Ki Cutters: 5

The Perceptions II

"Mistress?" quavered a voice from the shadows. A figure, also with the proportionately larger head, moved out of the darkness. She was geared like a ninja, her dark gray clothes helping her to blend with the background. She reached up and pulled off her mask. "I failed you…"

"Oh, Tek," Baradandya replied gently. "You tried."

"Hey!" exclaimed Ryoga, sitting up on the floor, "you're that little person that jumped on my head!" He glared. "How'd you get so big?"

Tek glanced at him sidewise and gulped. "I… didn't get big. You all got smaller." She glanced at him again and flushed.

"Crap!" grunted Ranma. He walked over and glared down at Tek wordlessly. Tek trembled. Something about the pigtailed martial artist made her very nervous. Ranma reached out and skinned his hand from the top of her head to his chest. "If you're right, we're just over fifteen centimeters tall," he said finally. "At least our clothes shrank with us," he added wryly.

"Not everything shrank," corrected Baradandya. "Metal and minerals didn't shrink unless they were with us long enough to imprint them with our auras. She held up her arms, bracelets clinking. "I'm missing my moonstone bracelet and a charm bracelet Kei bought for me last week. The others I keep on all the time. They're part of what I am," she added. "They've also modified the shield we keep around the Temple. This one is anything but benign. My power to resist them is severely limited, Ranma."

He nodded. "I hope no one had cavities filled recently," he commented grimly.

oOo

In the kitchen, a large, glowing jug was placed on the surface of the countertop and three huge faces leered in at the captives. The Saotomes and Tendos rose cautiously to their feet and looked around. The distortion of the glass made fearsome caricatures of the demon's faces. Keiichi whispered softly and urgently to what appeared to be Beldandy, then stepped to the front to face the trio.

"Very funny, Senbei!" Keiichi shouted. He winced as most of the sound bounced back at him, echoing in the prison. "What do you hope to accomplish by this?"

"We already accomplish all we need to, Kei-boy!" Senbei chuckled. "We got you all bottle up. Pretty soon we gonna cut off de Yggdrasil link an watch you silly people shrivel up an' die. De whole point is to cause you pain, little man, you an' dat woman of yours. Les' see how much good you do when you all cripple up with yo failure."

"You're going to kill us?" Keichi seemed almost amused. "Quite aside from the Doublet System, I don't think Hild will be too happy if you knock off her daughter."

Urami and Urayami blanched and glanced at each other. At the sound of Urami clearing her throat, Senbei smirked.

"But is you part of the Doublet, yet, K-boy? Maybe you be just a little expendable."

Meanwhile, Nodoka turned to Genma and gasped. Till now, they hadn't really been aware of the change. "You… Your head…" Hysterically, she giggled as he felt about his face, frantically. "You look… cute!" Genma was devastated.

Nabiki glanced at her father and winced. Chibi did not look good on the long faced Soun. She suspected she also looked ridiculous. She'd never be able to read manga again without… Nabiki shook her head. If they didn't come up with something, there wasn't going to be an again. She glanced about then grinned. These creatures hadn't caught them all. Ranma, Akane and Ryoga weren't here. Eyes narrowed, she watched their captors.

"Still maybe we just make you all miserable, instead," The blonde hellspawn smirked as he acted disappointed. "Really miserable. Especially…" He sought among his captives, then stood up straight and glanced at his associates. "We missin' some," Senbei murmured. "We missin' da redhead."

"What can they do?" sneered Urami, regaining some confidence now that her boss wasn't threatening to restart Armageddon.

"They're only human," agreed Urayami.

"Idiots!" snarled Senbei. "Have you forgotten how dangerous these humans were at that ridiculous Halloween dance?" In his anger, the affected speech patterns he normally used were discarded. Urami and Urayami cringed. "We also have dose pint-size ninja to deal wit'," he added. "I t'ink it be time fo' some pest control." Senbei chanted, in a language only three of his prisoners were equipped to understand.

With shrieks that grated on the ear, the demonesses shrank and blurred, transforming into large black cats. They spat and coughed. "Miau… Senbei!" snarled one.

"Good hunting, little ones," Senbei sneered. "When you get me de missing humans, I be ready to change you back. Any ninja you catch, I give you a bonus at de end of de month, hey? Get the redhead, you get a special prize! Have our turncoats show you round."

The cats flinched away as eleven tiny forms dropped from the ceiling and bracketed them. Dressed in jet black and ornamented in gleaming obsidian, the ninja crouched still as stones facing Senbei.

"Rise…" Senbei said gloatingly.

The eleven ninja stood. At their head stood Senrigan the Eyes, sometimes known as the 'Peeping Tomboy'. "What is your wish, Master?" she grinned savagely.

oOo

Tek led her Mistress and the visiting martial artists through a maze of passages behind the walls of the Temple. Surprisingly, the teacher seemed to have no difficulty in navigating the most difficult paths. Deep within the foundations, the martial artists finally arrived at their destination.

"Halt, you!" The two ninja, armed to the teeth, threatened their approach. Then they saw Baradandya, and flattened themselves to the floor, groveling. "Mistress! We apologize for…"

"Kitsui, Daishi, please don't do that. We need to speak to Kodama," Baradandya said.

They jumped to their feet. "Please enter, Mistress," Kitsui said. "But we must test everyone with these…" She held out a complicated looking instrument. Dropping goggles over her eyes, she manipulated knobs and scanned them all, including Baradandya. "Good! Please enter."

As they passed, there was a simultaneous gulp of in-drawn breath as Ranma and Ryoga followed. Ranma felt his ears burn at the sudden whispers. "Hey, Akane," he said quietly, "What was all that about?"

"Something about men," she answered. A faint glare flickered in her eyes. "This better not be a lead-in for more fiancées, you pervert."

Ranma stopped and she bumped into him. "Look! I never wanted any other ones in the first place," he began. Then the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He looked around.

Several dozen chibi girls in ninja dress had gathered around the newcomers. At first they seemed hostile, but then something seemed to sweep the crowd. Suddenly, Ranma and Ryoga were stepping back from the press, and the girls were slowly following, eyelids lowered, cheeks flushed, hips swaying. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at his friend. Yep! They both would rather have been facing an equal number of demons. "This way, P-chan," he said suddenly. They leaped over the crowd to land beside their teacher and the person she was talking to.

"So you see, Kodama, unless we can drop the shield, I will be unable to help you directly." Baradandya turned as Ranma and Ryoga landed beside them, while Kodama's eyes merely narrowed.

"These are your new friends?" the latter asked.

"Yes. Ranma Saotome, Ryoga Hibiki; and that is Akane Tendo. They are very good martial artists."

"Really?" Kodama drawled. She was as tall as Ranma in this form, and her dark mane of hair with its flash of white made her an impressive sight despite the strange proportions. She shrugged. "As I was saying, Senrigan and two hands of ninja are missing. We're not certain, but Keiichi, Skuld and Urd are probably captive along with the rest of your guests."

"Are they all right?" Akane asked, breaking in.

Kodama shot her a glare. "Don't interrupt me, girl! This is deadly business, not some dance in a dojo!" the ninja leader snapped.

"Kodama!" Baradandya spoke sharply. "Be nice," she added more gently. "These three are perhaps the best martial artists of their age in Japan. They will be good allies to us."

Kodama restrained a scandalized look, but thin-lipped nodded her acceptance. She snapped her fingers and recieved a large rolled-up parchment. This she snapped out flat on a table motioning them all closer. "Then let me familiarize our guests with the layout of our tunnels. This is the central chamber where we are. These are the main entrances - four of them - to the grounds of the temple. There are secret routes as well, but..." She spoke quickly, obviously expecting her 'allies' to retain the information on the first read.

The martial artists however were becoming aware of additional stresses caused by their presence. There was a murmur that reached Ranma's ears from the surrounding ninja. He went red. "Um… Aren't there any guys in this clan?" he asked nervously. He flinched away as they drew closer. He felt Akane begin to stiffen.

"No," Kodama paused in her high-speed droning brief of the situation. She seemed amused. The blaze-marked Ninja Chief looked Ranma up and down herself, but in a non-threatening way. From behind her, a shorter woman, with a haircut like Nabiki's, looked them all over with clinical interest.

"How does your clan continue then?" His curiosity overcame his good sense.

"We've sort of been wondering that ourselves," Kodama smirked. "Perhaps things are looking up?"

"Grrr!" Akane broke her silence. "Back off! He's mine!"

"Which one?" Kodama asked, further amused. She indicated Ranma and Ryoga, who looked at Akane with frantic eyes. "Or are you claiming both?"

Akane turned away with a frantic blush. Both? She was no Kuno.

"Excuse me," injected Baradandya. "Ranma and Akane are fiancés. Ryoga is engaged, but his fiancée couldn't come today." There was a sigh of disappointment. Then a speculative look rippled across the ninja's faces. His fiancée wasn't here? Hmmm…

Ryoga giggled hysterically as the temperature seemed to rise again.

"Kodama!" A ninja ran out of one of the passages. "Intruders coming through the south tunnels."

Kodama face turned stone-cold serious. She nodded and made a hand gesture. Half the ninja vanished into the north and east tunnels while several grabbed a battery pack and ran for the south tunnel entrance. Ryoga frowned and cast his ki-vision up the corridor.

"Didn't she say there were intruders in that tunnel?" he asked suddenly.

Kodama glanced at him. "Yes, we're going to block it with pre-planted explosives."

"But there's no one up there," Ryoga exclaimed. Akane and Ranma cast their ki-vision up the tunnel in question.

"He's right," Ranma said. He turned and looked up the other three tunnels accessible from the headquarters. "The east tunnel is clear, but there's fighting in the north tunnel."

"Something's coming down the west tunnel," Akane said tensely.

"Who reported from the south," Kodama roared. There was silence, then:

"Ha! Ha-ha!" Ninja gray was swept aside to reveal jet black. With efficient strikes, the now black-garbed ninja knocked aside two of her former comrades and clapped the wires to the battery source. Muffled explosions sounded from the tunnel and a cloud of dust wafted down. "My Master, Senbei, will reward me for your capture, Kodama! I see that you've found the missing humans."

Then the ninja really got a look at Baradandya. "What!" Her confident manner dissolved, instantly. "M-m-mistress?" Her hands jerked up to her head like magnets snapping to sheet steel. Her eyes rolled up and tears streamed down her face. "Ahhh! Why!" (Thump!) Akane stood over her, three steps ahead of Kodama, who had her katana drawn.

"Kodama…" Baradandya sounded disappointed.

"She recognized you," Kodama snapped. "We can't leave her behind!"

"I agree. Let's take her with us," the goddess smiled, wanly.

"We don't even know if we'll get out," shouted Kodama. "Somebody block that west tunnel," she yelled, grabbing the batteries and throwing them toward that endangered entrance. Ryoga fielded them out of the air and handed them to Tek and another ninja. The batteries were connected, but nothing happened.

"Sabotage," Tek called out tensely.

"I'll take care of it," Ryoga shouted. "Bakusai Tenketsu, revised: Bakusai Zenshin!" He reached out and touched both walls of the corridor. There was a crackling bang like a lot of firecrackers going off at once. Each explosion of the Zenshin set off a breaking point in an adjacent stone. Dust poured out of the tunnel as the sound progressed away, leaving a debris-clogged opening.

In the dusty silence that followed, Ranma asked, "When didja come up with that one, P-chan?"

"Don't call me 'P-chan'," Ryoga snarled. Then a group of struggling bodies surged out of the north tunnel, jet-black figures mixed with gray. Something was following them, squeezing its feline body through the hole, its yellow eyes glowing with unholy light. By common assent, two of the martial artists turned and shouted "Mouko Takabisha!" While another bellowed, "Shishi Houkodan!"

The combined attacks practically turned the creature inside out as they blasted it back up the tunnel like a bullet out of a gun barrel. Ryoga slumped bonelessly to his knees, enervated by the two powerful techniques he'd used so close together. Akane and Ranma sprang to aid their allies. Soon, six black-clad ninja were sprawled on the floor.

"Finish them?" Hikari asked.

Kodama glanced at Baradandya then shook her head. "Of course not." She called the remaining ninja together and opened a trap door directly under her table. "Hurry!" Soon, eighteen ninja, three martial artists and a goddess were stooping through an irregular tunnel that wound about stones and tree roots.

Above and behind them, eight ninja dressed in black wove to their feet and looked around the empty chamber. Their master would not be pleased.

"Are we there, yet?" asked Ryoga from his position in the middle of the pack. He was a bit frazzled. The ninja behind him kept patting his butt with the excuse that she didn't want to run into him 'accidentally'. He had no idea where there was, but it had to be better than here!

Akane felt warm. She was behind Ranma, and the temptation to do the same to him was strong. She knew she didn't have any excuse with ki-vision however and resisted the impulse.

Suddenly the tunnel came out in a rough earthen chamber. The travelers spread out gratefully.

"To answer your question, Ryoga," Kodama's voice whispered. "We're just below Skuld's lab."

"Skuld?" Ryoga worked around the unfamiliar word.

"You call her Sakurida," Tek whispered immediately to his left. She had displaced Zurui when they entered the chamber much to that one's surprise. Tek normally didn't push the bigger fighters around. Tek was both ashamed that Ryoga was being harassed and regretful she wasn't the one with the opportunity to do so. She resolved to keep him safe from her sisters. "Kodama? What if we got Banpei back on line?"

Kodama was silent for a moment. "It might provide us with the needed distraction to rescue everyone. We'll have to dig to get there. We can't risk the regular passages." There was a shifting sound and a groan. With a faint growl, she added, "Ah… our prisoner awakes."

"Where am I?" came another groan. "Help…" The call ended in a hiss as a sharp blade was laid against a naked throat.

"Born in darkness, dying in darkness," whispered Kodama. "What right do you have to ask for aid? Of whom do you ask it?"

"K-k-kodama, please," whispered the voice.

"Don't disgust me or I swear I'll kill you now! Why did you betray our Mistress?" Kodama's voice was not loud but it conveyed unplumbed depths of violence. A soft sob, cut off, was the only answer she got.

"Permit me, Kodama," came Baradandya's voice. "Dear Hanashi, why are you working for Senbei now?"

A mumble greeted her inquiry and Kodama grew impatient. She used her considerable strength to shake Hanashi like a rag doll. "Speak, damn you!"

"I want babies," Hanashi's voice came suddenly, loud in the dark. "Marller made us like this, but we have no males of our kind!" There was silence throughout the little cavern. "Senrigan found his entry into the Temple, but we couldn't contact you. She decided to push on and hope the fuss we caused would alert all of you to the position and danger. Senbei and two other demons teased us out into the open and trapped us." The turncoat ninja gasped harshly. "Then he and his companion demons sought out our desires and used them to slip into our souls."

Baradandya made a hand light and Hanashi fell silent in the glare. Her former mistress smiled sadly at her. "Wouldn't you like to come back to us, Hanashi?"

The prisoner, disheveled and hopeless seemed to gain sudden resolve. "You dare not trust me, Mistress," Hanashi exclaimed. "I don't trust myself! Kill me, please," she begged, breaking down, again.

"Sweet one," Baradandya crooned, "Sleep now, instead. When this nightmare is over, you will awake and we will heal you, I promise."

Hanashi protested weakly, but her eyes were already closing. Soon she was breathing the slow, even breaths of deep sleep. Softly, she was laid on the cavern floor. The martial artists could see from the swirl in their allies auras that they were shaken.

"So simple a thing." Baradandya rose unsteadily to her feet. "Kodama, you told me once there were eight hands of ninja plus you, Hikari and Senbei. Is that correct?"

"Yes, Mistress," Kodama answered.

"How many can we count on?"

Kodama thought. "Forewarned is forearmed. The three hands with us will be loyal and active, Mistress. I hope that our sisters that went out the East Tunnel will rejoin us. That will give us four hands, plus Hikari and I, and Tek."

"Good," she said. They suddenly noticed that Baradandya was becoming transparent. "Let Ranma, Akane and Ryoga advise you, dear one. I won't be able to help in this… you… no power…" She suddenly keeled over in a faint. Her handlight went out. Akane quickly summoned her ki-driven equivalent. Ranma felt an odd buzzing fill his head.

"Mistress!"

"Mrs. Morisato!"

The light threw stark shadows on the walls of the chamber as Akane intensified the power as if it would refute the evidence of their eyes. Baradandya Morisato had vanished like smoke.

oOo

"What's happening to you?" Nabiki boggled at an Urudu that seemed about eighteen years old and a Sakurida who was approaching her late twenties.

"That bastard Senbei has cut us off from our power sources and is draining what energy we have," Urudu groaned. "It's happened before, but not like this. If we don't find a way to stop them, I'll be a wiggling bit of protoplasm and Sakurida will be a doddering granny."

"Why isn't it affecting us?" Nabiki asked.

"It is. But you're more dependent on your own reserves. Because of our… extra work, we're dependent on certain power sources that are unfortunately vulnerable to someone like Senbei."

"That's pretty dumb if you ask me," Nabiki criticized.

"Why you…" Urudu looked like she'd like to zap Nabiki.

"Ah, ah, ahh!" Nabiki shook her finger. "Let's not waste our energy." She tapped her lips with a finger, thinking. "Is there any way around this, or some fix that we can manage, temporarily?"

"For me, if we had some, alcohol will hold off the effects," Urudu admitted after a moment. "But Sakurida needs ice cream."

"I-i-i-i-ice crea-ea-eam…" moaned the babbling youngest sister. She suddenly pulled her hair in front of her face. "Oh no!" she exclaimed. "A gray hair?" She wailed, "I'd rather die!"

"Hmmm… I can probably help you, but ice cream? I'm good, but not that good." Nabiki turned away to consider what options she had.

"H-help me?" Urudu squeaked. "How?"

Nabiki grinned. "Oh, Mr. Sao-to-me," she caroled. Genma turned around, frowning. "Could I have your little bottle, please?" Genma paled and gulped, but didn't move. "Now, now, Uncle Saotome. I saw you dump at least one of those test tubes into your stash. Now, give! It's an emergency."

"Genma," snapped Nodoka, rising from where she was consoling Sakurida. "Are you carrying a bottle of alcohol around with you?"

"Just my hip flask, dearest," he quavered. He stared at the Saotome katana, which had been reduced with them. "It's just for my condition…"

"What condition is that, pray tell?" inquired Nodoka.

"Being sober in circumstances like this," explained Soun as Genma tearfully brought out the plastic flask in question. "In fact, I could use a drink myself," he shouted. Genma and Soun struggled for the flask.

(Ka-schinggg!)

"Here!" They offered it to Urudu simultaneously, fearing what the drawn katana could do in Nodoka's hands.

Urudu took it, swished it experimentally, then took a swig. She coughed. "Smooth is right." She regretfully capped the bottle as she turned to Sakurida. "This will keep me going a few hours, but Sakurida is in bad shape." She tucked the flask safely into her bra then smacked her fist into her hand. "If only our bracelets could have shrunk down with us!"

"Bracelets? Why didn't they?" Nodoka eyed the tearful men-folk. "And why would that help if they had?"

"No similarity." Urudu nodded to the katana. "The only reason that's here, is because you must carry it around all the time. We can only wear the moon rock bracelets Keiichi makes for a lunar month, then we have to replace them." Urudu shrugged. "And we replaced them only a week ago."

"Moon rock, you say?" Nabiki looked surprised. She reached into her blouse. "Will this work?" She pulled out a gold chain with a polished piece of rock on it. "A… friend got it for me a long time ago. He said it was supposed to be an authentic moon rock."

"And you've worn it ever since?" Kasumi slid gracefully into the conversation. "Who was it? He must have been special."

Nabiki coughed. "None of your business, sis." She walked over to Sakurida, now salt and pepper and aging gracefully, had she been doing it over sixty human years. "Hey, room-mate. Hold this for me," she requested.

"What?" Sakurida asked as the stone dropped into her hands. The change was every bit as dramatic as a Jusenkyo transformation. Sakurida dropped sixty biological years to blossom into a teenager again. She gasped and almost dropped the stone and found Nabiki's hands locking it into her own. "A moon rock? Thank you, Nabiki!" She started to cry, then threw her arms about the other girl's neck.

"Hey, it's just an old rock. If it helps you, then it was worth hanging onto it. No big deal," Nabiki murmured, patting her back comfortingly. She thought of her own sister outside this deadly trap and wept inside. "Jeez! Just don't tell anyone, okay?" she added, "I don't want to ruin my image."

"And be careful, sis," Urudu cautioned. "It's small. You use to much power you'll drain it, faster than I'll drain this!" She held up the hip-flask.

Keiichi smiled faintly and stood quietly waiting, conserving his energy. The newest kami on the block, they had yet to determine what his alternative energy source was. It seemed though, that he was not as affected as the others. Their chance would come. "Be safe, love," he whispered to the absent Beldandy. "Come back to me…"

oOo

"What happened to…?" They stared at where Baradandya had simply winked out.

"Sorry," Kodama turned away. "You don't need to know. Let's just say she'll be all right if we win."

"Okay." Three martial artists exchanged glances.

oOo

Two scruffy-looking, damaged, black cats and seventeen ninja stood at attention before the demon Senbei.

"Dey ain't so easy, hey?" Senbei chuckled. "What happen to you, Urami?"

"SSSssss… The three martssial artistsss sssomehow knew we were comiying," snarled the injured demon. "When I begannnn to ennnter the barrackssss, they hhit miye with sssome sssort of ki-blasssst."

"You shot out that hole so fast, you went through the temple wall and cracked the stone of the courtyard wall," Senbei informed her. "If you was only flesh and blood, you be dead now." He chanted and Urami was restored. He turned to Urayami. "What in hells happen to you?"

"We were part way down the tunnel when the ssstonesss of the tunnel itsssself ssseemmmed to exsssplode one after another. We barely essscaped before the entire thing collapsssed."

"What do you ninja say?" Senbei asked for confirmation.

"Master! The explosives and the wiring had been removed. Also, the explosive patterns were not normal to chemical explosives. It was as if each stone had a charge of explosive concentrated in it." Senrigan shook her head. She, like the rest of the ninja, was spattered in her own blood. The shrapnel from the explosions had been considerable. Even as she spoke, one of the more seriously injured keeled over unconscious from her wounds. "It must have been one of the ki-techniques you told us of."

"Amazing how versatile they are." Senbei rubbed his hands. "Now, how might we match them?" Then he smiled. "Hmmm… That might work…"

oOo

"Hurry up, Akane!" Ranma grunted. "Come on, ya klutz! Can't you cut a straight line with them kitty-claws?" His hands tightened on the ankles standing on his shoulders, more to keep from getting his head kicked off than to aid in Akane's balance.

"Shut up, Ranma," hissed Akane. "I'm trying to keep a lip on the stone so we can put it back without anyone knowing." She shifted and stroked with her fingers, guiding the extended ki-claws of the nekoken at an oblique angle. "And don't look up my dress, pervert," she added.

"Yeah, yeah," Ranma groused. "I don't like pink and blue flowers anyway."

Akane stopped cutting, going very still. "Rrrranmma!" Her voice was low and threatening.

"Hey, come on, you two," grunted Ryoga. He was holding Ranma's feet steady on his shoulders. "Ranma, even if you are Akane's fiancé, you shouldn't do that."

"Oho-ho! Yer one ta talk. What do ya think yer doin' right now?" Ranma retorted, smirking down into Ryoga's upturned face.

Ryoga refocused, realized what formed the pattern behind Ranma's head and quickly averted his eyes, one hand going for his nose.

"Please, keep quiet," whispered Kodama. "We really want to keep our intentions secret."

They ignored her.

"Sheesh, P-chan! What would you have done if she'd been wearing something else?"

"You mean if I wore a thong? What about the lingerie I pointed out to you in the window on the way over?" Akane said sweetly. "How about that one, Ranma?"

Ranma gurked and started to reply that she wouldn't dare with Happosai around. Then stiffened, as he suddenly had an image of Akane turning toward him in that outfit, her lashes long and low against her cheeks. He let a groan escape him. Jeez! This had been a lot easier to ignore when he had refused to admit to himself that Akane was sexy.

Ryoga felt his nose twitch and drip. He figured from Ranma's groan that whatever it was had to be worse than the Ramen Noodle Wrestling. Suddenly he remembered a lingerie store he had accidentally wandered into.

Ranma felt the lost one stiffen and collapse, spurting nose betraying the direction of his thoughts. As they fell, Ranma avoided stepping on the unconscious man and opened his arms to catch Akane as she dropped. He looked his fiancée in the eye and grinned. "Ya really shouldn't do that to poor Ryoga, tomboy. The thought of all that un-cute skin showin' nearly killed him!"

"You two can find a love motel later," Kodama said wryly. Ranma almost dropped Akane on her rear as they broke apart. "Oh! You're still at that stage, are you? How tedious." They flushed.

"We're through the tile," Akane said after a moment. "What next?"

The ninja were already forming a human pyramid. Hikari was at the top in an instant and lifted the improvised manhole cover to cautiously look out. A quick hand gesture apparently signaled the 'all clear'. Ninja began to run up the stack.

"Go up quickly," Tek whispered to them. "I'll need your help to open Banpei for repair." Kodama waved them on and the martial artists ascended.

"Beldandy…" Kodama whispered looking over her shoulder. She blinked back tears, then climbed up and anchored the top ninja. Swiftly, the remainder scaled the bodies of their companions and exited the tunnel.

Banpei was a mountain in the middle of the room.

"We have to practically rebuild him if this is going to work," Tek said, more confident now that she was in her element. "The spare motors are over here…" she pointed to a cabinet. "If we have to replace circuit boards, Skuld has spares over there." She pointed to cabinets above the counters. Around them, ninja raced across the shop to various points. Hikari oversaw most of this work as Kodama waited by Tek and the martial artists in case they needed ninja assistance in what they were doing.

Ranma looked at one of the electric motors and then scanned for similar mechanisms within the robot. "Hey, Tek! Why do we have to replace the motors?"

"If they've been magnetic pulsed, they'll be worthless. Motors like this work because of clearly defined positive and negative field forces. If they're magnetized, it's all over." Tek was clearly willing to go into lecture mode on a subject she loved.

"What if we could change that?" He looked at Ryoga and Akane speculatively.

oOo

Senbei smirked as his black ninja wobbled to their feet, restored and… retrained. "Very good. Now let's see if you've learned the technique properly. One!" The ninja stiffened and assumed a ready stance, hands raised before them.

"Two!" The ninja drew in breaths and slowly drew themselves into a relaxed but more closed stance, their eyes half closed.

"Three!" The ninja's muscles seemed to convulse and they thrust their hands ahead of them.

As one they screamed out a phrase, "Shippai Akurai!" Fire erupted from their raised palms to lash at the far wall. The wall erupted and the smell of brimstone was evident. The ninja, drained, slumped to the floor while Urami and Urayami looked on impressed.

"That should even things up," remarked Senbei. Senbei began to laugh in a truly demonic manner. Across from him the remains of the wall seemed to develop a sort of rot, crumbling away in a gooey-looking fashion.

oOo

"That sneaky little…" Tek was furious. She was practically shaking. She fell to her knees in front of a concealed cubbyhole beneath a cabinet in the workshop and glared at the note in the empty space. "My tools!"

Ryoga looked over her shoulder. "What tools? Uh-oh!" He read the short, derisive note. 'If you want to keep your tools from prying eyes, be more a ninja and less a toymaker. Let's see you fix Banpei, now! — Senrigan'

"That jerk!" Tek gnashed her teeth. She rose to her feet and turned to Kodama. "I apologize," she began then bit her lips. "Without the tools I don't see how we can repair Banpei."

"Very well," Kodama nodded. "We must attempt something else."

"Now wait a minute," Ranma interrupted. "Akane, Ryoga, remember the yatai?" The yatai in question had been built over a weekend with Nekoken and no tools. "I bet we can do most of what she needs done with ki-techniques or brute strength."

"I hope thaqt wasn't a comment about me, Ranma!" Akane exclaimed. She huffed at him as he waved his hands in negation. "Tek, you tell us what you need done. We'll be your tools."

Kodama nodded and glanced at Tek who was frowning. "If they can do as they say is there a problem?" she asked. Hikari suddenly left and bounded over to a section of shelving. She seemed to dissolve into the woodwork.

"I… I'm used to doing the work myself, Kodama," Tek answered hesitantly. "I suppose we can manage…"

Hikari was back and whispered in Kodama's ear. Their eyes met and Kodama made a gesture. Hikari gathered five of the ninja and vanished back into the hidden door in the floor tiles.

"You'll have to. Now, I need one of you to accompany a hand of ninja on a recon. With Hikari off to contact my people who went out the east tunnel I'm shorthanded. And we need some information on the hostages' whereabouts."

"Hostages?" Akane turned at the word.

"At some point, Senbei is sure to contact us with some lame proposition for the release of your families," Kodama told her bluntly. "Probably something along the lines of, 'If you give us Beldandy, we'll give you your family back'."

"But Beru…" Akane tried to pronounce it the way Kodama had, then gave up, "…Baradandya isn't here."

Kodama's smile was almost one of satisfaction. "I know… But be certain some deal will be offered. Simply understand; the word of someone llike Senbei is only as good as their intentions and will be adhered to with as precise and highly negative an interpretation as he can manage." She steepled her fingers. "If you give Senbei any loophole to kill you, he will. You people have challenged him badly."

"I'll go," said Ranma.

"But you can do so much more with Nekoken!" Akane protested.

Ranma started to say something, shut his mouth and looked at his toes. He seemed to wage some inner battle. "No. Actually, I can't," Ranma reluctantly admitted. "I don't have full control of the Nekoken yet." The look he gave her was pained. "I can use it sometimes if we're fighting, but I can't just… do it." He swallowed, obviously ingesting a big hunk of his pride in the process. "Yer best for this, Akane. And Ryoga's been studying thermo, thermody… whatever and electronics. Between ya, you'll figure it out."

Akane stood dumbstruck as he turned away. Recovering, she reached out and grabbed his pigtail, hauling him backwards. He ended up in her arms looking astonished. "Ranma," she snapped, aura flaring. He stared at her. She couldn't think of anything to say. She took a deep breath and whispered, "Just remember, love, 'Ranma Saotome don't lose'." Their eyes suddenly were doing more than seeing, and the heat had little to do with room temperature.

"Oh, please," a voice heckled, "don't stop now."

They broke apart blushing. Kodama and several watching ninja applauded lightly. Ryoga looked horribly embarrassed.

"You three need better focus," critiqued Kodama. "A ninja would never let themselves become distracted like that. We have work to do. Now if you're finished exploring your hormones, can we do our jobs?"

Ranma glared at the Jonin. Akane winced, as she had to admit Kodama had cause for her comment. She turned to Tek, "Let's get started."

Tek nodded as Ranma continued to meet Kodama's gaze, obviously challenging her assertion of leadership. "We have to get inside Banpei's main shell. We can access all of his computers, electronics and power sources there."

"We need to replace the motors powering his right hip and right shoulder joints," added Ryoga.

"No, you don't," interrupted Ranma, still locking gazes with Kodama. "Use the good motor in the cabinet as a blueprint. Directly manipulate the bad motor's ki to match the good one."

Ryoga blinked, then grinned. "That might just work!"

"It'll work," Ranma assured him. "And Akane can figure out everything necessary for Nekoken." He watched Kodama a bit longer. "If ya want that recon done, ya better send 'em out," he said. "Nobody's gettin' any younger and I'll be on my way. I think ya better remember that ally don't mean 'underling'."

Kodama blinked a long slow blink without dropping her eyes. She shrugged. "Just remember that I protect my people and my charges first. If you endanger those groups with your actions, I'll kill you."

"You can try. Ya wouldn't be the first, not by a long shot," Ranma spoke quietly. "I'll try to protect yer ninja and my friends, but I'm not gonna lose sleep worryin' about pint-sized shinobi girls." He turned away almost insultingly. She chose to ignore him and made swift gestures to signal the recon team. They assembled and Ranma and the team moved out.

Kodama turned back troubled, to watch Akane slice a hatchway into Banpei's underside. The girl was careful to angle the cut so that the hatch could be pushed up within. Ryoga was examining the spare motor and comparing it with the motors he planned to repair. She wandered over.

"How are you planning to do this?" she demanded.

"Don't," Ryoga said quietly.

"Don't what?" Kodama scowled.

"Don't challenge Ranma. Don't threaten people he cares about," answered Ryoga. "I've seen him fight everything up to and including a kami-lord named Saffron. Ranma doesn't lose. He won't kill if he can help it, but he won't lose." Ryoga nodded and leaped, bouncing up to the shoulder of the robot. He placed his hands flat on the motor housing and concentrated. A glow sprang up and he jerked his hands away, shaking them.

"What's wrong?"

"It's a little hard to work only in magnetism without heat as a by-product." Ryoga said. He laid his hands carefully on the housing again. Kodama digested that with minimal understanding. "Ranma's a very kind man normally and will even protect people he knows nothing about." Ryoga continued the earlier discussion. His hands glowed again, but something was different apparently, as he didn't jerk his hands away. He began to sweat as he shifted around for a better angle. "But don't try to control him. He and Akane would probably be married by now if their parents hadn't been trying to force them together." Ryoga smirked and sat back. "That's one." He jumped back down to observe his handiwork.

Kodama looked at the motor housing, wondering how he could repair something without touching or even seeing it. "I don't understand human mating customs very well," she admitted. "It wasn't part of my training."

Ryoga looked at her sharply. "Aren't you human?"

"No. We were minions of the demon Marller, before the… Ladies freed us. Five years ago, I was a rat, as were most of my ninja." She smirked as Ryoga reacted to the idea that he had been… come onto by a couple dozen transformed rats.

Ryoga finally gave it up, shrugged and scratched his head. "Most?"

"Tek was a mouse." Kodama made a face. "She's very bright and useful, but she just doesn't have the aggressiveness a good ninja needs." She glanced sidewise at him. "So, you like Tek, hmmm?"

"Nononononono! Jeez!" Ryoga backed away thinking, 'I'm catching all of Ranma's girl troubles. It's not fair!' He gulped and leaped up to the other motor, trying to concentrate on his ki techniques.

Kodama, amused, leaped up beside him. "If you're too shy, I suppose I could…"

"No, really!" Ryoga gulped. "I… I'm already…"

"Focus, Ryoga-san," Kodama smirked. He glanced at her and frowned. His hands glowed as he placed them against the motor. "Really though, how are you 'fixing' the motors this way?"

"My Shishi Houkudan set off a burst of electromagnetic radiation," Ryoga grunted. "It froze up some of the motors."

"Why not all of the motors?"

"If it had been a bigger Shishi Houkudan, it might have. Pure chance." Ryoga shrugged.

"Bigger?" Kodama twitched slightly, remembering the report of the crater size and the energy of the ki blast in the cavern. "You can do bigger?"

Ryoga shrugged and glanced at her from under his bangs; time for some payback. "Yeah! The technique uses depression for focus and I sometimes get really depressed," he said mournfully. "The world is a dark and lonely place…" He let his aura become visible.

"Ack," Kodama muttered. "Please don't blast the robot."

Ryoga smirked.

oOo

"Rats?" Ranma twitched. "You guys were rats?"

"You don't like rats?" a ninja named Nabiki, who looked nothing like Akane's sister, asked. The other four ninja looked concerned.

"No! They're…" Ranma shut up and shook himself. He was about to say they were tasty. After all, he and his father had eaten enough of them on that crazy ten-year long training trip. He felt that would be the wrong thing to say in this situation. "Um, ah… They're very strong little animals. A lot like people, I guess." He hoped his practice at thinking before speaking was paying off.

"That's so nice," Nabiki-ninja said huskily.

Ranma 'eeep'ed and backed up. "Hey, ain't we supposed to be lookin' for trouble?" he stammered. They grinned and moved closer. "Not that kind!" And Kodama complained that he and Akane needed focus! Damn, where was cold water when you need it?

He frowned as something brushed his senses. His ki-vision swept out and confirmed it. The set of his body warned the ninja of trouble. Four black-clad ninja suddenly bracketed them. Ranma had to admit Kodama's ninja were no-nonsense and professional once trouble showed up. Sharp steel in the form of shuriken was already hurtling across the intervening space between the opposing groups.

For their part, the black ninja depended on body armor to deflect the missiles, ignoring the sharp stars, their hands cupped and reddish light beginning to swirl in the space between their palms.

"Shit," Ranma exclaimed. They were surrounded; the focus of what could only be a ki-attack. "Close up!" The Temple ninja were already disengaging from their black-clad sisters. Their initial attack had failed and evil fire gleamed and flickered in the palms of their former comrades. Ranma sought through his repertoire as there was no way to attack them all before…

"Shippai Akurai!" screamed the black ninja. Malignant flames were launched like hellish bouquets.

Acting almost instinctively, Ranma, reached out suddenly and snatched the five ninja close, ducking and covering as the flames met above them and exploded!