Crossover Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Path of Chaos: Ascension of Supremacy ❯ Chapter 03b Side Story ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

PATH OF CHAOS

- Lord Rance

Disclaimer: Someone asked if I should just cut and paste one of the
currently existing disclaimers lying around somewhere. But I wrote back,
'What about the disclaimer for that disclaimer?'

======================================================================== =====
CHAPTER 3B SIDESTORY - TOKIMI AND THE PAST
======================================================================== =====

Tsunami walked beside her older sister, Tokimi, to Kami-sama's office.
Once the edict for her release had been cleared, the Goddess of Chaos
was called forth to the Almighty's office. For what reason, only
Kami-sama knows (pun included, mind you).

It was rather a long walk to those who experience it, but at the same
time it was just a term of convenience for them. Time had no essence in
this place after all.

Tokimi took the 'time' of the trip to reflect upon what happened in the
past, and what led things now.

Her son, Ranma... whom she thought was lost to her forever, and the now
extinguished hatred she felt for her sister Tsunami because of the
travesty the younger goddess had comitted against her, just 'to be sure'
as she said.

She barely remembered the last time she felt as protective as this. It
was rather a long time ago, but barely recognized the memory of a brown
haired girl, with eyes as blue as her son's.

She massaged her head in annoyance. She can't remember much.

Angels, gods and goddesses alike stood from one side as they watched the
infamous Tokimi tread along the marbled path which still stretched up to
the horizon with no point of ending as of yet, who walked side by side
with the one who imprisoned her in the first place, Tsunami.

Tokimi groaned as she placed her hands in the opposite sides of the
sleeves of her robes. She felt every eyes were upon her, and she had
this sudden urge to scratch the back of her head (now we know where
Ranma got the mannerism). Truly, it's such a long travel.

Her thoughts led once again to her son.

She just hoped he was manly.

Kami help us all.

======================================================================== =====

It has been a long time since she last experienced the warmth of the
sunrise. She was really getting sick of this cold and dark place that
was alloted to her.

Her origins, together with her sisters, were really as of the moment,
unknown. For all that matters, they really were part of the original
Kami-Megami Conclave that Kami-sama had created when the universe became
stable after the Ancient War.

Eversince that fateful day when her own sisters decided that she was a
tad too ambitious and too powerful to their own tastes, they conspired
in imprisoning her in this part of dimension.

Tokimi, the Goddess of Chaos.

At least that was what they called her. They reasoned, her chaotic
powers tend to disrupt order. That and also she had been involved in the
downfall of many civilizations.

She was Evil. Or at least that's what they claimed her to be.

Some if those claims were true. Tokimi had been the cause of many
downfalls of species all throughout the cosmos. She also helped some
'evil entities' as they said to gain some footing in the universe. Her
powers were really as chaotic as they claimed, true.

But they haven't got the slightest idea as of what her jurisdiction
really meant in the first place. Existence was afraid of something it
couldn't understand, so it took steps to eradicate it.

Chaos was an intricated equalizer in the universe. Without it, the
so-called 'Order' would cease to exist.

She had often heard from the Almighty that Chaos was really not evil,
and that the blame was sorely misplaced. But the Father was pressured in
announcing her imprisonment anyway. Other gods and goddesses already
accused Him of having favorites, that Kami-sama really took into Him
Tokimi's presence. Although they haven't really told that in His face,
they took it all out on her. That was the start of her downfall.

Finally, Kami-sama decided to announce His verdict. She could remember
the final apologetic look He gave her before He announced His approval
of her imprisonment in that cold and dark place.

Tokimi could never find fault in Kami-sama's decision, though. In fact,
she thought that He had saved her from a much crueler fate, like
eradication from existence.

But that was also the end of the plane of jurisdiction that was assigned
to her and her sisters. The massive energy whiplash that occured when
they imprisoned her to the hypothetical eleventh dimension devastated
most of the plane they were in.

Tsunami lost her body, where she only existed as a spirit gliding back
and forth across the various Juraian Spacetrees scattered all over the
universe.

Washuu suddenly became part mortal, reasons still unknown.

Tokimi was the worst off, not only did she lose most of her powers and
jurisdiction, but also most of her sanity as well.

She shuddered at the thought. Her mind was now back here, in this dark
place, where she had spent most of her time gazing to the only artifact
that was given to her by Kami-sama to help her cope, her own Scrying
Mirror. With it, she was able to 'see' what was happening in the
outside. Also, she learned how to project her image to the spacetrees,
thanks to Kami-sama's effort of taking part of her domain of spacetrees
into the dimension of her prison.

Like Tsunami, she was able to project herself, but she limited the use
because of the limited energy she had to control the trees themselves.
Tsunami limited her energies from them.

So, her long imprisonment naturally did something to her. It got her
really bored for one. She lacked her usual hobbies of raising havoc in
one part of the universe, or fixing some abnormalities in another.
Another effect was coupled with her boredom though. As time passed, the
small fire of anger grew into gigantic proportions. The more she thought
about her sisters' betrayals, the more she got angry.

The ones whom she thought would understand stood against her, even aided
those who wanted to take her down.

She wanted some reprieves.

So here was Tokimi, who looked for another way to break her sister
Tsunami's private orderly world. She was still quite pleased when that
fellow Kagato took it into his hands to break her other sister, Washuu,
by stealing her child Ryoko and turned her into some biological weapon.
The event caused Washuu to be imprisoned in a crystal chamber even the
Goddess of Knowledge can't break. Washuu was then flung to drift
aimlessly across the Universe.

Tokimi was actually searching for her erstwhile sister Washuu, in hopes
of making a pact between them, in turn to partially release some of the
chains that bound her in the hypothetical dimension.

That, and she was curious as to why Washuu made Ryoko.

Oh yes! The chaos Ryoko made as she streaked across the universe was
legendary, and the space pirate's name caused shivers of fear to even
the most proficient of all Galaxy Police officers.

That lasted until the half-Juraian, half human crowned prince of Jurai,
Yosho, had volunteered to hunt down and defeat Ryoko once and for all.
The chase finally ended in Yosho's mother's homeworld, Earth. The
climatic battle ended when the prince finally stabbed Ryoko by the
throat and managed to remove the jewels that stored and managed the
pirate's powers. He then sealed her in a cave, powered by Juraian locks.

In her spare time (as if every time she now had wasn't 'spare time') she
took time in building herself a small computer center of some sorts. For
some reason, she found out that she could actually transfer inanimate
objects through the trees themselves, but it required lots of energy to
accomplish. It took her a long time to acquire enough materials to
finish her work. She had acquired some sort of political power, thanks
to the powers of her persuasion.

Kami... she's bored. That alone would signify that the universe will
once again be grazed with chaos, however minimal the source is.

======================================================================== =====

Out of the millions of races in the universe, only a handful could
really match the Saiyajins in terms of physical power. Their prowess in
fighting had been deemed as an asset in warfare.

The said Saiyajins were only found in one planet, their homeworld
Vegeta-sei.

It wouldn't be a mystery as to why Freeza, a famous tyrant whose origins
were quite unclear, would want their support. But one thing was for
sure, him and his family, the Cold Family, were notorious for their
conquest of the universe. The only race they hadn't yet tried to fight
head on was the Juraians.

The tyrant offered the Saiyajins an agreement: be part of his army and
live under his 'protection', or be destroyed. Some of the Saiyajins
tried to go against such a proposition, but was promptly eradicated by
Freeza. The little tyrant was of a race that could match and defeat the
Saiyajins in battle. Also his ability to be able to survive the vacuum
of space like the Masu was a definite edge against the much more mortal
Saiyajins.

The Saiyajins then became a subordinate under Freeza. They sent their
babies as infants across the universe via a special space module that
could survive the long travels in space. When it reaches the target
planet, the baby would commence its analysis of the planet's resources
and probable profits. If it proved to be worthy, the inhabitants were
then wiped out. If the planet turned out to be useless, the whole planet
itself was destroyed mercilessly.

Eventhough Vegeta-sei was under Freeza, the tyrant still allowed the
Saiyajins to maintain their monarchial type of government. Also, the
various rebel factions inside the ranks of the subordinates were
evident. One such rebel was Bardock, leader of the Elite Guards for the
king of Vegeta-sei.

As time went by, the rebels grew listless. Bardock finally decided to
include one of his operatives in the 'purging mission'. He asked his own
men for any volunteers in this mission, which would likely be the last
for whoever accepts.

A volunteer stepped up to take the mission. His hair sprouted out in
front of his face, but was held at the back because it was tied up
behind his head in a thick ponytail. He was a bit on the leaner side,
but his size hadn't really attested to his true strength. The
volunteer's battle prowess was well-known all throughout the ranks as
the best. His abilities of assimilating battle techniques was
phenomenal.

His name was Nasu.

"Are you all right with this, Nasu?" Bardock quirked an eyebrow to
Nasu's direction. The young volunteer nodded slightly.

Bardock sighed. This mission was so important, and Nasu was also an
equally important force in his rebel faction. But who can do the job
better than his best man? "Alright..." He said after some minutes of
silent contemplation. "Report to Dock 3E... we will have to put you into
cryostatis."

Nasu fidgeted at that. Cryostatis meant long term space travel, like
several years or so. It was still experimental, and the destinations
were usually the planets in the farther regions of their galaxy. "Long
travel for me, sir?"

Bardock nodded. "A place called Earth. The spacecraft you will use is
the newest design... the fastest vessel to date. Some of our earlier
scouts intercepted some transmissions going around that planet. Still
not as advanced as Freeza's army, but acceptable. We might find an ally
there."

Nasu grinned. "Understood sir." With a snapped salute, he turned and
walked back to his assigned quarters.

The next day, Nasu's mission bound for Earth started when he blasted off
the asteroid that housed one of the garrisons for Freeza's army.

Oh, this is really getting so interesting.

======================================================================== =====

Kami-sama's Office, Heaven...

A soft click sounded off the large room. Kami-sama stretched back and
yawned.

It was all in a day's work, figuratively of course. The destiny He had
set upon one of His daughters was about to unfold.

Ah yes. Although He did feel rotten in using His divine powers to
manipulate Fate and Destiny, not to mention the gods of the same effects
He tampered with were complaining outside the doors of the office right
now. He really needed to do this, because out of all the possibilities
of futures the Yggdrasil archives had, this had the highest probability
to work.

Besides, reincarnating a perfect body to achieve the perfect synthesis
for His late brother, no, His currently 'lost' brother Chaos, is a must.

He pressed a button in his computer, and watched as the screen picture
changed into a brown long haired girl with eyes blue eyes.

He sighed. <I'm sorry, Tokimi my daughter. I have slighted you two times
already. One was your first daughter, two was your imprisonment. And
here I am, planning to slight you once again with your next offspring...
just to recover something, or someone from long ago. I'm so sorry. But
this is a neccessity.>

He relaxed as He watched the events He had helped set in motion take
effect.

<Don't worry, your daughter was being taken cared of. She grew up into a
lovely goddess. Someday I will let you recover your full memories so
that you could remember her.> He chuckled. <But I'm quite surprised that
you can do what Zeus did with his own daughter Aphrodite. The Goddess of
Love was born out of seafoam, while your daughter was born out of the
earth. That's why she's so at home with trees and nature.>

The Almighty pulled up a huge silver briefcase from under his table. He
opened it and gazed lovingly at the contents inside.

Ten crystals, three lay horizontally on the upper side, another three
was on the left side that lay diagonally which slashes downwards to the
right and the other three on the opposite side on the right of the first
diagonal, slashing to the left. They were colored differently and of the
same sizes of as big as Kami-sama's thumb. The last one though, in the
middle of it all, was the biggest. Its size was as big as Kami-sama's
fist. The largest gem was colored black.

It was the pieces of Chaos that Kami-sama had searched and collected all
over across the entire multiverses.

He grazed his finger across the largest jewel, which glowed slightly. He
sighed and closed the case once again. He re-placed it under his table.

The time was near, after countless of years of waiting for the perfect
body.

Kami-sama felt bored so He 'cheated' once again, as he tweaked the time
frame and made it flow faster.

Six years have passed since then.

======================================================================== =====

A figure fluttered across the darknened hallways. His ago old face
reflected a slight scowl that he always wore wherever he goes. He was
D3, considered as Tokimi's embassador. Some even said that he was
Tokimi's other side, rather, Tokimi created him out of her image.

Whatever was true, he owed his existence to the goddess, and he lived to
serve her.

D3 was currently looking into the records which partained a certain
half-Juraian, who was living on Earth.

Wait, make that three half-Juraians.

In his own smaller imitation of Tokimi's Scrying Mirror, he watched
intently as the sparring session between the two Juraians, Masaki
Katsuhito, Achika and Nodoka, went underway. He also knew that Washuu
was imprisoned somewhere, but despite the knowledge her exact location
was a complete blank.

He was now transversing along the path of darkness, towards the Lady
Tokimi. She had decreed that he would have to give periodic reports
about his findings, no matter how trivial they were. Suddenly, his slow
approached stopped, because in the corner of his eyes, he spotted his
Scrying Mirror flashing for some reason in his hands. Curious, he
brought the mirror to eye level and commanded it to let him see what it
was trying to show him.

A small circular space vessel was traveling along space towards the
planet Earth at high speed. As the vessel went past Jupiter, it finally
displayed a comet-like appearance, with dust and other particles
trailing behind it.

D3 grinned. He recognized the vessel's primary design. After all,
Tokimi's archives of knowledge spanned for thousands of years. There was
one armada that used such podships.

Freeza.

D3 quickly levitated towards Lady Tokimi's throne. His ladyship would be
very interested with this development.

======================================================================== =====

Tokimi was in contemplation a lot lately. Her curiousity as to where her
sister Washuu was currently imprisoned was etched in her mind. For some
reason, some chaotic factor stopped her scrying methods. Kagato really
hid her sister real well, and it pissed her off when she remembered how
Kagato changed the plans.

There were also the three half bred Juraians that have taken thir
residency in Earth, which much to her chargrin, was still a bit of a
shadow in her sights. A little was known about the planet, only that it
was still primitive in Juraian standards.

A soft fluttering noise interrupted her concentration. She snapped her
eyes open and was greeted with the sight of a smirking D3. She was quite
curious as to why her servant would be that way.

"What is it, D3?" Tokimi tried to hide her irritation in her voice,
which was quite successful.

D3 bowed low. "Tokimi-sama, I have detected a space vessel approaching
planet Earth." He looked up to Tokimi. "It's a design unique only to
Freeza's army."

Tokimi's face reflected confusion. "Freeza? I didn't expect him to
detect potential in planet Earth this soon. When is it going to land on
Earth?"

"Three Earth-days' time, Tokimi-sama."

The goddess of Chaos nodded. "Very well. I will look into it. Good work
D3. By the way, remind Doctor Clay about our certain... project. I wish
to see some results soon."

D3 bowed again. "At once, Tokimi-sama."

======================================================================== =====

He was currently dreaming about his training. He was trained to be the
best of the best in Bardock's command.

He watched as Freeza's other foot soldiers claimed another planet as
their own. They discarded the people in them and sold the planet to the
highest bidder.

It sickened him, to think that they, the Saiyajins, were reduced to
bowing down to this... travesty.

Contrary to what other species call them as 'Savage', their culture was
centered mostly on honorable combat and equal rights. They were ruled in
an organized manner by the Royal House of Vegeta-sei.

They were actually broken down into classes, which was delegated
according to strengths.

The weakest ones were mine workers, those in the fourth and fifth class
of Saiyajins. They were those that lack the strength and the drive to
become the warriors they were known for.

The third and second class were first line of defenses. They have passed
some sort of 'military conditions' where their strengths are strong, but
quite common, since the Saiyajins were supposed to be strong. They were
the ones sent to war, and most of them are those sent outworld to
conquer other planets via space travel.

The first class, or the Elite, are the high class guards of royalty.
They showed exceptional strength through the Trial of Warriors that was
held in their version of the Coliseum. It was a battle stadium where the
most powerful warriors are chosen. This was where they determine the
third, second and elites among the populous. The Elite became commanders
in Saiyajin armies in the outworld.

Yes, he was accepted in the Elite.

Thus he proved himself in battle against the strongest of the Saiyajins.
At least, they have honor when it comes to these things.

But what they were told to do these days were just plain extermination.
Merciless killings of defenseless races just to take their planets from
them. They haven't even received their share from those bounties at all.

Plus, he had a bad feeling about all of what Freeza had planned. His
commander, Bardock, felt it too.

That was why he was in this predicament. He was to find out everything
about this planet in the outer rims of the seventh galaxy.

To find allies, in case Freeza decided to double cross them after
conquering enough worlds bored him silly.

Nasu's brow furrowed slightly in his cold sleep, as his vessel streaked
across the darkened skies of the planet he was supposed to investigate.
Because of this, he didn't see the warning flash on the panel of the on
board computer.

The warning stated some kind of anomaly in the outer hull, which caused
his vehicle to lose control.

His space craft was rocked when it impacted into something, which
interrupted his cold sleep to be broken too early. Nasu's body lurched
forward. Because of his still frozen body, his body hit the near broken
door with a thud quite hard.

Nasu's eyes finally snapped open and saw his vehicle in flames. <Where
the heck am I? Who am I?! Wait... fire?>

He dragged his half paralyzed body near the flames, in hopes to get rid
of the icy feeling over his psysique. His body moved in autopilot as his
hands fumbled on the red button, which for some reason looked real
important. A loud hiss opened the side of the enclosed capsule.

The Saiyajin ushered himself out, and barely registered the three
blurred figures approaching him hesitantly.

His eyes slowly closed as he surrendered to the darkness once again.

======================================================================== =====

The skies of the Earth was marred by the approaching meteor of some
sort.

The vessel's approach haven't gone unnoticed, for three people witness
the flaming fireball pass by their position as it landed in the nearby
clump of trees.

A loud skidding noise followed by a loud explosion rocked the Masaki
Shrine that night. Outside the shrine proper, an old man with her two
daughters looked to each other.

With a small nod, they all went inside the house to don their hiking
clothes and sped towards the flaming wreckage.

As they approached the white ball, they found out that it was mechanical
in nature. Suddenly, the outer hatch hissed open. They backed quickly
and watched as a figure step out of the space craft. The figure
staggered slowly towards their direction, and for some reason it seemed
to look at them momentarily. The figure stiffened and fell down the
ground, face first. Finally, the hesitation of the trio was gone as they
ran to the fallen figure's side. He was male, with hair that seemed like
was tied in a thick ponytail before, but now it was disheveled and was
out of place. His hair jutted outwards from the crop of his head. Over
the black spandex like material that covered his body, he wore an
intricated armor, white chestplate with yellow lined elbow pads. In his
ear was a white band that stretched over his head, which had a screen
like device on the other end. They took note of the brown sash that was
wrapped around his waist, so far looking quite out of place when you
think about it. His head was bleeding from all sides, from gashes hidden
in the thick hair. They quickly carried his unconscious body away from
the burning wreckage.

The old man from the trio quickly grabbed his bokken from his sleeves
and slashed the ground. The shower of soil and gravel hit the fires that
threatened to spread from the wreckage. The old man slashed the ground
once again until the flames died down. He turned to the two females that
accompanied him, and nodded. Once again, they all carried the man
together into their house, to treat his head wounds that seemed to be
serious.

======================================================================== =====

Tokimi's eyes widened when she eyed the person being helped inside the
Masaki Shrine. She had scanned his mind, but was vaguely disappointed
when she found minute amounts of memories left. But when she looked into
his energy readings, imagine her surprise when she figured out that the
young man was actually a Saiyajin! Although that brown tail wrapped
around his waist was a visual giveaway.

The goddess felt flushed when she realized she was staring far too much
on her mirror. It was just that, Saiyajins were rare, and that their
prowess in wars and battles were legendary, especially those stoeis
about the illusive Super Saiyajin. Her excitement to this prospect was
too much.

It was rather easy, too. The Saiyajin's mind was currently blank, his
memories were somehow locked into his subconscious, probably because of
the crash land that his spacecraft had suffered. That was another thing,
how did the Saiyajin came to know about this almost non-existent planet?
As far as she knew, planet Earth was supposed to be free from the
Intergalactic Ruling Organizations that spread across the universe.

And he's quite good looking too.

Huh?

Tokimi shook her head as she gazed once again at the figure that was
zoomed in her mirror. A certain nagging feeling that she felt in her
chest was growing stronger.

The goddess' eyes widened.

"Oh no..." She said softly, clutching at her head in confusion. "I
must've delved too much into his mind. I felt his passion... his
loneliness... his anger towards Freeza's treatment towards those who
were weaker than them... his honor... by the Kami! Why now?!"

D3 stood in the shadows, his face clearly reflected confusion as he
watched the Lady Tokimi gazing at the mirror with an expression that was
quite unfamiliar to him. Suddenly, her face showed surprise, then deep
thought.

It was really weird for him.

Meanwhile, Tokimi was wrestling in her own dillema. <Oh no... too much
emotion... it's starting to affect even me! I don't need this... but...
I can't seem to get angry much anymore...> She looked into the mirror
once again.

She saw the resident Juraians made the Saiyajin comfortable, who was
still unconscious. The girls were fussing over the still sleeping
newcomer, which made her feel a bit angry. She was about to crush her
mirror when she finally figured out what she was doing. <Huh? What am I
feeling?!>

Tokimi stared at the image once more. She sighed longingly and
whispered, "After so long... why now...?"

======================================================================== =====

He felt his consciousness returning, but everything was a fog. His head
hurt like hell, and his body aches and was burning for some reason. The
thoughts he was entertaining were nonsense, only those things like what
he was doing here. But he knew he had forgotted something very
important.

Where the hell was he? More importantly... what... who was he?

His urgency to wake up was rising. He really felt that it was imperative
to gather some information.

The fog finally lifted, and he felt he had to open his eyes. When he
did, he regretted it though. Light pierced through his currently
sensitive eyes. He instictively shut them closed again as he groaned.

The groan finally alerted those who were watching him. He heard
footsteps that approached his area. He tensed, prepared for any
impending attacks that may come his way. He somehow knew that he was a
fighter, judging from how he quickly prepped himself.

The footsteps stopped, however. He knew that they stayed a bit away from
his territorial circle. A small area around the body where they could
reach in and grab anyone they perceive a threat.

He knew they were respecting his privacy.

"Relax, young man." An old voice pierced through the silence that
reigned for a while. "We won't harm you. Do you remember what happened
to you?"

He finally opened his eyes. The light was still irritating, but he had
to manage. Through the glare, he saw an old man stood in front of him.
Behind the old man, two females looked at him quizzically. He remembered
that he was being asked a question. He thought about it, but what the
hell did happen to him? A sudden jolt of pain coursed through his head.
He grimaced as he clutched unto it as he tried vainly to placate his
head.

The old man finally forced himself to violate the personal space. The
young man seemed to have lost interest in it anyway. The old man knelt
beside the newcomer and forced him to lay down the warm futon that was
spread out for the patient.

"Don't force yourself. You were involved in an accident. You came from
outer space, and crash landed in our land. Luckily me and my daughters
found you, or else you would've burned alive." He said gently.

The young man looked at him quizzically. He felt something sticking out
of his ear, and was about to pull it out when the old man gently took
his hand and shook his head.

"I wouldn't want you to do that. What you are wearing is called a
'Scouter'. It's a rather high-tech device that allows you to understand
our languange without learning it. It's translating my words for you.
This version you hold will automatically download the information into
your head remotely when it finally deciphers our language. Keep it there
for a while longer."

The young man nodded.

The old man smiled and asked, "Do you remember why you are here?"

The newcomer thought for a moment, then came up empty.

"My name is Masaki Katsuhito, call me Katsuhito. You are in our shrine,
the Masaki Shrine."

The old man turned to his daughters. He gestured to the one who seemed
like a twenty year old with long dark blue hair. "Her name is Achika, my
older daughter." He pointed to the dark red haired girl that looked like
a eighteen year old. "She is Nodoka, my youngest daughter."

He turned back to the young Saiyajin. "Do you remember your name?"

"..." The young man's eyes suddenly grew. He slowly shook his head and
looked at the old man fearfully.

The old priest sighed and nodded. "I think you have amnesia. That crash
really did a number in your body. Your head was bleeding before I took
care of it. I think it's not permanent, though I don't know how long it
will take for you to recover those memories. Now relax, and sleep first.
You had quite an accident, and rest is a must for you."

The patient looked down to the blankets that covered him halfway,
debating within himself whether to follow him or just roam across the
probably strange new place, to try and find his memories. He shook his
head, lay back down and closed his eyes.

The old man stood up gently and escorted his daughters out of the room.

<Poor man...> he thought to himself, <But his clothes... his hair... and
his tail... he's a Saiyajin. And if my feelings are correct, a strong
one too. An Elite.>

======================================================================== =====

The amnesiac Saiyajin woke up after three days, fully rested. As
expected, he still haven't recovered any of his memories. The two girls
were a bit disappointed about it. They were quite curious as to what the
traveler had to say about his voyage. They fussed over him as they
changed his bandages. So far, only those easily accessible areas were
the ones that suffered. Nodoka carefully untied the simple band that
held the Saiyajin's hair. It suddenly bloomed downwards, that illicited
a sudden squawk of indignation from the warrior. He just knew that he
looked like an overgrown prickly bush because of it. That was why he
tied his hair down in the first place.

The two girls marveled as to how shiny the hair was. Sure it had some
dried blood and soot in it, but after they had washed it off with a wet
rag, the silky hair bounced back with a vengeance. The overgrown hair
reached up to his waist.

"You have really nice hair." Achika commented as she absently twirled
her own dark blue hair. She wondered if Nobuyuki would want her hair
dyed at that color. Nah...

Nodoka smiled. "You still haven't remembered much, even your name?"
After she saw the Saiyajin shake his head, she continued, "Then we'll
give you a new name in the meantime. How about... Ran?"

The traveler cocked his head to one side, with a confused expression on
his face. He turned to Achika when he heard her gasp.

"I understand! Ran means 'wild' in our language... you're hair is really
wild, and that's what's prominent in your features." Achika giggled.

'Ran' sighed. For some reason, he just felt that they would fuss over
his hair, although he can't remember why. He looked up to them and
nodded in resignation. It was a temporary name anyway.

The two girls smiled back at his agreement.

"I see he's awake." Katsuhito appeared at the doorway. He leaned on the
passageway as he watched his daughters dress the Saiyajin's wounds.

Nodoka looked up to Katsuhito from her work. "We gave him a name, papa.
His name for now is Ran."

Katsuhito chuckled. "Ran, as in wild eh? Oh... the hair!" His chuckles
became full blown laughter. He stopped momentarily when Ran pouted. His
laugh came back in full force, followed by his daughters. After a short
while, Ran followed their example and laughed as well.

======================================================================== =====

Tokimi watched from the shadows as Ran slowly regained his strength to
walk without any help. After three days, his bandages were off.
Katsuhito had commented about Saiyajins having extra quick healing
abilities. Ran's 'Scouter' had also finished assimilating the different
languages he had seen in the books found in Katsuhito's library, so he
finally had the option of taking the device off.

The day before, the old man had explained to his patient and his
daughters about their heritage, as well as Ran's origins. The Saiyajin
was a bit surprised to find out that Katsuhito wasn't a native of this
planet, but shrugged it off. He was in the same predicament anyway.
Katsuhito explained to him that the humans that reside in this planet
were a by far less developed than they were, and were significantly
weaker than them. So they must be very careful in treating the locals.

Ran absorbed the knowledge and agreed with Katsuhito. For some reason,
he felt that he was not here to fight anybody anyway.

The two girls were awed about the revelation about their bloodline. They
were much more elated when they found out that they weren't alone, and
that Ran was like them. But they still had to figure out why Ran was
sent back here though.

Tokimi's heart beat faster as she watched Ran join the sparring sessions
with Katsuhito. The fact that the Saiyajin was at par with the errant
Juraian prince's skill was a plus for her. For some reason, the urgency
she felt to take Ran into her arms grew a thousand fold.

She was now planning on how to take the Saiyajin into her prison.

Apparently, she didn't have to wait for long.

A chance bloomed in her eyes when she saw Ran rested under the leaves of
Funaho, Katsuhito's Juraian Spacetree. It has been almost two weeks
since he arrived in the shrine, and this time was an end to Ran and
Katsuhito's spar, and he was now exhausted. She gathered most of her
powers, and softly quelched the feeling of nervousness in her gut as her
hands phased out of Funaho's trunk and wrapped around Ran's sleeping
body. The Saiyajin's body was absorbed into Funaho's trunk as Tokimi
slowly pulled him into her dimension. Later, Katsuhito found only the
discarded bokken that was left at Funaho's roots.

======================================================================== =====

Exhausted.

That was what he was feeling right now. For some reason, the call of a
good fight was grating through his muscles. His body itched for a good
fight, and he found one from the old man.

His body was still adjusting from the sudden memory loss, but he was
grateful that his instincts in battle were easy to recover. Within days,
he finally remembered most of the techniques he lost. The more
destructive techniques he practiced when the females were busy in their
own works, Achika in the household chores while Nodoka in school.
Nobuyuki, Achika's husband, was usually working as an architect in the
city, thus coming home quite late. He used the area near a small lake,
with the ominous huge tree in the middle. He felt the tree watching him,
actually it seemed that all of the trees around the lake were alive and
observing him. He shrugged the feeling and practiced most of his energy
blasts, the attacks he never uses when sparring with the old man.

He felt tired, so he let his body rest under the protection of the huge
tree in the middle of the lake. He found out that he could fly, when he
felt his energy instinctively pushed his body upwards when he jumped
before. He practiced controlling the directions and heights of the jump,
thus gaining the ability to fly.

Oh yes, he was tired. He felt himself drift into a deep sleep as he felt
a cold soothing wind caressed his hot and overtaxed body.

Suddenly, he felt the hairs at the back of his neck (and boy that's a
lot of hair!) stand up. His eyes snapped open and readjusted. He pushed
his body upwards and gazed at his surroundings.

He blinked. And blinked one more time for good measure.

<Oh damn.> He thought to himself. In front of him, the dark room was
illuminated by soft blue light. He felt that mattress beneath him was
soft and comfortable, but wasn't he at the shrine before?

"Oh damn." He muttered, just for symmetry of course.

The floorings were held together by thick roots from some sort of trees
that probably grew somewhere near here. He stood up and slowly walked to
the doorway. The uneasy feeling was not of danger, but of someone
closeby who has lots of power.

As of the moment, he felt no evil intent, nor evil in the energies that
flowed in the air. Freeza's ki was clearly evil, and this type of
feeling was not like that at all. But it was still dark ki, and for some
reason, the one who held the power was strong. Very strong.

He walked softly across the darkened hallways. He tried to find out what
kind of place this was, and why he was here in the first place. It
wasn't helpful that the feeling of great power was coming closer to
where he was.

Oh well. At least he was going somewhere.

He was a Saiyajin, and from Katsuhito's stories, they were a race of
powerful warriors. He's a fighter, and he won't go down easily.

But, let's face it, he was downright scared! Who wouldn't?

"It seems you have awakened, my warrior." A voice startled him so much
that he almost fell back down to his rump. He quickly collected himself
and looked around. Because of his deep thoughts, he hadn't paid
attention to where he was going. He was in the middle of a throne room
of some sort, with a woman that stood in the middle of the room. Her
majestic form fitting dark red body suit molded to her skin, that was
held by two huge golden buttons across her chest. Her belt was floating
on her waist, and was also golden. It met in the middle of her abdomen,
not quite closed. Her hands were gloved in black and instead of fingers,
he found claws with them. Her shoulders were wrapped in a loose white
satin sheet that was circled across her back. Another golden band
floated in front of her neck, that met with two blue sapphires near her
throat. A huge red crystal adorned the middle of her chest, just above
the two buttons that held her dress. Her face had these leaves that
stretched from her neck to the area above the cheeks. Her hair was
brown, with auburn streaks in the front that was held by a golden clip
on her forehead. She was looking at him with those totally blue eyes
that was quite eerie for him, but he felt that she was gazing at him
in... longing?

"Uhm... seems that way, I guess." Ran replied lamely. Yep, he learned
the language, and was quite glad that the nice and mysterious lady in
front of him was able to speak it. He didn't have the time to bring his
Scouter for translation purposes... wait.

"Well... how did I get here?" He continued after a while. He got so
absent-minded that he forgot he just appeared here.

Tokimi smiled warmly, gesturing the nervous Saiyajin to a wooden chair
beside her. She sat down on her own throne as Ran walked up and sat down
on the one she pointed to. He was still nervous. So cute.

"I'm sorry for that. It was my fault... I felt that those people you
were with would not allow me to speak to you. I just felt... compelled
to talk to you." Tokimi said gently.

Ran started at that. "Are you their enemy or something?"

Tokimi sighed sadly, which caused Ran to feel a pang of pity. He felt
her dark energies, but it was not malicious at all.

"I'd rather not be their enemy, but I was imprisoned because they felt
that my power was dark, it was automatically 'evil'. I've been in this
dimension for more than twenty thousand years." The dark goddess
replied.

Ran bit back a gasp. "T-twenty thousand?! All alone in this... dark
place?!"

Tokimi nodded. "Yes, but recently I have created some subordinates in my
likeness. I could send them out of this dimension, but I myself cannot.
So I have them to scout for information. I was searching for my sister,
Washuu, to ask her to reconsider her position against my imprisonment,
eventhough she was one of those who imprisoned me here." Tokimi bit back
a sob. "I feel quite alone here, frankly. So I became quite cranky.
That's why I just lash out sometimes at anything. That's why they
consider me their enemy. Not that I balme them that much though..."
Tokimi felt her heart heavy in her chest. She finally shed a tear, a
true one, now that she had someone to share the pain with.

The saiyajin blanched and fidgeted when he saw the sad woman in front of
him. His hand automatically lifted itself up from his lap and deposited
itself over Tokimi's. The woman stiffened slightly, then softened as she
placed another hand over the saiyajin's hand. She looked up to him,
tears and all, and smiled warmly.

Ran suddenly felt lighthearted when he saw Tokimi's smile.

"Wow... that was way too much... even more so than what happened to me."
Ran sighed wistfully.

Tokimi gently patted Ran's back. "Having a rather nasty memory loss is
no different."

Ran chuckled. "Yeah... I guess so..." He paused momentarily, then
remembered something. "By the way, I was given the name Ran. I crash
landed on this planet called Earth. The people that found me seemed to
know what race I belong to, and they said I was a Saiyajin. I was too
engrossed in talking with you that I forgot my manners."

Tokimi nodded. "I am Tokimi, Goddess of Chaos, Goddess of Jurai. Welcome
to my humble abode. Forgive the mess, my prison is a bit... unruly as of
the moment."

Ran almost jumped from his seat. "G-Goddess? You mean those beings that
created the universe and stuff? Shouldn't I bow or something?! What
should I do? Oh sorry Tokimi-sama... I'm so..." he was silenced from his
babbling when he heard Tokimi laughed heartily.

"No need for those formalities, Ran. Tokimi is fine." Tokimi waved her
hand dismissively as she continued to laugh lightly.

"But..." Ran began hesitantly.

Tokimi shook her head and smiled. "Don't worry about it, Ran. You are my
guest, and as I was hoping to be a close friend."

Ran was silent for the moment. He was still quite nervous. In Freeza's
army, they were forced to take some schooling from an academy of some
sorts that specialized in histories of various races. Gods and Goddesses
were revered higher than kings and even emperors themselves. Freeza
already had greedily declared himself a living god, immortal and
unyielding as he said.

Tokimi's face brightened when she thought of an Earth custom she once
heard once in her scrying sessions. She held out her hand to Ran's
direction. "Hi, I'm Tokimi. Want to be friends?"

Ran almost had an urge to plant his face on the floor. He looked up to
the cheery face of Tokimi and relaxed. He snickered at the joke Tokimi
used to lighten up the mood. Returning the favor, he shook her hand and
replied, "I'm Ran. Pleased to meet you."

Behind one of the trees that surrounded the lighted center where Tokimi
and Ran sat and chatted, an apparition watched in apprehension as it
watched the forming bond between the dark goddess and the 'kidnapped'
Saiyajin.

It cursed softly when it saw the two shook their hands and smiled to
each other. It willed itself to disappear and vowed to come back and
take the poor Saiyajin back from the evil one's clutches.

Oh boy.

======================================================================== =====

Back in the Masaki Shrine, the occupants were restless. It has been two
days since their guest has disappeared without a trace.

Okay, scratch that. Katsuhito found the discarded bokken under Funaho's
branches. He had already asked his spacetree, and replied that the
Goddess of Chaos, Tokimi, was the culprit. The area was saturated with
the residue of her dark energies.

Right now, they sat in the dining room as silence permeated the air. So
far, no ideas were formulated on how to get the Saiyajin back from
Tokimi.

The two girls looked longingly at the discarded bandages on the sofa.
Their guest and patient had taken it off before their practice two days
ago, and they had forgotten to clean it up. Nobuyuki just went up the
stairs and pushed on his current project. He was shooed away by the trio
downstairs anyway. They said he wouldn't understand.

Katsuhito suddenly stiffened when he felt a familiar presence in the
shrine. He stood up and gazed at his daughters, who looked back at him
questioningly. The old man gestured them outwards as he quickly stepped
outside the door. The two girls looked at one another and shrugged. They
stood up and followed the old man up to the stairs towards the shrine.

The trio finally stopped in front of Funaho, Katsuhito's space tree. In
front of the trunk was a young woman with blue hair and pink eyes, who
was dressed in the white robes reserved only for high ranked Juraian
nobles. The woman smiled warmly at them.

The former Juraian prince bowed his head a bit. "Tsunami-sama, it's an
honor for us to be graced in your presence." He intoned formally.

The two girls behind him gasped as they quickly reciprocated their
father's actions. According to his stories to them, Tsunami is the
Goddess of Jurai, and the source of all the spacetrees that the planet
of Jurai had in their disposal. She was their patron.

The woman called Tsunami nodded to them. "No need to be formal,
Katsuhito, or should I say, Yosho?"

The old man grimaced as he watched the shocked expressions of his
daughters turned into one of confusion. He flashed them a
'I'll-explain-later' look and gazed at the goddess once again.
"Katsuhito is fine, Tsunami-sama."

Tsunami giggled softly at Katsuhito's discomfort. She quickly sobered
and looked at the old man (disguised, really!) seriously. "I'm afraid
the one you are looking for, the Saiyajin, is in the hands of my sister,
Tokimi."

Katsuhito stiffened, while his two daughters gasped.

"NO!" Achika cried out as she fell down to the ground. Nodoka quickly
wnet to her side and comforted her.

The old man sighed. "This could be a problem."

The Juraian Goddess nodded. "Indeed. It would seem that the two had come
into some sort of a compromise. But no need to worry, I will try to get
him out of there as soon as I can."

Katsuhito nodded slightly. Tsunami just sighed once again and slowly
vanished from the trunk of the tree. The trio were left in the shrine,
their hopes severely crippled by the development.

======================================================================== =====

Ran was currently gazing at the trees that grew in Tokimi's prison. How
the trees grew without the light from a star, he wouldn't understand.
His hostess was now taking her bath... somewhere. He blushed deeply when
she half serious, half jokingly offered him a chance to bathe with her.
He politely declined her offer though, illiciting a somewhat cute and
childish pout from the normally straight-faced goddess.

He was enjoying the goddess' company. Her loneliness was really evident
in everything that she does, which reflects his own loneliness at some
level. He gazed once again at the surroundings.

<How could she live in such a bleak environment for so long?> He thought
to himself sadly. He had met one of Tokimi's servants, D3, who after the
goddess' explanations he found that he was just a projected image that
could go out and gather information for her.

Not a very good company.

His thoughts were broken when he suddenly felt another presence in the
area he was in. It felt just like Tokimi's, though in a different sense.
This one is livelier. He turned to meet whoever came for him.

There. Ran saw her visage approaching him. She had blue hair and pink
eyes, with white robes that glided in contrast along the darkened floor.

When she was finally in front of him, she smiled and said urgently,
"Ran, I presume? I am Tsunami, Goddess of Life, Goddess of Jurai. Let's
hurry, I'm here to rescue you."

Ran backed from the goddess in front of him. He looked confused. "Rescue
me? From what?"

Tsunami sighed dramatically. "I am here to rescue you from my sister,
Tokimi. I don't know what she had done to you or what she planned on
doing to you, but I will rescue you."

The Saiyajin took another step back and glared at the goddess. "What do
you mean?! She had done nothing to me! All she did was look for some
company!"

"But, don't you see? She had you brainwashed in order to control you!
Now let's not argue because she might come at any moment!" Tsunami
hissed urgently as she grasped on the traveler's arm.

Ran pulled his arm from Tsunami's clutch and replied, "I don't know what
you believe, but you're wrong. I'm not controlled by anyone or anything.
My only problem right now is my loss of memory. Sure she took me without
my permission before, but she explained it to me and apologized. She
even told me that I can leave whenever I want to."

"Then let's go! You don't know the dangers you are in!"

Ran shook his head. "That's the problem. I don't want to go. Don't you
even realize how lonely it must have been in this sanctum? Look at this
place! I wouldn't be surprised if she went a little crazy because of it.
If I was in the same situation, I would've too." He pinned the goddess
with another glare, who flinched back slightly. "To feel betrayed by
those she thought would understand... to feel bullied... dominated...
it's just not right. I thank you for your concern, but I won't leave
just yet. I want to keep her company, and keep her smiling, eventhough
it is just for a little while. At least she won't feel lonely in the
meantime."

Tsunami backed away from the Saiyajin and sighed. "Very well, I will
leave. But you don't know what you are doing." She phased out of the
area and disappeared.

Ran breathed out softly. He was really grateful at Tsunami's concern,
but he really wanted to keep Tokimi company. He just couldn't stand to
see a girl cry.

"Ran..." The Saiyajin turned to see the Goddess of Chaos clad in a
towel, with a shocked look in her face. "Do you... really mean what you
said...?" she asked hesitantly.

Ran fought down his embarassment and nodded urgently. "O-Of course! I
really want to be your friend, and I wouldn't leave you just like that.
Besides, you've been really good to me, so I have no reason to fear you
at all."

Tokimi staggered towards the Saiyajin and lunged into his arms. Ran
stood shocked at the moment, then mechanically hugged back at the
weeping goddess in his embrace. "Shhh... it's alright.... I won't leave
you... Tokimi..." he whispered encouraging words in her ears. He rubbed
his hand up and down the goddess' back, unmindful of the naked flesh
that was exposed out of the disheveled towel that kept some of Tokimi's
modesty.

After a short bout of sobbing, the goddess finally composed herself. She
hesitantly detached her body from the Saiyajin's. Ran looked at her in
worry and asked, "Are you alright now, Toki-MMMNGGGPPPHHHHHHH!!!!" He
found that it was hard to talk when someone had their lips locked with
his. His eyes grew wide when he felt her tongue slip into his partially
opened mouth, caressing his own as if to illicite a reaction, which it
did. He started to play tag with her using tongues.

Their actions were not lost to one individual, who observed them in the
shadows. Tsunami rendered herself invisible in the eyes as well masekd
her powers to spy on them. She fumed when she saw her sister kissing the
Saiyajin, and the man hadn't done anything to stop it. In fact, to her
dismay, it would seem that the Saiyajin is enjoying it. She quickly tore
her gaze from the scene and this time, truly disappeared.

Tokimi finally released Ran's mouth and breathed, as the Saiyajin did
the same. They looked at each other's eyes and saw the raw passion in
them.

The goddess finally got her bearings back and spoke. "Wow."

The Saiyajin was tempted to chuckle, but was too shocked to do so. So he
simply settled to a simple, "Uh-huh."

Tokimi smiled gently at the Saiyajin. "I have a way to heal your mind
and return your memories... but it will cost you something."

Ran suddenly felt hope in his heart, but was slightly disturbed as to
why Tokimi would ask compensation. He asked hesitantly, "What is it? As
long as I don't have to kill or anything..."

The brown haired woman laughed softly. "No, no! Why would I ask you to
do that? I would gladly return your memories, IF..."

Ran sweated at the intense look Tokimi gave him. He gulped. "I-If...?"

Tokimi caressed Ran's cheek to placate him. "If you... make love to me."

The Saiyajin blanched. He hadn't expected this one. "M-m-make LOVE?
B-but... what if you get p-p-pregnant or something?!"

Tokimi smiled sadly. "If you're worrying about that, then don't be. It
won't bother me. I just want to have that experience at least once...
before I return you to Earth."

"Return me? Why? have I done something wrong?"

Tokimi shook her head. "No, you were kind and wonderful. But now that my
sister's involved, I just know she would never let this one pass. I
don't want you to get caught up in the middle of our petty fight."

Ran fidgeted. "But..."

Tokimi silenced him with a finger on his lips. "Shhh... think of my
offer. I will heal your mind if you just make love to me. Please? Grant
me this one request..."

Ran looked into Tokimi's blue eyes and saw seriousness in them. He
couldn't really find any fault in her proposition, and it would seem
that she was the one who would lose in any of the decisions. She just
wanted to feel how to be loved, he finally reached this conclusion.

Tokimi saw Ran steeling himself. She prayed to whatever out there that
was higher than her to grant her this wish of hers. It would also be
worth it because she just sent all her servants to some bogus errands.

Ran smiled nervously at Tokimi, and nodded. "It would be an honor,
Tokimi-sama."

With a loud cheer, Tokimi launched herself into Ran's arms and kissed
him once again, tearing his clothes in the process. The Saiyajin gasped
as he tried to regain control. He grabbed Tokimi's towel and tore it
away from her body.

The whole scene darkened.

(Sorry bout that, but this is a PG rating thing. ^_^)

======================================================================== =====

In Heaven...

Kami-sama smiled widely as the file for one Ranma Saotome materialized
in front of his screen. He quickly grabbed the case He kept under His
desk and opened it.

The gems were now pulsating with power. Suddenly, they vanished one by
one, which started from the smaller gems. The largest jewel glowed
brightly for a moment before disappearing to join its siblings.

He discarded the empty case and switched the screen to where the gems'
destination was. He sighed tiredly as the stones quickly joined inside
Tokimi's abdomen, unnoticed by the two tired lovers. Tokimi's abdomen
glowed once before finally fading.

Kami-sama finally settled down his seat and closed his eyes as he
muttered, "PHASE ONE COMPLETE. START OF PHASE TWO. THIS ONE IS GOING TO
HURT TOKIMI THE MOST..."

The Almighty sighed sadly.

"THEN THERE IS PHASE THREE, THIS ONE'S GOING TO AFFECT RANMA THIS TIME."

"... SOMETIMES MY JOB SUCKS."

======================================================================== =====

Tokimi was brought to consciousness first. She sighed as she felt her
body lightened and was full of energy. She gazed lovingly to the one
beside her.

Ran has given her so much, more than anyone had ever given her for the
past twenty thousand years. Finally, her years of loneliness were
quenched because of this one moment.

For an instance, her head flashed an ancient memory, of a child...
female... brown hair... blue eyes...

Tokimi clutched at her head and gasped. Whenever that memory tried to
reassert itself, it just brought her pain. She shook her head and
brought her thoughts back to Ran, who slept peacefully under her. She
smiled longingly at his peaceful face.

She sighed and pushed herself up, careful not to awaken her sleeping
lover. She knelt beside him and kissed his forehead. She whispered, "I
love you, Nasu of Vegeta-sei. I give you your memory back."

The Saiyajin's body glowed for a moment, then dimmed once again. He
continued sleeping, oblivious to the hesitant look the goddess gave him.

Tokimi clenched her fist in denial. How could she do this? Was this
really the only way for him to be safe? She tried to think of other
possibilities, but none came to her. She sagged visibly and looked at
Ran, no, Nasu once more.

The goddess nodded to herself and placed her hands over Nasu's forehead.
She whispered some words that were of a language that cannot be
translated. Her hands glowed white as it spread over to Nasu's body,
also glowed white.

Suddenly, it was all over. She had completely erased her existence from
her lover's mind, as well as everything that has happened from when he
disappeared from Earth up to this moment.

Tokimi gasped as she fell down the Saiyajin's chest. In the corners of
her eyes, tears started to form. She lifted her head and kissed Nasu's
lips softly. With one final glance, she gestured with her hands and
watched as the Saiyajin's body disappeared in front of her for good.

The goddess patted her abdomen as she felt the pulse of life that formed
inside of her. She smiled, despite her tears.

At least, she still had a legacy from this.

She's pregnant. The memory of someone that gave her love without bounds
was secured inside of her.

And such strong life energy too. A name suitable for the baby... 'Ran
Ma'... a name with multiple meanings. All led to one though: Chaotic.

Yes, 'Ranma' would be fine for the baby.

She stood up and staggered to her sleeping chambers. She just wanted to
cry herself to sleep right now.

======================================================================== =====

Katsuhito was sweeping the front steps of the shrine. He felt
discouraged further when he heard from Tsunami what had transpired
between Tokimi and Ran. He was suddenly alerted by his spacetree. He
dropped his broom and raced towards Funaho.

When he reached the tree, he was shocked to see Ran's body laid down on
Funaho's roots. He quickly prodded the Saiyajin's body, and sighed in
relief when he felt some lifesigns from him.

A groan from Ran further proved his theory that he was alive. The young
man struggled to sit up and opened his eyes. For a moment, he stared at
Katsuhito's face blankly, who looked back with a bit of suspicion. Under
his sleeves, he prepped his bokken for any sign of attacks from the
Saiyajin.

Ran's eyes suddenly lit up in recognition. "Katsuhito-san! How are you
doing?"

Katsuhito smiled slightly. "Well now Ran, we were worried about you."

Ran's face scrunched up in confusion. "Why should you be?"

Katsuhito frowned. "You were gone for a week at most."

The Saiyajin scratched his head. "Eh... I don't remember going anywhere
but here... well... huh? Wait... I finally remember! My name is Nasu,
Elite Guard to the Royal Throne of Vegeta-sei! I... I was sent here as a
recon mission from my commander to find some allies for us with regards
to the defeat of the tyrant Freeza."

Katsuhito choked on the name. "Freeza? You mean THE Freeza?!"

'Nasu' nodded. "That's right. Although as you said, only you three have
considerable powers here. This planet itself is still weak. I have to
get back to Vegeta-sei as soon as I can repair my ship."

Katsuhito bit his lower lip. "Alright." He offered his hand to Nasu, who
smiled and took it. They started walking down the shrine steps, with
Katsuhito deep in thought.

<He doesn't remember that he disappeared... that he was taken by Tokimi.
What did Tokimi do to him? And how did he recover his memories?> The old
man thought to himself.

A vision of Tsunami appeared once again near Funaho's tree, after the
two men have departed for the house. She frowned slightly when she heard
of what has happened. Tsunami adopted a determined look, and vanished
once more.

======================================================================== =====

Tokimi was currently traveling in her dreams. She was specifically
examining the life that quickly formed inside of her. She walked in the
plane of energies, her own lifeforce mingled strongly within the fabric
that held the baby together. Although Nasu's energy pattern was as
equally strong as hers was.

Tendrils of energy filled the lightened area inside Tokimi's energy
plane. She marveled at the slow development of the child. Ranma was
going to be a very strong and very powerful child. She had to teach her
child of his or her powers soon, or else the child would just lose
control, like most with so much power.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a loud beating sound eminated from
the swirling mass of energies. They have combined and had finally formed
her child's heart. Her own heart was filled with joy as she listened to
the strong heartbeat that echoed across the plane.

The happiness she felt was shortlived when all of the sudden, a sudden
jolt of foreign energy wrapped around the fully formed fetus in her
body. She watched horrified as the tendrils quickly cocooned the fetus
in a soft blue sphere of energy. With a loud shrill cry, she reached out
to get her baby back from the sphere's clutches, but she was too late.

The sphere vanished completely, together with her baby.

She screamed in anguish as she felt herself wake up.

Tokimi sat up on her bed sweating. She patted her abdomen urgently. Her
eyes widened when she realized the energy she felt her child had had
disappeared from her body. She also felt a faint magical residue that
apparently seemed like a hastily prepared teleportation spell. Her body
stiffened when she recognized the energy signature.

Tokimi, Goddess of Chaos, Goddess of Jurai... wiped her tears furiously
as she balled her fists into tight balls.

She looked up to the darkness above her and bellowed,
"TSUNAMIIIIIIII!!!!!!!"

Oh, how the universe cringed at the battlecry.

======================================================================== =====

"Ehhhh... so you're real name is Nasu, and that you were sent here to
gather allies for your war against Freeza?" Achika whistled as she
snuggled into her husband, Nobuyuki's embrace.

The Saiyajin Elite nodded. "Yes. I volunteered in this mission. My
planet was under the hands of that tyrant Freeza. Most of the warriors
of my planet were blinded by his flashy promises, so they became his
mercenaries. He sent them to planets that were full of resources and
eradicate most of the locals in it. They will then sell the planet to
the highest bidder. Freeza even had our babies sent via cryo-chambers to
distant planets to assess it for resources, and if needed, destroy the
populous in preparation for selling. Most of the Elite became concerned
at this development, thus we formed a rebel faction to fight against
Freeza's army. But we realized we are still too weak, so my commander,
Bardock, sent me into this mission to collect the companions I needed to
fight against that tyrant."

Katsuhito sighed. "A noble cause, but we cannot do anything. We are
stranded here ourselves, and I am considered as a runaway from my
homeplanet. They wouldn't take my homecoming lightly."

Nasu deflated visibly. "I see..."

Katsuhito ignored the buzzing feeling in his head, as he watched his
wards' expressions. It was truly a sad state of affairs, where bloodshed
was definitely a probability. He turned to the Saiyajin and asked, "By
the way, do you need parts to repair your ship?"

The traveler straightened himself up. "Oh yes. I almost forgot."

The priest nodded. "Alright, just give the list to Nobuyuki. Being an
engineer and architect, he might know more about those than I do. Don't
worry about the expenses, I will cover them."

The Saiyajin looked shocked for a moment, then smiled widely. He stood
and and bowed towards the priest. "Thank you!"

The old man flinched slightly, as he felt another round of summons from
his tree Funaho. He felt the urgency of the call so he apologized to the
group for his hasty retreat and went up to the shrine once again.

The former prince reached his tree, and was mildly surprised when he
found that his other daughter, Nodoka, was already there, talking to
Tsunami in hushed tones. Their faces had this serious look that quite
alarmed him. They both quieted down when they saw him approach.

"Katsuhito..." Tsunami sounded somewhat subdued, but the old man pushed
the thought into the back of his mind as he listened, "I have a request
to make of you."

Katsuhito eyed Tsunami, then his daughter, who was looking down on the
ground. "It would seem important. If you would tell me, I probably would
understand better."

Tsunami nodded. "Of course, my prince. I have come here to ask you and
your daughter to care for this unborn child I carry..." She held out her
hand and concentrated. Katsuhito and Nodoka watched wide-eyed as a small
baseball sized blue ball emerged from her outstretched palm. The ball
became transparent, and a fetus glowed with unnatural light became
visible.

The old man gasped. "Such strong energies! Whose child is this?!"

He watched Tsunami grew more flustered. His mind clicked. "By kami! You
STOLE the child?!"

The goddess bristled at that. "I had no choice! My sister might use this
innocent child for her evil plans!"

"Tsunami!" His voice betrayed desperation and disbelief. "Have you
realized what you've done?! You have practically declared war on Tokimi!
You've doomed all your followers! You've included innocent people in
your fight with Tokimi! And her child, an unborn child... taken from her
mother just like that! Do you realize what that child would think when
it finally discovers what you've done?!"

The blue haired goddess shed tears. "I know! But I don't know what to
think! Just help me raise this child in the right way, please?! I have
to plant this child into a woman's womb soon, before it dies because of
over exposure... please decide!"

Katsuhito was about to reply when Nodoka silenced him with a gesture of
her hand. She looked into Tsunami's eyes and said, "I will accept the
responsibility of raising the child. Though I must express my
dissatisfaction with the decision you had to make... taking a child from
its mother is so... wrong! Anyway, let's get this over with..."

"I am so sorry..." Tsunami whispered as she pushed the sphere into
Nodoka's womb. The young woman spasmed and started to fall on the
ground, only to be caught by his father. Soon, the auburn haired girl
clutched at her head as her face scrunched up in pain. Katsuhito looked
up at Tsunami urgently, who quickly put her hands on the young woman's
head.

"I need to erase this from her mind, and make it believe that this is
her child, Katsuhito..." Tsunami said sadly. "Her mind is too confused,
angry and scared all at the same time that she might accidentally kill
herself and the child."

Katsuhito looked down to his suffering daughter and said, "Do it,
Tsunami. Make her believe that it was her and... that Saotome Genma's
child. I will approve of the marriage request that he had asked of me,
even if I don't like the guy." The old man still remembered the
wandering martial artist that came by the shrine five weeks ago. He was
an Okayama resident who was in a training journey with his bestfriend.
Nodoka was quite enamored by his exploits, so they fell quite a bit
familiar with each other. Genma had asked for his consent for his and
Nodoka's marriage. He still had to give his answer while he was still in
that dojo he was staying at in Okayama.

With a slight nod, Tsunami repaired Nodoka's mind and altered it a bit.
She also locked most of the stronger abilities of the child, in fear
that Nodoka might not survive the pregnancy. Meanwhile Katsuhito had
thought of how their lives have become more chaotic.

He had no idea how right he was.

After three days, the wedding between Genma and Nodoka had been
celebrated. Nodoka seemed obliviously happy, for the only ones who knew
the truth were Tsunami and Katsuhito.

Several weeks after the marriage, Nasu finally finished repairing his
vessel. A month old message opened itself in his viewscreen, which
consisted of an immiediate order of recall due to a sudden attack of
Freeza against the planet Vegeta-sei. He also found out that Freeza
kidnapped the young Saiyajin prince, thus declaring war on them. He
immediately informed his surrogate family about his immediate departure.
He promised he would probably visit after his planet had won against the
tyrant. After a quick farewell, he finally returned to space.

He will never be back again.

After an insensitive comment from Katsuhito's part about Genma's
behavior (not that anyone could blame him), Nodoka rebeled against her
father. This caused her to move out with her husband (much to
Katsuhito's dread) and cut ties with them.

The rest was history.

======================================================================== =====

Tokimi was taken out of reverie when Tsunami nudged her ribs. She
snapped her head up and looked at the huge door that led into
Kami-sama's office. She looked at Tsunami, who gave her an encouraging
smile.

With a sigh, she pushed the doors open and entered.

The huge room hadn't changed. Tokimi still recognized the different
plants Kami-sama grew inside his office. She quickly paced towards the
huge table in front of her, to where the Almighty sat all these
millenia.

"TOKIMI, MY DAUGHTER..." The Almighty gave her a warm smile. "I AM GLAD
TO HAVE FINALLY REVOKED YOUR IMPRISONMENT..."

Tokimi's eyes watered. "Father..."

"BUT FIRST... I HAVE TO GIVE YOU YOUR FULL MEMORIES BACK." Kami-sama
stood up and walked towards her. He was a bit shorted than her in His
current form, the one with the eyepatch on one eye. For some reason, He
favored this form to those who were close to Him. He lifted His hand up
towards her forehead and touched it.

Tokimi felt nothing happening at first, but then reeled back as she felt
her head being crammed with information that she had tried to forget
these past few millenia. Her lonely childhood, the ridicules from her
peers, the loss of her power, her imprisonment...

Everything went back to her. Everything including...

Memories of her son that she hadn't had the luxury to see. Those
memories saved by Kami-sama for her to use so that she may never feel
that she had abandoned him.

And... and... Her.

The brown haired daughter of hers that she gave life to. She created her
out of her own essence in the Earth. She fashioned the style of her
daughter's birth from Zeus' own with his daughter Aphrodite.

Her long brown hair that was so much like Tokimi's own, her blue-gray
eyes... same like Ranma's...

Her name...

Tokimi's eyes snapped open. She remembered now. She asked Kami-sama to
take her first daughter before she was imprisoned, so that the child may
never feel lonely. Tokimi looked at Kami-sama, who gave her a small
smile.

"SHE GREW UP INTO A BEAUTIFUL CHILD, TOKIMI. SHE BECAME A GODDESS
UNLIMITED, JUST LIKE HER MOTHER. SHE'S IN EARTH NOW, UNAWARE OF WHO SHE
REALLY IS, AND UNAWARE THE REAL REASON WHY SHE WENT DOWN TO THAT
PLANET." Kami-sama intoned seriously.

Tokimi felt aghast. "She doesn't know that she and her half-brother are
fated to...?"

The Almighty nodded. "SHE HAS NO IDEA. BUT YOU CAN AWAKEN HER MEMORIES
AS SOON AS YOU WANTED TO. NOW GO, AND DO WHAT YOU MUST, CHILD."

The Goddess of Chaos hugged Kami-sama tightly, who chuckled as He hugged
back. Tokimi pulled herself from His embrace and gave Him a bright
smile. She turned and stepped out of the office.

Kami-sama sighed as He went back to His seat. "YES, SHE HAS NO IDEA THAT
SHE WAS FATED... WITH SEVERAL OTHER GIRLS... WITH HER OWN
HALF-BROTHER..." He suddenly grinned. "NOT THAT IT MATTERED, ANYWAY."

The most powerful being in the Universe smiled as He pressed a button
from His computer. "I WONDER HOW BELLDANDY WILL TAKE THIS NEWS..."

======================================================================== =====
=== To Be Continued... ===
======================================================================== =====

Author Rants:

.... Wow. I'm shocked. Even I was surprised at the predicaments I put
everyone into. Seriously, I was surprised when I realized the
connections.

Scary.

Anyway. This was in response to the request of C. Rose... here ya go! A
quite in depth explanation of the whys and the hows of Tokimi's past in
the fanfic.

If yer gonna ask, 'Nasu' means eggplant.

Why? His ponytail looked like a gigantic eggplant.

I've gone real crazy. I never thought I could connect Belldandy with
Tokimi, but after I did some thinking, why not? Brown hair... blue eyes
same with Ranma... dang.

Goddess of the Present... where unpredictability is the key.

Chaos is too.

Oho... connections. Anyyyway. There you have it. A sidestory.

I actually made the chapter 3c first, but this came into mind, so I took
time off from 3c and went on with this.

Ja ne.

- Lord Rance

In case you need my email for some reason at all, here:
lord_rance@yahoo.com

For those who will send flames, well, I'll just douse it with my trusty
bucket of cold water!