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.
It was sunrise over Asia, or more specific, the Bakalayan Mountain Range in China, and the warm rays had just started peeking over the rim of dirt on the road leading over the mountain and down into the valley containing the Pools of Sorrow.
The light played colourfully and brightly over the jungle trees, damp from the morning dew, and made the water sparkle merrily as the sky blushed a pale red around its one brilliant eye.
A single speck disturbed the harmony of the sky, it hung very low and was approaching Jusenkyo rapidly.
As the speck came closer, it was discernable as a bulky, black car with the silver outline of a paw on the front, and the horizontal wheels were barely touching the tops of trees as it weaved between the taller trees and cliffs while it had a more or less direct route towards the Cursed Pools of Sorrow.
As the car came over Jusenkyo, Ranma slowed his car down and looked down on the place that had been the start of some of his more insane adventures in Nerima.
It looked nothing like it had then, and this was because the entire valley was flooded as a result of his battle with Saffron, forming a mountain lake instead of hundreds of springs. Even the Jusenkyo Guide's hut was mostly submerged, and it had been several feet above any spring in the valley. What results would come from falling into this lake, Ranma didn't want to know, and rather than tempt fate by remaining above it, he sped back up and circled the valley until he spotted what he was looking for.
It wasn't large, but it wasn't small, either.
Growing as the car approached was a wall of tightly packed stone and wood encircling a village carved out from the mountain side, hidden from sight from most angles by dense jungle and stone.
This was the village of the Musk.
This was Ranma's intended destination.
It had been time for Ranma to return to Japan and start taking care of the problem that was brewing with Dr Drakken, Shego, Ryoga and Akane, and as his car did not seat seven persons, it was decided that only Beebee would come with him as she was his personal secretary, and Ranma would set up the second of the two rings in his home so the others could come after them without the uncomfortable methods of travel currently available to the general public. Those that would wait for the ring to be set up had been very affectionate with him in an attempt at convincing him to let them come, but accepted it when he didn't ask them to come … they knew his unspoken reason was that Beebee was one of the few of them that wouldn't drag Ranma off to his room once they arrived in Japan, and would allow him to drive the car without distracting him with attempts at conversation about feelings or emotions … in other words, Beebee was not as forward as the others, so she would come.
About halfway across the Pacific, Ranma remembered about Hanza's request for a cure … well, more like a demand and threat, but still … so Ranma decided to make a quick stop by the Musk to see if a cure could be arranged.
With this in mind, Ranma circled the village once before landing the car in front of a big door, the biggest one, guessing that this would be the entrance to the royal quarters.
No sooner had both Ranma and Beebee exited the car, before two familiar men confronted them … Mint, the speedy man of wolf heritage, and Lime, the strong and enduring man of tiger heritage, both wearing what looked like skullcaps with the ears of the animal they descended from attached, and clothes of colours matching their headwear.
Apparently, though Ranma had changed, he had not changed enough, because the two men recognised him and fell into defensive stances against the only one known to defeat their Master.
"I'm here to see Herb," Ranma stated simply.
"I'll go inform King Herb of the intruders," said Mint to Lime, as though he hadn't heard Ranma even if he was looking right at him. "You keep an eye on them, and if they give any provocation, crush them."
With that said, Mint disappeared in a blur that streaked through the large doorway Ranma had suspected was the entrance where he would find Herb. While the Musk of wolf heritage might have been fast, Ranma had improved greatly since their last encounter, and could track the man without difficulty.
While they waited, Lime took the time to crack his knuckles in an attempt at intimidating the two intruders, but only achieved a brow raised in curiosity.
So as not to give Lime an excuse to attack him, Ranma remained perfectly still, apart from a wandering eye taking in the rough detail of this village … the most noteworthy, apart from the lack of native females, was that it seemed only a handful of men lived there.
It appeared that the Musk was indeed a dying people … and the loss of the Spring of Drowned Girl would certainly not help their situation any, as it was their only method of courtship … dunking a defeated animal, preferably a predator, in the spring and sire offspring with the animal in human form.
While Ranma pondered what happened to those women during the pregnancy and after the birth of the men, Mint returned at a similar pace as he went away with.
"King Herb said for us to escort our guests to the Throne Room," Mint growled. Ranma only then realised the title Herb was referred to, and could only venture a guess as to how he got that title since last time. "Follow me, and don't get lost!" Mint snapped and started walking back towards the door he had just emerged from, casting a glance back at Ranma and Beebee every few seconds throughout the entire trek.
Before commencing the walk, Ranma stowed away the car, not wanting to find out what would happen to it if it remained out in public in a more or less barbaric village.
As they walked in, with Mint in front of them and Lime in the back, Ranma could feel the tiger Musk leering at Beebee's body in her rather tight denim pants and loose, pink sleeveless top that revealed a bit too much to other people than Ranma was comfortable with if she raised her arms or bent forwards. The top kept sliding off one of her shoulders every time she moved, and Ranma made a note to have the girls go shopping for her so she wouldn't wear such revealing clothes. Though, he should keep his opinions of her clothes to himself, lest he wanted to get the speech of how they could all take care of themselves and that he shouldn't worry about their wardrobe anywhere other than in the bedroom.
The only reason Ranma wasn't beating some subtlety into Lime, was that he wasn't here to start troubles, and beating the guards of ones host is not only impolite, but would result in any chance for peaceful conversation being blown away like powdered snow in a storm.
The inside of the palace was as simple as the outside, rough, grey walls, smooth floor, high ceiling, evenly spaced columns with a few carvings of animal heads snarling at passers-by, and paintings of the Royal family and the epic battles for procreation.
A few minutes of walking through these gloomy corridors, the group entered a big room that could only be the Throne Room. It was very barren, apart from a statue on either side of the door, a raised dais for the throne and a statue on either side of the dais … of whom these statues were, Ranma didn't dare venture a guess.
Sitting on a throne of gold and ivory, was none other than the dragon descendant, Herb, and he was looking very smug.
"Saotome," greeted Herb, making no effort to hide that he still did not like him, but liked that Ranma now had come to Musk territory where he was no longer on home turf advantage. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?"
"It's Koki, actually," corrected Ranma. "Mom divorced my father and I took on her name to avoid being associated with the man, but I won't bore you any more with chatter of family. As for what brought me here, a friend of mine got cursed permanently into female form, and I wondered if I could get a packet of Instant Spring of Drowned Man and borrow the Locking Ladle to reverse the curse. If there is a price, money is no object."
Herb leaned on one chair arm and visibly pondered the request, though whether it was for the theatrics of it or if he really was pondering it was up for debate.
"Mint, approach," the finally declared.
The wolf descendant leaned in to listen to the whisper of his king.
Being that Ranma's hearing, even in human form, he could still hear that Herb told the man to fetch the assortment box and the Ladle in a whisper behind his hand.
Faster than most eyes could follow, Mint ran from the room to fulfil the quest given by his regent.
"So, Koki was it?" started Herb in a patronising attempt at making conversation. "This friend of yours … why didn't he, or is it she, come to me personally?"
"Hanza doesn't know about you," replied Ranma. "And before you ask, no, the Instant Spring powder is not for me, Hanza is not a fictitious person … I recently acquired another curse and dare not experiment with Jusenkyo …"
"Really? And that would mean that the person you brought is not this Hanza person?"
"No, this is Beebee, one of my girlfriends."
Any further small talk was cut off as Mint returned with a cardboard box and a familiar ladle.
From where Ranma stood, he could read the label of the box. Jusenkyo Products Inc: Instant Spring Party Pack! Amuse, amaze and surprise your friends by taking on different shapes! Five samples of each Spring! (Dangerous ones withheld for safety issues) For shipments of specific Springs, contact the Jusenkyo Guide!
Herb withdrew one of the packets within, but the name of the Spring was not on the side Ranma saw, so when the King ripped the packet open and poured the content into the Locking Ladle, Ranma was understandably a mite tense.
"Koki, this is the only thing our acquaintance warrants you!" declared Herb before whipping the watery content of the Ladle at the weredinictis in human form.
Ranma was about to redirect the stream of water when his vision was blocked by red, followed by a splash of water striking a semi-soft surface.
Looking down, Ranma saw Beebee leaning on him and giving him a tired, caring look before collapsing to the ground.
This set Ranma off … he had tolerated the leering the men had done, because of diplomacy … he had ignored the condescending tone Herb had spoken to him in … but he didn't like the thought of his girlfriends or family getting hurt, and seeing the one who never physically got tired drop to the ground like this was the straw that broke the donkey's back.
With hardly a thought, Ranma's flaming head technique activated drying up the water near him, and everyone and everything not Ranma's or Beebee's was sent into the walls with enough force to knock the wind out of even the tiger descendant, who was notoriously resilient.
"You fools," Ranma growled. "I came with peaceful intentions, giving you the chance to extend a hand in friendship, and this is how you repay me? Rest assured, if I ever hear anything about you treating anyone like you just did me, or if you ever threaten me or my loved ones, I will use every resource I have at my disposal to make sure that what few subjects you have left will never multiply in any fashion, and that the Musk will be erased from history and existence! Goodbye!"
Without any further ado, Ranma swept Beebee into his arms and released his car from stuff space by means of telekinesis, then with minimal effort, climbed in and activated the cannon, which he used to blast a path diagonally out of the mountain, coincidentally going through a big mountain stream that immediately started pouring into the tunnel instead of the route it had taken for ages.
With a flare of the jet engines, Ranma's car shot out the tunnel, leaving the three stunned Musk to get soaked from the flowing water.
As he emerged from the mountain, the only thing he could think about, apart from his worry over Beebee, was that Hanza might not get cured now that one of the very few possible cures had been unavailable.
Nodoka was having a peaceful breakfast with her younger housemates, Kasumi and Nabiki.
Her baby senses were still tingling, even if she had been assured that none of the women she knew of were expecting Ranma's child, but what was taking priority at the moment was the sense that something was about to happen.
"I'm telling you," Nabiki commented, as she had done ever since Ranma left. "Those scientists are completely incompetent! They haven't produced any solid results yet, only a few directions for Wild Horse Inc to branch into, and a few ideas for products! I mean, what am I paying them for?"
Nodoka couldn't help but smile.
"But, isn't it all Ranma's money?" asked Kasumi, like always taking an interest in the conversations she had a genuine opinion in. "And the company isn't even a month old … most research and development takes years to even produce what you told me your team leaders have presented you these past few days."
"Still," grumbled Nabiki. "It's not moving fast enough …"
Kasumi smiled automatically at her sister's impatience.
Nodoka barely heard their conversation, as she was focusing on seeing through the mask Kasumi was wearing … ever since her son had gone away again, the elder Tendo daughter had been increasingly lethargic, hardly leaving her room unless she needed to for classes, work or necessities like food and bathroom breaks. A few of Kasumi's fellow students, and tentative friends, had tried reaching out to her, but hadn't been able to.
Reaching for her cup of tea, Nodoka paused as she noticed ripples in the brown liquid. Something was sending vibrations into the cup and it was getting closer.
After a moment, the ripples were moving with such intensity that they were on the verge of sending drops into the air.
Then it stopped.
-Slam!-
The sound of a car door being shut in a hurry from the garden caused Nodoka to grin in joy … her son was home!
Before Nabiki or Kasumi could register it, Nodoka was out of the Tea Room, and through the now open sliding door to the garden, with her arms about the neck of her son.
It took Nodoka a few moments to register that Ranma was carrying an unconscious Beebee in his arms, and she let go as soon as she did, opting instead to escort him to the living room where there was a sofa Beebee could rest on until they were certain she could be moved further, for instance to a bedroom.
When Ranma and Nodoka came through the Tea Room, Nabiki and Kasumi stood and followed.
With Beebee on the sofa, Kasumi immediately started checking on her out of instinct as a health professional should, despite consciously knowing that Beebee was a robot.
"What happened, son?" asked Nodoka worriedly. She had been under the impression that Beebee could not suffer from fatigue due to her power source.
"We went to see Herb about a cure for an acquaintance I got in Jade," explained Ranma, sighing in frustration. He couldn't just open Beebee up, because he didn't have her blueprints and would likely only make things worse if he tried fixing her. "He threw Instant Spring water at me with the Locking Ladle but Beebee took the hit for me, then she just collapsed … she shouldn't react like that! Brianna said she was waterproof! I've seen her take a bath and she did not collapse from it!"
"Calm down, son," cooed Nodoka and embraced her son again. "I'm sure she's fine … there's bound to be a logical explanation for this."
"There is," interrupted Kasumi, shakily looking up from the lounging form of Beebee.
In the realm called the Retreat, the Werewolf Clan was holding a meeting.
"We do not know if half the rumours about this new werecat are true," argued a greying elder stubbornly. He wasn't about to shake in his pants just because some cat was supposedly omnipotent when there was no evidence of it.
"Regardless of unverified rumours, we know for a fact that this Ranma Koki, of a new species of werecat called the Weredinictis, had become the new Weapons-Master of Jade in place of the disgraced Weapons-Master G'Nolga," interrupted Jetta, the Clan leader, and daughter of the previous Clan leader. "And as such, we need to at least meet with him before we start to judge him … after all, we hated werecheetah for ages without a proper reason for it, and because of it, one of our own manipulated us into starting a battle with them that wiped out all but one and lost us quite a few as well … no, we will not repeat that mistake. We will send a request to Weapons-Master Ranma for a meeting, and take things from there."
"And how do you suggest we go about contacting the new Weapons-Master?" sneered one of the newer members of the Clan's Council. It was unfortunate, but after a certain age or a certain amount of achievements, a spot in the Council was offered to any werewolf, and as such, sometimes they would get an immature brat who thought he knew everything and was right about all opinions, or a bitter old fart who couldn't make an unbiased decision if his life depended on it. "We do not know where he lives, apart from rumours of going with the Diggers back to Earth after the victory party for Arms-Master Julia."
"Then we send a message to Arch Mage Diggers and his wife, asking them to contact him about a meeting, and if they do not know where to find him, then we will have to ask the Amazons to borrow a few trackers …" suggested Jetta. She was tired of having to argue every point of every decision with the newer members of the Council who had let their position go to their heads. If it wasn't for her young children needing their mother, she would have started tearing the limbs off the first person who argued with her again on such mundane matters as whether or not to hire the Clan idiot to sweep the floors of the Council's meeting hall between meetings, or whether or not to have cushions to sit on during meetings. "Do we need to put my suggestion to a vote?" she added dangerously.
Vlad and Natasha were watching with rapt attention as the fight scene repeated itself again, showing how this new player on the field, Ranma, had torn apart the Defences of Bain as though they were no big threat. This was the tenth time they had watched this fight, and still they were amazed at what new details they managed to catch each time.
"This new werecat is most amusing, don't you think, dear?" Natasha asked Vlad. "He also seems to have ties to your grandchildren, Diggers …" she added casually.
The Lich in a butler's coat and tails dared showing a grimace as he was addressed … having their attention on him was never a good thing, considering they still exacted small revenges on him for dethroning them, forcing them to perform janitorial jobs and for plunging the Undead Realm into bureaucracy. His own son and grandchildren had seen to the depletion of his power nearly a year ago when he had attempted to branch his influence into the Earth realm.
Because of his treatment of Vlad and Natasha, whenever the two vampires felt like it, they would drop something, have him pick it up, and while he was bent over one of them would kick him, which would result in several simultaneous pained areas.
"What do you think of this werecat, Diggers?" asked Natasha.
This was his chance … with his answer, he could make the two vengeful vampires do something foolhardy that could possibly have them killed. This werecat seemed just the perfect tool for his return to power, even if his own magical abilities had been severely weakened by his undeath and over time and use.
"I think he poses a big threat, Lady Natasha," the former Lich King started in what he hoped sounded like a serious tone … being undead really confused some senses, such as the sense of ones own conscious tone of voice. "The device he handed to Weapons-Master Brunhilda could possible be changed into a weapon specifically made to destroy the undead, and with his apparent technological understanding and access to material, he could produce enough of those weapons to supply an army or two … then there would only be a matter of time before the Undead Realm is invaded. I think it would be most important for you to send the Deadians to have him taken care of as quickly and discreetly as possible."
Feeling quite satisfied with himself for putting to live a plan that would lead to the ruin of his vampire masters, Diggers looked to them to see their reactions.
Vlad's lips were curling upwards around his fangs, and he was shaking for some reason. Natasha however was grinning from ear to ear, and only waited a few moments before exploding into laughter. Vlad followed in a more subdued chuckle.
"Did you honestly think we'd ask your advice for something like this?" Natasha asked as she gasped for air before falling back into another round of laughter. It took a while, but eventually, the laughter died down and Natasha made herself presentable again. "No, we know you'd leap at the first opportunity to reclaim our power … the question was only meant to tease you … now-"
-clank!-
"-pick up that tray before someone trips over it!"
Even knowing what would come, Diggers could only sigh and do as he was told.
The Maximum Security Prison in Jade was not a friendly place, what with all the dangerous, surly, and nasty criminals of every colour, belief, gender and species found there. And the less said about the personal hygiene of most inmates the better.
However, changes were being made to make the prison slightly more secure, after the rock giant had broken through several walls, ripped a few doors off the hinges and taken two other inmates with her.
Each inmate would now be assigned shackles forged of iron and dwarven steel, to make them impossible to get open by force or magic … granted, the lock could be picked, but spot checks of cells and prisoners would hopefully prevent anyone from getting the tools required for this task.
Another feature was that each wall would now be reinforced with metal of the same mixture as the shackles to prevent particularly strong individuals from simply cracking their way through the walls by punching them, or magically gifted persons blasting their way through.
Extra guards were being hired to make sure nothing happened. And to prevent outside assistance in an escape, thorough background checks and inspections would be made of each applicant and guard at random intervals by a Weapons-Master or the Edge Guard.
The few bright points for the inmates would be the times when they were let into a courtyard for some fresh air and sunlight … granted, the vampires and other undead creatures imprisoned weren't very fond of this time, but such is life …
It was nearly immediately before such a joyful time that a trio of newcomers arrived, and were allowed to partake in this activity, leading them to the assumption that this was a frequent occurrence … silly them.
"This is a nice day," Tirant grudgingly confessed. "All conditions considered …"
"The company could have improved …" commented Array as she noticed a few inmates start a harmless brawl that G'Nolga was very attracted to, even if the fighters weren't in her league of skill by far.
"So, any suggestions of how we break out of this place?" asked Tirant. "Because by the looks of it, your Sheriff and Judge personalities won't be able to manage it legally for some time, being under investigation, and I for one do not want to go to the bathroom in front of a large group of dirty strangers, or clean ones for that matter."
"Nothing springs to mind," sighed Array, also concerned about the matter of having an audience while doing her business … and there was no toilet paper, either. "They've changed a few things here since last one of my personalities visited."
"Damn that werecat and those Diggers for putting us here!" growled Tirant. It looked like he would have to do his business with an audience in the near future after all.
"Diggers?" asked a curious female voice from the shadows. Emerging from them was a creature that looked like an anthropomorphic skunk who had lost her tail, wearing what looked like a thick strip of pale, brown cloth across her bosom, and a loincloth held in place by a similar cloth at her hips. "Would this be the family of Britanny Diggers? The adoptive daughter of Arch Mage Theodore Diggers?"
"Yes …"
"Did you say they put you three in here with the help of some werecat?" continued the creature.
"Yes, the werecat was of big assistance in our arrest," snapped Tirant. "Are you going to introduce yourself, or do we have to get G'Nolga to beat your name out of you?"
"Tanya, former High Priestess of the Kryn in El-Dorado, and I would have become Queen if Britanny Diggers hadn't swooped in and stolen the Prince's heart, making him propose to her and then marry her …" grumbled Tanya. "But, on to more urgent matters, what was this about the werecat?"
"Short, black fur, doesn't look like much," Tirant described offhand. "But he was very strong, deadly and fast when his girlfriends were hurt."
""Girlfriends"?" asked Tanya. "As in plural?" at the nod of Tirant, Tanya couldn't help but start grinning. "Would that mean he has a strong sexually attracting quality?"
"How would we kno-"
"Yes!" interrupted G'Nolga and Array. Both of them blushed for different reasons once their exclamation had erupted.
"Good …" snickered Tanya and started walking away. "Maybe there's hope for breaking up Stryyp and Britanny yet … then I'll be Queen, and rule all Kryn with Stryyp by my side!"
As she started disappearing back into the shadows, the snicker evolved into a maniacal cackle that gave those that heard it Goosebumps.
On planet Aebra, the home of the Kryn, a meeting was taking place.
Assembled were members of various wealthy families, and lesser members of royalty, along with Stryyp and the former Empress Archon who stepped aside for Stryyp upon his return.
After Stryyp had assumed the throne, he had been forced to make trips back to Aebra every few days to be updated on the state of affairs … the Light Gate device was an immense help for this long journey, as the trip by space ship would not necessarily take more than a few days, but wouldn't be near as comfortable as stepping through the portal created by the ingenious device.
"Is there any new business?" asked Stryyp as he sat in the throne-like chair of the Council's Meeting Chamber.
A few issues were raised, most concerning the rebuilding of their civilisation after the attack by the Dynasty, and a few concerning his frequent absence from Aebra and how it affected the morale of the people.
"I will have the matter looked into," sighed Stryyp as he contemplated breaking the news to Britanny that he might have to move to Aebra to keep the people from either revolting or go on a strike of some sort. "Anything else?"
"There is something, my Lord," offered Archon carefully. "When speaking to me earlier, in private, you mentioned something of a person named Ranma Koki, and that he might possess awesome powers … perhaps it would benefit our people to learn from this person. If he is as powerful as you make him sound, he would be a good ally to have, should we run into trouble with the Dynasty again, and with your Sisters-in-Law providing us with ideas for technological advancements, we would not have to rely solely on you and the Artefacts in a time of need …"
Archon was a strikingly beautiful Kryn, and as such, it was no wonder Britanny worried she would lose Stryyp to her before she married him. At that moment, the female Kryn was worried that she might have overstepped her bounds as both a friend to Stryyp and as a member of the Council. Stryyp looked deep in thought, and the frown could make anyone think he might be cross with them.
"I will suggest such an alliance the next time I speak with them," Stryyp finally conceded. "I cannot guarantee that they will accept, and I will not tolerate anyone hiring people to attempt persuading them … any such acts will be considered traitorous and will at best result in a long time in prison for all those involved in the schemes, understood?"
With that agreement secured, the meeting was adjourned and each member went their separate ways, trying to figure out how to get by the rules placed by their King without getting caught, without it costing them too much, and without technically breaking the rules … surely, a loophole had to exist for them to take advantage of …
Lying on her bed, Princess O'Lura was enjoying some time off from her duties in the VOLTRON force under the codename Pink Heart.
The princess was by no means unattractive … but she was hardly a foot tall, tomboyish tendencies, puffy bowl cut blonde hair, and a savage tongue … this alone would be reason for most men to head for the hills if her attention came onto them. The only reason she was made to be the colour code Pink, was because of her gender, but she made sure to compensate for this by using profane language on anyone who even slightly crossed her.
Because of her attitude and need to prove herself, she rarely afforded herself any time to herself, apart from while performing maintenance checks on her VOLTRON equipment.
In the spirit of this rare occasion, she had decided to give in to her girly urges, and read a romance novel while listening to soothing music and amidst scented candles in her bedroom, while snacking on non-fattening foods.
The book was one she had found while doing a security sweep of the castle … some unfortunate maid must have dropped it. Whatever caused the maid to drop it, Princess O'Lura decided that she would not care, and read this so-called true romance novel … The Black Paw sounded very interesting from what the summary on back of the book detailed …
As she read of the beginning years of this Ranma character, she almost felt bored … honestly, who wanted to read about a child? Wasn't this supposed to be a romance novel?
Then as Ranma turned five, she fumed at the audacity of his father for writing out a suicide pact and having his son sign it by way of placing a hand print on it under the belief that it was finger painting … and then the bastard took his son away from his mother to train him into the violent world of fighting!
By the time she reached Ranma's sixth year, she was outraged and cursed loudly at no one until she calmed down at a single thought. While this novel might be based on real life, there was surely no father in the world that would be stupid and inhumane enough to throw their only child into a pit filled with starving cats, while the child was wrapped in various fish products … And they certainly wouldn't be as self-centred as to have their child sign a suicide pact in their childish ignorance… This Genma character had surely only been grossly exaggerated to garnish a certain amount of sympathy for the main character and to make less people like the father, right?
In Japan, Genma sneezed violently during his meal, spattering his vegetable soup over those men sitting across from him.
This resulted in an attempted retaliation that missed and struck other men … men with lesser mental stability.
In the end, the biggest riot in the history of the prison erupted, prisoners were committed to the hospital ward along with guards, millions of yen worth of toiletries and billions of yen in property damages were inflicted, and Genma, the instigator of the event, got another year or two added to his multiple life sentences, and was sent to solitary for two weeks. He was lucky that no one had died, or he might have faced possible execution.
With an exclamation worthy of the best yodellers in the world, Ukyo did a little stationary dance with excitement as she sat at the phone, the communications device completely forgotten where it was dangling by its cord, just barely touching the ground.
After a lot of trouble and headaches, she had finally managed to track Ranma down! Oddly, the only thing she was able to get from the operator was the address of his offices, but that would be enough!
Finally, she would be able to have him give Mousse a beating for taking advantage of her under the effects of some sort of lust dust, and putting her in the family way!
Finally, she would be able to hug him, kiss him and have him love her!
Giving the cage behind the counter a kick, which earned wild quacking from within, Ukyo set about arranging for her departure … selling the place would have to wait until she had seen how the meeting went, but Ranma would surely accept her even if she was pregnant … who was she kidding? He'd accept her even if she had gotten knocked up by an alien elephant trying to repopulate its species by sowing its oats in as many fields as possible.
Ranma would still love her … after all, they had been engaged since they were little more than five years old.
Overcome with joy, Ukyo returned to her chair and started crying … cursing her hormone-induced mood swings.
"Ranma!"
The excited squeals of five women nearly deafened the poor man, shortly before his airways were strained by the pressure of several of those women hugging him about the neck and chest.
Ranma had, as soon as he was sure Beebee was in good hands, and his mother knew the story of how things happened on the way home, gone to the dojo and erected the second Ring along one wall and sent a brief message to the other side that it was safe to travel.
He hadn't needed to wait more than a few seconds before the Ring activated again, and his conscious girlfriends came barrelling through.
Charlotte was the first to break away from the group, having also been the one to choose a less crowded spot to give the father of her unborn child a hug. Then one by one, the others also broke away, but lingered near Ranma anyway. It was Lydia who first noticed something off.
"Where's Beebee?" she asked, looking around. "I would have thought she'd be here along with the rest of us …"
"About that …" said Ranma awkwardly. "Let's take this into the living room … mother is preparing lunch, and Nabiki and Kasumi are taking the day off, this way …"
Still somewhat awkward, Ranma rubbed the back of his neck as he led his girlfriends across the garden, past the koi pond and into the open sliding door to the living room. Inside, Kasumi and Nabiki were watching TV … anime to be exact, and commenting on the plot or errors performed by either animators or colour artists.
"Oh my, guests," gasped Kasumi as she saw the group that entered, and got to her feet while smoothing out a few imaginary wrinkles from her modest casual dress, blushing for some reason. "I'll inform Auntie."
As Kasumi quickly left the living room, the other women found seats at Ranma's suggestion.
"There has been a few developments since I left America," Ranma started, resorting to the Soul of Ice to keep his emotions under control. "They would have a strong impact on the group relationship, I'd say … I'll start with the least shocking, and please don't interrupt me.
"When I arrived here, I got a very warm welcome by my mother … granted, that would not be so odd seeing as I have been very busy this past time and hardly stayed in one place for more than a couple of weeks. Anyway, shortly after telling mother, Nabiki and Kasumi of my adventures, at least what they hadn't heard from Beebee when she spoke with them on the phone, Kasumi revealed to me that she has slowly over the past year started developing feelings for me … at the time those feelings started, I was still engaged to Akane, so she felt she couldn't take a chance at ruining her sister's happiness and kept those feelings to herself. Later, when I returned from Jade, she was working up the courage to tell me, but I left before she could. And, as much as I'd hate to do this to you, I would like for you all to decide whether or not you think Kasumi deserves to join our polygamous relationship."
A deafening silence immediately followed Ranma's explanation … they were probably waiting to see if it was a joke of some sort. When it was clear that it wasn't a joke, the women shared a few emotional looks in silence before Lydia nodded and took it upon herself to act as a spokesperson.
"Ranma, how do you feel about her?" she asked gently.
Ranma, who had turned away from the group immediately after his announcement for fear of seeing disgust on their faces, returned to face them again, relieved that no such expressions were visible.
"I care about her a great deal," he admitted. "When I lived at the Tendo household, there were very few allies I could turn to, but Kasumi was always there, willing to listen and ready with the first aid kit when I'd gotten into a fight … after a time living with the Tendo family, I started admiring how she took on each household chore like I did challenges, and never complaining about how unfair it was that she was the only one doing those things in a household of six or seven. It was also sad, like watching a caged songbird … but I care about her enough to give her a chance … maybe things will develop more over time, maybe not … I hope I can at least keep her happy without robbing any of you of your happiness …"
Another brief exchange of looks occurred, and en masse, Ranma's girlfriends got up from their seats and silently went to embrace Ranma. While they were clearly not very happy about having yet another woman to share their man with, his tender moment had softened their resolve to give him a hard time about it.
"Of course we'll accept her," was one of the whispered sentences that were repeated. Another was: "As long as you're happy," and a third was: "But there had better not be many more, mister!"
This was the scene Nodoka and Kasumi entered the living room to … Ranma mostly covered in affectionate women.
Nodoka only held back a happy dance because of the tray of sandwiches and salads she was carrying, but as soon as the tray was on the table, she pulled out her celebratory fans and started a little jig, nearly knocking down Kasumi who was about to put another tray on the table, this one carrying cups and a tea kettle. Fortunately, Nodoka's control of herself was such that she could avoid this would-be accident.
The women, seeing Kasumi looking shyly on them, made room for one more and gestured for her to join them, something she did hesitantly, but happily.
However, in making room for Kasumi, the women did one serious mistake … they allowed Nodoka to see Charlotte in her apparent pregnant state, and within moments after Kasumi had joined the group hug, Charlotte found herself pulled away and twirled around as Nodoka examined her to make sure she wasn't simply overweight.
With a squeal of excitement, the elder redhead took the winged woman into an embrace and spun around, screaming about how manly her son was, and how she was going to be a grandmother soon!
Then after a minute of this show, Nodoka stopped and put a dizzy Charlotte down, and scowled at her son.
"Ranma, is there a reason you hid this from me?" she asked seriously. "When I last called, I asked if you had gotten someone pregnant, and Beebee said no."
"Actually, I think she said that none of my girlfriends had gotten pregnant," corrected Ranma from what he had been told after waking up from the nap he had taken when he was told about Charlotte expecting his child. "At the time, Charlotte wasn't one of my girlfriends … that happened after you called, so Beebee didn't lie, she merely avoided the complete truth …"
Satisfied with his answer, though only because of the bulging belly that was produced as a result of her son's manliness, Nodoka went about ushering the guests into their seats again.
"Now, on to the second development," announced Ranma, reminding everyone that he had used not yet told them the reason for Beebee's absence. "On the way across the Pacific, I decided to try and get Hanza a cure through some acquaintances of mine, and we took a quick side-trip to China. My acquaintance was apparently not all that pleased to see me, and attempted to lock me in female form by use of Instant Spring water from the Spring of Drowned Girl and an instrument called the Locking Ladle with the magical properties of locking the form of Jusenkyo curses on whomever is doused with water from it, provided they had a Jusenkyo curse. The Instant Spring water and the ladle would most likely permanently have locked me in female form, if Beebee hadn't jumped in front of me and taken the full amount of the spray. Nearly immediately after, she collapsed, and I made our escape, leaving behind not only the only known hope for Hanza's cure, but a lot of damage as well …"
"That sounds very odd," commented Brianna. "Beebee was made to withstand moisture … and the chi-tech supplying her with power isn't affected by water, so nothing should have short circuited …"
"I know," agreed Ranma. "But that's not the biggest part of the development … perhaps it would be better if you saw it yourselves … Beebee, would you come in now, please?"
From the hallway, the door slid aside, revealing a smiling Beebee.
There was something different about her, though, but what it was, those watching could not tell.
As she walked inside, the others could tell she was having difficulty, and watched carefully where she placed her feet so as not to bump into anything, and her balance seemed a tad off compared to how she was before departing for Japan with Ranma.
"Brianna, why don't you give Beebee a hug?" suggested Ranma.
Uncertain about his reasoning, Brianna did what her boyfriend suggested, and got up from her seat to embrace the former Bit Bomb.
Upon contact with Beebee, Brianna immediately felt the difference from before.
Unlike last time she touched Beebee, her skin was now warm, but not hot. The skin gave way, but resisted to touch and bounced back when pressure eased. There was a mild pulsing under the skin, and her chest expanded and contracted in breath that was clearly felt coming out of her mouth … Brianna knew these features had not been included in her original design, and there was no possible way for Ranma to completely redesign Beebee in a single day, no matter how talented he was … there was only one possible answer to what was causing all of these physical reactions, even as impossible as it sounded … Beebee was alive!
Author's Notes; There are a lot of things I'm not certain of when some of the information from Gold Digger is concerned, mostly because the comic doesn't offer too much information, and the official Gold Digger website (coincidentally found at www dot cheetaholics dot net) offers little information about characters, even if there is an entire page dedicated to them. What little I have written, I have pieced together from what I understood of the Gold Digger comic, and what little I got from the character profiles (by the way, there isn't anything but an image of the character and their name on most of them, unless they are main cast, and even then not all of them …).
And I don't know what the effects of the Locking Ladle used with Instant Spring water would be, I merely took an educated guess … please, feel free to inform me otherwise if you know my assumption to be untrue.
For those who hoped Genma would get himself into more mischief with Ranma, I'm sorry to say that as long as he is in those bracers Ranma made and put on him, he will not escape solitary … and no one would dare remove them without following correct procedure after what happened the last time he was in jail.
By the way, can anyone guess how The Black Paw really came to be found in a leprechaun castle in Ireland? (Rhetorical question, no need to answer.)
Credits; DJ Rodriguez came up with the idea of adding in the reactions of other creatures, both in Jade and on Earth, to the news of Ranma's new species and title (I know this was badly worded, but I think my point got across …).
Writing Tip; By ki master. ki master brought up a good point in his review, when writing a summary of the story on this site, or any other for that matter, if you have no idea what to put there, you should not write stuff like "I suck at summaries" or "I don't know what to say", but rethink posting your story, because if you do not have the skill to write a summary of your story, do you really think anyone is interested in reading it? To quote ki master; "A summary is meant to capture the reader's attention then let the story speak for itself, not grab the reader by the throat and drag them through the murky waters of the story." I may not have the skill to follow through with this tip myself, but please keep it in mind when writing, okay?
