CHAPTER 7

-"ERICK'S PLAN"-

Last time:

Erick Genryusai and Bass find out they have something in common – they don't like R! They decide to team up in order to find Ran and the Phoenix Stone…. and maybe humiliate R in the process.

We seen Ranma, Ran, and Akane running to school very fast – (well, Akane is kinda way behind). "We'd better hustle Ran, or we're gonna be late for school!"

Ran replies, "Tell me about it. It's bad enough that we have to deal with that jerk Kuno or something, but to deal with that weird ki-sucking teacher Miss. Hinako!"

Ranma nods. "Yeah. Come on, I'll race you to it; last one has to clean the Dojo!"

"You're on! Prepare to eat my dust!"

Then, they run like bullets. Akane however:

Man, I better train a lot if I'm gonna be as great as those two," she pants.

Little do they know, several hidden cameras were monitoring them. For far far away, somewhere in China, within the castle of the Red Cat Gang, Dr. Wily, Bass, Bubbleman, Erick and Delia and the Statue of the Cat Ghost King were watching the video:

"And there they go." Erick says as he observes Ranma and his companions.

Dr. Wily plainly objects, "I still don't like the idea of just 'watching' them. I mean, why can't we just go and destroy them already?"

"Tsk tsk, Doctor. I already told you all, in order to beat our enemies, we must first know our enemies."

"But, how will watching them help us?"

"Tell me Dr. Wily, do you know how the Praying Mantis gets its prey?"

"Praying Mantis…? Just what the heck insects have to do with this?"

"A lot, now answer me."

"How should I know? I'm a scientist, not a bug expert!"

Erick sighs in frustration, "Ugh!…Listen, the Praying Mantis stands still in the leaves, waiting, it doesn't move an inch. When the prey comes closer to it, the Praying Mantis raises his mighty claws; then, when the prey is in its range…it slashes with its claws!"

Confused, Bass replies, "Yeah…but what's the idea of this?"

"Idiots…," Erick mutters. Aloud, he explains, "In order to attack our enemies, we must wait for the right time, you must be patient. Then, they'll come for us, and then we can attack."

"Meow…very wise Erick-san," the statue says approvingly.

"Thank you, now go to your duties…and report to Delia about your progress…before you go…Dr. Wily, I want you to bring me forth Slashman and Cutman."

"Slashman and Cutman! Why?" Dr. Wily wanted to know.

"Just do it."

30 minutes later Slashman and Cutman enter the room. "You called, Doc?" Slashman says responding to Dr. Wily's summons.

"I called you forth." Erick corrects.

"You? But, why?" Cutman asks.

Erick tells them, "I have a little assignment for you guys."

"An Assignment? About what?" Slashman says awaiting his instructions.

Erick reveals the reason he summoned the two robots. "Listen up, I want you guys to go to Nerima, find Ranma Saotome and Lady Ran…and destroy them."

"WHAT?" Dr. Wily exclaims.

Cutman:" Destroy Ranma and Ran! Who are they?"

Erick:" Delia here will inform you on your mission…now go, that's an order."

Slashman:" Hey, Doc…"

Dr. Wily:" Do what he says!"

Cutman:" Ooookay…"

Slashman:"-(sighs)- Fine, let's do it"

Delia:" Now if you two will follow me, please."

Then, Slashman and Cutman followed Delia, after that:

Dr. Wily:" Hey you, what's the meaning of this? I thought you said that we were gonna be patient?"

Erick:" Yes, that is correct."

"So why are you sending them to destroy Ranma and Ran…I thought that…"

"Listen Doc…don't worry about Ranma and Lady Ran…those two clowns will lose against them anyway."

Dr. Wily's confused. "Then…why are you sending them to fight them if they're gonna lose?"

Erick:" Simple…by fighting them, we'll be able to watch the powers those two will create, therefore we'll know their 'special techniques'!"

NOW, the old man understands. Dr. Wily nods. "I see…I see, indeed!"

The statue of the Cay Ghost King shares Wily's sentiment and purrs, "That's an intelligent idea of yours, Erick! Meow!"

Erick smiles. "Now, we wait."

Meanwhile, R was planning his next attack on Ranma as he was walking toward his home:

R thinks: Soon, very soon Saotome, we will fight, and then, after I defeat you, I'll be the supreme fighter!

Then, R is stopped by some horrible laughter. He scans the area. "Just what in the hell is that horrible laugh? Sounds like a witch!"

When he sees something that intrigues him… a girl, wearing a black gymnastic leotard, black hair, tied back with a ribbon, she was jumping from rooftop to rooftop, laughing all the way:

R blinks. "Who is that weird girl…?"

Then R overhears the girl saying:"Ho Ho Ho Hoooo! Oh Ranma Darling, I'll set you free from those harlots…"

"Did she say Ranma? Could she know him…? I'd better investigate!" R then proceeds to follow her…he sees that she's headed in the direction of Furinkan High. This intrigues him a lot.

"Why would she go there…," R wonders. "Maybe she's meeting with that cursed Ranma…"

Unaware to him, the girl senses someone following her and turn around to face R.

Uh oh …busted! R thinks.

"Who are you…? Why are you following me?" the girl demands of R.

"Um…me?" R asks innocently.

The girl sarcastically replies, "No, the other boy with the Inuyasha-hair…of course, YOU!"

"Well…the thing is…"

"Listen, I don't care. I mustn't be late for my Ranma-Darling, so if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way."

"Just who the heck are you, and why are you so interested in this Ranma fellow?"

"Oh how rude of me!" The girl now introduces herself, "My name is Kodachi Kuno –"The Black Rose"!"

R snorts, "The Black Rose"? Weird name you have there, lady."

Kodachi's insulted. "How rude of you! And who might you be?"

"The name's R!"

Kodachi blinks. "R! And you said my nickname is weird…what does R mean?"

For a moment, R's confused. " Um…I don't know, just R."

"Well R, I must go see my Ranma darling, goodbye!"

" Hey wait a minute! You still haven't answered my question about why are you interested in seeing Ranma?"

"And why should I tell you…I don't have time to deal with this…take this!"

Kodachi throws a black rose at R. R catches it with his hand:

R smirks, "You missed, lady!"

Kodachi laughs, "Oh ho ho ho hoooo…that's what you think!"

Then R begins to feel very weak, and then he falls to the ground, paralyzed. "Wha…what happened, why can't I move?"

Kodachi tells him, "It's because of the paralysis powder that my rose had…and you absorbed it!"

R croaks, "Say…what…!?"

"Well R, I bid you farewell….Ta taaaaaa!!"

Kodachi blows him a kiss and jumps away, laughing her dreadful laugh all the while. Meanwhile R's on the floor:

That's the second time I've been paralyzed…first by that weird teacher, and now this crazy girl…things can't get any worse! R thinks.

Then, the ghostly image of Delia appeared in front of R.

Me and my BIG mouth!

"R, what is your Report…" Delia sees R on the floor. "R, why are you lying on the floor, taking a nap?"

R sweatdrops, "Um, NO! You see, it's like this, you know…"

"How's the location of the Phoenix Stone R…? Have you found it?"

R's sweating. "No, but, I'm very close to it"

"Close to it! Exactly how close are you?"

R laughs nervously, "Ehe he heee… you see, I'm doing some investigations and stuff about its location and…"

"In other words R…you still haven't found it…am I right?"

"R panics, "No nooo…! But I'll find it…you can count on that!"

Delia says seriously, "Well, you'd better R, cause time for you is running out and my superior Erick and the Cat Ghost King are waiting for my report from you…so you'd better hurry."

"I will! I will!"

"Good…now I must leave…don't fail."

Then the ghostly image of Delia disappears, leaving R very worried:

"Damn…I'd better find that blasted stone before that weird witch comes back to bug me!"

Within his dark chamber, Erick meditates in front of the blue flame, levitating a few inches off the ground, when Delia appears:

"How did it go Delia-chan?" Erick asks his beloved companion / assistant.

Delia chuckles, "Just as you said darling…R hasn't found the Phoenix Stone, and he was lying on the floor."

"Just as Bass said about him…-"Like the dog he is"

"It is…but tell me Erick-san…"

"Yes, Delia?"

"Why can't WE get the Stone? I mean, we both know where it is, so why not go and get it?"

"Yes, we could do that, but that would ruin our fun, wouldn't it Delia?"

"Yes, I suppose…"

"Listen, if we get the Stone now, we won't be able to have some laughs out of it. Think about it Delia. Aren't you having a great time with these "Talking Monkeys" with their poor acting and failures?"

Delia nods, "Yes, you're right, I AM having a great time. I haven't laughed like this in…well…ever!"

"But don't worry…the fun will soon begin."

"I wonder Erick…will you really be under that robot Bass's command, I mean, what's the deal with that?"

"Ah Delia, as an old saying goes…-"Fools only see what they want to see, blind are they by their ambitions, easy to command"-

Delia nods, "Ah, I get it…in other words…you're just using him for your entertainment…right?"

Erick chuckles, "Right you are Delia, my love. Right you are."

"And what about Michael Angelus?"

"Oh, "him"… Not to worry Delia-chan, his time of reckoning will come soon…but at this point, he's not our concern…for now."

Meanwhile, in Nerima, Ranma and Ran were coming from the store with groceries for the house:

Ranma wonders, "Hope this is enough for dinner."

Ran replies, "It should be. I mean, we got enough food to feed an army."

"Yeah, but Pop eats a lot"

Ran sweatdrops. "You gotta point there, Ranma"

Suddenly, Ranma's danger senses went wild, as well as Ran's. They began to scan the area.

Ranma looks around as he says, "Come out! We know you're there!"

"Yea, show yourselves!" Ran says while getting into her fighting stance.

Then, from the bushes, two shadows drop in front of them…it was Slashman and Cutman!

Slashman remarks, "Amazing, even with our highly advanced stealth mode, you managed to locate us!"

"Who the heck are you?" Ranma demands of the two robots.

"We were sent by Dr. Wily to eliminate you two!" Cutman tells them.

" Us…? Why?" Ran wants to know.

"Cause you're in his way of world domination…nothing personal," Slashman assures Ran.

Ranma snorts, "Is that a fact…? Well, sorry to break your bubbles…but we won't be beaten by two junk robots!"

Cutman's mad. "What did you say?"

"You have a short-circuit or something? He said we won't be defeated by you two!" Ran talks back.

Slashman growls, "You don't stand a chance against us, humans! We're powerful warriors!"

Ranma's heard that line of boasting plenty of times before. "Yeah, yeah, many enemies have said that same thing…and I've beaten them all!"

Cutman turns to his partner and says, "Slashman, let's shut their mouths…!"

Slashman flashes a feral grin as he unleashes his claws with a…

SNIKT!!

"You got it…I'll take on the male, you take on the female."

Ranma cracks his knuckles. "Ran, you ready to send these bozos to the junkyard?"

Ran smiles, "You bet I am!"

Then they break apart to start the fight…Slashman follows Ranma to the Park…while Cutman chases Ran to the playground…

Slashman was trying to strike Ranma with his metal claws, but Ranma was just too fast for him.

"Hey, Slash-jerk, is that the best you can do? I know pandas who can move a lot faster then you!" Ranma teases.

Slashman's angry. " WHY YOU…GRYAAAA!"

And again he launches many strikes at Ranma, but with no such luck. Then Ranma decides to launch one of his own. "Okay, now it's my turn to fight back!"

"Oh yeah, how are you gonna do that, you pitiful human?"

"Like this…MOUKO TAKABISHAAA!"

Ranma then launches his Fierce Tiger Ball against Slashman. The blast hits Slashman hard and sends him flying away. He crashes into a wall.

Slashman's eyes go wide at this opponent's rather unusual abilities – for a human, anyway. He gasps, "What the…no way…!" Glaring at Ranma, he angrily questions, "How did you do that? You're not a robot! Only Megaman can fire energy blasts!"

"That was no energy blast…but a Ki blast!" Ranma tells him.

"A what?"

"Less talking…more fighting"

Slashman thinks: This Ranma person is something else…this 'ki' blast of his is as very powerful as Megaman's Mega-Buster! But, how did he do that? He's just a human! I'd better be careful!

Slashman then release his signature attack onto Ranma. "All right, human…time to feel my power…SLASH CUTTER!!"

Slashman goes forward at Ranma, waving his claws at him very fast, creating blades of force. But Ranma dodges them all. Slashman's getting very irritated.

Slashman thinks: What the heck is this human made of? I can't even touch him! Out loud, he growls, "GRRRRR STAND STILL HUMAN!"

"Now why would I want to do that…give up, you can't touch me!"

"GRRRRR.YOU PITIFUL….PREPARE TO DIEEEE!"

"Hey, that's Ryoga's line, and I don't think so…KATCHU-TENSHI-AMAGURIKEN!!"

When Ranma releases that move, Slashman was hit by about 523 or so punches all over his metallic body. Slashman goes down:

Slashman, shocked, thinks: No way…! This human's punches move like lightning…not even…not even Megama moves this fast! Who… no… what is this human?"

Ranma taunts, "Had enough, bub?"

Slashman snarls, "No way, I wont be beaten by some weak human!"

Meanwhile, in the playground, Cutman was ready to face Ran:

Cutman laughs, "Prepared to be cut down to size, pretty girl!"

Ran's like, "Whatever, Shorty. Show me what you got!"

"Catch!" Cutman releases his Head Blade against Ran.

When the blade came close to Ran, she jumps away and glares at Cutman. "You gotta do better then that if you want to beat me!"

"And that's what I'm about to do, when I'm done with you you'll be down to size!"

Ran mocks him. "Oooohhhh….I'm shaking in my boots!"

"You should be…take this!"

Cutman throws two Rolling Cutters at Ran, she tries to dodge them, but they were like boomerangs. Then there's Cut-man attacking with his Giant Scissor atop his head.

Ran waits for the right moment to attack. When Cutman comes close Ran punches him in his face, and Cutman went down to the floor:

Cutman gasps in surprise. As he rubs his chin, he thinks: Is this girl a robot or something? She packs a strong punch for a human, just like Megaman!

Ran smiles triumphantly at Cutman. "Score one for me, Shorty."

Cutman gets mad. "Why you…you're gonna be sorry for that! I'll turn you into mush!"

Ran's mocking him again. "Come on, I bet you can't even hit a beach ball…much less me!"

Cutman angrily says, "I'LL SHOW YOU!"

Then Cutman charges toward Ran with his Scissor Head Blade pointing at her…like a bull…Ran waits for the right moment, when he's in close range, Ran jumps up and Cutman crashes into a wall. His Head Blade (along with his head!) gets stuck into the wall:

"Hey, I'm stuck, get me outta here!" Cutman cries.

Ran giggles, "Stick around now would you…? I'll be right back."

Ran leaves Cutman stuck in the wall, then runs to join Ranma:

Ran:"-(thinking)- I wonder how's Ranma doing?"

When she arrives to the Park, she sees Ranma fighting Slashman, but with no problem whatsoever. She sees that Slashman is furious at Ranma for evading all his attacks, meaning that Ranma's winning:

Ran yells, "Hey Ranma, how you doing, any problems?"

Ranma says while dodging, "Nah, no problems at all, these jerks are all fools!"

Slashman yells back, "STOP IGNORING ME AND FIGHT MEEEE! GYRAAAAA!"

Then Ranma decides to end this fight, he waitsfor Slashman to get more steamed for his attack:

Ranma snickers quietly, "That's it, just a little more…"

At that moment Cutman appears - without his Head Blade.

Ran says to Cutman, as if he'd came late to the party, "Hey Shorty, so you got out, eh?"

When Cutman's mad, it's actually kinda funny to watch. He stomps up and down like a little kid having a temper tantrum "NOBODY MAKES A FOOL OUTTA ME!" he squeaks angrily.

Ran giggles, "No, you do that very well on your own!"

Slashman shouts at his buddy, "HEY CUTMAN, DON'T JUST STAND THERE! HELP ME GET RID OF THIS JERK HUMAN BOY!"

"Right!" then Both Slashman and Cutman charge against Ranma. "GYRAAAAAAAAA…YOU'RE DONE FOR!" the two robots yell fiercely.

"I don't think so…-HIRYU-SHOTEN- HAAAAAAA!!" Ranma then launches his fist up to heaven, and then a mighty hurricane was made. The hurricane lifts up Slashman and Cutman and sends them flying away into the sky until they disappear:

Ran's in awe at the sight of Ranma's signature attack – the Flying Dragon Ascending to Heaven Blast. "WOW, RANMA! THAT MOVE WAS TOTALLY COOL! WHAT WAS IT?!"

Humbled by ran's praise, Ranma blushes and says proudly, "Thanks Ran…and that move was called the Hiryu Shoten-Ha!"

"Well, it was indeed a very powerful move…think you can teach me?"

"I suppose, say Ran, we're very late. We better get this food to the house before it gets dark!"

Ran nods, "You're right, let's go!"

Minutes later…Slashman and Cutman landed in a Jacuzzi-like tub inside a house, they were very pissed and very embarrassed, at being defeated by a human:

Slashman's mad. "I can't believe that we were defeated by a human, how embarrassing!"

Cutman nods. "Tell me about it! I hope nobody saw that fight. We would never hear the end of that incident."

"So it's settled. You don't say anything I won't say anything, agreed?"

"Agreed, say Slashman…where are we?"

Slashman looks around. "I don't know… but let's check it out."

They saw that they were inside a house, when they head for the door. "Man, now that that's over let's head back to the base." Slashman says, thinking it's safe.

Cutman replies, "Yea, nothing can't go wrong, right?"

When they open the door, they saw three females naked with towels in their hands going inside…when the females see them everyone was quiet for a couple of seconds when one of them, a short girl with blue hair and two long ponytails (Sasami) runs away and yells…-" HELP, TENCHI! THERE'S TWO PERVERTS INSIDE THE HOUSE…!!"-:

Cutman blinks, then panics, looking everywhere around him. "Perverts? Where? I don't see anyone!"

Slashman gulps, "I think they mean 'us'!"

The girl with the cyan hair then starts charging a lot of energy and creates an energy sword in her hand. Ryoko is PISSED. "YOU PERVERTS! NOBODY SEES MY BEAUTIFUL BODY EXCEPT TENCHI! NOW I'M GONNA HAVE TO ELIMINATE YOU!"

Another girl, this one with dark purple hair and normally rather ladylike in her manners, is equally outraged. "HOW DARE YOU COME INSIDE AND SEE US NAKED! YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THAT…KAZIDAKE, AYAMA, COME FORWARD!"

Then 2 floating logs appear and stand on either side of Ayeka. Slashman and Cutman were like…scared:

Cutman wave his arms frantically. "No, wait! You got it all wrong! We just dropped from the sky, really!"

Slashman, scared, blurts out, "That's true. We never wanted to see you naked, any of you!"

Good one, Slashman! NOT! NOW, Ryoko's overflowing with rage. "ARE YOU SAYING THAT I DON'T HAVE A GOOD BODY? THAT I'M UGLY…? THAT'S EVEN WORSE THEN BEFORE!!"

Then both girls advance toward Slashman and Cutman to beat them up…

Cutman whimpers, "Mommy..!"

Ryoga Hibiki was having a bad day – as usual. First, because he was just turned into a pig; second was that he's being chased by a bunch of little kindergartners yelling…-"Oh, what a cute piggy!"-, -"Let me hold it, let hold it!"-…but, that didn't scare him, he just runs away.

But, there was a girl that Ryoga had met while wandering through the USA…a girl who was just as evil and dangerous as Azusa Shiratori, a girl with red hair, white and blue skirt and shirt, and had a little skull-like bow in her head… When she saw the piglet, the little girl grabs it and hugs it so strongly that Ryoga's suffocating…-"Ooooooh, what a cute little piggy! I'm gonna take you home with me and I'll nurse you, and feed you and play many games with you…"- the girl was singing and hopping around, while she was swinging the little pig with her arm up and down, hitting it with every rock on the road. Fortunately, Ryoga was strong enough to resist those blows. He managed to escape from that crazy girl's house with the help of two white mice who also lived in that house…one was short but with a large head, who always said something about trying to take over the world. The other one was taller than the first, but he was rather dumb, who always laughed at anything and said…-"NARF!"-.

When he made it to the Tendo Dojo, he was happy…

I made it. I made it to the Tendo Dojo! Could it be love guiding me? Oh, Akane! Ryoga thinks, and then he proceeds to enter.

When he enters he sees Kasumi. "Hey, Kasumi."

Kasumi smiles. " Ryoga, how are you? Where have you been?"

"You know, been there, gone there. Say, is Akane here?"

"Yes, she's in the Dojo practicing with Ranma and Ran."

An angry look crosses Ryoga's face as he thinks: What? That damn Ranma is here as well as that clone of his?

When Ryoga rushes over to the Dojo, he sees Akane and Ranma "together", something that Ryoga didn't like to see at all. And that girl Ran is here too. Ranma spots Ryoga in the entrance:

Ranma:"-(waving)- Hey Ryoga, were you being…lost as usual?"

Ryoga was getting mad. He waits for Akane to do her usual –"Stop picking on Ryoga"- line on Ranma, but when he sees that Akane doesn't do anything, he is rather shocked. Why didn't Akane help him against Ranma?

"RANMAAA…!" Ryoga growls.

Akane notices Ryoga at this point. "Hey Ryoga, can you like wait? Ranma and I are practicing."

Ryoga blinks. "Say what…practicing? Practicing what?"

"Martial Arts…Ranma and Ran are teaching me how to fight."

"They are?"

"Oh yeah! We've being teaching her for about three days, and she's a good student!" Ran says.

"She is?" Ryoga, still shocked, asks.

"Yeah. Although she's kinda slow, but she'll learn." Ranma replies.

Mad, Ryoga whirls on Ranma. "HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO AKANE! I'LL…!"

Akane interrupts Ryoga's rant. "No, they're right Ryoga. The truth is, I didn't know any martial arts."

Ryoga defends her. "That's not true Akane! You are a martial artist! Don't let that jerk Ranma tell you otherwise!"

Akane, shaking her head, honestly says, "That's what I used to think Ryoga. But, thanks to Ran, she helped me see the vanity in me and showed me the hard way that I don't know Martial Arts…" Then she happily says, "And now, thanks to Ranma and Ran, I'm beginning to learn real Martial Arts."

Ranma adds, "That's right, with a little time and dedication, Akane will be a good Martial Artist."

During the next two hours, Ryoga watches as Ranma and Akane were doing the same Katas. Then, they spar for a while. Ryoga sees that Ranma punches Akane on her chest, and predictably, he goes ballistic on Ranma. "RANMA YOU NO GOOD #! YOU HIT AKANE! FOR THAT YOU'LL DIE!!"

He process to charge against Ranma, when Akane stops him. "Wait Ryoga, it's alright!"

In disbelief, Ryoga says, "But Akane, that jerk Ranma hit you! He must be punished!"

"No Ryoga, I told him to hit me during training."

Ryoga's eyes go wide. "You what!? But why?"

"Cause to be a Martial Artist, one must endure through pain…"

"That's right. As the old saying goes (I think)…-The best way of not getting hurt in combat, is getting hurt in training" Ranma comments.

Then Ran further explains, "So, Akane agreed that in training, Ranma will fight her for real and hit her for real, but, he won't use all his might."

Now Ryoga finds this kinda hard to swallow. "I don't believe in this. Why should Akane do this with you?"

Akane admits. "Cause I wanted to learn how to fight, and Ranma and Ran are the best of the best that I know. If anyone can teach me how to fight, it's them."

Ranma blushes, "Gee, thanks Akane."

Akane smiles. "No problem"

Ryoga is in total disbelief at the scene in front of him. Akane's being 'nice' to Ranma! He couldn't believe it; she didn't hit him, or even call him a pervert or a jerk. On the contrary, he sees that Akane's enjoying Ranma company, and this makes him mad.

When the training was over, Akane and Ran decide to hit the showers:

Ran whistles, "Well, that went well Akane, now, how's about if we take a shower."

Akane nods, "You're right…" Then, to Ranma, she says, "We're going to take a shower Ranma. You wanna come with us?"

Ryoga's mind explodes after hearing those words. He's boiling with rage on the inside - he couldn't believe that Akane just asked Ranma to take a shower with her!

Ranma tells the girls, "No that's alright. You go ahead, I'll take the shower after you; besides, ladies first…right?"

Ran places a hand on her chest in an "oh, my" gesture. "Why thank you Ranma. I see that you're quite the gentleman, isn't that right Akane?"

"Yeah, so nice and polite," Akane agrees.

NO HE'S NOT! HE'S A PERVERT! Ryoga thinks angrily.

Akane says to her fiancée, " I'll see you later Ranma, and you too Ryoga."

Then she gives Ranma a kiss on his cheek, and then leaves with Ran giggling. When Ranma was alone with Ryoga in the Dojo, Ryoga turns to him and says, "Okay Ranma, what did you do to Akane?"

Ranma blinks. "Did what? What are you talking about Ryoga?"

"DON'T PLAY DUMB WITH ME RANMA! HOW IS IT THAT AKANE SUDDENLY TREATS YOU NICE?"

Ranma's confused. "Is something wrong with that Ryoga?"

"OF COURSE IT IS! WHY ISNT SHE CALLING YOU A PERVERT, OR BEATING YOU UP. DID YOU GIVE HER ONE OF THOSE "LOVE MUSHROOMS" OR A LOVE POTION TO FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU…? ANSWER ME!"

"First of all Ryoga, I did not give Akane any love potion nor mushroom. Second, let's just say that Akane and I talked about it and we resolved our differences."

"AND YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT? RANMA, WHAT KIND OF A FOOL DO YOU TAKE ME FOR?"

Not trying to interrupt things here, but would Ryoga actually want Ranma (and the readers of this story) to answer that? Cause we CAN, you know.

"Look, it's the truth. Either believe me or don't okay?" Ranma says, ending the discussion for now.

In the secret fortress, Erick calls everyone for a special meeting. Dr. Wily, Bass, and some of the Red Cat Gang's Generals arrive. "Thank you for coming gentlemen…", he starts

Bass cuts Erick off with a wave of his hand. "Yeah, yeah, now spill it. Why did you call us here?"

Erick then glares at Bass with an evil look that makes the surly robot tremble. Bass wisely shuts up.

Dr. Wily coughs, "Ahem, sorry to interrupt, but why did you call us?"

Erick tells the assembled group. "Well, first of all, is to say that I have two pieces of news, a good one and a bad one."

"Um, what's the good one?" Bass asks.

"That we may be close to finding the Phoenix Stone…maybe."

Dr. Wily replies, "That's good…and the bad one?"

"That it will be very difficult to find it, much less to obtain it, but, I've come to an idea."

"An idea, what is it?" the Cat Statue queries.

Erick explains, "Yes, I've decided on a partnership, to team up with another one."

Bass snorts, "You know, call me stupid, but, what good will that do us?"

"Very well 'stupid'" Stung by that insult, Bass gets angry. But Erick continues, "You see, I've noticed that you guys don't have many people, and forgive me to say this oh great Cat Ghost King, but, neither do you."

The Cat Statue grudgingly admits, "That's correct, but it's the fault of that cursed Ranma that I don't have an army anymore."

"I've noticed that too. But, I've met someone who has a large army at his command, someone who is just as evil as you Cat Ghost King, and someone who will surely join us on our quest."

"Who?" Dr. Wily wants to know.

Erick smiles. "You'll meet him soon. In fact, I sent Delia over there to talk to him."

"Really?" Bass asks sarcastically.

"Indeed, she should arrive there as we speak."

SHADOWLOO SECRET BASE:

The evil dictator M. Bison is sitting on his throne, watching the big screen, and trying to come up with a plan for world domination, for the last one was spoiled by the cursed army man William Guile and the beautiful Interpol agent Chun-Li:

M. Bison fumes, "Curses, I was so close to fulfilling my destiny. If it weren't for that damn Guile and that bitch Chun-Li I could have success…! Grrrrr…If only there was a way to eliminate them…"

"Perhaps we can help you." A girl's voice says out of nowhere.

M. Bison turns around and sees a girl dressed in a long, black nightgown, with long black hair, and pale white skin. She's standing in the entrance door to his chamber.

"Who are you, how did you get in here?" Bison demands.

"My name is Delia, and I came here to deliver a message from my master," the girl explains.

"Listen here girly, I don't know who you are, but no one, absolutely NO ONE enters here without permission…GUARDS!"

Then 20-armed Shadowloo soldiers enter the chamber. Soldier 1 responds, "Yes sir!"

M. Bison commands his men, "Take away that girl, throw her into the cells!"

"Yes sir!"

Then two soldiers grab her by her shoulders. "Come with us girl and you won't get hurt!" Soldier 2 says.

Then, Delia smiles wickedly, then her eyes glow white…suddenly, the two soldiers drop to the ground. There more soldiers went to their fallen comrades, they touch their pulses to see if they were okay, but Soldier 3 fearfully wonders, "What's the matter with those two?"

Horrified, Soldier 4 cries out, "They're…they're…they're dead!"

Soldier 5 gasps, "What the…how?"

M. Bison didn't like this. This girl just killed two soldiers without doing anything. When they remove their helmets, what they see scares them a lot…their faces of their fallen comrades were rather dry, ugly, shriveled up, almost like skeletons. –(Similar to the Mummy)-

"Soldiers…eliminate that girl now!" M. Bison roars.

Then all the soldiers began to fire their machine guns at Delia. But Delia just raises her hand, and all the bullets coming towards her suddenly stop in Mid-Air, inches away from her…-(Similar to Neo, MATRIX-Style)-. All the soldiers, as well as M. Bison, were gasping in awe, at this strange girl.

M. Bison, unlike his men, calmly asks Delia, "Who are you…? How did you do that?"

"Please, listen to what I have to say…"

"Very well, I'm listening."

"My master and I are working with an organization called –"The Red Cat Gang"- led by their leader, the Cat Ghost King."

M. Bison chuckles "A cat? How funny."

"Funny he may be, but he's very powerful Mr. Bison."

"I doubt that." Bison scolds.

Delia continues. "Anyway, my master asked me to ask you if you would like to join our quest in finding the Phoenix Stone."
"Phoenix Stone? What's that?"

"It's a powerful stone that is said to have the power to destroy the world and it has infinite power."

Bison was starting to like this idea. "Really, do tell me more of this Phoenix Stone, lady."

Delia softly chuckles, "Sorry M. Bison, I was only told to deliver this message to you if you'd like to join us."

Bison thinks about it for a couple of minutes, then, "Very well, I accept."

Delia happily congratulates the leader of Shadowloo. "Well done, M. Bison. You won't regret this."

"I better not…so, when can I meet your master and the rest of your 'society"?"

"He will inform you…well, I must go. Glad to meet you M. Bison."

Delia begins to walk away. M. Bison begins to think about it. Ha, I think I'm gonna like this! Once I learn more about this stone, I'll manipulate them, find that stone, claim it for myself, and then, I will take over all! Hahahahaaa!"

Delia then stops and without turning around. "One more thing M. Bison…It is easy to manipulate the people who my master works with cause they are fools…but try to manipulate my Master and me, and the fool will be you."

This takes Bison by surprise. Then Delia disappears.

TOKYO – R's APARTMENT:

Meanwhile, R was working on his next plan…to find Kodachi and learn all about her –"Paralyzing"- powers…-"I got to find out how that weird gymnastic girl does those dangerous paralyzing powers, once I learn how to do those… Saotome will be finished!"-…R says while laughing.

UNTED STATES – WEST COAST:

In a laboratory, there was an old man with a long white beard wearing a lab coat. He was working on his latest project, when a boy and a blonde girl enter, the boy was wearing a blue armor and blue helmet, the girl was wearing a orange skirt, white shirt, she had her hair in a pony tail. The man (who, if the reader hasn't guessed by now, is Dr. Thomas Light!) sees them and greets them. "Why, hello Megaman and Roll, anything new?"

Megaman replies, "No, everything is quiet now that Dr. Wily is not around here to cause any trouble."

Dr. Light seems to agree with Megaman's statement. "Yes, you're right, but that's what worries me."

"You think he gave up and retired?" Roll wonders.

"Him? Retired? No way?" Megaman's quick to answer.

"Megaman's right Roll, Dr. Wily is not someone who will give up that easily." Dr. Light says seriously.

"The question is…where is he…there hasn't been any sign of him or Bass."

"Or any of his goons," Roll adds.

"I don't know…but we'd better be on our guard," Dr. Light tells the kids.

"Right," Megaman & Roll both nod.

Back in the Nerima Ward of Tokyo, Ranma, Ran and Akane are walking to their house:

Ranma complains, "Boy, why do they have to leave so much homework! It's like, they do it on purpose."

Ran sympathizes with him. "Tell me about it, Ranma."

Akane chides both of them. "Oh stop complaining you guys! It's not like they leave us that much!"

Suddenly, Shampoo appears and hugs Ranma:

GLOMP!

"Aiyah! Ranma, Shampoo here to ask you to take Shampoo out on a date!"

"Shampoo, get off me!" Ranma gasps as he struggles out of the Chinese Amazon's strong embrace.

"Nope!" Shampoo purrs happily as she holds her "Airen" tightly.

Ryoga sees that from a distance. He snickers, "Ha! Now Ranma is gonna get what he deserves!"

Akane's getting mad at Shampoo. "Shampoo, get off Ranma NOW!"

"Man, who is she?" Ran asks.

"That's Shampoo, one of Ranma's crazy fiancées."

"Really. Weird name she has."

"Yeah, she's an Amazon, from China, but, we'll talk about it later. Right now, I gotta teach that Amazon bimbo a lesson about messing with MY fiancée"

"Are you sure you're up to it Akane?"

Akane nods, "Definitely, it's time that I start helping Ranma with this, don't you think so?" She winks at Ran.

Ran smiles approvingly. "You bet! Go for it Akane!"

Then:

"Shampoo, leave me alone would you?" Ranma pleads as he continues to struggle with Shampoo.

"Come Ranma, take Shampoo on date now!"

"Hey Shampoo!"

Shampoo turns around and sees Akane. "What you want Violent Girl?"

Akane stands her ground. "First of all, it's Akane! Second, I want you to leave Ranma alone, or else I'm gonna have to kick your cute butt! So what's it gonna be?"

Shampoo laughs, "Shampoo say you're crazy! You make threats to Shampoo? Shampoo laugh!"

"I'm warning you Shampoo. Leave or I'll make you leave!"

"Ha! You think you stand chance against Shampoo? You more crazy then before! Stupid violent girl no know how to fight!"

"Oh I wouldn't be so sure about that. How about we make a deal Shampoo?"

"A deal…? What kind of deal?"

" We have a fight right now. The winner will be declared as the official Fiancée of Ranma…"

"Really!"

"And the loser will have to forget about him forever…so Shampoo, are you in, or out?"

Shampoo accepts her challenge (and releases Ranma, who was almost turning blue from the iron glomp of Shampoo!). "Shampoo in! You no stand a chance against Shampoo! This be an easy fight for Shampoo, so prepare to lose!"

Then both girls assume their fighting stance:

Now worried, Ranma breathes out, "Akane, are you sure what you're doing?"

Akane declares, "Yes. It's time to stand for what I love and believe in."

"Are you sure you can fight her? I mean, you've just began to fight. Shampoo has a lot of experience."

Akane nods, "I know I can beat her."

"Yeah, but…"

Akane's tone of voice softens. "Ranma, you gotta have faith in me, just as I have faith in your abilities. Please, trust me. I wont lose."

Ranma thinks about it for a couple of seconds, then: "Very well Akane, I know you'll do it, and I believe in you."

Akane smile brightens. She's grateful for Ranma's support. "Thank you Ranma. I'll make you proud!"

Then both girls get back into their fighting stances, ready for the fight.

Shampoo snickers, "Ready to lose, Violent Girl?"

Akane's all business now. "Put up or shut up"

Ran acts as an impromptu referee. "Okay…fighters ready…set…GOOOOO!!"

Shampoo rushes toward Akane with a straight punch. Ha, Violent Girl be sorry ever challenge Shampoo to fight. she no can fight, she thinks while dashing. Akane just waits for the right moment to attack. When Shampoo comes so close to Akane with the punch, Akane ducks over it, grabs her hand, lifts her up and throws her over her shoulder. Shampoo goes flying and lands on her butt.

Shampoo blinks. "What happen…did violent girl…?" She shakes her head, "No, no way!"

She then glares at Akane with a serious look. "Shampoo not know what happen, but Shampoo fight for real now! Get ready violent girl!"

Akane motions at Shampoo with a "come here" gesture. "Bring it on!"

Shampoo once again charges toward Akane. She was launching many punches and kicks toward Akane, but, thanks to the training that she's getting from Ranma and Ran, she manages to block them. Although some punches hit her, they didn't stop her. Shampoo is surprised that the violent girl is actually blocking ALL her attacks.

Shampoo thinks: What wrong…no punches are getting to violent girl, why?

"What's wrong Shampoo, getting tired?" Akane taunts.

Mad, Shampoo hisses, "That's it…now Shampoo mad! Shampoo hurt you bad Violent Girl!"

"I'm waiting, Amazon hussy!"

Then Shampoo takes out her 2 Bonboris. Ran tosses Akane a pair of black iron sticks (probably from the same place Akane whips out her mallets!). Akane grabs them and resumes her posture. Shampoo sees that and demi-laughs. "You even know how to use those Violent Girl?"

Akane then performs some maneuvers with them, Shampoo smile disappears after seeing that. Then, both girls start to swing their weapons, Shampoo was trying to hit Akane with her Bonboris, but Akane's blocking them with one of her iron rods, Shampoo's getting frustrated at not being able to hit her. When she evade one of her attacks, Akane hits Shampoo in the stomach with one stick, then with the other one she sweeps her feet out from under her. Shampoo goes down to the floor. Ranma and Ran are impressed with Akane's new abilities.

Ranma has a huge grin on his face as he comments, "Akane sure has learned to fight, hasn't she Ran?"

Ran nods in agreement, "She sure has Ranma."

Shampoo's trying to get up, in total pain, due to the attacks she received from Akane. She looks at Akane with rage and pain in her eyes:

Akane says, "So Shampoo, guess that means I win…right?"

Shampoo can barely say, "You…you…no, you use tricks…no way you could win against Shampoo!"

"Excuse me? I beat you fear and square! Now you'll have to fulfill your promise and leave Ranma alone, okay?"

Even though Shampoo was in pain, she gets up and yells at Akane, "NO! SHAMPOO NEVER LEAVE AIREN! FIGHT NOT OVER! YOU MUST HAVE USE TRICKS AGAINST SHAMPOO, SO FIGHT NOT VALID!"

Then Shampoo leaves, Akane was rather speechless.

Ran runs up to her to congratulate here victory. "Akane, you did it! You won your first fight!"

Akane hmph'ed, "Guess I did, And Shampoo says I cheated?"

"Yeah. So?" Ranma asks her.

"Was 'I' like that?"

Ranma bows his head apologetically. "I'm afraid so Akane."

Embarrassed, Akane sighs, "Geez, I never ever thought I could see my errors shown to me."

"Yea, it's like on old Irish saying…-"Ah, If only we had the power to see ourselves," Ran says.

Akane sadly remarks, "And I used to be like that…how awful."

Ranma puts his arm around her shoulders. "C'mon Akane, lighten up. That was then, and this is now. You won against Shampoo! You should be happy."

Akane hugs Ranma tightly and with happiness shining on her face, tells him, "And I have you and Ran to thank. If it weren't for you guys I've could have been defeated…you guys are the best!"

Ran smiles, "No problem Akane."

"Now, how's about if we go to eat something?" Ranma asks the girls.

That sounds like the best thing Akane's heard all day. "Yeah, I'm starving after that fight!"

Ran teases, "I see that you're acting like a Saotome, Akane."

Akane, in mock hurt, says giggling, "You take that back Ran!"

Ran giggles back, "Make me! Tee hee hee hee…!!" Then she runs away.

Akane laughs, "Come back here!"

Then both girls chase each other home. Ranma stays behind. Alone, he thinks aloud, "Man, life's sure getting better these days. Akane treats me nice; I never thought I could see THAT day. I almost gave up on her, but now, now I will fight to keep that feeling for her and vice-versa…I sure hope nothing ruins this moment of peace."

Then Ranma runs toward the girls.

In the Secret Base of the Red Cat Gang, Erick was meditating in front of a dark blue flame.

"Soon, very soon, we will have the Phoenix Stone, and then…the 'real' fun will begin, well, for me and Delia anyway…Soon Michael, soon I'll see you again, wonder what you were doing all this time? The moment of "Final Judgment" will soon come. For all of them…Ranma, Ran, R, as well as those nut balls Doc. Wily, Bass…even…that Fur-ball Statue…ha ha ha ha haaa Ha Ha Ha Ha Haaa HAAAAAAAAA!!

Erick laughs out loud. Behind him, his shadow was the form of an evil demon, with bat-like wings and eyes as red as blood.

TO BE CONTINUED…