CHAPTER 18

-"THE COMING OF THE DARKSTALKERS! ENTER TRON BONNE, THE BEAUTIFUL GIRL GENIUS!"-

After getting the three treasures that Erick asked for, the statue of the Cat Ghost King and Dr. Wily ask him why they need them. Erick is looking at the three sacred objects…

"My, my…such beauty in it, wouldn't you agree guys?" Erick says as he's holding the sword.

Dr. Wily asks, "What I want to know is why did you ask us to bring you those things anyway?"

"Like I said before Doc, these beauties will lead us to the Phoenix Stone."

The Cat Statue says, "That's great Meow…how?

Erick explains, "You see guys, these artifacts that you see before you are known as –"The Phoenix Sword"-, -"The Phoenix Scroll"-, and the –"Phoenix Statue"-. But also, they're keys."

Dr. Wily blinks. "Keys! I don't see any keys?"

Erick chuckles. "Only to the untrained eye they're not…" He adds, muttering, "…and to an idiot."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Easy…what you see before you are only shells…a disguise to hide the real treasure."

Wily's confused. "Um…I still don't get it."

The Cat Statue sighs, "Ugh…Wily, sometimes you embarrass me."

Erick agrees with the Cat Statue, nodding. Then he says, "Wily…I'll try to tell it as much as I can so that you can understand me, okay…? Look at them…what do you see in front of them?"

Wily begins to look closer and closer. "Um…well…I see some old inscriptions…and…some ancient writing."

Erick grins, satisfied that Wily can see what he sees. "Wily…do you see some little glowing jewels in them?"

"Now that you mention it, yes, I see three jewels in them…," Dr. Wily replies.

"Precisely, Wily…those three jewels are the ones we seek."

"Those jewels…why?"

"In order for you guys to know, we need to extract them out. Dr. Wily, take them to your lab for analysis at once."

"But why?"

The Cat Statue hisses, "Just do it Wily Meow!"

"Alright, alright I'll do it! Jeez!" And Dr. Wily takes the treasures to his lab.

NERIMA WARD OF TOKYO:

Meanwhile, at the Tendo Dojo, Ran and Ranma are into their morning sparring; now Akane's with them, and she's sparring with Ran. Nodoka, Soun and Genma are watching this:

Nodoka's in awe of the new Akane. "Oh my, Akane sure has learned how to fight, hasn't she?"

Soun's proud of his youngest daughter. "Yes, my little baby has finally learned to fight, thanks to her fiancé Ranma and Ran. I'm so happy!"

Genma says, "Now the School will be secure…our children will become the best fighters there are!"

Nodoka remarks, "Well, I'm so happy for them. Look at them, sparring together."

Genma's crying now. "I thought I would never see the day that Ranma and Akane would be so together!"

Soun nods. "So have I, Saotome, so have I. I thought that our dream would never come true!"

Nodoka chuckles, "Oh cut it out you two. You're acting like little children!"

Ranma and friends see their parents acting out their usual routine:

"And there they go again," Ranma sighs.

Ran blinks. "I thought you guys already talked to them about your decision?"

"We did…but our parents are kinda stubborn." Akane replies.

"At least they don't bug us like they used to," Ranma says with obvious relief.

"Say…I wonder whatever happened to Ryoga?" Ran asks.

Ranma shrugs. "Don't know…haven't seen him since that day…but knowing Ryoga's bad sense of direction, he could be anywhere."

Akane fumes. "I'm still mad at him. He was P-chan all this time and he never told me!"

Ran tries to calm Akane down. "Come on Akane, don't get stiff. I'm sure that he got the message and he's probably sorry."

Ranma's not so sure. "Maybe, maybe not… Say, why don't we take a break and have lunch?"

Ran nods. "Good idea!"

Akane thinks so, too. "Let's go."

In another place, Colonel William Guile and Interpol Agent Chun-Li were in front of the Hinata Inn, for their investigation:

"Well, this is the place…Hinata Inn." Guile says.

Chun-Li nods. "Good, now let's get that information on Vega."

Then, they knock on the door. Minutes later it was opened by Shinobu. "Good afternoon, can I help you?"

Guile introduces himself and Chun-Li. "Good afternoon, I am Guile, and this is Chun-Li. We came here to get information about an incident that happened here a couple of days ago."

Shinobu's confused. "Incident?"

Chun-Li explains it to her. "Yes, according to witnesses, this place was visited by a guy named Vega."

Shinobu, after hearing that name, begins to tremble. "Ve…Ve…Vega?"

The girl's reaction gets Guile's attention. "Yes…do you know him?"

"Know him? He attacked my friends!"

Chun-Li:" Can you explain it to us please…or better yet, may we come in?"

Shinobu nods. "Hai"

Once they were inside, they meet the others, in the living room. A woman walks up to them and introduces herself. "Welcome to Hinata Inn. I am the caretaker Haruna, these are the girls who live here…she is Naru, this is Mistune, this is Motoko…" She points to Motoko, who's bandaged up since her fight with Vega. "….and this boy is Keitaro…" Keitaro's in bed, with casts on his leg and right arm. "…these little girls are Shinobu, Kaolla Su and Sara McDonald."

Naru bows. "Hello."

"How are you doing?" Mitsune asks.

"Nice to meet you." Motoko says.

Keitaro waves his good hand. "Hey."

Shinobu bows, "Nice to meet you."

Kaolla Su cheerfully greets them. "Hello!"

Sara politely nods, "Ditto."

Guile introduces himself to the group. "Good to meet you all. My name is Colonel William Guile of the United States Air Force."

Chun-Li does likewise. "And I'm Chun-Li Xiang, Interpol Agent."

"Listen, the reason we came here is because of an incident that happened…we have some information that a guy named Vega was here."

Like Shinobu, when they heard that name, the Hinata crew trembles:

Naru gasps, "Did you say Vega?"

Yes, do you remember him?" Chun-Li asks.

Mitsune replies, "Remember him! We are still trying to forget him!"

Guile risks asking, "Um…can you tell us how is it that you met him?"

Naru gives her recollection of what happened. "My friends and I were going to take a bath in the hot springs…when we entered, we saw him there…next thing is that I punched him, then Motoko struck him, then he got away…we thought that that would be the last time we'd see him."

Haruna picks where Naru left off. "But then, he came here two days ago, and he beat up poor Keitaro, then Motoko was trying to fight him to protect us, but she couldn't even touch him, he beat her good."

Chun-Li gasps, "You fought against VEGA Motoko?"

"Yes…" Shamefully, Motoko adds, "But I lost."

"Then you're lucky to be here." Guile tells her.

Motoko's confused. "Be here! Why?"

Chun-Li: explains, "You see girls…Vega is a complete psychopath, and, when he fights, he kills his opponents, whether by slashing their throats, or by ripping their skin off with his claws…and, he doesn't quite let anyone live."

Motoko's pale after hearing this. "You mean…?"

Guile nods, "Oh yeah…you're lucky to be alive after fighting him, cause all those who fight him… end up dead…or if they are lucky, crippled for life."

Motoko, as the girls did when she heard that, begins to tremble a little.

Based on what she's heard so far, Chun Li finds it odd that a bunch of girls were able to defeat Vega the first time then two days later he comes back and whips them. Even with them getting the drop on him the first time he should have been able to take them down easily. Her instincts nudge her into wanting to know why they were able to run him off the first time and not the second time around.

She is unaware, though, of events that transpired BEFORE Vega's appearance. Prior to this incident, Vega had fought with – and lost to – Ranma Saotome, and that Vega had arrived there (or more specifically, was blasted there!) via Ranma's Hiryuu Shoten Ha.

Seeing how this is affecting everyone – it wasn't TOO long ago that the mad matador Vega had turned things upside down at Hinata Inn, Chun-Li gets things back on track. "So what happened next?"

Naru continues the account. "Well…after Motoko was down, that evil Vega guy began to walk toward us; we were scared. We thought he was going to rape us all…then, this weird girl appeared and stopped him."

Guile's not believing this. "Come again?"

"How did she stop him" Chun-Li wanted to know.

Naru replies, "She told him that his presence was required and she told him to come with her…and he obeyed her with no questions asked."

Needless to say, Chun-Li's surprised. This is unusual behavior, even for Vega. "Vega obeyed her?"

"Yes, and he was kinda scared of her, for some reason. He didn't want to make her upset, so he obeyed and left with her."

Guile and Chun-Li were confused…Vega, the psychopath of Shadowloo, following orders from a girl? This was to be investigated:

"So, did she tell him where they were gonna go?" Chun-Li asks, needing a few more details.

Naru tries to remember. "She said something about The Red Cat Gang's Base."

Guile finds this interesting. "The Red Cat Gang Base! Did she tell him where it was?"

Mitsune shakes her head no, and apologizes. "Sorry, she never told it."

"Damn…" Chun-Li curses under her breath.

Naru decides to ask, "Just out of curiosity, why are you looking for this dangerous man?"

Guile reveals, "Cause he may lead us to M. Bison."

"M. Bison? Who the heck is he?"

Chun-Li tells Naru, "M. Bison is the leader of a very dangerous organization called Shadowloo."

Motoko gasps. "Did you say Shadowloo?"

"That's right…," Guile replies. "Why? Have you heard of it?"

"I thought that it was only a rumor…I have heard tales of a dictator who commands a powerful army of fighters, but…like I said, I thought they were only rumors."

Guile says seriously, "Well kid, they're not. M. Bison is as real as the evil that exists in this world."

Naru wonders aloud, "How evil is this Bison that you speak?"

Chun-Li pulls no punches – she tells them seriously, "Believe me girls, he is a madman, hungry for power and world domination."

Guile adds, "And he's killed many innocent lives…some of them just for the fun of doing it."

Chun-Li looks at her watch. "Guile, we have to return."

"You're right…well girls, we thank you for your help and information."

Naru tells them, "No problem, glad we could be of help"

"Wait, why don't you stay for a drink?" Haruna offers.

"A drink?" Guile blinks, not expecting such hospitality while on an investigation.

"Sure!"

Chun-Li accepts Haruna's gracious offer. "Well…I am a little thirsty, so why not Guile?"

Guile chuckles, "Guess you have a point Chun-Li…" Then, to the girls, he says, "…We accept and thank you."

Haruna smiles. "Good…" She gives instructions to some of the girls nearby. "Shinobu, Kaolla and Sara, could you bring them some drinks?"

"Hai!" Shinobu, Kaolla, and Sara cheerfully reply.

In the New Red Cat Secret Base…Erick walks over to the lab where Dr. Wily was examining the treasures. Checking on him, Erick asks, "Dr. Wily…how's the extraction of the jewels coming along?"

"Kinda slow…," Dr. Wily tells him. "This is more complicated than I thought."

"Those weren't the answers I was hoping to hear, Doctor."

"Oh, come on!…This takes delicate time and a lot of concentration and…"

"Spare me the pitiful excuses, Dr. Wily…we want those jewels NOW."

Dr. Wily:" But I'll need time!"

Erick smiles – that's usually NOT a good thing. "Don't worry, Doctor. Take all the time you need."

"Really?"

Still smiling, Erick replies, "Indeed…" His tone of voice is serious now. "You have 24 hours to do it."

Dr. Wily's wide-eyed in shock. "WHAAAAAAAT?!…24 HOURS!….BUT…THAT'S LITTLE TIME…HOW THE HECK WILL I DO IT?"

"That's for you to find out…remember, 24 hours…not a minute more. Oh, and just to give you a little motivation…Akuma, will you come forward please?"

Then, from the shadows, Akuma emerges. "What is it?"

"Akuma, the Doctor here has a little assignment to complete in 24 hours… you'll be watching him…if he doesn't finish it in the time period…you can kill him, okay?"

Dr. Wily's horrified. "WHAT?"

"You got it," Akuma says.

Erick gives Wily an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "Well, Doc, I suggest that you get started right away…cause if you don't finish it…Akuma will show you what the –"Raging Demon Attack"- is all about…Well, I'll leave you then. I have to make a little visit."

Erick then leaves the Lab, vanishing into thin air and going to….

SHADOWLOO'S SECRET BASE:

M. Bison is looking at his huge monitor while sitting on his chair on his chamber. He's scolding some of his scientists, giving them a harsh tongue-lashing. "I don't want to hear any more excuses, build me those damn machines!"

The poor scientist on the T.V. screen cries, "We will, Master!…we will!"

Then Bison turns the monitor off. Frustrated, he sighs, "Argh…it's so hard to find good help these days."

"So true, M. Bison." A young man's voice says out of thin air.

This takes Bison by surprise; he gets up from his chair and begins scanning the area. Looking around, he says, "Where are you, show yourself!"

Erick appears from the corners, waving. "Hello, Bison!"

M. Bison's a bit deflated. He was SO expecting an intruder – so he could have the pleasure of killing him with his bare hands. But instead, it's just Erick, who's dropped by as if visiting a friend. "Erick…my…what do I have the honor of your visit here?"

Erick explains, "Just visiting comrades…so Bison, I see that you're having some…problems…am I right?"

M. Bison says grudgingly, "Quite so…these blundering workers that I have are having trouble building the war machines that I require."

Erick rubs his chin in thought. "I see…well Bison, perhaps I can help you."

"YOU…How?"

"By getting you someone who might help you a lot with this."

"Who?"

"This person knows a lot about machinery, robotics, and she's smart."

M. Bison not in the mood for guessing games. "Well, tell me already…who is this person you speak of?"

Erick then tosses a file to M. Bison. Once he grabs it, he opens it and sees a picture of a young girl. "Her name is Tron Bonne." Erick tells him.

M. Bison laughs, "THIS is the person who might help me? But she's just a child!"

"That may be true…but, as an old saying goes, my friend…-"Never judge a book by its cover"- , she is a whiz at building robots, combat types are her favorites, she even has these robots called Servbots."

"Yeah, but still…"

"Look at her record Bison…perhaps you can change your mind about it."

Bison begins to read over Tron's background. He sees that this girl has committed many crimes. His eyes go wide when he sees all her robotic creations, he admits that her robots were indeed –"State-of the-Art"- and well built. He begins to realize what good this girl will do for him and Shadowloo. At the end:

"Well M. Bison…what do you think?" Erick asks, knowing what Bison is going to say.

M. Bison looks up from reading the file. He asks, "Erick…can you get her? She is indeed a very special girl; she might help me a lot."

Erick's pleased. "Of course, I knew you would agree! Well, I must go."

Then Erick leaves Shadowloo HQ.

In the Underworld, within a castle, lies a Vampire called Demitri Maximoff. Once exiled from Makai centuries ago, he has returned from the human world, hungering for even more power to give him once again the title as Ruler of the Night. He sits on his throne, when one of his servants enters the room. "Excuse me, Master Demitri."

"What is it?" Demitri looks down on the servant.

"I have being doing some research on the mortal realm, Master, and found out something very interesting."

Demitri raises an eyebrow, "Oh! What is it?"

"It seems that there's this movement of many peoples who are trying to find this object called…-"The Phoenix Stone".-

"Phoenix Stone! What's that?"

"Well…according to our spies, it is a legendary magic stone that said to have tremendous powers, which come from the legendary Fire Bird itself!"

Demitri's interested. "Really? Tell me more."

The servant begins to explain to his Master Demitri all about the Phoenix Stone and its power, as well as all those who are trying to find it. At the end, Demitri makes a new plan. "Very interesting indeed, oh yes. If I could get a hold of that Stone, my powers will be supreme! It will give me the powers to reclaim my title as the "True Ruler of the Night"! I think I will go to the mortal world and find that stone!"

The servant risks asking, "Is it wise, my Master? What if the other ones who are also trying to find it harm you or…"

Demitri laughs, "Oh please…what could those miserable humans ever do to me? I am the supreme vampire. No mortal could ever hurt me!"

The servant is unsure. "I don't know, Master. I have seen some mortals who are as powerful as a Darkstalker, and some of them are very skilled."

Demitri scoffs at this. Mortals as powerful as Darkstalkers? Ridiculous! "No matter, they wouldn't stand against my powers!"

"If you say so, Master."

"And call Morrigan. I'll need her help."

"Right away, my Master." The servant bows and departs from the throne room.

Not so far away, a man and a little girl were walking. This man is wearing some monk-type garments, has hair that's tied in a long pigtail, and is carrying a huge sword on his back. The little girl accompanying him was around 5 or 6 years old, wearing some fancy clothes, had two little pigtails, and is carrying a small doll. The man's name is Donovan Baine, and the little girl Anita. While they are walking Anita suddenly stops and begins to feel something:

Donovan's concerned. He turns to his young charge and asks, "Anita, what's wrong?"

Anita normally doesn't speak much, and if she does, it's usually important. "I felt something. Something powerful is coming."

"What is it…is it another DarkStalker?"

"No…I sense energy so deep and yet so powerful, Donovan, I have a feeling that this is something that could spell disaster!"

"I see…from where do you sense it?"

"It's coming from the Human world."

"Then to the Human world we'll go to investigate."

MEANWHILE, IN THE RED CAT GANG'S NEW SECRET FORTRESS…

Erick is with his loved one Delia and the Cat Statue…when he feels a little chill:

Erick's concentrating. "Hmmmmm…my, my."

"What is it Erick Meow?" the Cat Statue asks his High Priest.

"It's just that…I have this feeling that things are gonna get crowded."

"Why is that Meow?"

Erick chuckles, "Call it a hunch."

"Are you sure?" Delia asks her beloved.

Erick nods, "Oh yeah…"

8:45 pm in the Tendo House, Ranma, Ran, Akane and their family and friends were having a warm dinner:

Ranma says while eating, "Mmm mmm, this stew is good Kasumi"

"Yeah" Ran agrees.

Kasumi accepts his complement. "Why thank you Ranma…but, for your surprise, Akane did it."

Ranma almost chokes. He blinks. "Akane made this…?" Then, he says to Akane, "Y-you did this Akane?"

"Well…yeah…" Akane says rather shyly.

Ran applauds. "Akane, you've made one good stew!"

"I second that." Natsume says.

Kurumi nods happily, "Me too, I never though that you could cook this good!"

Akane blushes. "Oh come on guys… its nothing really, I still have a lot to learn."

Ranma tells her, "But you're doing great Akane…keep it up and you'll be as good as Kasumi!"

Akane's touched. "Thank you Ranma, that means a lot to me."

Nodoka's pleased. "My, you're certainly learning well Akane-chan."

Soun's crying joyfully, "Oh, my baby girl is finally learning to cook like Kasumi…I thought I could never see that day! Waaaaaah!"

Nabiki says, "Come on daddy, you're embarrassing us."

Everyone laughs for a little while. Then, the doorbell rang:

"Oh my! We have someone at the door. If you'll excuse me…." Then Kasumi goes to open the door:

Ranma wonders, "Who could it be at this time of night?"

Ran shrugs, "Don't know."

Both of them are starled to hear Kasumi's cry coming from the front door. "RANMA, RAN, AKANE, EVERYONE, COME HERE PLEASE!"

Then everyone rushes over to the entrance door to see why Kasumi called. When they arrive:

Ranma's the first to ask, "What is it Kasumi? Is something wrong?"

Kasumi points, saying, "Ranma, look!"

When Ranma looks, he sees three people at the entrance. One of them was a girl, with a blue-white suit, has beautiful white wings like an angel, and silvery white hair. The other two were 2 identical Chinese twins, one had red hair, and the other had strong green hair. Ranma knew these people:

He gasps. "Kima, Ling Ling, Lung Lung!"

But Ranma sees that Kima was all bruised, her white wings are almost dirty and severely damaged, her hair's dirty and covered with small burns, her face as well as her body is covered with bruises and a little blood.

The twins were just like her. Kima's carrying Ling Ling on her shoulder. Lung Lung is besides her, barely able to stand up.

Ranma's horrified. "Oh my God! Kima, what happened?"

But Kima was too weak to speak. With her last reserves of strength, her last words to him are, "Ranma…please…help us."

Then, Kima as well as Lung Lung, falls to the ground. Then Ranma and company pick them up.

In an abandoned warehouse there was a girl who was very desperate and angry. Her name was Tron Bonne. She is one of Megaman's friends-rivals.

She was depressed cause of her failing against Megaman, she was cut short of her robots, and since the banks and all those places with high value had installed tighter security, and she didn't have any more strong robots, Tron Bonne wasn't getting any more jobs. Therefore, she couldn't get any money for her machines, or herself, she sat down in that empty house:

Tron is desperate. "Oh man! What am I going to do? I don't have any machines, I don't have any ideas, and worse, I don't have any money for my jobs…every since that annoying Megaman ruined my plans, I've been reduced to almost nothing!"

She turns around and saw what little robots she had left. Once she had hundreds of Servbots…now she only had like seven. The rest were captured by the police or quit.

Sadly, she continues, "And on top of that, I only have seven Servbots left. I had to even pawn the rest of my machines to maintain those Servbots, and to get some food and shelter…but now, I have nothing left…if I don't do something soon, I'll be broke and living on the street!" She's crying, "What do I do?"

"Do not lose hope little one," a man's voice says.

Suddenly Tron Bonne's shocked and begins looking everywhere…-"Huh! Who's there? Show yourself!"-…Tron Bonne cries as she looks everywhere…but she doesn't see anybody.

"Come on, where are you hiding?"

"Right behind you child."

Tron Bonne jumps, scared out of her wits. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"

After Tron Bonne recovers from her shock, she turns around and sees him. Erick is there:

"Who…who are you? How did you do that?" she asks.

Erick bows, introducing himself. "Greetings Miss. Bonne…I am High Priest Erick Genryusai…and, as for how I did that…" Erick then does his best impression of Xelloss from Slayers. "THAT is a secret."

"Oookay…but why ARE you here?"

Erick says genuinely, "Why…to help you."

Tron's confused. "To help me? How? Why?"

"Why not…I can see that you are in need for some cash and help…am I right?"

"Well…yea…but…how? How can you help me?"

Erick explains, "Easy…There is a friend of mine that who requires your special abilities in building awesome machines."

Tron Bonne considers what he says. 'I see…and who is your friend who needs my help?"

"If you must know, his name is Bison."

After hearing this, Tron lets out a big gasp. "Did…did you say Bison…as in M. Bison?"

"Yes." Erick tells her.

Tron squeals, "The leader of the powerful organization known as Shadowloo?"

Erick blinks, playing along. "Hmmm…yes…"

Tron Bonne's jumping for joy. "Oh my God, oh my God, I don't believe iiiiiiit!!"

"You've heard of him…of M. Bison?"

"Are you kidding me…M. Bison is one of the baddest men I've heard of…he's even more dangerous than Wily. And his empire, oh gosh! I SO am a fan of his!"

Erick's taken aback by Tron's excitement. "Really?"

Teary-eyed, Tron says, "Yes…and you say that he wants MY help?" Erick nods in response to her. "…Oh man, I don't believe it…this is sooo cooooool!"

Erick smiles. "Well, I'm glad…Tron, this could be an opportunity for you…if you join Bison, you'll have a great job and, access to his technology…what do you say? You're in, or out?"

Tron's jumping up and down happily. "I'm in! I'm in! I'm in!"

"Excellent…now, let's go, shall we?"

Then Erick grabs Tron Bonne and then they disappear.

Meanwhile at the Tendo's, the family's taking care of Kima, Ling Ling and Lung Lung. They've bandaged them up and put them in their beds. Ranma and friends were watching them:

Ranma's worried. "Man, what could have happened to them?"

"I don't know.." Akane says to him. "They look like they'd been in a war or something."

Nodoka appears beside her son. "Have you informed Cologne and her great-granddaughter Shampoo?"

Ranma nods. "Yeah, Mom… Nabiki went to inform them."

20 minutes later, Cologne, Shampoo and Mousse storm into the house:

Shampoo desperately wants to know, "WHERE ARE THEY?…. WHERE ARE SHAMPOO SISTERS?"

Cologne, the matriarch of the Amazons, calms her down, "Easy Shampoo."

Kasumi greets them. "Shampoo, Cologne, we are so happy that you're here"

"Thank you child," Cologne says. "Now tell us, where are Ling Ling and Lung Lung?"

"They're upstairs, I'll take you there, but please, you must be quiet. The three of them are resting"

Cologne blinks. "Three?!"

Then Kasumi takes them to the room were they are resting…when they enter, they see Ranma, then in the beds were the twin Chinese sisters:

Shampoo gasps, "AIYAAA…What happened to them?"

"Don't know…" Ranma tells her. "They were like this when they came here."

Cologne looks at the twins herself, taking in the sight of their condition. "My god…look at them, what could have done this to them?"

Nodoka says, "My guess is that we'll have to wait for them to wake up…only they know the answer."

Cologne sees that Kima was in bad shape too. "And it appears that bird woman Kima suffered the same luck as them…I still wonder what happened."

Shampoo's confused. "But Shampoo no understand…Kima is very powerful bird warrior…she even be second most strongest of all her people…who could beat her?"

Ranma considers that. "Good question Shampoo…we'll wait for them to wake up."

Cologne has a worried look on her face. "I don't like this…to beat Kima must have been someone very powerful to do it…I have a bad feeling that the answer they'll give us will not be pleasant."

SHADOWLOO'S SECRET BASE:

Erick appears in M. Bison's chamber, with Tron Bonne alongside him. Tron's kinda scared and confused at the fast transportation. "Huh!? How we did get from my secret hideout to here?"

"As before…," Erick says, imitating Xelloss, "That is a secret…Well, we're here."

M. Bison sees them and greets them. "Erick…I see that you've returned…did you get her?"

Erick nods. "Sure did… Allow me to introduce to you Tron Bonne…"

M. Bison sees her. When Tron Bonne sees M. Bison, she's lost in her mind, like a fan in front of her great idol. Tron just cannot believe it; she is in front of the most dangerous warrior and skilled man of Shadowloo. She's filled with joy and shock:

Erick introduces Tron to Bison. "Tron Bonne, this is M. Bison, head of Shadowloo."

"Greetings, Miss. Tron." M. Bison says pleasantly.

Tron Bonne's nervous. "I…I…I…I'm Tron Bo…Bonne, sir."

Now that all the pleasantries are done, Bison gets serious, so he asks Tron directly, "Erick here tells me that you're good in building machines…is that right?"

Tron proudly says, "That's right sir…"

Bison explains, "Well, you see, I'm having trouble here…I have some workers who are having a hard time trying to build me the machines that I want…"

Tron finishes, "…and you want my help to build those machines…right?"

M. Bison smirks. The girl IS sharp. "My…you are smart…so what do you say Miss. Tron? I can use your valuable skills. Would you like to join me?"

Tron dares to look up, a pleading look in her eyes. "You really mean that M. Bison? Me, join Shadowloo?"

"Yes…if you want to…"

Tron screams with joy, "YES…YESYESYESYES…I'LL JOIN!"

Bison almost fell out his throne from Tron's loud acceptance of his offer. Keeping a straight face, he says, "Hahaha…welcome aboard then, Tron Bonne…here." Bison hands her some blueprints. "…do you think that you can build me this machine?"

Tron Bonne studies them and laughs, "Ha! Are you kidding me…? This will be child's play, but I'll need my Servbots to help me and…"

Bison stops her. "No need…I have lots of workers, they'll be at your service."

"Really…in that case…when do I start working?"

Bison laughs, "As of now…you've done well in joining me Tron. You won't regret it."

"I know!"

Pleased that Bison and Tron have hit it off, Erick says, "Well, I must be going…the others will be waiting for me. Adieu, guys." He then vanishes from sight.

In the Tendo house, Kima, Ling Ling and Lung Lung open their eyes and see that they are in beds and in a room:

Kima weakly says, "Where…am I?"

"You're in the Tendo house" a girl's voice says.

Kima then sees Kasumi. "Who…who are you?"

Kasumi's cheerful. "My name is Kasumi Tendo, you must be Kima, right?"

Kima replies, "Right…and you must be Akane sister, right"

"Why yes"

Then, Ling Ling and Lung Lung wake up:

"Oooh! Where are we?" Ling Ling says.

Then, Ranma and his family and friends enter:

Shampoo cries, "LING LING, LUNG LUNG!!"

Ling Ling & Lung Lung happily cry, "Sister Shampoo!"

Shampoo hugs her Amazon twin sisters.

"We are happy to see you again Shampoo." Lung Lung says.

Shampoo: says genuinely, "Shampoo is so happy to see Amazon sisters too."

Ranma casually says, "Hey Kima, it's been a long time."

Kima looks at her former enemy. "Ranma…it IS you."

"Say Kima, what are you doing here in Japan? What happened to you anyway?"

Kima looks away, hurt. "We…we were attacked."

"Attacked? By who?" Ranma wanted to know.

Cologne asks the twins, "Tell me children, why did you return here? You should be in the Amazon Village!"

Ling Ling cries, "The Amazon Village was…was…was…"

"Spill it out already!" Mousse demands.

Shampoo's mad. "Be quiet Stupid Mousse!" she chastises him. Calming down, she softly asks, "…what happen to Village?"

Lung Lung, like her sister's, cries, "It was…destroyed!" at this, she cries harder.

Cologne, Shampoo and Mousse gasp big after hearing this:

Cologne's shocked beyond belief. "WHAT…DESTROYED?"

So's Shampoo. "AIYAAA…YOU MEAN, OUR HOME?"

Ling Ling whispers, "Yes"

Mousse is stunned. "NO, IT CANT BE! IMPOSSIBLE!"

"That means that…the Joketsuzoku are gone?" Akane asks.

Lung Lung replies, "Yes."

"As well as my place." Kima adds.

Ranma can believe what Kima's just said. "NO WAY…! PHOENIX MOUNTAIN WAS DESTROYED AS WELL!?"

Kima nods her head.

Ranma dares asking, "Guys…tell us…what happened?"

Ling Ling explains, "We were in village, doing our morning training, everything was fine…" She begins to tremble. "Then, these two weird persons with three weird robots came to village and demand we give them one of our priceless treasures. We think they were crazy, to ask us for that…"

Lung Lung continues, "… So we refused, we thought we could take them with no problem…but, two persons with weird robots attack us. Two weird persons had strong skills, they fought using Muay Thai, they were very good, beat almost all of our warriors. Then, three weird robots attack using strange powers, they destroy our houses, beat up all our warriors and…"

Ling Ling finishes for her sister, "…in the end, they took our precious treasure and burn our village to the ground…" She's crying, "…we were lucky to get out of there with our lives…but our home…" she then breaks down, sobbing.

Shampoo sadly says, "So, we have no home, no Amazons?"

Mousse breathes, "No, that can't be…we are alone then."

Ranma and everyone else are sad for them. They've lost their friends and their homes.

Ranma looks in Kima's direction. "Kima, what happened to you?"

Kima sadly says, "Basically the same as them…Two persons came to our village, one was a black man, a boxer, very muscular, the other one was dress in a red military suit, like a general, along with three robots. They demanded that we give them our most valuable treasure, we had our warriors to take them out…but, like the Amazons, they attacked us, and boy, were very powerful. Especially that military guy, none of our weapons could hit him, we couldn't even touch him, he had such powerful ki, and he killed many of our warriors without breaking a sweat. That boxer was like a raging bull, he was beating up all the warriors."

"But Kima, what about Saffron…what did he do?"

"Saffron was still a kid. Even though he was a kid, he still had his powers. When he fought that general guy, we thought he could beat them, but, that evil military guy put up some kind of force field, and, I don't know, he beat Saffron by sucking away his Ki. When Saffron was beaten, that weird army man offered him a chance to surrender and join him. Saffron refused and…" She cries, the memory of Saffron's last moment still fresh in her mind, "…AND HE KILLED HIM!"

Ranma gasps. "WHAT!?"
Kima's shaking as she reveals the end of Saffron. "HE BROKE HIS NECK, RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE FEW REMAINING WARRIORS! THEN HE LEFT, LAUGHING AND TAKING OUR TREASURE WITH HIM!"

Kima breaks down and cries even harder. Ranma gave her a hug and Kima sobs into his shoulder. Ranma can't believe what he just heard. Saffron, the prince of the Phoenix People, was dead. But most of all, who could have done it? To kill Saffron, must have been someone very powerful to do it, this gets him very worried. But in the meantime they decide to help them:

Nodoka asks Kima and the twins, "So tell me, what are you going to do now? Do you have a place to stay?"

Kima responds, "Um…no, I really don't know, and, my home is destroyed, so I have no place to go."

"Yeah, us too," Ling Ling says.

Shampoo firmly says, "Nonsense…you stay in Cat Café! You stay with us!"

Lung Lung looks up at Shampoo, hope kindling in her eyes. "Really…?"

Cologne:" Of course…you are our fellow Amazon warriors."

"We thank you." Ling Ling says.

Nodoka then says, "Kima dear…why don't you stay with me."

Kima politely tries to decline Nodoka's kind offer. After all, she still has her pride as a warrior. "Oh no, I couldn't ask for that, but I thank you."

"It's okay, you need a place to stay don't you? And my home is big enough for another guest."

Kima's un-sure. "I don't know. I wouldn't want to intrude and…"

Ranma assures her, "That's okay Kima, besides, where are you gonna go?"

Kima then thinks…where would she go?

Kima bows. "Very well, I accept…and thank you."

Ranma smiles. "That's okay."

Nodoka's happy. She turns to Ranma and Ran and says, "Now that that's settled, why don't we let them sleep, and later I'll make them dinner okay?"

Ranma nods. "Okay mom, let's go."

"Very well, Nodoka-san," Ran says

Soun says to Kima and the twins, "Now rest, okay, and later we'll talk more."

"Sleep well." Kasumi tells them gently.

Then they leave the room and the girls went to sleep.

Once outside:

Cologne grips her staff tightly. "I don't accept this…I can't believe our village is gone!"

Shampoo sadly says, "All our friends, family…gone."

"What are we gonna do?" a distraught Mousse wanted to know. "We have nothing! The Amazons are no more!"

Cologne scolds, "Don't ever say that Mousse! We still have us and the twins, so long as we are alive, the Amazons will never perish."

"She is right Mousse," Nodoka tells him. "You are all Amazons, so you must be alive to keep them alive."

Cologne bows respectfully. "Thank you, honorable Nodoka."

Genma sees the worried look on Ranma's face. "Boy, what are you thinking?"

Ranma tells his father, "I was thinking about the person who killed Saffron…I mean, Saffron was a demigod; I had trouble beating him…and this person who Kima told us about killed him…he must be one powerful person to do such a thing."

Everyone agrees with him. This was something to be worried about.

In the New Red Cat Secret Fortress, Erick walks over to the lab to see Dr. Wily. When he enters, he greets Akuma, and then he sees Dr. Wily working like a madman. "Greetings Dr. Wily…have you finished the task?"

A tired Dr. Wily says, "No, not yet, but I'm very close to doing it."

"Good, you only have two and a half hours…so hurry up."

"I'm trying, I'm trying!"

Then later, Erick is in his own dark chamber, when he feels a strong energy signature, Delia notices it too. "Erick-san…what is it?"

"I just felt three VERY highly familiar auras coming to Nerima."

"Really…?"

Erick concentrates, trying to get a fix on whom or what's giving off that energy. "Hmmmm…these auras. Yes, I believe I know who they are."

"Do they belong to Michael Angelus?"

Erick chuckles, "No… But I think I know who they belong to…"

"You do?"

"Oh, yes."

In the entrance to Nerima, three girls were walking in the street, the oldest of the three had white hair, the second was like very young and had black hair, and the third one had brown hair. They are beautiful…they are Belldandy, Urd and Skuld.

Urd asks, "Tell me again why are we here in Nerima, Bell?"

Belldandy tells her sister, "It's because father asked us to investigate this."

"I see." Skuld says.

They think about it.

-(BEGIN FLASHBACK)-

Two days ago, Belldandy was at home with her sisters when she received a phone call. "Hello?" she answers politely.

Kami-sama's on the other end of the line. Belldandy.

Belldandy softly gasps, "Oh my…so nice to hear from you father…what can I do for you?"

Then He said, Listen, I need you to go to Nerima.

"Why?"

There's a very strong energy flowing there. You must go with your sisters to investigate this incident."

"Very well, we'll go"

-(END FLASHBACK)-

Belldandy and her sisters were in a neighborhood park, enjoying the scenery:

Urd voices her observations. "Nerima sure has cool parks, right?"

"Yeah!" Skuld agrees. Then, she turns to Belldandy and asks, "Hey Belldandy, can we go and get some ice cream?"

Urd nicely objects, "Come on Skuld, you had ice cream three hours ago. If you keep on eating you'll get fat."

"But you know how much I love it!"

Belldandy thoughtfully says, "I suppose, but we must first investigate what Kami asked us to do…but, how are we going to find it?"

"Beautiful park, isn't it?" a man's voice says from out of nowhere.

The voice came from behind them, taking them by surprise. Startled, Belldandy and her sisters jump back. When they turn around, they see a handsome man, with blue hair, wearing a black trench coat with a purple scar around his neck. Yep, it's Erick.

He apologizes to them. "Oh I'm very sorry! Did I scare you?"

Belldandy's the first to speak. "Um, yeah, you took us by surprise."

"Well, I'm very sorry, didn't mean it…by the way, my name is Erick."

Belldandy bows. "How do you do?"

"Lovely Park isn't it? Full of life and joy."

"It sure is."

Urd had a loving stroke with the guy. She's thinking: Yummy, who IS this handsome man? I should ask him for his phone number.

Skuld thinks: Man, he sure is cute.

With seemingly genuine concern, Erick says, "I see that you're having some trouble, miss."

"Nothing much," Belldandy replies. "It's just that, we came here to find something, but, we don't know how to do it."

"Well, don't worry…whatever is it that your looking for you'll find it. I'm very sure of that."

"Why thank you, kind sir."

Erick smiles back at her. "Nothing at all…well, I must be going now."

"Thanks again. I'm sure we'll meet again."

Erick whispers with evil intent, "I'm very sure of that…"

Belldandy blinks. "Excuse me?"

"Nothing…well. I'd better go…see you all soon Nordic Goddesses Belldandy, Skuld, and Urd."

Belldandy waves. "Sure, see you soon!" she giggles.

Then Erick turns around and walks away. Belldandy and her sisters continue their walk through the park:

Belldandy observes, "He sure was a polite person, wasn't he?"

Urd nods, "He sure was."

But then Skuld realizes something. "Hey wait a minute…! How did he know our names?"

This stops them in their tracks:

Urd nods, then gasps after the fact. "Damn…she's right, and how did he knew we were goddesses!?"

Belldandy just as surprised as her sisters, and she gasps! "I don't know…Excuse me, sir…"

When Belldandy turns around to find him, she sees no one in the park, for he has disappeared:

Urd says disbelievingly, "No way, he's gone!"

Skuld's worried. "Guys, I don't like this."

"Skuld's right…we didn't even sense him coming or leaving!"

Belldandy, now worried, thinks: I don't like this at all…who was he? I have a bad feeling about this…

TO BE CONTINUED…