~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 3f: Why Ask Why?
~~~~~~~~~~~

It had not been a good day for the forces of Evil.
And now it was about to get a whole lot worse.

But mindful of the horrible punishment awaiting them
if they returned in failure, the villianous pair were
determined to try and defeat the intimidating armored figure
opposing them or at least find out more about his capabilities
before having to retreat.

Hovering at what they believed to be a safe distance, about
fifty feet above the street, the generals fell back to their tactic
of attacking from a distance with their lethal supernatural abilities.
The fact that this strategy hadn't worked before didn't deter them
from using it again. Their initial fright at the sight of a Rune weapon
was eclipsed (just barely) by their fear of their mistress's wrath.
The sword was only dangerous if it could reach them after all,
but her grasp stretched across the dimensions.

~~~~~~~~

Unfortunately for Metall'a's minions, Ishtar happened to be one of
the Splugorth's latest models, or so was commonly believed. Perhaps
it would be more accurate to call her the Asgardian Dwarves' final
masterpiece before their secrets were stolen and perverted by the
dimensional invaders. The sword itself had remained hidden for eons,
a lifeless shell awaiting the proper rituals that would bind a helpless
soul into the weapon's heart for all eternity. Even the entrapped goddess
didn't know the true age of the ancient weapon, it had been old when
she was was first assimilated into it and that had been untold ages ago.
Time had little meaning to those it did not touch.

For what purpose had such a cruel yet hauntingly beautiful
thing been intended for? She had often wondered about that
during those long stretches when she was not being wielded
by her owner, when she was truly alone. Perhaps it was just
a silly whimsy but Ishtar felt sure that there had to be some
greater destiny that they had yet to fulfill. At the very least
it helped her stay sane, yet recently there had been more then
a hint of truth to support her belief in a larger plan at work.

Since her creation the sword had known many owners,
a few had been good creatures of renown, but far too
many had turned out to be inhuman monsters that had
forced the proud spirit to cater to their sadistic whims.
Each one had used her differently from the rest, through
some process that she still didn't understand the powers
accessible from the Rune Blade varied with the individual
who possessed Istar. At least that was how it had been,
until Ranma had come and freed the sword from her last
master, a ancient Intelligence that was twisted and corrupt
even by the loose standards of the Splugorth.

He was different, and not just because she loved him. Ranma
was truly her first, never before had the lonely soul residing
within formed such a complete bond with her owner. He
completed her, filling the dark emptiness and making the
longing spirit whole once more. The boy, who was in truth
more of a man then many she had met (both before and after
her imprisonment), had unlocked the powers of healing and
rejuvenation that had been buried so deeply within that Ishtar
had thought them long since lost to the ages.

In his hands Ishtar had finally become the weapon of Life
the she was originally intended to be and the sword would
defend that cherished link between them at any cost. A link
that not only shielded Ranma's mind but also provided a
early warning system that increased his combat effectiveness
tenfold by keeping him one step ahead of his opponents.

A Cosmoknight might not be able to use the mystical "Force" one
of his instructors had once told him about, but with Ishtar in hand
he could certainly fake it. Small wonder that the Sploogies had put
out such an obscene reward on his head.

So when Malach'te and Jedi'te hurled a volley of levin-bolts,
(bluish white torpedoes of pure magical fury) at Ranma,
it came as quite a nasty surprise to see him twirl his sword
in a defensive weave that not only managed to parry every one
of their attacks but also sent the projectiles hurtling back to their points of origin.

~~~~~~~~~
-A short distance away

"Are you getting it all?"

The News 5 anchor looked as close to total ecstasy
as a normal person can get (short of summoning the
monster with two backs), what had been another boring
day of noodle shops and long interviews with middle aged
housewives had turned into the opportunity of a lifetime.
First the famous Sailor Senshi and now this! He could see
the headlines now: "Japan's newest superhero; The Knight Hawk!"
or some such junk that the public would eat up.

Never mind that they didn't even know who he was,
just imagine the awards and accompanying pay raise
for this brilliant stroke of journalistic luck!

"I'm getting it! I'm getting it! I just ain't believing it!"

The camera man was entertaining similar fantasies.
The tabloids were going to pay a fortune for his story.
Heck, this might be enough to finally pay off the camera
loan from that Nabiki girl.

~~~~~~~~

"Well, now we know he's definitely been
hanging around with the Jedi."

The Guardian slumped back, having long ago given up
trying to comprehend the insanity of this complex
timeline and just had decided to just keep accepting
it on faith. He squinted a bit to get a better of look at
Ranma's movements, it looked more like dancing then
martial arts swordplay from here.

"Some of that foot work seems strangely familar."

"That's because he's using parts from *MY* fighting style!!!"

Now Shadow looked rather peeved. He turned toward Zora
and asked the obvious question.

"There are only five people in the Multiverse who have ever used
that particular style of sword fighting. Two are dead, one's an evil
assassin scum and I know for sure that I didn't teach it to him,
so who..."

He saw that "gleam" in her eye. The same one that she'd had
every time some new insanity sprung up to add to the already
chaotic nature of her Bet.

"...Oh no..."

Shadow could do math as well as anyone else. Five minus
four meant that there was only one possibilty left.

A moment later Zora confirmed his worst fears.

"Ranma deserved the best instructor."

"But why HIM?! That guy's even more reckless then *I* am!"

{"I wouldn't be so sure about that."}

"Your point?"

That seemed to silence him as he tried in vain to
muster a counterargument.

Seeing that Rowan seemed to know what was going on
again (like always), the curious musican directed
his query to him.

"What gives?"

"Ranma's using a modified Drow fighting stance,
which also happens to be the same one that Shadow
favors in combat."

"A Drow fighting stance?!"

Comprehension started to dawn, The Bard's home
dimension was a backwater place but it wasn't
*that* out of touch with the other worlds. (1)

~~~~~~~~~
-Masaki Household

Washu Habuki was both intrigued and frustrated,
a combination that spelled nothing but trouble
for the poor soul who had attracted her interest
(something a certain Tenchi Masaki had learned
through first hand experience).

These camera devices were so primitive!
How was she supposed to get the scientific
data she needed on that interesting specimen
when the blasted things couldn't even register
the infrared spectrum?

Her hyperdimensional keyboard was already
being put to work analyzing the scant information
being provided by the broadcast. That fighting style
was like nothing she had ever seen before and there
was no match to be found in a cross-reference
against the Universal database either, something
Washu would have previously sworn was impossible.
There was also that remarkable interaction with a
extra-dimensional pocket of subspace, something
that should be lightyears beyond the inhabitants of
this backwards little planet. And then there was that
sword! Without proper testing she couldn't know
exactly how powerful it was, but she could make a
reasonable estimate. If she was right (almost a given)
then that weapon was almost as strong as Ryoko's
and Minagi's blades combined.

{Very interesting.}

It wasn't every day that the genius discovered
something that might possibly surpass her masterpieces.
Tenchi had been one, could this be another?

{I'll have some fun finding out!}

The spiky red haired scientist made a mental note to
dispatch some of her new probes to Tokyo. It just
wouldn't do to have her data on this interesting person
remain so incomplete. A gleam came to her green eyes
at the thought of all the samples she would need.

~~~~~~~~

Once Aeka saw that her younger sister was no
longer in immediate danger she calmed down
enough to start paying attention to the rest of
what was being broadcast. Specifically the rather
imtimidating newcomer was the focus of her
attention. She was already favorably inclined
toward him seeing as he'd just saved Sasami,
for a moment she even briefly considered that it
might be Lord Tenchi beneath that dark armor.

{No! Lord Tenchi would never be so
forceful...so...savage...so virile...}

At some point during this interesting line of
thought her cheeks had turned beet red and her
hands began to twiddle her fingers together
aimlessly as the princess's imagination placed
her in Sasami's place with a fierce looking Tenchi
in Jurai battle armor coming to her rescue.

~~~~~~~
-Juuban District

Being a true hero in modern times is often a
thankless duty where the hazards of the job
usually outweigh the potential rewards involved.
But there are some fringe benefits, like seeing
the evil warlocks frantically doing their best
to dodge their own magical missiles and looking
like complete buffoons in the process.

"Look out!"

"Get out of my way!"

And while those two were busy on avoiding their own
levin-bolts they wouldn't be able to muster up
enough concentration to teleport.

Ranma was already moving as soon
as he'd blocked the last one of their shots.

Jedi'te was the first to realize their peril.

"He set us up!"

Too late.

~~~~~~~~~
Eyecatch #3

(Ryoga Hibiki comes running on screen shouting
his traditional battlecry.)

(Ryoga: "Ranma! Prepare to die!!")

(Ranma turns around and eases into a ready stance.)

*Whump*

(A large metal foot squashes Ryoga right
before he can take a swing at his nemesis.)

(Ranma looks up to see a Triax Ultimax robot
armor, the cockpit pops open to reveal a smiling
Makoto-chan who waves down at him.)

(Ranma heaves a small sigh as the Ultimax lumbers
to the side.)

(Ryoga, slightly battered but still angry,
gets up and tries again.)

(Ryoga: "Die Ranma!!!")

(Once again Ranma gets ready for a fight).

*Stomp*

(Cutey Honey and Nuku Nuku in a modified
Spider Walker (has a smiling kawaii cat face instead
of the traditional skull) walk through to get a good
view from the sidelines.)

(Ranma has a small sweatdrop on his head.)

(Now a rather dazed and bruised Ryoga
staggers weakly to a sorta upright position.)

(Ryoga: I'm going to kill...
*pauses as he looks up*....
Oh no, not again!")

*SCRUNCH*

(An AT-AT with Skuld at the helm has arrived.)

(Skuld: "Oopsie!")

(Ranma has a *big* sweatdrop on his head now.)

(Ranma: "Hey! How am I supposed to be a hero when
you girls keep beating up all the villains?!!")

(Ryoga is now a crumpled mess as
the giant war machine moves off.)

(Ryoga: "Why is this happening me?!!")

*STOMP**GRIND**SCRAPE**SCRAPE*

(Eva units 00 and 02 take a moment
to wipe their feet.)

(Asuka: "Ewww....and I just had it washed too.)

(Ranma slaps a hand to his forehead and sneaks
away as the gathered girls get into an argument
over who he's going to be riding home with.)

~~~~~~~~~
-Ristmoth System, 4 hours into the battle
BGM: Return of the Jedi, Battle of Endor 2

"Watch it Falcon! You've picked up a tail!"

"I see him, Hornet. Ready for a Cross Wedgie?"

"Just leave it to me. On three."

The Imperial Fang closed in on the Rebel starfighter
with g-cannons blazing, its pilot totally focused
on aquiring his next kill of the day. He never saw the
the other Black Eagle starfighter sneaking up on him
from behind.

"Three!"

So when his quarry suddenly made an abrupt climb
with full afterburners on he was still trying to keep his
dogtail when the first laser blasts punched through his
fighter's rear shields and penetrated past the armored
engine housing into the delicate equipment maintaining
the protective electromagnetic barrier around his ship's
antimatter fuel supply.

In space your first mistake is also usually your last one.

The conscripted pilot, fresh from the Imperial Acadamy
went out with a bang. One tiny insignificant death among the
hundreds of thousands that took place that day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-Back to Earth (relatively speaking)

As a dedicated martial artist Ranma could jump
unaided to a height of thirty feet. And that had
been *before* his transformation. By the time
they saw him coming he was already too close.

Ranma felt a brief stab of guilt for actually enjoying the
look of absolute terror on his target's face. Ishtar on the
other hand had no such qualms. This was what she lived for,
the total destruction of the forces of evil so similar to those
that had enslaved her.

The silver blade glowed hungrily as it came
cutting down, blasting through Jedi'te's forcefield
as it were no more substantial then a soap bubble.
Then it hit something more solid, though not by
much considering that the weapon was capable of
cutting through high grade duranium alloy like it
was cotton candy.

"Eiieeaauugghh!!!" The blond general howled in
inhuman agony as his arm dropped tothe street,
cleanly severed at the shoulder. The wound
was cauterized almost instantly as the sword's magic
went to work, inflicting additional damage to his
corrupted flesh. Despite the incredible pain he was in
Jedi'te retained enough of his senses to realize he
couldn't survive another blow like that. Using the last
remaining reserves of his inner strength the badly wounded
villian dematerialized back to his home dimension just as he
was about to be made a head shorter.

A split second later the Rune sword slashed ineffectually
through the empty space he'd been occupying.

{Sithspawn!}

[Damn! I almost had him too!]

And then there was one.

~~~~~~~~~
-Cosplay City

The Hayami household was glued to the television.
After all it's not every day that you get to see someone
*else* fighting the big bad monsters for a change.

There had been a few bad moments when things
had almost gotten out of hand, namely when
the guy holding the camera tried to sneak a
few shots beneath the Sailor Senshi's skirts
as they high jumped every which way during
the first few minutes of the battle.

Akakabu Hayami was still nursing a black eye
where his wife Daiko had belted him a good one.

His son Chokei was in a similar position. Natsuko
had given her boyfriend the patented *evil eye of a
jealous significant other* along with a slap to the back
of his head to break the spell of the skimpy uniforms.

Grandfather Danbei and Professor Kabuto just stared
and drooled like the dirty old men that they were.

Honey Kisaragi on the other hand
had remained silent, at least until the
the mysterious newcomer had shown
up. After a few minutes of watching
him in action it was she could do to
keep her quiet composure. It was
almost scary how efficiently he dealt
with those shadowy creatures. Then
he'd produced that sword from thin air
and any uncertainties about making a visit
to Tokyo vanished then and there.

Mayor Light would understand the
necessity once it was explained to him.
Youma and evildoers alike beware,
Cutey Honey was coming to town!

~~~~~~~~~
-Furinkan High

Nabiki Tendo was not happy.

"Where is he?"

Her agents were the most clever girls on
campus, masters of secretive spying and
schoolyard gossip. Right now they cringed
before the barely controlled wrath of their
mistress as they reported their first failure.

"Um...we don't know."

"You. Don't. Know?"

Somehow she managed to loom over all of them,
proving that Nabiki was indeed an heir to the
Tendo side of the Anything Goes Style.

"He's not anywhere on campus. The last time
Ranma Saotome was seen was right after the
incident with Kuno on the field.
We checked and he'snotthereanymore."

Near the end they started to babble in fear as
Nabiki upped her financial aura. While not
as physically imposing as a battle aura it was
more then enough to cow her fellow students.

"That was over thirty minutes ago ladies, and
you know I pride myself on only having the
latest up to the date information on every
student here."

The little group began to eagerly nod their heads,
anything to avert the other shoe from dropping.

"So go out and look again! He's just one guy!
How hard can it be to find him?!"

Oh, if she only knew.

~~~~~~~~~
-500 miles north of Tokyo

Ryoga Hibiki, after much trial and hardships
was finally back on his native soil.

He'd had to leave China rather quickly, before
the bodies of his latest victims were discovered.
It was only a stroke of luck that had allowed him
to learn that his hated nemesis also intended to
return to Japan. The poor old man who'd been nice
enough to tell him that had payed for his kindness with
his life. His cursed body had new cravings now, needs
that could only be satisfied by the pain and suffering of
others. Their blood and death made him stronger, more
powerful then he had ever dreamed imaginable. But still he
hated his cursed form's looks, why did it have be so...so...
...so damn CUTE?!

Like everything that went wrong in his
miserable life it had to be all Ranma's fault.
If it rained, it was Ranma's fault. If he walked
into the woman's side of the public bath it
was Ranma's fault. If he went berserk in his
cursed form and started slaughtering innocent
people it was still Ranma's fault. Even the misery
he'd suffered before he even met that accursed
Saotome for the first time was somehow still
Ranma's fault. If he ever bothered to sit down
and actually think about it he was sure he would
eventually find a connection linking the two.

Onward the relentless monster
in the guise of a man strode,
seeking his arch-enemy.

"Damn you to everlasting hell Saotome!!"

A giant sumo pig suddenly rose up in
front of the ranting lost boy to block
his way. Unknowingly Ryoga had wandered
onto the Unryu Fighting Pig Farm.

Katsunishki grunted a warning to the
stranger, the animal could smell the
taint of bloodshed clinging to this one.
It was a faint sickly sweet odor that
would always mark the human to
those who could sense such things.

Ryoga almost smiled, his face was so
unused to that expression that it came out
more like a mangled grimace. At least during
those moments when he fought man or beast
he didn't have to think. He licked his parched lips.

"Fresh meat."

The pig was loyal and well trained.
It would rather die then ever desert
its post as defender of the farm.

Katsunishki was big, he was strong,
he was brave. But that would not save him.

Luck was with Akari that day, she had gone to
town that day with one of the piglets to get it
treated by the local vet for a mild cold.

Unfortunately, her grandfather wasn't with her this time.

A loud agonized squeal rang out once
before suddenly going silent.

It was not the first death that day,
nor would it be the last.

~~~~~~~~~~~
-Saotome Residence

"Chi, Azusa, have either one of
you ever heard of this Kama Sutra
book before?"

Yohko Mano held up a rather plain
little hardcover book that looked rather
old and only had the short title on its front.

"Can't say that I have Yohko, though it does
sound rather familar for some reason. It's
probably filled with recipes or something."

The brown haired freckled manager was munching
on another one of those cookies Mrs Saotome had
left out for them.

" Well, Aunty Nodoka said that we should study
it until we know the contents by heart."

Azusa, Devil Hunter in training piped up as she set
down yet another batch of study materials that they
had been given as part of the Anything Goes Bridal
Instruction.

Yohko sighed, who would have suspected that the
nice lady they'd first met was such a formidable
taskmaster?! It was like training under Grandma
all over again.

"In that case I guess we should all take
a look at it then..."

~~~~~~~~~~
-Juuban District

After the retreat of Jedi'te the battle between
Ranma and Malach'te had quickly turned into
a high speed game of tag, except the loser
wouldn't survive being "it".

No sooner did the white-blond sorcerer materialize
at one spot then he immediately released a flurry of
red flaming bolts before teleporting to another
location where the process was repeated yet again.

While Ranma was able to deflect each attack
with Ishtar's help, his opponent wouldn't
remain in one place long enough for his partner
to finish him off. So it was now a stalemate,
and the Knight found himself in the uneviable
position of having decide whether to up the ante
by revealing more of his Forge granted abilities
or try one of his special techniques. Either one
was probably going to result in some major property
damage and possible civilian casualties, something
he wanted to avoid at all costs.

{Got any ideas?}

[Why not use your normal strategy
against teleporters?]

{Two reasons. First, using fusion blocks
in this area would be a very *bad* thing.
Second, I don't have enough of them with
me anyway, they're for emergencies only.}

[Oh right, I forgot how primitive this planet is.
Well, there's always plan B.]

{Plan B?}

The goddess wasted little time filling him in
on the specific details. Fortunately for Ranma's
dignity his helm completely hid his expression,
otherwise his wide mouthed gape of astonishment
would have been displayed to half the households
in Japan. Outwardly the only sign of his reaction
was a slight pause in the middle of his pursuit of
the slippery general.

{Let's do it.}

~~~~~~~~
BGM: Saber Marionette J: Iza! Junjou ni, jinjou ni.

At first it seemed that nothing had changed, as
Malach'te continued to stay out of reach of the
Rune sword and Ranma continued to pursue him.
But in actuality the general was being gradually
herded right where they wanted him....

The enchanted blade came in a quick cross slash,
once again too late to hit the already departed
villain's foul flesh. The expected response came
directly from behind, forcing Ranma to make an
abrupt about face even as he brought Ishtar up to
parry. Several black flakes scattered outward from
his right arm where one of the blasts finally slipped
through. Even as the Knight whirled to confront his
tormenter, the white robed figure vanished in the
shimmer of tiny multifaceted crystals.

{Just a couple more feet.}

Ranma was starting to see a pattern to the teleports,
and if his guess was right then his opponent should be
popping up right over ther....

His overhand block caught the first three shots,
and he was quick enough to be able to get out of
the way of the last two blasts. Small curls of
smoke arose from where the magic had burned
deeply into the already much abused concrete.

The Knight could feel Ishtar's eagerness to end
the evil mage's existence. A sentiment he
wholeheartedly agreed with, but they had to be
patient if her plan was going to work.

Everything hinged on if the villain remained in the
pattern he had set, otherwise Ranma would probably
be forced to destroy half of the remaining neighborhood
in order to finish this fight.

Several shots struck his armor hard, but the young warrior
took them without complaint, knowing that it was a
necessary sacrifice. His attention was totally focused
on Malach'te's position, a few hits were a small price
to pay in order to end this.

There he was!

This time, instead of charging forward in a futile attempt
to get a hit Ranma hopped back and pointed the sword not
at Malach'te, but toward the fire hydrant he had chosen to
reappear over.

[Gotcha!]

Concentrating on staying as far away from the
dangerous stranger and that deadly sword, the general
wasn't expecting an attack from another direction.
So his surprise was complete when first a red
metal hydrant slammed into his stomach from below,
followed by hundreds of gallons of water which at
that volume and velocity hit him like a brick wall.

~~~~~~~~
-Someplace else in the Juuban District

"You've both got your uniforms on inside out."

Sailor Pluto wanted some aspirin.

"Neptune, I believe those are Uranus's undergarments."

"So that's why they're so tight."

"Hey!"

Scratch that, she wanted a *lot* of aspirin.
The Senshi of Time silently vowed that she
was going to take a *long* vacation when the
current crisis was over.

Somehow everything finally got settled down
and then the rest of the Outer Senshi were off to
eliminate whatever new terrible menace that had
dared to enter their world.

~~~~~~
-Masaki Household revisited

"Magnificent." Minagi was impressed, she
had trained under her creator Yakage and could
recognize someone who was a true master
of the sword on sight. That blade seemed to
have become a natural extension of the fighter's
arm, she had seen such a thing only three times before
in her life. Once with Yakage, a swordsmaster who had
survived over 5,000 years through repeated cloning.
Another time in a duel with Tenchi's Grandfather.
And the last had been when she had been seen
Washu's records of Tenchi defeating Kagato and
Yakage.

Her father had wanted Minagi to become the best,
and she had challenged the greatest fighters in the
Local Cluster in order to fullfill his dream. Now it
seemed she had found a new challenge for her skills,
one worthy of facing the sword that was Yakage's
last gift to his daughter.

{I will make you proud Father.}

~~~~~~~~
-Hidy ho, back to the Temple we go

Belldandy found herself being pulled in opposing
directions by her feelings. The goddess wanted to
help her younger sister but at the same time she
also didn't want to leave Keiichi alone and unprotected.
She gave a helpless look in Urd's direction, a subtle
(yet strangely powerful) plea for her help.

"Alright, I'm going, I'm going."Urd mock grumbled
as she stepped into the television set, Father having
decided to be lenient and giving her a reprieve from
probation pending a future review by the higher powers.

~~~~~~~~~
-Juuban

"Yeah! Go get him!" Sasami had quickly gotten
into the spirit of things and was rooting for the
good guy to trash the bad guy really good. It was
just like one of those bedtime stories that Ayeka
or Tenchi would read to her. The little princess
had quickly placed the Knight in the same category
as the rest of her friends like Minagi and Ryo-ohki.
She tended to trust her first impressions of people
and those same feelings told her that this new person
meant no harm to them, only to the forces of Evil.

Malach'te was in a bad spot, pinned to the upper wall
of a fancy electronic goods store by the pressure of
the redirected water geyser. The beating he was taking
as a result of the intense water pressure made any sort
of concentration practically impossible and also kept his
arms pinned helplessly to his sides. It seemed all over
except for the clean up as Ranma started to slowly head
over toward his neutralized foe, careful to maintain the focused
state needed by Ishtar to direct the continued water flow.

Then a pair of long bronzed legs stepped out of
one of the televisions in front of him, followed
by an even more stunning (and lightly clad) body.

That got his attention fast. Ranma had seen a lot
of strange things in his lifetime, but this was new
even to him. Maybe it was something like the
Nightbane Mirror-Walk?

Unfortunately during the brief slip in his concentration,
the geyser had slipped from Ishtar's control and his trapped
opponent was free once more. Malach'te had only moments
to act before his enemy figured out what had happened.

Realizing that he stood no chance in a direct confrontation,
the evil general did what all nasty people do when confronted
by a challenge beyond their abilities...he cheated.

A barbed purple javelin of dark power
formed in one hand as the life essence
invested the last of its remaining energy
reserves into a final weapon which
would ensure that it would have the last laugh.
The effort nearly caused him to pass out, he had
exhausted much of his power in a short span of time.

Perhaps it was not strong enough to slay the demon
hounding him...

...but it was more then enough to kill one of *them*.

His viperish gaze focused on the little girl cheering his
pursuer on. Yes, he would have his revenge on them all.
They would suffer with that innocent's blood haunting
them till they died. Somehow Malach'te found the strength
to burst into evil laughter.

Ranma looked up back toward the general, then he turned
his head to see what the maniac was looking at.

The cute little blue haired girl with the two ponytails.

Sickening comprehension struck.

"You bastard!!"

It was an instinctive reaction beyond any conscious
thought, one second he was holding the Rune
weapon in hand, the next instant Ishtar was being
hurled toward Malach'te.

"You fool! You're too late!!"

The villain's throw was fast and true.

Even as four feet of enchanted silver mithril alloy
plowed into his gut and through to the other side till
the blade was buried hilt deep within his abdomen
and pinned him back against the wall like some
winged insect in a bug collection, even as gouts
of dark green blood spouted forth from the mortal
wound, even as the outraged soul inhabiting the weapon
started to fry Malach'te from the inside out,
that cursed missile was still heading straight
toward Sasami.

Ranma found himself in a race against Death.
There was no time to think, no time to plan,
no time to regret. It was just him, the girl,
and that weapon speeding toward her.

Even moving at full speed it was going to be close.

Too close.

Time seemed to slow down as he shot
down the street like a Boom Gun round.

The expressions of horrified realization appeared
on the Senshi's faces first. Jupiter even began to
move in a vain attempt to either get the girl out of
the way or block the spear herself. She was too
far away and she'd never make it in time, but still
she tried anyway.

Sasami watched the javelin coming with the same
look that little rabbits give to hunters with automatic
rifles.

"Tsunami!!"

~~~~~~~
-Masaki Residence

"No! Azaka, Kamidake!!"

Even as the words left her throat Ayeka
knew it wouldn't be in time. But she couldn't
just sit here helplessly either while that madman
murdered her sister!

"Yes ma'am!"
"Yes ma'am."

~~~~~~~~~

Ryoko steeled herself for a extra long teleport.
It was feat she'd never attempted before, her
range was normally within eyesight and even
then hadn't gone beyond a few miles.

{Don't do it.}

[Washu?! Sasami's in trouble!! It's the only way!!!]

{Even you can't make it. You know I'm right Ryoko.}

[Damn you Washu! I have to do something!!
How can you be so heartless?!!]

{I'm just as worried as you are my dear,
but I have some faith in that one.}

[You're trusting some guy in a metal suit with Sasami's life?!]

{Just as you trusted a simple schoolboy to rescue you from Kagato.}

[That has nothing to do with this!!]

~~~~~~~~
-Juuban

{Oh man...}

This was going to hurt.

Ranma didn't even have enough time to raise his
arms to block when the spear hit his chest plate
and kept right on going. Fiery pain registered
from the point of entry as first one rib, then a
second snapped under the impact. His flesh was
considerably tougher then the average human's
(or the average bulletproof vest) though and
the shaft's head quickly became lodged deep in
muscle tissue, stopping far short of the armor
protecting Ranma's back.

As injuries went, it looked much worse then it
actually was. Sure it would probably have
incapacitated or possibly killed even a minor
supernatural being, but he'd had worse. Getting
eaten by a Demonshark, now *that* had been bad.

Bio-regeneration was already starting repair the
damage and had begun to eject the supernatural weapon
from his body. Even the broken ribs would
reknit themselves back together in a few minutes. Still,
the trickle of crimson dripping from his front where the
rest of the javelin stuck out drew the attention of
everyone else like a magnet.

"Red blood."

Sailor Venus didn't even realize she
had spoken out loud, or that her thoughts
were running along similar lines to the
others present. If this being was human,
then what? How much of Sailor Pluto's
warnings had been true and how much just
myth and legend? Did they really want to
fight someone who'd just saved their eggs
from the basket?

Mercury took particular note of where
the scarlet drops fell, she would get a
sample for later analysis. Her suspicions
about the truth of their rescuer would be
confirmed one way or another.

Skuld took one look, turned green, and passed out.
The sight of any sizable quantity of blood always did
that to her. She was still young for a goddess and the last
big war between Good and Evil had been long before
her time.

Urd was still struggling with an inconvenient
(not to mention embarrassing) predicament.
Somehow or the other she seemed to have become
entangled in what seemed to be every extension cord
in the store's window after she popped out.
For the moment her garments were still within the
bounds of decency (for her anyway), but her struggling
was making it more and more of an iffy thing.

~~~~~~
-Masaki Household

"Oh dear."

"She appears to have fainted."

The two loyal guardians gently used
their telekinetic powers to arrange
their charge more comfortably on the couch.

~~~~~~~
-Juuban again

Malach'te had thought he'd known what
pain was before. Now he was finding out
what the word truly meant. The accursed
blade was searing his innards to ash, its
magic inhibiting his body's healing and
kept the wound open and bleeding.
Worse, gravity was tugging his upper torso
down onto the razor sharp edge, slowly tearing
the cut open even farther. All the while the
spirit inhabiting the weapon struck out with
a intangible force that set his nerves screaming
in agony as it overloaded his neural pathways.
The most horrible thing of all was that the
vengeful Ishtar had frozen his vocal cords,
making it impossible for the general to even
scream.

The dying villain grasped the sword's handle
in a vain attempt to pull it free of himself. A
moment later he found out why that wasn't
such a good idea. The surge of searing psychic
energy nearly blew his arms off, leaving his
hands blackened and curled into bony claws.

[How dare you hurt him!! Fry you
unholy piece of *CENSORED*!!!]

{Ishtar! That's enough! Finish him!!}

A white glow started to form within the
core of the weapon's silver blade in
response to its owner's command.

The horrified Malach'te could only look
down helplessly at the tremendous charge
he sensed the sentient weapon was building up.

Then there was a blinding flash of light as
Ishtar released the holy power she had called
forth directly into his body. Malach'te was
consumed in an instant, his head arching back
in denial even as flesh and bone was reduced to dust.

A small thunderclap sounded as
the life essence was banished back
to the shifting darkness of the Negaverse,
leaving the Rune weapon as pristine and
untouched as it had been the day it was
created.

~~~~~~~~

With the death of its creator the summoned
Psi-lance dissolved back into nothingness it
had been formed from, making it easier for
both Ranma's body and armor to start fixing
themselves. Within a minute two small pops
signaled that his ribs had just reset themselves,
and the hole torn in his armor had shrunk noticeably.

{Geeze, that stings! He just had to go and fight dirty! Jerk!!}

Without even bothering to look up Ranma held up
his hand to catch the returning Rune weapon.

[Are you all right Ranma?]

{I'm fine. We'd better see to those girls though,
they were getting worked over pretty rough by
those creatures before I arrived. No telling
how long they were fighting or what kind of injuries
they sustained. Those monsters threw everything
but the kitchen sink at me.}

[How horrible, they're just children!! The poor
dears must have been so frightened.]

Ranma was just glad that his partner's maternal insincts
seemed to have been awakened, if she had seen those girls
as women (and hence unwanted competition) things probably
would have gotten ugly very quickly.

~~~~~~~

Turning to face the wide eyed little girl he'd
shielded earlier, Ranma bent to one knee in
order to meet her on equal terms. Children
had always been a wonder to him, perhaps
because he'd never really had much of a
childhood before the responsibilities thrust
upon him by first his father and then later
on by the Alliance and the Forge.

"Are you alright? Did those creatures harm you?"

Sasami silently shook her head. Awe shone in
her eyes as she looked back at the helmet of
the one who had protected her life with his own,
trying to find the nonexistant eyeholes in it. Nor
could she see any opening for the mouth or nose,
both areas were well armored since such a feature
was unnecessary for a Cosmoknight. It was like
watching one of her sister's guardians speak, the
words came from his direction but there was no
indication of how it was being done.

Seeing that she was indeed uninjured, Ranma got
up and turned toward the rest of the girls.The
gathered Senshi looked rather nervous when the
Knight strode toward them with sword still in
hand. They hadn't realized just how big he really
was until now. The armored figure towered over
even Jupiter, and although he held his weapon in
a nonthreatening way they had all witnessed its
lethal cut.

Ranma really wished that he could reasssure them of his
intentions but time was running short. The authorities
would be showing up soon now that the danger was over
and he had no wish to still be here when they did arrive.
Besides he didn't have any clue as to who these girls were.
He'd seen and heard of some people who liked to dress up
for a fight, but why skimpy school uniforms?

A red rose chose that moment to become
embedded in ground in front of him.

Tuxedo Kamen's annoying theme music begins to play

"Where the cause of justice is imperiled, so shall the forces
of righteous come to protect the good and the innocent. Do
not lose hope Sailor Senshi, for Tuxedo Kamen has arrived
to aid your struggles against this abomination."

A large sweatdrop formed on the back of Ranma's helm,
it was matched by the one hanging from Ishtar's hilt.

[You have got to be kidding me. That overdressed jackass
should take a good look in the mirror before calling someone
else an abomination!]

{I don't believe this, *two* poetic idiots in one day.
Who does that clown think he is? Where the heck
was this Tux-baka when the real threat was present?!}

~~~~~~~

"Mwahahahahaha!!"

"I think all that power is going to the Bard's head."

"I told you this was a bad idea!"

"Eyecatch?"

"Eyecatch."

~~~~~~~~~
Eyecatch #4

(Mihoshi is dressed in white shirt
and pants and holding small metallic
cylinder in her hands.)

(The blue energy blade emerging from it
reveals that she's holding a lightsaber.)

(Shampoo lands next on her right, oufitted in an
Iczelion battle armor and produces a purple
Beam Saber.)

(Sailor Venus lands on Mihoshi's left, a wave
of her hand summons a yellow Psi-sword.)

(Devil Hunter Yohko comes running and stops
next to Shampoo, her Soul Sword at ready.)

All four proclaim: "All for one and Ranma for all!"

(P.O.V. changes to see who the four girls are facing.)

(Akane in her gi wielding a oversized
wooden bokken is revealed. A very
*large* sweatdrop pops up on her head.)

(She silently forms the words;
"You have *got* to be kidding me!".)

(Four slashes later Akane is just holding a
small wooden stub in her hands.)

(Akane: "That's it! I quit!")

(She starts to stalk off only to
be knocked off screen by the familar
"Ranma 1/2 with a twist" logo.)

~~~~~~~~~
BGM: Imperial March, The Phantom Menace Version
(in full Doby Surround Sound(tm))

-Somewhere deep in the Heart of the Trans-Galactic Empire

The first sign that trouble with a capital *T* was coming was
the sixteen Raptor starfighters that screamed through space a few
kilometers ahead of a mile long Imperial Battle Cruiser and it's
fifteen smaller escort ships. The giant war machine looked like
some giant archaic alien bladed weapon from the distant past,
a deliberate choice meant to strike fear into the hearts of those
who dared to resist the might of the Kreeghor. Although this
choice in design left the vessel with several very *obvious*
structural weak points, it was still quite an impressive sight
to behold. Aside from its white running lights the entire cruiser's
hull was dark grayish blue-black, a far departure from the customary
bright blood red and absolutely hideous greenish orange that were the
Fleet's traditional colors.(2)

The infamous dark ship's registry was known and dreaded
throughout the Empire and the Free Worlds.

INS 1027-NC443 Dark Impaler.

Standing at the front of the bridge, Captain Jarenz gazed out into
the dark void between the stars, the small flare of the capital defense
patrols the only illumination visible nearby. He was a cold hard man and
his subordinates moved with the extra caution that visceral fear gave
them. The Ironclaw despised incompetence among
his men and his preferred method of punishment
ensured that there were never any repeat offenders.

An aide walked across the bridge, his stride controlled but with a
nervous reluctance visible to the watchful observer. In the Empire,
the old saying about "killing the messenger" was often taken
at face value.

"My lord, we have just received word that the Rebels
have launched an all out assault on our base in the
Ristmoth system. Shall we prepare an intercept course?"

Bracing for an explosion, the petty officer started scoping
out potential routes of escape....just in case.

Whatever reaction he had been expecting, it wasn't the
amused chuckle that was his superior's reply.

"So, they've finally mustered enough of a
backbone to begin their long delayed offensive
against us."

"Ah...sir? Your orders?"

"Remain on course, they are
not our concern. I have my orders
from the Grand Admiral himself,
the location and capture of Ranma
Saotome is the only mission of any
importance to us."

"But our base?! All the troops stationed
there will be slaughtered without reinforcements!!"

A cool glance made the aide realize he
had overstepped his bounds. But the
Ironclaw demonstrated unexpected
restraint as he returned to his
contemplations of the stars.

"The Emperor has something
special planned for the Rebellion. You
would do well to learn your place in the
grand scheme of things if you wish to
continue serving the Empire."

The implied threat of that last
statement was enough to send the
trembling Silloutte scurrying away.

Captain Jarenz tightened his bionic
hand into a eager fist. Soon, he
consoled himself, soon he would
accomplish what the others had only
dreamed of. Then the ghosts that
haunted him would finally be put
to rest at last.

"It is only a matter of time now....."

The Dark side was no longer in check.

(to be continued)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(1) Give yourself a pat on the back if you
figured it out before the Bard does.

(2) Don't ask, just don't ask *Shudder*