My word, a dozen comments, and y'all are still reading this? On purpose? Is it my birthday or something? (hint: no, it's not my birthday) This week was somewhat less hectic on the RL side... as a result, more writing got done. I don't know how many of you work helpdesk, but sometimes you want to punch Microsoft in the face. Anyway...

guisniperman: I had considered having Ranma take on Barret directly in an earlier draft of this chapter, but I decided against it for a couple reasons, the biggest being that AVALANCHE doesn't operate on the Defeat Means Friendship trope the way shonen anime does. Also, Barret's gun-arm was apparently a custom build by a woman named Shalua Rui (who appears on other FF7 Compilation material), so even though you can buy more of them from the corner store for some reason, which doesn't make a lot of sense, him having this one get wrecked would be a major inconvenience.
Vilkath: I thought this at first as well. But, Tifa found Cloud at the train station in October, according to the official timeline. Tifa took him back to 7th Heaven to help him recover and also to keep an eye on him, so he and the other members AVALANCHE had been hanging out together and possibly planning the attack for a bit over a month at the least.
Neverwhere Chaos Mode: Short answer is that there are not any major changes planned for Cloud's back story, but there are some adjustments. I have a long answer for this, and it will come in a few chapters. Trust me, it's a good one.

A quick note about the continuing posts for the upcoming Christmas holiday season: Posts should continue as normal and on my preferred Sunday morning schedule, provided I can finish editing subsequent chapters to my satisfaction. For anyone who might express concern about my pace at this point, believe me, I appreciate the concern, and if I feel I'm hitting a stress point I may back it off a bit. But my rough draft file at this point is about twenty chapters ahead of what I've posted so far, and that is writing slowly, for me. So, trust me, I'm in this for the long haul. Anyway, enjoy the new chapter!

EDIT: 12/23/2019 changed the events surrounding the "Slappening."

Chapter Eleven

The Writing On The Wall

[ ν ] - εγλ 0007, December 10

Ranma looked at the slack jaws and disbelieving stares. "I don't know why I keep doin' this," he said quietly. He turned to face Tifa, and smiled awkwardly. Cloud had one hand on his sword, but hadn't moved otherwise. "Hello, my name is Ranma Saotome, I am a boy, and I am cursed. Any contact with cold water turns me into a girl. Warm water turns me back into a boy. I'm sure you have a lot of questions, and please don't shoot me when I break the rope here in a second."

Barret had the awareness to respond to the request with an articulate and eloquent "Wait, wha-" before Ranma took a deep breath, flexed his arms in an unusual way, and snapped the knotted rope wrapped around his arms. Aerith giggled briefly, before Barret raised his gun-arm and pointed it straight at Ranma. "Explain," he said, his actions draining all humor from the room. He braced the stock of the weapon against his good arm and growled, "Now."

Ranma raised both hands in surrender and cautiously sat back down. "Before I begin, I wanna say something very important," he prefaced, looking Barret square in the eyes. "On my honor as a martial artist, I vow that the story I'm about to tell you is the truth. Whether you believe it or not, that's your business." He took a breath, and continued, "But I've also given my word to another that I would keep Aerith safe. Now, I'd'a done that anyway, but my word and my honor are very, very important to me. And as much as I wanna be friends… if you threaten the girl again, you and I are going to have a serious problem. Do we have an agreement on that?"

Barret's gaze did not falter. The rest of the room was more or less immobile. The moment crystallized and turned, and several heartbeats passed. "Girl's off limits," Barret replied, lowering his weapon and extending his good hand. "Unless you make trouble first."

Ranma considered that for a long moment, and realized he probably wasn't going to get a better offer. "Trouble is kind of what I'm known for," he said ruefully. "But I hear ya, and I agree to those terms." He extended his hand in turn, and they shook on it.

Barret took a step back, and held the gun-arm low, pointed well away from Aerith. "All right, let's hear yer story, weirdo," he grumbled out.

Ranma nodded, relaxing a bit back into the barstool. "I'm not from here," he began. "I don't mean 'not from Midgar.' I've seen a map of this world, and it looks nothing like the world I know. I came here two weeks ago, and before that day, I didn't know what Shinra was, or mako, or SOLDIER, or materia, or even chocobos," he smiled weakly, "though I'm still not sure I believe the idea of a horse crossed with an ostrich. During martial arts training a few years ago, I fell into a cursed spring. Since then, well," he gestured to the pool of water soaking into the floorboards. "Two weeks ago, I was in my hometown of Tokyo. Something… happened, I still don't know what. Whatever happened, I got dropped outside your bar over in the junk pile back there, and started looking for a way home.

"I'm still looking for a way home," he continued. "But until I find it, I'm keeping Aerith safe for her family. Then Shinra decided to make it personal for me, so if you wanna know what 'side' I'm on, I'm on the side of giving them a reason to stop what they're doing," Ranma finished, slamming a closed fist into an open palm.

Tifa stepped forward, moving around the crowded bar. "You could have told me you were a guy when we were outside earlier," she said pointedly, glaring at Ranma.

Ranma snorted. "Yeah, I can just see how that conversation woulda gone," he replied. "'Hi, I'm Ranma, I'm short, I've got red hair, and I have a rack you could dry dishes on. I'm also a guy depending on whether I've had a shower recently. Let's all hug, then go fight evil!' Something like that?" he concluded, rolling his eyes.

Tifa frowned at him. "You don't think much of us, do you?"

"I don't know you well enough to day yet," Ranma answered, "but if I said all'a that outside you'd look at me like I'm some kind of crazy hobo or somethin'. Probably just dump me out at the train station and be done with it."

Both Aerith and Cloud frowned at him from behind, but Ranma hadn't noticed. "You might wanna drop the subject, Ranma," Tifa warned, the friendliness dropping out of her voice, placing one hand around the glass of cold water she had set on the bar a few moments earlier.

Ranma eyed the glass and then Tifa. "What, ya wanna handicap me, too?" he demanded, not really registering yet that Tifa had let go of the glass and stepped into his personal space. "Think I'm too much of a challenge unless we're the same gender?"

Tifa slapped him. It was the loudest and most important sound in the room for a brief moment. Ranma turned to face Tifa, and for the first time properly focused on the expression of anger and disbelief on her face, as well as on the others. He sighed, and turned to Aerith. "I... probably deserved that," he said quietly.

Aerith nodded. "You did," she confirmed, her own expression softening somewhat. "That was the whole 'stupid pride' thing you were telling me about?" Ranma nodded his affirmative. "Yeah, if she hadn't hit you for that one, and you kept going like that, I would have."

Ranma sighed again, and grumbled inarticulately for a moment at himself. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry I didn't say anything before, an' I'm under a bit of stress right now since we've recently had guns pointed at the two of us on two separate occurrences, so I... overreacted there, and I apologize. But I haven't found a version of this conversation that doesn't go wrong for somebody. I gave a pretty similar explanation of the curse to Aerith and her mother. Her mother fainted." Ranma thought for a moment. "Actually, that one was probably the least problematic reaction I've had to date."

"So you're a guy," Barret said, shrugging. "A guy from another planet? Whatever. Don't see how that equals 'trust.'"

"I think I see it," Tifa said, stepping behind Ranma. She grabbed the glass of cold water from the bar, and unceremoniously splashed the contents across the back of his head. "You said you fought against the Turks before. And you fought them today. When you came here, you looked like a girl, which means that's how the Turks know you. So, if you turn on us, we can hose you down and throw you to the wolves."

Ranma shook the excess water free from her hair and nodded. "I'd appreciate you not make a habit of doing that," she replied, "but yeah, that's basically it."

"And I'd appreciate you not insulting and starting fights in here with the people you're supposed to be allies with," Tifa countered. "Think you can manage that?"

Ranma hesitated a moment, but then gave her a thumbs-up. "Yeah, I'll keep my attitude in check. Thanks for understanding."

Barret nodded slowly. "Not quite trust, but it's enough to go on. What about the girl?"

Aerith looked around briefly, unsure of what to say. Ranma took a step forward. "We had an agreement, Barret," she growled, gritting her teeth. "Let's not start off on the wrong foot."

Barret shook his head. "This ain't a threat," he countered. "Jes' wanna know her story."

Aerith glanced between the two of them, still uncertain. "I…" she hesitated, lowered her head, and closed her eyes. "I've lost people to Shinra. I don't want to get into the details right now… it's very… personal, to me."

There was a short, uncomfortable silence. "Barret," Tifa said, chastising.

Barret rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine," he waved his hand in dismissal. "So, now we get to the offer. AVALANCHE is fighting Shinra, but even though 'fighting Shinra' is what we're doin', they're just the target. Shinra is sucking the planet dry to line their pockets. The rot and pollution makes the lives of everyone below the plate miserable, and most of the people down here haven't seen sunlight mosta their lives. The planet's dying, they're killing everyone, bit by bit, and they know about alla it, but won't lift a finger to help them."

Barret stood up and began pacing, gesturing with both arms while he spoke. "They destroy land, kill people, wage wars just to expand their grip on the world, pump pollution and disease onto people's homes, and if they ain't stopped they'll keep doing it until there's nothing left." His gaze met that of the two girls in turn. "We fight 'em because not everyone can fight for themselves. And we fight 'em because… these days, there's nobody else left who'll try."

Ranma nodded. "'The first duty of a martial artist,'" she recited, "'is to protect the innocent.'"

Aerith inclined her head. "I can't let them destroy Gaia or the lives of those who live here," she said, her determination breaking through her fear. "I'll join you."

Tifa nodded and smiled. "All right, then. Welcome to AVALANCHE."

Barret gave a rough but genuine smile. "The two boys there are Wedge and Biggs," he said, gesturing in turn to the larger man in the corner and the skinny one in fatigues. "Redhead's Jessie," he introduced the woman sitting near Biggs. "Little one's my daughter, Marlene," he said, throwing the girl a smile as he walked past the bar, standing next to the jukebox. "An' we got a special guest downstairs. Kinda the reason I was wary o' you two to begin with."

Ranma glanced around, noticing four solid wooden walls and no stairwell. "This place has a downstairs?" she asked, confused.

Barret grinned, but said nothing. He kicked one foot out and hit the pinball table firmly on the far side. Suddenly, there was a whir of machinery, and the pinball table - and the metal plate it stood on - began to descend through the floor. "Come on down," he said with a smirk, stepping onto the platform.

Ranma saw a ladder, the top rungs of which had been concealed by the pinball table, set into the wall. She hopped on and climbed down to the lower level, followed by Aerith and then Tifa. "Huh. Cozy," she said, looking around.

The basement was small, but functional. Thick metal piping ran along one wall. A fairly large television was propped up on old wooden crates in a corner. A small personal computer sat near the TV. A large, squat table sat in the middle of the room, covered in maps and schematics of varying levels of complexity. Almost an entire wall was occupied by what appeared to be a digital whiteboard of some kind, with a printer attached to it. A heavy punching bag sat in one corner.

On the floor, next to the punching bag, sat a pale-skinned man with a weaselly face, dressed in a cheap three-piece suit, arms bound behind him. "Oh, so you've come back?" he said in a nasal tone. "Finally seen reason, yeah?"

Barret turned to glare at him. "Shut it," he said simply, thumping his fist on the table. "Ranma, Aerith, this little shitstain here is named Crick. We caught him snoopin' around right after we got back this mornin'. What we don't know is why he's here or who's he workin' for. Was gonna start beatin' it out of him in a few minutes, but…" he shrugged. "Somethin' upstairs got my attention for a coupla minutes, you know how it is."

The weasel-faced man, in what had to be the single boldest move of his life, glared his defiance at Barret. Ranma glanced between the two of them. "Hey, Barret, anythin' particular on the other side of this wall?" she asked.

Barret stopped short at the odd question. "Nah, neighbors don't have anything below ground," he replied after a moment. "Means nobody'll hear him screamin' when it comes time."

Ranma shook her head. "Won't be necessary," she answered. "Gimme a couple minutes." She stepped around the table and looked over the captive. The outfit he wore was similar to that of the Turks, but it was clearly a poor imitation; aside from being the wrong color, it was clearly untailored and meant for someone shorter, as the jacket sleeves stopped halfway down his forearms. His gaze jumped between Barret in the back, Aerith idly twirling her staff, and Ranma's purposeful stride towards him. She stopped about a foot away, pulled one of the small crates that had obviously been used for chairs towards herself, and sat down. "Crick, was it?" she asked politely.

"Oh, go to hell," he spat out, shuffling slightly to one side, leaning around to glare at Barret and the others. "She don't scare me. Maybe try bringing someone who doesn't belong over at the Honey Bee Inn, yeah?"

Ranma's expression solidified. Aerith looked over at Ranma, and then stepped sharply away from her, sliding between Barret and Tifa. Barret noticed the reaction, and glanced down at Aerith. "Somethin' I oughta know about?" he asked quietly.

Aerith turned slowly to face the wall, to prevent Crick from seeing her lips move. "Ranma has a lot of pride wrapped up in her… in his… masculinity, in his strength," she answered. "Crick just said probably about the worst thing he could have possibly said at that moment. Whatever Ranma was planning to do before , I doubt she's in the mood for subtlety any more."

"All 'dem words supposed to mean somethin'?" Barret asked again.

Aerith smiled a perverse little smile. "In short, I think you're about to see just how strong she really is."

Barret nodded slowly, not fully understanding, but shifted his attention to focus on the two of them in the corner. Ranma said nothing, but moved her left arm and extended her index finger, pointing at the solid concrete wall, her eyes staring directly at Crick. She shifted position slightly, her torso obscuring the view of exactly what she was doing. She then began to extend her arm, and moved it in a series of short sweeps and curving lines, as if drawing or writing something. Crick appeared to be experiencing some morbid fascination with whatever it was she was doing, as he was unable to look away even as his expression wandered aimlessly between fear and wonder.

After a few moments, Ranma stopped, gestured to Crick, and sat back down to face him, now holding that finger against the man's head. "Fuuuuuck this," Crick whimpered, his voice gradually raising in pitch, trying to scurry in any direction. Ranma followed his motions effortlessly, the finger tracking his forehead as if tethered by a string, never more than an inch or two away. "Stop! Minerva help me, just leave me alone!"

Ranma smiled, and slowly pulled her hand back, still leaving that finger extended in an odd threat. "Barret?" she said quietly, not looking away. Barret shrugged, and took a few steps around the table. When he realized what the girl had done, it took a lot of self-control to keep from bursting out into laughter.

The phrase "Ranma Saotome Was Here" was now engraved into the foundation concrete of the basement wall, at the approximate depth of one index finger. A small but noticeable amount of powdered concrete was on the ground near Crick. A larger and definitely more noticeable amount of urine currently occupied the floor, as well as the bottom of Crick's pants.

Ranma glared at the man. "Answer his questions," she began lightly, before her eyes glinted with menace and her tone shifted dark, "or I might have to write somewhere else."

Tifa grinned a little bit at that. "All right, little miss badass," she said, "I think I owe you a glass of water."

"That's 'Mister' Badass, thank you very much," Ranma replied.

A/N: Okay, let's get the obvious one out of the way. No, Ranma does not know the Bakusai Tenketsu technique that Ryoga has at his disposal. If he did, he wouldn't have been able to write in the wall, as that finger poke would have turned the foundation to dust and made the bar collapse inward. Ranma is however pretty darn strong, and more so if sufficiently annoyed. Putting one chi-enhanced finger through what is probably not high-quality concrete is pretty reasonable for someone who is regularly able to punch through modern walls.

Ranma historically has a habit of sticking his foot in his mouth. I felt it was time to demonstrate that. Hence the 'hug and go fight evil' speech. Also, it was a bit funny. For those who don't know Ranma also has a strong sense of honor, a hero streak a mile wide, a habit of standing in front of bullies no matter who's on the other side, and an existing promise to protect Aerith. Aerith, in turn, has a history of being hunted by people with guns, and sufficient reason to be nervous around someone with Barret's attitude. I always felt that Barret is, overall, a good man, but he really does have some tendencies in the early game towards overt and unnecessary aggression (see his interactions with the train conductor on the way back from Sector 1). Way to keep a low profile, man. This is why they picked Cloud to lead the party when they left Midgar.

There were a couple comments on Barret and Tifa being untrustworthy seeming out of character. I hope this helps clarify the point. Ranma, Aerith, and Cloud are showing back up at the bar without Tifa having left on her own to go confront Don Corneo; the person who Barret found and beat Corneo's name out of was never identified, so meet Crick. He will be absolutely unimportant from here on.

Hope you like it! Comments and feedback welcome!