Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma Saotome: The Atomic Kid ❯ Chapter 2

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

Ranma Saotome: The Atomic Kid.

Part 2

Kick ass and chew gum.

++++++++++++++++++++

Ranma smirked as he spread his feet and put up his fists. Akane growled irritably at this from beside him. She faced the onslaught head on though and took up her own fighting stance.

The crowd started to shrink as a few of the boys stopped running quite suddenly, a few falling on their rears as they stared in surprise.

Most of them continued forward regardless.

Ranma stood waiting for them calmly next to Akane. The girl started to step forward.

One of the students nearby pulled his hands up to his mouth and called to his comrades. "Stop you idiots! That's the Atomic Kid!"

Ranma's head whipped around to face the one who had spoken the words. His face was as expressionless as ever.

The crowed had halted, and Akane stared at the boy at her side in shock. "What?"

Ranma merely pushed his shades up his nose and walked forward with his hands in his pockets. He walked up to the terrified looking boy who had stopped the mad dash.

"You know. I think your friends would like to know. Until you opened your mouth and called me that, I was gonna let anyone who stopped go. No one calls me that to my face."

The boy whimpered, and the male populace of the school stepped back.

Ranma slugged the boy dead in the gut and sent him to the ground. He noticed the reaction of the crowd and smirked. "I guess I could go easy on ya this time. Seein as everyone has got the point now."

"What the hell are you doing!?" screamed Akane in shock as she dove into Ranma's head with a kick. The boy hadn't seen it coming and was planted face first into the dirt.

Akane dusted off her hands and frowned at him angrily. "You bully!"

Ranma stood up and dusted off his arms calmly. She caught a glimpse of his dark blue eyes as he simply gave her a passing glance just before he replaced his shades.

"Man, what are those made of?" commented one of the crowd in awe. There was a small crater where the boy's head had hit the ground.

He turned to face her and put up his fists calmly.

"What are you doing?" snapped Akane.

"You wanna fight? We go till one of us can't fight anymore."

The girl stepped back and gasped in shock.

"Come on."

"Stop that, I'm not going to fight you!" snapped Akane irritably.

"You started it," replied Ranma as he started to edge forward.

"I was just..."

"You're about to learn what it means to attack me. I can take a slap or two from a pretty lady, but you went over the line."

Akane was starting to grow very nervous. "Look, I'm sorry..."

"I can stand this no longer!"

Ranma whirled around to face the new voice. An angry boy of about seventeen was rushing forward with a wooden sword held over his head. He had an angry look in his eyes as he bounded from behind the crowd, knocking onlookers aside carelessly. Ranma was a little taller than he was, but the older boy had a slight reach advantage with his sword. He decided it was easy to change that.

Kuno was knocked flat on his ass by the shot. The resounding boom filled the campus and sent students diving into the ground in screaming mass.

"Not so tough without your stick are ya?" commented Ranma as he stared down the sights of his still smoking desert eagle. The weapon was a shined black metal with polished wooden handles. An identical twin weapon rested inside the boy's school bag, from where he had taken the other weapon.

"Kuno!" screamed Akane in horror.

"He ain't hurt. Get up ya big pussy," snorted Ranma as he walked towards the boy's fallen form.

Kuno was groaning painfully as he rolled slightly and lifted his torso up with his arm. "Wha?"

"You shot him!" screamed the angry girl.

"Nah, would have been much messier if I had," replied the boy stonily.

Akane stared at the book bag the boy had in his hand dumbly. It was a large handbag, and she could still see a tiny bit of the other weapon's handle sticking out of it.

"Come on, we ain't got all day."

Kuno was busy looking at the stub in his hand. The end was puffed out and splintered, about an inch above his thumb. "My, blade," muttered the boy dumbly.

"That ain't a blade, it's a stick," replied Ranma. He reached down into his boot and pulled out a large polished silver blade. It glinted in the sun as he showed all twelve inches of it to Kuno by pointing the tip at his face. "If yer thinkin it's a good idea to go get one to use, I'll put this one through your teeth after I shoot you."

Kuno merely stared up at the boy in horror and nodded slowly.

"Good." Ranma's tone had not changed once throughout the entire conversation.

Akane stepped back away from Ranma slightly.

"Where you goin? We ain't through yet."

"What?" said Akane as she stepped back again in shock.

"You heard me. I don't like repeating myself either."

"Haven't you made enough of a mess?" snapped Akane angrily.

"Quit complainin, ain't even no property damage yet."

"I don't want to fight you!" screamed the girl as she blew her top and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Yeah, now," he replied as he rushed up to her face and poked her in the forehead. She fell on her rear and squeaked in pain as she hit the ground.

"Keep your temper under control."

"What the? You bastard! You've got no room to talk!"

"Maybe, maybe not."

Akane seethed in anger as the boy walked calmly towards the building. Just as he reached the inside, the sky opened up and it began to rain.

The student body quickly followed Ranma's example.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Kasumi Tendo opened the door to the guestroom with a mop and broom. She stooped down to pick up the bucket she had placed down to enter.

She gasped at the sight she beheld. The walls were covered in firearms. They hung from racks that were propped up inside the room. She spotted several progressively larger models of shotgun to her right. "Oh my!" There were weapons she couldn't even begin to identify, and a few that looked extremely high tech. Over in the corner was a small case with several large knives inside.

She dropped the bucket onto the floor as she spotted the rocket launchers. "Oh dear!" Every weapon had a few rounds or clips resting in large shelves just behind where the weapons were hanging. The whole setup left about six feet of sleeping space. The window was the only open space on the wall in the room, allowing light to enter from outside.

"Perhaps I should just ask Ranma to make sure this room stays clean from now on?" She looked down and sighed as she realized she had to mop before she left. Luckily, the mess wasn't that big. Just a little splash over as the bucket had landed right side up and not tipped.

She paused though when she noticed a white slip of paper hanging off of one of the racks. It was held on with tape. "Heard about where yer goin already, that place puts out some nice babes. Thought you might want yer crap. Enjoy, gave you a few extra rounds ta go with it. Duke."

"Oh. Well that was very nice of him then," said Kasumi as she hummed cheerfully and cleaned her mess up.

+++++++++++++++++++++

Ranma stood at the front of the class. The teacher looked like a complete wuss standing next to him, and he knew it. His face was deep into the boy's file as he read it.

"Students, this is Ranma Saotome. I should note the side note here. "If you call him that, he'll probably kill you."

"What he said," agreed the boy stonily.

The class desks creaked collectively as they sat back with wide eyes.

Akane was the only exception, she grumbled irritably and glared at him. She had a large grass stain on the back of her skirt now, and Kasumi was going to be upset with her for it. It was all his fault.

Ranma merely walked to his desk and sat down.

"Where's your sister?" asked Ranma as he turned his head to look at Akane.

"She's in her own class moron," she replied as she frowned directly at him.

"Nah, she started running as soon as she saw me put up my fists. She was on the second floor. Never saw her come out, didn't see her on the way back either."

"We went by her class, maybe she got there first?" snorted Akane.

"She wasn't sitting there when I looked," replied Ranma.

"Um, excuse me?" said the Teacher. Everyone was engrossed in the conversation that was going on. The poor teacher couldn't believe this boy had the balls to be doing it right in front of him.

"What do you mean?" said Akane as she stared at him with what was now a fearful frown.

"What is going on here!?" snapped the teacher.

"Ain't sure yet," replied Ranma calmly as he adjusted his glasses and looked at him.

"Take those ridiculous things off!" snapped the teacher.

"No," said Ranma calmly.

Akane gasped, she could see the other side of the lenses from the angle she was at. The image inside was not just what was going on in front of him. There was a complicated looking scope of some kind, tiny buttons lined the rim around the lenses. She could only guess what they did. "Wha?"

Just before things could heat up any more, a new voice rang out over the crowd. "Ranma Saotome! I would have words with you!"

Ranma cracked his knuckles and stood up. "Okay."

"What the hell are you doing? I'm in the middle of a class here!" snapped the teacher.

"So teach it," replied Ranma calmly as he pushed through the door.

"I see," said the teacher as he narrowed his eyes and frowned.

Akane jumped from her chair. "Hey! Wait! What about..."

"Akane Tendo! Sit down!" snapped the teacher as his patience finally vanished.

"What?" said the girl as she glared at him. He quickly cowered behind his desk. "I'm going to check on my sister!" She turned and rushed out the door after the boy.

+++++++++++++++

Ranma stood across from Kuno in the front courtyard. Neither said a word, Ranma was about eight feet closer to the front gates than Kuno was as they faced off in the main pathway.

"You say that you will meet my steel with steel? If I face you with such a weapon, it is to be a match of death."

"You start wavin a sword around, and I'll answer with lead," replied Ranma. He didn't seem particularly interested in what was going on.

"I see, then perhaps another contest?"

"Contest?" said Ranma as he arched his eyebrows.

"I must prove my strength to Akane Tendo, show her that I am your better. Show her that no man may stand against my might!"

"This is over a chick?" asked Ranma as the corners of his lips turned down slightly. "One stupid babe?"

Kuno looked at him for a moment and frowned as well. "Akane Tendo is perfection in a woman."

"Well, whatever floats your boat buddy. What the hell does this have to do with me?"

"You were with her today when she passed through the gates. Tell me what your relationship to her is?" Kuno pointed his bokken at Ranma in a rather dramatic fashion.

"Who do you think you're pointin that thing at?" said Ranma as he turned his body to face the boy completely.

"Merely to drive home my feelings for Akane Tendo," offered Kuno with an unusual calm.

"Yeah, whatever," said Ranma as he brushed it aside.

"You seem to be a strong man, such as I," replied Kuno.

Ranma was growing irritated with this. "Is there a point in here?"

"You still have not named your relationship with Akane Tendo."

"My old man arranged a marriage to her family," replied Ranma with a shrug. "I gotta marry one of em supposedly. Pain in the ass really."

Kuno's jaw dropped like a lead weight. "You fiend!"

Ranma had no response to this.

"You dare try to pressure Akane Tendo into marriage? She is destined to be my one true flower of..."

"I don't think she likes you actually," replied Ranma with a small shrug.

"Bah! You do not understand the simplicity of a woman's heart. She desires only me! I know this to be true!"

"Yer nuts," said Ranma as he calmly lit a cigarette.

"You cannot smoke upon the hallowed grounds of Furinkan High!"

"This place is a heap," snorted Ranma as he glanced around. "This is the most out of date school I've ever seen. Then again, I been around quite a bit."

"You mock me sir!" cried Kuno. He rushed forward and drew his bokken.

Ranma merely jabbed him in the face with the butt of his weapon as it was once again popped out of the bag. He hadn't put it down since he had arrived. "You can just stay there for a while. I gotta go figure out who was stupid enough to try and steal my chick."

"Ow dare noo speak off Akane Nendo dat vay!" cried Kuno as he stopped nursing his bleeding nostril for a moment.

"I'm talkin about that other chick," replied Ranma as he started to walk away. "Nabitchi or whatever."

Kuno merely looked forward with wide eyes. "Nabiki Tendo? I do not understand...why would? You! Halt, if for a brief moment. You are engaged to Nabiki Tendo?"

Ranma paused his stride for a moment and turned his head slightly. He still had the cigarette in his mouth as he spoke. "Sure. I guess she is."

"I see," said Kuno as he stood up and tried to look as regal as his bloody nose would allow. He calmly walked towards the building and inside one of the side doors that led to the nurse's station.

Ranma merely walked to the front door and reached inside his bag. He pulled out a harness that fit around his chest. It had two holsters and about ten clips of ammunition attached to it. He pulled the weapons out and holstered them before dropping the bag to the ground. "Wonder who decided to visit?"

He kicked the double doors open and strode into the main hall, taking drags off his cigarette as he walked right through the hall as if he was strolling down the street.

No one appeared outside of the rooms to stop him, though there were faces crowding the windows of almost every door.

Ranma smirked as he turned to the door that led into the basement. "Knock, knock."

He leaned a little closer to the door and put his hand up to his mouth. "Psst, you're supposed to say who's there."

A loud bang sounded behind the door and Ranma rolled aside as wood splintered the hallway behind him. There was the sound of a shell being ejected with a pump from the other side of the door.

He pushed himself up to his feet immediately mid roll and pulled both of his weapons to the ready. "Hope you got a little more than that pal."

Screams started from the classrooms as students went into a panic. The hallway remained clear though as they backed further into the rooms. Ranma unloaded several rounds into the giant manlike creature that emerged from the door. It was an anthropomorphic creature, a man crossed with a pig. It was also wearing what looked like a police officer's uniform from America.

Akane turned into the hallway in a dead run. She screeched to a halt and barely avoided hitting the lockers. "Where is my sister?" she cried as she stared at Ranma.

"Hmmm, the new model," said Ranma as he picked up the fallen shotgun from the dead thing's grip.

"What the hell is that?" cried the girl as she suddenly realized that something wasn't right.

"Just a pig, hired help."

"Pig?" muttered Akane fearfully as she stared at it. "What's going on here? Where's Nabiki?"

"My guess is down there," said Ranma as he pointed at the stairs on the other side of the open door.

"Are there more of these things?" said the girl as she stared at it in horror.

"Yup. Never seen just one," said Ranma calmly as he looked into the poorly lit stairwell.

"I'm going with you!" cried Akane as he started to step forward.

"You'll only get in the way," he replied simply as he ignored her.

"You can't stop me from following you," said the girl as she started after him.

She stopped dead in her tracks as she found herself with the barrel of the shotgun stuck into her forehead. She simply looked up nervously at it. "What are you doing?"

"Well, I figure we might as well get this over with. If you come down those stairs with me, yer gonna get shot anyway."

Akane frowned at him and stared him down as hard as she could muster. "You said my sister was down there."

"Probably, gotta wonder who would know about this already though."

"You were expecting this?" gasped Akane in shock.

"Blame your old man and mine, it was their idea," replied the boy as he glanced down at her for a moment.

Akane didn't like the sound of that, but she couldn't really argue with him at the moment. "Why are we standing here?" she snapped as she pushed the barrel of the weapon aside and rushed by him.

He stopped her by grabbing the back of her shirt. "Careful, they have guns." He held the weapon up in front of his face as he walked forward.

Akane blushed as she walked directly behind him. "Right."

The pair found themselves in a large storage room. There were desks and chairs stacked up with sports equipment. There were also props for student plays, boxes of seasonal decorations, and a few larger teachers' desks.

Ranma merely frowned as he glanced around the room.

Akane gasped as she found herself being violently pulled to the ground as the sound of gunfire exploded in the room. The roar died down and she gasped as she realized she wasn't hurt. Ranma had a firm grip on her wrist to keep her from getting up in her dazed state. She recovered a bit and glanced around. They were behind a large wooden table near the entrance. The wood was fairly heavy, but there were still a few holes in it from the exchange.

Ranma was turned against the legs with his shotgun held in an upright position. "Behind the big desk near the other wall."

"What?" muttered the girl.

"That's where they are," he replied simply as he popped a shell out of the shotgun. "Two of em."

Akane nodded slowly as she realized that she could hear a low grunting at the moment.

Ranma casually tossed the shell over his shoulder and into the middle of the room.

"What are you doing?" hissed Akane.

Ranma merely jumped up suddenly and fired a single shot. Two reports sounded as the other shell went off on the ground. Loud squeals of pain filled the room suddenly.

"That."

Akane stood up and followed after Ranma as he calmly exited their cover. He walked over to an upright teacher's desk. The bottom was open, with a thin layer of metal across the front. There was a pool of blood forming around the bottom now.

Ranma raised his weapon into a firing position and jumped on top of the desk. He fired two shots and the squealing stopped. He casually jumped down and picked up the two weapons that were now strewn on the floor. One was another shotgun, and the other was a small submachine gun.

He tossed Akane the shotgun. The girl almost dropped it in shocked revulsion.

"You wanna keep going, you keep it."

She frowned at him deeply. "How do I use this stupid thing?"

Ranma stood up and took it back. He cocked the weapon and looked it over quickly. "I'll show you." He picked it up and cocked it. A shell flew out of the chamber. "Push a shell in like that. Point and squeeze the trigger. Careful, it kicks hard. You've got six rounds." He placed the discarded shell back in. "It jams sometimes, so stay back even though you've got it. I don't want to waste time teaching you how to clear it right now. They know we know about them now."

Akane nodded seriously and took the weapon back. "All right."

++++++++++++++++++

Nabiki was still struggling against her captors. Two giant monsters had snagged her out of the back of a crowd in the confusion after the commotion outside at the beginning of the day. She was terrified by the gigantic pigs who kept her arms in a firm grip as they held her in the middle of a room with no one else in it. All they were doing was holding her and she didn't want to risk pissing them off too much. Simply standing there and taking it was a bit below her dignity and she pulled at their grip weakly, just enough to make holding her still actual work.

She doubted if they could speak at all. A few grunts of annoyance had been the only sound she'd heard from either one. She did have some idea about what was going on. She was waiting on someone.

After what seemed like hours the door in the back of the room opened and she froze.

It was some sort of armor. Black polished metal that stood almost eight feet tall. It was easily four feet wide and broke the doorway apart to accommodate its girth simply by walking through it. "Ah. Nabiki Tendo I presume?" It turned its head to look at her. The voice was not mechanical and she realized that she could see his face hidden behind a dark tinted bubble of glass. The things robotic hands reached out and plucked her from the ground around her waist and pulled her up to it for a closer view. The glass slid up and revealed a serious looking man with a yellow and black bandana. Small screens surrounded the area around his face with all sorts of technical data. The largest one in the front she recognized as a global tracking system. A whirring sound from just beside her head forced her attention to what appeared to be a chain gun that was extending from the right wrist. The left wrist had three large holes with missiles inside of them.

Nabiki Tendo seemed to realize just how bad her position was. "What do you want?" She felt incredibly small as the man turned off the weapon and it slowly spun to a stop.

"I want Ranma Saotome. You're alive because you're bait. It doesn't really matter if you're going to marry him or not. I'm sure he'll come after you anyway. You've got roaming eyes, I'm afraid he doesn't like smart women. I'll tell you this much, if holding you is too much of a problem, I'll gladly rid him of his obligation to your family. I'm not just talking about you either."

One of the pigs rushed into the room gasping for breath hoarsely. It grunted and pointed back behind its head.

"Heh. He's coming," said the man as he tossed her aside carelessly. His visor slid back into place and he turned towards the next door. "Prepare the Technobots. We've got a long day ahead of us."

The thing grunted and saluted his master.

"Tie her up and prepare her for execution. When he comes through here, shoot her."

"No!" cried Nabiki as she tried to scramble to her feet. The two pigs who had been holding her chuckled as one of them pulled rope from his utility belt. The other one cocked its shotgun and glared at her. She couldn't outrun that weapon. The only other object in the room was a table.

"The harder you fight, the more they'll enjoy killing you. I suggest you cooperate and hope for the best." The thing crashed through the next door and pretty much destroyed any doorway in his way as he turned into the hallways of the basement.

She'd had no idea the place was this large underground. There was no way a school needed this much of whatever the hell some of the machines she'd seen did. The things tightened the ropes around her wrists and started on her feet. She growled under her breath as one of them gave her a light but painful kick in the stomach as they stood up and left her lying there. The other simply cocked his shotgun and stood over her watching the door. The other one was guarding the rear entrance with its own weapon. "How the hell are you gonna get out of this one Tendo?"

++++++++++++++++++++

Ranma and Akane were walking down the middle of a dark cement hallway. Pipes periodically lined the walls and occasionally had to be stepped around. Akane didn't like where she was, Ranma didn't seem to care. Some of the pipes had large warning labels on them and moisture dripped from others. It gave the path a sort of wet stench to it. It seemed to stretch out for miles before them. "What is this place?" asked the girl as she gripped the weapon nervously.

Ranma glanced around he was strolling almost casually and puffing on a cigarette. "Something's going on here. This is a bit beyond the school board's budget for the century."

"What do you mean? Someone built something under Furinkan? Why?" muttered Akane dumbly.

"This is a bit much for a trap, even for some of the people I know. We'll find out more soon enough. I find these guys like to talk a lot when you meet them. Maybe I'll let him finish before I shoot him, if it's interestin enough."

"Ape," grumbled Akane irritably. "I hate this thing." She stared at the weapon in her hands but didn't loosen her grip on it.

"The art of the gun is a difficult path," said Ranma with a small shrug.

"You call this art? Anyone can..."

"Anyone can kill with a sword, or a car, or explosives, or..."

"Not this easily," growled the girl as she glared at him.

"Maybe you're right. Just because something is easy to use, doesn't mean it's easy to master. The Way of the Gun is as much a martial art as Anything Goes."

"What? That's crazy!" snapped the girl. Ranma hadn't even twitched an eyebrow for the entire conversation.

"You'd better listen up. I don't have time to take you by the hand and carry you back to where we started. Going back now isn't safe. They know we're here and they're coming for us. This little pause is nothing but the calm before the storm kid." He actually grinned at her as she stared at him blankly and blinked. He pulled one of the handguns out from behind his back and slung the shotgun over his shoulder in the same motion and pointed it down the empty hallway. "You've got to become one with it. It is an extension of you, a limb of its own. You must know where your shots will land, before you squeeze the trigger, it must react as quickly as you can. When you get there, you will understand."

"I'll never understand this crap!" she snarled at him.

"Well. I suppose it's been nice knowing you then," replied the boy as he fired his weapon twice. The sound of metal twisting and a loud crash turned her attention towards her right. A large silver robot with a single wheel and two clamps for arms crashed into the ground and started shooting sparks out the holes in its back. The head had a slowly fading red light in its center.

Akane screamed and flinched as she wheeled around on her heels to glare at him. "What the hell are you doing?"

"It's time to run," said the boy calmly as he tossed his cigarette on the ground. "We don't have much ammo and I hate not having explosives on me."

She turned her head and stared at what was coming. Dozens of the robots were bearing down on them, and there were maybe two more with clam like hands. The others had automatic weapons on either arm. She could see one or two with barrels as big around as her leg on one arm.

"What are those things?" gasped Akane as she struggled to keep up with him.

"Technobots. I haven't seen them in years," muttered Ranma angrily.

"What's going on?" cried the girl in terror as bullets started bouncing around raining pieces of cement down on them from above.

Ranma didn't answer and pulled her arm as he ducked into a small corner and held one of his handguns just outside it.

"What the hell are you doing?" screamed the girl as she found herself pressed between the wall and his chest.

"Too much traffic," he replied as the handgun reported. A huge ball of flame roared into the hallway as one of the pipes exploded and sent flaming debris bouncing down the hallway past them. Ranma backed away and walked into the hallway with both weapons held ready in opposite directions. He turned them both down the open hallway when he noticed the path was blocked by a few tons of concrete. "Much better. The walls are thicker than I'd thought."

The girl coughed a she waved some of the huge cloud of smoke and dust out of her face and staggered out of their cover. "You could have killed us both!"

"Maybe," he replied calmly. "The hallway ends just ahead. We need to find out what this place is."

"What about my sister?" snarled Akane angrily.

"When we find out who's behind this, we'll find your sister. I think this is some idiot's idea of a trap."

"All of this?" said the girl as she simply stood there with her mouth open.

"Nah. Probably just bad luck. Having me going to school right over your secret base could be messy."

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Tatewaki Kuno glared at the thing that had dared intrude upon the hallowed halls of Furinkan High. Unfortunately, he could do little more than that, as it was armed with a shotgun. It grunted and started waving the girls across the room towards it, pointing them out into the hallway with its weapon.

They could hear them screaming in the hallway as they found themselves herded away in mass.

"I cannot stand for this!" screamed Kuno as he lunged out of his seat and swiftly drew his wooden blade. The animal never knew what hit it and fell to the ground. Kuno stared out into the hallway and glared at the boys in his class. "You intend to stand like cowards while these things spirit our women away? Cowards! I shall stand and fight!" He raised his sword over his head and put it through the ceiling tile. A piece of it remained stuck on the end of the blade as he hung it across his shoulder. "Fear not fair maidens of Furninkan. I, Tatewaki Kuno shall come to your aide!"

None of the other boys moved as he dashed out the door.

"Maybe he'll get himself killed."

"We can only hope."

"Man. I'm gonna miss Hitomi, she put out."

Several boys in the class nodded in agreement.

++++++++++++++++++++

"How our the plans proceeding?"

"Two thousand women. I'll have your order ready. Just make sure you keep your end of the bargain."

"Hibiki. Do not fail me."

The man growled angrily in response to that and shut down the transmission. "Me? Fail?" His eyes filled with rage as he thrust his mech's arms outward smashing the walls and ceiling around him and sending debris blasting in every direction.

Two higher-ranking pig cops stood behind him and backed away fearfully as he slowly turned towards them. "Get the trucks loaded and ready. If you happen to pick up a few extra, well we'll just call it a bonus."

The things grunted sharply and saluted him before rushing away grunting and squealing noisily.

He hated that sound, he had no idea why. It bothered him on a level even he couldn't understand. Yet his superiors insisted on their use. "Worthless, stupid creatures."

"Ranma Saotome, soon, because of me, you will see hell."

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Explosions on the surface of the planet below burned brightly. Even in the void of space, the black and orange balls of flame and thick black clouds of smoke were clearly visible.

Ryoga Hibiki stared from the void of space, a single pane of glass separating him from the airless nothing. "It's beautiful."

"Yes," said a slightly mechanical sounding voice from behind him. A steel claw rested on his shoulder. "Only in chaos does humanity show its true destructive beauty. That is humanity's power, its purpose."

"Dr. Proton. Why did you take me with you?"

"I wanted to create a distraction once that brat Nukem started carrying around became an annoyance. Didn't take long, the annoying little runt. You were merely the best choice genetically, the closest match I could find to his potential. It did not hurt that I might need an Heir one day." The old man seethed angrily as he stared hatefully at the planet's surface. "This is only the beginning. No one can stop me now boy, not even him."

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ryoga frowned as the orange light of his readout screen in front of him bathed his face in a pale glow. "You were wrong. Always wrong, but oddly enough, only when it really counted." He smirked to himself and revved the mini-gun on his arm impatiently. "Hurry up Ranma. I'm getting tired of waiting."

He paused as he came to a split in the hallway, one to the left and another to his right. He glanced down at his screen and saw a small arrow pointing to his left. He turned right and a flashing red light started inside the suite. He growled angrily as he continued to turn in place until the light turned green. He started forward again and stomped away.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ranma and Akane walked into a large room filled with what appeared to be holding pens. Nothing more than cages with cloth laid out on the ground in each one.

"What is this place?"

"Holding pens. I don't think they've been used yet," replied Ranma as he looked around the room. It was very dark, but he'd yet to remove his sunglasses.

"What can you see?" she asked him as she clutched at the shotgun nervously.

"Everything," he replied simply. "Nothing to see here really." He fired two shots behind them without looking back and a loud squeal sounded as something hit the ground.

Akane jumped and screamed as she turned around.

"Relax, it was just one. His friends will be showing up soon though."

"I thought you said you'd never seen just one?"

"First time for everything," replied the boy as he continued through the room. "Door is this way."

"Where are we going anyway?" muttered the girl as she jogged up directly behind him.

"Wherever that door takes us," he replied calmly. He pushed it open and the girl behind him gasped.

"I was wondering when you guys were gonna show up," said Ranma as no less than twenty of the pig things stood around the door with a weapon pointing at them.

"Oh, shit," muttered Akane when the boy cocked his shotgun. She dove behind the wall as he simply strolled into the room.

"Who wants to take the first shot?" The things all stepped away from him.

A loud clang sounded just behind him and the ground shook under his soles slightly. "What the?"

Three technobots landed from a ledge above the door once he'd gotten far enough into the room. "Fuck."

A resounding boom filled the room and one of the robot's head fell off. It fell forward slowly and slid across the ground for a short way after it landed. Ranma was quick to roll as the pig things scattered and stood to his feet with the rocket launcher the machine had been carrying resting on his shoulder. "Never thought she'd be the one to shoot first."

Akane was still picking herself up from the ground with the smoking shotgun being held shakily in her grip in the other room.

Ranma shifted his head as one of the robot claws slashed by his left ear and fired a rocket towards a group of about seven pigs. He twisted around and fired his handgun into the machine's torso as he jumped back away from its falling body. He rolled on his side a few times and spun towards more gunfire that was directed at him.

Akane was on her feet in the doorway watching the scene with a look of shocked awe on her face. The boy simply turned his torso sideways with his palm on the ground and fired another rocket towards the pigs that were shooting at him from around a corner just inside a hallway that led out of the room. Pieces of them flew everywhere as the round exploded against the opposite wall and consumed the opening in flame and debris.

The remaining robot carved one of the few pigs left in two as it slashed its bladed arm at his position. The boy simply jumped up and over the strike while firing two shots into the thing's head. Before he landed he twisted his torso and killed the last two remaining pigs with two clean headshots before his feet touched the ground. The weapon was twirled around his finger as he hefted the rocket launcher upright in his other arm over his shoulder. "Cool. Ammo." He immediately began raiding the ground for weapons and ammo. He picked up and wiped the blood off of a forty five-millimeter semi automatic handgun. "Here."

The girl caught it and nearly dropped it in disgust.

"It's more reliable than the shotgun. Doesn't jam as easily. It's got a ten round clip on it too." He patted her shoulder as she looked at it. "Doesn't kick as much either."

"You should have told me about that," she growled as she clenched the smaller weapon a little tighter. He caught the shotgun as she tried to drop it and grabbed her. She didn't have time to react as he hooked the shoulder strap across her torso and turned her towards the smoking hallway. "Keep it. You'll probably need it."

The girl didn't like the sound of that. "How do I use this stupid thing?" she cried as she rushed after him again. He was already moving though the pieces of pig cop and down the hallway.

"Come here and I'll show you," he replied stonily as he demonstrated the basic operation of the weapon with his own. "Same principal, make sure the safety is off or it won't fire."

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?" she muttered angrily as she glanced back at the mess he'd made.

"You know I do. I told you to stay behind, but you didn't listen. The only path now is forward."

She hung her head and glared at the ground angrily. "Why did I come?"

"If you're going to cry, do it quietly. The sound travels real well and they can hear better than you can." He calmly lit a cigarette and continued his fast paced stride.

"I'm not crying!"

"You might be before this is over. Just thought I'd warn you."

She seethed angrily at him for a moment and stomped.

"Stop that, walk softly and stay behind me. They might have wall mines, I can see them and you can't."

The girl blushed as her temper flared for a brief moment. She didn't like taking orders from him, but he knew about this sort of thing and she didn't have a clue.

+++++++++++++++++++

"Unhand these women at once foul creatures!" cried Kuno as he charged down the hall belting pig cops upside their heads with his bokkan as he rushed by them. Most of them were too surprised to realize what was happening and fell easily. The girls that filled the hallway screamed in fright as he charged through them towards his enemies.

Unfortunately it was not to last. Kuno was thrown bodily to the ground as one of the creatures blasted his sword into splinters with a shotgun. The boy stared at the shattered remains of his blade dumbly for a moment. "You foul beast! How dare you defile my mighty blade this way!"

The creature chuckled as it cocked the weapon in its hands and pointed it down at the boy.

Unfortunately, there were around thirty angry girls in the hallway, and he was the only remaining guard. One of the girls directly behind him belted him across his scalp with a fire extinguisher. There was a great cheer as the girls started to pick up some of the dropped weapons. The one who had rescued Kuno smirked at him and shoved the fallen monster's weapon into his chest.

"I cannot use this! I must find another blade!" he cried in protest. "Besides, its operation is impossibly complicated!"

"Say, how do you use these things anyway?" asked one of the girls. Most of them had never even seen a real firearm before. There was a collective muttering within the crowd as the armed girls inspected the weapons with those around them. There were only eight shotguns to go around.

"Look at this!" cried one of the other girls in horror as she leaned towards the windows. "It's not just the school!"

An alarmed cry of horror filled the hallway. Kuno merely glared out the window angrily.

Truckloads of women were being carted in from town. Strange vehicles were roaming the streets collecting them, most of them appeared to be light tanks of some sort, there were even a few airborne units buzzing about.

"I must find another blade!"

"What can we do? We don't know anything about guns!" cried one of the girls with a weapon in distress.

An alarmed squeal from the end of the hallway caused the girls to jump as another of the creatures stumbled across them. The girl nearest to the end of the hallway screamed as she spun around. The barrel of the shotgun reported as she squeezed her eyes shut. She fumbled with it and accidentally ejected a cartridge as she stumbled back into three other girls. They all managed to keep her from falling and she blinked as she looked at it.

"Oh! That's how it works!" she said cheerfully. "You just point it and squeeze this thing!"

"How did you get this thing to come out?" asked one of the others as she picked up the spent shell.

"I moved this thing," she said as she pointed out the cocking mechanism.

"Wow! You're so smart Kyoko!" squealed one of her friends cheerfully.

Kuno stared at the girls as they congratulated themselves. "Without my blade, these women are doomed. I must find another, but where?" He turned his eyes towards one of the girls and noticed that she was carrying a shotgun with her.

"Fair maidens. I have a request."

They all turned to look at him.

"As much as it shames me to say, I must acquire another blade. I ask that you remain here to defend this position as best you can. To venture into that madness is suicide for women such as yourselves. I ask that you loan me one of these detestable weapons, so that I might be able to fight my way to the Kendo practice hall and go forth into combat."

"Wow. I can almost respect that," said one of the girls as she handed him her shotgun and stepped back. "I mean, no one has ever called me a fair maiden, or a woman before."

Most of the girls were in agreement with this. Kuno puffed up his chest and boldly marched off into combat by taking the stairwell downward.

"Think he'll make it out of the building?" asked one of the girls.

"I kind of doubt it. It's to bad too, that was kind of romantic," replied another. "I never knew Kuno had it in him."

"How come he's the only boy here? Where's Jiro! My boyfriend should have come after me!"

"Say. Where are our boyfriends anyway?"

Several of the girls cocked the shotguns.

"Let's go find them," said one of the girls who was armed. They all started walking back towards their classrooms, there was about four rooms worth of girls that had been rescued. Each group had an armed escort.

+++++++++++++++++++

Ranma puffed on his cigarette casually as he spun around a door and fired into the hallway at the creatures that were charging them. Various robots littered the ground around them along with the bodies of more of the pigs behind and in front of them.

Akane was directly across from him leaning against a doorway in the room opposite him as he fired down the long hallway of rooms that extended in both directions. It was some sort of sleeping quarters. Someone had built an underground base under Furinkan.

Ranma said they were about four stories underneath the building.

The girl had her eyes closed as she tried to block out the horrible squeals of the things dying all around her. Ranma had weapons and ammunition hanging all over him, and she was content with what she had. She'd yet to use her weapons again.

A loud squeal forced her to open her eyes. One of the pigs was charging her directly from behind them. "No!" It had managed to get quite close and was no more than eight feet in front of her and charging. She gritted her teeth firmly and her arms reacted almost instinctively as she raised the weapon and fired one clean shot. The creature's brain flew out of the back of its head and it simply slumped to the ground at her feet.

Ranma glanced down at the thing and smirked. "Nice shot."

"It wasn't armed," she muttered dumbly.

"It's strong enough to rip your arms off barehanded. You did good," he replied stonily as he stepped out into the hallway again and fired off two more shots clearing their path. "Cool. More ammo for the machine guns," he said as he knelt down over one of the bodies and lifted a few clips from it. He calmly put his twin handguns away after reloading both of them. He had an Uzi in each hand a split second later and calmly slapped clips in both of them. "Looks like a few hundred rounds worth on the ground too. Reload your weapons. Take the clips that look like the one loaded in your weapon. I suggest you pick up a few more since they're lying around. I showed you how to get the clip out right?"

She nodded and managed to do it relatively quickly. She ignored the other weapons and shifted a little uncomfortably with the shotgun on her shoulder. "I think I've got enough now."

"Suit yourself. Don't come crying to me when you run out of ammo."

"If I do I'll pick something else up then," she grumbled sourly.

"There isn't always the opportunity. It's better to already have another ready." He picked up a sub-machine gun and thrust it into her chest. "This one has a strap too. Quit whining and take it."

"I don't want it," she grumbled as she hooked the strap on.

"So?" was the boy's reply as he started walking again.

+++++++++++++++++++

Kasumi Tendo watched the chaos outside her home with a broomstick in her hands. She was sweeping the sidewalk in front of the home and watching as giant pig men rushed by armed with all sorts of weaponry.

"Oh my. Maybe I should go inside?" she muttered to herself as she turned into the gate. "The streets aren't very safe lately."

+++++++++++++++++++

Ranma stepped into a large open room with several doors. It appeared to be some sort of mess hall. There were large metal picnic style tables bolted onto the floor in even spaces. It was a very large room and it had several exits.

"Where are we?" muttered Akane.

"Looks like we're in some sort of living quarters. This is a base of some kind, designed to hold prisoners, lots of them."

"It's a jail?"

"No. This is for slave trading," growled the boy as he scanned the area. "It's empty, come on."

She followed after him as he walked through the middle of the room fearlessly. He didn't look particularly concerned with anything that might be lurking in the numerous shadows.

A strange sound caught her attention and she glanced towards the source. It was a rhythmic thumping and whirring noise from the other side of one of the doors. "What's that?"

"Sounds like we're having company for dinner," said Ranma calmly. "Take cover, it sounds big."

The girl dashed away from him quickly and rushed up behind a table near the back of the room.

Ranma merely turned to face the sound with both of his sub-machine guns pointed towards the door.

The noise suddenly stopped and a whirring sound could be heard for the briefest of moments.

"Oh shit," said the boy as he dove away as the door was reduced to shreds, along with all of the tables between the door and the opposite wall. He rolled onto his side and glanced up. The barrel of a chain-gun was turning slowly to a halt as it poked out the hole in the wall.

"I was beginning to wonder what was taking you so long. I suppose your little friend has slowed you up a bit?"

"I know that voice. Ryoga, you bastard, what the hell are you doing here?"

"My job," he replied simply as his armor walked into the room and faced him.

"Nice monkey suit," commented Ranma.

"Thank you. I had it specially made just for you. I'm afraid I've got a contract to fill, and I can't have you getting in the way this time." He fired the chain-gun again and forced the boy to rush across the room to avoid the bullets. "Heh. I've got you now Saotome. You don't have any weapons that can penetrate this armor. You're doomed!" His laughter was quickly drowned out by the sound of his weapon reporting.

Ranma dodged and jumped around the room, all of the tables were torn to shreds except the area where Akane was hidden. Ryoga knew of her, but she was too unimportant to bother with. Ranma was avoiding that area of the room on purpose.

Ryoga growled angrily as the boy flipped his ponytail off of his shoulder. "You never learn do you Hibiki." He had hefted the rocket launcher over his shoulder.

"What? Only Technobots can use..." He growled angrily as he realized that there were wires coming out of his target's watch that were plugged into the weapon. "I see. You're quite resourceful!"

"Yeah," replied the ponytailed boy as he fired the weapon.

Ryoga's mech shifted to the side and the rocket slammed into the wall sending a spray of flaming concrete across the room. He responded by firing a missile at his target. "Take this then!"

Ranma twisted around the missile and fired two shots at it as it started to turn back towards him with his handgun. It exploded and tore into the remains of several tables. "You're too slow in that thing to catch me Hibiki."

"I don't need speed to overpower you!" roared the boy angrily as he turned towards the hidden girl. His chest opened up revealing two more mini-guns hidden away.

"Akane! Move!" called Ranma as he dove in front of the machine and fired off both of his handguns into the two new weapons.

The girl screamed as she stood up and ran along the edge of the room. A shower of concrete littered the ground just behind her as Ryoga turned and continued to fire at her. She dove across the ground through one of the undamaged doors and slid across the ground in the kitchen as the pots and pans hanging over the various stoves and metal tables became riddled with holes. Finally, the shooting stopped and she slowly looked up at the remains of the room. "Wow," she muttered dumbly at the extent of the damage. The bottom half of a pot hit the ground a little to her right and she jumped slightly. "Ranma?" Her attention was back at the doorway once again. There was no sound from the other room for a long moment. She rushed up beside the door with her handgun held in front of her chest and leaned against the remains of the kitchen door. She could hear them both talking now.

"So, Saotome. How have you been?"

"Better than you lost boy. I'm surprised you managed to find me at all."

"That shouldn't be a problem in the future. I've got access to the latest global tracking systems and I could pinpoint a sparrow anywhere on the planet if I wanted too."

"That's nice to know," replied Ranma as he raised his handguns and started to unload a few rounds into the machine's chest.

Ryoga laughed and continued to shift to face his opponent as he sidestepped across the room. "Pathetic."

"Laugh this off lost boy," snorted Ranma as he dove forward suddenly and hit the ground in a rolling dive. He fired his shotgun directly into the thing's torso just before he rolled through its legs. As soon as he was past it, he was forced to roll sideways to avoid being crushed as the mech tumbled onto its back.

"Damn!" growled Ryoga angrily.

The boy calmly puffed on his cigarette as he aimed his rocket launcher down at the suit. "Bye."

"You won't be rid of me so easily Saotome!" snapped Ryoga as two jets roared to life on his back. He was carried across the ground as the rocket the boy had fired at him exploded and just missed. The ponytailed boy arched his eyebrow as he watched the armored suit crash through another door and into a hallway. He lowered his weapons and flicked his cigarette away casually.

"Come on out, Akane. He's gone."

"What the hell was that?" she muttered nervously as she poked her head out of the kitchen.

"Just a stupid power suit," he replied calmly. "He should know better than to try to use something that slow against me."

"You know that guy?" gasped the girl in shock.

"Sure. I used to kick his ass all the time. He worked for Dr. Proton back when me and Duke used to kick his ass a lot. Duke took the doc, and I took Ryoga. Wouldn't have been fair the other way around. Not that they didn't try to catch me on my own sometimes."

"Like now?" she growled.

"Naw. I had more explosives then, this sucks a little more. All I got now is one rocket launcher. This is the last time I ever go anywhere with no grenades."

The girl hung her head and gave up. "Can we just go save my sister now?"

"Yeah, sure," replied the boy as he started walking again.

+++++++++++++++++++

Ryoga Hibiki cursed as he stomped down the hallway. He had gotten his mech upright easily after he'd escaped and was walking away from the pair. "I need an edge, this thing is too slow. Ranma was right about that." He turned to look at his screen as his hands worked the controls that were at his fingertips. One of the pigs was looking at him dumbly.

"Take that girl and bring her up to the rooftop. I'll be up shortly." Saotome's only real weakness was women. He hated to see them die. Especially pretty girls.

It would take him the better part of twenty minutes to find the place, even with his tracking systems. Ranma would need to be slowed down, fortunately he had the manpower to do that. "Head off Saotome as well. Keep him away from the rooftop until I'm ready for him."

+++++++++++++++++++

Tatewaki Kuno frowned as he looked down at the strange blade he had gripped in his hand. He was basically holding the shotgun like a sword with his finger over the trigger. As he belted the pigs over their heads he was cocking the weapon accidentally. Well, at first, but after a few swings he figured out how to make it work every time.

As it was he could swing his mighty enchanted blade and send one of the magical fire bursts towards his enemies. When one of the enchanted blades ran out, after about eight shots or so, he would acquire another one from one of the fallen pigs.

"This mighty Excalibur shall carry me forth into victory!" he cried as he promptly forgot about the Kendo hall and rushed outside the gates of Furinkan into the streets. "Surely such a mighty blade is truly worthy of Tatewaki Kuno! Have at thee villain!"

Groups of women were watching the insane man charge their captors wielding a shotgun like a samurai sword at the pig things.

More than a few of them were shocked at how successful he was at killing them. Once the weapon ran out of ammunition, it was quite useful as a blunt instrument. Kuno was quite skilled at both using, and being a blunt instrument.

"Go my fair maidens! You are free of your captors! I shall find the vile sorcerer that has dared defiled such beautiful maidens! Fear not!" He rushed off to bravely battle evil leaving a large group of dumbstruck women in his wake.

+++++++++++++++++++

Duke Nukem was watching television in a bar. He had a beer in front of him and three women sitting on his lap. There were also no less than ten dead pigs lying around the barroom floor. "This news stuff is boring. Put on some sports!" he called to the bartender.

"It's on every channel," replied the man calmly as he continued to clean a glass. "We're being invaded again in case you didn't notice. Speaking of that, why are you still here?"

"You call this an invasion? Let the kid handle it, he's big enough, and he's already in the middle of the mess. 'Sides, if the kid really needs help, I'll know. Ain't seen nothin but stupid pigs so far. Cops should be able to handle em by now. Useless wussies."

The man merely nodded.

The girls sitting on Duke's lap all thought it was something to giggle about and kissed him on the cheek.

+++++++++++++++++++

Ranma kicked the pig in front of him right between the legs and sent him head first into the concrete ceiling hard enough to split his skull open. He was firing at two more in the stairwell just above them at the same time.

The girl behind him was still crawling over bodies as they made their way up a long twisting stairwell. Another one rolled past her, forcing her to shift to the side slightly to avoid it. "How many of these things are there?"

"Lots," he replied as he carefully turned to the next short stairwell. "Hibiki knows I'm coming after him, so he's sending these things after us to slow us down."

The girl nodded. "My sister?"

"She's probably with him. I hate to say it, but she may already be dead Akane."

"What?"

"We ain't found her yet, don't you go and get all emotional before we're sure."

She growled slightly at this but nodded. He was right, they weren't sure. Still, she'd yet to even consider the possibility that Nabiki might already be dead.

Ranma snorted at the look on her face and turned to walk up the stairwell again. He was forced to stop, but didn't seem even slightly ruffled by the huge mechanical arm that shot through the wall and grabbed for him. He calmly stepped back as it reached back to grab for him again.

"Hey. Looks like we found Ryoga."

It was the arm with missiles in it. Ranma dove back and grabbed Akane as one of them shot out of the thing's wrist and slammed into the concrete wall beside them. They both dove around the corner and rolled down the stairs just ahead of the flames. Once they reached the bottom, the flames stopped and vanished quickly away.

"That was close," commented Ranma as he stood up and hefted the rocket launcher onto his shoulder again.

"What are you doing?!" cried Akane as she realized what he was using. "Do you want this place to come down on top of us?"

"It won't," he replied calmly as he stepped around the corner, aimed up at the thumping of the mech's feet and fired a rocket upwards towards the wall at the top.

A huge cloud of dust erupted from the wall and filled the stairwell, along with a strong beam of sunlight. "Hmmm, we're above ground now," commented the boy.

"Where are we?"

"It ain't Furinkan, some other building? This place looks almost like an office." He was looking at one of the doors in the stairwell. They'd started running into them every few floors or so. The pigs would come charging through them occasionally, either from above or below. Ranma didn't seem to have much trouble eliminating them from either direction.

"How can you see anything in this mess?" cried Akane after she coughed a bit. Her eyes were squinted and she was incredibly dirty. Her entire body and clothes was covered in a light gray film of dust.

"Come on. We're getting close."

"I was hoping to meet you a little higher up, but I suppose I'll have to deal with this," said Ryoga.

Akane gasped as she dove around the corner away from the thing. It was standing in front of the hole they had made in the wall with the chain-gun pointed down at them both.

Ranma's eyebrow arched as he looked up at him.

The weapon spun at high speed and began to fire down towards the ponytailed boy. Ranma launched himself into the air and avoided the shots and debris as the stairwell was torn apart by the shots. He landed on the thing's arm as it fired and swept his leg into the bubble that covered the lost boy's face. It was torn away and bounced off the wall and onto the ground. Without missing a beat, Ranma punched Ryoga in the face and pushed off the arm as he pulled his shotgun off his back and fired another round at point blank range into the thing's chest. A small cut appeared on his cheek as one of the buckshot pellets ricocheted past him.

Ryoga was sent tumbling back again, but this time there was no floor to catch him.

Ranma landed on top of the thing's chest and punched the screens in front of the lost boy's face. He flipped several switches and shifted his head to avoid being grabbed by one of the mech's flailing arms. "See you around Hibiki." He jumped off quickly as the thing's jets roared to life.

"No!" snarled Ryoga angrily as he shot out of the hole in the wall.

Ranma poked his head out and watched the mech streak through the air. It split into two separate jets as some sort of emergency escape mechanism was fired off. The main body curved in the air away from the smaller jet that was attached to what appeared to be a person. The out of control mech twisted several times in the air and came down on top of the building, crashing into the rooftop and sending a loud boom echoing across the city outside. He was in a ten-story building near the edge of Nerima from the look of it. Akane frowned as she realized they were about three floors from the top.

"Where are we?"

"Looks like the inside of an office building. Probably bought up and used as cover for the base. We've been underground for a while now."

The girl nodded as she realized she could see Furinkan a few miles into the distance.

"Something's going on," she said to him.

"Yeah. I don't think Hibiki is a big fish in this. He's just hired help for someone else. Slavers by the look of it."

"Slavers?!" gasped Akane in horror. "Nabiki?"

"Might be. I'll bet we'll find her at the top, with Ryoga."

"But isn't he?"

"Naw, he had an eject button," replied the boy as he continued to walk upwards. "Stay behind me, and when we reach the top find cover and wait. You'll just get in the way otherwise."

+++++++++++++++++++

Nabiki growled as the boy landed with a jetpack on his shoulders. He shrugged it off as soon as his feet touched down and it clattered across the ground. Without saying a word he calmly walked up to where she was being held.

The rooftop was a mess. The explosion of the mech had twisted the metal support beams of one of the corners into a spidery mess. Small and large chunks of wall now littered the ground. It was amazing she was still alive at all. Unfortunately, she was still tied up and under the vigilant guard of one of the pigs.

She was covered in smudges of dirt and had a few cuts and bruises on her now. Most of it was from the explosion that had killed one of her captors.

"You have done well. You get to leave before he arrives this time." He waved the remaining pig away calmly and pointed the handgun he had pulled from a holster on his side at the girl's head. It was one of two polished black semi-automatic weapons. The creature grunted and rushed off the edge of the rooftop. A parachute billowed out from its back as it fell away towards the ground.

"Great," she muttered irritably. "Are you going to shoot me or not? I'm getting tired of having those things getting shoved into my face."

"Don't worry Miss Tendo. When Ranma Saotome walks through that door, and he will at any moment. I'm going to put a nice hole right into the middle of your forehead. How does that sound?"

She swallowed as she looked up at him. He was smiling, and it wasn't a pleasant thing to see.

Ryoga merely turned his head towards the door and watched calmly as he waited.

+++++++++++++++++++

Ranma was standing in front of the last doorway. It would take them too the rooftop. "Hmm. A metal door."

"Come on! Why are we standing here?" muttered Akane angrily from behind him.

He glanced back at her and frowned. "Get back." He hefted the rocket launcher onto his shoulder and aimed at the doorway. "This might take a few seconds so keep quiet."

She blinked as she realized that there was a lot of activity going on inside the boy's glasses. She could see all kinds of readouts in green and red flashing through what appeared to be two people. One of them had a weapon pointed at someone kneeling down in front of the door. "No!" she cried as she tried to rush by the boy.

He fired the rocket and shoved her back around the corner once again.

+++++++++++++++++++

Ryoga cursed as the door shot off the hinges in a ball of flames. It slammed into his body sending him sprawling across the gravel surface of the rooftop. "Damn!" He shoved it off of him quickly and aimed towards where the Tendo girl was kneeling. She was already on her feet and rushing away.

"No you don't!" screamed the lost boy angrily as he jumped to his feet and started to aim.

"You should be more worried about where I'm pointing my weapon," said Ranma as he appeared in the doorway.

Nabiki stopped suddenly as she realized who she was looking at. Akane slipped onto the rooftop just behind Ranma and started hiding behind the twisted remains of the roof and some of the other debris as she skirted around the edge of the battle trying to reach her sister. The older girl was more than a little surprised to see a handgun in her little sister's grip. "What the?" It almost made her forget that she had stopped running in plain sight. The sound of someone rolling across the ground behind her forced her to gasp and look back.

Just in time to see Ryoga Hibiki grab the back of her neck and shove her between himself and Ranma. She stared forward at the boy who was living in her home as he frowned at them both. "Oh shit. I'm gonna die."

"Let her go Hibiki," snarled Ranma angrily.

"I think not. I'll use her as a shield. You won't kill her, and when I escape I'll get rid of her for you."

"I can't let you escape Hibiki," growled Ranma as he searched for any shot he could take. Ryoga was quite skilled though and kept her directly in front of himself at all times.

If there was one thing Ranma hated, it was a standoff. Hibiki had to get though the door behind him in order to escape, and he couldn't fire without killing Nabiki at the moment.

Both of them simply stood off and waited. Neither one spoke as they both searched for any weakness in the other's current defenses.

+++++++++++++++++++

Akane gasped as she tried to level the weapon. It was shaking badly as she stood on her perch over the battle. The wind blew her uniform in a rather dramatic way as she stood on the twisted remains of one of the steel supports that had been torn loose from the interior of the building during the battle. Ranma was pointing his weapon at the exposed Ryoga Hibiki just below her. Ryoga had Nabiki pulled up in front of him defensively and had his head directly behind her sister's. "You can't miss," screamed her mind as she flexed her trigger finger. "You can do this! You did it earlier!" she whispered to herself. Slowly she started to squeeze, but found herself unable to depress the trigger.

Ryoga's head twitched just after she spoke. He growled and fired two shots towards Ranma. The boy dodged to the side and dove behind a piece of steel that had torn through the rooftop. His weapon was aimed at Akane and Nabiki was now between himself and her.

The weapon in the girl's hand reported and her eyes went wide. She fell to her knees and dropped it to the ground.

Hibiki was lying on the gravel surface of the roof with blood pouring out of his shoulder. He glared up at her angrily and reached for his weapon with his other hand. He froze as Ranma appeared over his head with his weapon pointed down at him. Nabiki was standing with her eyes staring up at her sister, she had watched the girl shift the weapon as the man had moved every so slightly to the right. "Wow." She glanced back over her shoulder and looked at the man below her, his eyes locked hatefully on her sister.

Akane's eyes narrowed and she raised the weapon up again. She fired another shot that passed directly by her sister. The boy on the ground screamed in pain and reached for his weapon again as a small splatter of blood shot up from his leg. Ranma's weapon pointed at the boy's temple stopped him cold once again.

"That's for kidnapping my sister!"

Nabiki was frozen with both of her arms squeezed up tight against her chest. She looked up at her sister again and passed out cold on the ground.

Ranma chuckled as he flipped the lost boy over forcefully and handcuffed his wrists with very heavy-duty bindings from his belt. "Who are you working for Hibiki?"

"You know better than that Saotome. I'm afraid you'll just have to take me in and hope the police can get it out of me."

"Yeah. That's what I figured." Ranma picked him up and forced him to his feet. He calmly walked over to the edge of the roof and shoved Ryoga forward off the side. "See you around then I guess." He had the lost boy dangling by his handcuffs off the edge.

Ryoga kicked his feet angrily as he hung there. "It's an off planet contract. They need women for breeding."

"Is that so?" snorted Ranma as he promptly let go of the chains and let him fall away. "Come on. You two are going home, and then I've got one hell of a mess to clean up. Where the hell is that lazy asshole Duke anyway? It's not like him to sit around while people steal our chicks."

Akane was helping holding her sister's head in her lap and looked up at him for a moment. "Maybe he's out in the city somewhere?"

"Nah. I'd be able to see the explosions from here if he was working now. I'm gonna have to go get him. That lazy jerk probably wants me to do all the work this time. Maybe I will, just to show him." He walked over and picked up Nabiki in a fireman's carry as he turned back towards the school.

"What about him? Are you sure he's dead?" asked Akane as she looked towards the rooftop nervously.

"Him? Nah. It'd take more than a fall like that to kill him. He's not happy though, probably broke both his legs at least. Those pigs'll cart him off before we get down there though. He'll be out of things for a week or so at least."

"You let him live?" gasped Akane.

"Yeah. He's my problem, I'll deal with him how I want."

Ranma calmly carried the passed out girl into the stairwell again. "Come on. We need to get to ground level. He bent down to scoop up the jetpack and hefted it over his free shoulder as he walked through the door.

"Wait you jerk! Wait up!" called Akane as she rushed after him.

++++++++++++++++++++++

Tatewaki Kuno was standing in front of the Tendo dojo with a somewhat surprised looking frown on his face. Kasumi Tendo was adding to a pile of about thirty dead pigs. There were a few smoking craters in the street with the remains of vehicles littering the ground. The eldest Tendo girl had brooms, mops, and a shotgun leaning against the outer wall of the dojo. One of the walls of the fence around the home was shattered in with a massive plume of black smoke rising into the air from the other side. "Ah, the fair Kasumi Tendo. It is agreeable to see you again."

"Oh! Hello Kuno. Oh my! It's such a mess," she said cheerfully as she dusted off her hands. "It's going to take me hours to clean it all up!" She didn't look like it was something that was bothering her though.

"What news have you of these foul creatures?" said Kuno as he rested his shotgun across his shoulder. He was on his twenty-first shotgun, having still not figured out that they could be reloaded.

"I hope Ranma doesn't mind that I borrowed his things," fretted the eldest girl as she glanced over at the shotgun leaning against the wall. Kuno glanced down and noticed there were several more weapons lying against the wall as well. A small rocket launcher included. Not that he knew what they were anyway. "Akane and Nabiki are late getting home from school too."

"That is most distressing news," said Kuno as he frowned. "Akane Tendo?! I must go and save my beloved!" He turned back towards the school without asking anything more.

"Oh. Goodbye then," said Kasumi cheerfully.

"Are they gone yet Kasumi dear?" asked Soun as he poked his head out of the gate nervously.

"I think so father," said the girl cheerfully. "Do you really think Ranma won't mind?"

"I'm sure he won't mind at all dear," muttered Soun nervously as he shied away from his eldest daughter.

"Who could have known Tendo?" whispered Genma as he glanced over the wall hidden away from her.

"That's enough Saotome!" growled Soun angrily. "My baby has turned into Rambo! Wahhhhhhhh!"

Kasumi cheerfully ignored this as she scrubbed at the stubborn burn mark on the fence vigorously. "Oh dear. I think I might need to repaint this."

++++++++++++++++++++++

TBC...