Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Shots in the Dark ❯ PCPIBLS 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I make no claims at ownership of any copyrighted characters, places or events used herein. The only thing I make a claim to is this fic, which originated in my head and any original characters created by me herein. The following was made for public consumption at zero profit, and is not for sale except to the owning companies. Yes, I dream big.

Phenomenal Cosmic Powers, Itty-Bitty Living Space Part One

By: (Driver) Jim Ohki

Ami Mizuno was busy. Once the fallout from their latest adventure had come and gone, the entirety of the Senshi had slunk, limped and carried unconscious friends back to the Hikawa Shrine to be patched up by her. While Hotaru was good for a quick fix, these injuries were translating over to their normal forms and there were just too many for the poor girl to handle. So while she diligently went about her task, part of her mind was locked on the waning moments of their latest fight with the forces of evil.

“Who was that young man?” she thought while untangling Moon's hair from around her throat. Another part of her massive intellect made a note that the locals were apparently very angry with their antics but then refocused on the problem at hand. “And why did he look familiar?”

There had been no warning on his appearance, nothing from her Mercury Computer to Mars' precognitive abilities to Pluto's Time Gate. From what she knew, it should have been an impossibility for anybody to be completely masked as such. But he was, creating uncertainty amongst those Senshi still in the waking world. For if he could exist outside of their sphere of influence, how many others could?

Moving over to Jupiter, she set to the task of popping her right shoulder back into its socket. Makoto was entertaining herself with a martial arts magazine, doing her best to ignore the pain a dislocated shoulder causes. Although, for some reason, she appeared to be frozen as if entranced by whatever it was that she was looking at. Glancing down, Ami nearly screamed as her own mind locked up.

The others that were moving about and aware of their surroundings, meaning those other than Pluto herself, took notice of the strangled noise that had emanated from Ami's throat and came over to investigate. Staring back at them was the cover story of the magazine, a person that they had encountered just two hours ago.

Ranma Saotome, heir to the empire that is the Anything Goes Martial Arts style. Known accomplishments include the mastering of at least seventy-nine differing Arts, the destruction of three mountains and the sinking of an island. Numerous Demon-class beings defeated, along with a Dragon-descendant, a Phoenix and two entire races of human/animal hybrids. Chair of the Nerima Wrecking Crew.

Above the description was a picture of the raven haired youth from their battle and a redheaded girl that looked like his sister. In the fine print they could make out the picture copyright belonging to Kasumi Tendo. The whole thing read like an interview of sorts, giving little information on his personal life yet delving into his Art and his drive behind it. One line stood out from the rest, one that made the Senshi sans their editor think.

“Fate? There is no fate but what we make,” he'd said when asked if he felt that everything that had transpired in his life up to that point had been preordained by some higher being.

“No . . .,” groaned out Makoto, coming to and noticing that she was now immersed in a crowd. Her worst fears were confirmed for she had thought she'd seen something about that young man somewhere before. Not only that, but she had heard the stories from the Nerima transplants now calling Minato and Juuban home. The part of her psyche that loved the Art had always wanted to meet him, to spar with him, and the libido part threw in date with him just because it could.

“Anybody but him,” despaired Minako, having dropped her transformation some time ago. She had remembered something from her travels in her youth, and now having a name to go with the face brought her experience back from the cold, dark place she'd buried it. He was the one who first got her interested in the opposite sex, before leaving her high and dry wanting more from the brief relationship they'd developed. She had felt something the day he left, like he'd stolen something of hers that could never be replaced.

“Huh?” came the ever intelligent question from Usagi while brushing her hair. The mob had done a number on her, including the uber-insult of trying to suffocate her with her own hair. All of the pertinent data was in front of her, but all that ran through her mind was that she was hungry. Her attention span was set in child mode in an effort to deal with the violence that had occurred a few hours ago.

“Whoa,” said a completely awestruck Rei as she read further into the article. The part about fate grated on her miko training, along with some of his nonchalant answers when asked about other topics beyond the Art. He either had no clue or didn't care about the future and what it may bring, leaving her and the others flustered as he portrayed himself to be a `live in the now' kind of person.

Then the biography appeared after the interview, with various people listed under various headings. His parents, more precisely his father caused an eyebrow or two to raise along with the Grandmaster of the style and Ranma's sensei Happosai. The pair were well known in many circles, for obvious reasons. His mother looked like a rube, plain and simple. Like she wasn't even there while being there.

“Ugh, what hit me?” came an untimely distraction in the form of Setsuna Meioh returning to the land of the living. Haruka snickered a few times before being elbowed in the gut by Michiru.

While the Senshi clued the recently revived Pluto in on what they had discovered, a completely different scene was taking place on the far side of Tokyo.

The now expanded group was again at the table, enjoying snacks and tea courtesy of the Kasumi's . . . Kasumi and Belldandy . . . would that be Belldandy clones? . . . anyway, the idle chatter that had sprung up amongst themselves had stopped when Ranma returned from his flight, looking a little worse for the wear. Nobody indoors had the orange shades that Urd refused to take off as she stared at the top of his head, making him wonder if his hair had gotten loose again.

“What?” he finally demanded of the tanned Norn, bringing her out of her funk. While he waited for an answer, he headed to the nearest mirror to insure that his hair was behaving itself as it should. As always, he noted, his hair was silky smooth and bushy. This changed when the shades of Urd were placed before his eyes, to which the thing on his head casually waved a leg at the mirror by way of greeting. Hearing stifled noises behind him, he turned around to see the other three `guests' donning their own glasses.

“Just what the hell is this thing?” he demanded of them while pointing at the space just above his head, causing those not in the know to topple sideways.

“Not stressed much, are you?” deadpanned Nabiki, thinking that the boy had lost it completely. Information like that could prove to be deadly for everybody involved if he had indeed lost his marbles. She did note that he was leveling a glare in her direction, one that showed his sanity was still there.

“Nope. Live my life for an hour and see how stressed you'd be, including that stunt of yours,” he replied with the half-lidded glare of sarcasm. In the process he reminded her that he hadn't forgotten about the prostitution thing and was still hot under the collar about it.

“What `stunt'?” demanded Akane, voicing the question of the moment. There were two people in the room that knew the answer to that, and they were currently engaged with trying to kill the other with death glares. The battle of wills appeared to be infinite, before Ranma let loose a smirk. When Nabiki saw it, she immediately dove for his face in an effort to keep his mouth shut.

“Nabiki here sunk to a new low,” he calmly stated, having pinned the middle sister to the floor by tripping her then standing on her back. “She made a bet, lost big time, then decided to repay that debt by selling my female side into prostitution. Oh, then she let the man die. For a lousy ten yen.”

Demon-Soun made his appearance, tongue lashing back and forth sending spit flying everywhere. A loud, metallic SHING gave notice to Nodoka's actions. The Panda-fied Genma lifted his arms upwards in preparation of releasing his vacuum blades. Cologne simply descended her walking stick to wield it as a weapon. Happosai pulled out several high yield explosives, the fuses lit. Shampoo had her bonbori out, ready to leap in on the attack. Ukyo was twirling her Baker's Peel, the edge catching the sunlight and demonstrating how sharp it was. Kodachi looked lost but decided that she had to join in by laughing manically while trying to hypnotize people with her ribbon. Akane was frozen solid.

Kasumi frowned. Deeply. RAGNAROK!

The Angels looked mad. Mad as it spitting fire and brimstone mad. World of Elegance was throttling the air with her hands in an obvious effort to not partake in that action with the one Ranma was using as a stepping stone. Holy Bell's eyes turned from their normally deep, compassionate blue to two pieces of ice, her mouth set into a tiny, straight line. Urd was as juiced up about the situation as her Angel, in a literal sense as lightning trailed up and down her arms. Skuld also produced high yield explosives, only hers used electric detonators and as such there would be no warning to when they would explode. Hild was busy fingering a pair of her hair ties, contemplating taking them off.

Belldandy frowned. Deeply. END OF DAYS!

The long forgotten System Bug that had made its home on Ranma's head decided to vacate the premises lest it got debugged. It had perched itself there when it first came to this plane of existence when he was but a child, just after the Neko-ken disaster. Not only was his head warm but the Bug's natural usage of Chaos acted like a filter of sorts, toning the mayhem the energy causes down into more manageable levels. Once the Bug left its perch did several . . . dozen . . . unexpected things happen.

The water pipes in the kitchen suddenly burst, the stove exploded, several doors fell off of their tracks, several more windows shattered for no reason, the floor under Nabiki gave out causing her to be driven into the muck below the house face first which earned another smirk form Ranma just before his pants fell down, which helped trip Kasumi as she made a break for the water shut-off as her panties fell down around her ankles. Ukyo lost her grip on her Peel, sending it careening across the room to impact and subsequently crush Happosai just before his Happo-darikens exploded ejecting him from the property. The shockwave from the explosion caused Shampoo to lose her grip on her bonbori, one sailing through and defeating the Demon-Head and the other smashing into Genma-Panda's groin. As he went down, he fumbled his `PANDA DOWN, PANDA DOWN!' sign which flew in a perfect ballistic arc to nail Cologne in the head. The result of that was the end of her attitude adjuster swinging upwards to take the sash from Nodoka's kimono before slicing her undergarments and dislodging her grip on her katana. The sword sailed through the air before Kodachi tried to snag it, but whiffed and wound up tying herself up. Akane was in motion to bash Ranma's head in when the Saotome honor blade came down through her mallet, pinning it to the floor. This stopped her upper body, causing her legs to continue on and shoot out from under her. As she went down, her left leg kicked the table, flipping it into the air where it came down on the surprised Angels, making them one with the floor. One of the lightning bolts jumped from Urd to Skuld, shorting out the electronic detonators on her Skuld Bombs causing the duo to be blown into the koi pond. As the dust settled, Hild took note that the blast had been powerful enough to dislodge her strapless dress, which due to it being parted right down the middle slid completely off of her body. Mousse had turned two-dimensional, his voice sounding like he was in a trash can while Kuno had shrunk to a height of three inches which he immediately took advantage of by walking into Akane's dress.

In Minato ward, Usagi had fumbled her brush. When she bent over to pick it up, she let one go into the sacred flame frying the eyebrows of Rei. This also acted like a propellant, launching the Senshi of the Moon into Setsuna's gut, toppling the couch over backwards. Minako and Makoto had their feet crushed by the top of the couch and the added weight of the two tangled girls. The chairs Haruka and Michiru were sitting in collapsed, smashing their faces into the table they'd been having some tea at. Ami and Hotaru found themselves drenched in said tea after it sailed through the air, the pot landing on Luna while a saucer took out Artemis.

(Insert voice from 70's Batman show) Meanwhile, back at the Tendo's . . .

Belldandy appeared to be the only survivor, laughing to the point of causing pain. This was quickly stopped as a soda can decided to develop a pin-hole, aimed directly at her mouth. The best she could do was swallow as fast as she could, instantly becoming drunk.

The Bug reattached itself to Ranma's head, and everything stopped. Wind, and the occasional roof tile falling to the ground, were the only sounds heard for a while.

“That was . . . different,” sheepishly commented Ranma after securing his pants and insuring that they wouldn't fall down again. Feeling movement underfoot, he remembered that he was standing on Nabiki's back and promptly got off of her spine. He was surprised when, as Nabiki poked her head up through the hole, her face was impacted by a pair of panties. He made a note to ask Kasumi about the `Hello Kitty' design before his mind fried from saying hello to her kitty.

Across the room, Kasumi realized that kicking the wayward garment off of her leg had been a bad idea in her dress when Ranma's eyes widened before blood erupted from his nose sending him back into the hole in the floor and on top of Nabiki.

Ryoga chose this moment to reenter the scene, fresh from his travels to faraway places. He looked like he'd been fed to a meat-grinder yet won the battle. He took note of the destruction present and came to a conclusion.

“RANMA! THIS IS ALL YOOUR FAULT!”

For once, he was right. Although not in the sense he was thinking as Kuno suddenly returned to his previous height, taking Akane's dress and panties with him. There was a muffled POP-FWUMP on the other side of the pile of moaning bodies, signaling Mousse's return to the third dimension.

“Owie,” came Ranma's voice from under the floor, which was followed by a meaty THWACK signifying a punch landing upon his face. This caused those that had some decorum of decency to eat the floor in a most painful manner.

(Primary reality)

All activity in the room came to a standstill as waves of energy that they thought they'd been rid of many millennia ago washed over those assembled. The aspects of the Almighty looked at the aspects of Hild and just knew that what they had felt wouldn't bode well for them.

Of course, the stoic Kami-sama was still stoic in the face of the latest development. He was using His terminal connection with Yggdrasil in an effort to locate the energy that could destabilize all of reality as it was known. Being stoic all of the time had its drawbacks, like the inability to improvise with vastly dynamic situations. Such as the one developing under his nose as the Debuggers were reporting that the creatures of Chaos had suddenly disappeared.

All of them, at once, into a portal of pure Chaos energy. The thought that the Bugs had been called away completely escaped His notice as He was trying to deal with the more pressing issue first. Boy, would that come back to haunt Him.

Outside of the `conference' room, another plot was developing amongst those that remembered Chaos. He was said to be the Balance, making certain that one side could not override the other. Some said that she was just the opposite of Balance, trying to corrupt reality to her whims. Old divisions were renewed, and for the first time since The Beginning Heaven fractured. Not that the forces of The Nightmare could take advantage of the situation as they had the exact same thing happening amongst their ranks.

It came as a surprise when Lind overrode the dimensional barrier protocols, proclaiming her desire to return to her mentor's side. She remembered Chaos the easiest before his sudden disappearance as she had feigned ignorance whenever the Almighty would bring the subject up to test the obedience of His followers. Those that remembered Chaos as the Balance went with her, while those that stayed behind began fighting amongst themselves.

When He locked onto the energy of His enemy, the Almighty was shocked -not that it showed through the stoic façade- to learn that the reality that housed it was the same that was unresponsive to the demand for the very meeting now on hold and the same where His Daughters and Love were. When the master alarm came to life when Lind crossed dimensions with most of the Valkyries and several dozen Gods and Goddesses, something new occurred.

The aspects were brought out of their thoughts by Mister I-Am-Stoic letting loose a strangled noise before planting His face into the floor. Every single one of them had the same thought at that.

“We're screwed.”

(Minato Ward)

“If there is a God He must be punishing us,” gravely intoned Setsuna, having returned to her civilian self. She had learned all that she could from the magazine before stepping through her custom portal to the Time Gates. What they showed her was something that was an impossibility; even to those familiar with Quantum Mechanics, Temporal Mechanics, and Sub-space Theory.

The barriers of reality were failing. The would-be Utopia of Crystal Tokyo was long gone, everything beyond tomorrow shrouded in mist and static. Since the barriers were in the process of collapsing, going back in time also became an impossibility as the lines between what has come before and what should not be blurred, confusing the Gates into displaying the here and now only.

With that new information, little as it was, she returned to the Shrine to educate the others on her findings. Stunned silence greeted her declaration that everything they'd worked for had gone up in smoke. Nothing was certain anymore in any way, shape or form. The Senshi despaired before becoming angry, their focus being said magazine and the -though edited- story of the one that was probably responsible for this mess. After transforming back into the Suited Soldiers of Love and Justice . . . seriously, what's with the Sentai vibe here? . . . the now determined group headed out for their next `mission'.

(Tendo's)

Those not in the know were brought up to speed, including Ranma after he hung Nabiki from the coat rack by her bra and informing her that she'd be dealt with later. What protests she could muster died a horrible death as Demon-Head would eat them for breakfast, before returning to the matter at hand.

Everybody present now had a pair of the Debugger Shades, letting them see the one that had claimed the top of Ranma's head for a home. They were surprised when the System Bug, a term learnt from the `guests', upped the ante on the weird factor by speaking to them.

“Greetings humans, Goddesses and Hild-sama,” it sent directly to their minds as their ears picked up nothing but a chittering sound coming from its mouth. The `voice' also `sounded' female, giving them a context to work with. “I am a Class Five System Bug, one of a handful across the multiverse. Our kind was created at The Beginning, when the Almighty and the Nightmare tried to seal Chaos with Those That Came Before, near the Alpha Prime Point of Existence. When he learned of the trap the pair had laid out for him, the entity known as Chaos unleashed his full power, thusly insuring his survival. We Bugs tap directly into his essence, the Chaos energy that no other being -those of Order- can utilize. He made certain that we are Immortal in every sense of the word, that if we get `Debugged' from Yggdrasil or Nidhogg our form would simply shift realities, giving the illusion of death. He was the Balance, the third voice over Order and Disorder that kept them in check. When he was sealed, this Balance was lost and the universe nearly tore itself apart. To correct this error, The Order and The Disorder split off every aspect of themselves that they could, creating the multiverse as its known now.”

“That's wonderful and all, but what does that have to do with me?” groused Ranma, who was having to look into a mirror to see the Bug. The history lesson he wanted to do without, instead he wanted to know what to do so that he could make a plan of attack to get it done.

“Nobody could see it before that `wackiness' as you humans call it. I had moved from my spot on your head, letting the Chaos energy within you flow freely. Where I sit, I feed to my hearts' content but also give the energy focus,” was the reply after the Bug made it a point to hit Ranma as hard as `she' could. Not that he felt it as the small creature had little physical power. “There is a legend out there, that Chaos will return one day. The Angels and Devils know this legend by heart as they are less susceptible to the machinations of The Almighty and the Nightmare. Yes Hild, that legend that you're thinking of. Your aspects and the Almighty have done their best to keep Chaos imprisoned but for one reality: this one. The aspects of you and He grew despondent about a thousand years ago when Marller succeeded in terminating Belldandy thus they restructured the Competition that had arisen to replace Chaos and turned a blind eye to this plane.”

All eyes fell on the named Goddess, taking in her reaction to learning of the end of one of her selves. When she cocked her head to the right, as if asking what it is they wanted, they turned back to the Bug. Something wasn't adding up here.

“You speak as if there are many of you,” stated Urd, her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Just how many Bugs can there be?”

Instead of answering, the Bug lifted a left leg and pointed out a window. Taking the invitation to look for what it was, everybody did so. There was a collective big-sweat at the scene that greeted them.

The Debuggers and Valkyries filled the yard of the Tendo compound, weapons and tools of choice held ready for defense. The mass of bodies was clearly overwhelmed by the mass of Bugs, stacked in formations a thousand high by ten thousand wide. The entire property was surrounded by the creatures of Chaos with no end in sight of the formations. Overhead portals would open to deposit more of the dumber Class One, Two and Three's while the less frequent Class Four's and Five's looked like platoon commanders awaiting orders. The stalemate held firm as the Bugs just sat there, watching the proceedings with interest.

“A side effect I believe of leaving my spot was summoning ALL of the Bugs from across the multiverse to this location. They felt the power that resides in you, Ranma, and have come to you,” sent the only Bug indoors, bringing many brains back online. The Rivals slowly backed away from said youth lest they draw the attention of entire armies worth of the eight legged, rabbit headed creatures. The fiancées held their ground, undecided as to which action to take. Kasumi did move closer to Ranma, coming to a halt by his side. The elders moved off to the side, waiting to see just what the boy would do now. Nabiki, still hanging from the coat rack and looking none too comfortable doing so, continued her fight against the call of nature that had been demanding an answer for half an hour.

Then the action started up again as the front gate exploded inwards, revealing the Senshi in all of their glory. Just as they were about to begin spouting off at the mouth with their Sentai speeches and ridiculous poses did another group arrive.

Instead of the midnight black portals that were still dropping Bugs by the thousands appeared one that was a soft blue. This one caused more anxiety than the others as it formed at ground level, facing the Senshi. Said fuku-clad girls, thinking this was a summons and attack of some kind, wasted little time bombarding it with their attacks.

The native Valkyries were stunned speechless as Lind appeared, followed by legions of her Valkyries and those that believed Chaos should be set free to reestablish the Balance. Mana-powered shields sprang up in an instant, blocking the incoming firepower with ease before the melee began.

Magic attacks flew back and forth as the residents watched, dumbfounded at the latest turn of events. Looking at Ranma through the Debugger Glasses revealed that the Bug was still attached to his head, also looking on with wonderment at the carnage. Then they noticed his battle aura, which had become visible and was so strong that it lifted him off of the floor. His ki was extremely dense, turning the soft semi transparent blue into a solid ice white.

Outside, the battle was deadlocked. The Senshi discovered that the shields had limits to them, but it took a lot of firepower to get through them. Just as they were about to launch a combined attack, something behind them made those between them and the house look up in fright. Turning to look, all that they saw was clear skies.

Then the Bugs faded into view, decloaking like a vessel from Star Trek.

“He is here,” calmly stated Lind to those that could hear her, even though her voice seemed amplified across the now silent battlefield. All eyes fell on the front door to the house, which opened to reveal the subject of a pair of searches.

“What do ya want?” he demanded of the group as a whole, wanting to know who stood where. He did take note that the Debuggers and native Valkyries were gone, having fled at the first signs of conflict.

Remember, this reality has been in stand-by mode for a thousand years. Confidence in one's abilities don't stay on hold while the person is engaged in other activities that don't involve combat.

“Master Chaos?” voiced Lind, before taking note of the shades that those in the house were wearing. Putting on her own pair, she saw the Class Five attached to his head that waved at her in recognition before letting a smile blossom on her face.

“Uh . . . no. Ranma Saotome,” he said, not yet understanding that reference. It was bad enough to have read it on that computer screen but to hear it out loud was just silly.

“Dead Scream,” intoned Pluto, firing off her attack while her target was distracted. He had nowhere to dodge this time, if the house and its occupants were any indication. She was surprised to see another, much stronger, mana shield appear around the entire house which let him leap out of the way of the ball of temporal flux.

Without a word, one of the formations of Bugs surged forward and smothered the Senshi, a hand or foot waving about in an effort to get free of the sudden ocean of fur and spider legs.

“Oh yeah, bad to worse,” grumbled Ranma, taking note that the Bugs reacted whenever he was in danger and perhaps on his thoughts. He'd just been thinking about crushing his opponents for threatening innocents which the Bugs took literally. Trying it out, he mentally thought of letting them up and the Bugs returned to their previous formation.

“Why are you attackin' me?” he demanded once the Senshi were uncovered, all of them looking green around the gills. His voice brought them back to the land of the living as it were, earning death glares from the nine girls.

“Crystal Tokyo . . . you . . . gone!” rambled Moon, her ire trying to shift her mode from child to adult but running into the roadblock of what appeared to be a personal army.

“The future of humanity is uncertain now, since you have somehow destroyed its' one hope,” chimed in Pluto, hoping against hope that he might take care of himself if he learned of the fate of the world being shrouded in mystery.

“And?” he deadpanned, not liking the way these girls presented themselves. They almost talked like it was fate for humanity to suffer some great calamity, with them emerging as the rulers, and he didn't like it at all.

“Don't you care?” tried Mercury, seeing where the Mistress of Time was trying to go. Although now that she was in a conversation with the youth she had to agree with some of his views. When it came down to it, just who were they to decide the fate of all?

“You question my honor?” he returned the volley, his laid back look stiffening up considerably. He did care about humanity, just not fate and those that tried to dictate it to him. That's one of the reasons behind fighting his father on the engagement mess and waging war with Akane from time to time. Nobody directed his life but him, even if he was still a bit slow on the uptake to manipulations.

“Of course we do!” nearly screamed Jupiter, knowing most of the honor code that martial artists followed. Most of, as she hadn't had time to review the basics since taking up the mantle of a Senshi. That and being led around by Pluto with her `Crystal Tokyo this and that' had left its mark.

“Ooh, bad idea,” came from inside the house yet the speaker wasn't identifiable. Not that the Senshi had time to look or demand what they had meant by it as Jupiter was suddenly on the defensive. She had little trouble keeping up with the moves but couldn't find a hole to exploit.

Ranma was mad. He emotional state translated to the visible Bugs as the entire mass quaked and shifted about violently, ready to unleash anarchy. He started out mid-range on his speed as a method of testing just how much skill was there before relying on magic to make up the difference. What he found made him frown as this one, the one whose movements spoke of training in the Art, was actually worse than Akane. That's saying something right there. Sensing that the other Senshi were about to get involved, he decided to end this farce of a battle quickly.

Those indoors watched as he taunted, dodged, and otherwise angered an already angry opponent into making mistakes, such as chasing him as he dancing circles around them. It took a full three revolutions for those watching to realize that the circle was getting smaller, and that the surroundings were getting colder. The Bugs remained in their positions, having been sent information from the one on Ranma's head that they could anchor to each other and the ground creating an immovable object.

“HIRYU SHOTEN HA!”

And there they go, again, in the vortex that Ranma created. The ki-powered tornado felt different this time, like he wasn't the cold focal point keeping it going. This turned out to be the case as he picked up a pile of loose stones, then used the Amaguriken to fire them like bullets into the crowd of nine.

Cologne had her eyes narrowed, using her ki-sight to figure out how he was powering the cold side of the Dragon Ascending Blast before nearly toppling over sideways again then cackling madly. He'd done it again, the impossible made possible.

He'd made the technique self-sustaining, using the planet itself as an anchor point. As an added bonus to utilizing the natural ki, everything that was made of or from the earth was left intact. The house, already damaged, was completely untouched by the hurricane force winds not ten feet away. The trees didn't wave a leaf, the outer wall didn't so much as move nor was the grass disturbed by the destruction. She noticed that the Ley Line he'd tapped into came directly from the Arctic, thus the planet-borne ki was cold. Very cold.

“Aren't you going to let them down?” asked Akane, her personal heroines currently being battered and beaten while he wandered inside to grab a drink. Kasumi was ready for him, handing him a tall glass of iced tea to combat the hot day. He thanked her while blushing, being reminded of the topic he needed to broach later before sauntering back outside.

“Did you ask me something?” he wondered after downing half of the tea, giving off a sigh of satisfaction. Taking note that more than a few people were looking at him funny, he sighed in frustration before absently flinging some of his ki at the base of the tornado, instantly dissipating the technique.

And allowing the nine girls, completely knocked out, to fall to the ground from five stories up. They made nice human shaped craters and tripped more than a few seismographs upon impact.

Ranma finished his tea, absently tossing the glass at Kasumi who appeared ready for it while watching the crater like a hawk. He wasn't sure if they'd get up for more and was prepared just in case. When no activity was noticed after five minutes, he edged his way closer to the craters and peered inside. The girls were neatly lined up side by side, and out cold. Their transformations dropped from lack of conscious control, revealing their identities to the world.

“Interesting,” he mumbled to nobody, being the only one looking into the craters. He almost felt bad for doing this to them, but then remembered that the tall one had dared to question his honor. And that the green haired one had endangered the house and noncombatants without a second's hesitation.

“Oh this is rich,” grumbled Urd, causing Ranma to jump as he hadn't detected her approach. She was staring especially hard at Green Hair, to the point of glaring. Taking notice of Lind, she felt a familiar vibe from the Warrior Goddess and turned to her. “You from home?”

“Yes,” she confirmed, before her face took on a serious expression. “The Almighty is in conference right now with . . . them. Heaven is split, just like at The Beginning. We,” she gestured at fifteen legions worth of Valkyries and at least two Pantheons worth of Gods and Goddesses, “felt the wave of Chaos and remembered everything. Those of us were originally opposed to his sealing, having gotten to know him but stayed out of the Conflict at his request. Those that had not been `born' yet only know of what Kami-sama has told them of Chaos and were immediate in their want to take up arms against him . . . and us.”

“Us?” wondered Belldandy, having wandered over to join in on the conversation. She noticed that Holy Bell and World of Elegance were communicating in that way only Angels can with Cool Mint and Spear Mint, occasionally pointing at Ranma. Their silent conversation was apparently loud to the other Angels as the yard became even more crowded with the winged beings as they appeared from their hosts.

“He is preparing for war,” Lind replied, taking note that the great number of Angels were beginning to orbit around the boy she'd called Master Chaos. “Before we felt the energy, after your disappearance, He had called me into His office and told me to prepare the Valkyries for a surface attack.”

“Surface . . . Earth?!” demanded a shocked Skuld, not understanding the entire situation. She felt uneasy around Ranma since it was revealed that the boy was using Chaos energy. Only one of the Incarnates could do that, and this was the first she'd met. Of course, having heard the back-story from the Bug had opened her eyes to just how low those in power could go. She'd pieced together that if the Aspects had kept Chaos contained in all realities except for this one, then the other Incarnates either never came into being or were terminated, regardless of age.

“Yes. Originally I thought it was a precaution as Marller had completed a coup by sending you here,” was the terse response from Lind, her eyes falling on Hild as she delivered the news.

“Marller is a First Generation,” calmly stated the Demon Queen, “and remembers Chaos as much as I do. She was a voice of reason after he was sealed, often keeping my head out of the clouds . . . and in a few cases out of my ass. She will probably be here soon, with the others that remember.”

“Voice of reason?” snarked Urd, giving the half-lidded glare of disbelief. Marller may have been -and still was- her friend, her oldest companion and confidante. Then a random thought processed and she pointed at herself.

“Yes, her idea. She had the thought that if there was a Hybrid, then the universe wouldn't tear itself apart,” sagely said Hild, her eyes looking upwards. “It worked for a while, but a Hybrid has nothing on Chaos, the Maintainer of the Balance. You bought us time while the universe tried to figure out what role you were to play, time to split off our aspects and create the multiverse. The moment it was created you were given a . . . no, the choice.”

Now Urd understood and had to wonder what lies she'd been fed and believed in her entire existence. He had told her that the consequence for acknowledging Hild as her mother would shift her persona to Demonic, upsetting the balance. She hadn't understood the balance part until now.

He had made a cornerstone for the universe, and would be damned in a literal sense to let it go . . . let it fall into the hands of His `enemy' as it were.

Urd made a new choice right then and there, everybody paying attention to her as tears welled up in her eyes. Even Ranma, on the verge of panic because a female was crying in his presence, was paying rapt attention and stopped fishing the unconscious Senshi out of the ground.

“Momma?”

TBC

Ooh! Evil cliffhanger! YES! All righty there folks, it seems my muse has returned in regards to this piece. Not my usual 10k word length but hey, that screamed at me as the finishing point.

Anybody catch the references in there?

Ja!

Finished in Saint George, Utah.