___ __ __ ___________ ____/ \ / ) | | / _____ / / _ ) / / ____| |____ /_/ / / | / \___/ / / _____ (____ ____) / / | \_____ / /_/ __ \ ____| |____ ___/ /__ \_____ \ / ____/ ) \ (____ ____) <___ ___> \ \ / / / _) ____| |__ / / _) ) / / / /_ / _ _ \ / / __ _____/ _/ / / / // )( (_) / \_ \_ / /___/ / (________/ (___/ /_____/ \_____/ \__) /_________/ R * A * N * M * A Z by Ewen "Ryoga" Cluney Volume 1 (Parts 1-6) Ranma 1/2 characters, etc. by Rumiko Takahashi Dragonball characters, etc. by Akira Toriyama Part 1: All In the Family It was a bright, sunny day in Nerima ward. As was the case every morning, Ranma Saotome and his father Genma were up from the crack of dawn training. They clashed again and again, on the ground or in mid-air, and exchanged blows with incredible speed. It seemed strange, somehow, that Ranma, who had faced and defeat- ed such opponents as the Dojo Destroyer, Herb, and worse, still was evenly matched by his father. Of course, Ranma didn't normal- ly use ki blasts or the Sweet Chestnut Fist against his father. "Are you two going to join us for breakfast?" asked Kasumi. The momentary distraction affected Genma more than Ranma, and Ranma managed to knock his father into the carp pond. The cold water quickly turned the aged martial artist into a sign- wielding panda, though that would only make him a more effective fighter, if only because of his increased size, and the fact that he had taken to bludgeoning Ranma with those damn signs. Something descended from the sky, like a blazing meteor. It landed in the middle of a construction site with a fantastic crashing noise, making a massive crater and obliterating a hand- ful of construction vehicles. Goro looked at the crater in disbelief. Whatever it was, it had just run up a bill in the millions of yen. He wanted to take a look, except that his knees wouldn't function properly. Final- ly, he looked for a weapon, and settled on a nail gun, then walked to the edge of the crater. A figure emerged from the capsule. It floated upwards, and landed in front of Goro. She had bright red hair, and wore battle armor of some sort. Over her left eye was a green scope of some sort. "So, the creatures of this pitiful planet are still alive." she muttered. "G-get back! I'll... I'll..." She sneered at him, and touched the side of the scope. "Your power level is pitiful; level 4." He pressed the button. She reached out, and grabbed. When she opened her hand, the nail was held between her fingers. "Here, catch." She flicked the nail at Goro with her thumb. He was easily sent flying, and slammed into a steel girder. She checked the scouter's readout again; there was a large population of weaklings, but she could detect one distinctly powerful energy signature. "Well, a high power level; 367. It must be Kakarot." She lifted into the air, and sped off through the cityscape. It was a busy day at the Nekohanten. Cologne was cooking up a storm, and Shampoo and Mousse were likewise serving. Suddenly, the old woman stopped what she was doing. Given that the old crone had nerves of steel and power to match, those who noticed found this to be disconcerting to say the least. "Great-grandmother, what wrong?" Cologne looked around nervously. "I sense a very powerful energy. It's a terrible power, something I have never encountered before." "Is that so?" All eyes turned to the woman who had just entered the cafe. Shampoo looked at the red-haired girl in surprise. "Ranma?" "My name is Kyuka." she sneered. The newcomer looked at Cologne, then tapped at the side of the scouter. "Hmm, power level of three hundred sixty-seven. I see this planet isn't entirely populated by weaklings." Kyuka took a step closer. "I'm looking for a man called Kakarot; I thought from your energy signature that you were him." Cologne waited. "What do you want here?" Kyuka laughed. "It is none of your concern, old woman. It doesn't matter anyway. Everyone on this planet will be dead soon." Cologne looked at her calculatingly. Whoever this was, she was very powerful. Her battle aura was powerful enough to be oppressive even when she wasn't fighting. This was bad, very bad. "Don't count on it." "If you don't believe me, let me give you a demonstration." She raised one arm. "I call this attack 'Keep Your Eye On the Birdie'. Now, keep you eye on the birdie..." The scouter beeped. "What's this? A greater power level? It must be Kararot!" And with that, she flew off. "This isn't good." muttered Cologne. It had been an entirely boring day at school, and wasn't likely to get better. Ranma tried desperately to stay awake, especially given that it was Miss Hinako's class, but was failing anyway. Suddenly, the hair on the back of his neck began to stand on end. Of course, this meant that his ponytail immediately sprang up. He could feel something. Something powerful and horrible. But somehow... familiar. Akane, noticing that he was actually awake, nudged him. "What is it?" He shook his head. "I-I don't know..." "Ranma Saotome! Stop talking out of turn!" Miss Hinako snapped. "It isn't polite!" "Gomen nasai." he replied with a short bow. Before she could continue, however, there was a fantastic crashing noise, as half the windows shattered, raining shards of glass on the students. When they dared to look again, they saw a woman, who bore a remarkable resemblance to Ranma's female form. She wore strange armor, and had some sort of scope over one eye. She looked right at Ranma. "I've found you at last." Ranma stood up. "Who are you?" "You've grown up, but I recognize you, Kakarot." That drew a lot of blank stares, not the least of which was from Ranma. "Kakarot? What do you mean?" She frowned. "So, you've forgotten. That would explain why you failed your mission." Ranma stepped closer. "What the hell are you talking about?" "Tell me something, Kakarot, did you ever suffer a serious trauma when you were a kid?" "What does that have to do with anything?" She growled and made a fist. "Answer me!" The volume of it startled everyone in the room, and Ranma was quick to answer. "Yeah, more than once. My dad kept covering me with fish and dumping me in a pit full of cats, for one thing." He looked at her suspiciously. "But what does that have to do with anything? Who the hell are you?!" "It's simple, Kakarot." she said with a sneer. "I'm Kyuka, I'm your twin sister." Several jaws dropped at once. "Ranma has a sister?" someone murmured. "Now wait a minute!" cried Miss Hinako, "I don't care who you are, I won't let you disrupt my class!" The tiny teacher pulled out a five-yen piece. "Happo Goen Satsu!" Kyuka waited. "Battle aura draining, eh?" She made her hands into fists and concentrated. "Let's see how you like this." The mists that flowed from Kyuka into the coin intensified, and became a raging torrent. Miss Hinako was wracked by energy and beams of yellow light streamed from her body. A shrill scream rang out. "Fool." said Kyuka. "My battle aura is too strong for you to handle all of its energy." Ranma's eyes tried to escape his head. This woman's battle aura overloaded Hinako-sensei's draining power, and she was still at full strength. "But what do you want?" Kyuka grinned. "It's simple. You are a Freyan Warrior, like me, among the greatest fighters in the galaxy. You were sent here to destroy all life on this planet. Since you failed, I've come to take you back into the fold." "Ranma's... from outer space?" Akane stammered. Kyuka nodded. "Kakarot is a Freyan Warrior." "But why was he supposed to kill everyone?" "Simple." Kyuka turned to look out the shattered windows. "We Freyans are sort of... planet brokers. We locate useful planets which will get a high price in the galactic market, and send our warriors to clean them up. For planets with strong inhabitants we send adults, but for ones with weaklings, like Earth, one of our babies is sufficient." She looked back at them and smiled. "But even if Kakarot failed, we'll still take this planet. Soon, everyone on it will be dead." Everyone present gasped. Except Ranma. Was he really an alien? Some strange being from another planet? But he knew both his father and mother, had baby pictures and a birth certificate! How could he not be human? Unless they were faked. Given the sort of things his father had done in the past, it wouldn't be all that surprising. "I don't care if I am from outer space. I don't have to destroy peaceful planets like you." "That is unfortunate." replied Kyuka. "You see, our home planet of Vejiita was destroyed. Only four Freyans remain, of which you are one. We cannot afford to lose you." "I would rather die that join a bunch of pirates like you!" Kyuka lifted off the ground, and hovered above them. "Per- haps, perhaps not. But if you refuse to join us, then you *will* die, brother. It would be a shame to let you power go to waste like that." "I'm not afraid of you!" shouted Ranma. "Really?" Kyuka lowered down almost to the ground. "Then why not take me down here and now?" Never one to turn down a challenge, Ranma charged forward. Before he knew what was happening, Kyuka was abruptly mere inches from him, and delivered a knee kick that sent him into the wall. Pain surged through his chest and stomach. "Incredible," Akane breathed, "she moved fast enough to leave an afterimage of herself..." "Akane, stay back!" Ranma growled as he picked himself up. Kyuka tilted her head to one side. "So pitiful, my brother. How can you be on such good terms with these weaklings?" Ranma staggered forward. "How can you only want death?" "I can see that this will require a little more persuasion than I thought. Very well." Kyuka swooped down, and grabbed Akane by the waist, easily lifting her into the air. "I you want to see her again alive, you must kill one hundred of the species on this planet by tomorrow. Goodbye for now, brother." And with that, she was gone. Ranma looked into the blue sky. Everyone else looked at Ranma. Was he really an alien of some kind? Based on what his sister had done, they all decided to back off a little bit. Except, of course, for Kuno. "Saotome! Is this true? Is the pig-tailed girl your own flesh and blood? You scoundrel! And now she has taken lovely Akane to some unknown place!" Blue Thunder pulled out his bokken. "I, Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, must punish you, you foul alien invader!" Ranma ignored Kuno until he actually swung, when Ranma delivered a kick to the face. "Lay off, Kuno." He had to go home. Ranma stalked into the dojo, and found his father playing shogi with Soun. He strode right up to the old man and grabbed the collar of his gi. "Hi there, 'pops', something really inter- esting just happened to me." "Now son, just calm down. Being able to control your emo- tions is a very important part of martial ar--!" "A girl who looked a lot like me showed up at school and said that she was my sister and that I'm an alien! Now, I'm sure you know something about this, so start talking!" Genma hung his head. "I knew something like this might happen one day." Ranma's grip didn't loosen in the least. "Go on." Seeing that his "son" wasn't about to let go anytime soon, he pushed his glasses up onto his nose and told the story. Not too long after Genma and Nodoka got married, Nodoka became pregnant. Unfortunately, not too long before the child was to be born, something began to go wrong. Unsure of what to do, Genma went for a walk. As he wandered the streets, he found a spaceship of some sort; inside it was a little baby. Because his real child was going to die before being born, he made a deal with the doctor to substitute this newfound child without his wife's knowledge. Ranma was speechless. Soun was not. "What a tragedy!" Soun cried, tears pouring from his face in quantities that could put out a fire. "That my son-in-law should be from another planet..." Soun stopped, realizing what he'd just said, then glared at Genma. "Saotome, you realize that you know- ingly had my Akane engaged to an extra-terrestrial. And you didn't tell me?" He closed his eyes, holding back tears. "Think of their children? What will they be like?" Ranma wasn't sure what to say. He had an opportunity to break off the engagement with Akane. But could he bring himself to do such a thing? And if not, *why*? Genma looked at Soun. "Tendo, look at my son, and tell me if you can see, if you can _feel_ anything wrong with him. Anything at all." Soun didn't stop crying, but shook his head. "You're right Saotome. Ranma, I'm sorry." "Now that that's settled, we have more important things to worry about right now." said Ranma. "Like my sister having kid- naped Akane." Soun's crying began anew. "Oh, poor Akane! What can we do?" "Tell me, Ranma, what does she want?" Ranma sighed. "She said that unless I kill a hundred people by tomorrow, she'd kill Akane." Genma stood up. "I know you can't do that, so there's only one option. You must face her." Ranma shook his head. "But how? She's just too strong. When Miss Hinako tried to drain Kyuka's battle aura, she was *over- loaded* by the amount of energy she pulled in." "What was that you said about a sister?" The three of them whirled around to see Happosai standing there, gripping a pair of panties in one hand. The master hopped closer to Ranma. "You have a twin sister? Is she cute?" As he glared at the old pervert, Ranma realized what had to be done. "That's it!" All present looked at Ranma. Kasumi poked her head out of the kitchen to see what was happening also. "Hey, old lech, I need your help." Happosai looked at Ranma suspiciously. "With... what?" Ranma knelt to get closer to the tiny lecher's height. "Now listen, my twin sister is incredibly powerful. If we don't stop her, she'll kill Akane, and then everyone else on Earth!" The old master turned away and harumphed. "Why should I help you fight her, eh?" This was all too easy. "Simple. If Kyuka destroys everyone on earth, there won't be *any* women left! And she'd probably get rid of all the lingerie too!" Happosai's already bulging eyes bugged out. "How terrible! Such a fowl villain! I *will* help you Ranma! I cannot stand by and let such a terrible thing happen!" "Good." said a voice. "I will aid you as well." They all turned, and saw Cologne sitting on top of the dojo's roof. She smiled. "This will be one of the most powerful teams ever assem- bled. Right, Happy?" Ranma nodded, cracking his knuckles. "Right. Let's go get her. We don't have much time." ------------------------------------------------------------------ Part 2: Deadly Reunion Ranma, accompanied by Happosai and Cologne, made their way through the streets of Nerima. "The question is," Ranma was saying, "how to we find her?" "Simple, son-in-law," replied Cologne, "her energy is unmis- takable and powerful. Detecting it is a simple matter. She isn't all that far, actually." "So, Ranma m'boy," Happosai chimed in, "you're from another planet?" "It sure seems that way. The planet Vejiita." Ranma said quietly. "Which was destroyed." It was strange, but somehow, he felt as though he had lost something when he was told about it. If he was really a Freyan, then his true homeland, and his true family, were all gone. For that matter, it also meant that his current life was a lie, concocted by his father. "Indeed." said Cologne. "However, son-in-law, it is more important that you deal with the here and now. Kyuka is very powerful. Her fighting spirit is beyond human even when she is at her most calm. We have no idea what powers she might possess." "Well," said Ranma, "for one thing, she can fly. And she wears this scope thing that tells how powerful people are and where they're coming from." "Making a sneak attack impossible." Cologne said solemnly. "And furthermore, we will be at a disadvantage if she can fly and we cannot." Happosai groaned. "Any more bad news?" The three of them arrived at an abandoned construction site, and found that there was a great crater, with a spaceship that looked remarkably like a baseball, at the bottom. "I thought you might try something like this." Kyuka came within ten feet of them, from one side. "Not that I mind. I could use a little workout; the other creatures on this planet are so *weak*, no fun at all." Suddenly, Kyuka screamed. "Hey, cutie!" Happosai called, as he latched onto her ample bosom. "Nice to meet 'ya!" Kyuka stopped, then grabbed Happosai by the head; he squirmed violently in her iron grip as she slammed him into the ground. "Are these the sort of people you associate with, Kaka- rot?" she shouted. "If so, I think I should just kill you." "If there's anyone whose gonna' be defeated, it'll be you!" Ranma shouted as be began gathering ki. She tapped at her scouter, and smiled. "You're up to 346. Better, but still an insufficient level of power. Use any tech- nique you like; I'll still destroy you." Ranma pulled his ki into a single point, between his out- stretched hands, and initiated the attack. "Mokou Takabisha!" A glowing yellow sphere of energy hurtled towards Kyuka. She paused for a moment, and then just waited. The blast struck her with a massive explosion. When the dust cleared, she stood there, completely intact. "You'll have to do better than that, brother!" Ranma looked at her in shock. "I-it had no effect!" "Ranma," said Cologne, "such attacks are a waste of energy. We must use our minds every bit as much as our fists if we hope to win this fight." He nodded. "What do we do then?" Kyuka watched with boredom as the three challengers formed a huddle, which was made all the more strange by how tiny two of the participants were. Of course, she knew size had little to do with power, but then, the old timers had power levels of only 367 and 372. Granted, they were higher than Kakarot at the moment, but if he were to invoke his true power... "All your whispering will do you no good!" she yelled, irritated at having to wait. "I will crush you all the same!" The three of them turned around to face her. They paused for a brief instant, before Ranma shouted "Now!" They charged at her, and began attacking. Both Ranma and Cologne used the Sweet Chestnut Fist, while Happosai took to swinging with his kiseru. Kyuka dodged each and every blow, grinning the whole time. Finally, she spun around and kicked, throwing both Cologne and Happosai back some hundred meters. Determined not to back down, Ranma continued the assault, but to no avail. Finally, Kyuka soared high into the air. "You like to play with energy blasts, brother?" she laughed. "Let me show you how it's done!" She outstretched both arms. A pair of massive ki blasts shot outward from her outstretched palms, soaring over the landscape. One obliterated a mountain, the other caused several city blocks to cease to exist. If only she wasn't flying, he could pull out a Hiryushoten- ha, but it was useless against flying opponents. "Damn! What do we do now?" Cologne thought for a moment. "I can only think of one possibility. But you won't like it." He wondered what she was talking about, and glanced back at Kyuka, who had lowered to the ground, and was approaching them. "At the moment, I don't care." Cologne smiled. "Shampoo, come here!" "Great-grandma?" the purple-haired Amazon came out from behind a cement mixer. "What you want?" When she was about a foot away, Cologne produced a bucket of water. Ranma realized now what the old crone intended to do, but before he could say or do anything, there was a pink cat clinging to his back. Kyuka watched, amused, as her brother ran around screaming because of the little furry creature. She was curious as to how the girl had been changed into such, but beings with metamorphic capabilities were not unknown. "What's wrong, Kakarot? Are you scared of that tiny thing? It's power level is only five!" Suddenly, Ranma's posture changed, and he stopped screaming. He crouched on the ground, on all fours, and started making hissing noises. Kyuka smiled. "At last you reveal your true power. And I will reveal mine." She tapped at a holojector on her belt, and the image of a massive panther appeared before her. Before Cologne knew what was happening, the two of them were acting like cats, and facing off. It seemed that the cat-fist was no mere technique, but rather a natural ability of the Freyan race. The two cats circled, Ranma hissing and Kyuka roaring. Finally, both charged. They became a blur of motion, coming together and separating time after time. "Nice plan." Happosai snorted. Cologne smiled. "It's not finished yet." She got poised and ready, and then waited. In an instant when Kyuka's feet and hands touched the ground, Cologne struck at the Earth. Suddenly, Kyuka was rooted to the spot, and received a brutal clawing from Ranma for nearly a full minute before he fell back. "What the hell was that?" "That," said Cologne, "was the Dragon's Imprisoning Claws technique, which uses the Dragon Lines of the Earth to hold someone in place, in a manner similar to San He." "But how--?" "You need to know a bit of Feng Shui first, Happy." "Damn you! Old woman!" It was Kyuka who was cursing, having apparently come back to her senses. Ranma, on the other hand, was still acting very much like a cat, sitting next to Cologne and hissing at Kyuka. Cologne regarded her prisoner. "Never underestimate an Amazon, especially one of the elders of Joketsuzoku." Kyuka's eyes opened wide in surprise. "J-Joketsuzoku? You come from Joketsuzoku? But how? We destroyed that world!" For Happosai's eyes to bug out was difficult, given that they were, in shape, reminiscent of those of a fly, but they bugged out anyway. "Since when was Joketsuzoku a planet?!" he blurted out. Cologne grinned indulgently. "I guess I never did tell you. Or anyone else. The village was originally called New Joketsuzo- ku, as it was to be a colony, though we lost contact with the homeworld." She glanced back at the Freyan. "I see why, now." Everyone present, except for Ranma (who was thinking in a manner too feline for that) and Kyuka (who knew this already), looked at her in astonishment. If Shampoo weren't in the form of a cat, she would've said something, or at least gasped. Happosai, on the other hand, wasn't about to keep quiet. "You mean to say that you're from another planet too?" She nodded. "And my tribe are almost all Joketans. But let us deal with the matter at hand. Namely this mercenary." Kyuka struggled with all of her considerable might, and suddenly began to pull free. Glowing lines of energy were visible about her arms and legs, and as she struggled more and more, these lines were torn apart, and she again stood, unencumbered. "Don't think I could be subdued that easily." she said with a sneer. "Brother! Come to your senses!" Somehow, it seemed to work. Ranma blinked, and stood up. "What happened?" "Ranma?" Ranma turned to see who was addressing him. It wasn't Kyuka; she insisted on calling him "Kakarot" all the time. He saw Ryoga standing here. "Ryoga?" The lost boy looked around, quite confused. "Who's she?" Kyuka tapped at her scouter. "Hmm, power level two hundred sixty. Maybe you might scratch me." "Let's just say it's very important that she be defeated." Ryoga looked at Kyuka, who looked remarkably like Ranma's female form, albeit in some sort of battle armor, and with a sneer of contempt that went beyond even Ranma's arrogance. "Ryoga!" Cologne called out, "you must use the Chou- Shihihoukoudan!" Ryoga was now genuinely confused. Not only was there some girl who looked like ranma, but now Cologne was telling him to use some technique he'd never heard of! "What?" Cologne looked to Happosai and Ranma. "Hurry, you must keep her busy!" Not sure what the heck was going on, they complied anyway, charging at Kyuka, beginning a furious exchange of blows. Meanwhile, Cologne stood before Ryoga, eyes narrowed. "You sniveling little fool." she said suddenly. "You have failed. Kyuka has kidnaped Akane, and you did nothing." Ryoga dropped to his knees. "She... has Akane?" Cologne nodded. "All because of your incompetence and idio- cy! And once she has destroyed Akane utterly, she will proceed to destroy every person on this planet, and all because you have failed us, failed the human race, and, more importantly, failed Akane!" "But... but..." Ranma's punches flew with incredible speed as the three combatants raced across the construction site. Suddenly, Kyuka spun around, delivering a kick to both of them. Happosai was sent flying high, and Ranma was sent rolling along the ground. Howev- er, Ranma jumped forward, while Happosai bounced off of a build- ing, and both came back for more. Ryoga couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Because of you, boy, the entire human race will become extinct at the hands of the Freyans! Akane will hate you forever!" He doubled over. He didn't want to live anymore. Nothing mattered. And then, he felt a power building within him. Happosai began to grow in size, as the power of his battle aura increased. Ranma jumped high into the air, preparing a ki blast. Kyuka looked at her scouter's display. Kakarot's level had gone up to five hundred, while the old man's had reached nearly eight hundred, and both were rising. A sphere of glowing blue-green ki formed between Ryoga's hands, and it began to grow. This sensation was familiar and somehow different. The sphere just kept on growing. Happosai struck at Kyuka, and she was thrown back, but unharmed. Ranma hurled his Moukou Takabisha at her, and it caught her head-on, but did little more than crack her armor. The sphere that Ryoga held had grown to the point that it was larger than he was. "Now, boy! Use the energy to destroy Kyuka!" Ryoga felt powerful. In fact, he felt like a *god*. "CHOU- SHISHIHOUKOUDAN!" A massive wave of energy shot forth from his hands. Kyuka spun around, the scouter was reading a power level of twelve hundred! The world turned blazing white for several seconds, as the incredible power surged through the landscape, obliterating several city blocks. When at last the radiance ended, Kyuka still stood there. Her armor was virtually gone over the left shoulder, which was singed, but otherwise she was intact. Cologne looked in disbelief. "She... _dodged_ it!" Kyuka laughed. "Naturally. That was an impressive attack, but I'm afraid your aim was a little off." Kyuka raised one hand over her head, and grinned. "Now, let me show you how it's done!" ------------------------------------------------------------------ Part 3: The Journeys Begin Energy began to gather in a white sphere in her hand. "This is the attack I was going to show you before, remember old woman?" Cologne waited, considering how to deal with the attack. The sphere grew, and Kyuka swung her arm forward, but then suddenly stopped. Everyone looked to see what had happened. Ranma was holding Kyuka's ponytail with both hands, and pulling on it. Kyuka was frozen, and collapsed onto the ground. "Damn you, Kakarot." she muttered, seemingly totally sapped of strength. "You shouldn't do that." Cologne looked with interest. "The ponytail! It's the weak point of the Freyans! Now we have her." Kyuka glared back at Ranma. "How could you? I'm your own sister!" Suddenly, she seemed almost... pitiful. "Besides, I wasn't going to kill that girl, or anyone else!" "Y-you weren't?" "Yes! I was bluffing! I would have said *anything* to get you to rejoin us, but that was all I'd do. Please let me go!" "You promise to leave here?" Kyuka nodded. "Yes! I'll tell them you don't want to join us! We'll leave you alone! I swear it!" "Don't listen to her, boy!" Cologne shouted, "She'll say or do anything to get loose, only to betray you!" A tear rolled down Kyuka's cheek. "No... please..." Suddenly, Ranma realized, she seemed like a girl, rather than some alien invader. How could he _not_ let her go? This would be the first time he hit a girl, and his own sister none- theless. Ranma let go. An instant later, Ranma was struck in the back, and thrown to the ground. Kyuka stood over him. She didn't seem so innocent anymore. "Fool." she sneered. "I can see now that you aren't worthy of being a Freyan warrior anyway." She raised her foot, and stomped on his chest. A scream of pain rang out through the air. Akane, in Kyuka's space capsule, heard the cry, and looked out the viewport, but saw nothing. The edge of the crater was too high. But it sounded like Ranma. He had come for her, but some- thing was happening to him. She had to help him somehow, had to *do* something, but how could she get out of the damn capsule? Frustrated, she began pounding on the sides of the ship. Kyuka looked down at Ranma. "Come on, Kakarot, I want to hear you cry for mercy!" She stomped again. The pain was unbear- able; he could feel his ribs snapping beneath the pressure. As Akane pounded, Ranma's screams only became louder and more pain-filled. She couldn't take it any longer; she began punching at the clear viewport. Her fists hurt like hell, but she kept on punching anyway. "You're no fun at all!" said Kyuka. "Now, Kakarot, this is when you die!" Suddenly, there was an explosion from the crater, and a figure emerged from the flames, though no one present would have believed it possible. Barely conscious, Ranma looked in disbelief. "A-Akane?!" Akane stood there, surrounded by a faint yellow glow, filled with rage. "Leave him alone." Kyuka kept her foot where it was, but tapped at her scouter. "Power level... four hundred twenty?! How is this possible? She was just a girl, with a power of ten, a minute ago..." Then Kyuka realized something that was truly disturbing. "And it's still rising... nine hundred... a thousand..." "Akane..." Ranma managed, "how...?" Akane took a step closer. "LEAVE RANMA ALONE!" The red aura that surrounded her became stronger, to the point that she looked to be at the center of a great fire. Akane jumped forward, almost flying, and struck Kyuka with a punch. Kyuka fell back, stunned, spun around. When she came back to her feet, she held a hand over her heart, and the area where the punch had landed, on which the armor was cracked. Akane collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Kyuka looked down at Akane, and frowned. "Such power from a mere girl. And now her power is down to two. How? What can this power be? What does it mean?" She took a step closer, and energy began to crackle in one hand. Ranma's eyes opened wide. "No, please, don't hurt her!" Kyuka looked back at Ranma. "You must realize, Kakarot, that no one has ever done that to me. Her power is incredible. If she were ever to learn how to control it, she could be incredibly dangerous. I cannot allow that." She turned her attention back to Akane. "Don't worry, brother. The two of you will not be alone in death. You will only be the first on this world." The energy continued to build. Everyone watched, terrified. Akane was about to die, and they were powerless to do anything about it. And no one knew it better than Ryoga. He collapsed under the weight of his depres- sion. Cologne had been right. Akane _was_ going to die, and it _was_ all his fault. This monstrous girl had threatened them, and then he had used one of the most powerful techniques ever known, and *missed*! If he had managed to hit her, this would be over now. "It... it's all my fault..." Cologne looked at Ryoga, and realized that he was building up energy fast. In fact, he'd probably perform a *second* Chou- Shishihokoudan. Kyuka prepared to strike. Suddenly, she was held in place. Ranma held her in a headlock. "Kakarot! What are you doing! You fool!" She tried to get free, but realized that she couldn't; the girl's blow had weak- ened her more than she'd thought. Ranma spun around. "Ryoga! Can you do that again--" Ranma quickly realized that Ryoga could. And in fact, had already begun. Seeing, the buildup of energy, Kyuka's eyes opened wide. "Kakarot! You fool! How to you expect to escape the blast? You'll easily be killed too!" Ranma smiled. "Then we'll go together! I'm doing this for the sake of the Earth and everything I care about! I won't let you destroy it all!" The sphere of energy that Ryoga held reached the bursting point. "CHOU-SHISHIHOKOUDAN!" Once again, a wave of ki flew from Ryoga's hands, filling with world with blue and white brilliance. Ranma and Kyuka lay on the ground, both mortally wounded. Everyone stood over the pair, trying to decide what to do. They had already called an ambulance, but it was doubtful that it could do any good. Kyuka lay face-down on the dirt, unable to move. She began to laugh. "So foolish of him." Cologne looked at the invader and frowned. "Ranma has saved this world from destruction." "But he's still dead." Cologne smiled. "For now. But we can collect the dragon balls, which, when collected, grant a wish. These can bring him back to life." She laughed again. "You'll need all the help you can get. The others will be coming here soon. And the funny thing is, they're far stronger than me." "When... when will the come?" murmured Ranma. "In one year." Akane came to, and sat up. When she saw Ranma, she began to cry. "Ranma... wh-what happened?" she stammered. "He gave his life to save you, and the world." said Cologne. "Truly a noble sacrifice." Ranma slowly shook his head. "But it wasn't enough. The others are gonna' come in a year!" "Don't worry, we will bring you back." said Cologne, with a faint smile, "I know a way. Until then, be strong." Everyone waited, not sure of what to say. Akane leaned her head against Ranma's broken chest, and continued to cry. "Goodbye." he whispered. "I love you... tomboy..." His eyes closed and his heart stopped. And then the lifeless body vanished. "What happened?" asked Ryoga. "He just... disappeared!" Cologne nodded, and shot a glance at Happosai for the brief- est moment. "It's Kami, the guardian of Earth. He must have some special purpose for the boy." The heavens were not quite what Ranma had expected. Ranma found himself in a long line of people, along a red road that extended through a series of yellow clouds. In the distance, he could see a gigantic oriental-style building, with red roofs and the general look of a palace. Above the main gate was a sign that said "WELLCOME." Everyone there, including himself, had a halo floating over their heads, but otherwise looked just as they had in life. The line moved at a slow walking pace, faster than he would have expected, somehow, but just enough so that he would never get a chance to sit down. He looked down the line of people, and saw Kyuka some dis- tance ahead -- her bright red hair sort of stood out among the predominantly black and brown. "Excuse me! Please, watch your step!" called out a tiny voice. "Coming through!" A moment later, one of the shortest men he'd ever seen stood before Ranma. He was simply minute, with the barest wisps of white hair on his head and bulging eyes. He wore an odd sort of robe which had a white circle on the chest in which was the kanji "kami", or god, and which had long sleeves and a white cape. "Ranma! There you are! I've been looking all over for you." It was then that Ranma realized who he was looking at. "The old lech?" he said suddenly, "But how?" The man looked up at him, obviously a little irritated. "You must be mistaking me for someone else. I am Kami, and I believe we can help one another." Not too much later, Ranma, accompanied by Kami, had made it to the front of the line. He walked into a vast office. In it, there was a gigantic desk, at which sat a massive demon. Here and there in the room were a handful of lesser devils, which were much smaller. The big guy -- King Yama, according to the name plate on his desk -- was red-skinned with a pair of horns, and wore a three-piece suit. The lesser oni, on the other hand, were blue-skinned, and reminded Ranma of Japanese office workers, except in that they had horns too, and their slacks were in a tiger-striped print. Kami approached a little closer. King Yama looked down, and sighed. "What is it now, Kami?" Kami scratched the back of his neck. "Well, King Yama, I have come to speak on behalf of this mortal, Ranma Saotome. I ask that he be allowed to run the Snake Road to try to reach King Kai. You've heard of the coming of the Freyans, and I believe that unless he can receive training from King Kai and return to Earth, the world will be in trouble." Yama opened a folder, which had "Kakarot" crossed out and "Ranma Saotome" written in on the front. "Well, this Ranma does have an... interesting track record. He just barely qualifies for hero status, so I suppose I will allow it, little man." Kami bowed, and in doing so, tripped Ranma so that he was forced to do the same. "Thank you so much, King Yama." When they stood up, Ranma took a moment to appraise what had just happened. "What the heck is the snake road?" he asked. Kami nudged him. "Later." "But what the hell is it?!" "Quiet!" yelled Yama, his voice shaking the room like thun- der. "Stop wasting my time! I have important business to conduct here, and I don't need to hear your nonsense! GET OUT!" Vejiita and Rechusa sat around the fire. The insectoid inhabitants of this world were a little challenging to fight, but hardly powerful by Freyan standards. They didn't taste too bad, though. Vejiita listened to the transmission from Kyuka, and though for a while. "Did you hear what that woman said?" he said at last. Rechusa nodded and smiled. "Any one wish. Should we wish for Kyuka back?" He shook his head. "No, my dear, that would be a wasted wish. Kyuka was foolish and weak. How would you like to be immor- tal, to fight forever?" "Now that's a wish I could live with for the rest of my life, even if it was forever." The two of them got into their space capsules, and launched. The warriors had gone to the Tendo dojo to regroup and choose a course of action. In a year, two Freyans would arrive, and cause untold destruction. Furthermore, Kyuka, whose defeat left Ranma dead and all of them seriously drained, was supposedly weak compared to the two that would arrive soon. When Genma heard the news of Ranma's demise, he was struck silent, and started to pace a lot. Predictably, Soun began to cry bucketfuls. Kasumi said "Oh my." and Nabiki said something about lost business. Akane faced Cologne. "But, what did you mean when you said you could bring him back?" Cologne produced an orangeish yellow sphere, which had two red stars in it. "This is a dragon ball. There are seven of them scattered about the world. If we can find and gather all seven, then Shen Long, the Eternal Dragon, will be called forth to grant a wish. Which will be that Ranma be resurrected. I already have three of the balls, and the means by which to find the others." Soun was instantly at her feet. "Thank you! Thank you! That my dear Akane should be left a widow! What a tragedy it would have been!" Genma turned around. "So, what can be do?" "We must go on a journey." said Cologne. "We must go on a long training voyage, and find not only the dragon balls, but the most powerful fighters in the world. We must journey to the farthest reaches of China, to Nekonlon, to the Musk Dynasty, to Togenkyo, and others. And, more importantly, we must all seek to become more powerful." She surveyed the room. "Akane, Ryoga, Shampoo, Happosai, you will be the ones to come with me. Akane looked around the room. She wanted to go, but... "Why me? Dad and Genma are better than me." "Then you don't remember." said Ryoga. "When you attacked Kyuka and weakened her." "I did?" Everyone present nodded gravely. "You have a power," said Cologne, "that you never knew existed. If you learn to control it, you will be a great asset to Earth." Akane nodded. "Allright, I'll go." Ranma was in a somewhat cramped red car, which was being driven by one of the office oni. They traveled along a red road at highway speeds. He remembered Kami's words -- if he were to fall off of Snake Road, there was no coming back. He would have to be very careful not to trip. "So," said the oni, "you're going to try Snake Road?" Ranma nodded. "Yeah, I guess." "Wow. You must be pretty strong. Tell me something, do you think I could learn karate?" Ranma shrugged. "I don't see why not. All it takes to learn martial arts is practice and a good teacher. I don't do karate, though; I'm a student of kempo, the Anything-Goes Style." "Wow." said the oni. It took a while, but finally, they came to a stop, and the oni opened the top of the car. They stepped out; before them was a massive stone snake head, whose body stretched out seemingly forever. The very top of the serpentine body was flat, apparently intended for running on. "Well mister," said the Oni, "this is it, Snake Road. All ten thousand miles of it." "Ten thousand miles!?" He nodded. "Yup. I sure wouldn't want to do that. But hey, I'm no martial artist like you. Besides, the dead don't need food anyway." Ranma let out a long sigh. This wasn't going to be fun. "Well, off I go." He jumped onto the snake head, and started running. "Good luck!" the oni called after him. "You'll need it." The five of them made a rather odd group. Three teenagers and two elderly people, all martial artists, dressed as such to varying degrees. Thankfully, they weren't going to swim to China or anything. Rather, they were, for once, taking a plane. Getting the money had been easier than they'd thought, since Cologne had threatened Nabiki with some pressure point or another, which would cause her to blurt out the truth at random times. Akane sat by the window, the seat next to her unoccupied. She could see the South China Sea far below. Ranma had said that he loved her. After all that they'd been through, he finally said those three little words that had top- pled nations and caused great men to fall. Somehow, it seemed strange. Not that he loved her, but that he had admitted it. On some level, she'd known it. The number of daring rescues he'd carried out, and the number of times he'd stomped on other guys who made advances on her made it painfully obvious. He'd even eaten a batch of her cookies once. But why couldn't he admit it? For that matter, why couldn't *she* admit it, even to herself? There was no denying that she cared for him. When she saw him lying there, broken, she suddenly felt helpless and alone. But Cologne had assured them that Ranma would return. The question was, what would he say to her when he did? Ranma didn't know that he was going to be resurrected. He was willing to *die* to defend her. Only love would make someone do something like that. But Akane found her own feelings difficult to sort out. It didn't matter that he was an alien. She knew that much for cer- tain, but beyond that she was full of uncertainty. "Great-grandma?" asked Shampoo. Akane could hear her in the seat in front of her. "What you mean when you say we from other planet?" Cologne spoke in hushed tones. "I never told anyone of this, but our village began as a colony from the planet Joketsuzoku. Nearly all of us are Joketan, including you." Shampoo tried to decide what that meant. She was not human, yet looked and acted exactly like one... "What is different about us, then?" The old woman smiled. "Very little. Until your true power shows itself." she said carefully. "But that will happen at the proper time." All was quiet for a time. "Hey, gramps, what's that you got there?" asked Ryoga. Akane peeked behind her seat. By the window was Happosai, and next to him was Ryoga. As she suspected, Happosai was holding a bra and rubbing it against his face. "This is Kyuka's bra." he said happily. "Too bad she died. Even if she was a genocidal maniac, she certainly was cute!" Ryoga frowned. "You mean to say that you took that off of the corpse?" "Of course not!" Happosai nearly shouted. "When I grabbed her I pulled it off without her knowing using my new Happo Quick Fingers technique." Ryoga pounded him on the head. "You pervert! Talk about misusing the martial arts!" "This is your captain speaking." said a calm voice over the intercom. "We are now flying at an altitude of thirty thousand feet over the South China Sea, and will arrive at our destination is approximately ninety minutes." Akane leaned back in the seat, and tried to get a little sleep before the long journey ahead. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Part 4: Quest for Strength Author's Note: Credit where credit is due: Many thanks to Nightelf for much-needed info on the Musk Dynasty (I hope I didn't screw up too much in characterization). Also, I took some ideas and info, mostly relating to martial arts and Chinese mysticism, from Ninjas & Superspies and Mystic China (both from Palladium Books and written by Erick Wujcik). In the story, Cologne mentions tien-hsueh. As far as I know (which, I admit, isn't all that far) tien-hsueh is a Chinese term for vital points; in Japan, they are called atemi, or kyusho. Hopefully I translated "Roaring Tiger Shot" (a new special move introduced in this chapter) properly -- my knowledge of Japanese is rather rudimentary. Arrival in China reminded the five of them that some of the country was, in fact, up to speed with current technology and such. Although they knew better, somehow, they had expected to land in a mysterious jungle or something, rather than a bustling airport. China was a big place, though, and the differences between any given pair of areas could be incredible. Certainly, this place was very different from any of the villages and king- doms that the group planned to visit. Surprisingly, however, they were greeted by a familiar face, namely that of the Jusenkyo Guide. He smiled and waved. Cologne and Happosai returned the gesture, while Shampoo and Ryoga sort of glared at him. He ran up to them. "Hello, kind sirs and ladies. I have come as you ask me to. You want go to Cursed Springs of Jusenkyo?" "No," said Cologne, "we are going to pay a visit to the Musk Dynasty." "You feeling well?" She nodded. "Of course!" "But they... they crazy men!" Shampoo came closer. "Is guide going to take us or not?" Despite his hesitation to do so, the guide decided to take them, mainly because there were five powerful martial artists who wanted him to. He had them pile into his jeep, and drove, first on paved roads, then on dirt ones, to Jusenkyo, and then past it a little ways, where he stopped. "Okay, everyone!" he announced happily. "Here we are!" They all hopped out, and looked around. Ryoga seemed unusually confused. "This... doesn't look like the Musk Dynasty..." "Well..." said the guide, "it down the path a while. If you need me, I will be at Cursed Springs!" And with that, he drove away. Rather quickly. "What's with him?" asked Akane. Ryoga scratched his head. "Well, the Musk Dynasty guys are pretty strange, especially their leader." Despite warnings and such, they proceeded along confidently. It didn't take very long before they reached the main gates, which led to what looked to be a palace or something. Ryoga easily pushed the gates aside, and strode forward, only to be met by a massive man in tiger-striped armor. He looked down at Ryoga, and frowned. "What are *you* doing here?" Cologne hopped in front of Ryoga. "We have come to see Herb. Now, let us pass." Lime couldn't help but laugh. "And why should he want to see you, old ghoul?" "I had hoped I wouldn't have to, but..." Cologne poked Lime with her staff; he instantly collapsed, and began flailing his arms. "Hey! I can't move my legs!" "Oh, don't worry," Cologne replied scoldingly, "the paraly- sis will wear off in a few days." The five of them proceeded into the main palace, not sure of what to expect. Cologne and Happosai were, in fact, the only ones who hadn't been here before (as far as they knew), but to call the members of the Musk Dynasty eccentric would be an understate- ment. There were very few people who even came close to the Nerima gang in terms of overall weirdness, and these three were at the top of that list. Herb was pacing around the main hall. When he heard their footsteps, he whirled around. When he realized who it was, he let out a long sigh. Cologne came within ten feet of him. "You are Herb, leader of the Musk Dynasty?" He nodded. "And you, old woman?" "I am Cologne, elder of Joketsuzoku." "An Amazon? And why have you come here?" Her eyes narrowed. "Within a year, a threat as this world has never knows will descend from the skies. A pair of warriors of incredible power will come to wreak havoc and finally destroy every person on the planet." Herb nodded. "And you want my help? Why didn't you wait?" "Because these warriors, the last of the Freyan race, could, at this moment, crush even you like an insect. If we want to have a prayer of defeating them, we must train, become as strong as possible before they arrive. That is why we have embarked on this training voyage, to collect the greatest warriors of this planet and together train to be ready for them." He looked over the five thoughtfully. "If that is so, where is Ranma? He defeated me, after all." "We first learned of the coming of the two because a lesser Freyan came a week ago. Ranma gave his life to defeat his sister." Mint, a small man clothed in a wolf pelt, came up behind Herb. "Did you say sister? Wouldn't that mean that Ranma...?" She nodded. "We never knew it until now, but Ranma is a Freyan, born on the planet Vejiita." "But don't you mean he _was_ a Freyan?" asked Herb. "He is, after all, dead." Cologne smiled, and produced one of her Dragon Balls. "So, you intend to resurrect him. In that case," he said, reaching under his scaly armor, "you might be interested in this." Herb held out another Dragon Ball. The two exposed balls glowed brightly. "This one has been with the Musk Dynasty for a thousand years. It's true I am descended from a dragon, but I suppose you never knew that that dragon was Shen Long himself." He put the Dragon Ball back where it had come from. "So, will you join us?" Herb grinned. "Certainly. How could I pass up the chance to surpass Ranma?" He turned to Mint. "Mint, go get Lime. We'll leave within the hour." Ranma just kept on running. And running. And running. And running. He knew that he would be rewarded for all this with advanced training, but that didn't make it any less mind-bendingly dull. Even if he didn't need food, he still got tired now and then (there was no sense of day or night either, on Snake Road), and had to stop countless times, and yet there was no end in sight. It was true that he didn't really have any options but to push on, as falling into the yellow-orange clouds below would mean oblivion, but that didn't reassure him any. Kami had assured him that he would be resurrected by his friends in time to deal with the two Freyans that would come, but he had to wonder just what the hell they were doing all this time. It seemed like he had been running for an eternity. Some- how, he'd always imagined ghosts being able to float around, but that proved to be incorrect. Or maybe they could, but only while in the real world. It was really frustrating, and he began to wish he could fly. It was possible, after all, wasn't it? If he could perform the Hiryushotenha and similar feats, had defeated Herb, Yamata no Orochi, the Dojo Destroyer, the Phoenix, and worse, why not flying? As he saw it, there were two things that needed to be done. First, he had to reduce his weight. Second, he had to get some propulsion going. The question was, how the heck was he to do either? As it turned out, the Jusenkyo guide turned them down point- blank when they asked him to take them at least part way to Nekonron. Herb merely shrugged, and suggested that they go by foot. "But don't you have horses or something?" asked Akane. "Well, no... We don't have much need to travel very far outside of our own territory." "Never mind." said Cologne. "A bit of hiking never hurt anyone. You don't see me complaining, and I'm over 300 years old." So, after stopping back at the palace for more supplies, they started walking. It would be a long an dangerous trek across the tall mountains before they reached the valley in which Nekon- ron was located, but Cologne said that the journey would be good for them, as it would build stamina, if nothing else. After going all day, with relatively little conversation (Shampoo and Akane didn't want to talk to the Musk Dynasty men, who had tried to kidnap and forcibly marry them before), the eight stopped and made camp. Akane lay on top of her sleeping bag, and looked up at the stars. It was strange, how quickly her life had changed. How everything had been simply shattered the day Kyuka had arrived. Ranma had been an alien all along, and was dead, but would be revived, and the Amazons were all actually aliens as well, but of a different kind. And now they had enlisted the help of the Musk Dynasty, the wierdos who had once depended on the Nannichuan for producing wives. Cologne began drawing a circle on the ground, and drawing ancient symbols in its interior. "Tell me, old woman," said Herb, "what are you doing?" She didn't pause in her drawing, but answered, "I am per- forming a ritual that will allow us to see how Ranma is doing." Akane whirled around when she heard this. "You mean, it'll let us talk to him?" "Possibly. Shampoo, give me a mirror." The ritual continued, and Cologne began chanting, until finally she took the mirror, placed it at the center of the circle, and made some hand motions. The image in the mirror blurred, became smoky, and then changed to that of an oni sitting at a desk in an office, with other similar oni at similar desks visible in the background. "Huh?" said just about everyone. The oni, who was thin and looked remarkably like a salaryman with blue skin and horns, looked up. "Oh... um... I'm kind of busy right now. Could you try back later?" The mirror returned to its normal state. Akane scowled. "What happened?" Cologne looked at the mirror in disbelief. "I'm not sure. But I think I'll wait until tomorrow night to try again." "Great. We finally get a chance to find out how Ranma's doing and the lines get crossed!" Concentrating on figuring out how to fly was good for Ranma, since it occupied his mind with something other than the coming of the Freyans, and Akane, for a change. Even so, it was frus- trating. He knew it was possible to use ki energy to become lighter; it was called karumi-jutsu, and was supposed to be rather basic, at least, compared to doing ki blasts and so on. After having tried for nearly a full day, he had quadrupled his jumping height, but had yet to figure out how to reduce his weight any further. Akane was awakened very early by prodding from Cologne's staff. "Come on, my dear, it's time to train." She stood up, and looked around. It was still dark out, and everyone else there was still asleep. Akane realized that she was by far the least skilled of the group, and decided that she needed any extra training she could get. Cologne led her some distance away from the main camp. "Listen to me, Akane, you have powers that you do not under- stand, that no one knew existed until recently. I intend to determine what they are and teach you to control them." Akane nodded. "Okay." "Good. Now, hit me with a mallet." "What?" Cologne's eyes narrowed. "Do it! Whack me with your mallet! Now!" The old woman lashed out with her staff, missing Akane by mere millimeters. "You have to defend yourself! I'm a master of tien-hsueh! I could paralyze you instantly and permanently!" Akane's instincts took control. Before she knew what was happening, she had produced a giant wooden mallet, and had tried to bash Cologne with it. Of course, the old woman had neatly slipped out of the way. She looked at the mallet in surprise. She had no idea where it had come from, but it was *massive*. "What...?" Cologne looked at the mallet. "Very interesting. It seems that you have great abilities, but no control over them." She unceremoniously poked at the mallet, and it exploded in a shower of splinters. "First, you must learn to control your ki. There are many ways to do this, but I think I know which one is best- suited to you." "What do you mean?" "Ranma's power becomes greater with his pride and ego, Ryoga's with his depression, and yours... with anger." "But--" How could all her ability come from anger? It seemed hard to believe. And yet it wasn't. When she was mad, she could take *Ranma* by surprise, and knock him out. No other fighter had *ever* done such a thing. In fact, any time she had tried to beat up on Ranma, it had worked. But she only did that when she was mad at him. And before he died, he said he loved her. Could she really stay mad? "I don't know." "You will learn. Once you open the door, you will find great power. You will be able to defeat those of greater physical strength by the strength of your spirit." Cologne pointed at her nose. "Look at me, look at Happosai. We both appear tiny and frail, yet have great power." She took a step back. "First you must become angry, then you must use that energy, turn it into a ball of anger, and hurl that at your foe." "But... I..." "The most important step is to cast doubt aside. Doubt will destroy any hope of mastery. If you doubt that you can do some- thing, you have made sure of it already. Now, child, remember that my Shampoo will be the one to marry Ranma." "What?!" Cologne smiled. Akane was so easily manipulated. "You heard me. No matter what you do, I will make sure that Shampoo is the one to be Ranma's bride!" "Why you--!" Akane felt the power building. "Ranma was right! You'll just be an old vicious widow! Even *I* had a husband!" Akane growled furiously, and without realizing it, formed a sphere of red energy. When she saw it, she brought her hands together, producing a ki blast. This stream of energy tore across the landscape, obliterating the trees and rocks in its path. When it ended, she dropped to her knees. Cologne hopped closer. "You see? You _can_ do it." Akane looked up at the old woman, and realized that all the things she'd said had been lies, just attempts to get her mad. "You did that on purpose." She nodded. "True. And it worked far better than I would have expected. You performed a flawless Roaring Tiger Shot, exceeding even Ranma in power for such a technique." Akane nodded, and smiled. She *had* done it, hadn't she? Akane Tendo had performed her first real special technique, and had outdone Ranma and Ryoga. That was nothing short of amazing. When the others woke up, at the crack of dawn, they saw the destruction that had been wrought, and were quick to ask the cause. When Cologne announced that Akane had done it, by perform- ing a Torahoukoudan, several jaws dropped at once. This was espe- cially true Herb and Happosai, who knew what that technique entailed. It was especially hard to believe given how happy Akane seemed. Granted she had reason to be proud, but the Torahoukoudan required one to be filled to the brim with rage. Even so, training commenced. Before setting out, they spent a number of hours practicing basic hand to hand stuff and doing general exercises. Only Ryoga could compare to the Musk Dynasty men in terms of raw strength, though Happosai knew enough about leverage and such that he could conceivably mop the floor with them if he chose to do so. Of course, if they were actually fighting, then Herb could pull out a Hitouryuzenha; there was a good chance that the Flying Dragon Slice Wave could cut the little pervert to ribbons. When the training was done for the time being, they com- menced hiking again. After a long, difficult day of hiking through the mountains, they stopped and made camp. Cologne prepared the same ritual again. The mirror became smoky as before, and then it changed to the image of Ranma, who was bounding down what looked to be the back of a giant stone serpent. "Ranma!" Akane called out. He turned around, and stopped. "What the...?" "Ranma! Can you hear me?" "Uh, yeah." He spun around, looking for the source of her voice. "Where are you?" "We're in China right now, headed towards Nekonron." said Cologne. "And you?" "I'm running down this thing called the Snake Road, to meet this guy called King Kai, 'cause he's supposed to give me some kind to special training." "King Kai?" Herb gasped. "Akane." Ranma said flatly. "Who was that?" Herb caught his breath. "It's me, Ranma. Your old friend Herb. So good to see you again." Ranma rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Whatever. I guess Herb will be helpful when they finally get here. I just got one question, though; do you guys have a way of getting me back?" "Yes." said Cologne. "As we journey, training and collecting the greatest warriors of the Earth, we are also seeking out the Dragon Balls, mystical spheres which, when united, will summon Shen Long, the Eternal Dragon, to grant a wish. We will wish for you to return to life." "YES! Being dead really sucks! Or at least, Snake Road sure does. This damn thing is supposed to be ten thousand miles long. And there's nothing to do here..." "I'm sure you'll manage." said Ryoga.