CHAPTER 16

-"RETRIEVAL, REVENGE, AND A RESCUE! RANMA VS. SHADEMAN & TURBOMAN"-

At the Secret Base of the Red Cat Gang, Erick was discussing with the Red Cat Gang and Shadowloo about the plans:

"Erick, I hope that you have some good plans meow," the statue of the Cat Ghost King says.

Erick tells the statue (and everyone else assembled), "I do. Okay, listen up people, the progress for obtaining the Phoenix Stone is close. But, we'll need some stuff to get it."

"What stuff?" Dr. Wily asks.

"My lovely Delia will inform you about this…Delia." Erick motions in Delia's direction.

Delia bows slightly and continues for Erick, "Thank you, Erick…okay…there are three artifacts that we require, which are located in three places…M. Bison, we'll require your men's help to obtain these items."

M. Bison listens to what Erick's right-hand woman has to say. Usually, HE's the one giving orders, not taking them. Nevertheless, he'll play his 'team-player' role as far as possible, solely to achieve his own goals. Humoring Delia, he says, "I see, so what do you want to do?"

Erick reminds him (rather redundantly), "Bison, we'll require your Shadowloo's men and warriors to help us."

Bison hmph's in reply. "Very well then…"

Delia smiles, "Thank you sir. Now…" Delia waves her hand and a holographic image of a map appeared in front of the group. "There are three treasures that we need in order to find the Phoenix Stone, and they are in this three points…two of them are in China, the third one is located in a island north of Japan, called Hellfire Island…"

Erick organizes the first party. "Now, Sagat, Adon, Gutsman, Metalman and Ringman, you five will go to this point to get the treasure from the Joketsusoku…the Village of the Amazons…the target is an old scroll known as the Phoenix Scroll."

Sagat simply agrees, "Okay."

Adon nods, "Of course!"

Gutsman flexes his mecha-muscles. "Piece of cake!"

Erick then picks the members of the second group. "Elecman, Flashman, Sparkman, Zangief and Balrog, you'll go to Phoenix Mountain, to the Village of the so called "Phoenix People", and steal the –"Phoenix Sword"- from them."

"You got it." Balrog says, ready for a fight.

"Will do!" Zangief replies.

"No problem!" Elecman says.

"Wait! I want to go there." Bison interrupts.

Erick's surprised. "YOU, Bison…? My my, how come?"

"That place is where that Phoenix God called Saffron lies… am I right?"

"Why, yes." Delia replies.

M. Bison reveals why he's interested in going with the second party. "So I want to go there and meet this so-called God, and fight with him."

Erick has an equally interested grin on his face. Bison's on to something here. "You don't say… 'You' want to have a fight with Saffron, Bison?"

"Yes, I crave for a worthy match, and, judging from the news I've received, he could be a strong warrior."

Erick likes Bison idea. "Very well M. Bison, you'll go as the leader of the party. And good luck in your match with Saffron."

Bison snickers, "Ha ha haaa, I wonder if that Saffron can stand against my Psycho Power! Mwahahahahaaaaa!!"

Delia says, "Okay gentlemen, you all know your targets. Now go. I wish you all good luck and please try to finish it fast."

The Cat Statue speaks. "Meow…Wait, what about the third one? Who's gonna go and get it?"

Erick remembers, "Ah yes, the third one. Well…I will go and get it myself."

"WHAT…YOU?" Dr. Wily asks loudly.

"Yes…" Erick glares evilly at the old man, "Is there a problem with that Dr. Wily?"

Scared, Wily replies, "No no nooooo…no problem at all!"

Having put Wily in his place (again), Erick says, "So, it's settled. Let's get to work guys."

UNITED STATES – WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, OHIO:

Colonel William Guile is in his office, doing paperwork. But he's frustrated, for he hasn't had any luck in finding anything on M. Bison's current whereabouts. "Bison, where in hell are you hiding?" Guile mutters angrily.

Then, the phone rang and he picks it up. "Hello…Colonel William Guile here."

Chun-Li's on the other end of the phone line. Cheerfully, she says, "Hey Guile, how's it going?"

Guile's happy to hear from her. They've worked together to bring down Shadowloo's schemes before. "Hey Chun-Li, long time no see! I'm fine thank you, so what do I have the pleasure of your presence?"

"Nothing much, just calling friends…so how's things? Anything new?"

Guile's disappointed. "No, nothing, I still haven't found any leads to Bison. How about you?"

Chun-Li's voice sounds sad. "Neither have I. We at Interpol haven't had any clues regarding his whereabouts."

Guile:"-(mad)- Damn that Bison! Just where could he be hiding?"

"Don't worry Guile, we'll find Bison and put him behind bars, you just have to be patient."

Defeated (for the moment), Guile shrugs, "Aah, maybe you're right…call me if you have any news on him okay Chun-Li?"

" I will, take care Guile."

"You too, over and out."

Then Guile hangs up, and still mad…-" Damn you Bison, you can't hide forever, I will find you, and when I do, I'll make you pay for all your crimes…I promise!"…Then, he returns to do his paperwork.

Back in the Red Cat Fortress, Dr. Wily makes a new plan to get rid of Ranma. He talks to two robots that are in front of him. "Okay, you know what you must do…I want you to go and kidnap Ranma's fiancée, then, when Ranma goes and tries to save her, the two of you will eliminate him…understood?"

"Yes, we got it," the first robot says, "But…"

"But what?" Dr. Wily wants to know.

The second robot finishes what his comrade was about to say, "But that wasn't what Lord Erick commanded. He said that…"

Dr. Wily, steaming, yells, "LISTEN HERE, HE'S NOT YOUR BOSS! I AM YOUR BOSS! YOU WILL OBEY ME, IS THAT UNDERSTOOD!"

"Okay, okay!" the first robot withdraws, trying to avert the old man's wrath.

"I'm tired of waiting to eliminate that cursed Ranma! I don't care what that stupid High Jerk Erick says…go and kill Ranma!"

"Yes, Lord Wily!" Then the two robots went to fulfill their mission.

Now alone, Wily with an evil smile, laughs, "Soon Ranma, my robots will eliminate you, relieving me of a thorn in my side! Wahahahahaaa!"

7:00 Pm, at the Hinata Inn, we see five girls in the living room; they are Natsu, Motoko, Shinobu, Kaolla Su, and Mitsune. Some of them are grumpy, for they were waiting for someone:

Naru's frustrated. "Ugh, where is Keitaro? He's taking too long from the store!"

"I bet that he goofed up." Motoko says.

Shinobu defend Keitaro. "Don't be mad, I'm sure something must have come to his road."

Mitsune replies, "Yeah, but I'm getting hungry. He'd better hurry."

Kaolla Su whines, "Kaolla is also getting hungry!"

Then, the doorbell rings:

"Finally, he's here!" Naru says sarcastically.

Mitsune asks, "Shinobu-chan, would you open the door?"

Happily, Shinobu says, "Hai". Then she runs toward the entrance.

Naru's still kinda mad. "I wonder what excuse that Baka Keitaro will give us."

Mitsune says, "Look Naru, you can scold him later, after we have dinner."

"I suppose, but that baka better have a good reason for this!"

Then, they heard a loud scream, it was from Shinobu. Immediately the girls rush toward the door. When they arrive they see Shinobu on the floor, trembling, a look of total fright on her face. When they ask her why, she points, still shaking, toward the door. What the girls see next shocks them allbig time. In the doorway was a cloaked figure, whose face cannot be seen, and with him is Keitaro. Keitaro is all bruised, beat up and unconscious, his clothes are almost ripped apart, blood coming out of his wounds. The cloaked figure was carrying Keitaro by the back of his shirt collar in his hand, as if he were an old rag doll.

Naru's horrified. "KEITAROOO!!"

The cloaked figure chuckles, "Does this belong to you? Here!"

Then he tosses Keitaro to the girls. The girls quickly rush to Keitaro to see if he was all right – or alive.

Naru gently cradles Keitaro's head in her lap. "Keitaro, Keitaro, speak to me…!" Desperate, she looks toward the other girls. "...is he alright, he's not dead is he?"

Mitsune confirms, "No, he's alive, but barely. He needs to go the hospital."

They breathe a sigh of relief, then the girls turn on the mysterious cloaked figure with angry looks in their eyes:

Naru's angry, more so than any of the others. "WHO ARE YOU? WHY DID YOU HURT KEITARO?"

The cloaked one tells her, "Oh! Just a little fun…but the most fun will be with you!"

Motoko grabs her Bokken, ready to do battle. "WHY DON'T YOU REVEAL YOURSELF IF YOU'RE NOT AFRAID!"

"Very well then ladies…KYAAAAA"

Then, he grabs his cloak and launches into the air, revealing himself. The girls see him and gasp… it was that pervert who they met awhile ago…VEGA!

Naru's eyes go wide. "YOU!"

Vega sarcastically greets the young ladies. "Hello girls…I'm back! Remember me?"

"YOUUU… WHY HAVE YOU RETURNED HERE, YOU PERVERT?" Motoko demands.

"That's easy…I came here to settle some unfinished business…remember what I said to you girls last time…NO ONE insults ME and gets away with that…and I'm here to cash in on that!"

Motoko's already in her fighting stance. "GUESS AGAIN YOU PERVERT, I WILL DEFEAT YOU!"

Vega smirks, "My my…quite confident are we? You think that you can stand against me, little girl?"

Motoko smirks right back at the psycho matador, "Ha, I whooped your butt last time, didn't I? Today I'll punish you, for justice is on my side!"

Vega sounds serious. "Last time, you got lucky cause I was weak and injured from a previous battle that I had… Today, you'll taste my wrath!"

"Ha! Only losers make up excuses!"

"Is that so, girly? Well…" Vega dons his mask. "…how's about if you can show me your abilities? For if you fail, your friends will be my playmates."

Motoko screams, "NEVER! YOU'LL NEVER LAY YOUR FILTHY HANDS ON THEM…KYAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Then she rushes fast against Vega, swinging her wooden Booken toward him, tying to hit him, but with no such luck. Vega's dodging them all. Motoko's getting mad at her failing:

Motoko angrily pants, " I…I don't get it, last time I beat him. Now I can't even touch him…could it be that…nooo!"

Vega chuckles, "What's the matter little girl…don't tell me that you've already given everything you had…? If so, I'm so disappointed."

"SHUT UP!"

Motoko's friends are trying to cheer her on, for if she fails against Vega, they would be his next prey. She had to win!

Naru cheers, "COME ON MOTOKO! YOU CAN DO IT!"

Mitsune yells excitedly, "YEAH! SHOW THIS JOKER YOUR POWERFUL MOVES!"

"PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP MOTOKO-SAN" Shinobu encourages.

Hearing her friends cheer for her, Motoko's determined not to lose. She thinks: I won't give up; if I do, they'll be this dangerous man's prey! I can't let that happen…! Aloud, she yells, "ALRIGHT, NOW I'LL SHOW YOU MY SPECIAL ABILITIES…SO GET READY YOU PERVERT!"

"Really?" Vega asks. "Well, that's good. I was getting bored with your lousy skills."

Angry, Motoko declares, "I'LL SHOW YOU…SANGA-ZEEEEEEEN!"

Motoko swings her bokken, releasing a pressure of air toward Vega. Vega just stands there and receives the attack. When it ends, Motoko as well as the other girls gasp, for Vega's still standing there – and unharmed, no less!

Motoko gasps, "No…no way, that guy received my Sanga-Zen and he's still standing there!"

Naru can't believe it either. "No! Impossible! That was one of Motoko's special moves"

Vega laughs, "What…that's it…that's your powerful move? If so, it was pathetic!"

Kaolla Su's scared, "That guy must be very strong to withstand Motoko's attack!"

Motoko's scared, but she doesn't show it. This guy took her best move and she didn't make a scratch on him!

Vega mock yawns, "I grow tired of this little girl…I guess you're no longer feeling lucky right? Like I said before, you only won 'that' time cause I was weak. But since I'm okay, you can't even touch me! You hurt me and now it's my turn, so get ready little girl, for now it's MY turn to play!"

Motoko stands strong against her fearsome adversary. "Bring it on, I've defeated bigger and more strongest opponents then you!"

Vega laughs at the very idea. "Somehow, I doubt it…I can see it in your eyes girl…they show fear, and you know what, you're right! You should be afraid, because when I fight, I don't just beat my enemies. I kill them and drink their blood, and that's just what I'll do to you…I'll kill you and drink your sweet blood …with THIS!"

Then Vega takes out his claw, put it on his hand, and licks the blades. Motoko's now scared of this enemy:

She's thinking: What do I do? He is indeed very powerful, he beat my moves and he moves fast…but I have to do something…but what?

Vega taunts, "Are you ready girly? Cause here I come!"

"I'm not afraid of you jerk…do your worst!"

"And so I shall…" Vega proceeds to attack Motoko…Motoko's trying to dodge his attacks, but she isn't as skilled as Vega. Vega hits Motoko's chest with a couple of hard punches, two kicks to her stomach, two high roundhouse kicks to her face, and to finish, a strong sweep kick and she falls down.

Naru screams, "MOTOKO…PLEASE GET UP! DON'T SURRENDER!"

Shinobu cheers her on, "YOU CAN DO IT, MOTOKO!"

Kaolla Su cheers, "MOTOKO, MOTOKO, MOTOKOOO!"

Motoko's getting up; Vega sees it and prepares for his next attack. He regards his soon-to-be-defeated prey. "You are strong girl, I'll give you that…but, I have to finish this battle okay…so…"

Motoko weakly says, "I wont…give up…I won't lose…for Justice is on my side!"

Vega chuckles, "Justice…? Let's see if your Justice can save you…FROM THIS!"

With his claws Vega strikes Motoko, destroying her clothes in the process. She's trying to evade those attacks, but with little luck. Vega then jumps toward a wall, springs off it, and lands down on Motoko, grabbing her and performing his Rolling Izuna Drop special move - three spinning suplexes in a row. At the end, Motoko is lying on the floor, down for the count, her clothes almost gone.

Vega laughs triumphantly, "-Well, I guess that's it…now…" He turns his eyes on the other girls, hungry for blood. "Now that the big, bad girl is out of the way…" A luxurious smile appears on his face. "It's time for me to play…!"

The girls are scared now. Since their best girl Motoko is down, it means that they were at the mercy of Vega. Vega's walking slowly towards the girls. They crawl away from him; they were together and scared, like a bunch of little rabbits in front of a deadly Cobra. It seems that everything is lost for them…when:

Vega says excitedly, "Are you ready…? My, such fresh meat I'll have."

"Vega!" a girl's voice says out of thin air.

"What now…" Vega snarls. Who'd dare interrupt his 'playtime'? The nerve! He turns around and sees who it is…

And wishes he hadn't. "…YOU!" he exclaims.

Delia appears in the Front Door:

Vega's annoyed by her presence. "What do you want Delia? I'm busy here!"

Delia tells him, "Your presence is required at the RED CATS' Base…so come along."

Vega's surprised. "WHAT?…" He whimpers, pleading, "No! Come on! Just let me have a little fun with these rabbits and…!"

Delia gives him a cold stare, shutting him up. "Later, Vega. You can have your little fun later; now we must go."

"B-but…" Vega tries to object.

Delia intensifies her evil stare. "Must I repeat myself…Vega?"

Vega's skin turns pale from fright. "N-no…" Still shaking, he obediently complies, "…Of course not, you're the boss! Let's go then! Eheh heh heh!"

Delia returns to normal. "Good…" She looks toward the girls and bows apotigetically. "…Sorry for the troubles, little rabbits. Good night."

Vega follows Delia out of the Hinata Inn without saying anything. The girls are in awe of this mysterious girl; the dangerous man was actually SCARED of her! They didn't know why. Their uninvited guests disappear like ghosts; after that they check on Motoko and Keitaro.

NERIMA WARD OF TOKYO:

Meanwhile, in Nerima, R was looking for the Gymnastic Girl Kodachi, for he wanted to learn her secrets of "Poison Making".

"I have to find her. Once I do I'll just use the old 'R charm' on her, and she'll fall faster then a bouncing check," he says to himself while thinking of 'how' he'll actually find her.

Then, by luck, he hears a girl sobbing. This stops R in his tracks. He begins to scan the area, and what he finds intrigues him.

Kodachi was crying in front of a lake, for she has lost Ranma. After Ranma showed Kuno and Kodachi his 'true' self, Kodachi's world had crumbled. She, like her brother, was totally confused to the max. She loved Ranma, but hated the Red-harlot, but, he was the same person! This was bothering her a lot, she couldn't hate him cause he was his Ranma-darling, but on the other hand also couldn't love him cause he was that Red-Harlot. This was crushing her:

Kodachi sobs, "Oh! What do I do? My Ranma-darling is also the Red-Harlot, should I love him, or hate him…boo hoo, I'm so confused sniff…sniff!"

R was looking at this, and he's thinking: This is very interesting; perhaps this will help a lot with my plan. She's hurt, for what reason I don't know why, but, this could be my opportunity!

So R walks toward Kodachi, who was on her knees. When Kodachi hears someone she jumps up and turns around and sees R again. "You again! Why are you here?"

R says reassuringly, "Easy there, I'm just here cause I heard you crying, and came here to see what is wrong with you, that's all."

Kodachi looks up at him, her eyes red from crying earlier. "Why do you care? It's none of your business!"

"Aw, come on, don't be that way. You wanna talk about it?"

Kodachi sighs, "It's…about my Ranma-darling."

R blinks, "Ranma! What about him…did he do something to you? Hurt you?"

Kodachi sobs, "I don't know…I was in love with Ranma darling, and I hated this red-haired girl who looked like him… but then I found out that 'he' and that 'red harlot' are the same person!"

R's thinking: Hmm, so it seems she didn't knew about that damn Ranma's 'curse'… Aloud, he asks her, "So, what are you gonna do about it?"

Kodachi says wiping away her tears, "I wish I knew. Right now, I'm truly confused; I don't know what to do."

R cheerfully offers, "I know…how's about if I take you out for a nice, sweet ice cream, that will cheer you up…what do you say?"

Kodachi's confused by R's kindness. "But why…why are you being so nice to me?"

"Hey, a sweet, beautiful girl like you shouldn't be sad. Come on, this will be good for you."

After thinking it over, Kodachi smiles. "Very well, I accept."

R's pleased. "Good, I'm sure that this will take your mind off your problem."

"And R…Thank you."

R smiles back. "You're welcome…" Perhaps after this, I'll ask her to teach me her secrets.

Kodachi:"-(thinking)- Hmmm, he's not half bad, he's definitely handsome, perhaps I can use him…with my sweet charms I can make good use of him!"

And so R's plan –(as well as Kodachi's)- was in progress.

In another part of Nerima, Akane and Ran were coming from the store after buying groceries, unaware that they were being watched by some Robots in the corners.

"There she is," the first robot says.

"I see her…" the second robot tells his comrade. "Okay, once they're in range, we'll snatch her."

"And then, the fun will begin!"

AT THE TENDO DOJO:

Ranma and company were waiting for Ran and Akane to come from the store:

Kasumi's a little worried. "Ran and Akane are sure taking long from that store, haven't they?"

Ranma assures her, "Don't worry Kasumi, I'm sure they're on their way. They probably had to take a little longer then usual."

Then, they see Ran enter the house. Ranma notices that Ran is kinda dizzy and hurt. He gasps, "Oh my God! Ran, what happened to you?"

Ran weakly says, "We…we were attacked."

"Attacked…? By who…? Wait a minute, Ran…where's Akane?"

"She was kidnapped by the ones who attacked us."

The whole family was in total shock, especially Soun Tendo. Bursting out into a flood of tears (as only Soun can!) he wails, "WHAT!? AKANE WAS KIDNAPPED? WAAAAAAHH, MY LITTLE BABY!"

"Oh no! but how did it happen Ran?" Genma asks.

Ran tells everyone, "Well, it happened like this…"

-(BEGIN FLASHBACK)-

We were coming from the store when Akane saw this awesome car parked:

Akane and Ran were walking from the store with some bags. "We have everything for supper Ran?"

Ran nods, "Yep. Now all we got to do is take them to Kasumi, so she can start cooking."

"Hey Ran, look at that!"

The girls saw a nice, awesome, blue fully-tuned Mazda RX-7 Type RZ parked on the corner; Akane and Ran look closer at it. "Hey, that's an awesome car! It looks cool!"

"Tell me about it Akane, but, what's it doing here?"

"You think that someone could have left it here?"

Ran's confused. "Now why would someone leave a high, priceless car here Akane?"

"Don't know…" Akane, snickers, smiling. "Hey Ran, how's about if we look closer."

"I don't know Akane, what if the owner of the car comes back?"

"Come on Ran, it will be fast…"

Ran's unsure. "Well…I suppose."

Unfortunately, the "car" in question had received its new body as a Christmas gift last year. And while "it" liked its previous chassis, the new one was made for blending in unnoticed, like today. And perfect for the trap "it" was about to spring on those two girls. Oooh! It even had airbags and a really kick-ass sound system! And at night, "it" could turn on its underbody neon lights (in seven different colors, no less!).

Then Akane hops inside the car and touches the steering wheel. She's in awe. "Wow Ran, it feels good…!" She imitates a race driver. "…look at me Ran, I'm the Drift Queen! Hahahaha!"

Ran giggles, "How funny…now hop out Akane and let's go before we get into trouble."

"Oh come on Ran, what kind of trouble would we get into?"

Suddenly, a pair of handcuffs appeared from the seat and grab Akane, and the car began to start by itself:

Akane's shocked. "Hey, what's going on here? I can't move! Ran, help me!"

Ran's got a REALLY bad feeling about this car; something's not right here. "What's happening? Is this car possessed or something?"

The car (!) laughs, "Ha ha haaa, we got her now!"

Akane's confused. "Who said that…? Was it this car…? No way!"

"Yes way! The car just talked Akane!"

"But how? It's only a car!"

Then, some sonic waves hit Ran from behind. Ran falls down. The car drives away with Akane inside, Ran tries to run after it, but a shadow jumps down on her and, the next thing she knows she wakes up and finds an envelope.

-(END FLASHBACK)-

"I found this envelope right next to me…" Ran hands it to Ranma. "…Ranma, it's for you."

Ranma grabs the note. "For me…what could it be?"

Then, he opens it and begins to read it…it says…

To Ranma:

We have your lovely fiancé Akane. If you ever want to see her again and alive, come to the old Warehouse on the pier tonight at 9:30pm. Alone, or the girl gets it. Do you have the guts to save her? Hahahahahahaaaa!

When Ranma finishes reading it, he's mad. "Why those…more so, if 'they' have the guts, once I go there and kick their sorry butts!"

Soun, grabbing Ranma's shoulders, sobs loudly, "RANMA, I'M BEGGING YOU! SAVE MY LITTLE AKANE!"

Kasumi cries, "Please, Ranma, you're the only one who can do it!"

Ranma says, "You bet I'll do it. I'll go and save her, and bring her back, I swear it!"

Soun bows gratefully. "THANK YOU RANMA!! THANK YOU, THANK YOUU!!"

Nodoka's proud of her manly son. "Oh my Ranma, not only is he Manly enough, but, brave enough! I'm so proud of you!"

"Go for it Ranma! Save Akane!" Ran encourages.

Ranma smiles at her. "You know me Ran…and besides, it's not the first time Akane's gotten kidnapped."

So Ranma gets prepared for tonight.

Meanwhile, at the old pier, Akane opens her eyes and sees that she's tied up in a chair, and then two robots approach her. She sees one robot that looks like a man-bat, the other one like a Robot-car:

"So, she's awake now." the Man-Bat says.

Akane's pissed off. "WHO ARE YOU? WHERE AM I?"

"Shut up!" the Robot-car snaps angrily. "You'll only talk when we tell you!"

"WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? WHY HAVE YOU BROUGHT ME HERE?"

The Man-Bat laughs, "That's easy! You see, you're gonna be the bait that will lure Ranma here and we'll destroy him!"

"You? Yeah right, you think that two junk robots can defeat him? You're out of your mind!"

"On the contrary, girly, we are two of the most powerful robots Dr.Wily has! Ranma will fail, and you will witness it! Ha ha ha haaaaaa!"

Akane sadly thinks: Ranma, please hurry!"

9:27 pm…Ranma's running toward the pier at a fast rate…

Hang in there Akane, I'll save you!, is the thought running through Ranma's mind. Then, he arrives at his destination, the warehouse at the old pier. Slowly, he walks inside, keeping his senses wide open. Then, he sees Akane on the top floor; she's tied up to a chair, and appears to be asleep:

Ranma's thinking: There's Akane, she looks okay, and that's good… He yells, "AKANEEE!"

Akane, wakes up, overjoyed to see him. "RANMA! THANK GOODNESS YOU'RE HERE!"

"DON'T WORRY AKANE, I'M HERE! I'LL SET YOU FREE…!"

Akane shakes her head. "WAIT RANMA, BE CAREFUL! IT'S A TRAP!"

Then, all the lights turn off, and all was semi-dark:

"What the... someone turned out the lights!" Ranma can barely see, then he senses an energy blast coming toward him and jumps away. He begins to look everywhere to see where it came from, but he couldn't see well, due to the obvious fact that it's dark in there:

Ranma's mad. "WHERE ARE YOU? SHOW YOURSELF!"

A voice somewhere in the darkness says, "Impressive. Even in the dark you managed to see my attack! You're good."

"ENOUGH WITH THE FLATTERY, SHOW YOURSELF!"

"Very well then…"

Then some lights turn on, and two robots appear on either side of Akane. Ranma sees that one robot looked like a bat, the other one like a car. "Who are you, why have you kidnapped Akane?"

The Man-Bat replies, "To destroy you Ranma, and, you may call me…" he strikes a sentai pose, introducing himself. "Shademan!"

The Car-Robot does likewise, striking a cool pose of his own. "And I'm… Turboman!"

Ranma's not impressed. "In that case, I'm Ranma Saotome, and if you don't release my fiancée you're gonna be broken junk!"

Shademan laughs, "Ha! You think that you can stand against us? If so, you're crazy!"

Turboman agrees with Shademan's assessment of their opponent. "You have little chance to survive against us, puny human!"

Ranma smirks, "Your buddies Slashman and Cutman thought the same as you, and me and Ran beat them good!"

Shademan snaps, "Only because those two were fools! We on the other hand aren't!"

Ranma says forcefully, "I don't care, release her at once!"

"Only if you beat us…" Turboman says, revving his engine loudly, ready for battle.

Ranma gets into his fighting stance. "And so I shall!"

Shademan commands, "GET HIM, MY PRETTYS! DESTROY HIM NOW!"

Then, from the corners, many round little bat-like robots charge against Ranma. What the heck are those things? Ranma thinks as they swarm around him. Then the little bat-like robots begin to attack him. Ranma's dodging their attacks, then he unleashes one of his moves…-" KATCHU-TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!" Ranma yells and throws 345 punches at the many bat robots, knocking them all down. Shademan and Turboman were impressed:

"No way! How did he do that?" Shademan wonders aloud.

Turboman doesn't like where this is going. "Man, Slashman wasn't kidding when he said that boy possessed strange abilities."

"No matter! he's going down" Shademan says confidently, certain that victory would be theirs.

Ranma still standing after taking down Shademan's little friends. For him, that was just a warm-up. Now's he ready to deliver the hurt on the two robots that'd dared to kidnap his fiancée. "COME ON! ARE YOU READY TO FIGHT, OR ARE YOU GONNA BE SENDING MORE JUNK ROBOTS TO DO YOUR FIGHTING!"

NOW, Shademan's serious. "Alright…it's time that I take care of you…permanently!"

Ranma cracks his knuckles. "Bring it on, I'm waiting."

"Destroy him, then Wily will be pleased!" Turboman says.

Shademan takes to the air, and then from there begins his attack toward Ranma. He dives like a rocket trying to hit Ranma. Ranma's evading Shademan's attacks, but couldn't hit him, 'cause he was in the air.

Ranma's irritated. "Damn it…," he curses, then looks up at his oppponent. "HEY YOU! WHY DON'T YOU COME HERE AND FIGHT ME? OR ARE YOU AFRAID?"

Shademan taunts, "Ha, why should I be afraid? Besides, it's not MY fault you can't fly, so long as I'm in the air, you can't touch me! Hahahahaha!"

"We'll see about that Bat-boy! I haven't lost to anybody and I won't be defeated by you!"

"HA! Take this…!"

Then Shademan screams and unleashes his "Noise Crush"-, a destructive sonic wave at Ranma. Ranma sees this and jumps away, the attack destroys the boxes…and Shademan continues to throw more Noise Crush attacks. Ranma's getting tired and annoyed at his attacks:

Mad, Ranma thinks: Man, there's gotta be way to stop him…but he's way up…how?

Akane yells, encouraging him, "DON'T GIVE UP RANMA, I KNOW YOU'LL DO IT!"

Ranma sees some boxes and a long wooden board and an idea comes to him. Hey, those boxes! I know what to do!

"Ready to give up?" Shademan asks his victim.

"Not on your life jerk…get ready!"

When Shademan releases another Noise Crush, Ranma jumps and, using the board on the boxes, Ranma uses it as a catapult and launches himself into the air just inches away from Shademan.

Shademan's eyes widen in shock. "WHAT THE…!!"

"Surprise…! KYAAAAAAAA!"

Ranma strikes Shademan with a powerful uppercut, followed by a spinning kick to his head. Shademan goes down hard. In pain, he gets up slowly and glares at Ranma. He snarls, "You…how dare you…! Now you've made me very mad! I'm gonna break you apart!"

Ranma waves his outstretched hand at the wounded vampire-bot in a "bring it on!" gesture. "Well come on…I'm waiting!"

Akane cheers, "Way to go Ranma!"

"Damn, that human is really good…," Turboman says, awed at Ranma's skill. Then, he yells at Shademan, "YO, SHADEMAN! STOP WASTING TIME AND FINISH HIM OFF ALREADY!!"

Shademan tries to fly up, but his wings are damaged from Ranma's attack. So he charges at the pig-tailed boy, trying to slash him with his razor-sharp claws and feet. Ranma dodges them and hits Shademan with a jump kick in his jaws, then he delivers a strong spin kick and Shademan goes down again to the floor:

"What's the matter Bat-boy?" Ranma teases. "Not so tough when you're on the ground, are you?"

Hurt, Shademan's had enough. "THAT'S IT! I'M THROUGH PLAYING AROUND! NOW I'LL HAVE TO UNLEASH MY FURY!"

Then Shademan clicks a button and all the lights go out, leaving the warehouse in total darkness:

"Hey, what the…why did you turn out the lights?" Then, Ranma gets hit from behind. Since it was so dark, he couldn't see his target. He looks around. "Hey, where are you? Fight fair!"

Hiding in the shadows, Shademan's in his element. "Ha ha haaaa, you can't fight what you cannot see. You're in MY domain now jerk! See if you can see me, cause I can see you quite well! Ahahahahaa!!"

Ranma's being hit by Shademan, and he can't see him or fight back cause it was so dark. Turboman, using his robotic night-vision, was seeing all. He laughs, "Oh yeah, now he's done for! Shademan's got the upper hand now!"

Ranma's getting desperate, he has to think of something fast, or else that wild robot-bat would get him…

Ranma's thinking: I gotta do something, but it's so dark, I can barely see myself…wait a minute…he must be using some kind of radar to find me, just like a real bat; I think I know what to do!

Shademan sees that Ranma stops moving around and just stands there without moving at all… This confuses Shademan. Why did he stop? No matter, I'll deliver the final blow and he'll be destroyed, Shademan thinks, then he quickly flies toward Ranma.

Ranma begins to concentrate and wait…then, when Shademan was very close to Ranma, Ranma jumps away and Shademan passes right by him, crashing into a wall! Shademan gets up, confused… What the…how did he know…I'll try again!…and again runs in circles around Ranma, then, once again releases his Noise Crush on Ranma, only to have it being avoided by him… "NO WAY! How is he doing it!?" Shademan gasps, exclaiming.

Ranma smirks. "Easy, I just followed your movements"

"My what?"

"I might not be able to 'see' you, but I can hear your every word, every movement you made with my skilled ears."

Shademan doesn't believe it. "You lie!"

"Why don't you prove it then? Attack me!"

Shademan begins his attack once again, but Ranma using his ears evades all his attacks, Shademan was getting very frustrated at his failures. "Miserable human! Stand still damn it!"

Ranma's teasing him. "What's the matter…? Can't even touch me…? Now let's finish this fight!"

Shademan laughs, "Ha, and how are you gonna do that? You can't even find me, let alone hit me!"

"We'll see about that!"

Ranma begins to concentrate all his Ki into his body, generating a golden light that illuminates a small area around him. Shademan gets caught in it, and covers his eyes. "KYAAAAA… WHATS GOING ON HERE! I CAN'T SEE! WHAT IS THAT LIGHT?"

"This, Bat-Boy, is the power of my Ki…now let's see if you can hide now!"

Ranma launches himself toward Shademan, striking him with a combination of Punches and Kicks. Shademan, since martial arts wasn't in his programming, can't defend himself from the assault Ranma's throwing at him. Ranma then yells…-" MOUKO TAKABISHAAAA"-…firing a golden ball at Shademan. Upon contact, it explodes, and when the smoke clears Shademan is down.

Akane cheers, "ALL RIGHT RANMA! YOU DID IT! I KNEW YOU COULD!"

Ranma smiles at her. "Thanks Akane. Now let's get you down from there, okay?"

Suddenly, Turboman changes into his car form, and rams Ranma from behind. Ranma crashes into a wall of boxes, casing them to fall and land on Ranma, trapping him underneath.

"Hey…no fair…attacking from behind…coward!" a hurt Ranma says while trying to free himself.

Turboman changes back into robot mode, laughing. "Hahahaa…So sue me human…Shademan may have lost, but I won't! Say good bye to your cutie!"

Then Turboman walks toward Akane and begin to charge up his fire energy, revving his engine to redline! "Girly, you're about to get a serious sunburn, Hahahaha! Hope you brought lots and lots of suntan lotion…DIEEEEEEE!"

Then, he unleashes his Scorch Wheel attack toward Akane to burn her up! Ranma is desperately trying to get free from the boxes, but they were too heavy. Akane sees the spinning wheel of flame coming toward her and closes her eyes, bracing for the impact. It seems that she's going to die when, out of nowhere, a girl yells…-"TORNADO WIND"-…and a powerful tornado of ki appears and stops the flaming wheel.

Turboman gasps. "What the…what happened…who did that?"

Another girl's voice, this one younger than the first, says, "Attacking people who can't fight! Only cowards do that!"

Akane whispers, "Those voices…could it be?"

Two girls jump out and land beside Akane; one was a little taller then the other. Ranma and Akane recognize them:

Akane gasps. "Nat… Natsume, Kurumi!"

"Hey Akane, how's it going?" Natsume says.

Kurumi cheerefully says, "Been a long time, hasn't it?"

Turboman's annoyed by these newcomers. "HEY, WHO THE HECK ARE YOU?"

Natsume introduces herself. "If you must know…I am Natsume Tendo!"

Kurumi does likewise. "And I'm Kurumi Tendo!"

"I don't care who you are! How dare you stick your cute little noses where they don't belong?"

Kurumi faces the angry car-bot. "Hey, Akane's like our sister! We won't let you hurt her you piece of bolts!"

"That's so…well…I'LL JUST HAVE TO KILL YOU THREE THEN!"

Natsume defiantly says, "Go ahead, we're ready for you…Kurumi, let's show this walking hardware our skills!"

Then Turboman once again launches his Scorch Wheel at them, Natsumi jumps away, charging her ki and yells…-" ICE BEAM"-… and a horizontal beam of cold ki from her rug beater hits Turboman's weapon arm and freezes it:

Turboman's shocked. "NO, MY ARM! IT'S FROZEN…!!" He glares at the girls. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME? NOW I'M REALLY PISSED! I'M GONNA RUN YOU OVER LIKE ROADKILL! GET READY!"

Then he changes again into a car and runs toward the girls at top speed. Natsume and Kurumi beginto charge their Ki and yell together… "DRAGON SPIRAL!!"

A combination attack with her sister where Kurumi spins her ribbon creating a super heated "tunnel", Natsume then shoots forth a blast of cold chi, the opposing forces amplify into a powerful bolt of chi. It hits Turboman hard and sends him into the air, crashing into the wall and out into the ocean. After that they help Ranma and Akane:

Akane bows, "Thank you Natsume, Kurumi, for your help."

Ranma nods, "Yeah, thanks a lot."

Natsume tells them, "No problem, happy to oblige."

"Yeah!" Kurumi adds.

"But, how did you know?" Akane asks them.

Natsume replies, "Your family told us all about it and we decided to help. After all, we ARE family, aren't we?"

Akane nods. "Yes, yes we are."

Ranma's just glad the fight's over. "Now, how about if we go home?"

"Yeah, we have a lot of catching up to do!" Kurumi says excitedly.

Then, Shademan appears and grabs Akane, taking her up to the second floor:

"AKANE!" Natsume yells.

Ranma grits his teeth. "Oh man, doesn't that guy give up?"

Shademan's got Akane by her shoulders:

"LET ME GO!" Akane yells, struggling.

Shademan's eyes glow as he tries to hypnotize Akane into submission. "Listen girl! Now you will obey me…! Look into my eyes girl! Look into my eyes…! Look into my eyes…!"

Akane's irritated. "Oh yeah! Well…" She raises her fist. "…Look at my FIST! KYAAAAAAA!"

Shademan, wide-eyed, is about to say, "What the…!?"

Akane socks Shademan with a strong punch that sends him flying away into the ocean.

Ranma whistles, "Boy, way to go Akane!"

Natsume nods in agreement. "Yeah, nice punch."

"Thanks," Akane says.

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE – GUILE'S OFFICE:

Colonel Guile was on his usual duties, when he gets another call. He answers the phone. "Hello?"

It's Chun-Li again. "Hey Guile, this is Chun-Li. Listen, we may know where M. Bison is."

Guile's interested. "Really…? That's good…so tell me."

"According to our intelligence there was a disturbance in a house by Vega, so, if this happened in Japan…"

Guile interrupts, "That means that M. Bison is in Japan…right Chun-Li?"

Chun-Li agrees. "Could be, but it's a clue, so what you do think Guile?"

"I think that we're going to Japan…you're in Chun-Li?"

"I'm in, I'll get in touch with my superiors and let them know."

"You do that, while I call Cammy and Charlie…we're going to Japan."

AROUND THE SAME TIME, IN DR. LIGHT'S LABORATORY:

Dr. Light calls Megaman and Roll:

"You called, Dr. Light?" Megaman asks.

"I did," Dr. Light says. "I did some investigation and found something very interesting."

"What is it, Dr. Light?" Roll wants to know.

"When I searched in the news, I found a news article that Slashman and Cutman were seen in a house in a Shrine in Japan."

Megaman's wide-eyed at the news. "Slashman and Cutman?"

Roll speaks up. "Wait a minute, if this happened in Japan, could it be that…"

Megaman finshes his sister's statement. "…That Dr. Wily is in Japan…right, Dr. Light?"

Dr. Light nods. "Maybe. We're not sure, but, it's a start."

"Wow. Hey bro, what do you think?"

Megaman says, "I think that we need to go to Japan right now and find Wily!"

Roll nods happily "YEAH!"

Rush barks, "Yeah,yeah!"

Dr. Light says, "Well, I suppose that we must go and try to investigate further."

Megaman agrees. "Then it's settled…We're going to Japan."

In a temple somewhere in India, there is a bald man, wearing a necklace with three small skulls and red markings on his face. He is the Yoga master and mystic monk Dhalsim. He's meditating, when he senses something:

Dhalsim whispers, "There is something coming, something big, something…evil. I must investigate, for I fear that the whole world will be in danger."

TO BE CONTINUED…