Crossover Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Path of Chaos: Ascension of Supremacy ❯ Chapter 03c ( Chapter 6 )

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

PATH OF CHAOS

- Lord Rance

Disclaimer: ... Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Author Notes: There are two distinct timelines here. One is the
Homeworld, where Ranma had come from. The second is the Parallel World,
although Ranma was thrown further back in time within that world. More
or less, it was about worth 500 to 550 years back.

I would like to thank Cory D. Rose (http://shi_hanna.tripod.com) for
pre-reading this stuff. Read his fanfictions too, they rock!

Thanks to StLonginus (StLonginus@aol.com) for his suggestions. I hope I
answered some of your questions when I emailed back. By the way, I have
some info written in my rants down there that might help answer your
questions that I may not have explained to you real well.

Also would like to inform you guys that Darwin Cruz aka Pug has risen
from the dead (rhetorically of course). He's back and he just updated
one of my faves, 'Tales of Ranma and Achika' where Ranma got Achika and
he's the father of Tenchi (way cool).

Ancient Language (used by gods and goddesses, Ancient Gods): ++

Chinese: []

======================================================================== =====
CHAPTER 3C - A VIEW OF THE HOMEWORLD: RENEWING THE MEMORIES WE KEEP
======================================================================== =====

The Void...

It always started and ended with the Void, right?

The sleeper felt himself floating along the clouds of darkness. The only
things he could see were the faint outlines of the different parts of
his body. But there was one thing that caught his attention.

His right hand was gone. Stumped up to the middle of his lower arm, his
callused hand was cut off. He started panicking for the moment,
thrashing around the darkness, trying to grasp anything that could lead
him back to reality.

Yes, this was all just a bad dream.

But for some reason, he could actually feel a headache drilling into his
head. A dull, numb feeling encompassed his decapitated arm.

No way.

Decapitated arm?

He hastily looked towards his left arm, which was cut savagely on the
middle of the lower arm. The rest were gone.

He screamed, utterly terrified at the implications.

Suddenly, the darkness opened up. The sleeper felt some hope returning
to his battered body, but his blood froze once he got reacquainted with
his surroundings.

A stagnant pit.

The dark pit that spewed that stomach-churning smell of uncared, unfed
cats.

That memory... it came back to him. Some divine powers that helped a
long time ago may have erased the fear, but the memory still lingered.

He looked down to his body, and saw what he feared. Those fish sausages
that marked his doom.

It seemed that thousands of feral eyes gleamed menacingly at the smell
of the sausages. He tensed and waited for that attack.

He didn't have to wait for long.

The attack commenced with frenzy, tearing up his flesh savagely. It was
like being burned alive, then dipped in alcohol. All those deep cuts
were cut again and again, mercilessly.

He opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out.

He sobbed silently, cursing the day his father threw him into the pit.

His respect for his father dimmed dramatically in this major episode.
After it happened, everything that came out of the old man's mouth
sounded like lies to him.

It was as if he didn't feel the need to listen to anything Genma says
anymore. Especially now, since he found out about the truth of his past.

He felt his tired body sag, as the infernal cats now battled for
dominance in devouring his torn flesh. Since the fish had run out, his
own meat was the new target. Genma had starved these cats real bad.

What a bad dream this was...

And then, the darkness overtook him once again.

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

Parallel world, somewhere in the woods...

<This is bad.> It was all Yosho had in mind as he pressed a torn up
piece of cloth into his patient's bleeding arm. He hesitantly looked up
to another point on the ground, and saw his patient's hand was missing,
disconnected from his body.

<Scratch that. This is VERY VERY BAD.>

"R-Ranma-kun..." Koneko was still crying after an hour of observing and
helping Yosho stabilize Ranma's currently bloodied body.

Ranma reached Koneko in time to block the deathblow that was intended
for her. There was a price though, because much of Ranma's ki was
divided in concentration between his reflexes and his gathering ki blast
on his right hand. The result was a decapitated hand.

His screams still pierced Koneko's mind. She watched as his eyes glazed
over after he released that great ball of light from his hand that blew
most of the monster. Yosho took care of what's left, literally
pulverizing it.

Ranma's eyes were empty when he fell back down the ground, his hand
lobbed off to one side near Koneko. Blood from Ranma's stumped arm
sprayed all over the nearby trees, on the ground, and some even managed
to spill on Koneko's short kimono and on her paled face. Her mind was
too shocked to even acknowledge the blood on her, as she gazed fearfully
on Ranma's prone body.

Koneko shook her head from the painful memory. It was a short while ago,
and they dragged Ranma's unconscious body over to the deeper part of the
forest, where they could remain secluded for the better part of the
night.

The girl looked up to Yosho and asked, "Is he going to be alright?"

Yosho released a shuddering breath. "I wish I could say so. He lost a
lot of blood, but we were lucky we're able to heat him up a bit. All we
can do now is... wait."

Koneko's lower lips trembled. "Why?" she asked softly, as she looked up
to Yosho, "Why did he do that? Why couldn't he have just saved himself?
The world needs people like you and Ranma-kun, but I won't have any use
at all..."

Yosho sighed. He placed his hand on Koneko's head and said, "That's
true. He could've just let you die. But, how can we try and save the
world when we couldn't even save one life? Ranma thinks your life is
important, Koneko-chan, so don't think otherwise."

The little girl released a soft breath. "But Yosho-san, I'm too useless
anyway. I'm not smart, I can't fight... I can't do anything."

The older man shook his head. "That's not how to measure one's
self-worth. Even the lowliest scum is important in life. Who knows? In
the future you might become a very important person, someone who will
save the world in other means other than fighting? There are lots of
possibilities, so we save all we can for the future."

Koneko leaned slightly to Yosho's side, as she watched Ranma intently.
"Who is he, Yosho-san? He looks like a child like me and yet, his
actions are those of an adult..."

The Juraian Prince just chuckled softly. "What better way to describe
Ranma is that he's a friend. He greatly despises having to fight too
often, but for some reason we end up getting into fights anyway. But
when we have that need to fight, it's only to defend, never to instigate
one."

The girl nodded slightly. "I understand, Yosho-san. I just hope
Ranma-kun would recover soon so that I may be thankful for his
sacrifice, no matter how trivial and small I may be."

"Now stop feeling sorry for yourself, girl." Yosho chided Koneko softly.
"I told you your life is not worthless."

Koneko sniffed her tears away. "Sorry, Yosho-san. I wish I could be like
Ranma-kun someday. He's not like the other boys I met before. He is a
man."

The dark sky suddenly grumbled as a light drizzle fell to the earth. Of
course, it was enough just to change a certain pigtailed boy we all know
real well.

"Uhm... Yosho-san?" Koneko asked hesitantly, eyeing the still form of
the now femal Ranma in front of her, "W-what just... happened? Is
that... Ranma?"

Yosho's hand landed with a wet smack on his forehead as he silently
cursed the heavens. He looked at the girl warily and replied, "A long
story, Koneko-chan... a long story..."

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

Homeworld, somewhere in the China Sea...

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS... CRAP!" Mousse whined as he vomited violently
against the porcelain god of the baths. He was rewarded with a mallet on
the head, which mercifully caused him to collapse.

Reiko and Meiko Saotome, together with Akane, Ryoga, Mousse and Shampoo,
embarked on a mission to borrow a certain artifact called 'Tear of the
Dragon', which by the way would send the two children back to their own
time. They were currently on the ferryboat that brought people from
Japan to Mainland China. They are currently in the largest cabin, thanks
to Cologne's influence on the shipping lanes. It was good for several
people, with its own bathroom and bathtub, and other luxuries such as a
mini-kitchen. For some weird reason, Akane volunteered to cook for their
group in their cabin.

Should you dare ask what the results were?

"Too true... this crap..." Shampoo moaned as she clutched on her stomach
before she passed out.

Reiko and Meiko both munched on their own riceballs (which they hastily
made while Akane was indulged in the bathtub, allowing the things she
call food to cool) and ignored basically everything around them. Saotome
Special Technique, 'I-am-here-but-you-won't-notice-me'.

Akane fumed. "What are you complaining about? Ryoga liked it, don't you
Ryoga?" She turned to the boy, who was still unmoved after convulsing a
bit a while ago. The fanged boy actually sported some blue around his
cheeks.

Reiko sighed softly. She turned to her younger sister and muttered, "An'
to think she's... ahem... anyways. Good thing mama's real good at
cookin'."

Meiko rolled her eyes. "Thank kami!" she whispered urgently.

Good thing Akane hadn't been listening. Instead she turned to them with
a forlorned expression. "Those idiots are so ungrateful! You cook for
them and then..." she shook her head and forced a smile on her face. She
took a seat beside the two children, who eyed her suspiciously. "Can you
two tell me about your mother?"

The children nodded. "Sure..." Meiko replied. "Mom's really good in
martial arts an' stuff, though not as good as papa. She loves plants an'
taking care of them. She loves red orchids."

Reiko giggled. "Mama an' papa always cuddled with us before we sleep.
An' she LOVES ice cream... she says it was papa's fault that she got
addicted with it."

"An' she bakes a real mean Chocolate Triple Fudge cake!" The two kids
said together and broke into fits of laughter.

Akane suddenly looked crestfallen. "I miss my mom. She left us when my
sisters and I were young. I wonder if I wouldn't be like this if she's
still here, guiding me..."

A small hand patted Akane's back. "I'll feel the same way if I lost my
mama, Akane-san. But we do have to keep livin', for those who have left
us behind." Reiko said softly.

Akane sighed and forced a small cheer in her voice. "Yeah, I guess so."
Then the earlier conversation came back to her. "Oh... so your mother is
a good cook? That means..."

Small hands grabbed Akane's, making the older girl look up to the owner
of the hands. It was Meiko, who was frowning at her in disapproval.
"Don't give up yet, Auntie 'kane! You'll learn how to cook... someday."

Akane just chuckled dryly. "I'm not going to be your future mother, am
I?" she asked bluntly.

"Not you in the sense..." Meiko began until she caught herself and
slapped her hands on her mouth rapidly. Akane blinked at that.

The older Saotome daughter bopped her younger sibling on the head. "Way
to go, Mei-chan." Turning to Akane, Reiko explained, "Ignore her, she's
weird."

"Hey!" Meiko snorted indignantly.

Akane eyed the two. Seeing that she wasn't going to have anymore
explanations any further than that, she said, "I guess I just have to
try my best, am I?"

Reiko clapped her hands together once. "That's the spirit!"

"Not that it would make any difference..." Meiko muttered to herself.
After grimacing a bit behind Akane's back, she turned to the small
circular window that showed her the blue ocean.

They were going to arrive in China very soon.

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

Somewhere... someplace...

He opened his eyes once again. He felt a momentary pause in the attacks
against his broken body. After a short break, those cats lunged at him
once more.

Everything was hurting for him. His body acted at will in autopilot,
reliving his painful experience...

<Stop! No more... not again... father... o-oyaji...>

His mind screamed loudly as he was attacked anew by the cats.

He could hear the scuffles and those claws rip all over his body. He
could feel his warm blood dripping from those open wounds...

He felt helpless as he felt his blood spill unto the ground.

Nobody was there to help him in the darkness...

Nobody...

Wait... what's that?

A portal? Someone walked out of the portal as the cats' cries slowly
died down.

The cats quickly backed off, hissing at the swirling blue light that
barred them access from their only source of food in the stinking pit.

"W-who... w-w-who's t-there?" His voice barely made a squeak, but the
figure that emerged from the strange blue light seemed to understand
anyway. He was barely conscious, and the fact that his breath became
labored seemed like his end was nearer than he thought.

The hissing animals were quickly silenced for some reason.

Maybe the person is Death?

"By kami... what has he done to you?" The voice was soft and melodious,
and female. And also... she sounded... familiar...

As if by some miracle, the voice opened up his clogged vocal chords,
making him spit some foul blood that lodged inside his throat. "I-I-I...
I hurt... a-a-all over...." He managed to speak out again, despite the
feeling that his throat was punctured.

Ranma felt soft hands cradle his limp form. The delicate hands urgently
untied the bonds. The ropes had cut deeply into his skin, most likely
because of his weight and also because of his futile struggles before.
It only caused him more pain as he felt fresh blood slowly pour out from
the newly freed wrists of his. He couldn't even manage to complain as he
felt nerve wracking pain dancing along his body. His eyesight was
dimming at an alarming rate.

"Don't worry my dear, I will make you feel better." She really sounded
familiar, but for some reason the blurred haze of his sight also
affected his hearing. It even dulled the pains he felt before.

He felt the mysterious female as she lifted him up in her arms, and
carried him into what seemed to be a blue portal, according to his
blurred vision. He saw the blue light envelop them, as he lost his
consciousness.

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

Parallel World, near a remote village...

The sound of feet splashing along the wet ground echoed across the
darkness of the night. Two figures were illuminated in the night as they
hurriedly carried a third person long the forest. They came upon a small
clearing, and saw from a distance a path that leads to a small village.

Elated and encouraged by the sight, Yosho shifted Onna-Ranma to his
other shoulder. She was still bleeding a bit from the wound she had
received from the attack earlier on, and was leaving droplets of crimson
liquid in the path they took. This was not the immediate concern though.
Koneko had informed him that the boy turned girl was currently shivering
from the cold. Combine that with the probable infection of the wound and
she might not last through the night.

Koneko was a bit surprised at the change earlier on, but accepted it
anyway. It was not as weird as they red tail that had sprung out when
she pried off the sash across Onna-Ranma's abdomen to be used as a
bandage. At first she thought of Ranma as another youkai, but Yosho had
explained that it was an accident of some sort.

They quickened their steps as they saw the village looming closer. Just
as they were about to step in, the sound of swords being drawn from
their scabbards reached their ears. The two suddenly stopped in their
steps and waited for any more movements. Sure enough, several men
carrying swords, spears, bows and arrows surrounded them.

"Who are you, and why do you bring this... youkai in our village?!" One
of the villagers shouted to them as he pointed a spear towards
Onna-Ranma's direction.

Yosho looked confused. He looked down to Koneko and asked, "Youkai?"

Koneko was suddenly sheepish. "I told you. I thought at first Ranma-kun
as a youkai, because of his tail..."

Yosho looked back to the villagers. "Look, this... young girl was
wounded fighting a monster earlier. He... she's not a youkai. I need to
save her because she's bleeding to death!"

"She's really not a youkai, she saved me!" Koneko piped in.

The villagers were a bit taken back by the newcomers' outbursts. They
looked to each other in indecision. They were about to retort when a
loud pounding caught their attention. They all turned to the old woman
with long white hair and a black eyepatch over her right eye (her POV).
She was staring intently at the newcomers.

"It's true... she's not a youkai, nor a hanyou... what is she?" The old
woman asked, as she inspected them. The girl's aura was a bit odd, in
fact, but still it was a far cry from being a youkai.

"Kaede-sama... are you sure the girl is not a youkai?" Another one of
the villagers asked.

The old woman, Kaede's her name, shook her head. "No... her aura is a
different from a human, unlike anything I've ever seen. Yet she doesn't
have youki, which is a youkai and hanyou's ki. Take her in my hut. I
will see to her injuries."

The villagers grunted in response and returned to their posts.

While walking towards the hut, the old woman gave Yosho a sidelong
glance. "I haven't mentioned it to the villagers, but you also have a
different aura, though yours has a taint of human in it. This girl
doesn't."

Yosho sighed. "It's a long story, one which you would think I made up."

Kaede chuckled lightly. "We've been attacked day and night by
supernatural creatures... we guard a certain crystal that was targeted
by all of the monsters in the land because possession of it will
increases a youkai's strength a thousandfold... we are being assisted by
a half bred youkai whose father was the Lord Youkai of the Eastern
Lands... and we also have a time-traveling girl who is the reincarnation
of our deceased miko, which was my sister by the way, who travels
through an old well. You let me decide if I should believe it or not,
child."

Yosho raised a critical eyebrow. "'Child'? We'll see..."

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

Homeworld, Masaki Shrine...

Katsuhito chuckled as he watched the current Juraian Princess, his own
beloved sister, go against the former space pirate extraordinaire, in
their battle over the heart of his grandson, Tenchi. But for some
reason, Ayeka was a bit too relaxed on her insults, and he wasn't the
only one that noticed.

Even Ryoko had noticed the subtle change in Ayeka's tones. The princess
usually exploded at the smallest things, but now it was as if she has
deflated. The former pirate asked Ayeka about this, roughly of course,
but even that failed to get the appropriate response.

Lately, the princess took long night walks along the lake's edge. The
household found out about it when Sasami and Ryoko got curious enough
and followed her one night. They found the princess sitting on the
water's edge, gazing towards the stars. Her expression was thoughtful
with a tint of worry, as if she was worried about something... or
someone.

His mirthful expression suddenly darkened when he felt something that he
wished he never felt in his lifetime. Also, most of the people in the
household stiffened, apparently they also felt 'that' power.

As one, they all looked at one another. Without another word, they all
ran out of the front door and hiked up to the shrine. They quickly made
their way to Funaho, and prepared for battle along the way. When they
reached the tree, they were quite surprised to see a familiar looking
bluehaired girl, Tsunami, standing a bit far away from the tree, as she
talked to someone who was hidden by the tree's body. They walked towards
her cautiously, still quite weary at the dark power they felt.

When they got closer to where Tsunami was still busy communicating with
whomever she was talking to, they finally caught a glimpse of who it
was. They immediately went wide-eyed and their jaws fell down to the
ground with a loud thud.

Hearing the unusual noise of jaws hitting the ground, Tsunami and her
companion looked towards the group. They both sweatdropped at the sight.

"Why... hello everyone." Tsunami said slowly. She still had that
sweatdrop.

Her companion giggled a bit. "This was the first time I actually saw
anyone do that before."

Tsunami turned to her companion. "Do what, Tokimi-neesan?"

Apparently, Tsunami's friend was none other than Tokimi. "Well..." The
rumored goddess of chaos stated, "The way their jaws are still connected
to their heads while they let it hang like that. It's really uncanny."

Finally, one of the frozen group's member regained her bearings.

"What the heck is she doing here?!" Ryoko practically snarled as she
ignited her energy sword.

Ayeka shook her head. "Stand down, Ryoko. Tokimi-sama hasn't done
anything yet." She looked up to the two goddesses. "Tsunami-sama, please
explain this."

Tsunami nodded her head. "Of course. My sister's imprisonment has been
reevaluated and it has been decided to declare it null and void."

"WHAT?!" Tenchi, Katsuhito and Ryoko chorused.

Washuu walked up to where Tokimi stood and smiled at her. "Hello,
Tokimi. It's been a long time..."

Tokimi smiled slightly. "Indeed, Washuu. I still remembered back then
during our days in the dimension of the Chuushin. That is until you all
judged me and the origin of my powers as... 'evil', right?"

The diminuitive redhead sighed. "I'm sorry about that. We were pretty
young back then, and we acted rather harshly."

The Goddess of Chaos shrugged. "It's alright, actually."

The redhead looked up to the taller Tokimi. "So..." she began, "What are
you doing here then?"

Tokimi gazed at Tsunami, who nodded back to her. "Originally, I came
here to see my son, Ranma. But Tsunami told me that he has made a wish
and was sent somewhere across entire multiverses."

"..... That sucks." Ryoko stated eloquently.

"And before you comment about it, even if we're goddesses, we can't
pinpoint him just like that." Tokimi said impassively.

The rest of the conversation wound down to idle chitchat.

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

Somewhere, someplace...

All he could see was darkness, and he felt himself being laid down on
some sort of bed. His strength was at an all-time low, for he can't even
open his eyes, nor try to move any of his limbs. All he felt right now
were the deep gashes that he knew he head all over his body.

"Let me get this straight, you release me temporarily to heal this boy?
Who is he? Is he so important to disturb my beauty sleep? Can't you just
heal him yourself or something?" This was a new voice. It was kinda
shrill and high-pitched, like a kid's... but for some reason her tone
seemed to signify a very high intellect behind that voice.

Some kind of apparatus clamped itself on his wrists and ankles, probably
to prevent sudden motions of his body. He was too drained to protest
anyway.

"I can't fully heal him, he has too much abrasions and gashes. Please,
oneechan! You have to save this boy... can't you feel who he is?" It was
the voice of the one who took him out of that blasted pit. He still
can't remember where he had heard of that voice before.

He heard a soft snort. "What do you mea--- by Kami-sama! Is he who I
think he is?" The high-pitched voice sounded quite surprised.

"Hai... that's why I can't help him well. His heritage is of a totally
different one compared to my own. So you have to help him..." The voice
of his savior was now quite subdued.

A couple of clanks sounded off from somewhere on his right.

"How did you manage to take him from... wait. No, tell me later. Damn,
this is one serious case. You do realize that I have to reconstruct most
of his limbs. Look at these... the nerves are destroyed in these parts.
He may not be able to use his right side body anymore..." It was
high-pitchy voice.

A sigh.

"I can only think of two solutions. One, make half of his body into a
cyborg of some kind, or I use this." It was the high pitched voice
again.

It seems that she was showing something to his savior, and whatever it
was it made his savior gasp in surprise.

"T-The Masu DNA? Like... Her?" His savior sounded scared now. Even he
was becoming pensive at her reluctance. One could actually hear the
capital 'H' on the word in the end.

"Hai." The high pitched voice replied back. "I used the other sample of
this on my daughter. The regenerative properties of the Masu will help
him recover easily from these wounds. However, he will be changed
completely... forever."

An irritating beeping noise was heard from an apparatus somewhere.

"Saiyajin... 34.1 percent... Chuushin... 33.2 percent... Masu... 32.7...
are these risks acceptable? These results will be the approximated
outcome in this process... and this is a one-time thing. This Masu DNA
is my last sample." The high-pitched voice was quite serious in her
tone. "This Masu is an unclassified one. I haven't been able to break
down its components yet because there was no need to before. I didn't
think I would even have to use it. For all we know, it's of a high class
one or more, and we know nothing of what it had already assimilated in
its own genetic make-up. I really am worried a bit about this... but
this would make everything quite interesting as well..."

A short silence ensued. He was getting quite uncomfortable, but for some
reason, he still can't wake up.

"Alright." His savior agreed. "Anything to save him." He felt soft hands
brushing back the bangs of his hair. It felt good. Effectively, the
values indicated that Ranma had almost exactly a third of each of the
races' DNA.

"But... change the Chuushin data in your computer logs... we must not
let anyone know he is part Chuushin."

"Ehh?" The high pitched voice sounded indignant. "Why? Do you think that
someone might try and -cough- hack into my computer, see his data, take
interest in him, and whisk him away for experiments and stuff?"

Silence.

"Uhmm... actually, that's exactly it." His savior replied with mirth.

Someone sniffed loudly.

"Hmph! I'll ignore that senseless remark from you. But you're right
about that one though. I could alter my data and write it off as a
Juraian instead of Chuushin. Nobody would look for the difference, since
only a handful of people in the universe knew about the Chuushin."

Clicks started resonating all over the place.

"That will work perfectly."

"Fine." The high-pitched voice sounded like she was defeated. "Let's get
this over with. Do you realize that this boy has ten of -those- Gems in
his body? Where did he get these?" The word was quite stressed.

"I-It must be from his mother. Anyway, don't worry about those and just
save his life, please."

Another sigh.

"Whatever. I'm going to restrict some of his memories so that he can't
accidentally release these powers and destroy everything in his path.
I'll put a special trigger in his mind where he'll recover these skills
of his if needed. Darn... this will cause some major changes in him...
did I tell you that he will practically stop ageing at his mid 20s?
Hmmmm... well, I'm going to use the knock-out gas now... just to be sure
he's really out of it."

A small hissing sound was heard followed by the smell of something nice.

Like cherries.

His consciousness was fading once again, but before he got totally lost,
he heard the high-pitched voice cackle.

"When he grows up, I'm going to search for him again and he'll become my
guinea pig!"

Wow... he actually heard the trickle of a sweatdrop from somewhere.

Oh boy.

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

Parallel world, Kaede's hut...

"You have got to be making those up..." Kaede snorted as she changed the
pigtailed girl's bandages. So far, the bleeding had stopped, but Ranma
hasn't awakened just yet. She was groaning a bit earlier on, seemingly
in a dream state.

They were currently discussing about what Yosho and Ranma had been up to
before meeting up with Koneko.

Yosho shrugged. "I told you, but what I told you were real." Idly eyeing
the quite warmed pot of water on the fire that burned in the middle of
the old miko's hut, the Juraian Prince ruefully scooped a handful of the
water in his cupped hands and proceeded to splash Ranma's face with it.
The action didn't have much effect, but it did the job Yosho was hoping
it would do.

Yosho smirked while Koneko giggled secretly as they watched as the miko
froze in her pose, her lone eye wide at the now larger and black haired
boy in front of her. The bandages immediately became undone once again
because of the size change, but fortunately the wound hadn't reopened
again.

Still, the look on Kaede's face... was really priceless.

Kaede quickly tore her gaze from the now male type Ranma and looked
urgently at Yosho. "How in the name of Kami did she... he... do that?!"

Yosho chuckled despite the panicked expression on the old woman's face.
"It's a curse he got in China a while ago. Cold water turns him to a
girl, hot water turns him back. And before you ask, he's born a male..."

Kaede fought down her astonishment at the situation. She turned back to
the boy and furrowed her brows. For a while, she sat there inspecting
the boy intently. After a while she closed her eyes slowly and nodded.
"It is not a demonic possession, but it is certainly magic. Now tell me,
what attacked you and gave this poor... boy... this kind of wound?"

Koneko slumped back down, quivering. "It's all my fault." She whispered
softly, but it was loud enough to be heard in the hut because of the
silence. "I should've moved so that Ranma-kun could've concentrated more
on fighting than on protecting me."

"The creatures we fought are... unique." Yosho said grimly, shaking his
head at Koneko's declaration. "It wasn't your fault, Koneko-san. Those
beasts called Manticores really used every advantage they have. They
knew you were not a fighter like us, and that we'll protect you when it
was necessary. They used that knowledge to distract Ranma long enough to
lower his guard and concentrate more on protecting you. It wasn't your
fault at all."

The small girl was about to protest but Yosho shook his head once more.
"Believe me, it wasn't your fault." He repeated.

"Manticores? Are these some new youkai?" Kaede asked curiously. New
youkai meant new trouble for the group that had gone in search of the
Shikon no Tama.

"The youkai are nothing compared to them!" Koneko growled out, startling
Kaede effectively. "Ranma-kun and Yosho-san fought only two of them, and
look what happened!" She tearfully gestured at Ranma's limp form.

Yosho propped his head on his hand. "May I ask, when these youkai
started to appear?"

"They were here even before I was born. I believe some records say it
was about more than five centuries. I am not entirely sure of it though.
Why do you ask, Yosho-san?" The old woman queried.

The ponytailed man released a small sigh. "If my theories are correct,
they might've been weaker versions of the Manticores... as foot soldiers
or something similar."

"I see..." Kaede muttered softly, as she fixed Ranma's body so that he
would be comfortable when he wakes up. Suddenly, sounds of scuffles
outside caught their attention. Kaede and Yosho nodded to one another,
the latter following the former, while Koneko stayed behind to watch
over the pigtailed boy.

Outside the hut, the old woman and the Juraian Prince was greeted with
the sight of an odd group.

A young man barely eighteen with long white hair who carried a worn-out
katana led the team. He wore a unique red yukata, which was oversized at
the sleeves. Kaede watched Yosho's reaction, but only saw indifference
when his gaze fell on the boy's white doggy ears. A woman with dark
green short skirt and white upper garments, who carried a quiver of
arrows and a wooden bow, followed the young boy slowly. She had shiny
black hair that reached up to her waistline. At her side, she was
pushing along some sort of two-wheeled contraption that carried a basket
in the front. In the basket was a small kid with a fluffy brown tail and
matching brown ears. All over the kids body was brown fur, and instead
of toes and fingers, paws decorated at the ends of his arms and legs. He
wore small clothes around his body, and was currently napping inside the
basket. They were followed by a young man in monk-like clothes, with
black hair that had a tiny ponytail at the back. He held a staff with
tiny rings in the end. His right hand was covered with Shaolin beads.
Beside the monk was a girl who was dressed in a simple ninja outfit. On
her back was a huge white colored boomerang that looked far too menacing
for Yosho's taste. She sat astride on a huge feline-like animal with
fires on its hooves, that shrunk when the young woman that rode it
dismounted. It became the same size as that of a normal feline.

Seeing the foreigners, the weird boy in the red hakama tightened his
hold on his sheathed sword and glared at the two strangers. "Who the
hell are you?" He growled out.

"Inuyasha.... SIT!" The female with the quiver of arrows shouted out.
The boy's necklace lit up and he was suddenly face-planted to the
ground.

Yosho's face twitched. "That was... weird."

The girl who shouted faced them and bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry for
his rude remark... but I would have to ask the same..."

Yosho nodded. "Ah... I am Yosho... a traveler of some sorts. I came here
with my friend, who was severely wounded. He's currently being treated,
so forgive him if he can't be with us today." He gestured to the girl
beside him. "And this is Koneko. My companion and I met up with her a
while ago."

Koneko stepped up. "They saved me from the youkai and those new
monsters."

"New monsters?" The girl with the huge boomerang ran up to them. When she
saw their blank and confused looks, she blushed a bit for her intrusion.
"I'm sorry, I haven't introduced us yet. I'm Sango, a youkai
exterminator. The man behind me is Miroku, a perverted monk." She paused
and casually slapped away a hand that was owned by the monk behind her.

"I'm Higurashi Kagome, the one in the basket is Shippou, a kitsune cub
youkai, the one over there beside Sango is Kirara, and this boy over
here is Inuyasha..." The girl with the bow said as she gestured to the
prone boy that was glaring at her. She threw him a raspberry.

Koneko pointed a shaky finger on Inuyasha, or rather, Inuyasha's fluffy
white ears. "A... hanyou?"

Kaede chuckled behind them. They turned to her as she explained, "Yes,
Inuyasha is a half youkai, born out of the love between a human female
and his youkai father, Inutaisho. His father was a very famous youkai
that ruled the Western lands, but was quite sympathetic with humans.
Hence, Inuyasha is here."

"Feh!" Inuyasha snorted as he crossed his arms across his chest. "Don't
get the wrong idea! I'm much stronger than twenty youkai put together!"
This statement earned him a smack on the head from the girl Kagome.

"Sorry about him..." Kagome sighed. "He's a bit rude, but he's okay once
you get to know him better."

Yosho smiled. "Don't get me wrong, I don't think he's weak at all. In
fact, I can feel that he's quite strong."

"Feel?" Kagome looked skeptical as she gazed thoughtfully towards
Inuyasha. The hanyou just smirked smugly as he crossed his arms across
his chest.

"Yes, his ki is strongest in this village, excluding me and of course,
my companion..." The Juraian Prince said as he scratched his chin.

Inuyasha continued to smile, but it slowly faded away as he finally
understood the statement. His smile turned into a frown. "What the hell
does that mean? Do you think that you could take me?!"

Kaede just fell silent as she would like to hear the response as well.
She hadn't been able to pry anything important from the traveler. Just
bits and pieces about what him and that Ranma person back in her hut had
been up to these past few years.

Yosho raised his hands in a placating manner. "Please, don't
misunderstand. You are powerful, yes... I give you that. But there is
more to strength than just the physical attributes."

Inuyasha growled menacingly and was about to leap towards Yosho when a
voice stopped him. "About what you mentioned earlier? The new
monsters... what about them?"

Yosho turned to Sango, who looked back at him intently. "They are about
this tall, with weird lion-something heads, massive clawed hands,
colored black all over... real nasty ability to regenerate any wounds
and even limbs lost. Have you encountered them?"

The newly arrived group visibly paled at that.

"Have you encountered them?" Kaede repeated for Yosho nervously. If what
Yosho described about them were true, then they would have a bit of a
crisis in their hands just about now.

Their silence said it all.

"I see." Yosho said with grimness that really grated on Kaede's nerves.
He sounded like it was the end of the world. In all probabilities, it
may have been after all.

"W-We... ran away from them." Sango had her head bowed down. Her pride
as a youkai exterminator took a great blow that time. Her sudden fear of
watching those wretched abominations regenerate at a horrifying rate,
and their shrill cries...

Miroku placed his hand on Sango's shoulder in a non-sexual manner. "We
crossed paths with two of them on the way back. At first, they seemed to
just stand there and take our attacks. While we, seeing that their limbs
fell apart, became cocky. Then they began regenerating, and started
their attacks. We never encountered anything like them before. They
became as fast... maybe even faster than Inuyasha. I tried sucking them
into my Kazaana... but they resisted it."

Yosho's brow rose. "Kazaana?"

The monk used his left finger and pointed to his covered right hand. "I
got cursed with a Kazaana in my hand. It sucks pretty much everything."

"Interesting." Yosho smiled and nodded. "And yes, I believe you. I know
someone else who has some weird curse on him. Anyway, continue with your
story..." He added upon seeing the unbelieving stares he received.

"Yes..." Kagome swallowed, relaxing as she realized that she doesn't
have to explain much about Miroku's condition. "We left the two new
youkai two villages away from here. We realized we need to run and think
of another approach on this problem. Even Inuyasha's special abilities
hadn't worked any."

"I figured that as much." Yosho said contemplatively. "The only way to
destroy them is to blow them to bits. Then blast the bits into a lot
more bits. Until it can't regenerate anymore..."

"Feh! That sounds easy enough! We hunt monsters for cryin' out loud! We
should be able to kill them easily!" Inuyasha boasted.

Yosho turned his gaze sharply to Inuyasha. "Easier said than done. We
already killed twelve of them, enough to know that they are hard to
defeat. Especially if you have to battle them in a group. More of them
could really dampen your chances of winning." He quickly turned his back
on them, as he stared at Kaede's hut. "Not only that, but my friend is
currently unconscious because of that last battle we had with these
creatures."

"Must be a weakling..." Inuyasha muttered. He squawked as he found
himself face to face with the glowing blade of the Tenchi-ken. Everyone
gasped at the sheer speed Yosho had used to pull the blade and pin
Inuyasha like that. Also, the blade was kinda spooky.

Yosho glared at the frozen hanyou. "Don't you dare say he's weak! He's
even FASTER than I am! He could defeat two of those things barehanded
without any help at all! He'd probably beat you senseless when he hears
you say that about him, using only his one arm!"

"Ranma-kun got distracted. He used his body to protect me." Koneko
stated, as she too glared at the hanyou.

Kagome nudged the stilled hanyou, who nodded briskly as he wiped the bit
of sweat that appeared on his forehead as Yosho slowly retracted the
Tenchi-ken. Everyone watched as the blue blade slowly phased out of
existence.

Kaede quickly approached Yosho as he tucked the hilt of his sword into
his belt. "That sword of yours... I haven't felt anything like it! It's
so full of life-energy!"

"That's correct, Kaede-san." Yosho replied. "The Tenchi-ken is an
extension of my willpower and spirit, in other words, my Ki itself. Only
a few chosen could wield this sword of mine."

"You mean, you can actually manipulate your ki that easily?!" Miroku
exclaimed in surprise. He had heard of stories that the most powerful of
martial artists and highest level monks could access and manipulate
their aura and their ki. But the sheer strain on the body as well as the
mind was staggering, if what he heard was correct.

Yosho smiled. "You should see my companion in action. He throws
destructive balls of ki around like there's no strain on him."

Sango pulled on Miroku's sleeve. "What's this 'ki'?"

Miroku turned to Sango. "Ki is the very energy of life itself. Normally,
it cannot be seen by normal eyesight; only special people trained to
read lifelines could actually read them. Some martial artists used the
rest of their times just to learn how to manifest a bit of it, but they
end up forming the other type of energy. There are two different kinds
of energies or aura. One is called the 'ki', or the internal and
environmental energy. The other is called 'chi', or the emotion-based
energy. It is much easier to use 'chi' rather than 'ki'. When either are
manifested though, they are used to augment the user's strength, speed,
and agility. Rumors say that some could actually throw them in an
offensive manner, used as an attack or something. Most of those trained
in martial arts already had unconscious use of their ki and chi,
especially in defense."

"Oh." Sango was awed at the explanation.

Kagome finally changed the topic. "How is your friend, by the way?"

The Juraian prince gestured at the hut. "He is unconscious as of the
moment. But feel free to look into the hut. It might as well so that you
may be able to meet him."

Everyone nodded and followed Yosho in the hut. Inuyasha followed behind
albeit slightly shaken by the fact that he almost came close to losing
his head. He knew he could heal a bit faster than most humans, but the
unfathomable feeling that he got when that blade came near him really
sent a message that he might not be able to heal quite as easily if he
got hurt by it.

Inside the hut, everyone was treated with the sight of a quietly
slumbering pigtailed boy, who by the looks of it was between ten to
fifteen years of age. His bandaged left arm was a testament to what had
happened in the last encounter with the beasts that Yosho had mentioned.

Yosho had introduced him as Ranma.

Now that they have taken a good look at the boy, Kagome and Sango noted
that he was a bit too matured-looking. Ranma's face lacked that certain
boyish figure that most boys his age should have. Instead, they found a
bit of a man in there. Although Kagome was a bit thoughtful about the
name. For some reason, the name Ranma tickled something in her brain.
She just couldn't understand what it is.

Miroku just shook his head. For some reason, he kept on seeing that his
bandaged arm was glowing a bit. Maybe he's just mistaken...

Inuyasha just stared at the boy. He looked human in the outside, but he
smelled a bit different, and for some reason that belt of his irked him.

"He seems... fine." Sango said uncertainly, effectively breaking the
awkward silence that covered the entire hut. "He seems normal as well,
although he looked as if he had one too many battles."

As soon as she said that, their eyes almost popped out when they saw a
red thing that seemed to have swiped the air just a bit below his waist.
As it settled, they realized that it was a tail.

"No, he's not hanyou, nor a youkai. And no, I don't know what he is."
Yosho predicted their question well, for they fell silent after his
statement. He had to alter his story a bit. He still can't find a way on
how to explain their extra-terrestrial ancestry.

Kagome hmmed. "You know, for some reason, he reminds me of my cousin
Saotome Ranma." When she saw Yosho's questioning stare, she continued,
"I have a cousin named Ranma, from my mother's side of the family. That
Ranma is my mother's brother's son." <I have another cousin in Juuban
too, from my mother's sister's daughter, but I have no need to mention
that yet.>

Yosho finally examined the girl. Her clothes were a bit off from the
rest of the villagers. He gave Kagome a sidelong glance and said, "You
are not from here, are you?"

Kagome gulped. "W-Whatever gave you that i-idea?"

"When I first met Ranma here..." Yosho pointed to the boy. "He told me
he came from the future. Then I see you, and your strange clothes, weird
things that you bring with you..."

"WHAT?!" Everyone reacted to that.

Before he could explain though, a loud shrill cry sounded off in the
air, which caused Yosho to shudder a bit. They all turned and ran
outside of the hut, only to be greeted by a sight of the villagers
fleeing from three huge figures.

Already, a pile of dead bodies were displayed on the pathways, which
greatly irked the group. The kitsune pup that slept peacefully a while
ago was now running towards them with a frightened expression on his
face.

Yosho grimaced as he watched another of the villagers was crushed
underneath those huge clawed hands of these abominations. He quickly
drew the hilt of the Tenchi-ken and let the blade light forth. Beside
him he saw that Inuyasha also drew his worn blade, but what was amazing
was that the simple sword grew in size and changed its shape, until it
looked simply too large for anyone to carry. Apparently, Inuyasha can.

"These, ladies and gentlemen, are the Manticores." Yosho swept his left
arm to 'present' the three large monsters. He then dashed forward and
attacked in earnest.

The rest could only follow.

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

Ranma's Homeworld, in some forest in China...

"Never let him take the lead again..." Reiko grumbled as they passed the
same clump of trees that they recognized. The girls already carved their
initials on a tree trunk as a marker. And they passed by it twenty-two
times already.

No. Make that twenty-three. Here it comes again.

"Stupid Pig-boy make us lost again!" Shampoo shrieked as she stopped her
hands from throttling Ryoga's neck. She was sorely tempted to choke the
fanged boy's throat, and she wasn't the only one.

Akane snorted. "Really, this is just so ridiculous!"

"Hey it's not my fault I get lost easily!" Ryoga complained.

"Then whose fault is it?" Mousse grumbled. "You're gonna blame Ranma
again?"

"Damn straight!" Ryoga shouted. "If he didn't go up and leave like that,
we're not going to be here in the first place!"

"It's so easy to blame someone, but if the blame is on us it's always so
hard to accept, ne?" Meiko sighed as she looked around for any clues as
to where they were.

"Hey oneechan... take a look at this tree..." Reiko pulled her younger
sister to the tree next to the one they carved their initials to.
Everyone followed the two girls morosely and stopped when they gazed at
the tree.

It was a normal looking tree, a huge trunk and thick branches that was
fit to survive in the middle of the forest. But it was a bit different
from the other trees, where the others were brown leafed because of the
incoming autumn season, this tree remained quite green a lot longer than
the rest.

"Hey..." Meiko slid her hand down the tree trunk. "It's a..."

"Sakura tree..." Reiko finished for her.

Akane stepped up next to Reiko. "So? What's so special in that? We have
lots of those back in Japan..."

"In this place? Besides... this tree is kinda symbolic to us..." Reiko
said, never taking her eyes off the tree. "Papa loves these kinds of
trees."

"In China..." Meiko asked to no one in particular. "Maybe got pollinated
or somethin'..."

"Kewl..." Reiko looked up to the tree. Suddenly, the two girls stiffened
and fell into a defensive stance. The rest of the group were further
puzzled when Reiko and Meiko started looking around frantically.

"What wrong?" Shampoo asked as she too brandished her maces. Better safe
than sorry.

Reiko's response was to clench her fist tightly. "We have company."

"About twenty of them." Meiko added.

"T-Twenty?" Akane stammered as she hastily back away from the trees and
bushes that surrounded them. Ryoga pulled off several of his bandannas
and prepared for the impending attack. Mousse pulled out two large
scimitars from his sleeves.

All of the sudden, a group of men leapt out of their hiding places and
trained their spears and swords towards the hapless group. Most of them
have animalistic features in them, some had wolves' clothings and even
some with striped tigers' furs. They circled the group and watched them
warily.

Shampoo gasped as she finally recognized the men. "Musks!"

Reiko and Meiko perked up immediately when they heard Shampoo. "They're
Musks? That's good!" Turning to one of the men, Reiko seemed to announce
something in another language. Even Shampoo had no idea what the little
girl was explaining to the Musk men.

The Musk in turn backpedaled and paled visibly when Reiko finally
finished what she meant to say. They conversed amongst themselves and
came up with a conclusion.

One of the men stepped up, who wore a brown fur of a large bear around
his body, and bowed slightly to Reiko. "Welcome to Musk lands, my lady.
I am Paprika, commander of this small hunting party."

Before anyone could question the declaration, Reiko replied, "Thanks!
Can ya take us to Prince Herb now?"

Paprika nodded. "As you wish, Lady Reiko." He quickly turned to his men
and gestured them to escort the whole group.

Akane and the rest of the party just scratched their heads in confusion
at the sudden turn of events.

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

Somewhere...

Ranma's vision was once again filled with darkness. Only his body was
visible to him, and right now he was contemplating on the visions that
has been replaying itself in front of him.

For some reason, he felt that it was urgent for the one who saved his
life back then after the fateful Neko-ken training to lock those parts
of his memories. Right now, the flood of memories have slowed to almost
into a trickle.

He mentally counted off a list of important terms that he had
'remembered' from the flashbacks. He already knew about the Saiyajins...
the Juraians... but that was not true wasn't it? The truth of the matter
was that his savior intentionally changed the records of what he was
really made of. His supposed-to-be 'Juraian' aspect was really a false
one, rather, he was actually a 'Chuushin', which for him was still a
mystery. He hadn't recalled anything about it. Another one was the Masu
part of him.

He groaned. Loudly.

Why the hell does these things always happen to him? He could still
remember the times he never had to worry about these things.

A flash of light blinded him once again, and he found himself in a
crossroad.

In one turn, there was the faintest glow of light that flickered every
now and then.

In the other turn, there was nothingess in the horizon. The fact that
you could literally hear various shrieks of pain and torture from it
really irked him.

So naturally, Ranma chose the turn with the faint light. As he reached
the end of the long road, he found himself falling into a blue warp. As
he passed by the waving lines of existence that surrounded the walls of
the warp, he vaguely saw fleeting images of luminous lines. An image of
three spheres of silver appeared while he contemplated on it. But as
soon as it appeared, it was gone in a flash as well.

As he looked deeper into the glowing lines that surrounded his form, he
finally understood that those were the ki lines that flowed within his
body. As his body continued on its path deeper into the warp, his mind
was flooded with various still images of battlefields. Phantom images
that came from his Masu DNA were stored and sealed in this part of his
mind.

The unbidden and horrifying power of the Masu that was in his blood...
the sealed memories of his lost ancient heritage was soon opened in his
mind once again.

The Masu... once dubbed as the most powerful demons in the universe...
reborn once more.

A bright glare of light blinded Ranma into unconsciousness once more.

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

Back in the Homeworld...

The Musk Kingdom was situated in the middle of a mountainous area of
China, near the Pools of Sorrow. Lush forests surrounded the mountains
that protected the kingdom. The main palace was carved out of a mountain
face, which provided a natural defense against surprise attacks from the
ground. The carvings were done by the ancestors of the current Musks
themselves, having been bred from various animals that they had changed
through the Springs.

The greatest line of Musks ever created were the infamous Dragons.
Someone with dragon blood was considered royalty among the Musk. It has
been many centuries ago during the era before the great Draconians
disappeared as they retreated to the other realms that one has been
caught and drowned in the springs. After starting a new breed of Musks
from the Spring of Drowned Dragon, the early Musk destroyed the well of
cursed water that provided the Dragon Spring for their own protection.

The latest generation of Musk was currently ruled by Herb, one of the
Dragon blood. His line has been in the seat of power for many centuries.

Prince Herb was currently brooding in the Musk Palace throne room. Lime
and Mint stood side by side the prince. Their job was to guard and
protect the Musk royalty from any and all attacks.

Herb's current mission to find a fitting bride was a bust. His latest
try got him his female cursed form. He also thought about his defeat in
the hands of the mortal Saotome Ranma... and his own life debt to the
pigtailed martial artist. The Musk were also suffering greatly,
population-wise. The fact that most of them are men posed a great
problem. He tried asking for the Amazons for help, but was turned down.

<Damn those wretches!> He mentally screamed. <Those moldy hags they
called their leaders knew nothing! Our civilization is dying by the
minute! How can they be so stupid and stubborn?!>

Herb also received the news that the Amazons have renewed their attacks
on the Pheonix Tribe once again. The Pheonix and The Musk had long
forgotten their attempts to achieve total dominion over all of China,
simply because their dwindling numbers and rapidly losing grasp over
some power in their native lands proved more important than those other
endeavors. The Pheonix king Saffron, according to his sources, also
suffered a great loss over a fight against the very same mortal that
defeated him. The Amazons took advantage of the fact that the Pheonix
were currently busy in rebuilding their home. Clever tactic, but was
unnecessary.

Also, there was his Lore Master, Oregano, who has predicted that some
'acquaintances' from the past are going to arrive soon.

His musings were immediately cut off when excited voices were heard from
the other side of the massive doors that led to the throne room. The
double doors slowly opened and revealed his scouting party, who led a
rather familiar looking group behind them.

Lime and Mint stiffened and prepared for battle, but was waved off by
Herb.

The newcomers were led by two children, one who looked suspiciously like
Ranma's cursed form. They were not cowed by the massive warriors that
surrounded them, but were rather amused by all of these.

One of the group that Herb easily recognized was the one called Tendo
Akane, the one he threw in anger back in Japan. That was when Ranma took
it as a personal insult and proceeded to challenge him and caused the
incident of locking his cursed form as well.

Akane was followed closely by a young man Herb knew as one who went with
Ranma. What was his name again... ah! Ryoga... the one who turns into a
pig.

Behind them, he saw the great granddaughter of Elder Cologne... the one
called Xian-Pu, who was flanked by the other amazon, Mu-Tzu, who also
accompanied Ranma in their confrontation. Xian-Pu's angry gaze towards
each of his men only proved that the animosity of the Amazons towards
the Musk were still very much alive. Not that he blamed them, though,
because before he took the throne, the Musk were known for their vile
and repulsive acts against women.

Herb sighed. He has much to change in the Musk. Herb silently gestured
for the leader of his scouts to approach him. When Paprika finally
reached within hearing range, Herb softly inquired, "What do you have to
say?"

Paprika knelt in front of Prince Herb, bowing his head real low.
"Herb-sama, we found the outsiders loitering just in the confines of our
domain. We were about to chase them out, when one of the children
declared the Ancient Verse of Sanctuary in our native Musk dialect."

Surprise crept in the expression on Herb's face. Only those close to the
royal family of the Musk were given such a priviledge to know about the
Verse of Sanctuary. It was a powerful tool for those who seek shelter in
their lands.

Herb turned his gaze to the children, who were smiling dubiously at the
scene before them. He addressed to Paprika, "Tell me, which one was the
one who declared Sanctuary?"

Paprika nodded slightly. "It was the red haired one, my liege. She
introduced herself as Saotome Reiko."

"Saotome?!" Herb hissed urgently. He stood up and stepped towards the
two children. He stopped when he reached three feet in front of the
girls.

"Saotome Reiko... what connection do you have with the one called
Saotome Ranma?" Herb asked in a commanding tone.

Reiko beamed at the monarch. "I'm his daughter! Herb-chan!"

Sounds of outrage filled the room. Herb's eyebrow twitched as he heard
the title given to him by the child. "Herb... chan?"

Reiko was about to answer but was silenced by an elbow from her sister.
Meiko stepped up and bowed in front of the Musk prince. "Forgive my sis,
Lord Herb. She forgot that ya still didn't know anythin' 'bout us. I'm
Saotome Meiko, and you already met my older sis Reiko. We're Saotome
Ranma's daughters in the future."

Herb's irritation turned to confusion. "Future?"

Meiko nodded vigorously. "Yup. Ya see... we made this wish from this
sword thingie, then got stuck here in the past. Someone told us that
somethin' called the 'Tear of the Dragon' can get us back. She also said
that it's with the Musk. And about that 'Herb-chan' crack Reiko-neesan
said before, it's coz yer a good friend of papa in the future... VERY
good friend."

Herb looked shocked at the moment, which melted into a smile. Despite
the weirdness of the situation, it was still amusing. "I... see. A good
friend you say? That's good... I need more friends, it seems. Anyway...
it sounds like it is really important, so I will oblige your request.
Follow me to the treasury then."

The crowd of guards parted to let Prince Herb and his companions pass
through. Lime and Mint were about to follow, but Herb just shook his
head in their direction. With a hesitant nod, Lime and Mint just settled
on watching the throne for the Prince.

While on the way to the Treasury, Herb decided to start a conversation.

"So... you are the offspring of Saotome Ranma? Tell me, where is he
right now? Why hasn't he come with you?" Herb asked the group as they
entered the Royal Treasury.

"Ranma's gone. He wished himself away with the broken Nanban Mirror. We
can't follow because the mirror was too damaged to repair anymore."
Akane said sadly.

Herb nodded. "I see." He said as he rummaged in the piles of gold that
littered a chest. Suddenly, his face lit up. "Ah! Here it is." He pulled
out a certain blue jewel that was mounted on a gold bracelet. The Musk
prince handed the artifact to the two children.

"Yay!" The two clutched at the 'Tear of the Dragon' with awe.

Herb smiled. "You know, you could also use that to repair the Nanban
Mirror, I think."

"No!" Everyone turned to Reiko, who glared at the group. "Don't you dare
wish that! What are you gonna do when it gets fixed? Bring papa back and
hurt him again? Do ya realize how selfish you people are?!"

"But airen..." Shampoo began, only to be cut off when Meiko waved her
hand in the air in a dismissive manner.

"But nothin'! I heard stories 'bout ya from papa. All ya did was fight
and fight and hurt papa then fight!" Meiko growled out.

Herb chuckled softly. "Such wisdom from ones that are young." Herb bent
forward to Meiko and whispered something in her ear. The blue-haired
child nodded with a smile. She took hold of the artifact and muttered
some words in a language not familiar to anyone except Herb.

When Meiko finished, the jewel glowed in blue light that spread over the
entire room. When the light died down slightly, everyone gasped when
they saw a small holographic figure of a dragon floating on top of them.

Reiko and Meiko whistled in appreciation. "Wow... so this is where the
Dragonballs came from..." Reiko muttered to herself.

The group except Herb was still dazed at the sight. The Musk prince
looked at Meiko and nodded.

Meiko smiled and said, "I wish for a portal that would lead me back to
where and when I came from."

The miniature dragon's eyes glowed slightly before a light blue portal
shimmered into view beside it. The dragon opened its mouth and said,
"Granted." before it blurred back into the crystal. The jewel's color
dimmed into black.

Herb sighed. "Oh well, another two thousand years of waiting for another
wish."

"What is this?!" A voice came from the blue portal. Akane, Ryoga,
Shampoo and Mousse quickly backed away and prepared for an impending
fight. Herb tried to grab the kids and lead them away from incoming
danger, but the two tykes just ran past him and stopped in front of the
portal.

"PAPA!" The two Saotome squealed as two hands came out of the portal,
followed by the rest of whoever shouted behind it. The whites of his
eyes were deep-set blue instead of the normal white. His pupils were
golden in color as well. His body was firmly toned under the heavy white
robes that the figure wore. His cheeks were adorned with green leaves
that streaked from his lower neck up to his upper cheek. His raven-black
hair was tied up in a short pigtail. Behind him was a young woman who
looked almost exactly like Ranma's girl form, only her pigtailed hair
was a bit longer than Ranma's, which reached below the waist. Her eyes
were sienna, contrast to Ranma's blue-gray.

The figure turned to the two children and smiled. "There you are!" Then
his face turned into a scowl. "Do you have any idea how worried your
mother was?"

"Gomen... otousan..." The two girls bowed their heads.

The girl placed her hand on the young man's shoulder. "Don't be too hard
on them, ne?"

The young man sighed and bent down to pat his daughters on their heads.
"It's alright, Rei-chan... Mei-chan. Let's just go home, ne?" Seeing the
two girls nod in approval, he smiled and led them towards the glowing
portal.

"Wait!"

The trio stopped their advances and turned around to face those who
called out. Akane stepped forward and looked at them with hesitation.

"Ranma? Is that you?" Akane asked.

The young man shrugged. "I guess. Though I am from at least fifty years
ahead of your time, I am still Ranma. I guess you met my daughters,
Reiko and Meiko. The girl with me is Shidou Hikaru..."

"A pleasure to meet you..." The girl named 'Hikaru' hooked her arm into
Ranma's own. "Now come along, dear. You know how Acchan is when we're
out late."

Ryoga was enraged at seeing Ranma once again, with ANOTHER girl at that.
"RAAAANMAAAAAAA!!!! How dare you go with another woman! Prepare to---"

"Oh give it a rest willya?!" Ranma cut off Ryoga's usual battlecry.

Reiko looked up to the redhead. "Is mama angry, Hikaru-mama?"

Hikaru just shuddered. "Just get home real quick, Reiko."

"Wait..." Akane said softly, but was heard by all, "You mean you're not
their real mother?"

The Onna-Ranma look-alike shrugged. "I can't tell you much about it. I'm
really sorry."

"We should go now." They all turned to the future Ranma, who stood
beside the portal. He faced Herb and nodded slightly to the Musk
emperor. "Thanks for everything, Herb. Just remember to call on me when
my other self gets back, if ever you need help."

Herb nodded back. "I shall remember."

"Bai-bai everyone! Thank you!" Reiko and Meiko bowed to the Nerima Crew.

Ranma smiled and took his children's hands. Hikaru strode up to the
portal and went in first, followed by the trio.

"Ranma!!!" Akane's voice rang out once again, causing Ranma to look back
as he pushed his daughters into the portal.

"Yes?" Ranma asked simply. He had his one foot inside the portal
already.

Akane fidgeted in her position. "W-what about us? I mean... are we...?"

The pigtailed man stared to the youngest Tendo. He sighed and shook his
head. "Don't you remember? You chose..." he pointed to the bandanna-clad
boy, "Him."

"But... I thought you weren't going to come back!" Akane cried out
desperately.

Ranma just shrugged. "Then just think of it that way. It would be best
for you."

"Ranma.... please..."

"RANMA NO BAKA!!!!!" A voice from the portal echoed across the hallway.
Ranma cringed a bit as he heard that voice. A familiar battlecry that
was shouted by a familiar voice. But from the emotions that spilled out
of the voice, it went out quite differently. The tone sounded like a
call of desperation or... something so loving... like what husbands and
wives call unto each other.

Shampoo looked at the portal, wide-eyed. "That... that sound like..."

Mousse only nodded in agreement.

"That was... A---" Ryoga's statement was interrupted by Ranma.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Ranma directed into the portal. A slender arm
reached out and grabbed his shoulder. A flash of light blue hair was
seen by those watching the scene. Before anyone could react, the arm
yanked on Ranma, causing the young man to teeter and get sucked in the
portal.

As the portal slowly swirled into nothingness, a faint and embarrassed
voice of Ranma was heard from it.

"Ahh... anata... tadaima."

An even fainter voice answered back. A loving voice that was soft and
full of emotions.

"Hmmm.... Ranchan no baka..."

Herb's chuckles broke the contemplative group's musings. Seeing the
questioning looks he received from them, he shrugged his shoulders, a
habit he got from Ranma, "It's rather funny for me. He feels so
powerful, yet he still cowers in the might of a woman." With that, he
chuckled louder.

Akane, Ryoga, Shampoo and Mousse, their minds still weakened from the
various surprises that went to their way, had no protection in Herb's
uncharacteristic actions.

After seeing the majestic dragon prince snort like a drunk man, they
facefaulted.

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

The battlefield was wasted with craters and debris as the fight went on.
Earlier, Inuyasha had placed Kagome on the top branches of a high tree
that grew quite ways away from the battle. The young kitsune pup Shippo
was shaking like a leaf in fear of the monsters that suddenly attacked.

Inuyasha now stood shakily as he propped himself up against the
Tetsusaiga. He was hurting all over, and his clothes were torn in five
different places. He couldn't believe the resilience of those Manticores
Yosho was talking about. He heard about them from his recounts earlier
before, but now it seemed that they were far worse than he let on. The
one he's currently fighting has begun its regeneration of its lost right
arm. There was still two more of the monsters out there, fighting
Miroku, Sango and Yosho. They still have yet to destroy one of them.

The hanyou grimaced as he sank down to one knee, his left arm dangling
on his side uselessly. Blood dripped from a gash wound that grazed from
his lower forearms towards his back shoulder. He got careless after he
got a good hit at the monster, when he hadn't realized yet the
regenerative properties of the Manticore. He was caught in post-leap as
he fell down on the ground, unguarded. Now he was paying for it.

While he waited for his second wind, Inuyasha's head looked from side to
side, taking note of Miroku and Sango as they battled against their own
adversary. Miroku was absorbed the blue energy balls that erupted from
the creature's mouth, as well as the vile liquid that melted most of the
earth and tree trunks that were unfortunate enough to get in its way.
His Kazaana was doing a great job in absorbing them, although it was
useless when Miroku had tried to absorb the Manticore itself. Sango on
the other hand threw her boomerang-shaped weapon in a distance, slashing
the monster's limbs and decapitating them. Once in a while a lance of
light flares up the air, hitting the monster in different parts of its
body. The enchanted arrows of Kagome were pretty effective, and the
wounds it inflicts on the monster remained longer than the others did.

Inuyasha's gaze turned to Yosho, and was quite surprised at the man's
sword skills. He was impressed by the way Yosho had decimated half the
body of the Manticore that he faced. The monster on the other hand was
regenerating slower than normal, though for what reason, Inuyasha could
only guess. It was probably due to that special sword that Yosho used.
With a sigh, he pushed himself up once again and faced his own problem,
who already finished in its healing.

"Damn you..." Inuyasha muttered angrily, as he slung his huge blade over
his shoulder. "I will defeat you!"

Before he could leap towards his opponent, a female shriek echoed across
the field. Inuyasha's head snapped towards the source of the voice.
Terror filled his face as he saw Kagome falling down the tree she was
perched in before. Shippo was squealing as he tried to right his body
against the rapidly approaching ground. From the smoking piles of debris
that was once a tree, a stray bolt of energy from the Manticore Miroku
and Sango were fighting seemed to have veered off course and decimated
the wood. Miroku and Sango were still busy fending off the rampaging
monster, unable to lend a helping hand to the falling Kagome. Yosho was
too far and will probably be too late before he reached the girl.

Inuyasha was about to jump to where Kagome will fall when the creature
he was fighting suddenly backhanded him away that caused his body to hit
every tree that stood in his flight path. His body finally rested on a
clump of fallen trees, but he was unable to stand up because of the
protesting pain that screamed at his spine.

"KAGOMEEEEE!" Inuyasha shouted hoarsely as he watched the girl from the
future plummet to the ground as he watched helplessly. Suddenly, a blur
passed under Kagome before she disappeared.

A moment later, Kagome's staggering form stood ways beyond the reach of
the Manticores. Beside her was a red-haired person, who wore the same
outfit as the guy that was being treated in Kaede's hut before.

Kagome looked to her savior, and saw the figure of the boy that was
tended inside the old miko's hut. She almost cried out for joy and
resisted the urge to glomp unto him for saving her life. She was about
to express her gratitude when she suddenly stiffened as she gazed on his
features. His left arm was still bandaged because of the wound he
received before. His hair was dark red... the color of blood, and on his
face was a blank and neutral expression. But the most prominent feature
she saw were his eyes. The pupils were gone, and the entireness of his
eyes was colored blue-gray. It was eerie, especially when coupled with
the emotion his face showed.

Ranma hadn't even acknowledged the girl's presence as he stepped
forward. His pupiless eyes gazed emotionlessly at the battlefield. All
of the Manticores suddenly stopped attacking and just stood there,
looking towards Ranma's direction.

Sango and Miroku looked on confused as their adversary suddenly stopped
moving and raised its head to gaze towards Ranma's direction. They
followed the monster's faraway look and gasped.

Inuyasha sank down on his knees once again as he watched his opponent
lose interest in him. He was wondering why the monster was acting the
way it was.

Yosho leapt back from his enemy and cocked his head to one side when he
noticed that it has stopped attacking. He looked into what caught its
attention and goggled. There stood Ranma, with one arm and all, calmly
looking at the battle as if it meant nothing to him. He took note that
Ranma's hair was dark red, eventhough it was fairly obvious from the
contours of his clothes that he was male as of the moment. He suddenly
took interest when Ranma raised his left arm in front of him and
scrutinized it intensely. He gaped when Ranma's wounded left arm
suddenly sported dark purple blue energy tendrils that seemed to waft
from the wound. Yosho felt the tremendous energies that gathered in
Ranma's direction.

Ranma's expression hadn't changed a bit even as he looked at his glowing
stump. Tendrils of energy snaked outwards the end of the decapitated arm
and formed an image. As the tendrils solidified, it turned out to be an
image of his left hand. A bright glow suddenly burst out of the tendrils
and materialized. Everyone gaped widely at Ranma, whose arm was now
complete once again. The pigtailed boy rotated his arm and wiggled his
fingers, still inspecting it intently. After seemingly satisfied with
the arm's regeneration, he slowly lowered the arm down to his side and
turned his gaze to the battlefield once again.

The thirteen-year-old boy's body glowed with power.

Ranma's fists suddenly clenched tight as the winds picked up. Energy
overflowed from his body as his clothes suddenly changed into something.
Yosho's eyes widened in shock when he recognized the battlesuit that now
adorned Ranma's form. He vaguely remembered the last time he saw such
arms, nearly two hundred years ago, Ryoko's battlesuit. But instead of
red and black, Ranma's armor was blue and black. The former Prince
shuddered when he saw Ranma's eyes dark blue eyes glowed with great
intensity.

The Manticores drew their heads back and growled in defiance. They
quickly left their respective targets and leapt towards Ranma.

The boy's expression changed for the first time, as a feral smile
erupted from his face.

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

In the Homeworld, Morisato Residence (or Temple, whatever...)...

A certain brown-haired goddess shuddered violently as she felt something
course within her body.

"Belldandy?! Are you okay?" A concerned Keiichi Morisato quickly
appeared by her side as she slowly teetered while cutting some
vegetables for dinner. She turned to Keiichi and forced a smile.

"I-I'm... alright. It's just... I felt..." Belldandy closed her eyes
shut as another wave of nausea attacked her senses. The mortal
frantically supported her shoulders as he led her to the living room
couch. Urd was already standing beside the brown couch, visibly upset.

Keiichi lay the ailing Belldandy down on the sofa and turned to Urd.
"What's wrong with her, Urd?"

Urd shook her head. "I don't know! I felt what she was talking about a
while ago, but I didn't react this way... what the?!" She gaped at
Belldandy. Keiichi also turned to look at what spooked Urd and gasped.

Belldandy's tattoo on her forehead was glowing brightly as a red beam of
light from above shone on it. The symbol was erratic and was rapidly
changing shape.

"What's that?! What's going on... Bell-neesan!" Skuld came down from her
lab to ask about the sudden feeling, only to find this phenomenon.

On Belldandy's forehead, the symbol finally settled into three small
black spheres in a triangular pattern pointing downwards. But, as soon
as the new symbol materialized, it slowly flickered once again and went
back to the elongated ellipse that signified Belldandy's office of power
as the Goddess of the Present.

The rest couldn't do anything but watch.

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

Author rants:

A fanfiction is a story based on anime/manga. It is not to be taken
seriously.

Someone complained that I changed some things. Heck, if I didn't change
anything, why would I call this a fanfic in the first place?

I already explained in the beginning that I will be making some changes
that happened in canon anime universes, and that means combining OAVs of
Tenchi Muyo here and there to satisfy my plot target or having Ranma get
a power up coz he needs it badly to satisfy the requirements. He needs
it where he's going.

Besides, Ranma may be strong and powerful, but he will not, I repeat,
WILL NOT be omnipotent. Nobody is.

Not even Kami-sama for cryin' out loud.

I agree that my grammar and sentence structures would probably need some
work.

About Tokimi not being a Juraian, you're right. She's not a Juraian per
say. She's one of the Chuushin. So Ranma is a Saiyajin/Chuushin/Masu.
But the reason this was temporarily changed was stated in this chapter.

If you're wondering who the Chuushin are, refer to the latest Tenchi
Muyo! Ryou-Ohki! OAV 3 (I think). This OAV is centered on the three
goddesses themselves, and why Tokimi is who she is. Her actions in the
past had something to do with the destiny of the Chuushin, and she was
the one who was the most hardworking in turning it into reality.

If you have any concerns or questions about Tenchi Muyo's Timeline, view
this HP - http://www.angelfire.com/id/deathquaker/tenchi/FAQ.html

The questions about who or why the heck my understanding of what Tenchi
Muyo is will be answered, and also, take note that I 'combined' some of
the plots from different Tenchi Muyo Divergences.

If you expected to see writings that reflected the same episodes/comics
the various anime followed, then go watch the anime or read the manga
instead. Why are you reading fanfictions then?!

As for why this chapter is late, I have to get used to the 1024 x 768
pixels screen area, which originated from 800 x 600 before. Man did I
get a headache for about a day or two.

I was tempted to revert it back, but when I did, it all looked kinda
fuzzy, so I returned it to the higher one.

Another reason was that I took some time researching about the timeline
of Rurouni Kenshin. 1880s something... I think.

Also the Sakura Taisen timeline... approximately 1920s.

In another note, FINALLY! Reiko and Meiko returned to the future! Now I
can concentrate on developing Ranma's currently changing body.

Also, I could concentrate on the parallel timeline Ranma is currently
treading on.

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!