Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Reluctant Bet (2nd Labor) ❯ Reluctant Senshi ( Chapter 27 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Reluctant Bet segment 27 "Reluctant Senshi"

disclaimer: this is a fanfic, therefore, by definition, most of these are not my characters.
note: i got a couple of e-mails indicating that by trying to placate the Ranma+Akane and Akane-the-goddess crowds, i'd lost a lot of the fun and humor that i'd started out with (which is oddly enough why i keep stalling on Featherbrite's and A Very Scary Bet). Realizing that this was true, and that there are plenty of people who already write Akane-is-perfect stories with the Akane+Ranma matchup, it's back to gratuitously slamming the two characters who never have to face Consequences in the series (Genma gets Ranma to take his lumps, and Akane just gives the Cute Smile.) So don't bother complaining about "demonization" of Saint Genma or megami-Akane, as you know it's coming and could go to the Ranma project if you want canon.
Thank you.

--------

Ranma broke the clench and scrambled as far as he could backwards.

A hug from a fiance that she KNEW was almost catatonic in any sort of intimacy merited attempted murder via sharp instruments and arrows, so even an unintentional kiss from a stranger meant...

Ranma had images of being flayed alive, sliced into gibbits in his sleep, castration by a dull knife, being forced into a meat grinder and made into hamburger, doused with gasoline and lit on fire while Akane laughed madly...

Akane opened her eyes and unpuckered, blinking a few times. "Alllllrighty then."

"Akane! Your hair! It's coming in all over now!" Kasumi was excited for her youngest sister.

Akane studied herself in the mirror, briefly staring at the image.

"Sis? Are you okay?" Nabiki knelt in front of Akane, waving a hand in front of her face. "Sis? Akane?"

"Hmmmm. Look, maybe we hit it off wrong. Clearly you don't like me, and I can't stand undead trying to steal my inheritance." Akane sounded quite calm and collected as she addressed Ranma.

"Don't want the dojo. Don't want your inheritance." Someone was being reasonable towards him merited the same, and he could try to tolerate this girl who so symbolized the manhater who could do anything she wanted and have it tolerated because she had a cute smile. Ranma drew a deep breath before adding. "Not undead. At least precisely, by most definitions of the term."

"Then if you go away and leave me and my family alone, I don't see where we've got a problem." Akane nodded, beginning to smile.

"As you like, Tendo-san, I'll just leave." Ranma moved away from the wall, heading for the backyard. He could launch from there and have resolved the Tendo situation in one quick visit! How perfect!

"Waaaaaahhhh! My little precious daughter isn't scarred for life!" Soun continued to cry, completely missing the events going on around him.

Genma had been turned into a panda again by the flood of water and was trying to get someone to read his [Hey! That ungrateful boy is leaving!] signs.

Kasumi and Nabiki were likewise caught up in Akane's moment of recovery.

Ranma got to the backyard and relaxed slightly. Nobody was stopping him? He'd be grateful for the small miracle.

"Promise you won't come back?" Akane pressed. Last thing they needed was a kuei hanging around. There was sudden silence as the events began to penetrate Soun's wail and the two other girls remarking about Akane's hair having lost that horrid green color.

"On the Saotome family honor, i swear never to return to this Tendo dojo unless you personally invite me, Akane Tendo." Ranma manifested wings and flew off, feeling inordinately pleased. Now he didn't have to worry about the Tendo-Saotome thing, he was FREE of all that as far as this universe was concerned. Akane was too stubborn to ever back down from HER end of things, too much pride to admit some battles too tough for her, and everyone either deferred to or (in Kuno's case) obsessed with her. With Akane having declared the Tendo household off limits, he could get on with what HAD to be his real mission.

Whoever was menacing Rei and the others.

---------

Rhodite threw a few pellets into the water. "Ha! Now I have you!"

Ami's eyes widened as she read the bottle. "Oh no! 'Instant Faceless Minions, just add water'?!"

"RUN!" Rei gestured towards the doorway. "None of you have powerups. I and Minako will have to defeat her!"

"Magic Mirror, my orders hear,
Make them gibber in helpless fear!"

"What?" Rei glanced towards the sparkling obsidian surface. "Aaaaaaaa!"

"What?" Minako looked at where Rei was curling herself up in a ball of quivering terror. ~What could have...~ Eyes caught the surface of the mirror. "AAAAAAA!"

Rhodite smirked as the Princesses collapsed around her, reduced to weeping wrecks by the mirror's hypnotic powers. Now she'd enslave them with those same powers, and have the haughty girls she had once been tormented by serving HER. Revenge was sweet.

Six faceless minions uncurled themselves from her kitchenette sink.

Rhodite toed the cringing Rei, the collapsed Minako, the helplessly bawling Makoto, and the near-comatose Ami. She had them now, conquered by her power...

Rhodite stopped and counted heads again. "MINIONS! That damn Moonie has escaped! Find her and bring her back! If you can't manage that, kill her."

Rhodite watched the minions leave before turning her attention to the fallen. "After all, my collection simply MUST be complete!"

---------

Asgard:

"Dimensional merger imminent." Celeste checked the readings and thumbed her intercom. "What would happen if we backtracked the real Ranma in the Target Timeline now?"

Amaterasu considered. "Running simulator." (see segment 'A Very Different Art')

Celeste did a backup so that could be used as a possibility. "What about that new god of crossovers?"

"Currently fighting a war with Nehelenia. Nehelenia decided to conquer China using her mirrors and ability to use mirror shards to corrupt and control people. When that was done she prepared to use the military force of that country to attack the Senshi. Looks like the Pheonix Mage discovered the bioweapons being launched and decided to counterstrike."

"So he's conquering China in THAT line." Celeste frowned. "I'd have expected that timeline to merge with the Second Labor line."

"95% chance of it happening after the conquering of China. Looks like it's more of a fight than was in the Target Timeline. Nehelenia's borrowing from Jared's own book in order to pull supplies and equipment from other timelines. Including summoning the shades of villains he's defeated in the past... how typically in genre."

"What'll happen when the timelines merge?" Celeste frowned, it looked like Grey might finally be getting a break... "Oh my stars! I'm running a quick security sweep on Yggdrasil access!"

"Why? Admittedly those two timelines shouldn't be merging, they aren't even close to zero differences, but it happens sometimes." Amaterasu's voice trailed off. "Grey is getting ahead of the game, so he's about to get stomped again?"

"Got it!" Celeste crowed. "Need a security team to go to node 3519 sublevel Nodd. We have a hack trace!"

"They'll be gone by then and it's too late to stop the merger." Amaterasu started thinking about options. "Try to back up the romantic angles. We've got less than an hour."

----------

Ranma looked over the shrine from the air first. Quiet. Too quiet.

The silence persisted as he examined the grounds. Finally he found the note and quietly wondered if he was actually needed in this timeline at all.

"Ranma-
found the villain. Confronting her in her lair.
Back in an hour.
-Rei

PS: If you need a place to stay, I've got a spare room! -Minako."

The last line had been crossed out heavily but was still legible. Kids and their jokes. Ranma sighed. It sounded as if they had everything in control. He wasn't needed, he wasn't wanted, he was just a burden to everyone. It was a pity that one couldn't simply crawl off and will oneself to die, but then that would still be suicide and a major sin. Pity.

Grey checked further but couldn't find anything to indicate any problems, so it was probably all good. Still, it was somewhat worrisome. None of them had any Senshi powers or anything other than what his spells had done.

And as the 'Life Line' spell was still active, nobody was dead, dying or seriously wounded. Otherwise he'd have felt it. Grey hesitated. Just a peek. Nobody would know and he'd be able to get a feel for what they were going through. All he'd need was to strengthen the link a bit, temporarily. Then, if they WERE in trouble, he'd have an idea where and how bad.

Which one? Rei would detect his presence and likely resent his intrusion. Makoto was enough of a scrapper that she might feel his psychic probe as an attack and retaliate. Usagi? maybe. Ami, possibly. Ami MIGHT detect his presence but her likely response would be to analyze the situation. Minako, frankly Ranma didn't think there was much chance of being detected.

Minako Aino, Ami Mizuno, or Usagi Tsukino. Hmmm. Now if he could just remember...

Stepping outside, Ranma shifted to dragonform and was gratified to see that the items he'd specifically focussed on during his summoning spell were in front of him. Even though he'd faded out fairly quickly, there had been a few items that could be useful in a number of situations.

Hoi Hoi Capsule #137, when activated, was similar to a magical item called 'Daern's Instant Fortress' - producing a three floor high tech watchtower with an internal waste disposal and energy system. Even running water. If one didn't connect to a water source or a power supply, three months of moderate usage could be gotten out of it. With both, and a way of gathering food, the shelter could last years. He'd come across it after everything had been confiscated for the GRO and EAH (roughly analagous to the FBI and CIA appropriating resources from a rundown rural Sherriff's office) and he'd hidden that and a few other "goodies" away.

The Armlet Of Tandel Moor was a different kettle altogether. A brass "S" shaped armlet that had dull lifeless stones decorating it. He'd picked it up the same time he'd gotten those little elemental things he'd gotten Kasumi, Nabiki, Shampoo and Ukyo. Sha'ir magic had gone into its making, though he didn't know the full story there. Only what he'd been able to get through some of Hephaestus' devices, and that was that the Armlet gave resistance to a number of elemental effects, control over elementals, and the ability to speak to genies of all sorts. THAT he put to the side, rather than take the chance it would interfere with a spell. As a silver dragon, he was normally protected against cold but fire could really hurt him. The Armlet incorporated sha'ir magic, protective white magic, and dwarven magecraft into it. If he'd even used it prior to this, Ranma suspected it would have been found and 'acquired' by some higher power.

And finally, something he'd been wanting for a long, long, time. His teaset.

Ranma blissfully spent a moment admiring the crowning achievement of modern civilization (as opposed to modern technology or some other aspect of modern life): Afternoon Tea. Ahhh! But first to business. AFTER he'd determined that all was well, he could lose himself in the near-Zen moment of "inner quiet" enjoying a really good cup of tea. Perhaps the Earl Grey with double bergamot, just a few crystals of the orange blossom honey? No, no. To work!

A few scrolls, tattered and stained, which he hadn't been able to use since becoming a cyborg. Now, as a dragonpriest, he could utilize some of these to supplement his admittedly meager number of spells.

"Life Line" was there, in a version that contained a more detailed casting. One of the ones he'd squirreled away just in case he actually met a woman he could trust. Ranma smiled at the sheer ignorance he had displayed. But wasn't all hope just willful ignorance? The desire to delve into fantasy because life has become too painful a burden otherwise?

"Hmph. No point in saving these for something that will never occur." Ranma shook his head. How could he have ever been so delusional? Actually putting aside little trinkets just in case he did meet one of those mythical nice girls, or get her interested in him. Couldn't happen.

Then a thought which brought a tired smile to his face. If he could transfer enough of his life force using this spell, it might get past the spell Binding him to life. Allowing him to die - but in the process of giving life to another. Eternal rest... Not merely death but Oblivion.

Nah, he'd be sure to screw it up. Ranma went about enscribing the circles. He'd do it in dragonform. More lifeforce and the mechanics came more easily. Pfeh. It *would* have to be this warm and humid in Tokyo...

--------

Usagi screamed as a tan minivan exploded as the Fork-yoma missed her and tore into it.

"Surrender or die," the yoma growled as it threw bits and pieces of shredded gashogging vehicle about itself.

Usagi responded in a manner completely expected for a sixteen year old girl. She screamed and ran.

The yoma snarled and gave chase. So be it. The human had chosen DEATH!

Marking where the girl was running up a set of stairs, Forruk smirked. The human would not escape. She was tired, falling over her own feet, and away from crowds. Let the weak human choose her own gravesite. It would avail her not at all.

Usagi kept stumbling, several bloody wounds from where she'd fallen before joining newer ones. She couldn't do this, she couldn't handle this...

But she knew that Ranma was right ahead of her. She could see the silvery gleam of scale and wings as he came forward.

Usagi screamed as a small metal spine slammed into her back.

------------

"I'll show him!" Akane stalked forward, trailed by two sisters.

"But Akane, all I said was that I'd still see him around the shrine!" Nabiki watched her little sister for a moment. "You are SO stubborn. Once you've got an idea into your head..."

"He PROMISED he would stay out of our lives! After all the humiliation he put me through, then trying to trick me?! I'll find a way to get even with him!" Akane began to glow blue. BOYS! First they had ignored her or treated her as a boy, then she'd become "Miss Popular" and all the stupid loathsome boys had been trying to get into her panties, then Kuno and the Chem Club had ruined her face, destroyed her hair, and caused these other problems. THEN, because she was marred, they'd IGNORED her. She had been snubbed by the entire school! Now she was supposed to just roll over and kiss this guy's feet just because he'd healed wounds that other BOYS had inflicted on her? They were all the same. BOYS! He'd beaten her, was clearly stronger than her, but a martial artist knew there were ways to use an opponent's strength against them!

Kasumi fingered one of the two spheres hooked onto her belt. If Akane kept fighting, she might find a weakness to exploit. She was torn, and didn't want to see anyone get hurt. Clearly though, if this kept up someone *would* be hurt.

Nabiki shook her head as the little Princess, Daddy's favorite, returned. Akane had gotten sullen and moody after the accident, and had held all males responsible. She'd gotten angrier and angrier, but nobody at school had wanted anything to do with Akane. Partly guilt, partly the view that this was karma, partly that people didn't want to associate with a girl who looked at you as if trying to decide where to thrust a knife. Akane had been a nice girl who was a violent maniac, the explosion had killed the nice girl, leaving rage and hate.

There had been the brief surfacing of the nice girl, which had ended with Nabiki's own casual comment. Now this. Nabiki was trying to find a way to resolve this more peacefully but was having trouble coming up with a means of distracting Akane. When Akane got that set to her shoulders, she could give a mule lessons on stubborness.

Nabiki silently prayed that neither Rei nor Ranma were there when Akane reached the shrine.

---------

Ranma threw himself over Usagi, stopping the rest of the barrage from hitting her, but also learning that yoma thrown tines were sufficient to penetrate his scaly hide.

The yoma found its head bitten off a moment later, claws slicing down through its body in the same move.

There was the smell of other yoma in the area, but certain things were a priority. "Hold on, Tsukino-san. i'll heal you as soon as this is out of you." Healing others was a first priority after all.

Ranma couldn't help but wince at the length of the metal in the ponytailed girl's back. He'd already used 'Heal' so that left 'Cure Critical Wounds', a handful of 'Light', and a single 'Serious'.
"Comrade dear in need of healing,
Wound so critical now be sealing,
Health return to flesh and bone,
Mine own strength i will loan."

Sitting back, Ranma started pulling the own shards from his body, feeling an involuntary shift back to human form as the last one was removed. Which was odd, as he thought it would have gone the other way. Sufficient injury to cause an involuntary shift should have produced transformation to dragonform, not human, as he understood the mechanism. Perhaps because it was an anime universe?

"Are you okay, Usagi?" Ranma realized he had been poisoned, but didn't see any sign of it on Usagi.

Usagi looked up and her eyes went wide at the sight of Ranma's own wounds but nodded.

"Good, now I just need..." Ranma staggered back and placed a hand near the bubbling hole that indicated a lung wound. He had plenty of 'Light Wounds' and that should give him enough time for something more elaborate.
"Knit and sew this wound unfair,
Alleviate with cleric's care..."

"THERE YOU ARE!"

---------

Rhodite, aka the Dark Chambermaid, alias a number of other titles that she'd already discarded, looked over her newest playtoys with amusement. She ran a finger along the chin of the Mars princess, only to disgustedly wipe drool off onto the girl's hakima a moment later.

Fancying herself an epic villain, Rhodite checked her handbook ("Villainy For Dummies", 1991, 25000yen) and decided it was time for a Minor Villain Rant. (She also decided she needed to work on her Maniacal Villain Laugh, which was something she felt she was weak in.)

Ignoring the fact that the princesses hadn't been royalty for a millenium (actually a misnomer as it had been a million years not a mere thousand) and that they were all locked in their own worst nightmares caused by hypnotic powers of the Obsidian Mirror, Rhodite used her prisoners as her audience.

"Maybe I should open with a joke," mused Rhodite. After all, she'd read some of those foreign manga and ALL the classy villains like the Joker had some running theme. "This one will kill you. There were these three blondes who were stuck on an island and they came across a genie bottle, and as they were three, each got one wish. So the first one wished that she was 50% smarter, so she was turned into a redhead who noticed that the shore was 50 yards away so she swam there. Swam, right? Hahahaha. Anyway, the second one wished that she was 100% smarter, so she was turned into a brunette who used the bridge. Used the bridge, get it? Hahahaha! Anyway, anyway, the third one. You'll love this. The third blonde, resembled that Moon Princess likely, decided that she was lonely, so she... hahahaha, she wished that she had her friends back!"

Rhodite waited a moment, the silence being broken only by Ami's sobbing and a drip of drool from Rei. "Okay, maybe I need to find another theme. Anyway, you haughty little 'clean that spill, Rhodite' 'Rhodite, get the door' princesses are probably wondering what I'm going to do with you!

"Actually I wasn't expecting you so I hadn't planned that far ahead." Rhodite frowned. "So, I guess what I'll do is just get creative. I've already used Anger and Gluttony, and they appear to be growing nicely. Greed you already beat. That leaves..."

Rhodite smiled and considered the short haired girl weeping in her cage. "Lust? Why not?" She tilted back Minako's head to stare into her sightless eyes. "Envy? Pride? No... Maybe you'd be better for Lust than your friend? Or even better, turn you into minor yoma. Yes, low level flunkies! Hmmm. I'll have to think of something truly fitting for the rest of you, but the Ice Princess gets a Demon Seed unless I find a worthier candidate.

"Now what's keeping those minions?"

--------

scene comes at request of SKJAM:

Akane didn't know why or how, but the Heavens had delivered.

Ranma, her tormentor, was weakened and bloody and menacing some blonde girl with a ridiculous hairstyle. He wasn't even adequately fighting back as Akane unleashed her Fists Of Righteousness. (Akane made a mental note to stop listening to Kuno's speeches.)

She kicked and was rewarded as the BOY's nose flattened and his head snapped back. Akane exulted as she grabbed and twisted and shattered the BOY's right shoulder. Akane grinned as she dropped to one knee and used a stonebreaker punch on the BOY's groin. Every gasp or groan was music. After all the humiliation she'd gone through, after every torment, after the challenge and explosion and all the dumb speeches and the 'you must beat Akane to date her' nonsense, she would have REVENGE!

Now if the BOY would just show some sense and drop! Oh, that's right he was a boy. Naturally he'd be too stubborn and stupid to know when he was beaten. She'd just have to get rough! Seeing the bloody tears in the BOY's back, Akane pushed on.

--------

Soun pushed a Go piece across the board. "So, you think Akane?"

"NO!" Genma shook his head. "Look, Nodoka divorced me and stated if her path and mine ever crossed again, she wouldn't leave enough to be mistaken for sushi."

Soun checked Genma's reply move, then made his own. "Surely you don't take such a thing seriously."

"Yes, I do. And don't call me Shirley." Genma shuddered. "If I were to get Ranma killed AGAIN, I'd rather face the Mas... well actually that's a toss-up."

Soun raised an eyebrow but knew better than to look away from the board. "Oh? I thought he died of a childhood illness."

"You know the Touched Soul training?" Genma shuddered. "Well... he actually kind of failed."

"Failed the Touched Soul?" Soun frowned a little. "How badly?"

"He poured gasoline over himself then set himself on fire, laughing all the time." It had been years ago, and Genma still flinched at the memory. No, watching his child die writhing in agony and madness once had been quite enough.

Soun considered. "Oh, well, in that case, maybe Ranma should marry..."

"Shampoo!!"

Genma nodded. "Well, I assume you know your daughters better. It's settled. Ranma will marry Shampoo."

Soun looked puzzled. "Ranma is going to marry hair soap?"

*CRASH!*

A bubbly young Amazon made her own door. "Shampoo hear with own ears. Ranma's father said Shampoo could marry Ranma! Shampoo happy!"

"Actually I thought that it was Soun that I was agreeing with."

"Shampoo go tell Ranma that Shampoo have parental permission!" Shampoo vanished, making another hole en route.

"What was THAT, Saotome?"

"Cause for opening another bottle of sake, and beyond that I'm NOT inquiring."

---------

Usagi's eyes were wide as this angry girl started breaking bones with audible pops and cracks.

The strange girl even pounded the open wounds that Ranma had gotten defending Usagi, which the girl couldn't help but notice. When he got hit in one of those areas, *she* could feel it. "...Ranma..."

"Stop it, Akane! You're killing him!"

Usagi was grateful for the excuse to look at something ELSE. There was Nabiki, and wasn't that her older sister? Nabiki looked about ready to leap in though Usagi couldn't tell which end of things the older girl would actually help.

*CLANG!*

Akane hit the ground twitching.

Nabiki, Kasumi, and Usagi looked from their fallen sister to some bishonen with a really big spatula in a "samurai who has just made a great cut" pose.

The bishonen flipped his ponytail back over a shoulder. "Heh. Once again, I have struck an unworthy object!"

"Ooooo!" Usagi momentarily forgot the splattered Ranma as she fixated on this really handsome fellow. Especially when he went into a victory pose, complete with swirling leaves and gleam on teeth.

Having seen enough to know that this wasn't a slapstick but a heroic moment, Ukyo played it to the hilt. After all, when had she had a chance to do something like this in HER life? "Enter the high school warrior-chef (sentai-pose - chain to spinning the spatula around and another pose with it behind her in a more samurai pose) whose spatula strikes injustice. Ukyo Kuonji, age 16!" (gleam of teeth)

"Great, another damn Kuno!" Akane picked herself up. "Well, if you want a beating, I'm the one to do it."

Usagi blinked back and forth. It was just like a samurai movie! The two warriors facing each other across the yard, the air between them almost visible with tension. "wow!"

"Damn!" Nabiki said from Ranma's side. "He's not dead, but he's *really* messed up."

Kasumi looked over the fallen figure with a clinical eye and tried not to lose her lunch. "Uhm, Well, most of his err, no that's broken too."

---------

Looking down on the scene, Grey sighed. "i've screwed up before, but this is REALLY fubar! i mean i'm DEAD, the Binding is confused as to which one is the real me because there's part of me here, part of me is Ranko off with Jared, and part of me's off in that Saber Marionette timeline. Just great. NOW what?"

"That sounds like my cue."

Grey covered his eyes briefly, then slowly turned to look. Pink kimono. Blue hair. Flying on an oar. "Botan? Did Enma want to see me?"

"Don't be silly. Enma only has work for heroes. Even Kuwabara is more competent than you are..."

"Leave off, Botan. Devil hunting and the like ain't my bag." Grey sighed. "Dang, is there anything she DIDN'T break?"

"'She's a very nice girl, she's just a violent maniac.' Or something like that." Botan made a dismissing gesture. "It doesn't much matter, except that you've abandoned your responsibilities."

"What are you talking about? i am dead, or close enough. i did the best i could, but it just wasn't good enough. Like always."

"Yeah, yeah," Botan waved it off. "And you've got that 'Life Link' spell still going, or have you considered what happens to THEM when you die?"

"Uh oh. i *had* kinda forgotten about that. So let me guess, i'm supposed to go back. Might one point out that the Binding ain't working, and that body's in bad enough shape that my spirit's taken a hike..." Grey paused in mid-rant. "Poison from the yoma? Something that weakened my body enough she could do that much damage?"

"Bing-bong!" Botan set off a party favor. "So you got the yoma poison, you've given away most of your life force, and then some girl beats the rest of the way down. Now look!"

Grey looked. Akane was throwing a long series of linked attacks that Ukyo was dodging or parrying with her spatula.

"She's holding her own against Ukyo?! How'd Akane get that good? She didn't seem to be that strong against me. Well, up until..."

Botan tsked. "She wasn't too bad as a martial artist but after the Chem Club used their bomb she went into the Art with a vengeance. As far as she was concerned, the Art was everything after that. You then healed her and threw all that into confusion."

"So she hates me more because i healed her." Grey made a disgusted noise. "Can't win for losing."

"So what are you going to do?" Botan seemed to be regarding the sky from atop her flying oar. "Sure you could let go. Be fairly easy. You could even have peace in the afterlife. If you do, though, those Senshi are gonna go through a private Hell and die. Ukyo there will get killed, and Akane'll finally work through her rage after becoming a murderess three times over. Kasumi and Nabiki and the Dojo will never recover..."

"You really fight dirty, you know that." Grey looked at his 'Ranma' body. "Geez. First i'd have to 'Cure Poison' then 'Cure Light' as many times as i can. That *still* won't cover it, the most i can do with the spells i've got is stabilize. In game terms that's still less than 1/4 hit points..."

Botan smiled briefly. ~So bloody easy to manipulate.~

"If i could get the Armlet, that'd help me throw off the poison..." Grey shot another look at Botan. "You really don't fight fair at all, do you?"

"Nope," agreed Botan. "Just be sure you rescue them fast. There's a dimensional merger occurring in less than an hour."

--------

Nodoka threw the I-Ching and studied the results with a frown. "Patience for now" they counseled. Now was not the time to strike, but soon she would need to work harder than ever. Yet, according to what she was reading now, there was an excellent chance of what she'd wanted for so long to become reality.

Her son returned from the grave. And since she'd learned of the genies and magical maids of legends, their contracts and relationships with the ins (genie term for non-genie), of magic and of ancient pacts, she'd been making plans. Modern Japanese law stated one husband + one wife. Ancient Japanese law, well, wasn't nearly the same. Even more ancient laws (which in Nodoka's mind took precedence) stated something that made her dream of LOTS of grandkids.

Taking a beeswax candle and examining the cat's cradle of red threads she'd carefully built, Nodoka decided to work on a couple of points. Her son would be SO manly!!

--------

Genma had found a replacement for Ranma, actually he had found several, but only one was currently in the coveted position of Heir Of The Saotome School.

The Moroboshi kid had been pretty good, at least at dodging, and had been quite enthusiastic about the whole multiple engagement thing. If only he hadn't reminded Genma of The Master quite so much, he could have been quite an Heir. His mother hadn't required much convincing to sell him off either.

That Hibiki kid had been even better, with a grounding in boar style bando, good endurance and strength. Kept getting lost though. Not showing up for that challenge match with that Urumeshi kid had been the last straw, and Genma had left Ryoga a note stating that he was dismissing him as the Heir.

Then there had been that Kurenai kid, but he wouldn't give up the weird disguises. Genma had spent a *disastrous* few weeks where a kid named Hokori Gomon was the Heir. Then came the Kotori boy, the Simitsu child, and Ston Li. Each had turned out to have some degree of promise but the rigors of training had proven too much or they had balked at things that Ranma wouldn't have objected to in the slightest.

And then at Jusenkyo, he'd lost the most recent Heir. The boy had gone into a spring but Genma had never seen him come back out. Genma thought the boy was still around, probably disoriented (understandable) after getting a Jusenkyo curse. If Ranma didn't work out, then the boy could be engaged to one of Soun's daughters, fulfilling the pact.

And with a boy like Yokubo Warui, the next generation would have PLENTY of heirs.

Somewhere in Juuban, a tomcat sneezed and dreamed of revenge.

-------

Ukyo blocked a series of punches that put dents in her spatula set her teeth on edge. This girl was *strong* but sloppy. An angry fighter who overextended herself frequently. Ukyo blocked a lunging punch, directing the force off to the side, then brought the butt of her spatula around in a heavy slam to the back of the girl's head.

Akane slammed face first into the dirt, then rolled forward and turned to face her opponent. "You're good."

"Not bad yerself, sugar." Ukyo acknowledged. "But if you're gonna hurt Ranchan, ya gotta deal with me."

"What go on here?!" A number of girls in Chinese pantsuits showed up. They glanced at the bleeding and broken figure on the ground and the two girls fighting. "Aiyah."

A thoroughly rattled Nabiki blurted out what she'd have sold otherwise. "Akane found Ranma, beat him into a bloody pulp, he didn't defend himself or fight back, then this other guy showed up to fight Akane."

Shampoo looked at Mace who looked at Sash who looked at Sugar who elbowed Spice who patted the wheezing Tigar on the back, Cayenne and Salt drew weapons. Talcum was still gasping while Saber and Towel fingered the weapons at their belt. Azure leapt to Ranma's side, while Fumika seemed lost in thought. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme merely collapsed from exhaustion.

Azure looked up from her examination. "He alive but not know how. Which one Akane?"

"I am, but that undead pervert BOY deserved it!" Akane jerked a thumb at herself. She'd been practicing, and was feeling confident. Just let these gaijin try something, she'd show them! After all, she'd been able to beat Ranma!

There was a brief dust cloud as Akane found herself attacked from all sides.

-----------

Grey settled into the Ranma-form with a wince. There *were* bones that hadn't been broken or at least cracked. Two toes in the left foot. A few vertebrae, that rib there didn't seem too bad, and there were even some teeth intact.

Actually, there had been a time when he'd been caught in a stampede of iguanodon and trampled and it had felt quite similar to this. So had the time the brachiosaurus had fallen on him. (Wildlife photographer in the age of dinosaurs had been quite a painful experience.)

~Now how to heal myself a broken jaw, fingers smashed, and the only spells i've got memorized require both words and gestures? Semaphore using his working eye, as the other was swollen shut? No. If i could get the Armlet, it would stop the yoma poison and the further deterioration but nobody present has got a clue to what it is, much less as to how it works. i've only got a figurative toe-hold on my body, if i seperate maybe i could possess Usagi? There's already the Life Link spell active, after all, that gives me a link between her body and mine...~

Detatching from his body, he tried using his hand to establish a small contact, thrusting it ~Usagi Tsukino. Do you hear me?~

Usagi shrieked and leapt three feet in the air.

~Oh fuss and bother. Usagi, it's me. Will you calm down?!"

"AHHHHH!" Usagi began running a circle. "A ghost!"

~Great, now i'm stuck playing Casper the Friendly Ghost. i don't suppose you'd give me permission to temporarily possess you so i can heal my old body, would you?~

"What's wrong?" Nabiki watched the girl running around in circles.

"Ranma'sdead. Myfriendsareinbigtrouble. Andtheghostwantstopossessme!"

Grey decided not to try Usagi. No connection with anyone else present through that spell, but maybe he could manage something with one of the Tendos? Nabiki worked as a priestess in this timeline, so maybe...

~Nabiki?~ Another light touch. Nabiki's response was similar to Usagi's except that she ran in a straight line as opposed to circles. Straight out of the shrine area, to be exact.

~Well, that's two down. You want to make it three, Kasumi?~

"Oh my!" Kasumi stiffened at the cold sensation and words in her head.

~You know, you really need to expand your vocabulary...~ Grey paused. ~Well, you're not running, that's a plus.~

Kasumi nodded. Then fainted.

~Oh, blast! Well, i guess that makes it obvious. Kasumi Tendo, i choose you! (snicker) Hmmm. i can't get in. Spiritual protection of some kind? Or is it that she's unconscious? OK. That leaves a few Amazons, Ukyo, and Akane who are present.~

Grey spent a few minutes pondering. ~Well, Akane's just been pummelled into unconsciousness. Maybe if i follow the links i can get one of the others? No, they're in trouble already. Always easier to break into a prison than to break out. Hmmm, Usagi's passed out. Let's try...~

A few seconds later, Usagi Tsukino grumbled as she picked herself off and went to go get the Armlet. ~Damn what're all these... cramps? Eewwwwwww! Why me? Why does this crap always have to happen to me!~

Usagi ignored the stares as she came running back with a dull metal armlet and fixed it into place on one of the boy's forearms. Then, making physical contact with her real body, made the transference.

And blinked as she realized that she was still looking at her "Ranma" body. "Uh oh. C'mon change. Change! i don't know what's going to happen if Usagi wakes up and i'm still here."

"Uhm, are you okay?"

Usagi blinked and turned her attention to Ukyo. "Uhm, well, sort of yes and sort of no. This is so very screwed up."

"Huh?"

"Hang on while i try a couple of scrolls. (grumble grumble) Bet this never happens to Jared or any of the other planewalkers...(grumble mutter)"

Ukyo watched as this girl with the blonde pigtails began reading something from a scroll.

--------

Elsewhere:

Son Usagi appeared out of a tunnel and checked the modified Dragonball Radar that Mercury had made. Then pocketed the gadget as it seemed to be giving odd results.

Keiichi Morisato, having taken the 'fill in for Ranma' job partly because of owing Grey a favor but mainly because it got him away from two dozen Belldandies, was recalled before the dimensional merger could occur.

Kasumi, Nabiki, Shampoo, and Ukyo discovered what happened when you used your elemental bracer one time too many.

Nehelenia managed to get two thousand robotic troops from the Trading Alliance and used dark energies to animate them in an attempt to invade Japan and get her revenge on the Sailor Scouts of that world.

Celeste made a backup of a world where Shampoo was the great granddaughter of a woman named Genkai, the most reknowned spiritual investigator and wielder of Rei Ki techniques of that timeline.

Belle and Urge met in the Goddess Relief Office cafeteria and discussed their divergent roles.

Misty got tired of Ash being such a jerk and decided that it was time to seperate. She'd show him - by becoming his superior in pokemon training (not that she wasn't already)!

Ranma Saotome closed the door to his suite in stately Saotome mansion, put the "Do Not Disturb" sign out, and sat down with Kasumi on one side and Rae on the other. The newest "Skysaber" movie had a private satellite feed and he wasn't about to miss it.

--------

Grey finished the spell just as the real Usagi started waking up, and dove along the thread of life force before personality contamination could occur.

He hit a bump and seemed to be caught in a stream and then...

Uncurled from where he'd been a huddled ball. Looking down, he noticed the Senshi uniform (actually looked like a cosplay version of a skirted swimsuit with a few add-ons.) The skirt's color was one of the big clues, being green. ~Oh great. NOW what do i do? And why a fake Senshi costume?~

A whimper brought his attention inward and he followed the thread.

A dungeon cell within the id, with bars of depression and worthlessness. Odd, it seemed quite familiar to him. ~Submit. You can't win. You're alone. You've failed. You've always failed when it counts. Submit. You're wrong. You've always made the bad decisions when the choice is up to you. You're a failure. Submit. Obey. You're pathetic. Submit. You can't win...~

~Looks like a typical depressive cycle,~ though Grey. ~i should know, i go through this sort of thing regularly.~

~Can't take it. Can't win. Can't take it. Surrender? Other voices. Madness. Lost.~

Grey took out his lightsaber, even though it was just a mental construct it was within a mindscape. He expected it to work, believed it would work, therefore it did. He sliced through the door and entered. He'd spent enough time being depressed that the blanket of negativity was an annoyance that was familiar enough that he could trudge through it and bring the ponytailed girl out into the light.

She clung to him as if to a solid anchor, after a few moments, he simply hugged her back, murmurring into her ear that it was all right and that he was there. She wasn't alone and never had to be.

Hours passed in the mindscape, with Grey constantly reminding himself that this was a faster time flow than the real world. Finally, Makoto's grip loosened and she stared at him through tearful eyes.

~I...~ Makoto caught a glimpse of her former cell and shuddered.

Grey noticed that the cell's interior was similar to an airplane cabin. ~You're all right now, Mako-chan, just rest now. i'm going up front to find out where we are.~

Makoto glomped him. Obviously not wanting to be left alone.

~Mako-chan... i mean Kino-san, it's dangerous for us to remain together. i might get stuck, we might contaminate or even merge with each other's personalities, or something even worse. i'm not sure what, just that it's dangerous.~

Her nails dug into his sides briefly, then she relaxed marginally. ~Promise you'll stay with me?~

~Kino-san. i am the one abandoned. i don't do the abandoning.~ Grey looked into tearstruck eyes and felt his resolve crumble. ~Ok. i'll go this far. i won't abandon you so long as you remember me and don't abandon me. If at all possible, i will return for you.~

Makoto let him go after searching his eyes. ~Get the others. I'm sure they're in similar cells.~

Makoto waited for him to leave before surfacing and finding herself in a cheerleader's costume and sitting inside a birdcage-like structure.

A quick check revealed the bars were welded shut. Makoto frowned as she tried to figure out what to do. She needed out before that old woman returned...

Her chin firmed. Do or die. And she thought she had his measure down. "Well he certainly needs an advisor at the least. Therefore, I swear..." Makoto paused. He *did* kind of remind of her sempai, and the constant abandonment was something she herself was familiar with.

What did she want?

---------

Grey shifted to dragonform, reminding himself that in a mindscape, will was everything. His *physical* body was in tatters. In Jared Saotome's home timeline, he'd become the Nebula Knight - the Knight Of Duty. As a nebula was a thin but pervasive thing that could birth stars, so too was a sense of duty something fragile in one sense but powerful in another. Duty kept him going when everything else was cold ash, as Botan had reminded him.

Besides, he still felt the dragonform was a *rush* - especially flying in it.

And the landscape certainly merited it. Ice everywhere. Jagged spires and broken ridges and sharp-edged gaps. If he'd remained a cyborg it would have been tough going, for a normal human it would have been impossible.

A silver dragon, however, felt quite comfortable in the arctic conditions. That left finding which of the Senshi whose mental prison he'd found. A brief flickering image revealed a sentry, but a casual tail lash sent it off.

Finally he landed and approached the spire of blue-white ice, a girl's upturned face imprisoned within.

Grey smiled toothily (there was another way with a snout like that?) and cast a spell used by dragons who were lucky enough to have found it. It was odd that more dragonmages didn't have it though, as the spell could be *quite* useful. "Change Breath Weapon" allowed a red dragon whose breath weapon was normally a cone of flames to breathe lightning instead.

A faint emerald shine on his scales would have clued in the Pheonix Mage. As the spell completed, Grey used the breath weapon of an emerald dragon.

Aimed carefully, the hypersonic wail just brushed the girl's prison and caused it to crack. Now that there were surfaces for claws to find purchase in, cautious removal of the ice surrounding Ami Mizuno could commence.

He hunched carefully over the currently blue-skinned girl and sniffed deeply. She was cold but alive. Keeping an eye out for the sentry he still sensed nearby, he switched to a red dragon's breath weapon while the spell was still running and created a pool of warm water. He had just gently lowered the girl within, when the sentry finally made a move.

--------

More Weird Ideas:

Nodoka as a sorceress who wants her son to be manly and have lots of grandkids.

Akane as the "best straight martial artist in Nerima" and the victim of a horrible fate.

What would happen if the sentai heroes tried an approach besides "wait for the monster of the week to show up"? Here they don't do so good...

Genma with the ability to learn from his mistakes.

A Soun Tendo who actually is concerned about his daughters' happiness.

Nabiki as greedy, but without the fanfic/canon? "evil soul." (According to one message, Takahashi stated that Nabiki was a 'greedy girl with a tainted soul'. No, i don't know where these 'facts' come from that are occasionally thrown my way by the Canon Knights. Maybe they're in telepathic contact with the author. Sometimes i hear about an interview, but i've never seen/heard a translation so it may all be vapor like the "Ranma must go back to the Amazon village to be a slave if he marries Shampoo" fanfic precept.)

Instant Minions, just add water, for those who wondered where all the high powered flunkies came from. Or can one picture "Faceless Minions Unlimited" - an employment agency? Maybe a farm someplace where vegetable-brained yoma are raised like wheat?

Change Breath Weapon (dragon spell) (uncommon)
Casting Time: 3, Components: V,S, Duration: 3 uses or 1 turn/level
Range: 0, Area of effect: caster, saving throw: none
This allows the dragon to change his/her normal breath weapon to a single breath weapon type that s/he has directly observed. Damage is unchanged, only the form (flame, lightning, mist, etc.) and area of effect are changed.

planned:
1st Labor - Skysaber's Choice (Reconcile Queen Serenity and the Pheonix Mage)
2nd Labor - Reluctant Bet (Substitute for Ranma, stabilize the timeline)
3rd Labor - Forward To The Past (planned, not written) - Repair the damage done by another timetraveller (Ares Trap) (more serious, either set in Cao Cao's China or just prior to the American Revolution (appearing in Pennsylvania 1774)