Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ Blended Dimensions ❯ Margie's Rescue ( Chapter 17 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Blended Demensions
by Bud

Chapter 17: Margie's Rescue

The Yggdrasil stops a few miles away from the main capital of Aveh, Bledavik. The ship remained submerged in the sand leaving on the sail above surface level. The hatch suddenly opened.

"Okay, we'll take the small sand buggy from here to the capital so people won't think of us as suspicious." Bart stated as he jumped down the sail into the drivers seat. Citan and Ranma followed his example, landing in the passenger seats.

Sigurd pops his head above the hatch and calls to them.

"The Yggdrasil will remain submerge until we get the signal, young master. Please be safe."

Bart nods to the man. "Alright, let's go!"

Ranma spoke up. "Are ya sure you know how to drive this thing?"

"Sure I do," said the blonde pirate. "I drove it before a couple times."

"Oh."

"In my dreams."

"That's what I was worried aboooouuuuttt~~~----!!!"

The buggy took off.

At the same time, a huge battleship that was seen when Ranma and Citan were in the forest of the Blackmoon travels over the twin mountains of Bledavik and begin a landing approach down surface hatch. As the ship goes lower, the hatch is revealed to be an entrance to an underground dock. The ship continues to descend into the dock as it nears it's landing pad. It touches down in front of two figure that were waiting for it.

On the bridge of the battleship, eight workers are station at the side wheels. A white-haired man is at the wheel and is the commander, whose name is Ramsus. Standing behind to his right is a dark blue-haired woman known as Miang.

The crew began finishing docking.

"Docking complete."

"Hull, all sections secure."

"Gravity distribution normal. Shutting down propulsion system."

"Begin docking procedure."

"Cancel the alert status," commanded Ramsus. "Begin repairs and resupply immediately."

Miang turns to Ramsus.

"The Prime Minister and General Vanderkaum are here to see you, Commander."

"Hmph, what a dismal welcome."

She shrugged. "What do you expect? We're on the 'surface'."

Ramsus turns to Miang.

"Miang, let's disembark."

"Yes, sir."

Moment later, Ramsus and Miang walk down the docking gangplank. A bald-headed man in a purple dress robes walks up to them. This is Shakhan. A man with a weird face with a cross plastered on it, stands behind him: General Vanderkaum."

"Well, well, Commander." speak Shakhan. "You've only just taken command and already you are achieving splendid results. You disposed those irksome Kislve units in a matter of days... I'm very impressed."

Ramsus ignores Shakhan and walks past him to Vanderkaum.

"I can't believe you were beated by such a small force... I have only just taken over my post and already you have embarrassed me!"

"I am sorry Commander. They were more persistent than we anticipated. They had a new model Gear that was very mobile. I couldn't get a lock on it with the main gun... Otherwise there would have been no way we could have beated by such---"

"Fool!" Ramsus shouts, shutting the generals mouth. "Know when to use that big gun, and on whom! You failed because you try to solve everything with force. You have muscles instead of brains."

"Commander!!"

Ramsus waves the man off. "Dismissed. Go polish your beloved 1200 sem cannon." Ramsus begins walking out of the hangar. Shakhan hurries to catch up with him and walks beside him. Miang follows at a distance after stopping at Vanderkaum for a short time."

"Tomorrow is the 500th anniversary of this country." Shakhan says to Ramsus. "Please come to the dedication ceremony. There is a customary Tournament afterwards that you may enjoy..."

Miang hurries to catch up with Ramsus, who's making Shakan keep a good pace.

"What about the incident in that report?" Ramsus asks. The three walk in a door.

"What? Oh, you mean the 500-year-old mobile weapon excavated from the ruins?" Shakhan says while they walk in a short hallway. "Thanks to the help of the 'Ethos', the repairs are complete. I thought we could announce it on the day of the dedication ceremony..." The three walk out the door at the other end of the hallway which turns out to be an elevator.

"Toys like that should be given to Vanderkaum." Ranma states while the ride takes them up. "I'm talking about the 'Fatima Jasper'."

"I already have obtained one half of the crest. But I haven't been able to get her to tell me where the other half is. She is a rather strong-willed girl..."

"You're not being rought with her, are you?" Ramsus suddenly asks.

"Of course not! I know how you despise vulgar acts like that."

"You said that girl is the Holy Mother of Nisan... is she upstairs?"

"Yes, in the east tower."

"Miang, could it possibly be a 'Relic?'" Ramsus asks the woman.

"Yes," she says. "But there is still no response. There seems to be a barrier or something. However, we do know from the 500-year-old records that one certainly exists in this vicinity. It's probably well preserved too."

Ramsus thinks for a moment.

"...Let's meet her. I want to talk to her directly. Miang, you come with me."

"Yes sir."

The elevator opens and they get out. Shakhan leads Ramsus and Miang through what is now could be described as an elegant hallway which royalty would most likely have. He leads them to a room at the end of a hallway were a guard is located. Shakhan speads to the guard.

"Open the door. Commander Ramsus is here to see her." The guard complies and opens the door. Ramsus and Miang enter.

The room, like the hallway, was made for royalty. But for the current situation, it was more like a cell to the person inside. A young girl in fairly elaborate clothing is standing in front of a large bed. She looks at the two new occupants curiosly before speaking.

"Who are you?"

The two take a few steps towards her, making he jump back onto the bed.

"I am Ramsus, she is Miang. We would like to ask you some questions."

"I'm Margie. Actually, it's Marguerite. What do you want to know? My favorite food? I like cake, Chiffon Nisan is my favorite. I haven't had it in so long..."

Ramsus keeps calm, seeing that the girl likes to talk. "Marguerite, we want to ask you about the Fatima family treasure... I'm talking about the 'Fatima Jasper'. You see, I'm keeping the piece you had in a safe place. But I don't know where the other piece is. Do you?"

"Nope! The one I had you took from me. You didn't even give me anything for it!" She paused. "Hey, the next time you come, could you bring me some Chiffon Nisan? I used to eat it everyday in Nisan. I don't think they make it in Aveh. Aveh used to have such good bakers, but I guess they must have all died in the war."

"That is too bad. I don't know much about cake, but I'll see if I can find some for you next time."

Margie jumps up and down on the bed. "Thank you Ramsus. I'll be waiting."

"Is their anything else you need? If there's something you want, I'll bring it next time."

She shakes her head. "No. I just want to go back to Nisan. They must be so worried about me."

"I'm sorry, but please wait a little longer. We want you to stay here until we find the other half of the 'Fatima Jasper'."

Watching all this from a hidden camera is Shakhan.

"I'm amazed she talked that much. He can handle women as well as he says."

He gets out of his chair and twists a bottle. A picture comes down over the screen which views the camera. And attendant watches him as he begins to pace.

"Is it all right?" asks the attendant.

"I can't prevent them from meeting her. Not when it's him we are talking about... Besides, Marguerite isn't talking anyway. SO there is no need to worry... But where did the leak about the Jasper come from...?

A pause.

"... The 'Ethos'? Ridiculous..! Hmm, if this continues my plans will be..."

He stops pacing and turns to the attendant.

"We had better find out who is leaking out our information immediately. In the meantime, we'll have to administer some truth serum to our guest, Miss Marguerite. We must find the other piece of the 'Fatima Jasper' as quickly as we can."

"But.."

Shakhan cut him off. "Howver spineless the last commander, Vanderkaum, was..." A slight pause. "... This time Gebler has sent their highest commanding officer. His country is throwing all their weight into this. And, there is nothing we can do about it!"


Ranma, Bart and Citan arrive at the gates of South Bledavik. The first site that greets them is a long stretch of street filled with people and shops. It was some sort of bazaar. A women close to the gate notices them.

"Welcome to Bledavik! We're having a festival celebrating the founding of our country, Aveh. There's a martial arts tournament too." Ranma's eyes lit up. "It's been a while since we have had so many visitors. Do you already have a hotel?"

"Not yet," says Bart.

"You'd better get a room soon or they'll all be gone. I know a good hotel. The hotel I am talking about is...."

She points to a building close to an Ethos workshop.

"That one. Tell them my name at the front desk and they'll give you a deal." She leaves quickly.

"Hey! What is.. your.. damn." Bart grumbles.

They head towards the hotel and enter it. The place was beautifully decorated, most-likely for the festivities that are currently happening. The hotal was a two story building with close to 15 rooms on each floor. As the trio entered the business, a woman dressed in a nun's outfit notices one of them.

"Let's us borrow a room here for our planning session." Citan recommends. The nun runs up to them.

"Ah... excuse me but... Aren't you Prince Bartholomew?" she speaks to the one-eyed pirate. (Not THAT one-eye pirate you perverts!)

"... And you are?"

"I was sent here by the Nisan Sect. I am here to check up on Mother Marguerite. Prince Bartholomew, I knew you would com sooner of later..."

Citan speaks up. "Well, let us not just stand here chatting. Shall we use a room?"

"You must be tired." she observes. "I'll be in my room, please come by later." She pointed to the last door on the second floor directly above them. "That's my room there." She runs off to her room.

Ranma looks at the two men and shrugs. He approaches the innkeeper.

"We wanna get a room for a couple nights, got anythin'?"

"I'm sorry, we're full today. If you can wait till evening I'll have something then... How about 50G a person?"

Ranma shrugs. "I got a recommendation."

"Whose went you?"

He shook his head. "I dunno. She just left without tellin' her name."

The innkeeper rubbed her temples. "Aw, she never gives her name. But.. Okay, I'll make it down to 40G each."

Ranma gives the in keeper his 'Saotome Manly-Smile' while adding a couple flexes of his arms. "Thanks."

She blushes. "That's 3 people, it'll be 100G."

Bart shrugs and drops a roll of coins on the desk. Ranma moves close to the girl causing her to blush even more. He pulls a ribbon out of her hair letting it fall down around her shoulders.

"Ya should leave it down," he smiles. "Makes ya look even more cute with the glasses on."

The innkeeper turns crimson and takes the roll of coins. Her glasses fog up suddenly and she hands Ranma a wad of bills.

"Th, thank you! Here's your change!" she runs away blushing.

"No.. thank YOU." he whispers, stashing the money in his pocket. This was exactly a page out of the Nabiki Tendo School of Getting Rich.

Citan and Bart look at him in astonishment.

"Well someone seems to be the ladies man." chuckled Citan. Ranma shrugged.

"Not really."

"Shouldn't that change be mine?" asked Bart.

"No, this is for my dinner. I'm gonna eat alot later an' I dunno think that yer pockets deeper than my appetite." Ranma poked Bart on the forehead making him stumble back.

"Anyway," Citan got their attention. "We should rest and then talk to the Nisan Sect sister before the day is through."

A couple hours later they walk into the nun's room. She turns to them and seems to be weary of Citan and Ranma.

"Excuse me but who are they..."

Bart turns to his friends the back to the nun.

"Oh, this is Ranma and Citan. They're going to help rescue Margie."

"Thank you for comming here in this desert heat. I am a servant of the Nisan Sect. Ever since Shakahn took Mother Marguerite I've been looking into ways to get her back. I've been trying to find out where she is being held. I've been busy listening to workers talking about the comings and goings from the castle.. And giving food to the guards who are preparing for the Trounament to loosen their lips too.

Finally yesterday, I got some information... Margie's in the citadel. The problem is how to slip in the castle... I thought about it a lot but it looks pretty bleak. I'm sorry."

Bart thinks for a moment.

"No big deal. At least we know where she is now. You just relax, we'll find a way to slip into the castle."

"My apologies. If there is anything else I can do to help just ask... Do you have any good leads?"

Bart shook his head. "Not yet. We're gonna hit the streets for info now. Then we'll think about the rest later."

"I see. I'm very relieved that you are all here. Please come see me again if you hear anything new."

The three men stood at the front of the hotel and started on gathering information.

"I think we should split up an' so we can find out more stuff and just come back later before we plan everythin'."

"Good idea Ranma. And it would make us less consipcuous. We'll meet back in three hours." Citan said and they agreed. Everyone went in their own direction, but Ranma headed north towards the plaza.

"S'cuse me," Ranma tapped on someones should. "Ya happen to know were the martial arts tournament is held?" The man pointed north towards the castle.

Ranma headed in that direction passing by a square that was just as busy as the bazaar. Tents were built up and had attractions such as the fire breather, the balloon clown, novelty and toy shops and even games. He hasn't been to a carnival since the last time he went with Ak--

He stopped that right there. No need to get into that again.

As he neared the area were the tournament would be held a stranger approached him holding out tickets.

"Yo, dude! Try and pick the champion?"

Ranma looked at him puzzled. "The champion of what? The martial arts tournament?"

"Of course! We're you've been for the past 500 years?"

Ranma shrugged. "I'm new in town. Cut me some slack, will ya? So they like... bet on the tournament?"

"What? What are you talking about? The tournaments ARE gambling! Why do you think people even come here? To bet on who will be the champion! Duh!"

"Well if that's the case, how about if I bet on myself?" Ranma asked with a smirk.

"Huh? You can't bet on yourself. Yer crazy. And you look too puny to be in the tourament anyway. Fighters from all over the world gather to see who's strongest. It's like a big brawl. Everyone goes wild over guessing who'll win. But if you're gonna be a contestant then you can't bet."

"So betting is okay for the tournament as long as your not fighting in it?"

The man nodded. "Yeah! It wouldn't be fair in a way. The soldiers are crazy about this event though. If Kislev attacked tomorrow Aveh would be dust."

!

"So are you registered yet? All the strong ones have signed up. The rest are only gave the consolation prizes anyway..."

Ranma got curious.

"What's the main prize?"

"Alot of money and fame. Or so from what I heard."

Ranma shrugged. "I think I'll pass on that."

"Ha! What a coward." The man ran away.

The pigtailed man stood there for a moment and contemplated what the guy just told him. The tournament is one of the biggest events in Aveh. The guards are crazy about it. If Kislev attack then...

The guards are so busy with the tournament that anyone could get into the citadel and rescue that girl! And if he entered the tournament he could milk the time and give everyone a show as a big distraction.

With that plan in mind, he quickly signed up for the tournament.

Hour later they all assembled in the nuns room. Citan and Bart were the first to arrive followed by Ranma, who was munching on an arm full of snacks from the festival in the city square. Since everyone was here, the Nisan Sect sister spoke up.

"Did you gentlement fine a way to get inside?"

Citan nodded. "I believe that the more obvious idea would be to use the festival as a means of distraction. And tomorrow is the Tournament. There will be betting at the arena. surely, the soldiers minds will be more on the tournament than their job. We must use this to our advantage."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Ranma swallowed a handful of grapes. "Wha' the Doc means is," he stuffs more food in his mouth. "is that the soldier will be off guard for any thing around them. An' since I entered myself in the tournament, I'mma give them a show they'll never forget."

"I suspected as much from you, Ranma." Citan crossed his arms and began to think. "But with you in the tournament, you are possibly a sure win and your matches will be very quick. Plus---"

"Don't worry about that, Doc. I got that all covered. I'm gonna jes' mostly dodge and throw a couple weak hits an' maybe show off some to get everyones attention."

"Sounds good." said Citan. "Ranma is in the Tournament. He will draw the guards attention. Then Bart will enter the castle through the waterways via the well. After that he will rescue Marguerite from the citadel. I will accompany Ranma to the Tournament. I will also help work the crowd and secure our escape."

Citan pauses.

"... There is one problem. The well is locked. First we must find the key."

"Ya mean this?" Ranma held up a old key and had a small engraving of 'well' on one side.

Bart snatched the key. "Where did you get this!"

Ranma shrugged.

"Some kid dropped it on the way here. I tried giving it to him but he kinda disappeared."

"I would guess preparations for our plan are complete. Tonight we will stay in the hotel and start out tomorrow. We are free to do what we like for now. Let use have a look around the town."

The three left with thanks from the Nisan Sect nun. They wandered their seperate ways, seeing the sites or mingling with the residence and visitors. In Bart's case, keeping a low profile and having some fun. Ranma found himself at the square that led to the tournament grounds. He decided to play some games and have a blast.

Having actual fun was something of a rarity for Ranma Saotome. Being that he started martial arts at the young age of four and left on a training journey at six, having fun that a child should have was something alien to him. It wasn't until he arrived at the Tendo dojo that he began to experience some real fun, though most of the time it turned into a rival battle, fiancee fiasco or even some trick by some random martial artist, spectre or .. whatever.

Well, he really couldn't say he had fun as a kid. He always remembered the time he had fun with Ukyou when they were kids, even if he first thought she was a guy at the time.

It was strange of when he thought of Ukyou, it brought him back to thinking of Buddy.

Where the hell where they?

His thoughts were broken as he walked out of one of the large tents. A man stops him and speaks.

"Hey! Well if it isn't Ranma!"

"Huh?" Ranma's heart suddenly beated rapidly.

"It's me! Moulten from the Laughing Pig Pub. You'd never know it from the way I look now though... Ha ha ha ha. So how's my wife and daughter doing back in the village?"

Ranma knew who he was. The man left three months ago from Lahan to Bledavik.

"Ahh.. well..."

"Of course, they're fine. Thet's the only think they do well. Ha ha ha ha. I want to return soon, but I still don't have the money to bring them to Aveh. I'm done getting the festival ready, and now I've got another job. I'm really busy. It'd be nice to have a little lodge in a small village like Lahan. To get the money together, I started a small business and now I'm really busy. I want to send my girl to school and buy nice things for my wife... I guess I'm talking too much. Ha ha ha."

Ranma looks up while he keeps rambling on.

"... If I don't go soon the boss'll get mad. Well, see you Ranma. Say 'hi' to my wife and daughter for me."

"...."

Ranma ran from 'Shakhan Square'. He didn't have the heart to tell the man his family was dead. Dead because of something he couldn't prevent and partially caused.

Elly was right.

'You are a coward!'

The next day...

"Ranma!" Citan calls to the young man sitting in front of the hotal. "Where have you been? You did not return last night. We've been worried."

"I spent the night with some cute girl last night." Ranma said with a shrug. The effects of seeing the man from Lahan long forgotten. "Let's go."

"Alright. Operation 'Rescue Margie' is now underway!"

Citan begins.

"First Ranma and I will prepare for the tournament at the arena. When the Tournament starts, Bart will enter the waterway through the well and head for the castle. If you swim against the current you should reach the castle. I am certain there will still be some guards there, so please dispose of them quietly. We will make a good show at the Tournament to draw the guards attention as long as possible. During that time, you can rescue Margie."

Citan stops.

"Any questions?" Ranma raised his hand. "Yes Ranma?"

"Can we get some food first? I'm starved!" His stomach rumbled loudly enough to make a couple people passing by turn their heads.

Citan sweated.

An hour and a couple hundred G's of food later, the two arrive at the Tournament grounds and approach a guard.

"Only participants are allowed in here. Your friend will have to sit in the spectator's area."

Ranma and Citan walk a bit back.

"Well then, I will be over here cheering for you. Do not beat them too soon. The better you do, the easier it will be for Bart to sneak in."

Ranma walks past the guard and into one of the big tends that house the fighters. He happens to notice that Big Joe was here. Big Joe approaches him.

"Do you know my name?" Ranma nods.

"Of course. Your that Big Joe guy I met in Dazil a week ago."

"That's right... I'm am the one and only.. 'Big Joe'!" Joe flaunts himself. "Hey, boy. Do you know the secret of strength? It's... Gratitude to all your fans. Their love gives me strength."

Someone from the back speaks up. "I got some strength right here!" There was a loud noise that sounded like wind blowing and something ripping followed by the horrid stench of rotten eggs and mayonase.

"Buddy?" Ranma looked at the guy but it wasn't him. Just some looser that looked like a broke-ass version of of his dad. He shook his head and left the tent.

He heads over to the east tent and looks in. He find someone - Dan! His heart suddenly began beating rapidly like the other day. He was definately surprised.

"Dan... Dan! What are you doing here?" he asked the young red-head.

"... It's your fault that Timothy and F-- I'll never forgive you! I'm gonna kill you!"

Ranma surprise clearly drained and had a mask of stone. Even if himself and Dan had a bad outcomming, he was still the boys sensei. This show of bad control was something he definately did not teach.

"We'll see, Dan..."

A guard comes in.

"Attention all participants. We will be starting soon. Please enter the arena." He leaves.

"You're the enemy of everyone in Lahan!" He seemed to be oblivious to Ranma demeanor. "I'm gonna kick your butt in front of everyone! And don't be running' away either!!"

Dan leaves, along with everyone but a mysterious cloaked man in the corner.

"...."

The man turns to Ranma.

"Hey Mister, are you from Lahan?"

"....."

"Seems like you and that boy have some kind of problem..."

"Butt out. It's none of yer buisness so keep your nose outta it."

"Ha ha ha..."

"What's so funny, huh?!"

"Nothing..." he waves Ranma off. "Just wondering what kind of fight you will have with that boy.. Well, I'm looking forward to it, 'Fei'."

"...."

Ranma watches him leave. It was good the man didn't know his real name. Maybe he was mistaken for someone else. Alice did say on occassion that him and Fei looked almost alike.

Whatever.

He headed out.

Up above the grounds of Fatima Castle, Shakhan is giving a speech to a noisy crowd. Ranma eyes the man from the distance that he was as he stood at the front of the group of fighters. He had a clear shot at the man, but knew he wouldn't make it out alive. He'll let Bart handling everything.

"... Brave young men are spilling their blood on the front lines. Out army is the best, but the tides of war are uncertain. To protect the tradition of Aveh and preserve peace in the desert, we must all have unshaking resolve. The desert is a precious treasure passed down to use from our ancestors. Here we can forge our minds and bodies into one. Our teachers are the sun and wind. We are gathered here today, with out strong bodies forged by the desert. The sun above use is the same as that which burns over our fathers at the front. The wind blowing here is the same as that which whisks our resolve and prayers to our sons at the front. The Tournament raises our spirits and renews our blessing from this desert we live in. Brave ones, warriors, fight well and do not shame our brothers at the front."

"Let the 338th Tournament begin!"

A man hits the gong and the crowd cheers loudly.

"Hmmm.. A moving speech if I do say so myself."

Ramsus appears at the entrance to the balcony.

"Oh, Commander Ramsus. Sorry to have kept you waiting. This way, please." Ramsus walks up to Shakhan's seats, followed by Miang.

"I'm afraid I do not have the time for such gay revelry. I just dropped by to bid you farewell."

"What a pity." Shakhan said. "You do not like out entertainment?"

Ramsus looks at the arena. "I find it boring."

"Oh, let it be Commander. Shakhan is only trying to show hospitality... I personally find martial arts quite interesting. I look forward to seeing the Tournament." Miang said

"To say this event is a tribute to you, Commander, is no understatement. Your gracious help in out time of need enabled us to celebrate the country's founding today."

Ramsus turns to Shakhan.

"Founding, how impudent. It's not even your country." He begins to leave. "Hmph, do as you like.

Shakhan turns to Miang. "Miang, how about the Tournament? Will you grace us with your company?"

She nodded and sat down. "Yes. It would be a pleasure."

Shakhan turns to the arena. "Oh, it's starting."

In front of them and below was the square used for the battling ring. A man next to a gong hits it and the announcer starts up.

"Out first match of the day will host 'Gonzalez' verses 'Bruce Lee'!" shouted an announcer over a megaphone. The crowd cheers.

Two figures jump onto the arena ring and square off. One was a somewhat physically strong person and the other was none other than Ranma Saotome, or Bruce Lee as he was registered as. Ranma caught the eye of Miang.

"My.. what a handsome boy!" she licked her lips and watched what the outcome would be.

Ranma Saotome Vs. Gonzalez

"Okay, I'm s'pose to stall the match as long as I can," he thought to himself. "As much as that sucks, I gotta do it."

"C'mon boi--!" said Gonzalez in a red-neck trailer park trash accent. "Ya' wonna git jer ass whooped, den c'mon down sunny!"

Ranma backed up a bit. The man's breathe was extremely horrid. He wondered if this guy even knew what a toothbrush was. Even his teeth looked like rotted wood with caked up fungus.

Gonzalez smiled seeing Ranma's nose scrunch up.

"How ju like'd my breath, sunny? Nice and smelly jus four youuu!" Gonzalez lunged at Ranma with his lips puckered up. "C'mon an' give yer distant cousin a kiss!"

"C'mon man stop that shit!" He kicked the fruity red-neck back with a disgusted look on his face. This guy was just not kosher.

The disgusting red-neck pulled his belt off his pants and twisted part of it around his hands as if to use it as a weapon. Fortunately, his pants still stayed up around his fat ass.

"I'mma whipp yer butt for disrespectin' yer family sunny!"

"Hey!" Ranma called to the referee. "He's using a weapon!"

The referee looked in a book then shrugged at the pigtailed man. "It's allowed."

"Ya' sound like a city slicker, sunny. Let yer Uncle Gonzo take care of ya!" Gonzalez ran at Ranma swinging his belt.

The pigtailed man reacted instantly, ducking down under a swing an tripping the dirty man with a hard sweeping kick to the shins. Gonzalez flopped onto his gut and slid a couple feet. He didn't get up.

"I ain't any of your family, ya jerk!"

Ranma kicked him while he was down and walked away. Just as he turned his back, his eyes widened and he let out a scream as a long leather belt snapped against his back. Gonzalez stood behind with a smirk and a mask in his hand. He looked more like a farm red-neck than a trailer park one.

"Don't under estimate us red-necks, sunny."

Ranma got to his feet and frowned. He didn't expect that at all. The guy made him lose his guard with that idiotic display.

Gonzalez rushed him again, but looked more skilled this time. Ranma dodged a punch and it's follow-up kick. A hook was knocked away then dodged another hook. He flipped back missing a low kick to the knee.

"Can'tcha do something better than that?" Ranma asked in a bored tone. He continued dodging noticing that the guy was tiring out. He hopped to the left and drove his knee into Gonzalez's gut after a missed haymaker.

"Good night."

Ranma dropped his elbow on the back of the man's head. He was knocked out completely.

The crowd cheered and Ranma bowed to them, then turned to Shakhan and bowed to him before walking towards the side-lines. Now it was his time to assess the other fighters since they already saw part of his skill.

The next match would determine his opponent in the next round. Big Joe wasn't all that skilled of a fighter, but he had alot of strength and seemed to get a major boost depending on the crowds reaction. The louder the crowd cheered, the stronger he became. Big Joe took a major blow from an opponent but got back up immediately to finish the guy off. Ranma decided he had to figure out a way to get the crowd on his side in the next match.

Ranma already knew who he would be facing during the tournament just by watching the fighters in the first round. He already knew he would be facing Big Joe, but this person named 'Scud' was a big surprise. The teenager was more of a trickster and liked to use items to give him strength in the match. He also liked to use knives hidden under his clothes.

The mysterious man was an obvious pick. Even when he wasn't fighting, he seemed to eminate an aura that gave off his fighting prowess.

Dan made him smirk. The little red-haired boy was only around thirteen years old and he was whooping on adult that were more than twice his size. Even though him and Dan have their problems from Lahan, Ranma would always be proud to be Dan's sensei in the art. If things went his way, Dan would be a better student of Anything-Goes than he is now.

After the first round fights were complete, Ranma stepped up to the plate for the second round battle.

Ranma Saotome Vs. Big Joe

"Yo! It's me... Big JOE!!!"

The crowd cheered loudly for the Elvis-look-alike. He made some sounds as he displayed his kempo techniques which were overly emphasized. After the little display, he stood in his stance - which was snapping his fingers to some unknown beat and rocking back and forth on his feet.

Ranma sweated. Deciding to put one up on the Elvis-man, Ranma brought in a pair of nunchaku with him.

He started spinning the weapon in his left hand before switching hands repeatedly. Then he started spinning it by it's chain around his arms, fingers and hands. The technique became faster, flipping the weapon in the air, rolling it behind, across and around his back, neck and behind and between his legs. He stopped in a stance with one handle in his right hand and the other under his right arm.

The crowd gave an immediate reaction, applauding and cheering for the pigtailed man. Others boo'd but the reaction to Joe was immediate. The cheering for Ranma put down Joe's power causing him to loose his personal beat that he kept.

"Hey! Here we go... Big Joe Punch!!" Joe jumped at Ranma and went for a haymaker. But Ranma ducked under the slow punch and slammed his own fist into the big mans gut sending him reeling back.

The crowd cheered and boo'd, some of the people upset with Ranma's attack throwing food, cups and cans at him.

Ranma tossed away the nunchaku, not noticing it knock out someone in the crowd. He jumped at Joe and kicked him in the jaw with a flying round-house. The big guy immediately fell to his back and didn't get up. The pigtailed-man left the ring under the assault of cheers, cat calls and upset people throwing cups at him.

He sat down by the tent area where fighters were allowed to relax between matches. The next match started and he eyed the fighters. From his side, he noticed Dan watching him and flicking his middle finger at him. He shook his head and ignored his former student. He had a match comming up soon.

Ranma Saotome Vs. Scud

The sounds of some orchestric music could be heard above the crowd. It had a type of sound that just signified the type of music that would be used in a Role-Playing Game's battle music. Or that's what Ranma thought of it as he faced off against the little trickster, Scud.

"C'mon, C'mon!" taunted Scud. He looked like someone in his mid-teens but that actually hid the fact that he was in his late twenties. He rocked back and forth on his heels, one hand held up in a fist while the other rested protectively over his fanny pack of items.

Ranma shrugged and test the waters a bit with a punch. Scud was faster than he actually realize and the kid-sized adult dodged. Ranma brought his arm back before his wrist was sliced by a cleaverly hidden razor between his opponents fingers. Ranma frowned.

"Lil' cheap, aren't ya?"

Scud just smirked and threw the blade like a shuriken. Ranma leaned his head to the side.

"Can'tcha do better than that?" he taunted. He twisted to the right and caught another thrown razor, and another. And another. A few more were thrown but he knocked them out of the air to the ground with the ones he caught. This was turning out to become really pathetic. "Are you done yet?"

"Heh." Scud pulled an item from his pack, a feather of sorts with some powdered substance on it. He sniffed the item and smiled at Ranma.

Someone shouted from the crowd. It was Citan. "Hey! That fighter is using Samson's Hair!"

"It is already on his person, sir. Now sit please." said the referee. If you carry it into the ring, it's legal. With the exception of firearms.

Samson's hair? Ranma thought to himself. What was that? He found out real quickly as his guard was left open for a brief moment. Scud rushed in an delieved what he believed was the most strongest punch he's even recieved since he came to this place. Of course he's felt alot of punches, Pantyhose Taro's being the strongest natural punch, which drawfed this little twerps punch. But he hasn't been his this hard since he fought Fei... rest his soul.

"Hey man," Ranma said, looking directly into the little man's eyes. "You suck." He kicked the guy back and watched him skid along the arena floor. He stopped short of the edge before getting back up quicker than expected. He quickly drunk some sort of potion.

"If you keep taking drugs like that, you'll lose your mind." Ranma stated simply. This guy was nuts!

"That guy took Speedsol! That's suppose to be illegal in Aveh Sanctioned fights!" shouted the Citan again. The referee quickly made him sit down with the threat of Ranma's disqualification.

Ranma jumped at Scud with a kick but missed as the guy moved faster than he did. Not wanting to fall out of the ring, he grabbed the edge and flipped himself back the other way. A punch landed on his chest but he mostly ignored it. The guy may have increased his strength and speed using drug enhancements, but he could take it. He thrust his knee up and extending his leg out, slamming it into the side of Scud's head in a muay tai roundhouse. Scud flipped and landed heavily on his arm. Ranma heard the unmistakable break of an arm dislocation and cringed. He didn't want to hurt him that badly.

Surprisingly, the little guy got back up just as quickly and reseted his elbow as if it was a daily occurance. Ranma sweated. This guy really was nuts!

"Okay, that's it!" Faster than Scud's own movement, Ranma slammed his fist into Scud's stomach sending him flying out of the ring and into the crowd.

The crowd paused before cheeringly loudly. Ranma stepped out of the ring and waited for the next match. He had to get psyched for this next one. He already knew his opponent.

Ranma Saotome Vs. Dan

Dan stepped up into the ring dressed in a white gi tied off with a black belt. The little red-headed boy eyed his former sensei as he stepped in at the other end. He recieved a nod from Ranma.

"Dan."

"Today is the day I'll get my revenege on Fei and Timothy.. 'Sensei'," he spat, the last word used with as much sarcasm and venom to kill an elephant.

Ranma just nodded and took up a basic kempo stance, Dan doing the same.

As the ref started the match, Dan charged in with an array of attacks. Punches and kicks were thrown Ranma's way but he just seemed to be one step ahead of the little tyke. Jabs, hooks, back-fist, haymakers, snap kicks, roundhouses and various other moves were either evaded, blocked or swatted out of the way. Dan was putting forth alot of effort, but Ranma just seemed not to be their.

After a couple more attacks, the two finally backed off and assessed each other. Dan was breathing heavily while Ranma seemed to be just fine. The crowd around them were dead silent, observing this display of skill no other has shown in the whole tournament.

Ranma looked at Dan with a bored expression and said, "Stop holding back."

"DIE!" The young red-head growled and leaped into the air at Ranma.

Said man followed him into the air and immediately put the hurt on the young boy. The Saotome branch of Anything-Goes excelled in mid-air combat. Even though Dan was just a young boy, he was still practicing Ranma's style - that did not at all exclude him from learning the hard way.

Punches and kicks rained down on Dan. Jabs to the stomach knocked the wind out of him repeatedly. Slaps to the face and head disoriented his vision and balance. Kicks to the sides prevented him from taking the much needed gasp for air. Dan remained in the air as if Ranma's attacked sucked him into this world of hurt and prevented him to escape back down to the ground. It was only 15 seconds later after they clashed that gravity seemed to take effect bringing the two to the ground. Ranma landed noiselessly on his feet while Dan hit the ground like a limp wet towel.

"Ugh..." Dan slowly got up, gasping for air but his eyes still had that fire of hate burning in the back. He spat some blood up and stood defiantly, glaring at the pigtailed man.

Ranma stood a few feet away with his hands in his pockets, a bored expression on his visage. He spoke in a bored tone.

"Do we gotta do it like this, Dan?"

"Shut your mouth! I'll never forgive you.... murderer!!!"

"Ergh... What do you want me to do?" Ranma remained calm. As much as he wanted to, he did not wish to show his emotion of sadness at this moment. Even if Dan rejects it, Ranma still considers himself the boys sensei and mentor - someone that's calm and strong enough to get through any situation.

"You can die for all I care! I want revenage!"

Ranma frowned. "You would wish death on me? Your sensei?"

Dan spat at him. "Your not my sensei! My sensei isn't a murder! This fight isn't between sensei and student... This is a battle between a murderer and a man seeking revenge!! A battle of vengence."

Ranma nodded. "If that's what you want.. you got it." he relaxed his stance to were he stood straight with his hands behind his back.

Dan came at him again and started a chain of attacks. Left uppercut. Right hook to a spinning back kick. Right round-house. Left back-elbow. Left-right one-two punch. Left hook. Right haymaker.

Ranma responded by remaining where he stood exactly. He leaned back away from the left hook, ducked the right hook and leaned to the side away from the spinning back kick. He bended back away from the round house and back elbow. Moved his head side-to-side away from the one-two punch. Ducked the hook punch and leaned back from the haymaker. After Dan backed off, he just smiled and waved to him.

"Are ya done yet?" he asked.

Again Dan attacked, this time an aura pulsating around his frame. From the crowds point of view, Dan didn't have any aura around his body. But to a select few seasoned martial artist and those able to access chi, ki or ether, they could see the red corona surrounding the young boy as he attacked. Ranma himself was soaring with pride deep inside while at the same time he was extremely worried for the young boy.

Most aura's a person generates during situations depends on their mood. Ranma's light blue aura during a major battle portraited his confidence in his abilities and his will to win. Ryoga's purple aura represented how deep he was in the depths of depression. A white aura usually symbolized peace or something holy in significance. A black aura usually represented evil, or sometimes extreme power.

But Dan's aura was a dark, crimson color. It was an aura that mostly represented extreme anger, frustration and even hatred. Ranma was worried for Dan because aura's of such strength ultimately would destroy the person. He was trying to build a plan to have Dan release all this energy upon him without killing the boy.

Time for the Saotome special techniques.

"C'mon, Dan. I'm getting bored here." Ranma said while dodging blow after blow. "I think I'm - yawn - falling asleep..."

"My dad was faster than that."

"Are you trying to hit me or the broad side of a barn?"

"While I'm waiting for you to hit me, can I land my plane on your forehead?"

Dan growled in frustation. "Damn you, Ranma! Why don't you fight back like earlier?!! C'mon! I challenge you!"

Said man hopped back a few feet and stuck his hands in his pockets. He spoke softly enough for Dan to here.

"Ya said this fight was between you and me, not sensei and student. A man to man fight." Ranma turned his back to Dan. "Despite ya being a martial artist, I can't bring myself to hit a little boy..."

"Litte...boy?!!!" Screamed Dan. His aura suddenly condensed and formed a huge ball of energy that was barely contained between his hands.

"DIE BASTARD!!"

A huge blast erupted from his fingers and slammed into Ranma as he turned around. The pigtailed man braced himself, his feet digging into the ground as he was pushed back. He suddenly lost his footing and tumbled backwards while being engulfed by the blast.

The crowd was dead silent, while those that in the pathway of the chi blast slowly returned to their seats seeing as it did not reach them. Ranma's body was laying ragged near the edge of the ring as if he was dead. Dan smirked, seeing that his revenge was attained for Fei and Timothy's deaths. He began walking out as the referee counted to ten.

Their were a few gasp from the crowds and the ref stopped his count at eight. Dan didn't pay no mind as he began to step off the ring. Before he could set his foot down, he was suddenly jerked around.

"What--- OOFF!!!"

Dan's breath fiercely blew out of his mouth. Ranma's uppercut completely knocked the wind out of the body and lifted into him into the air held in place by Ranma's fist.

"Major rule of Anything-Goes if you're in a tournament, Dan." Ranma said calmly. "Never turn your back to your opponent until you are sure you've won."

Ranma removed his fist from the boys stomach and watched him drop to the ground hard. Checking on the young boy, he was knocked unconsious by the blow. Seeing that some medics would take care of him, Ranma exited the ring along with recieving a standing ovation from the crowd, guards, other contestants and even Shakhan and Miang.

Ranma Saotome Vs. Mysterious Masked Man

Ranma stepped into the ring for the last time today. This was his last match after fighting with his former pupil in the semi-final match and now it was time for the championship bout between himself and that mysterious fellow from the other side of the bracket. The masked and cloaked man stepped up into the ring also and approached with Ranma to the center.

"It seems I owe you an apology for mistaking you for someone else earlier," said the masked man. "You seem very alike to the person I thought you were."

"I kinda get that sometimes, so don't sweat it." Ranma nodded to the man. "By the way.. what did ya want with Fei anyway?"

There was a slight pause.

"To test his skill."

"I see."

"Do you know were I could possibly find him?" he asked.

Ranma paused and shook his head befor replying.

"He's dead."

"...."

Ranma eyed the man for a while.

"I see," the mysterious man said. "I will take my leave then."

"Wait!" Ranma called to him. "At least finish the tournament with me. I hear the prize is alot of money and fame."

"I do not need such useless items." said the mysterious man.

Ranma tried again. "At least finish what you started."

The man paused and seemed to eye Ranma for a moment. He nodded and the referee sounded a bell.

"The final bout will be 'Bruce Lee' verses 'Wiseman'. FIGHT!"

Ranma shuffled closer to Wiseman and started with a simple roundhouse followed by a back-fist, a right jab and left hook combination. Wiseman dodged the kick and had to block to three fast punches with his hands. The crowded cheered Ranma at this attack since it was the first time Wiseman ever had to use his hands the whole day.

"So why were you looking for Fei?" Ranma asked during the fight. He threw out a quick left-right combo followed by a series of spining round-house and crescent kicks. Wiseman blocked most of the attacks, dodging only a few close ones. He responded cooly after Ranma backed off.

"I already gave my reason."

Ranma suddenly speeded up his attacks putting Wiseman on a pace he could barely keep up with. The masked fighter had to press himself hard just to block or push away Ranma's blazing fist and feet from making contact with his body.

"I wasn't lookin' for that answer," said the pigtailed fighter. "I want the real reason."

"Like I have stat---" His reply was cut off by a rocking punch to the jaw. Wiseman hopped back and fixed his mask quickly, but Ranma was able to distinquish part of his face. A almost middle-aged man with a mustache.

"Don't pull that stuff with me, old man." Ranma said tauntingly. "You got the same style of fighting as Fei so I'm guessin' you've probably taught him something or trained with him."

"...."

Ranma lunged at the man prepared to end the match quickly. He drew back his fist to deliever a blow to shatter the man's mask but Wiseman seemed to wise-up to the attack. He in turn lunged at Ranma also and threw a punch the blew through Ranma's defenses quickly, impacting Ranma right over the heart. The pigtailed man screamed loudly and fell back to the ground clutching his chest. The punch by Wiseman hit a pain pressure point located were the heart would be. Ranma cried in agony while Wiseman watched with a someone amused posture.

"...."

Ranma finally got control of himself and pushed the pressure point once more causing the pain to dull but not disappear. He stood and glared at Wiseman.

"Ya tried ta kill me." It was a fact, not a question.

"....."

The pigtailed man moved faster than Wiseman could notice. A quick roll forward, he pushed his hands against the ground into a springboard flip. A pair of shoed feet slammed into Wiseman's face in a fierce drop-kick that disorientated the man. Ranma quickly capitalized this by using one of his favorite moves.

"KACHUU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!!"

Hundreds of blows rained down on Wiseman in a matter of seconds. The sounds of knuckles meeting flesh and bone caused the crowd to cringe. Just the thought of what Wiseman must be feeling made many persons sick. Pieces of white fell to the ground - parts of Wiseman's mask. Ranma stopped his chestnut fist technique and got a good look at Wiseman's face. This pause was long enough for Wiseman to break away, cover his face with his cloak and runaway from the match. He disappeared in a matter of seconds.

Ranma glared at the retreating man before he disppeared. He somehow knew they met before and would meet again soon.

Spectators began grumbling, others complaining loudly or even screaming in outrage at what just occured. Next to the fight between the little boy and the guy named 'Bruce Lee', this was the most spectacular battle yet. But, now it turned for the worse when the masked man left the area in a hurry. The referee was sweating, seeing as he didn't know what to do. Another referee came up to him and whispered in his ear. The first ref started speaking.

"...uhhh, ahem. It appears that competitor Wiseman has forfeited... The remaining competitor will automatically be awarded victory!"

The crowds reactions were obvious.

"WHAT?! Are you serious?!"

"Booo! Boooooooo!!"

"Yeah! I won the bet!!"

Meanwhile, inside the Citadel...

After negotiating the sewer system and through a few floors of the castle, Bart finally arrived at the room were Margie was being held. Getting there was not a picnic though. Even with the tournament going on, there were still guards and his half-assed sneaking didn't get him anywhere fast. While moving about, he heard some officers in a meeting talking about some new commander from Gebler. From observing, they did not trust the man one bit, but liked him better than Vanderkaum's bumbling self.

He did find a room earlier, which happened to be the room for Shakhan. Fumbling with some of the items on a desk initiated a camera that was connected in some room. Surpringly, it showed exactly were Margie was being held. From what he could see, the young girl looked fine and seemed to have been treated fairly, much to his relief.

He brings himself back to the present an opens the 'cell' door.

!!

Margie turns to the door and gasp! She jumps off the bed she was laying on and runs up to the blonde pirate.

"Bart!"

He envelopes her in a hug.

"Let's go home Margie!"

"I just knew you'd come for me!" she beamed happily. He smiles back at her.

"I'm getting you outta here! C'mon follow me!"

"Okay."

They turn to leave but Margie pauses.

"Oh, wait a second." She runs over to a couch and picks up a pink plush thing, that looks like a stuffed animal. "I really like this."

They two exited the cell and began walking towards the exit elevator for the floor they were on. However, when they get to the center of the hallway, Ramsus and Miang walk in unexpectedly.

"Bart! Look!" Bart see's the two and immediately identifies the uniforms.

"Crap! Gebler!"

"Looks like we have rats. Where do you plan on taking that girl, boy?" asked Ramsus with a somewhat upset expression.

"Boy? Hah, boy!?! Let's see you try and call me that again! Who the hell are you anyway?"

Ramsus looked amused. "You have spunk. But I don't need to give my name to rats like you."

"What?"

"Now hand over the girl. She is a very important guest. Until she tells us where a certain piece of the Fatima Jasper is, we can't allow he to be taken away."

Bart spat on the ground in front of him. "Gimme a break! You thing I'm gonna hand her over just 'cause you say to? Pull your head out, you Gebler geek!"

Ramsus pulls his sword out.

"I assume you know where such abusive language will lead you."

"Ha! Now this is what I'm talkin' about." Bart smirked, placing his hands on the handles of his whips.

Miang finally spoke. "If you truly want to protect that child, then surrender..." she smirked. "Prince Bartholomew!"

Bart looked at her cooly. "Oh yeah? You know about me, huh?" He rubbed his chin. "Heh! It's not such a bad feeling having your name known by someone as beautiful as you."

"Ba-arty!" Margie complained. This definatly wasn't the time to be picking up girls. Especially if they were the enemy.

"You man have had your problems with Shakhan, but we won't treat you badly." said Miang. "Concerning Shakhan, it really doesn't matter 'either way' to us."

"That's nice to know. But I can't accept it. See, for me, 'either way' is bad." he replied with a nod.

".... then it's decided." Ramsus pulls his sword back, preparing to strike.

"Tch... Margie! Hide back behind there!" Bart says to the girl.

"No!" she shouted back. "I'll fight too!"

"I don't care, just hide!"

Ramsus struck first, comming in low with his longsword into a rising slash with the steel blade. Bart managed to roll to the side and snap his whip against Ramsus directly on the ribs. Cloth was torn away but under the clothing there was a green glow. Bart turned to look at Miang and confirmed his suspicion. The lady just healed the guy.

Again Bart attacked with his whip. Ramsus brought his sword up and the leather wrapped around the center of the blade. The two began a tug-o-war with Bart having the most leverage. The Gebler commander found himself being dragged towards Bart, but he had a look in his eye. A look Bart didn't like.

Ramsus suddenly dashed forward, causing the whip to slacken and Bart to be thrown back by his own momentum. He then felt something sharp poke his stomach and a sliding feeling. He finally looked down and found that Ramsus ran him threw with his sword. The Gebler commander stepped back and withdrew his weapon, shaking the blood off. Bart coughed up blood.

"Heh... what?"

Ramsus saw a green glow reminicent of an ether spell on Barts stomach area. He looked over to Margie and confirmed his suspicion. He wasn't the only one being healed.

Looking over at Margie was enough of a destraction. Bart quickly recovered from the healing and slammed a fist into Ramsus jaw. The man staggered back a couple feet before righting himself. Ramsus shot Bart an enraged look before calming down.

This boy is more trouble than I at first thought, Ramsus thought to himself. He took Bart seriously now, his face becoming a calm, cool expression. His stance shifted so he held his sword in his left hand pointing up. His face reflected off of the cold steel while Bart's face also reflected on the opposite side. He stood perfectly still.

Ah, his mirror stance. Miang knew that this would become messy.

Bart eyed Ramsus for a moment. He saw that Ramsus left himself open in several angles, it was either intentionally or he didn't know about it. He decided to take this advantage and attack!

A pair of crimson whips lashed at Ramsus like twin serpents, striking at the man's left leg. Bart only saw him smirk before everything turned red. Ramsus brought his sword down and sliced on of the whips, blocking in the other at the same time. He quickly rushed at Bart before the man could blink. It was like a ballet, the way Ramsus danced around Bart not giving him any quarter. His blade slashed quickly leaving various degrees of cuts around Bart's body without actually slicing any parts off. After a third pass around his body, Ramsus jumped back to stand near Miang.

Both of them frowned seeing the obvious green glow on the nearly dead pirate. They watched his wounds close up and seal perfectly. Only the man's torn clothes reminded them that he was attacked.

"Heh, thanks Margie." Bart threw the girl a thumbs-up.

"Hmph, little rat." Ramsus took up his mirror stance one again. "Come and try again, little boy."

I'm not falling for that again, Bart thought to himself. Ramsus thinking he was stupid enough to fall for the same trick twice was insulting. But he had to keep his cool, for Margie's sake.

The two squared off and glared at each other. Ramsus kept his cool, waiting for the moment to strike. So far, Bart hasn't done so and seemed to of mirror his stance, but kept his hands on his whips.

Suddenly Bart striked! But Ramsus wasn't the target, he realized. The whip in Bart's left hand was heading directly for Miang, and she wasn't expecting it or prepared for a direct attack. Ramsus broke his stance and moved to protect the woman, not seeing Bart's smirk. Ramsus suddenly felt a deep bite on his side so looked down. He was quick enough to see Bart's other whip, the one he didn't cut, bite deep into his side and rake against the wound before being pulled back. As the whip left, a spray of blood gushed out of Ramsus's side causing the man to fall to a knee clutching the wound.

Miang quickly healed Ramsus of his wounds. Ramsus quickly attacked Bart with his sword held high.

"DIE!"

"BART!!"

Ranma suddenly appeared in front of everyone holding a cloth. He threw said cloth in Ramsus's face and gave him a hard side kick to the chest that sent him sliding back towards Miang.

"You okay, Bart?"

Bart turns to him. "Glad you're here Ranma!"

"Ranma?" Ramsus mumbles.

"What's wrong, Bart? I thought this was just a simple rescue." Ranma asked with a smirk.

"Shut up! This jerk butted in and slowed me down!"

Ramsus was distracted by his thoughts for a moment but shook himself awake. He glared at Ranma.

"Enough talk! Battling will reveal the truth about you."

"Oh yeah?!" Ranma knew exactly who he was. He was the guy from Lahan that Id punted away using Weltall. As much as he wanted to fight the guy, getting Margie to safety was even more of a priority than his pride. "Can't fight me if ya can't see me!"

Ranma pulled out a cloth from his sleave and draped it over himself. Before everyone's eyes he completely disappeared.

What the... was Bart, Miang and Margie's thoughts. Ramsus looked around trying to find him.

"Where did he go?!" he shouted.

"Right here." Ramsus looked down and saw Ranma crouched in front of him, smiling. Ranma's fist slammed into the man's jaw as he rose, hard enough to send him flying up and hitting the high ceiling back first. As he felt down, Ranma hopped up and caught him with a vicious rising kick to the stomach, turning in mid-air and throwing the barely conscious man at Miang's feet using his own.

"Whoa." was all Bart could describe that attack.

"We gotta get Margie outta here." Ranma told Bart quickly, keeping a stance that told he was ready for anything. "I don't wanna permanently hurt anyone either so we gotta do alot of running."

"Permanently hurt? Look what you just did to him!" Bart pointed at Ramsus.

"That girl gots it covered." In saying that, they both watched Miang heal Ramsus's injuries using an ether spell. "See?"

"How did you know she would?" Bart asked curiously.

"I watched the whole fight. The tournament ended ten minute before you started fighting this guy."

"And you knew exactly were Margie was located?!"

"Nope. I just followed her." he jerked his thumb back at Miang, who was helping Ramsus to his feet.

"Let's get outta here!" Margie shouts. "Leave the rest to me!"

Bart stares at her. "Margie?"

Margie pulls out a canister that Ranma recondnized. His pal Buddy had several of those and he knew what they could do. Margie pulled the pin and threw it at Ramsus. It suddenly exploded and created a huge cloud of plain smoke that filled the hallway, obscuring Ramsus and Miang's vision. After around thirty-seconds, the smoke disipated leaving the room filled with rats.

"Rats?" Ramsus mumbled.

The sound of the elevator activating garners his attention. Miang and himself turn just in time to see the trio plow through a Gebler guard and take the elevator going down.

He growls to himself for some reason.

"GUARD!! Double the guards on both shifts. Don't let those rats in here again." He looks down. "And call an exterminator."


"Hey, Ranma! Do you know where this elevator goes?" Bart asked the pigtailed man. Ranma just shrugged.

"I don't know. Where does it go?"

"I'm asking you! This thing wasn't here before." He turns to Margie. "Don't worry. We'll get you back home... somehow!"

"I'm not worried." replied the girl with a smile.

"Hey Ranma, how did the Tournament go?"

"Uh, I won.. I guess.." he scratched the back of his head. He didn't want to tell Bart he won by default. That was embarrassing and a nick on his own pride.

"That's what I thought. I knew you could do it."

The elevator stops and opens up. They trio find themselves in a some metallic hallway. Ranma takes point a motions them to follow him. They traverse the hall until comming to another door. It opens and Ranma peeks out.

"C'mon."

They follow him and find themselves in some sort of battleship hangar. They then spread out and look around. Ranma happened to notice something.

"That's..."

He searched his mind and suddenly remembered where he saw it. It was the same ship the Doc and himself saw over the forest.

"... Gebler's aerial battleship!"

Margie noticed it also and something else. "Yeah, but look what's coming out of it...!"

Soldiers were running down the gangplank towards them. Most of them were armed with high-powered rifles, some holding pistols with a type of shield.

Bart spoke up. "Are you guys in a mood for another battle?"

"Bart, we better get outta here... and fast!" cried Margie.

Ranma already started without them. "Quick.. run!" Bart and Margie soon followed along with the soldiers. Gebler soldiers have a close chase but the three managed to enter a door at the opposite end of the hangar, still being pursued.

Elly's ears suddenly perk up. She was having a nice nap until the alert alarm suddenly went off. She hears an announcemant over the intercom.

There are untruders in the base! There are three intruders... presently heading... for the dock area. The two men may be killed... ... but do no harm the girl.

As the intercom annouces, Elly walks towards the door, then turns and walks over in front of a desk with some drug-using equipment on it. She pauses, then shakes her head "no", and then walks towards the door.

As Elly walks out of the door, Ranma, Bart and Margie are running down the hallway next to it. What happens next could literally be calling running into each other, as they bump heads and realize who the other is.

Ranma. "!"

Elly. "!"

"Ranma!"

"You're... Elly? What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you!" She gets wind of something. "Don't tell me you're the intruders, Ranma?"

"Huh?"

Bart doesn't like what he see's. "If she's in out way, just..." He heads towards the girl.

"Wait a second, Bart! She... Elly is not an enemy!"

Bart looks at him as if he was delusional. "Not an enemy? Are you sane? Look at her uniform! She's a Gebler officer!"

"...."

All four of them heard a door open down the hallway and the sound of soldiers enter and began walking in their direction from around the corner.

"They ran in here!" one of the soldiers shouted.

Ranma looks around for a way to get out, but Elly decides for him.

"Hurry! This way!" She runs into her room. The others follow quickly. The door closes, Ranma and Elly listen in. Everyone remains silent as they hear the soldiers footsteps going past until they fade.

"It sounds like they're gone..." Elly notes.

The two of them, Ranma and Elly, turn back from the door to Bart, who's at the rear and quite upset.

"Ranma, can you explain to me how you know a Gebler officer?"

"Well..."

Bart starts up again. "I don't know where you met her, but no matter how you look at it... she's a Gebler officer! Not an enemy? Where do you get off saying that?"

Ranma and Elly turn towards each other, making eye contant. Elly spoke first.

"Yes. Special Forces of the Sacred Empire of Solaris... Also known as Gebler. I'm Lt. Elhaym Van Houten of the Ignas Army's Third Assault Division. And... while returning from a mission to capture the newest model of Gear from a Kislev military factory... I was attacked by pursing Kislev Gears and crash-landed in your village..."

"..."

She looked down, ashamed. "I wanted to tell you, but I just couldn't bring myself to... When I heard what my crash-landing in you village had caused... I couldn't tell you..." She didn't mention that seeing him demolish a boulder four times his size almost made her wet her uniform.

"... I knew." Ranma told her.

"!? Ranma..."

"I kinda overheard ya talking with doc."

"Then way?"

"It was... all my fault. But I lashed out at you with my own feelings... I'm sorry." he said sincerly.

"No it wasn't..." Ranma waved her off.

"Just forget about it. Ya couldn't really help it.. Ya had yer own problems."

"But, Ranma... why are you with them?" she asked curiously.

"I'm workin' with Bart and his crew. We came to rescue Margie who was taking prisoner in the castle here."

"I see..." She opens the door.

Bart definately didn;t like were this was going. "Hey! Just a minute! Where do you think you're going?"

Elly turned to him with a serious look.

"You want to get out of the castle, right? In this confusion you can escape through the Gear launch door."

"Great idea!" he cheered with extra sarcasm. "But... do we really buy that? I don't think so! She talks sweet, but she's probably planning to turn us over to that old bald geezer. It's a trick, Ranma!"

"...."

Margie turns to Bart. "Wait Bart! She's not a bad person. She said she'd help us, so let's got with her plan."

Bart put his hand in his face. "You're always like this! Can't you see... she's in Gebler!? Don't be so damn trusting!"

"That's not true... is it, Elly?" Margie asked the Gebler officer. But Bart spoke again.

"Oh yeah? Look where your ability to judge characters got you...!" He turns to Ranma. "What about you? Do you believe her?"

Ranma smiles at Elly. "I made up my mind long ago."

"Ranma..."

"Gah!" Bart threw up his hands in exasperation. "First you, now her! The whole lot of you can go jump off a cliff for all I care!"

A few minutes later, after scouting the hallways, Elly quickly took Ranma and his friends to the gear docks. Standing in front of an Aveh Gear, Elly hands Ranma a piece of paper while Bart and Margie climb in.

"This is the Gear's start-up code. You can start any standard gear with this code."

"Elly?"

"This is all I can do for you. The rest is up to fate..."

Bart calls down to Ranma. "Alright! Let's go, Ranma!" He stays put. "What are you doing? Hurry up!"

"Elly! Come with us!"

"!?"

Ranma looks her in the eye. "You're not the type of person suited to a place like this!"

"Ranma..."

Bart calls to him again. "You're just wasting time talking! You're comming! We're gonna get caught!"

"Elly..."

She shakes her head.

"Thanks, but it's impossible. I'm ... a Solaris soldier... This is where I belong. I can't go with you." She salutes him and starts to walk away.

"Elly!"

She stops, looking away.

"Ranma, the next time we meet... we'll be enemies."

Ranma watched her back as she ran away. His heart felt heavy hearing those words, but in his own mind he understood what she ment. For her to leave with him would mean betraying friends and family, and also mark her as a traitor. He also knew, that by just looking in her eyes, she had a sense of honor and pride in her duty. He felt wrong for asking her to leave just for him. It was selfish of him, but at least he tried.

"Ranma! Hurry up!"

"I know!"

He simply leaped up to the cockpit of the gear, surprising the two. He handed Bart the code. He glanced at the controls. Different from Weltall's but similiar to the controls of mobile suits.

"Let's go."

The Gear starts up and steps out of the dock. Soldiers see the Gear moving and start firing upon it. The small caliber round have no effect on it as it moves about towards the gear launcher.

"This thing is armed," Bart notes. He scans around and notices something. "There! Fire at that office."

"Gotcha!"

A port opens up on the hip of the Gear and a missle shoots out. It impacts a booth high in the ceiling killing the soldiers inside. Once that was done, the Aveh Gear steps onto the launcher. It locks into place before the launcher catapults the Gear out of the bay like a plane off of an aircraft carrier.

Moments later, a host of Gebler personnel are assembled in front of Ramsus, Miang and an officer walking in. Elly is in the front row. Ramsus turns to Miang.

"Miang, get my Wyvern powered up now! I must pursue them.."

The officer chimes in as he reaches Ramsus.

"Commander!!" Ramsus turns to the man as he whispers to him. "I got a message from huy..."

"What!?" He pauses for a minute then turns back to the troops. "Stop the power up! Recall all man back to base and wait for further orders!"

Ramsus things out loud.

"... that fool. What is he doing down here now...?"

Yggdrasil, Bridge...

The trio of Ranma, Bart and the now rescued Margie rendevoued with the Yggdrasil a couple hours after the escape from Bledvadik. They now stood on the bridge of the sand cruiser, located on to of the sail, along with Sigurd and Maison by the steering wheel. Bart stood on the outer part of the bridge, looking away.

Sigurd decided to speak first and voice a question many were wondering.

"Well, Marguerite, now that we have saved you, may we ask you one thing...? Why did you go up against the enemy by yourself?"

She looked down and shuffled her feet. "Sorry... but... I heard a rumor in town that day... It was said that the Sect's sister who were captured by Aveh were still alive..."

"Obviously a groundless rumor started by the enemy to lure you out." Sigurd stated firmly.

Maison turns to Sigurd. "Please dont' be so hard on her... The Nisan Sect is Marguerite's home. It's perfectly understandable." He turns back towards Bart, who has been facing away, now facing towards Margie.

"Then... you thought you could save them alone?!" Bart practically tells startling Margie. "That was stupid!!"

Margie claps her legs together and stood firm. "I believed it! So what!? I was wrong. But.."

She turns around and looks down.

"But... grandma and mom were already executed..."

Sigurd places a supporting hand on her shoulder.

"Marguerite..."

Maison decides to point out the obvious.

"At any rate, Marigue is here unhurt. That's the main thing! Before luck runs out, let's take Marguerite to Nisan. We can talk more there. Now, I'll go prepare Marguerite's room... Miss Marguerite make I sake you to accompany me?"

She nods and follows Maison as he leave thes bridge. She pauses at the stairs when Bart yells.

"Margie!!" She turns to him.

"Next time, let us known! We'll go for you!"

She nods to him, smiling. "Yeah... I'll do that."

Once she left, Sigurd turns to Bart.

"Marguerite is straining herself. Young master, you should be kind to her."

Sigurd then heads down the hatch, Ranma and Bart soon following. As they descend the ladder, they notice the bridge is blocked by the pink plush thing Margie took from the cell.

"That Margie...!" Bart grumbles. "Leaving a strange stuffed animal in a place like this! because of this, we can't get into the bridge."

Ranma refrains from telling the guy to just move it. He wants to see what happens.

"It's not strange!"

"Hey, Ranma!! Stop the funny voices, will ya!?" The pigtailed man just shrugs.

"Huh? I didn't say anything."

"... That's weird...." Bart scratches the back of his head. "Anyway, let's ask Margie to get rid of it."

Before entering the elevator, Ranma cast a glare at the stuffed animal thing. He knew the voice came from it.

On the next floor, Ranma follows Bart to the gun room and they find Maison.

".... sob... sob... Oh to think that Marguerite has now returned.. Come to think of it, this is the second time we have had to flee from the Royal Capital. It seems an awful long time ago... That night that I took them with me to escape..." Maison reminices of that time.

Bart nods and adds on to the story. "Yeah and on top of that he was bold enough to steal this ship along the way. You know this used to be the kingdom's flagship?"

"Yes, it was all Sigurd's doing. So courageous of him. Even at such a young age. Anyway, this Yggdrasil can be considered a keepsake of the late king for the young master."

"It kinda feels like you're stuck to me for life." Bart says. "Even though you used to be my personal knight, right? Now I'm just a kid pirate!"

"But eventually you will become a proud Lord."

"But I gotta hurry up and grow up or I'll never be proud of myself. And I won't be able to win against him!"

"..."

"By the way Ol' Maison, where is Margie's room?" Bart asks.

"Oh, it is the empty room by the door to the Gear dock. Left side."

"Thanks, Maison."

Ranma followed Bart out of the gun room and down the hall towards the Gear dock. They arrived at Margie's room and knocked. She allowed them to come in.

"Hey, Margie! Get rid of that strange stuffed animal sitting in front of the bridge. It's in our way."

Not in mine, Ranma thought to himself.

"It's not a 'strange stuffed animal'! It has a name. It's name is Chu-Chu!" Margie looks around the room. "But, that's weird. It was just here, where I put it, a moment ago..."

The door suddenly opens and everyone turns toward it. The plush animal walks in by itself!!

"Nice chu meet chu!! I'm Chu-Chu!" the thought-was-a-stuff-animal stops in front of Ranma. "I fell in love with you when I first saw you in Bledavik!! Wherever you go, I shall go chu!!"

Ranma forms a sweat-drop.

Chu-Chu spins around facing away.

"Oh my... I just declared my love!!" It turns back around.

"What we thought was just a stuffed toy is actually a living animal! Weird!" Bart notes.

Margie agrees. "No wonder it felt strangely lukewarm!"

Bart then turns to Ranma. Ranma then turns to the man after a second of Bart staring at him.

"Wha, What!?"

"Looking good, Ranma!!"

Ranma puts up his dukes.

"Shut up!!"

Bart turns to Chu-Chu and squats down to her height.

"It's all right. I, as the captain, give you my permission!"

Chu-Chu jumps and squeaks.

"Yeah, yeah!"

"How about a knuck-sandwich, Fatima!?!!" Ranma growls at the pirate.

Bart was already out of the room. He then stuck his head back in.

"Ha, ha, ha! Well, I don't want to interrupt you two, so I'll wait outside!"

Ranma rubs his temples for a moment before heading out the door to give Bart a piece of his mind, or a rather thorough ass-kicking.

"Ranma?"

He turns toward Margie.

"Thank you for your help at the castle. I hear you really riled it up at the tournament. Bart was bragging how you're both buddies and all.

".. Re... really?"

She turns away.

"I'm so ashamed... I want to be of help to Bart but I ended up owning him again." She turns back to him.

"Ranma, have you seen Bart's back?" Ranma nods. "He's god scars all over his back and it looks so painful. Long ago, when the two of us got caught by Shakhan, Bart protected me from getting beaten..."

Ranma didn't say anything. He's seen worse scars on one his best friends than on Bart.

She turns away again.

"At that time, I decided to be his follower... to serve and protect him! But, he is the one who's always protecting me..."

"..."

She turns back towards him.

"Uh, oh, so sorry.." She bows to him politely. "Anyway, thanks a lot for saving me!"

Ranma bows back. "'s not a problem. I woulda done it by myself if they just asked." He exits the room and finds Bart waiting for him. He sends the man a glare.

"Hey, Ranma, I was just joking! Don't take it seriously man!" Bart waves his hands in front of him in a warding jesture.

Ranma frowns at him.

"Ya should be nicer to her, man." He yawns and stretches out. "I'mma hit the sack for now. Wake me up when it's time to eat."


End of Chapter 17

Author's Notes:

Ha! I think I didn't pretty good here myself. Like I said before, alot of the dialogue comes directly from the Xenogears story-line, so you might find similiarities between the Xenogears chapters and the game.

So far, I've covered the major parts of Xenogears like Lahan, Grahf, the caves and the tournament. For those of you who played the game, you already know what's comming up next!

A note, the technique Ranma used in the castle is the Goshin Dai Ryu Sei Fu, or body defense shooting star meteor cloth. It's a technique that Ranma used in the Manga to become invisible and dodge a Kijin Raishu Dan from Ryuu Kaimon.

Also a note on the move Wiseman used. I'm not totally sure of this, but I heard that if you punch at someone's heart that it could cause serious pain, if not death via pressure point or even breaking a rib to penetrate the heart. I made it a pressure point in the story since I'm not sure of this.
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