Hey, it's Usagi!" Krillan exclaimed.
"I believe you dropped something, K-chan," Usagi said, as she landed on the beach, holding a ball of energy in her hand. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans, boots and a pink baby-tee that said "Queen Bee".
"Uh…you can keep it."
"Thanks," Usagi said, as she dissipated the ball of energy.
"Well, well, well," said Roshi, as he grinned lecherously. "You seem to, um, fill out that shirt of yours nicely. Heh."
"Well, well, well," Usagi replied. "You're just as perverted as ever."
Just then, Thumper streaks down to Roshi's island and hovers for a moment. Then, it disappears…and Thumper and Ranma appear.
"Geez, you could have warn me of crazy stunt, ya tomboy," Ranma said with annoyance.
"Hey, if you can be spontaneous, I can be as well," Usagi said, as she stuck out her tongue.
"Hey, Ranma," Krillan said with a wave. "How's it been?"
"As you can see, Usagi's a handful," Ranma replies. "Ever since she learned how to utilize the 'Instant Transmission' technique, she's been nothing but trouble."
"Hey, you don't see ME complaining about YOU using it!" Usagi retorted.
"That's because I'm not using it for practical jokes!"
"Oh, I see..." Usagi replied, as her eyes glowed softly.
Suddenly, a huge wave sweeps over Ranma, activating his curse.
"USAGI!" yelled Ranma-chan. Now what?
"I'll see you at Goku's place. See ya!"
ZAP!
"HOOTCHA!" yelled Roshi, as he tried to "cop" a feel of Ranma-chan's chest.
"Get away from me, ya pervert!"
A month later, the one-year time limit was up. Now, it was time to meet Dr. Gero's android.
"Ready, Go-chan?" Usagi said, as she adjusted her "Sailor Moon" costume.
"Sure," Goku replied, as he finished tying his boots. "Ready, squirt?"
"Yeah, Dad," Gohan replied, as he finished his breakfast.
"I got the equipment, Usagi," Ranma said, as he strapped on his pack. If they were to go after "Androids", then it may be possible to neutralize them without any difficulty.
"Goku, just come back safely," Chi-Chi said tearfully.
"Ah, don't worry," interjected the Ox King. "Goku and Gohan will be okay."
Usagi turned to Thumper the Cabbit, who was sad that he couldn't fight by his mistress' side.
"Now, you be a good cabbit and protect Chi-Chi, okay?" asked Usagi.
"Mew," Thumper replied sadly.
The assembled group left the Son residence, and was greeted by a determined Piccolo.
"Well, this is it," said Goku.
"Yeah," Piccolo replied.
All together, the assembled group rose into the air…and blinked out. They appeared miles later, flying overhead.
"Man, it's sure neat to fly," Ranma said to himself.
"It certainly is," Usagi said, as she performed barrel rolls. "Weeeeeee-"
"Knock it off, meatball head," Piccolo growled. "We have a serious matter to deal with."
"Beeee!" Usagi said, as she stuck out her tongue.
Soon the flyers caught up to Krillan, who had just left Roshi's place. Soon after that, they made it to their destination: Pinball Island. There, waiting for them, was Tien, Yamcha, Bulma, and…Bulma's baby boy Trunks.
"Why hello, little one," Usagi said, as she tickled little Trunks' chin.
"Goo, goo, hee!" Trunks replied.
"Hey, whose the kid's father?" asked Krillan. "Yamcha?"
"Feh!" Yamcha replied. "Why don't you ask Bulma?"
"Oh, knock it off, Yamcha!" Bulma fumed.
"Yeah, you don't want to tick off Vegeta for messin' with his woman."
"VEGETA IS TRUNK'S FATHER?" Krillan yelled.
"Yeah, didn't you get the memo?" Usagi interjected.
"Hey! That's for your ears only, Usagi!" Bulma fumed.
"You KNOW I like to gossip…"
Girls! Ranma smirked, as he set up his equipment.
Using a Federation technology, Ranma hopes to pick up the presence of any advanced artificial intelligence in the vicinity.
"Hey, someone's coming!" yelled Gohan, as he pointed at the sky.
Sure enough, a craft came to the group.
"Well, well, well," said Yajirobee. "Usagi."
"Well, well, well," said Usagi. "Yajirobee."
"Are you two still at it?" asked Bulma.
"What happened?" asked Ranma. He wondered why Usagi couldn't stand the guy. Sure, he's arrogant…obnoxious…boring…but he's basically a nice guy.
"We don't want to talk about it!" Yajirobee and Usagi said in unison.
Ranma just rolls his eyes.
"Hey, what brings you here?" asked Goku.
"A gift from Corrin," Yajirobee said, as he tossed a bag into Goku's hands.
"Alright! Sinzu beans!"
"Hey, Goku," Usagi said. "Let me have one of those beans, so that I can catalog them for later."
"Sure!"
"Yeah, he figured that you guys might need it," Yajirobee says. "So…good luck."
And with that, Yajirobee turns to leave.
"Hey, where you are going?" asked Krillan.
"I'm getting the heck out here. So there!"
"Well, go on and get out of here!" yelled Bulma.
"Fine, I will."
And with that, Yajirobee leaves in his vehicle.
"Putz," Usagi said. She still couldn't believe what a jerk the wannabe samurai was…
BOOM!
"Dad, look!" yelled Gohan.
"Oh, no!" yelled Yamcha.
"Look!" yelled Krillan, as he pointed at the sky.
Everyone turned to see two specks flying down towards the ground.
"Where did they go?" Tien asked.
"I…I can't sense anything!" yelled Piccolo.
"Hmmm," Goku mused.
"Usagi!" yelled Ranma.
"I'm on it!" Usagi replied, as she began using her Tricorder that she took from Ranma's pack. "I'm getting some weird readings. There's some static, but I can compensate. Just give ten minutes."
"You do that, while the rest of us search on foot," said Piccolo.
"Gohan, see if Yajirobee is okay," said Goku. "The rest of you, come on!"
So, for the next ten minutes, the Z warriors scoured the City of Pinball Island, looking for androids. Meanwhile, Usagi fine-tuned her instruments, by focusing on the background rather than the target. She pinpointed where these "holes" were, and contacted Ranma.
Ranma, Usagi thought telepathically. The targets are at coordinates G09.
That's where Yamcha was heading! Ranma replied likewise. I'm on it!
"What happened?" asked Bulma, as she cradled Trunks.
"I think we found the androids…"
"Really?" Gohan interjected, who was tending to Yojirobee. "I better warn Dad!"
With that, Gohan took off.
"Uhh…"
"Just hold on, Yojirobee," said Usagi. "Just breathe steadily."
Even though Usagi couldn't stand the samurai, she wouldn't want him to get hurt. Besides, whom can she brag to after completing a significant accomplishment?
Meanwhile, Ranma flew to where Yamcha was supposed to be.
"Where is that guy?" he mused to himself.
Then, he saw something that stopped him cold. There, below him, were two men, one of which was holding Yamcha by the neck.
Picking up speed, Ranma turned, flipped over and kicked the man holding Yamcha. It was enough force to knock the man over. His fat companion turned to the fallen man, not sure of what to do next.
"Yamcha, you okay?" Ranma asked, as he checked on his friend.
"Uhhhh…I think so…"
"That was quite a display, young man," said the fallen man. "But that will not help you the next time."
The man now stood. He wore a very ethnic outfit, had long hair and a bushy mustache, and a long, tall hat with the letters "RR" stenciled in white on a red background. His fat companion was dressed in a similar outfit, but wore a cap instead.
"Who…who are you people?" asked Ranma.
"Yes, I would like to know as well," said Goku, as the rest of the Z Warriors landed. Then, he noticed the symbol on the man's hat. "You're…you're…"
"That is right, Son Goku. I am Android 20 and my companion is Android 19, and we represent the late Red Ribbon Army."
For the next 48 hours, it was a tough battle for the Z Warriors. As predicted, Goku became ill, in spite Usagi best efforts to keep the virus at bay before the Androids showed up. From her analysis, Usagi deduced that Goku picked up the virus while in space. Unfortunately, the virus' insidious nature depended on her son going into "Super Sayajin" mode. Also, Goku being ill took Usagi out of the battle, so that she could speed up Goku's healing. Meanwhile, Vegeta, having recently become a Super Sayajin himself, took on Android 19, while the rest of the team, went after Android 20. Ranma correctly pointed out that it was stupid to not engage the Androids by overly relying upon either Goku or Vegeta simply because they could become Super Sayajins.
"Well, if you don't do something, then I will!" Ranma said, as he went after Android 20.
"We got to help him!" yelled Krillan.
"We will…after we see what this guy can do," Piccolo said with a smirk. Ever since Ranma arrived, he's been rubbed the wrong way.
"So, boy, you want to engage me?" asked Android 20. "I do owe you a beating, after all."
"Let's get something straight. My name is Ranma Saotome, heir to the Saotome School of 'Anything Goes' martial arts…and I'm gonna kick yer arse!"
"Bring it on…BOY!"
Ranma went into 20's defenses, trying to gage his vulnerabilities. Being Sailor Moon's Knight, he's been slightly enhanced. Though, if the truth is to be known, the differences of his old self and his new self was slight. And at this point in his development, Ranma no longer needed to say the name of whatever technique his was applying, especially since it warned his opponents what he was up to. Besides, Ranma has long since revised his existing techniques, and made a few new ones.
Android 20 quickly blocked some of attacks, noting that Ranma was throwing 300+ punches a second. This had the effect of keeping Android 20 off-balance, but it was not enough to knock him out.
"You are good. However, I am better."
Android 20 managed to turned the tide, first by using his "laser vision", and then using a combination of kicks and punches. Ranma, though he felt them all, rolled with the attacks, thereby cutting their effects considerably.
"Had enough, fool
"Huff. Well," began Ranma. "Thanks for showing me yer weakness."
"What!"
"What's going on?" asked Krillan.
"At first," began Ranma, "I thought you might have been some sort of robot or something. But then, I read your aura. You're not just sucking up life energy, but, in a tiny way, you're giving off energy. You're a cyborg, right?"
"Heh. So, the boy knows something, eh? So what are you going to do about it?"
Ranma took out a Fifty-Yen piece from his shirt pocket
"Oh, just gonna make a withdrawal…so to speak."
One of the techniques that he was working on, before being kicked out of his home temporal nexus, was a way to drain energy for his opponents. Happosai, the Grandmaster of Anything Goes Martial Arts, was either lying or was mistaken when he indicated that Ranma could not master the Happo-Yen Shiatsu technique. After hanging out with Usagi for a number of years, either as a member of Starfleet or as an adventurer in some far-off dimension, he finally perfected a way to utilize this energy-draining technique without becoming a leech. Simply put, he used the 50-Yen piece as a focus to draw in energy directly. So…
Android 20 looked at Ranma, as Ranma began to glow. Suddenly, he began to feel weaker…
"What is…happening to me?" Android 20 demanded.
"You should know, you know," Ranma smirked. "After all, you do it all the time!"
"Impossible!" Piccolo said. "He's…draining the android!"
"Alright!"
"Yeah!"
"We CAN win this thing!"
"Go Ranma!"
"I will not be beaten yet!" said Android 20, as he suddenly took off.
"Hey!" yelled Vegeta, as he dusted himself from his fight between himself and Android 19. "I'm the one who's a Super Sayajin!"
"Well, you still have a chance to prove yourself, eh wot?" Ranma smirked, as he put away his coin.
"You'll get yours after I deal with Android 20!" Vegeta yelled, as he took off after the android.
"Yeah, right!"
"We got to go after them!" yelled Piccolo.
And thus, the Z Warriors gave in to the chase…
In the end, the androids that Trunks warned everyone about were Androids 17 and 18, a brother-sister pair. Ranma would have a tough fight ahead of him…
END FLASHBACK!
2246 CE: "Sea of Tranquility Shipyards", Earth Sector.
"What are you thinking, Ranma?" Usagi said, as she entered the room she shares with Ranma aboard the NCC-1701 Enterprise.
"Oh, just thinking about how uneventful our lives have been," replies Ranma, as he follows his wife inside their room.
"Oh."
Tbc.
Author's note: Well, that's that. Hope you enjoyed it (I had to tweak things a bit, so now, Ranma and Usagi have been married for some time now). See you next time!