(Re-Posted January 11th 2007)
Disclaimer; This fanfiction uses existing ideas, characters and or worlds, but is an independent work of art. I own nothing, hence the reason for publishing my writings here instead of in real books where I could make some money.
"Do as I say, woman!"

Genma Saotome was not in a happy mood, as could be seen by the dark red colour of his face.

He was currently in a bank of the Minato ward, where he had found that his son had set up an account without letting anyone know and with money Genma never knew he had. The sole reason he found out about the account, was the monthly statement that had been sent to the Tendo home, and Ranma had not been present to snatch up before anyone noticed, like he normally would.

"I'm sorry, sir," apologised the female teller. "The government has not yet recognised that Ranma Saotome is dead, so we will not hand over what is on his account to you, even if you are his father. No one short of the Emperor would have the authority to demand we do that."

"But he is my son, I am his father, and as his legal guardian I demand to make a withdrawal from that account!" countered Genma stubbornly. He needed that money for sake! He had run out of photographs of his son to show some suckers so he could engage their daughters for a small sum of money or a meal.

"I'm sorry, sir, but there was no trace of a dead body, and only hearsay about him being killed by magic," answered the teller seriously. "Until such time that a body can be found and the DNA and dental evidence checks out, the government and this bank will consider Mr Saotome as missing. If he has not returned in seven years to tell us otherwise, he will then be declared legally dead, either letting the content of the account go to his closest relative, or if none is found, it will go to the government."

It was all perfectly reasonable, and most people would understand or give in when told about it, but this man just didn't get it even after having been told three times. After another raving about how she had to do as he said, just because he said so, she pressed the button that called security to her counter.

"Mr Saotome," she replied tersely, due to a suggestion of her parentage and sexual preference. "The only way you could access this account, would be to have an agreement with Mr Saotome, which you do not have. Only one person apart from Mr Saotome has that agreement to date, and she has not abused it for more than enough to cover the cost of a box of tea when she was short a hundred yen. Now, have a good day, sir."

Genma was about to continue his attempts to persuade the woman, but two pairs of hands grabbed his arms, and forcibly ejected him from the building.

As the fat man tumbled to a halt, he could have sworn he heard a faint scream below him reminding him of the Master, followed by the roar of something, but put it off as his imagination.

He got up and dusted himself off. It was about time he got himself together, returned to his wife and demanded she empty their dead son's bank account. After all, she was his wife, and had to do what he said.


Elsewhere in Tokyo, Nodoka Saotome was hanging out her laundry, along with that of her two semi-tenants, to dry.

She just loved having the house full of people again … it made her feel less lonely. However, she was still waiting patiently for her manly son to return. After all, her son had killed a demigod on the way to ascension of full godhood, if the rumours were true, surely he would survive something like whatever Hell that foolish Kuno boy had supposedly banished him to. Maybe they meant Hell in Norway … or in the States … maybe it was Cleveland, Americans in general seems to think that city is pure Hell …

She had just hung out the last article of clothing, a pair of very racy panties Nabiki used every Friday night, when there was a knocking at the front gate.

Nodoka placed the hamper by the door and opened the gate, and was greeted with the sight of a gangly boy about her son's age, thick glasses and greasy hair that suggested either frequent wear of a hat or sub-par hygiene due to preoccupation on other fronts. The pack on his back seemed to be the only training in weights he had.

"Mrs Saotome?" asked the boy seriously.

"That would be me," confirmed Nodoka.

"I was a friend of your son, Mrs Saotome," explained the boy. "I am Iwo Kashima, the President of the Science Club, of which your son was a member."

"I'm sorry, you must be mistaking Ranma for another Saotome, my son had no interest in anything but the Art-"

"On the contrary, madam," interrupted President Iwo. "It was through a challenge that I managed to expand his definition of the Art to include theory and practice outside of fighting. May I have a few words with you in private? This is a sensitive matter, and I wouldn't want to let the world know at the moment."

"Oh my, where are my manners?" exclaimed the Saotome matriarch, aghast that she had let this slip past her so easily. "Please, come inside! I'll make you some tea!"

Before the boy could protest or accept the offer of refreshments, he was ushered gently indoors, and offered a pair of guest slippers to replace his shoes while indoors.

As President Iwo exchanged his footwear, Nodoka gracefully swept outside and grabbed the empty hamper and swept back inside. The hamper now stood outside the wash room before the furo.

Once more, the boy was ushered along, slippers barely managing to hang on as he stumbled down the hall.

Before he knew it, he was seated before a table, on a pillow, and with a steaming cup in front of him. How did she do that? She didn't even leave the room! And how did I manage to get into the tea room and sit down without noticing?

"Now, then, Mr Kashima," started Nodoka, sipping her own cup of tea. "What was this private business you had to discuss with me?"

President Iwo straightened his glasses, figuring this family was prone to perform seemingly impossible feats so he might as well accept it and save himself the headache of figuring it out. The tea was good, though. Ginseng, if he wasn't mistaken … something else was mixed in, though … Green Tea? Earl Grey? Lime? Hard to tell …

"Well, as I stated earlier, your son was a member of the Science Club, and he was quite talented after he got inspired by his love of a good challenge. He even made a few inventions all on his own. That is why I am here," Iwo reached for his backpack, and drew a thick folder from it. "This folder contains all of the blueprints of your son's designs. The hardcopies, that is. He made copies for his computer and handed the hardcopies to me for safekeeping, but that was it. I would feel I was a poor friend if I did not pass on these to you, his mother and closest relative."

President Iwo bowed slightly as he presented the folder to Nodoka. She accepted them hesitantly.

"I would also feel very bad if I did not also give you these," another, considerably thinner, folder was produced and presented. "They are the notarised blueprints and patent applications for one invention I took the liberty of having sent in on Ranma's behalf. They could be worth a fortune if presented to the right people, which is where I come in. I know which e-mails to hack- er –access and which companies to pitch an advertisement to, and would more then gladly handle the business part of this, sending the money made to your son's bank account. I will not even ask for a fee for my services. Your son did so much for our Club, this will be my way of paying him back."

Nodoka was taken aback by the sheer emotion in the boy's voice, not to mention that she only now discovered her son's hobby, and it was going to pay more than any Martial Artist would ever make, by the way the boy expressed himself, maybe even more than Jackie Chan, Jet Lee or Bruce Lee.

"And-" she took a moment to compose herself. "What is this invention?"

Nodoka watched as the boy seemed to light up with excitement.

"It's simply one of the most ingenious things I've ever had the honour of seeing!"

A completely unbiased opinion if she ever heard one.

"It is a small chip with a thin wire looping out of it that can extend to about the width of a set of normal hips, it can be attached, or sown into, any pocket or bag, and will, as long as the container is within reach of the user or any living being, fold space within the container and allow it to increase mass of storage within the container up to twenty times normal!"

This was certainly unexpected.

"What kind of batteries does it use?" asked Nodoka. "Those small ones for wrist watches?" surely, the thing must use a lot of power, and therefore run through batteries like a child runs through its candy.

"That's the beauty of it, none!" exclaimed the boy, grinning so widely Nodoka thought it a small wonder the top of his head hadn't fallen off.

"What?" this sounded impossible.

"It uses the radiation from bio energy to stay on," Iwo continued. "That's why it has to be within reach, or else the power will run out very quickly, and the mass will expand to normal space. It is, as I said, the most brilliant idea ever conceived! Think of what uses this new energy source could have! And best of all, it doesn't pollute! No environmental group will be able to protest against its use or production!"

Nodoka was, to put it mildly, in shock.

Her son, the boy that was on the verge of having to retake a year in school, was really a genius? But the last thing she heard from his teachers was that he slept through classes! … Hmmm … maybe he slept through them because he already knew the material … But he never did his homework! … or did he do them and hand them in secretly …

She had to admit, that would make sense. Nodoka knew of Akane's jealousy at her son's skills … maybe he had gotten the teachers to act like he was ignorant because she would throw a potentially lethal temper tantrum if she found he could outstrip her in anything … but why did the teachers have to lie to his parents? … because her fool of a husband would go on about what a waste of time it had been to learn this scholastic knowledge, that Ranma should only rely on the Art, and how it would be disgraceful not to … and maybe because she, Nodoka, would be unable to keep this great news a secret for longer than three seconds after anyone asked why she looked so happy …

Then it dawned on her.

"So these past months, whenever Ranma was missing, he was with you and your club?"

"Off the record, yes," confirmed Iwo, after looking around for any eavesdroppers.

And Akane had abused him for being perverted with any girl every one of those instances … what a senseless amount of violence …

"Well," started Iwo awkwardly, "I've done what I came for, I need to return home, my sister is setting me up with a friend of hers."

"Oh, let me escort you out," answered Nodoka.

She followed President Iwo as far as the gate, only stopping to exchange footwear again.

"Good bye, and thank you," she called, waving after the boy as he walked away.

"Good bye, and I'm really sorry about your loss!"

Nodoka refrained from calling out her beliefs about Ranma's mortal situation because it would sound like she was in denial, but nodded to indicate that she had heard it.

She waited until the boy was out of sight then turned to return to her home.

Only to find herself staring at a man's chest, covered in a smart, black business suit.

"Is this the Saotome residence?" the man asked in a rough and stern voice. "Are you Saotome Nodoka?"

"Yes," squeaked Nodoka, finding this manly man slightly intimidating. She briefly wondered if Ranma could be this intimidating. Surely it would be manly if he ever was …

The man opened a briefcase, and pulled out a folder not too unlike the ones President Iwo had given her not moments ago, but with a white sticker on it with the name; Saotome Genma, and the banner of Child Services printed on the leather.

"You have been served," he grunted. "Make sure your husband get this, and tell him to meet in court within nine o'clock of the assigned date on the note inside. If he does not make an appearance, he will immediately lose any parenting rights to one Saotome Ranma, and will be sentenced to a ten year stretch in a high security prison in addition to any possible prison sentence he will be given pending the trial. If he resists detainment, he will double his sentence. Further punishment will be determined if it comes to that. Have a nice day." And with that, the man turned and entered a small, black limousine, which soon drove off for other errands.

Nodoka was once more in shock.

The only reason anyone would remove parenting privileges was if they were bad parents … really bad parents …

What had her husband done to warrant this?

Surely, he wouldn't treat her son badly enough to warrant such extreme measures, would he?

She cracked open the folder and scanned through the charges against the man she loved, wed and bore a son for.

For every charge listed, her shock melted away to be replaced by cold fury. By the end, one wouldn't know whether to be burned or frozen by her flaring aura.

Genma would do well in staying away from her for another decade before he could think of returning to her without dire consequences.

"No-chan!" bellowed a certain fat, bald Martial Artist from where he was marching down the street towards her. "Our son has been hiding money from us in a bank in a different Ward! I demand you go and empty that account at once! He has no need for that money anymore!"

A wave of cold air washed over the man, frosting his glasses over, thereby blinding him from the violence that was rapidly approaching.

Ooh boy, this would not be pretty.


"Ugh," Ranma was not feeling well.

At first it had only been a slight uneasy feeling, but after he had set up a fire and started cooking the stew, which was made to make his ingredients last longer, the feeling had been growing until it felt like he didn't fit in his own skin. And now as the eclipse was about to reach its pique, Ranma felt about as miserable as the last time he ate some of Akane's cooking, only this time he didn't feel like throwing up.

His body was screaming for something, but Ranma had no idea what that something was, and he was barely able to move to get it if he did know.

Then the black lid that was the moon covered the sun completely, forming a ring of fire in the sky.

Ranma suddenly felt like he was set aflame, even if he was a safe distance from the cooking fire. He could not restrain a scream of pain, one that held a slight yowl to it due to his transformed nature.

Then the pain mixed with a tingling down his spine, just like when his curse was activated! He felt himself shrink, and shrink. He managed to open his eyes, and found the world so much larger than before. He felt his fangs extend just enough to peek out of the muzzle he just grew. He was a cat, but he knew of no cat that had such long teeth other than the Sabre-toothed tiger, and he was certainly not big enough to be a tiger, he had no stripes, and his canines weren't long enough to match those of the Smilodon. By his agony-based judgement, he was only slightly bigger than Shampoo was in her cursed form, perhaps the size of a lynx, and his agonised yowl was mostly that of an animal, with a mere hint of speech to it.

Another round of tingling mixed with the diminishing pain, and Ranma was nearly horrified to feel Mr Happy change into Ms Happy. Her fur was now still black, but as the light hit it in a certain way, there was a red sheen. She didn't feel much different from the last change other than gender, being about the same size. The pitch of the yowl went up one note.

The tingling returned and Ranma felt herself grow back to the same size she had been before the eclipse, but with feminine shapes and forms. Ranma was somewhat relieved that her breasts weren't as big as they used to be … she now knew there would be less stress on her spine, which would lead to less tension and back pains, not to mention a better sense of balance and easier to restrain where fighting and movement was concerned. The scream died, as the pain became manageable again.

The tingling came again, and Ranma felt herself shift forms, becoming the same height as she usually had in her male form before the transformation and banishment. The feminine charms and talents grew proportionally, which made her glad, as the weight removed from her back was not limited to the hybrid form. She was also slightly relieved to feel the tickle of reddish black hair down her neck, forming a mussed up pageboy cut if her senses were not misinforming her. She was human!

She absently managed to remind herself to either buy or make a top for when she was female again. Flashing every peeping tom because she lacked something to cover herself with would not do. Contrary to popular belief in Nerima, she had learned some feminine modesty, she just didn't apply it because she didn't want anyone believing that she was getting too girly in covering herself up like a panicking girl.

Another tingle removed Ms Happy and the talented twins, and restored Mr Happy. The reddish black hair lost its red hue, and shortened once more to a neat trim. He was human, and a man again!

One final time, the tingling returned, and he felt himself change back to how he was before the eclipse.

The eclipse was over, and Ranma lay on the ground, grinning and exhausted.

He could return to human form! His flows of energy had changed exactly like in the weretigress when she demonstrated the change to him.

True, his pigtail was lost, and he still had a curse, but he wasn't stuck in what the weretigress called a hybrid form.

He could not recall a day he had been happier!

Nothing could ruin his day!

-Sniff!-

What was that burned smell?

Ranma's eyes widened in realisation.

"My stew!"


Between the towns of Ryden and Tux, a hunting party of Amazons was waiting as the sun sets.

They were composed of giants and humans, all female, and all with well developed talents and skills. Some were Amazon Breeders, but most were Hunters.

This has been a long awaited occasion, and as such only the best were included.

The eclipse may have slowed it down by half a day or so, its mystic energies making it impossible to teleport or use teleportation scrolls for the few hours surrounding it, but their triumph would be no less sweet.

A hundred metres away from the awaiting party, a swirling portal suddenly sprung into existence, showing a mountain village walled in by giant logs, and surrounded by jungle on all sides.

Through this portal, another hunting party of Amazons stepped through, headed by what appeared to be a shrivelled monkey with long white hair, on a gnarled staff. The foreign Amazons were dressed more in armour and more cover, as opposed the local Amazons, who wore little more than Earth super models wore to the beach … and some weapons.

Once the Amazon hunting party was through the portal, it closed, and the Amazon Elder of Earth hopped forward on her staff. The leader of the local Amazon party stepped forward as well, until they met halfway.

The elder woman bowed humbly before the considerably younger.

"We, the Amazons of Juketsuzoku of the Earth Realm, humbly beg for the superior assistance of the Amazons of Jade in the search and capture of a wayward husband, and prime breeding material," the gravel like voice formally pleaded.

The other woman, seven foot tall, with brown hair tied into a high ponytail, and wearing a golden bikini for armour, and a spear for a weapon, smirked viciously.

"For breaking off with our tribe three thousand years ago, we should decline your request without thought," she drawled, thoroughly enjoying the moment. The foreign Amazons seemed to become distressed at this, and fidgeted somewhat, but remained silent out of respect for their Elder. "But, we will accept your plea, and assist you in your search. Give us a description, and we shall find him, provided he has escaped to this Realm. And after we personally check if he is worthy of Breeding, we will hand him over to you. The price, however, was decided when your people left ours. Ten gold pieces per day our quest lasts, and ten times that upon completion. I hope you have enough, or the price will be paid in blood or with total, unquestioned, loyal service to our people for the rest of your mortal lives."

"We should have enough," groused Cologne.

"Very well, but you have been warned of the consequences if you can not pay," finished the hereto unnamed Amazon.

"Then let us get started."


On a boat in the harbour of Lrith, three rats are hiding in the storage room, their things stowed away in some dark corner.

"How come the old fart dropped us off on a different continent?" grumbled the male one.

"Because we f#&ing annoy him, jacka$$!" retorted the dark female one.

"Like, how long is this boat ride?" asked the last, purple, rat. "Like, my fur gets, like, frizzy with the, y' know, salty sea air, and I get, like, motion sickness!"

"What?" exploded Lydia, still in rat form. "You never had any trouble with airplanes, trains or cars!"

"I only, y' know, have that problems with, like, boats."

"Great," complained Romeo. "Days at sea with a barfing rat! Life can't get much worse than that!"

"Mew!"

"What was that Moisha?"

"I didn't say anything," answered Moisha. " Lydia, why d' you mew, y' know, like a cat?"

No answer was heard, so the two turned to see what was wrong, and found the third member of their party staring in fear at a large, tiger-striped tomcat with a predatory gleam in his eyes.

"RUN!"

"Romeo you f#&! You jinxed us!"


Soun Tendo was sitting on the dirty floor of the dining room. A half empty cup of sake was sitting before him. He was staring at the potholed garden that had not more than a week ago been the pride of Nerima. The koi pond was now empty of fish, and had a burnt out fire next to it. The wall surrounding the compound was decorated with two large holes, most likely from the entrance and exit of a certain Lost Boy.

He had returned from the bar yesterday to find a note pinned to his youngest daughter's door, saying she was going on a training trip with Ryoga, and not to worry about what she would do for food. Apparently, Ryoga had plenty.

Soun was sad. All his daughters had abandoned him, and his wife was dead. He had little else to live for, and no significant income. Silent tears were making tracks down his face, staining his hakama, and making his moustache soggy.

Maybe the world would be better off without him …

-THUMP!-

Startled, Soun looked behind him, and saw his best friend, dirty, beaten, bruised and with cuts and rips decorating his person, lying on the ground. Some rolled up papers were sticking out of his pants for some reason, but that could wait.

"Saotome! What happened?" he asked worriedly.

A slight disagreement with my wife, replied the old fool through means of a sign, even if he was in human form.

"Why on earth would she do something like this?" demanded Soun. That woman was the epitome of a Japanese wife, what could have possessed her not only to actually do something like this to her husband?

I think she wants a divorce, replied Genma, silent tears streaking down his face. Oh, the pain! What did I do to deserve such punishment?

"I know how you feel, old friend," replied Soun solemnly, shedding tears in sympathy for his friend. "I too know the sting to the heart caused by the loss of a loved one!"

No! She broke my ribs, and I'm lying on them!