Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ The Forgotten Primarch of Chaos ❯ The Angel and the Phoenix ( Chapter 13 )

Ranma/Warhammer 40K/Sailor Moon/Tenchi Muyo Crossover Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, Warhammer 40K, Sailor Moon or Tenchi Muyo. Ranma 1/2 belongs to Lady Rumiko Takahashi. Warhammer 40K belongs to Games Workshop. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi. Tenchi Muyo belongs to Kajishima Masaki. This story is created solely for entertainment purposes and no profits are gained from this.

The Forgotten Primarch of Chaos

By Montymouse

' ' - Thoughts

" " - Speech

( ) - Action

Chapter Thirteen - The Angel and the Phoenix

***

"There can be no bystanders in the battle for survival. Anyone who will not fight by your side is an enemy that you must crush with no mercy."

Quote Cypher

***

Timeline: Far in the Future - 41st Millennium - Date Unknown

Location: Nemesis - Underground Space Complex

"Is it still functional, or is it a worthless piece of junk?" M'Kachan inquired.

Angron shook his head. "It's still functional, M'Kachan, but we have problems. We're still trying to work out how to activate its primary power source; the only person that knew how to activate it was…"

"Abaddon the Despoiler." M'Kachan realised what Angron was talking about.

Angron nodded. "So far we haven't located Abaddon's whereabouts yet; rumour is that Abaddon is dead."

"Somehow, I really doubt that," M'Kachan replied as he walked closer to the massive structure. "Continue the search for him, we must find him if we are going to use this…(He points to the structure)…in our plans."

"Hmm…" He scratches his chin. "I may have something that could bring him out of hiding."

"Well, what is it?" enquired M'Kachan, wondering what Angron was on about.

"Not it, but who."

"So what? Abaddon doesn't respect anyone or anything; the only person that I know of that he would come out of hiding for would be-" M'Kachan's eyes widened as he realised what Angron had meant. "NO! That's impossible! He is dead, he died at the hands of the false Emperor!"

Angron grinned as he led M'Kachan towards a set of huge double doors bearing the symbol of all four Chaos Powers and, most importantly, an ancient emblem widely renowned as the most dread icon of Chaos to the Imperium. M'Kachan recognised it instantly.

"The eye of Horus," M'Kachan whispered as Angron pushed the heavy doors back with all of his strength.

Beyond the doors was a huge, crystalline tomb set in the centre of the room. The tomb had all sorts of weird machinery surrounding it, pumping various kinds of daemonic fluids and ichor into the crystal tomb. The ancient tomb was also embedded with various symbols and icons of evil and chaos. The two Daemon Princes slowly approached the tomb. Standing at either side of the chamber were at least a dozen élite guards clad in Terminator armour, watching the two Daemon Princes with watchful eyes, weapons armed and locked.

"Is he alive?" M'Kachan asked to no one in particular.

"Not quite alive yet, but he will soon be," a deep and sinister voice answered M'Kachan's enquiry.

A disfigured, white-haired man stepped out of the shadows. He had some sort of weird contraption on his back attached to a couple of spidery metal limbs; each one was wielding various drills, needles and sharp blades. In his right hand was a dark-red, foot-long rod, which he was using as walking stick. He walked past the two Daemon Princes.

"Is he ready?" Angron asked the Primogenitor.

The Primogenitor ignored the Daemon Prince as he checked on the condition of his patient by bringing up a computer screen showing his status and vital signs.

"Well?" Angron asked again.

The old man glanced over his shoulder, seemingly unaffected by the angry expression on Angron's face.

"Patience, Angron. Reviving the dead is a difficult and arduous procedure and needs my full and complete concentration to make sure nothing goes wrong." He then injected a huge needle gun containing a vial of purple coloured liquid into the tomb.

"Now go! I have work to do!" the man exclaimed to the two Daemon Princes. Angron was about to beat the living hell out of the old man for his outburst, but was stopped by M'Kachan who was shaking his head.

"Leave him be, we have other work with which to concern ourselves."

Angron glared at the Primogenitor with hatred and rage before he turned to face M'Kachan.

"Very well." Angron followed M'Kachan out of the chamber, leaving the man to continue conducting his work of the last one hundred years. Once the doors were closed, M'Kachan stopped and turned around to face Angron who was busy securing the door.

"Angron, I have a special mission I want you to arrange."

"What sort of mission?" Angron asked, wondering what M'Kachan was planning.

"I want you to hand select the best and blood-thirstiest warriors you can find and to go to Nerima and cleanse every single inhabitant and creature in the area. Do you think you can handle that?"

"It shall be done in the name of Khorne, and I know just the man to lead the war party."

"Whom do you suggest?" inquired M'Kachan.

"The most deadly and dedicated (but most insane) of all my Berzerkers; the mightiest exalted champion of butchery and mayhem; it can only be Kharn the Betrayer!" bellowed Angron as his laughter echoed around the underground cavern.

"Hmm… I have heard he has a habit of turning on his fellow men as his name suggests; wouldn't that be counterproductive to our cause?" enquired M'Kachan.

"I don't think it will be a problem as long as he has enough targets to kill. It won't be a major problem to our cause as long as my men stay away from him-say, at least twenty paces behind him," replied Angron. "As long as the blood flows for Khorne, I will be satisfied with his performance; when shall we be arriving in Nerima?" Angron asked.

"My master Tzeentch has promised that he will be opening a temporary warp rift in the stream to allow a small force of your best warriors into the universe as his power is very limited in that dimension. I shall give you the go-ahead as soon as N'Kari returns from his mission."

"So where is that jewelled freak, N'Kari?" Angron asked.

"He is currently in Nerima, under the strict instructions to keep a low profile. We do not want to attract the attentions of Ranma Saotome as it will put out future plans into jeopardy."

Angron nodded. "What is this plan you are talking about?"

M'Kachan smirked as he wagged his forefinger in front of Khorne's Prince. "That's is a secret."

Angron facefaulted and groaned. 'I knew it: he's been taking lessons from Xelloss!'

***

Somewhere near in the immaterial space of Chaos

Xelloss Metallium suddenly felt a twitch shoot up his spine as he felt someone using his infamous catchphrase.

"Something wrong, Xelloss?"

Xelloss looked up and shook his head. "Oh, it's nothing serious; it's just that every once in a while I always get this annoying twitch."

"I see. Well, it's good to see again, old friend."

"Likewise, Tzeentch, it's always good to see a fellow evil sorcerer and Dark God. So what are you doing right now, may I ask?"

"Oh, nothing much. Currently I'm trying to claim another world for myself outside my dimension; you know something new and interesting to do. How about you?" Tzeentch asked the Mazoku.

"Business is low right now. We have the resources, evil towers with all the mod cons, enough henchmen to work for us but there are not enough evil Lords or Sorcerers to fill in the positions required. It appears there are too many wannabe superheroes out there, and not enough evil guys. Do you understand what I am saying?" Xelloss said as Tzeentch had a thoughtful look on his ever-changing face.

"I understand your position," replied Tzeentch. "How about you work for me? I'll make it worth your while as I am always out looking for new talent and potential; so what do you think?" the Dark God suggested, trying to tempt the Mazoku into working for him.

"Hmm… interesting proposal, but no thanks. My loyalties go to Zelas Metallium only. Maybe business will pick up later on; besides, I like to be independent and free to do anything I like," Xelloss politely refused.

"Shame, you would've made a fine agent and a powerful sorcerer within my ranks." Tzeentch sighed, "But I respect your wishes and commitment. Please keep in mind that my generous offer is still open to you if you change your mind."

"I doubt that, but I will keep that in mind. I have to go now; you know, people to annoy, mislead and manipulate," Xelloss said as he disappeared into thin air.

Xelloss then reappeared momentarily before vanishing again. "Oh, I forgot to tell you: Zelas Metallium sends her love. Don't know if that a good thing or not."

Tzeentch stared at the spot where Xelloss had disappeared for a few moments; he would've sported a huge sweatdrop in his humanoid form. He then turned his attention to his jewelled desk, at the centre of which was a small, black book. He knew that he was supposed to open a temporary warp rift in the space-time continuum, but it was days before he had to do it.

Turning a couple of pages of his black book, he instantly willed a mobile phone in front of him and pressed a series of numbers. He then tapped his long nails on the table as he waited for the damn mobile to connect. He made a mental note that the first people to be enslaved should be the ones who had made this mobile phone.

"Is this Mara, First Class Demon, Limited?" Tzeentch said as the phone successfully connected at last.

[Who is this and who gave you this number?] An angry voice was heard at the end of the line.

"You gave me this number, remember?"

[Oh, your voice sounds familiar; so who are you?] Her tone of voice instantly calmed and became more feminine.

"It's me… you know, the Dark God of Chaos, Changers of Ways, Master of Fortune, Great Conspirator and the Architect of Fate."

[Nope, none of those fancy names ring a bell. So who are you?] teased Mara as she tried to make him say a certain word to her.

Tzeentch sighed and looked around the room before whispering down the phone, "It's Tzee-chan!"

Tzeentch could hear the sound of muffled giggling on the line.

[It's good to hear from you, Tzee-chan. Its been a long time since I seen you, so what do you want?] Mara spoke.

"I was wondering if you would like to come to my place and, you know, get together like the old times?" Tzeentch suggested to Mara.

[It's been quite a while hasn't it? Hmm… well I was planning to drive a serious wedge in the relationship between a goody Goddess and a pathetic wimp mortal.]

"Need any help?" Tzeentch was always interested in manipulating people in breaking up their relationships and feasting on the sorrows and pain of their break-ups.

[Nope; and besides, I could always do that another day. Sure, I'll be there. What time should I arrive?]

"About seven in the evening. You know the way to my place, don't you?"

[Sure I do! Make sure you are ready, okay.] Mara hung up the phone.

Tzeentch smirked and started to think about what form he should take.

'Hmm… should I take my all-powerful and all-knowing Demon form? Or should I take the wise, sinister and mysterious appearance?' Tzeentch thought carefully.

***

Timeline: 20th Century. Date - Saturday 26th 1998

Location: Masaki Home

Over the last few days Ranma had eventually been persuaded to stay awhile longer at the Masaki home as a guest by Tenchi and Sasami. Tenchi wanted to catch up on old times, just like the last time Ranma had visited, while Sasami liked having Ranma around and felt she owed him a debt for saving her from the those Flesh hounds a few days ago. Sasami was beginning to like Ranma a lot, and she soon started to call him 'big brother,' which Ranma didn't object to; quite the opposite, as he liked having a little sister to care for.

They were soon introduced to Washu who tried to perform various tests on Ranma when he accidentally stumbled into her lab looking for his shoe. Luckily, Cypher managed to find him before she did anything weird to him, although the nurse's uniform and large needle that she had were a little disturbing; he wondered what she would have done if he hadn't been rescued. It took the combined efforts of Tenchi and Ranma to calm down Cypher and keep him from blowing up the entire house as they tried to clear up the misunderstanding between him and Washu. In the end, Cypher apologised, albeit grudgingly.

Ranma's curse was soon revealed when Tenchi accidentally stumbled into the bathroom and… let's just say it took the combined efforts of Katsuhito, Cypher and Washu to hold back Ayeka and Ryoko from annihilating Ranma from the face of the earth as he tried to explain his curse. Ayeka and Ryoko thought that the red-haired girl was trying to seduce Tenchi in the bathroom. They eventually calmed down and another misunderstanding was cleared up.

Eventually the truth came out about what had happened when Sasami decided to be honest and come clean after Tenchi found some dried bloodstains on her clothing when it was his turn to do the laundry. When she mentioned how Ranma and Cypher had saved her. Everyone was eternally grateful, especially Ayeka, who wouldn't have known what to do if anything, was to happen to her sister. It was Katsuhito who eventually told Ranma and Cypher that they were aliens to this world where Tenchi was heir to Jurai Empire and that Ayeka and Sasami were Princesses of Jurai.

Tenchi was nervous at how Ranma would react to the news, expecting them to run away or have nothing to do with them. Ranma's response was quite the opposite: he was actually glad that his best friend was not normal, and started to tell him he was in a similar situation…

Earlier in the day

The family and houseguests were in the living room as they were having their lunch, which Sasami had prepared with Ranma's help. Everyone was around the table apart from Cypher who was sitting outside on the porch. He seemed to be on the lookout for something.

"So, Ranma, what did you mean when you said you were in the same boat as me?" asked a confused Tenchi.

"Yes, Ranma, we would like to know how," Katsuhito added.

Ryoko, Ayeka, Sasami and Ry-Ohki were thinking the same, having finished telling Ranma and Cypher the truth about themselves. Washu had a vague idea what Ranma meant but wasn't 100% sure.

"Well, you see… err…" he starts to play with his pigtail; "…you know… err," Ranma said as he tried to think of a way of explaining.

"Ranma is a Primarch," Cypher said from the porch.

Ranma glared at Cypher for saying it so bluntly; but at least the truth was out.

"A Primate, well that makes some sense," Ryoko said.

"He said that Ranma is a Primarch, didn't you hear, you uneducated fool!" Ayeka corrected her. Ryoko was about to reply back when…

"Ha, I knew it!" Washu shouted.

"What did you find out, Washu?" asked Tenchi, wondering if she knew something new that they didn't.

"Ranma isn't human, he's like the rest of us. Biological scans show that his genetic blueprint is different from a normal human's on a genetic level."

Everyone was shocked at Washu's discovery and started to stare at Ranma, expecting answers. Ranma was getting a bit nervous at the attention he was receiving.

"Technically speaking Ranma is human, but on a higher genetic level; and so am I," Cypher said, trying to clear things up.

Washu nodded as Cypher confirmed her reading.

"What do you mean?" asked Sasami as she tugged on Cypher's robe, wondering what to make of this.

Cypher looked over to where Ranma was sitting and received a nod from him that he should continue. He pointed at Ranma.

"Ranma is the genetic son to the Emperor of Mankind and the last surviving Primarch. He is a thousand times stronger-both mentally and physically-than any mortal."

Cypher noticed that Washu was furiously typing on her computer while everyone else was looking towards Ranma again.

"Are you the same as Ranma?" Katsuhito asked him. It seemed to be that Cypher knew more than he was letting on.

Cypher shook his head.

"My genetic level is similar to Ranma, but is on a quite different level in terms of power and strength. I was created during the dark founding as a genetically enhanced super warrior. My purpose is to serve my Lord-" he again pointed to Ranma; "-and only him," Cypher explained.

'I knew there was something special about that boy; I could feel it in the way he moves and acts. Thank goodness the boy didn't take the same route as Genma, otherwise he could potentially rule the entire world,' Katsuhito thought.

"Wait a minute, there are no records that there was a supreme ruler of this Earth. If there was an Emperor, how come this world is still isolated from the rest of the universe?" Washu said.

"That's because me and Ranma are from another dimension. Ranma was meant to be the twenty-first Primarch in the Emperor's great crusade, but somehow the fate of Chaos decided to get rid of Ranma at birth; but it failed to destroy him," Cypher said.

'Poor Ranma, he's had such a hard time,' Ayeka and Sasami thought at the same time.

Tenchi felt sorry for his friend's hard life, but he couldn't do anything to change that. Well, Washu might, but only with Ranma's permission.

"So what happened after that?" asked Tenchi, interested in Ranma's past.

Cypher looked towards Ranma to see if it was okay to tell them the whole truth. Ranma thought about it for a few moments and nodded again.

"According to what Ranma and the spirit of the Emperor have told me, he was transported through an inter-dimensional warp stream to this dimension. The Emperor managed to save the infant Ranma by a last-ditch attempt, using his psychic powers to shield Ranma from the dangers of the warp. But couldn't make him return. The infant somehow managed to arrive on this planet and was found by Nodoka Saotome, who then raised him as her own child. The rest of it you should know."

Everyone nodded in acknowledgement.

Later that Day

After the meal, Ranma decided to go up on the roof as he had something on his mind that needed clearing up. Lying on his back, Ranma just watched the cloudy sky, wondering what to do. Moments later, he heard someone trying to get onto the roof just behind him.

Looking around the rooftop area, he saw a ladder and a distinct blue hairstyle poking out that he could recognise anywhere. Seeing that she might need help, Ranma walked over to the edge of the roof and looked down to see Sasami carrying Ry-Ohki on her shoulders trying to climb up the ladder.

"Here, let me help you," Ranma said as he reached his hand out to stabilise her on the ladder.

Sasami looked up and smiled as Ranma helped pull her up onto the roof.

"What are you doing, Sasami? Don't you know it's dangerous on the roof?" Ranma said, trying to angry at her for being foolish, but failing; he didn't have the heart to do it.

"I'm sorry, I just needed someone to talk to," Sasami said honesty.

"Miya," Ry-Ohki said.

"Alright, but sit there." Ranma pointed. "What about the about the others, can't you talk to them?" Ranma said as he sat down on the roof while keeping an eye on her.

Sasami sat down where Ranma had pointed.

"Tenchi is with his grandpa doing some of his chores at the temple while Ayeka and Ryoko are auguring over Tenchi again for some reason. Washu is in her lab with a huge 'Do not disturb!' sign on the door; I think it has something to do with you." Ranma's left eye started to twitch. "Everyone I know is somewhere else." Ranma nodded. "So do you mind if I stay here with you?" Sasami asked nicely.

"Of course not. I was getting a bit lonely and bored sitting on the roof by myself. Be careful where you move, I don't want you to hurt yourself. It can be dangerous," Ranma warned.

Sasami smiled and nodded. "So, Ranma, how did you get on the roof? I didn't see any ladders around."

"Oh… I simply jumped on the roof, that's all," Ranma replied as he continued to watch the landscape in front of him. He could see Cypher sitting on the steps of the temple, checking his weapons and equipment.

"Really? How?" she said with keen interest.

"Miya?"

"Years of martial arts training and hard work, that's all," Ranma replied.

Sasami nodded. "Ranma, what are you doing up on the roof?"

"I just needed some peace and quiet; you know, to clear my head when times become hectic," Ranma replied. " Sasami, may I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead, Ranma," Sasami smiled.

"What's the deal between Ayeka and Ryoko? What do they argue about all the time?"

"Ayeka and Ryoko are both in love with Tenchi and are at odds trying to get his affection and love which is now at a stalemate between them."

"Sounds familiar," Ranma said.

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously.

Ranma looked at her and smiled. "Why it's like this: a while back Genma arranged…"

Ranma started to explain his fiancée situation and the trouble that Genma has gotten him into over the past years. After he had finished explaining his situation, he noticed he had Sasami and Ry-Ohki's full attention. They were listening to Ranma's every word with keen interest.

"Ranma, do really want to marry any of your fiancées?" Sasami asked.

Ranma sighed. "To be honest, not really. I'd rather choose who I want to marry by my own free will, but you are too young to understand my situation."

"Try me." Sasami smiled brightly with her eyes shining.

Ranma looked at Sasami for a few moments. "Oh, why not?" He gave in as he made a mental note not to give in so easily to that look in future.

"Hmm… where should I start?" Ranma scratched his head.

"How about we start with Akane Tendo?"

"What I can I say about Akane? She's cute and nice sometimes, but that's all I can say about her. She can't cook, can't swim and she's pretty low in the martial arts scale. Marry her… well I can't see myself going through with the arranged engagement. Although I'm not even a Saotome, I can see those two idiots Genma and Soun finding a way round it. The one thing that really bugs me is that it seems that every single Prince or bad guy wants to kidnap only her."

"How about the other two, Ukyou and Shampoo?"

"Shampoo: if she acted independently rather than following her Amazon laws then she'd probably be in the running. I can't see myself being downgraded in their society; I'd rather be independent and free to do what I like. Ukyou: well, she's nice and a close friend, but that's it. Although I probably won't marry her, I do have a promise to keep with her from when we were young."

"So what did promise her, Ranma?"

"That I cannot say as it's between me and Ukyou."

"Oh." Sasami nodded, not wanting to pressure Ranma into telling her.

"So you see, due to Genma's actions, I'm stuck in a tricky situation." Ranma sighed again. "Heh, I'll bet this is confusing, isn't it?" Ranma then looked towards the horizon.

Normally Ranma wouldn't reveal that much information about himself, but for some reason he felt she could be trusted with his secrets. Over the years, Ranma had learnt that showing emotions and feeling could be manipulated and could be turned against him like an invisible weapon, which he had no defence against. This was one of the reasons why he always put on his act in front of everyone in Nerima- especially with Nabiki. That was the last time he was going to trust her with his emotion as she'd played him for a complete fool during the incident when he was Nabiki's fiancé. The only person he could partially trust was his childhood friend Ukyo, but he couldn't tell her the truth due to the fact that if ever they found out how good Ranma was, there would be hell to pay from his rivals and enemies.

"I understand what you are going through, Ranma-san," Sasami whispered.

"Huh? Did you anything, Sasami?"

"Nothing, Ranma," Sasami said innocently.

In return, Sasami happily talked about how she grew up as a Princess and found it to be lonely as she had few friends to talk to when she was on Jurai. Her only companion on this planet was Ry-Ohki as Ayeka was off constantly trying to get Tenchi's attention from Ryoko. They were so involved in their conversation that they didn't notice the time until it was almost dark.

"Hey, Sasami, I think we should be getting inside. It's getting dark now and cold," Ranma suggested.

Sasami nodded and was about to climb down the ladder when Ranma stopped her.

"Here, I know a better way of getting down." Ranma smirked as he noticed her confused look.

"Do you trust me?" Ranma asked.

Sasami nodded slowly as she allowed Ranma to pick her up. She realised that Ranma hadn't noticed the way he was holding her in a 'damsel in distress' style, but didn't say anything.

"Ready?" Ranma asked as he moved closer to the edge of the roof. Ry-Ohki quickly climbed on his shoulder.

Sasami nodded again while Ry-Ohki meowed.

Ranma then jumped off the roof. Sasami quickly clutched Ranma's shirt tightly, half-expecting him to crash badly on the ground. It only took a second for Ranma to land and he noticed that Sasami had her eyes closed and a firm grip on his shirt.

"Sasami, you can open your eyes now, we're on the ground," Ranma whispered to her.

Opening her large, red eyes, Sasami noticed that she was indeed on the ground and noticed that Ranma was still in one piece- which surprised her. Ranma then placed her on the ground while letting Ry-Ohki get off his shoulder.

"Thank you for getting me down so quickly," she thanked him.

"No problem. You should go to bed now," Ranma suggested.

"Okay. Goodnight, Oniichan." She quickly kissed Ranma on the cheek and ran back into her bedroom.

"Goodnight, Hime-chan," Ranma whispered quietly.

He then walked back to his room, which was further down the hall. Everyone else was currently asleep, so Ranma had to be extra careful not to make any noise as he moved through the house.

He didn't notice Sasami quietly stepping out of her bedroom, watching Ranma down the corridor. Her expression changed quite dramatically from childish features into a somewhat more mature and older one.

'You are indeed very special, Ranma Saotome, and you have a great destiny… I'm starting to feel that I can Lo… No, it's too early for that; but with time it might become…" Sasami whispered.

The tone of voice in which she spoke wasn't her own; it was like an older version of her. Soon afterwards she reverted back to normal self and quietly shut the door to prevent Ranma from hearing her.

Ranma stopped just in front of his room, sensing he wasn't alone.

"Cypher, I know you are there so stop hiding in shadows, okay," Ranma said without turning around. He knew Cypher's aura signature.

A figure stepped out of the shadow. 'Damn, he's good at this! Not many can detect me in the shadow," Cypher thought.

"Sorry, Ranma; old habits die hard. I see you've taken an interest in the Jurain Princess? A bit young for you to date, don't you think? Although it's quite common on most planets I have been to," Cypher teased.

He wasn't really bothered with Ranma being with Sasami as she was nice to him when they first arrived especially to his Lord despite her being three years younger than Ranma. Her sister, Ayeka on the other hand was beginning to annoy him with her royal attitude. Ryoko, he could get along with very well with her carefree nature and attitude, often hanging with her but always kept an eye out on Ranma.

"Cypher, just shut up, will you? It really doesn't suit you," Ranma said as he opened the door and walked into his bedroom.

Cypher stood there for a moment. 'I wonder what's bugging him?' he thought.

"Ah well, it's none of my business," Cypher said as he walked outside, noticing the two Guardian logs near the entrance of the Masaki Household.

"Always keep your clothes and your weapons where you can find them in the dark," Cypher found himself muttering and looked around before finding a place to sit.

Sitting on the outside porch, Cypher redrew his plasma and bolt pistols from his robes and laid them beside him with a couple of clips and began his sentry duty, keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings.

"Hmm…" Cypher has a thoughtful expression on his face and looked up at the beautiful lit moon that orbits the Earth, untouched by the Adeptus Mechanicus. Cypher faintly smiled and placed a small cube on the table, which began to replay the information gathered over the few days since he found Ranma.

"M'Kachan, I know you are up to something."

He stayed alert all night long.

***

Location: Unknown

Still travelling through the harsh warp stream was the capital super fortress monastery of the highly secretive organisation often referred as the Legion of the Damned as they continued towards their destination-Earth. Currently in the Command Bridge of the monastery was a living legend of the Imperium. Around the bridge were a whole host of servitors and navigators, rushing about frantically to ensure that the ship was heading in the right direction and that all systems were running at full efficiency.

Standing tall and proud in the middle of the bridge was a heavily armoured Lord overseeing that everything was running smoothly. He had a feral-like facial appearance and unusually long canine teeth. Adorned across his greyish-blue armour were various icons and artefacts, but the most noticeable piece was an extremely large pelt of a Wulfen. It looked like it weighted a ton, but the individual didn't seem to be bothered by the weight he was carrying as he walked along the Command Bridge. Always by his side was his trusted advisor and Wolf priest, Zhao the Destroyer.

Entering the Command Bridge was a man who wore a white, regal robe instead of his normal battle armour. There was the emblem of the lightning bolt imprinted on his cloak and large shoulder pads. His hair was styled in a Mohawk fashion and tribal markings across his face indicated his authority and rank among his fellow kinsmen. Around his waist was his personal ritual duelling Tulwar combat knife and his master-crafted powersword. Following him was two of his own personal elite guard, each carrying a three-foot long force pike and bolt pistols around their waist. He spotted the man he was looking for standing on the bridge.

"Brother Leman Russ, may I have a word with you?" he asked, walking toward him.

Leman Russ glanced over his shoulder to see who had called his name before turning around to face his brother.

"Of course, Brother Jaghatai Khan. What seems to be bothering you?"

"Alone," Khan replied.

Leman Russ nodded as he picked up a sense of urgency and importance in his tone. He then indicated to Zhao to take charge of the bridge while he led the Primarch of the White Scars towards a private chamber.

"Follow me." Khan nodded slightly as his guards moved to follow him.

Leman Russ walked down from the Command Bridge towards a side chamber and dialled his personal code into the control panel. The three-inch thick adamantium doors slowly opened, allowing the Wolf Primarch to enter. Khan followed him, but indicated to his guards to wait outside while he talked to his brother Primarch.

The chamber was adorned with various pelts and furs from his homeworld of Fenris, and on the far side of the room was a large weapon rack consisting of a range of weapons from a simple axe to energy force weapons. On the other side of Leman Russ' personal chamber was a picture of Magus the Red with a couple of knives and bolts imbedded into the picture. Khan smirked as he realised that he still held a grudge against their Primarch and the Thousand Sons Legion. Leman Russ walked over to his drinks cabinet and took out a large bottle and two glasses.

Khan looked around. "Feeling a little homesick?" he enquired as Leman Russ walked back and poured out the bottle's contents into the two glasses.

Russ shugged as he picked up a glass. "A little, but there are other issues that concern me right now. Drink?" Khan nodded and accepted Russ' hospitality.

Russ gulped the drink down in one. "That's hit the spot!" He then poured himself another. "Now, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"You have heard that our brother Sanguinius has taken his men and his personal starship from the hanger bay?"

Russ nodded. "Yeah, I heard. He wouldn't leave the monastery unless it was important; you know he has the power of foresight like the rumours say."

"My thoughts exactly." Khan took a sip of his drink before coughing violently.

Russ grinned, his sharp canine teeth showing. "Ah, it seems you're having problems with my own special brew?"

Khan glared at him before downing the whole drink. "It's been a while since I had a good drink. You should've made it more potent; this is weak man drink." Khan smirked.

Russ' grin was wiped off his face. "How about another drink, something stronger?"

"Maybe later," Khan answered. "What do you think about this missing Primarch?"

Russ placed his glass down on the table before sitting down. Khan noticed that he had a serious and thoughtful expression on his face as he tapped his finger on the armrest.

"To be honest, I don't really know what to think about this Primarch. I think this is the reason why brother Sanguinius decided to go by himself, we have such little information about him." Khan nodded in acknowledgement as he pulled up seat. "We know that he could potentially be as strong and powerful as any one of us. It just depends on what type of life he has been bought up in that could determine if he has joined the path of the Emperor or of Evil."

"I know what you are getting at: we must remain cautious of this new Primarch; remember Horus, like a wolf in sheep's clothing."

"Horus, that traitor!" Russ bitterly said as an angry red battle aura appeared around him.

"Calm down! Horus is dead." Russ' aura died down as he looked towards a huge portrait of him and Bjorn with a couple of dead Fenris wolves by their feet after a successful hunt.

"Russ, I was wondering why you joined us in this special crusade while you could have been with your own chapter like Roboute Guilliman. I sense you have a strong bond with your men, and don't tell me it's only because of your loyalties and wishes with the Emperor. I know how you think and fight so tell me the truth. We've been friends and battle-brothers for countless centuries," Khan enquired as he saw the expression on his face.

Russ stared at the portrait and sighed deeply before turning his attention towards his old friend and battle-brother.

"Remember the time when you and I fought against the Chaos incursion of the Thousand Sons and the Iron Warriors legion on Sirus V?" Russ said, trying to jog Khan's memory.

Khan thought about it for a moment. "Ah, yes, I remember now. For some reason you were more battle enraged and brutal against them than usual. You ordered those traitors be entirely wiped from the face of the planet, but you didn't order the planet to be exterminated as protocol says."

"Yes, there was a important reason that I had just recently found out from our imperial database."

Khan raised an eyebrow in interest. "So what is it that you found that would make you leave your legion with us?" Khan decided to pour himself another drink as he was feeling a little thirsty and was about to take a sip.

"I have a son," Russ answered. Khan spat out his drink in shock and astonishment.

"You are joking, aren't you?" Khan asked, placing his glass on the table. The look on the Wolf Primarch's face told him otherwise. "Are you sure about this? You know that information can be mis-read and misinterpreted."

"Yes, I am sure that he is my son as records show that a young child matching my genetic level was found with black hair and unusual canine teeth in the aftermath. My mate defended my child from the assault of the Thousand Sons."

"Wait a minute, when did you have the chance to find a mate during the Great Crusade? I thought you're one of those types of men that aren't interested in a romantic relationship?" Khan asked his brother Primarch.

"Well, I didn't expect it to happen, but when I visited Sirus V I met someone who was as tough and stubborn as me, but still retained her beauty and femininity, which soon won her my heart." Khan tried to picture what type of woman he would fall for, but all that he could come up with was a huge, muscular were-creature until Russ gave him a small hologram of her.

"But my relationship had to remain a secret in order to protect her; but I think that the Emperor knew about it. When I heard that the Thousand Sons had invaded Sirus V, I just went ballistic and sought to find her before it was too late." Russ sighed deeply as he stared into his drink. "She died protecting him, but not before taking out a whole squad of those traitors. My child was about to return to Fenris to me, but was lost during a standard warp jump-until now, that is."

Russ and Khan remained silent for a few moments. "So what does this have to do with you accompanying us to this dimension?"

Russ gave his older brother a little piece of paper that had been given to him by the Emperor before he lapsed into silence on the Golden Throne with the strict instruction not to open it until he was released from stasis. Russ had thought it was some sort of order or map and hadn't thought twice about it. For some reason, the Emperor kept hinting that he should go with Sanguinius and Jaghatai Khan. Curiosity soon got the better of the Wolf Primarch and he read the message that the Emperor had given him, the contents of which simply stated that his son was alive, but they didn't indicate his son's whereabouts.

Khan quickly read the message. "Hmm… what makes you think that your son is alive where we are going?"

Russ shrugged. "It's just a gut feeling."

Khan stared at his battle-brother. "Your gut feeling better be right."

Russ grinned. "Trust me, I know when my senses are right; and right now they're going into overdrive."

"How long till we reach our destination?" Khan inquired.

"According to our computer, roughly about two months warp travel unless we can find a warp gate or something," Russ answered as he rose from where he was sitting. "Anything else you want to discuss?"

Khan shook his head before getting up from where he sitting and joining his brother Primarch onto the Command Bridge.

***

Location: Early morning outside the Masaki home

Ranma was teaching Cypher martial arts as Cypher had very little experience in unarmed combat, mainly relying on his weapons and his phase sword, both of which he was rather skilled in. Sometimes Cypher relied on his weapons a bit too much, and as someone had once told Ranma, it's better to have a backup plan just in case something goes wrong. So far, Cypher was picking up martial arts at an incredible rate due to his enhanced abilities. Ranma was teaching him everything he knew about martial arts except how to perform the Chi and Ki moves as he didn't think Cypher was ready for that.

On the sidelines were Sasami, Tenchi, Ayeka, Ryoko and Ry-Ohki watching Ranma and Cypher sparring. They were very impressed- especially Sasami-at the way Ranma kept dodging Cypher's attacks like a fish in water, despite the training that Cypher had had from Ranma.

Katsuhito and Washu were watching from the house with keen interest. Katsuhito whispered something in Washu's ear before walking toward the gang, arriving just in time to see Ranma catch Cypher off guard with a high kick to the head followed by a quick leg sweep. Ranma offered his hand and helped Cypher get up from the floor.

"Ranma, you seem to be very good at what you know," Katsuhito commented.

"I'm the best Martial Artist in my generation. I've been doing it all my life," Ranma said confidently.

"I believe that, but how good are you with the sword?" inquired Katsuhito, wondering if this Ranma was as good at swordsmanship as he was with martial arts abilities.

"I'm fairly good with the sword. Why do you ask?" Ranma asked.

"Why don't you and my grandson have a simple sparring match? I want to see how good you two are," Katsuhito suggested.

"Sure, why not?" Ranma said.

'Besides, I really need the practice if I'm going to fight forces of the Dark Gods,' thought Ranma.

"Good," replied Katsuhito. He turned to face Tenchi who was sitting next to Ayeka.

'Let's see how good you really are, Ranma,' thought Katsuhito (aka Yosho), suspecting that Ranma was holding back his true skill and power, especially with that blade that Ranma carried with him.

According to Washu's latest energy readings on Ranma, she found that if he was to go all-out against Tenchi in a real duel, the probability of him winning was very likely even with the Light Hawk aiding Tenchi. She still had no clue what a Primarch was, but according to what Cypher had said, it seemed to be a higher level of mortal beings that retained some sort of godlike powers, but which were unrefined and unfocused. Also, she discovered that Ranma possessed some sort of psychic talent; it looked to be in its raw form, but was kept strictly under control.

This brought up a lot of questions, and Washu set out to solve them-as she always relished a challenge. She was still unsure how Ranma was able to understand Ry-Ohki perfectly, but there was one thing that Washu was 100% sure of: Ranma and Cypher were definitely not your average human beings but something more. The only person she had told this to was Katsuhito, who told her not to tell anyone yet and to keep doing her research on those two.

"Tenchi, can you come here please?"

"What is it, grandpa?" Tenchi said as he walked over to where Ranma and Katsuhito were standing.

Cypher sat next Sasami who handed him a drink. Cypher smiled, something he didn't do often considering the life he'd had.

"Okay, grandpa. Don't you think it's a little unfair to fight him?" He said that he's only fairly good with the sword," Tenchi asked.

He knew that Ranma could beat him hands down in martial arts, but wasn't sure how good his friend was in swordsmanship. Seeing that he had a good chance at beating his friend, he smirked confidently; he had fought and defeated many difficult and tough opponents in the past.

"We'll see, Tenchi. Now go get your weapon and begin the sparring match."

'Tenchi, you are far too overconfident in your abilities. Perhaps Ranma will show you a thing or two. It's about time you are bought down a peg or two,' Katsuhito thought. Tenchi was beginning to feel overconfident after a couple of victories and needed to be bought back to reality.

Tenchi was about to go and get his wooden Kendo stick from the sideline when Katsuhito stopped him. Wondering what grandpa wanted, he turned around.

"What is it, Granddad?" asked Tenchi.

"Tenchi, I don't want you using your Kendo stick, I want you to use your Tenchiken and your full powers against him," Katsuhito said in a calm tone.

"WHAT!!!" Tenchi, Ayeka and Ryoko said at the same time. They all thought that if Tenchi went all-out against Ranma he would be getting a beating-or even killed.

"Don't worry, Tenchi, this will be a controlled fight between you and Ranma. Besides, Washu will be acting as a referee and will be there to prevent anything going wrong."

Tenchi nodded.

"Right then, you still want to spar with Tenchi?" Katsuhito asked Ranma.

"Sure I still want to spar with him, but one thing... what is this Tenchiken?" Ranma enquired, unsure of what he would be fighting against.

"This is the Tenchiken, it's my personal sword," Tenchi said as he showed Ranma his weapon. He then activated the sword and a thin, blue blade appeared.

'Very impressive,' Ranma thought. He unsheathed the golden blade of the Lion sword and light started to glint and reflect from the blade as it started to glow faintly.

"Nice blade you have there."

"Thanks, the same goes to you," Ranma replied.

"Now, Ranma, Tenchi: this is not a duel to the death, just a simple match to see how good both of you are. First one to be in a position of advantage or 'checkmate' is the winner. Do I make myself clear?" Katsuhito said as laid down the ground rules.

"Right," both Tenchi and Ranma said simultaneously.

In the background, Ayeka and Ryoko were cheering for and encouraging Tenchi, confident that he would beat Ranma.

"YEAH TENCHI, GO KICK RANMA'S ASS!!!" Ryoko shouted, waving little flags in encouragement.

"Yes, Lord Tenchi, I have full confidence in your abilities and I am sure you will be victorious," Ayeka said, but without the loud shouting.

While Sasami and Ry-Ohki were doing the same for Ranma, Washu was busy scanning Ranma and Tenchi's performance.

"Go Ranma!"

"Miya! Miya!"

Cypher gave Ranma the thumbs up.

She noticed a significant increase in overall power between them as soon as they drew their weapons. Katsuhito was sitting back and watching the outcome of this match.

"Tough crowd?" Ranma whispered. Ranma was in a calm and relaxed stance with his Lion sword in his right hand resting by his side.

Tenchi nodded as he got into an offensive stance.

"BEGIN!" Washu shouted.

***

Location: Tendo Household

"Nabiki, there is someone that wants to see you," Kasumi called to her sister who was currently upstairs. She then walked back to the kitchen, briefly sparing an odd glance at their guest on the way.

Normally Kasumi would be all smiles and would have a cheerful appearance, but there was something about him that just screamed evil and danger to her. So far, their guest hadn't demanded to see Ranma, which was a change, but she was wondering why he wanted to see her sister.

"Coming, Kasumi," shouted Nabiki, about to go out for her daily routines at Furinkan high school.

Running down the stairs, she saw a foreign-looking, blond-haired man with the most startling, sinister eyes she had ever seen sitting in the main living room, dressed in a black business suit and waiting patiently.

"Oh, hello there," Nabiki said.

"You must be Nabiki Tendo. I've been waiting for you. I would like to make you a business proposal," the man said, formally.

Nabiki's mind quickly shifted into gear. Her finances were a bit low since the disappearance of Ranma and Cypher a few days ago.

"First tell me who you are, and the business, second." Nabiki sat down opposite him, trying to remain calm and composed. Something was telling her that this was a bad idea, but she quickly dismissed the thought.

"My name is Kaften Hadono, and I represent a certain organisation that is interested in some information regarding the people around here. I was told that you are the one to speak to?" the man said.

"Depends on the person you want to know about, Mr Hadono," Nabiki said. "But it will cost you," she added.

The man grinned as he placed a large suitcase on the table and opened it to reveal a substantial amount of money in US dollars.

Nabiki's eyes widened with greed at the amount of money being offered.

"So, Mr Hadono, what is it you want to know about?" Nabiki said, sweetly.

"Tell me everything about Ranma Saotome, including his relationships, strengths and weaknesses, and rivals, and all this could be yours," the man replied calmly.

Nabiki nodded and quickly rushed towards her room. "Be right back."

Moments later, Nabiki came back with two folders labelled 'Ranma Saotome' and 'Cypher Kazeno' and handed them to him. He briefly checked the contents of the folders to see if it was all there.

"It's been a pleasure doing business with you. Goodbye." The man got up and left, carrying the two folders underneath his arm while Nabiki counted the money in the suitcase.

"Likewise," Nabiki replied.

Outside the Tendo home

'Won't she be really pissed off that the money is counterfeit?' The man smirked as he pulled a large, blood-coloured jewel from his suit pocket. An image appeared in the middle of the jewel.

"M'Kachan, I have the information you requested from that mortal girl."

"Excellent, N'Kari. Return to Nemesis as soon as possible," M'Kachan replied.

"What is it, N'Kari?" M'Kachan said, noticing his hesitation.

"M'Kachan, wouldn't it be easier to raze the entire area and torture the people for information? I think that Nabiki girl would make a fine slave for me, and maybe that ill-tempered tomboy, too." N'Kari licked his lips at the thought.

"But that Kasumi girl just plain scares me." N'Kari shuddered at the amount of pure, good energy she was emitting.

M'Kachan nodded. "Same here. Listen, N'Kari, if we did what you suggested, Ranma and Cypher would come and stop that at all costs; we must plan first. Have patience, N'Kari; everything will soon fall into place," M'Kachan explained.

N'Kari nodded. "Remember, N'Kari: business before pleasure. Soon we shall enslave them and you can do whatever you want with them," M'Kachan added.

The N'Kari in his human form then walked down the street and into a dark alleyway where a dark portal opened up, which he stepped in and returned to Nemesis.

***

Location: Somewhere in China

Lord Sanguinius and his élite retinue of Honour Guard managed to arrive ahead of schedule, and they were currently expanding their search pattern for their brother Primarch, due to the chance discovery of a fully functional, ancient Eldar warp gate. The warp gate was an immaterial link between two points in a universe that allowed stable travel through the warp stream. What made the warp gate so different from other warp gates found in the universe was that it seemed to be a dimensional warp gate, for reasons unknown.

Once Sanguinius' ship had passed through the gate, the time of arrival greatly accelerated from a week to two days; but something unusual happened as soon as his ship passed through the other side. The warp gate suddenly collapsed before they had the chance to contact the legion monastery ship with its location. This meant that Sanguinius could not expect aid from the rest of the legion for at least a few months as they were still going via the normal means.

Orbiting the Earth's moon, Sanguinius was facing a small problem: now he was here in this timeline and dimension, he had no clue where their missing Primarch was, except that he was on Earth and somewhere in Asia, which computer scans of the Earth had revealed. Another problem they had found was that due to his genetic profile it was extremely difficult to pinpoint his signature; it always seemed to be randomly changing every minute. This left Sanguinius only one option: to conduct the search on the planet's surface.

Picking a dozen of his élite Honour Guard, he and his men took a Thunderhawk Gunship towards the planet where they would begun their search in a large region called China, according to their sources. The reason they had decided to search that region was that they had picked up very unusual readings, which might suggest that he could be there. Not wanting to attract attention from the planet's authorities, he ordered that the Gunship land in a remote area where they began their search.

So far since landing in China, Sanguinius and his retinue had found nothing that would lead them to the missing Primarch, despite covering thousands of miles of farmlands and rural lands, but they were determined to find him even if they had to search the entire planet. When they tried to ask the local people for help and assistance, they found that their usual response was they would go running around, screaming and shouting like headless chickens. Their translation devices could only translate a few words that the locals were screaming, something along the lines of 'redemption, Armageddon, the end of the world and the Angels of Death have arrived.'

Sanguinius came to two logical conclusions at the people's behaviour:

1: The people here were really paranoid or scared of foreign visitors due to their isolation from other civilised cultures. If this was the case, then a silent and low profile approach was needed.

Or was it…

2: The locals villagers, seeing a tall, white-robed, handsome man with two huge white wings like an angel suddenly appearing from the sky, accompanied by more than a dozen heavily-armed, blood-red armoured warriors hovering in the sky, had been scared off.

Either way, they weren't getting very far with their questioning so they abandoned that ploy. Sanguinius also decided that they could cover more ground and attract less attention to themselves if they split up into two groups.

"Captain Garus, I want you to take half of my men over to section 21 and report back here in thirty minutes; do you understand?" Sanguinius ordered.

"Yes, Lord Sanguinius." Garus was about to take off with half of his men.

"Also..." Sanguinius said, remembering something.

"Yes, My Lord?"

"Keep a low profile-that means no weapons fire or killing of the local population unless deemed absolutely necessary." Garus nodded as he put his plasma pistol in his hoist. The last thing he needed was unnecessary bloodshed.

A few hours later, Sanguinius and five of his Honour Guard were walking through a mountainous area of China. The location of the strange energy signature they had picked up from their long-range scans seemed to be emanating from this region and was getting stronger. For some reason, Sanguinius felt they were being watched from afar, but decided not to do anything unless they proved to be a threat. Then he noticed something high above him that looked as if it was man made but still retained a natural look to it.

"Sergeant, contact Captain Garus and tell him to meet us here at these co-ordinates ASAP. I have a feeling we might need their support," Sanguinius said.

The Sergeant nodded and quickly sent a coded radio message to Captain Garus who was about a few miles from where they were.

Deciding to investigate the strange sight, Sanguinius decided that the best course of action would to fly up there rather that risk climbing the mountain. Using his huge white wings, he flew up towards the structure while his Honour Guard activated their jump packs to follow their Primarch. What Sanguinius saw on closer inspection was a huge, stone fortress that seemed to be embedded within the mountain. Wanting to have a closer inspection of the fortress, he and his men landed just in front of the huge doors at the entrance.

There was a sign written in some sort of ancient language nearby. The rough translation of the sign was:

*Mount Phoenix - Domain of the Phoenix Tribe - No trespassers*

At the bottom of the sign in a smaller size was written:

*We do not buy or sell goods at this entrance - so go away or else!*

'Well, aren't they friendly,' Sanguinius thought sarcastically as he looked around to see if anyone lived there.

"My Lord, detecting multiple life form signatures coming from the fortress," the Sergeant replied.

"Sergeant, I want to know what we facing now. Are they Daemons?"

The Sergeant shook his head, "No, my Lord."

"Don't do anything unless I say so!" Sanguinius quickly said to his Sergeant as they assumed a defensive formation around their Primarch.

Soon Captain Garus and his men arrived just in time to see…

Winged bird people armed with swords and spears appeared from all over the place and quickly surrounded him and his men. His men were about to draw their weapons to protect their Primarch and engage the potential threat when Sanguinius waved his right hand for them to lower their weapons. He wanted to deal with this situation with minimal bloodshed. Looking carefully at the bird people's weapons and skill, he estimated that he could probably take them out by himself without a single scratch.

There was a moment of silence between the Phoenix warriors and the Blood Angels Honour Guard. Sanguinius was about to say something to break the silence but was cut off by a female Phoenix warrior landing just a few metres in front of him. She had silver hair in a short cut, emerald coloured eyes, and somewhat paler skin than his. She was wearing a simple, silver chainmail with slits behind her back to allow her slightly smaller wings to pass through. She had a sword in her hand as she stepped towards the winged stranger. For a couple of hours since their arrival into the Phoenix territories, she had ordered the Phoenix warriors to keep a close eye on them and to report back on anything they did. She was extremely shocked and surprised when she received reports that the leader of the group was a winged human! Not believing the reports, she decided to see if they were true first hand. When they reached the gates of their fortress and home, she decided to reveal herself.

"Who dares trespass in Lord Saffron's domain?" she demanded.

"Lord Sanguinius, Blood Angels Primarch; and you are?" he replied, not really bothered by the situation.

"Kiima, Bodyguard to Lord Saffron and Commander of the Phoenix tribe," she replied back.

'Hmm… maybe Lord Saffron can help me?' Sanguinius thought while making a mental note at how attractive this bird woman was-but it was business before pleasure, he reminded himself.

"Well, Kiima, may I see Lord Saffron?" asked Sanguinius as he stepped forward towards her.

"No one sees Lord Saffron without his permission." Kiima was getting a bit nervous of this winged human Angel approaching her in a slow and cool fashion. When she had looked directly into his eyes, it had started to make her very tense and nervous. She could see intense fury and rage in his eyes while he maintained a calm, controlled and cool manner outside, something she had only seen in her Lord-and he was a God.

"Don't take another step or you'll regret it!" Kiima shouted as she levelled her sword against Sanguinius' throat.

In the blink of an eye, before anyone had the chance to react, Kiima's sword disappeared from her grasp and was now in the hands of Sanguinius, the sword tip balanced between his fingers.

"Regret what?" he asked.

He then flipped the sword around so that he grasped the hilt of her sword. Kiima stepped back in shock at the sheer speeds at which he moved; he could easily have taken her out before she even had the chance to react.

He then levelled her sword at her throat.

"Nothing personal, I just want to see this Saffron person. So are you going to let me?"

Kiima was a about to reply back when…

"That's enough, stranger!" a voice called out from the top of the mountainous fortress.

"Ah… you must be Lord Saffron," Sanguinius assumed.

"Indeed, you are correct, I am Lord Saffron of the Phoenix people. Now you have seen me, I challenge you to a tribal duel!" Saffron replied.

'A tribal what?' Sanguinius thought as Lord Saffron swooped down toward him at breakneck speeds, and before he had the chance to react...

SMACK!

He gave him a heavy straight punch to his face sending Sanguinius flying back a couple of metres.

Sanguinius got up from the ground and rubbed his left cheek. He could see Saffron hovering above him, grinning. He could see out of the corner of his eye his men were about to retaliate for the sudden attack on their Primarch. Still not wanting to resort to bloodshed, Sanguinius silently shook his head. Not wanting to be outdone by the Phoenix leader, he looked towards him and stretched his large white wings and cracked his knuckles.

"Now that wasn't very nice. You want a fight? I'll give you a fight!" he shouted towards Saffron.

Garus stepped forward towards his Lord.

"Lord Sanguinius, you are still not 100% fit to fight. I highly suggest we take care of this for now," Garus advised his Primarch.

Sanguinius shook his head. "A challenge has been issued and we have to honour such a challenge as it is between me and him. I will not back down as my pride and honour are on the line; and besides, I'm fully capable of taking care of this myself," he replied.

"Also cover my back if they do anything," he ordered his captain.

"As you wish, My Lord. Will you be needing this?" Garus asked as he knelt down to offer him his beautiful master-crafted powersword.

"No, Captain, I won't be needing this for now," Sanguinius replied. "All that I ask is that you don't interfere in this match."

Captain Garus nodded as he turned to keep a watchful eye on the Phoenix warriors just in case they did anything underhanded.

"Kiima, you do the same!" Saffron shouted as he flew higher into the air as he saw the Sanguinius coming straight for him.

'I will show you what a Primarch of a Blood Angel is capable of!' thought Sanguinius as he returned the punch that Saffron had generously given!

TBC…

***

Author's Note: To those who waited for this update of this story, I'm sorry but real life and motivation have been dragging me down lately; but now I'm resting my feet, I can get down and write this three-part stage of the story with some interesting revelations.

What is M'Kachan up to? Knowing him, something really bad for Ranma and the gang.

Hopefully the next chapter will clear things up. It will be larger than normal, as M'Kachan's plan will soon fall into place.

Interesting conversation between Leman Russ and Jaghatai Khan; I wonder what this all means?

One thing I would like to reveal is that one of the matchups I've decided to do is a Kiima and Sanguinius one, but I won't be revealing the rest-either because I'm feeling evil or because I'm still undecided or lazy.

The Administration will accept all comments and constructive criticism.

The Inquisition will purge all flames with righteous fury.

Please transmit all encoded comments to: pnmonty@hotmail.com

Version 1.0 18/02/03

Version 2.0 16/04/03

Version 3.0 20/07/03