Wow, this is a first! This month, I actually saved a couple of the planned articles for next month, since the newsletter seemed to be running a little long! We've got another Melissa's Shoujo Spot for you, another Rantman topic, a new column by Keiichi, as well as a report from the first UshiCon. I've got a new type of puzzle that I've been playing with lately....I can't seem to stop playing them, actually. I gues I'm just addicted to logic puzzles. Also, congratulations to Chuck & Charles for their 10th comic!

Next month, we hope to have a new comic to add to our lineup, another Review/Counterreview (I know, I've just been lazy about cranking it out), and a new column by Hotwire interviewing various fanfic authors.

Also, please don't forget -- Project A-kon is coming up, and we're trying to get the group discount again. The end of March is the deadline I'm setting to submit your pre-reg form (available at the Project A-kon Website, as well as your check or money order made out to "Phoenix Entertainment." If you get it in to your local Anime Heretics branch before then and we have at least 10 people, the price per person is $27.00, instead of $32.00. If we don't have enough people by then, I'll be sending your money back to you so you can register at the normal price yourself. So tell your friends! It's definitely to your advantage to get as many people registering at the same time as you as possible!

(insert usual begging for submissions for next time here)

Enjoy the issue!

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I GOT IT!!!

Story & Artwork by Hotwire

by Melissa (ghost-written by Deanna Baron)

Wheeee! Hey, look, I'm back!

Chuck and Charles were sooooo impressed with my last article that they let me come back again this issue. Actually, the way they said it was, “We look like we may be short again this month, so go ahead and hack something out.” But I know what they meant was that they greatly admired my punchy, hard-hitting, eagle-eyed review style.

So, in honor of their newfound respect for me, I picked an anime with flying pigs!

Tonde Buurin is a story about a girl named Karin, who finds a cute little yellow pig with a bowtie and saves him. As a result, he grants her the ability to turn into a Magical Girl. That would be really cool, I think, but--- like most Magical Girls--- she's extremely hesitant to accept her powers. I think a big factor in this might be that, while she gets a variety of powers (“Buurin Kick! Buurin Punch! Buurin Cut! Buurin Tickle!”), and she gets a surreal henshin sequence, and she has the cute fuzzy mascot, and you can see all kinds of spinoff toys hitting the store shelves that I really want to go out and buy 'cept my room's already too full of other spinoff toys already--- but the thing is, though, she doesn't get a cool transformed form at all. Instead, she turns into a short, fat, pink pig with a cape growing out of her shoulders.

Her sponsors--- the yellow pig, who has a really long name that Karin can't remember, either, so she just calls him Ton-chan, and his partner, the compact which is her henshin item, whose name was too waffy to remember--- lure her into a life of Magical Girldom by promising her the form of her choosing, once she's performed enough good deeds as Buurin. At the end of each day she takes on her Buurin form and does good deeds, she gets a varying number of pearls. But if she misuses her superpowers for her own selfish wants, she gets penalized a number of pearls. (Pearls. Pigs. Get it? Heeheehee!)

So far, it's been really cute, and there are a bunch of other really cool characters she needs to hide her identity from. 'Cept, the thing is, she *really* needs to keep her identity a secret, because if she ever tells anyone, she'll get stuck in her Buurin form forever! And that would just be soooo embarrassing, 'cause, I mean, c'mon. Who wants to be stuck as a short, fat, pink pig forever, with words written on your tummy? I mean, yeah, it's cool to be a Magical Girl, but being a Magical Pig is completely different. For one thing, how are you going to attract boys? I mean, yeah, some of us have enough trouble as people… I don't even want to think how difficult it would be as a pig! OK, maybe it *might* be a *little* easier if you were a *magic* pig, but still…

So, um, anyways. I think, with my punchy, hard-hitting, eagle-eyed perception, that they're trying to make fun of Magical Girl anime. Why they would want to spoof such a noble genre is past me, though. I guess some people are just pigs.

by Kyle

Yes I know, every fan and their dog has a gripe about the censoring of Anime by the television networks. Let me guess: oh horror of horrors they hardly ever show blood on Dragon Ball or the censors turned Neptune and Uranus into cousins. Hey, at least you get to see some of the show for free instead of forking out $20 - 30 for anywhere from two to four episodes - you're getting what ya payed for.

My problems with censoring don't go into the insignificant cutting room floor edits or Digital dress up, my beef is throwing out whole episodes entirely. If you prefer dubs like Card Captor Sakura, you're screwed because those episodes missing from TV will never be released in anything but subtitled format. In Sailor Moon's first season, several episodes are cut, including the only known one to reflect on Venus' Sailor V days. In Escaflowne's short-lived career on Fox Kids they started right from episode 2 because 1 had too much Japanese school life and focused too much on Hitomi, not to mention the dragon battle.

Coming up in a new Adult Swim lineup on Cartoon network is Pilot Candidate. The name was changed from Candidate for A Goddess because Turner Broadcasting wants to keep away from involving religious messages. Total bull! Sailor Mars is a shrine maiden, Tenchi Muyo takes place almost exclusively at a small shrine, and in Dragonball Z, Kami, the guardian's name, literally means God. Come on Ted, your people aren't fooling anybody. Quit kowtowing to those 1950's evolutionary throwbacks.

However I must digress -- censorship occurs in the home of Anime as well. Go Nagai has repeatedly gotten in trouble with the Japanese PTAs many times over the past for both his anime and manga. Violence Jack, Go's longest running series, in its manga form almost cost Go his publishing contract. Late night anime, formerly know for nudity and extreme violence (Berserk for example), has toned down considerably in recent years:

Thank you for taking your time to read this rant. Sorry I just had to get this topic taken care of so it doesn't haunt me later. Oops got to go my medications about to wear off................

Anime Music Reviews

by Keiichi
Keiichi.Net EX² -- Extreme Anime Radio

A Little Seduction Phrase from Lucifer

Welcome everyone, to the first of hopefully many articles over the wonderous world of Japanese Pop/Rock and Anime Music. For those of you that don't know me, I'm Keiichi-san, programmer for the Internet Radio Station "Keiichi.net EX2 : Extreme Anime Radio" on Live365.com. Now, with introductions aside, this month's review.

I thought that for the intial article that I would go ahead and cover something that fell into both the catagory of Anime Music as well as Japananese Rock. In the Spring of 1999, an Anime Series debuted in Japan by the Title of Kaikan Phrase (Translated - 'Seduction Phrase'). This anime series was about the triumphs and tribulations of starting a Japanese Rock band, and was supported by an all star voice cast, as well as some of the best music from a series had been seen in a long time.

But, what was different this time around was instead of hiding the band that created and performed the music for the Anime, they desided to let them keep the namesake of the band in the anime (Called /\ucifer, pronounced 'Lucifer'). And with every release of a single in the anime, the actual single from the Live band, /\ucifer, was released at the same time. It was probally one of the most unique marketing techniques used for the promotion of a soundtrack in Anime History.

As for the music itself, they use a combonation of seductive lyrics, loud and fast guitar riffs, with a beautful backing bass to create a very traditional sounding, yet still up to date, hard rock sound. From the hard rocking 'Datenshi Blue' to the very calm ballad 'Silent Melody', they continually bring out great sounding music, both with the music from Kaikan Phrase, as well as the stuff you will just hear on the Albums. Lucifer currently has two albums available (Limit Control and Beatrip), with their third album due out on March 13th.

UshiCon 2002 Report

by Wraith

UshiCon made its debut in Austin this past month. Being a first-year con, the numbers weren't huge, although they did end up larger than expected. Unfortunately, this rather overloaded the Four Seasons Hotel, which was definitely a bit too small to handle the peak crowds. It's pretty definite that the con will be held somewhere else next year, so there's not much point in talking in detail about the hotel itself. I will say that the hotel's layout added an interesting feel to the con. Between the number of wandering ADV voice actors and the hallway booths for groups like Studio Ironcat, it was pretty cozy. They were all quite friendly and willing to stop and talk.

They had 176 pre-registered, so they were only expecting around 600 people. However, they had 350 by Friday night, and by the time registration closed they had a total of 800 people. Some of them had even come from out of the country (Canada), which is a bit surprising for a first-year con. There were a lot of families there, kids included. Not a lot of little kids, but a fair amount of preteens and lots of teens with parents. There was a higher percentage of women there than I saw at Anime Fest 2001, and there seemed to be a very high percentage of cosplayers.

Unlike AnimeFest, there were no real extras for pre-registering. There were, however, some benefits to showing up early on the first day. A number of FLCL and I'm Gonna be an Angel posters were given out.

This time around I was far less interested in anime than I was with Anime Fest. Between my growing collection and the Anime Heretics Austin I've seen or have access to pretty much anything I'm interested in. That said, the anime selection here was pretty decent. There was a fair selection of recent stuff, including Read or Die, Fruits Basket and Love Hina Again, as well as some older titles like Cooking Master Boy. Thanks to ADVs participation, a couple of not-yet-released dubs were also shown. End of Evangalion was shown dubbed (US Manga has the rights, but I do believe ADV participated in the production, since it sounded like the ADV dub cast), as were a few episodes of the Excel Saga dub (more about it later). This was all very promising for next year's selection.

Also shown were some parody fandubs by No Lyfe Productions. One was of Panzer Dragoon (which they subtitled "Where CGI meets LSD"), and the other of Record of the Lodoss War TV (Lodoss: The Accursed Festival). These are definitely worth watching if you get a chance.

No Lyfe also did a panel on the fandub process. They're currently working on a new production, using Blue Seed. It's to be called Adjusters, and will be insurance adjusters vs. Satan. They're planning on premiering it at A-Kon, so if you're going try to catch it. They even did a little live demonstration of the fandub process, getting another Anime Heretic, Karsten, from the audience to dub a couple lines.

It's worth mentioning that they do their own music for the parodies. This includes some music available online at http://www.mp3.com/courtesyflush/. Look for "(These are the) Ending Credits", the end credit (obviously) music they used for the Panzer Dragoon parody.

The dealers' room at the hotel suffered from the size of the venue. It was a tiny little room, but had several good dealers, including a booth from Dragon's Lair [popular comic/RPG shop in central Austin -- ed.], and it was packed most of the time. There was only one armory, but more can be expected if next year's dealers' room is larger. I don't know enough about anime merchandise myself to identify the great rares, but judging by overheard conversation there was some good stuff available. I did spot a number of import mangas that would be nice to have once I have a chance at reading kanji, including some NieA_7. There were also some good deals; one guy mentioned being able to buy a decent bokken for $10.

The art room wasn't all that big either. There were a couple of good pieces, and most of the bidding was for an Oh! My Goddess piece. This was a mirror with a very well done Belldandy painted on it, along with etched wings. (I hope to have a picture of this one up soon, as it was purchased by an Anime Heretic with lots of camera gear.)

I ended up missing the AMVs, but from what I heard there were some very good ones. These will probably show up again at A-Kon.

I also missed the cosplay. I had hoped to watch a tape of it (one of our members taped it), but was sick the night it was shown at the Anime Heretics meeting. I should be able to watch this soon, after which I'll update the report.

There were some other con events going on. A pretty packed dance, with some good DJs. A last-minute Shoujo Pajama Party turned out well attended as well. The Anime Match Game made an appearance as well, although it was unfortunately run opposite the fanfic panel, so I missed it.

And what con would be complete with Hentai Night, Karaoke, and Shoujo Pajama Party?

There were a number of good panels at the con. Although some of them suffered from disorganization, all the ones I attended ended up quite interesting. Some of that disorganization showed up in the fanfiction panel. One of the planned panelists hadn't shown up. I found this out in the hallway well before the panel, after some talk with the other panelists. They needed someone to fill in a slot, and after they found out that I wrote fanfic (even if it is Daria fanfic) and have seen Gunbuster they asked me to fill a slot. As a result, I didn't really get any notes from the panel. As one of the earlier panels on the first day, it didn't really get a big crowd. This also ties in with my only real complaint about the con, namely that there wasn't a fanfic contest.

The other disorganized panel was the Old School panel. This wasn't a problem, however, as there was a fair sized audience, and a couple of knowledgeable audience members took over.

The other panels, not all of which I was able to attend, included manga writing/drawing, cel painting, and a couple of good costuming panels. The panel lineup seemed pretty strong for a first-year con, so I can't wait to see how things go in a couple years.

There was also an industry panel by ADV. David Williams, his wife, and Matt Greenfield held the panel, with a number of ADV voice actors and actresses in attendance (including Amanda Winn Lee, who passed out NERV parking permit window decals).

I know some people online who are pretty pessimistic about some of their future releases, so I want to assure everyone that they are planning to release their entire back catalog on DVD. They aren't doing it by simple shovelwave, either. They're taking the time to check the sub translations, clean up video and audio as necessary, and add extras. The process will be slow, but certainly worth it. Their target is to get the full back-catalog on DVD by the end of the year, but that's probably a bit optimistic.

Speaking of extras, Mr. Williams talked a bit about his Jiggle Counter (currently on "Plastic Little"). Apparently when this was in testing, the only readily available footage for the test was from Princess 9...

Probably the other main focus of the panel was their upcoming Excel Saga release. They should be announcing the release date soon, and they were quite enthusiastic about the extras on the DVDs. They wouldn't talk much about them, however, except to confirm that there will be cultural notes (as was done with "NieA_7") on the disc. This is a series that definitely needs it.

After the ADV panel pretty much everyone there, including the voice actors, went over to the Excel Saga screening. There was some trouble getting it started, since the con equipment didn't like the DVD-Rs ADV had brought. Luckily they also had a few episodes on tape, so we got to watch episodes 4 and 5. This was the English dub version, and it was handled pretty well. The con equipment did not handle Jessica Cavello's Excel voice very well (and I am sure it was the equipment; they had similar issues on other showings in that room), but she was able to handle Excel's part. That said, although the dub was decent, I doubt it's going to do anything to convert anyone who normally watches subtitled.

Judging from audience reaction to various things in the show, I have to guess that most of them had never seen Excel Saga before. The reaction was quite positive, but the surprise showed at things like the opening and ending made it pretty clear this was a new thing to most. I would not be at all surprised if this turns out to be a big selling title for ADV.

Since we watched the tape, there are a couple of other promising notes I can give about the Excel Saga release. The opening and ending were not dubbed or changed. Sumiyoshi's silent comments were left untranslated on the tape, so it does not appear that they used any overlays or hard subs. Add in David William's mentions of extras (I wouldn't be surprised at a death or reset counter) and this should be a good release.

The other standout panel for me was the one conducted by Dr. Susan Napier, author of "Anime : From Akira to Princess Mononoke : Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation". I read the book recently, and it's quite interesting. I have to recommend it to anyone interested in Japanese culture as well as anime in general.

Fan Art!

Kenshin, by Nick

Last month's word search, Shoujo Showdown's answer key can be found here.

Cryptic Dub Lines

I thought I'd start throwing in a cryptogram each month, and strange dub lines seemed like the perfect subject. Here's one of my favorites:

SFZZK, JO ERJF UW NFE.  TSRP U'J RYKCP PK IK JUASP
VFFZ R ZUPPZF WPXREAF RP VUXWP....

— NFE, VUWP KV PSF EKXPS WPRX

Hint: "X" = "R"

Anime No-No's

A type of puzzle I've recently become addicted to (really recently, like March 1st :) is a logic puzzle called a "nonogram." Interestingly, it was invented in Japan, but none of the papers there picked it up initially. Instead, the creator formed a partnership with a man in Britain, where the puzzles were run in the "Sunday Telegraph-Times." Eventually, newspapers in Japan started re-importing the puzzles from the "Telegraph-Times," and not long after, the inventor started working directly in his home country, taking the name "Nonogram" with him. The "Telegraph-Times" ran a reader contest to rename the puzzle, and they came up with "Griddlers." This type of puzzle has also been known as "picross," "picture logic," or "paint by numbers."

Basically, you have a grid with numbers heading the rows and columns. What these numbers represent is a sequence of black squares within the row or column, separated by an unknown number of white squares. For example,

could be interpreted as:

OR

OR EVEN

This is why the solution to the puzzle must satisfy the numbers in both the row and column. There are basically three rules:

For a more detailed account of how to play, as well as a few strategic tips, please see http://www.nonogram.com/. This month, I've just got a couple of fairly easy ones for you. As a hint, look first for a row or column that can only be filled in one way, and go from there. Also, it's usually a good idea to fill in a space you know to be empty with a dot.

Print-friendly versions of the puzzles can be found here and here.

Anime No-No #1

Anime No-No #2

Process of Elimination

by Brian Randall
http://www.rakhal.com/durandall/

        Process of Elimination -- Chapter Two

        Disclaimer: The primary colors in this story are from
Takahashi, Viz (Ranma 1/2) and Pioneer (Tenchi Muyo!).

        Additional tinting provided by: Takahashi, Viz (Inu-Yasha),
Sunrise, TV Tokyo/Bandai Entertainment (The Vision of Escaflowne),
CLAMP, Kodansha, (Magic Knights Rayearth), TV Tokyo and Ken Akamatsu
(Love Hina), Takada Yuuzou, and A.D.Vision (Bannou Bunka Nekomusume
Nuku-Nuku), Fujishima Kosuke, (Ah! Megami-sama) and (You're Under
Arrest), Miyao Gaku (Devil Hunter Yohko), Takashi Yabara, Viz, SNK
(Fatal Fury), Yuzo Takada, A.D.Vision (Blue Seed), And of course,
Tatsuya Egawa (Goldenboy). The easel is mine. That's all.

        Notes: Diverges from Ranma after volume 24, continuation for
OAV 2 in the Tenchi universe (well, one of them). Nuku Nuku is from
the OAVs, not TV. This fic uses the bizarrely vague 'Pick One!'
scenario. Enjoy.

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

        "They say fight fire with fire. Makes sense to me to fight
monsters with monsters... but then, who do you make into a monster?"

        -- Unknown


        Ranma cracked her knuckles, seeing the shadowed form below
her, seemingly unaware of her trajectory.

        She let out a shout, descending from her leap like divine
retribution upon the unsuspecting creature and slamming into it
foot-first. To her surprise, the creature merely flexed slightly, as
she skidded across it's carapace and smashed into the onsen behind
it, narrowly avoiding sliding across one of its spiky, protrusion
covered legs.

        "Ooh..." she groaned, righting herself, and scowling at the
creature as it scuttled away a short distance, points of light
gleaming from its hard, armored eyes.

        The brightening of the sky allowed her to make more of the
thing's features out, revealing the previously unseen maw to the
light, glinting and dripping the pale yellow ichor the creatures
possessed as blood. The more to damage her should she attack it
directly, she noted. The things were built to be a pain in the ass
to fight; that much was certain.

        Glaring, she waited for the creature to advance. Let _it_
make the first move.

        But it didn't. Ranma frowned, remembering what Washuu had
said -- it existed on all dimensional levels simultaneously, and
hence, where Ranma was standing at the time must have massive
amounts of dimensional space stacked on top of it. She shivered,
remembering one of the numbers Washuu had given him while after
their bath.

        Her lab could cover the surface of the Earth five times
over, she had said, packed neatly into and above the space for a
mile or so around the closet door that had functioned as an
entrance. Ranma wasn't certain how much _stuff_ was in all of that
space, but she knew that it must be a lot, because the world was a
pretty big place. And that meant that even though Ranma couldn't see
the stacked dimensions -- nodes and vertices, Washuu had called them
-- the creature she was fighting must be able to move through normal
materials with frightening ease.

        Shivering again, Ranma tried to think things over. The
spaces that she couldn't see still provided her with some advantage,
even if she wasn't certain what -- or where -- they were.

        Frowning, she eyed the creature standing near the shore of
the lake, and calculated her plan of attack. She remembered quite
clearly the first time that she had seen one of the creatures. It
was able to simply slide -- phase -- through things. Ranma knew that
she could do the same, but it was still... unnerving to see the
giant monster able to do such a thing.

        Regardless, it seemed unable to do it through all of the
stacked dimensions simultaneously, and there wasn't much use to it
at that moment anyway. Relaxing, she summoned her power to her,
allowing the faintly humming blades of blue energy to appear in her
hands.

        Seeming to sense the energy, the creature altered its
stance, backing up the shore a short distance.

        She glanced out across the surface of the lake beneath the
onsen, considering, then at the blades in her hands. Staring towards
the reaver, she hovered over the surface of the lake, plunging the
blue beams into the water. A corona of ice formed around the
weapons, spider-webs of ice forming, then breaking apart from the
motion of the water.

        She frowned, considering, and concentrated, willing the
blades to become _colder_, and throwing herself into the soul of
ice. The water froze more quickly, this time not breaking beneath
the waves, and slowly extended -- nearly like an extension of
Ranma's will.

        The ice spread, thin crackling noises against the crisp
morning air sounding, as it touched the shore near the reaver. The
reaver skittered away quickly, its clawed legs easily finding
purchase in the loose soil on the side of the lake.

        Ranma opened her mouth to shout in protest before catching
herself. Doubtlessly the thing was too stupid to respond to taunts.
Wrenching herself upwards, she vaulted in a great arc, above the
creature. "Hey!" she yelled. "Hey stupid! Up here -- it's me! Where
the hell do you think _you're_ going?"

        Seeming to hear her, the massive reaver suddenly reversed
directions and _leapt_, flying directly towards the girl, with its
claws extended. Yelping, Ranma dropped herself, narrowly missing a
nasty encounter with a pair of slashing appendages, but noting with
some horror the strike had been close enough to grab a few passing
hairs from her head.

        Alarmed, she wrenched her eyes off of the few strands of red
hair that were drifting down, instead staring in amazement as the
reaver caught itself on... something... in the air, and reversed
course again. Gawking, Ranma shot upwards, noting with displeased
surprise that the reaver caught itself in midair again after passing
her.

        Realization shone through a moment later. The monster was
hanging onto something in another dimension. "Shit!" she swore,
realizing that her greatest advantage wasn't as much of an advantage
as she would have liked.

        Speeding away, she goggled, wondering what the monster was
finding purchase _on_ as it drew ever closer. "This sucks!" she
complained, angling towards the lake. Maybe the stupid thing
couldn't swim...

        She spun in place over the ice she had created earlier -- if
the monster fell through, it could drown. At least, that was the
plan.... Skittering across the ice for a moment before it stabbed
its claws straight down, it stalked towards her. She grimaced,
realizing that her initial plan had failed -- the ice was too thick.

        "Well," she muttered, girding herself, "let's just settle
this the old fashioned way..."

        Darting towards her suddenly, the reaver leapt, and she
ducked beneath it, throwing herself to the ice and sliding under it
to rake across its carapace with her blades -- to unsettlingly small
effect.

        She snarled, and the monster skidded to an awkward halt
before sliding past the edge of the ice, and into the water.

        Replacing the snarl with an incredulous expression, Ranma
was only able to stare. "Damn things are dumber then they look...."
Shaking her head, she turned away, stepping across the ice and
whistling to herself. "Could have been--"

        Vaulting skyward suddenly, she narrowly avoided a giant,
piercing claw, as it shot through the shelf of ice, while the reaver
clawed its way towards her. "Shit!" she exclaimed again. "Don't you
stupid bugs ever die?"

        The reaver snarled -- a high pitched, keening noise -- and
leapt again. Ranma flung herself to the side, momentarily distracted
by the thin wisps of steam rising from the reaver as it rebounded
from an invisible construct, and towards her again.

        She snapped her fingers, darting towards the water. If it
gave off heat...

        Steeling herself, she phased as she hit the water, not
coming into contact with it, but still beneath it. The reaver
floundered for a moment, before bunching itself up and swimming
easily through the water, squid-like.

        Ranma took a deep breath -- unsettling herself when she
realized that her lungs were filled with water, yet she was still
apparently breathing. Shaking off the sensation, she rushed towards
the reaver, as it reoriented itself towards her, claws first. Trying
to lead it into a spiral, she ducked -- too late. It clipped her
shoulder, tearing open a searing line of pain as the cruel barbs on
the ends of its claws sunk in, tearing free and taking a chunk of
flesh with it.

        Restraining a scream, Ranma resisted the urge to change her
stance, leading the thing after her in a spiral step. The thing gave
off heat, and there was no reason to think it would work differently
with water than with air.

        Drawing in one final breath, and ignoring the incongruity of
inhaling water, Ranma shouted.

        ***

        "Well, Sasami," Washuu said, toweling her own hair dry, "I
guess you're feeling better?"

        The little girl nodded tiredly, her large eyes slowly
drifting shut. "Yes... thank you for talking to me, Washuu-chan... I
just felt so alone...." She sighed, softly, then yawned, crossing
her arms over her knees, and resting her head there for a moment,
sitting on one of the bathing stools.

        Washuu sighed, shaking her head. "Well," she whispered, "I'm
glad you feel better...." Standing abruptly, she gave a decisive
nod. "Come, Sasami, we need to dress you before you fall asleep."

        Rousing herself slightly, and sighing in disappointment, the
girl rose somewhat, standing slowly and holding back another yawn.
"Okay," she said, following Washuu to the room she had once shared
with Ayeka.

        With Washuu's assistance, she was able to dress in a clean
outfit -- her old one having been carefully hidden because of the
bloodstains.

        The redhead sighed, turning to look at Sasami's reflection
in a nearby mirror, while Sasami leaned against her drowsily. "As
expected," the scientist remarked critically.

        The mirror shimmered once, and when Washuu's eyes cleared,
she was facing Tsunami once more.

        Bowing her head, Tsunami sighed, shame apparent on her
features. "I... I am losing myself, Washuu. I am sorry."

        Washuu nodded knowingly. "And she's losing herself, too. Do
you know what's happening?"

        Tsunami bit her lip, looking upwards. "It is.... It is a
difficult thing to know... oneesan."

        Wincing, Washuu shook her head. "Not that... not... right
now. We can speak of that later. In the meantime... what will happen
to you? To Sasami?"

        Tsunami schooled her expression stoically. "We will
become... somewhere between where we are now, I should think."

        Washuu scowled, poking the taller woman's shoulder. "And
your body? Sasami's?"

        A shadow of a frown passed across Tsunami's face, and she
shook her head. "That, you should remember well enough."

        Washuu smiled obliquely. "Maybe I should, but I don't. In
the meantime, what brings you here? And why as Sasami? You know how
dangerous this place is -- especially now."

        Tsunami's face fell, and Washuu winced, seeing the
glimmering of unshed tears in the taller woman's eyes. She cleared
her throat imperiously, and reclaimed her regal demeanor and
bearing, though the wetness remained in her gaze. "Tenchi-sama--"
her voice cracked, and she masked it with a cough. "Tenchi-sama is
far too busy with the pressing matters of the Supreme Council to be
bothered with such trifling matters -- to be of a certain. I am sure
he will attend those important to him."

        Washuu drew in a long hissing breath. She hadn't known --
and wouldn't have guessed such a thing.... But she could read the
meaning behind the convoluted speech regardless. Throwing aside
pretenses for the moment, she nodded solemnly. "I understand then...
imouto-chan." Drawing herself up to her full height, and shunning
for the moment her childish form, Washuu stood taller than Tsunami,
and gently drew the woman into an embrace.

        Secure in Washuu's hug, and finding what she had failed to
find on Jurai, Tsunami let loose her tears. The blue-haired woman
allowed herself to vent her sorrows for what seemed a timeless
eternity, until she had no more tears to shed, and she was able to
pull away apologetically. "I... I am sorry, o-- I am sorry, Washuu."

        Washuu waved a hand dismissively, managing a wry grin. "No
one should ever have to bear being alone, I'd think. Anyway, if
you're feeling better, perhaps we should discuss our immediate
problem?"

        Gathering herself and her will, Tsunami nodded, noting by
the thin lights streaming in through the windows that the sun would
rise shortly. "Where..." she trailed off, frowning, and began again,
"Where is Ranma?"

        Washuu opened her mouth to answer the question, only to be
cut off by a resounding shout from outside, followed nearly
instantly with a tinkling-crunching noise. "Hiryu-shouten-HA!" the
cry echoed, moments before the Earth gave an unexpected and sudden
shudder.

        Both women dashed to the front door together, surprised at
what lay before them.

        "Oh, my..." Tsunami commented, surveying the effects of some
devastating attack.

        Washuu nodded in agreement, staring at the aftermath in
surprise. She had known that Ranma could generate cold, but... that
much? "Ranma?" she called out, not able to see the boy -- girl, she
reminded herself at the moment -- clearly through the lake, now
entirely frozen solid. The surface was jagged and torn, as though
someone had smashed it to pieces with a great hammer after freezing
it, and black and yellow chunks of... reaver? Whatever it was,
numerous pieces of it, coated in ice, lay strewn about. If it _had_
been a reaver, it was now dozens upon dozens of small pieces -- no
longer a threat, at any rate.

        Unnoticed until that moment, Yosho followed the two women
from the house, eyeing them dubiously before studying the lake.
"Interesting," he remarked, leaping out across the ice, wearing his
traditional clothing, and bounding from the jagged icy spires with
only his sandals to find purchase.

        He descended in the center of the lake, a depression too
deep for Washuu to peer into from her vantage point at the edge of
the.... She groaned, realizing that the dock was largely gone,
destroyed by the ice, and the pieces flung too far to be seen. The
lake had frozen quickly, then expanding outwards from the center by
some kind of explosion. That must have been the upheaval that shook
the house. Tsunami was only able to stare in surprise, before
commenting, "I think... I think that Ranma might indeed be enough to
stop the reavers."

        Washuu nodded, saying nothing for the moment, as Yosho
bounded back, his arms full of a busty and body-suit-clad redhead.
He looked down at the girl, frowning, then turned his attention to
Washuu. "Who is she?" he asked.

        The scientist frowned. "You don't remember? That's Ranma?"

        As her name was called, Ranma momentarily woke, mumbling,
opened her eyes a crack, and spied Washuu, "Didja see that? I got
'im... he... Saotome Ranma doesn't...." Whatever it was that
'Saotome Ranma didn't' went unspoken, as she fell unconscious in
Yosho's arms.

        Washuu blinked, crossing her arms and allowing her frown at
the smaller redhead to deepen. "Well, perhaps he can stop them.
There are a few problems left to still work out."

        Tsunami stifled a giggle at the scene, unable to deny the
improbability of the entire situation.

        ***

        Yosho cleared his throat, carrying Ranma into the house, and
gently setting her on the couch in the living room before turning to
eye the women who had followed him. "So," he began, frowning, "what
brings you here, Lady Tsunami?"

        Inclining her head slightly, Tsunami resumed her formal
pose. "Visiting my sister, Yosho-dono.... Tell me, Yosho-dono, what
are your plans to deal with the threat to life on this green Earth?"

        He cleared his throat, looking at Ranma's sleeping form for
a moment before turning to study the women before him. Sisters?
Perhaps a joke -- Sasami seemed to refer to nearly everyone close to
her as a brother or sister. But that wasn't important at the
moment.... "I will stay here. Until... Father... finishes removing
the reavers from this world, I will not abandon her." He fell silent
for a moment, brooding before adding, "Nor will I leave Funaho."

        Tsunami became more solemn, nodding her comprehension of his
wishes. "As you will it, then. I shall... I shall remove Funaho from
this green Earth for you." Yosho blinked, his eyes widening in
alarm. The taller woman smiled reassuringly, placing one hand on his
shoulder. "Have no fear... when it is safe again, I will return, and
with me, Funaho."

        Yosho relaxed, bowing his head in gratitude. "Thank you,
Lady Tsunami."

        Wincing slightly, the woman shook her head. "For the moment
only. But... before I leave, I have one request that I would ask of
you."

        Washuu remained silent, fidgeting as she watched the pair,
sympathy plain on her face.

        Yosho nodded, guessing he knew already. "What would you have
of me?"

        Tsunami waved her hand gently before Yosho's eyes, sighing
softly. "Grant... Sasami one last moment of happiness before it
becomes too late?" Yosho nodded again, feeling the illusion settle
about him like an old coat -- familiar and comforting in its deceit.

        In a soft surge of light, the room was suffused green, and
Tsunami was gone, replaced with her much younger and seemingly more
innocent counterpart. She blinked around her, eyes wide. "Masaki-
san?" She giggled suddenly, exclaiming, "I must have walked in my
sleep!"

        Washuu smiled, still not having reverted to her own more
childish form. "It would seem that way, Sasami-chan..."

        Yosho smiled, aware of his 'Katsuhito' guise, and saw the
regret in Washuu's eyes, easily mirrored in his own.

        ***

        Ranma woke, laying on a couch in the Masaki living room, and
vaguely alerted by the scents of something cooking in the kitchen.
Lifting herself, finding it too much effort to levitate immediately,
she stumbled towards the smell.

        "Mmm.... Smells good," she murmured, seeing Washuu and
Sasami working together in the kitchen, with an older man Ranma
didn't recognize observing the pair. She blinked at Washuu, staring
at her when she realized that she was in her adult form. She still
hadn't managed to figure out exactly what prompted that in the
scientist....

        The girl -- Sasami, she reminded herself -- turned towards
him, smiling brightly and bubbling with cheerful energy. "Good
morning, Ranma-neechan!"

        Ranma cringed. 'Ranma-neechan'? "Um..." Shaking her head,
she dismissed it for the moment. "Yeah, good morning, Sasami...
chan..." She smiled, noting the nods of approval she garnered from
both the old man, and Washuu.  Wherever she had ended up, she
decided, it was quite likely one of the weirdest places that she
could _ever_ possibly hope to see. "Anyway," she drawled, yawning
and stretching, "what's the plan for the day?"

        Washuu pursed her lips, glancing out the window for a long
moment before turning back to a cutting board. "Why don't you help
Katsuhito-dono set the table?"

        Rolling her eyes and sighing, Ranma did as she was bidden,
waiting until they were out of the kitchen to ask, "So... who are
you?"

        The old man winced, shaking his head. "It's... difficult to
explain, Ranma. I'm also Yosho, but... in front of Sasami, I wear
this guise."

        Ranma groaned. "Great. A whole house of people with two
forms, and I'm _still_ the only one that changes gender."

        Yosho blinked at that, opening his mouth to comment, then
chuckled, unable to hold back a smile. "Actually, that's... that's
true, right now. Heh...." He shook his head, setting chopsticks on
the table. "However, try and be... careful... with Sasami. Innocence
is to be treasured, I should think."

        She frowned, not sure how to respond to that, then shrugged
and finished helping Yosho set the table.

        Sasami and Washuu emerged shortly after, Washuu sitting to
Ranma's right, nearer the living room, while Sasami took her seat to
her left, nearest the kitchen. Ranma eyed the various foods lining
the table, but looked about for permission before helping herself to
any. The others seemed relaxed, Washuu staring moodily towards the
ceiling, Yosho managing a soft smile and helping himself to some
pickles, and then... there was Sasami.

        Sasami smiled brightly, proffering a bowl of rice towards
Ranma. She smiled gratefully, noting a lack of sparring partners
before she began to bolt her food. After polishing off one bowl,
Ranma sighed contentedly, casting about the table for something else
-- then noting Sasami was already refilling her bowl of rice. The
girl giggled as Ranma worked her way through the meal, laughing,
"You eat just like Ryouko-neesan!"

        Ranma blinked, peering at Sasami over the rim of her bowl.
"Huh?" she said, sounding befuddled.

        Sasami giggled again, then turned to Washuu. "Doesn't Ranma-
neechan look just like Ryouko-neesan?"

        The taller redhead stifled a laugh of her own, even Yosho
looked on the verge of laughing. "Actually," Washuu commented, "he
_does_ eat just like her. He's more polite, though..."

        Yosho burst out in laugher at that, spraying rice across the
table to haphazardly shower the slightly less amused Ranma. "Uh,"
she said, eyeing the grains of rice stuck to her. "Thanks... I
think."

        This caused everyone gathered about the table to lose
control, as they all burst into laughter, even Ranma. The situation
was incredulous to the extreme, but at the same time.... Sighing,
Ranma shook her head, wiping the rice off her face. "That was
funny... but, ah... can I have some hot water?"

        Sasami nodded, eagerly trotting into the kitchen and
returning with a large cup of steaming water a moment later. Ranma
accepted it, then carefully doused herself with the liquid, shifting
easily back into his male form. "Ah," he said, sighing as he flexed
his arms, and pausing for a moment to study the shoulder that had
been torn in the earlier battle with the reaver. The damage was
entirely gone, only a dim ache remaining. Shrugging, he set the
empty cup on the table again. "Thank you, Sasami-chan. I feel much
better now." He gave the girl a lopsided grin, before his stomach
gave an unsettling growl.

        Blinking, he stared at his stomach in surprise, remembering
how much he had eaten. Washuu smirked at him, resting her elbows on
the table, and commented, "You're hungry again because you just
converted all of the food you ate into extra mass. You didn't really
get as much energy from the meal as your body would have liked." She
waggled a finger at him, admonishing, "But next time, try to control
the change yourself, instead of using water."

        Ranma studied the table for a moment, then grinned. "Yeah,
next time. Anyway, I get to eat again, right?"

        Washuu nodded, hiding a grin.

        Sasami gawked openly, still recovering from the initial
shock. "Ranma-nee-niichan! Just like an anime character!"

        Ranma blinked, starting in on yet another bowl of rice.
"Like one of those Dragon Ball guys, right?" he managed between
bites. "I bet I could beat them, too."

        Washuu snorted. "I think you look more like Sonic the
Hedgehog, really."

        Ranma paused his meal, frowning at the scientist in
consternation before remarking, "Well, you did make me this way."

        She cringed, flinching back from his words, her smile
fading. "Yes... I'm sorry...."

        "Uh..." Ranma said, setting down his chopsticks and running
a hand through his hair, thinking. "It's not like I'm complaining,
or anything, I mean... I'd be dead otherwise, right?"

        "Yes, but I still feel sorry for not asking you first--"

        Ranma interrupted her with a wave of his hands, before
reaching for his chopsticks again. "Don't worry about it. Seriously.
It's not like it's going to ruin my life, or anything." He fell
silent for a moment, gobbling up his rice before allowing Sasami to
refill it from her seemingly ever-ready supply. "Anyway, what's the
plan? I don't think we're just going to wait here and let the..." He
trailed off eyeing Sasami, and considering his words carefully.
"Well... what is the plan, anyway?"

        Yosho coughed, to clear his throat. "Well, I suppose... I'm
no longer going to have to remain here, though I'll certainly miss
this place... and the shrine." He sighed, watching Sasami out of the
corner of his eyes before turning his attention to Ranma. "Where we
go next... I am unsure. I don't know what would be best."

        Washuu nodded, watching Sasami as well. "Hmm... things to
consider are that they learn from each time, so they're going to
become more dangerous each time. I don't think they'll ever become
immune to intense cold, though. But they will learn to be faster,
and more dangerous. We need more allies... but who can help us?"

        Ranma stared at his bowl, this time left empty, and nodded
slowly. "I know a few guys who might be able to help out..."

        Washuu raised an eyebrow at that. "Do you?"

        He nodded, glancing at Sasami, who seemed oblivious to the
attention focused on her, then back to Washuu. "Yeah. The old ghoul
who taught me the hiryuu-shouten-ha, for one..."

        Yosho and Washuu both stared at him, uncomprehending for a
long moment, before Sasami asked, "What's a 'hiryuu-shouten-ha'?"

        Ranma nodded knowingly, taking a cup in one hand. "It's a
technique to turn someone's anger and hot ki against themselves,
kind of. Basically..." He swirled one finger through the water,
slowly, murmuring to himself, then smiled, setting it down on the
table. "You take their heat and use it to blast them away. But it
has a side effect, when you learn the soul of ice." He gestured at
the water in the cup, then turned the cup over and tapped it,
spilling a small block of ice onto the table.

        Nodding in satisfaction, he leaned back, crossing his arms
behind his head. Washuu stared at the block of ice for a moment,
excitedly. "Ranma," she addressed him, "that skill defies
explanation -- I _have_ to study it!" She shook herself, relaxing
and biting her lip. "Not now, of course..." She snapped her fingers
suddenly, as though remembering something. "Right. There is one
thing I'd like to take care of right now, though..."

        She rose, beckoning Ranma and Sasami to follow. Sasami
nodded, removing her carrot-patterned apron, and following
leisurely. Ranma started when the little girl took his hand, dashing
forward and catching up with Washuu shortly.

        The scientist made no comment, leading the pair through the
doorway to her lab, and from there, down a corridor. She halted
before a large, circular room, tapping her chin thoughtfully. Ranma
peered around, seeing only a small tree in the center of a large
planter. Washuu muttered to herself, "Forgot about that... must
remember to ask...."

        Ranma made a face, frowning. "Huh?"

        Shaking herself out of her apparent reverie, the redhead
walked along the edge of the room, and through another door. "It
should be here," she muttered, glancing around at various flashing
lights and control apparatus. "Ah!" she exclaimed, finding one
control panel of interest to her.

        She grinned, opening a panel, and producing a large, round
ball-like object. Sasami gasped at it, clapping her hands together
and staring excitedly. "Is that another Ryo-chan?"

        Washuu smirked, pressing the ball into Ranma's hands. "No,
Sasami, this is Ran-oh-ki. Ranma, I want you to hang on to that egg,
okay? It should hatch..." she trailed off, glancing at a monitor.
"About now. Make sure you hang onto it, since he needs to come into
contact with you, first."

        Ranma stared at the egg dumbly, while Washuu led Sasami
around a partition. "Uh... huh?"

        Washuu's voice reached him, from wherever the scientist and
the girl were hiding, "Just hang on to it, and make sure to impress
yourself on Ran-oh-ki..."

        Sasami's voice followed Washuu's, while Ranma simply
continued to stare at the... egg... in befuddlement. "Is it going to
be just like Ryo-chan?"

        "Er... mostly, Sasami-chan. I based Ran-oh-ki off of my last
record of Ryo-oh-ki, since I lost Ryo-oh-ki's original
blueprints...."

        Ranma shook his head, not really understanding what they
were talking about, and studying the warm, dark egg. Its outer
surface seemed hairy, like a coconut, but much softer, and at the
same time, much less yielding. "Um..." he began, turning the thing
over to look at it from all angles, "what exactly is this?"

        Washuu sighed, audible from behind the partition. "Ran-oh-ki
is going to be your partner, Ranma. He's -- " The rest of her
statement was cut off, as the egg cracked once, sharply.

        Ranma blinked, raising it closer to his eyes to get a closer
look.

        He flinched, looking away, as fragments of the lower half of
the egg fell away, bouncing off of the floor, and leaving Ranma with
a dome-shaped egg covering... something. A pair of some kind of
feet.

        The feet shuffled around slowly, fitting easily in one palm.
Ranma smirked, freeing his other hand to lift off the remaining egg,
and peer beneath. "Hey, it's a -- AUUUUGH!"

        ***

        Washuu sped around the partition at Ranma's yell, her heart
hammering worriedly, and Sasami fearfully trailing the taller woman.
"What's going on?" she asked anxiously.

        Lying prone on the floor, and gibbering in terror, Ranma
flailed around, seemingly pinned by the miniscule creature that
clumsily plodded across his chest and towards his face. The
scientist blinked, as Ranma stopped shouting suddenly, his eyes
meeting Ran-oh-ki's. He instantly seemed to relax, grinning
slightly.

        "Oh," Washuu said, putting one hand over her heart and
breathing a sigh of relief. "It was successful... I didn't think
he'd be _scared_."

        "Is something wrong with Ranma-nee-niichan?" Sasami asked,
hovering anxiously behind Washuu, nervous of getting too close to
the boy.

        "Well," Washuu began, watching as Ranma patted the creature
on the head, "it just took a moment for Ranma to impress on Ran-oh-
ki. Now that the impression has set in, the telepathic bond is
building between them. Ran-oh-ki is Ranma's partner, after all..."
She trailed off, dismally realizing she had forgotten -- again -- to
ask Ranma's permission. So much to apologize for...

        She sighed, as Ranma sat up, scratching Ran-oh-ki under the
chin with one finger idly. Seeming only then to be aware of Washuu
and Sasami, he smiled, holding Ran-oh-ki in one hand. "It's not a
cat," he announced cheerfully, "it's some kind of rat."

        Washuu and Sasami blinked, then exchanged a glance, looking
back in time to see the creature stare at Ranma balefully, and
_bite_ the boy's finger. Ranma twitched slightly, pulling his finger
back, and masking a wince. "Say," he remarked, pointing behind
Washuu, "what's that?"

        Washuu and Sasami turned to look, seeing nothing out of the
ordinary -- for Washuu's lab -- and hearing a muffled 'thwap'
followed by the sound of gnawing. When they turned back, Ranma was
still smiling, petting Ran-oh-ki carefully, though his smile seemed
much more strained.

        Shaking her head, Sasami stepped forward slowly, holding a
hand out, and bending low to be of height with the seated Ranma.
"May I hold him?"

        He nodded, handing Ran-oh-ki over and standing, rubbing his
finger when he thought Washuu wasn't looking. "So," he said,
frowning dourly at the creature, "how is this thing my partner?"

        Washuu stared, stunned at the interplay between Ranma and
his new partner. "Um," she said after a moment, recollecting
herself, "he can travel through the stars, for one..." Ranma stared
at her blankly. Washuu cleared her throat, shaking her head and
motioning Ranma and Sasami to follow her. "For another, what he
sees, he can pass on to you, so he can help you scout things out..."
She sighed, unable to focus, and marveled for a moment at the
conundrum that Ranma was. So many puzzles...

        She paused in the chamber they had passed through on their
way in, eyeing Ryu-oh's successor. It wasn't large enough, yet,
but.... Sighing, she turned to Sasami, who was standing before the
ring of water surrounding the young Ouke no Ki. Ranma paused,
halfway between Sasami and Washuu, though he was looking at Sasami
oddly.

        Not Sasami, Washuu noted with regret, Sasami's reflection.
Sasami's reflection, which was Tsunami. He kept silent, however,
simply watching, as Sasami seemed to not notice, initially.

        Slowly, she smiled -- not the normal, wide and blindingly
happy smile she normally wore -- but a sad, regretful smile. She
sighed softly, and a tear glistened across her cheek, followed
shortly by another. Washuu bit her lip, unsure of what to do.

        ***

        Ranma hopped, sliding through the air easily, and feeling --
oddly enough -- Ran-oh-ki's concern for the girl in addition to his
own. He lit near her, then crouched, placing one hand on her
shoulder gently. "Hey," he said, not entirely certain what was
wrong. Or what he could do to help. "What's the problem?"

        He winced, certain that he could have found better words for
the situation than that, but hoping it would suffice. She grabbed
onto him tightly, and he was distantly aware of Washuu drawing
closer. Sasami buried her face in his shoulder, whimpering softly.
"I'm..." she started falteringly, "I'm going to miss this, nee-
niichan."

        He awkwardly embraced her, not entirely understanding the
situation, and ignored when Ran-oh-ki jumped from her head to perch
on his, making a soft, "Miyah!" in the process. He opened his mouth
to say something, but fell silent when Sasami begin to emit a bright
glow, and... shifted... in his arms.

        Staring at him bashfully, he recognized the figure from her
reflection. She hesitantly let go of him, then stood. Ranma backed
away, scratching Ran-oh-ki distractedly as he rose to his feet
himself. If there was a problem, he was certain Washuu would have
mentioned it, but.... "Hey!" he exclaimed suddenly, "I _am_
surrounded by people who can change their forms, and am _still_ the
only one that has to switch gender!"

        Impossibly, the woman before him smiled at that. "I am...
sorry, Saotome-dono. I am sorry for the impositions... but at the
same time, I wish to thank you for allowing an innocent to be
happy."

        He blinked, reaching up and scratching Ran-oh-ki's ears
again nervously. "Aw... uh... don't worry about it. Sasami's a good
kid, you know. Um... so... what's wrong, exactly?"

        The woman laughed, gliding forward to stand nearer Ranma,
and placed her fingertips on his forehead. He didn't flinch, and she
smiled softly, lowering her hand. "You have a beautiful heart,
Saotome-dono."

        "Uh... you can call me Ranma," he said, shrugging nervously.
He wasn't certain how, but the impression that he should know her
from... somewhere... was very strong. "Um... I don't think I know
you, yet, so, uh..."

        Her smile teased at the corners of her mouth again, and she
nodded. "My name is Tsunami, Ranma-dono. But... I'm afraid my time
here is at an end. The Supreme Council will be reconvening soon, and
I must return to Jurai. Perhaps... perhaps I'll see you there, some
day. I certainly hope to."

        He nodded dumbly, then turned to Washuu, who was studying
both of them with some interest. Finding nothing to say to her at
the moment, Ranma managed, "Uh... yeah, maybe..."

        Tsunami's smile widened beatifically, and she stepped out
across the ring of water surrounding the small tree. "I will be
taking Ryu-oh's successor, and Funaho with me for safe keeping. I
will return Funaho when I can -- I rather suspect that Ayeka-sama
will prefer to keep it close..." She sighed, shaking her head. "I
bid you both be safe, and take care of Yosho-dono, as well."

        Washuu's voice met Tsunami's, solemn and yet with an
undertone of warmth for the other woman, "We will, Tsunami. And be
well."

        "Thank you..."

        And then there was a soft humming sound, and Tsunami and the
tree were gone. "Huh..." Ranma mumbled, scratching Ran-oh-ki's ears
again, pausing when he realized what he was doing. "Um... anyway...
now that we've got the rat, what next?"

        ***

        Washuu sighed, shaking her head as Ran-oh-ki bit Ranma's
finger, and he retaliated by bopping the creature upside the head.
It hopped out of the way, causing him to strike himself, and the
scientist cleared her throat, pleased that both Ranma and his
partner calmed. "Well, Ranma. We're going to gather Yosho-dono, and
move on. The lab is pretty much done for. I can salvage the most
important thing, the computer, and then move on...

        "You said you knew where we could find some allies, so
that's where we're going to head first."

        "Nerima..." Ranma said softly. "I know people in Nerima."

        Washuu began walking briskly towards the exit, nodding.
"Yes, and we should keep our eyes and ears open for anything else
that can help us."

        Ranma frowned, thinking about that. "Yeaahh..." he said
slowly, drifting along and holding Ran-oh-ki nestled in the crook of
one arm, "we might find a few people..."

        The redhead sighed, shaking her head. "Let's get you some
clothes... I think Tenchi-dono can spare something that should fit
you."

        ***

        Rumors reached the trio as they traveled, survivors in
devastated and razed cities both rare and few, of small bastions of
survival among the cities. They had picked up a girl from Okayama,
too, though she said she was from Tokyo, and heading back there.

        Tokyo was full of survivors, apparently. A last stand was
being drawn there, with the strongest in Japan rallying for defense.

        Ranma floated ahead of Yosho and Washuu, and the other girl,
noting a thankful absence of the sense of reavers nearby, and
scanned around. After a moment, Ran-oh-ki levitated upwards,
sniffing around and nipping Ranma's ear in passing. The boy scowled,
but otherwise let it pass, while Washuu and Yosho chatted with a
survivor.

        He glanced back, surveying the situation, and not entirely
comfortable in his borrowed clothes. The man was named Terry Bogard,
or some such. Ranma wasn't really interested in getting to know him
better. The man moved in a way that spoke of years of rigorous
training, but he talked of a woman and had a certain... dead...
light in his eyes that unnerved Ranma. Was that loss, he wondered?
Was that what it was like to lose what you had to live for?

        He shivered, shaking his head, and turning away again, while
Terry nodded and moved on, pulling the brim of his hat lower and
heading northeast.

        Washuu was still in her adult form, as she had been since
Tsunami had departed. Ranma made no move to ask, though something in
her eyes spoke of loss, as well. Yosho was solemn and remained
silent. Washuu had given him something, an extra 'key' she had
called it.

        It fit around the man's wrist like a bracelet, with two
spikes pointing forward. Ranma had no idea what the thing was for,
but knew better than to doubt its effectiveness. Washuu was more
than capable when it came to providing, he had learned.

        He would have preferred to simply fly eastward as quickly as
he could, but there were survivors out there, though the only one to
follow them was the college student -- Morisato Megumi. More people
to protect, he supposed, though she was quiet, and worried about her
brother. He could respect that easily enough.

        Ran-oh-ki thumped softly onto Ranma's head, making another
of his soft 'Miyah!' noises. Reassurance that he hadn't detected
anything or anyone else flooded across the link. Ranma stifled a
sigh, and motioned to Washuu. "This place is dead. Whatever
happened, Bogard-san was the only one to survive."

        Washuu nodded sourly, glancing around at the crumbling piles
of masonry that had once been Kobe. "Well, let's head east, to
Osaka. It's a large city, hopefully we'll find more survivors
there."

        Ranma nodded, frowning. "I think that's a launch site,
too..."

        Washuu shrugged, and then, as if on cue, a spark rose from
the distant east, a point of light climbing heavenwards. Washuu
almost grinned at it, managing instead only a tight, worried smile.
"That is a perfect sign. That's another load of survivors, at the
very least."

        "Yup," Ranma said, rising higher to scout around again.

        Yosho passed beneath him, walking steadily. "We might want
to see about finding a bus, or a car, if we can," he supplied,
looking as though he wanted to hurry.

        Washuu frowned. "I'm an inventor, and a scientist. Not a
mechanic. I don't know if we can _find_ enough of an intact vehicle
here to try and repair, anyway."

        Piping up suddenly from behind Yosho, and shivering slightly
uncomfortably at Ranma's presence, Megumi hesitantly offered, "I
know how to fix cars..."

        ***

        "Ranma-san, fetch me a three and a quarter inch bolt,
please."

        "Yeah, yeah..." he muttered digging through a pile of scrap.
He held up a bolt, examining it. "This?" he asked, holding it
towards the much-more confident Megumi. She nodded, reaching towards
it, and blinking as Ranma's odd pet jumped up and _ate_ the bolt,
chewing it only a few times before swallowing and making one of his
noises, purring and rubbing against Megumi's leg.

        Ranma wordlessly batted the creature away, and it simply
seemed to melt through the far wall. Megumi blinked again, while
Ranma just muttered, and dug through the pile of parts again to
produce another bolt. "Um," she said, shaking her head and taking it
from Ranma, "thanks..."

        He nodded, still poking through the pile of parts, and
grunting in annoyance when the pet arrived and began gnawing on his
ear. "Damn it! Stupid rat..."

        ***

        Megumi smirked to herself behind the wheel of the newly
rebuilt truck. "See?" she said, starting it up easily, "I told you
that I could fix things!"

        Ranma shrugged, climbing into the back with Yosho, while
Washuu nodded her approval, and took the passenger seat. "Very nice,
Morisato-san."

        The girl flushed, kicking the truck into reverse, and
tearing down the road towards Osaka. "Aw, you don't need to call me
that, Hakubi-san!" She giggled, throwing the truck into high gear
and shooting forward.

        Ranma shrugged, leaping from the moving truck and pacing it,
still scouting the area. "Looks like they've moved on," he murmured,
hoping that the blue earring-like... thing... that Washuu had given
him while Megumi was working on the truck would pick it up. He
wasn't certain why it simply stayed near his ear, but Washuu had
mentioned that his gem could to that, too.

        It did pick up his words, and her voice came back to him
easily. "Understood, Ranma. We've got Yosho, and I can keep in touch
with you, so go and scout ahead, if you want."

        "Got it," he muttered, marveling that it filtered out the
whistling of the wind, and darting ahead.

        ***

        The launch facility was abandoned. Ranma could tell even
without trying to sense it. The spark that had rose yesterday was
the last ship off of a dying world, to all appearances. The shining
corridors and polished metal was twisted, torn apart, and the
command center simply... gone.

        He crouched low, motioning Megumi back as she stood at the
entrance to what should have been the command center. "Yeah..." he
said, sighing sadly. There was nothing aside from the reavers that
would have done it, but he checked impulsively anyway. Stray drops
of their acidic... spittle... it was all the information he needed,
and the fumes would be toxic for the girl.

        Washuu had admitted to him that he didn't actually need to
breathe, so he knew he was safe, but no reason to put her in danger.
He glanced around the facility again, wondering why his memories
about the place that he had nearly died were so vague. "Nothing
here. Let's move on."

        ***

        Ranma lounged in the back of the truck, listening to the
women chatter. They had picked up another girl in Osaka -- the only
one willing to follow them. The few other scattered survivors were
reluctant to join, or too dead inside to care.

        Momiji, he thought her name was. "So Saotome-san is a
monster? I know... I knew a boy who was a monster, too... and he..."
she trailed off, and Ranma frowned unhappily, meeting Yosho's
equally unhappy gaze.

        Washuu's voice was soft, comforting. "They've destroyed so
much, haven't they? We need to gather the survivors that we can,
though... we have to keep fighting to make our memories something to
live for, don't we?"

        Ranma heard a stirring noise, and a soft whimper. He didn't
need to look behind him to guess that the poor girl was crying --
and he couldn't blame her. "Washuu," he whispered, sending a mental
command to Ran-oh-ki to stay near the girl, "Nagoya's coming up. I'm
going to scout ahead again."

        Yosho grabbed onto his wrist, anger shining in his eyes.
"Let me go with you, this time."

        ***

        Carrying Yosho was initially awkward, but the man adapted
quickly, and Ranma was able to zip to Nagoya in short order. Ran-oh-
ki sent sympathetic feelings across the link, and Ranma was vaguely
aware of soft, moist saltiness, and a patting sensation. "Great," he
muttered, "my partner's more useful then I thought."

        Washuu's voice reached him, very low, reminding him that the
communication link was still active. "Don't belittle him, Ranma."

        "Sorry," he said to Washuu, before, setting Yosho down on
the street, and landing nearby. "The women should be here in about
ten minutes, but this place looks as dead as everything else so far.
No sign of people _or_ reavers."

        The man nodded sourly. "It's like they're avoiding us, isn't
it?" he remarked.

        Ranma nodded back. "Could be. They aren't smart, I guess,
but they sure aren't stupid, either."

        Yosho grimaced. "I hate them," he said. "They came and
destroyed everything. My... Tenchi's father. I knew he should have
stayed with us, but..." he sighed, shaking his head. "Even before
they killed anyone, they destroyed much of what I held dear.
Sasami..." he trailed off, frowning.

        Ranma nodded again, half wishing that he could sense living
things as well as Ran-oh-ki. "I think I understand. I don't really
know everything about Sasami... or Tsunami... but I felt..." he
shook his head, scratching behind one ear nervously.

        Yosho sighed, scanning around the leveled ruins. "One
thing," he remarked, "I suppose we should be thankful that there
aren't any... bodies...."

        The pigtailed boy glanced at Yosho askance. "I noticed
that... why _aren't_ there any bodies?"

        Yosho stared at Ranma, unfaltering. "They eat them, Ranma."

        Shuddering, the boy stepped back, knowing he should have
expected the answer, but wishing he hadn't heard it. "Oh... gods...
this _sucks_."

        The man nodded, understanding fully. "I'll search towards
the north, you head south. We'll meet back in five minutes, and you
can use Ran-oh-ki to check again later."

        Uneasy, Ranma drifted southward, searching.

        ***

        "Traffic violation?" Miyuki asked half-heartedly. "You're
kidding, right?"

        Natsumi shrugged, peering about the more intact remnants of
the office. "Well, we still have our duties, I guess."

        Miyuki sighed, leading the way to their patrol car and
shaking her head. "What are we going to do, ask the monster to pull
over? 'Oh, please, bakemono-san, I need to give you this ticket for
a traffic violation!'"

        Natsumi giggled, "With our luck, it'll contest the charge!"

        Sighing again, and smiling sadly, Miyuki climbed into their
car, pulling out of the station smoothly. "At least petrol is
cheaper."

        "And ice-cream. There's a sale, since the power's going to
go off for a while, tomorrow."

        "Really?"

        "Well... I hear, at any rate. Want to grab some tonight?"

        "Hmm... sure, once we... well. Nothing's perfect."

        They fell silent, following the directions that had been
phoned in, and skidding to a halt at an intersection. There it was,
a giant, ugly... thing... gleaming black, seeming to make the light
shy away and making it difficult to look at. "Uh..." Miyuki said,
throwing the cruiser into reverse and slamming on the accelerator.

        The monster stepped towards them slowly, as Miyuki expertly
spun the car around, switching out of reverse, and stomped the
accelerator again. Natsumi grabbed the radio, and barked into it,
"We've got a monster chasing us, and it's not going to stop. What
next? Where can we lead it? Is there anyone within this district
that can help us? Over."

        An answer came back -- not the operator that it should have
been, she had -- Miyuki cut that thought off quickly. "Uh...
negative on that, the nearest capable unit is... Yokohama,
currently."

        "Okay, fine. Who is it, and where should we lead it? Over."

        After a momentary burst of static, the answer came back,
"Her name is... uh... Nuku--" static cut out the rest for a moment,
until the operator repeated, "Her name is Nuku-Nuku, temporarily
assigned from Nerima ward. Uh... over."

        Miyuki sighed. The Nerima ward meant massive destruction of
public property. Could be worse, though. Natsumi simply shrugged.
"Well, this should be interesting. Let's go. Over and out."

        ***

        Yosho eyed the 'Welcome to Yokohama!' sign warily. "Well,"
he commented over the noise, "this is it. We'll reach Nerima later
today. Any plans, yet?"

        Washuu frowned. "I'm picking up some radio transmissions."

        Ranma smiled eagerly, seeing the vast majority of the
buildings still standing. "What's it say?"

        A squealing burst of static sounded while Washuu fiddled
with the truck's radio, causing Ran-oh-ki to hiss at it before a
voice emerged, "...fender in Yokohama. Repeat, traffic division has
an incoming on..." The rest of it was lost as the truck bounced
against the curb, Megumi momentarily allowing the truck to drift in
her distraction.

        Ranma dove for Yosho when the truck bounced, carrying the
man upwards and streaking ahead without waiting to hear more.
Washuu's voice reached him, as Megumi regained control of the truck
on the conspicuously empty streets, "Ranma, not sure about where
that was, but I think it's north..."

        "Yeah, I feel it. So does Ran-oh-ki. I'm heading in."

        "Be careful? Try and find out what's going on, and fight
with allies. Don't try and take it alone, okay?"

        Ranma glanced at Yosho, who was clenching his fists and
craning his neck to look at the empty streets below. "Understood,
Washuu. This should be easy."

        "Okay." There was a moment of silence before Washuu spoke up
again, "Momiji-chan asks you to smack it once for her."

        "Heh. Got it."

        Ranma floated down to an intersection, feeling the reaver
nearby, moving quickly, and causing the gem in his wrist to tingle
and flare green. Yosho hopped out of his arms, gesturing. When the
man landed on the street, there was a blazing blade of blue energy
in one of his hands, and a soft glimmering from a shield in the
other.

        He nodded his approval, and looked around. A car was
approaching, obviously at its top speed, and only just out-pacing
the reaver behind it. Ranma crouched low, summoning his own blades,
and taking a deep breath. Yosho took a defensive stance nearby, and
braced himself. Between them, in the middle of the road, a girl in a
high-school uniform hopped down from a building, large ear-like
sensors protruding from beneath her hair.

        Ranma shivered, as Ran-oh-ki sent vague reassurances that he
was not seeing a cat. Nothing to worry about. Collecting himself,
again, he called out to her, "Hey, we're going to help you, okay?
What's your name?"

        The girl blinked, turning to look at him, and then Yosho
before smiling weakly. "Nuku-Nuku wants to protect..." she fell
silent, smiling sadly, as a tear crept from one eye. "Nuku-Nuku
wants to protect..." she said weakly, turning back towards the
oncoming car.

        Ranma shoved back the anger that rose in him -- more pain,
caused by these stupid... _things_....

        It didn't matter anymore, he told himself. Just kill the
damn bugs and get on with it. Nuku leapt suddenly, passing over the
car and landing a spinning kick to the unsuspecting reaver, smashing
it through a nearby building, then charging after it without giving
it time to recover.

        Ranma and Yosho darted forward together, unnerved that Nuku
hadn't coordinated, and worried for her welfare. A moment later, she
exploded away from the building, slamming into the skyscraper across
the street, and Ranma ducked a lashing claw... covered with slick
wetness, and scraps of cloth.

        Not allowing himself to consider the implications, he
ducked, and Yosho circled around, trying to fight in the more rubble
free sections. Not needing to worry about tripping, Ranma lashed at
the reaver, trying to distract it and ensure that Yosho would be
safe.

        He was dimly aware of a car screeching to a halt, and
someone yelling something, and then another car pulling up. "Washuu,
there's a girl here -- I'm not sure what she is, but I think she's
hurt really bad!"

        "I'm there, Ranma. Worry about the fight. I think I can take
care of her."

        Nodding, and not remembering that she wouldn't be able to
see the nod, Ranma charged, blocking a pair of pincer-like claws,
and kicking the thing's eyes. To his surprise, they broke open,
spilling out the foul blood that he had come to recognize as their
_only_ apparent body fluid.

        He was so stunned, that he didn't react, feeling only
searing pain as the reaver lunged forward, _biting_ at him, and
severing his leg at the calf. He staggered back, barely registering
the rippling change as his mass redistributed itself.

        Yosho took advantage of the creature's attack, flaying it
open and bounding back, his shield deflecting the viscous substance
that welled out of the wound.

        Yelling in anger, Ranma slashed wildly, only succeeding in
distracting the creature, while Yosho expertly finished it off, then
backed away from the toxic fumes.

        Panting, and deeply in pain from her entire right foot,
Ranma limped away, wondering how badly she had been hurt to feel
pain _after_ shifting. A pair of traffic police stood near Washuu,
as she inspected the fallen girl -- Nuku, Ranma remembered. Momiji
stood to one side, alternately glancing between Ranma and Yosho, and
the reaver.

        Yosho released the energy maintaining his armaments, and
after a moment, Ranma did the same. The traffic police looked at her
oddly, then at each other, finally leaving Washuu alone to tend the
wounded girl. Approaching Ranma and Yosho, they offered polite bows.

        Confused, Ranma returned the bow, glancing at Yosho for
reassurance. Yosho shrugged, looking towards the women expectantly.
"Excuse me, Miss, could you please tell me your name?" asked the
slightly taller woman with the long black hair.

        Ranma nodded, scratching Ran-oh-ki as the creature hopped to
her shoulder. "Yeah, I'm Saotome Ranma. Uh... what exactly is going
on here?"

        The shorter girl with brown hair, explained, "We're on
patrol, leading stray aliens towards capable defenders... are you
registered?"

        Ranma blinked, exchanging a confused glance with Yosho.
"Registered?" she asked dumbly.

        "That would be a 'no'. Can you come with us, then? We need
all the help we can get, what with Nuku-san hurt..." the taller
woman explained. "My name is, well you can call me Miyuki."

        "Uh... okay...."

        Yosho frowned, puzzled. "My name is Masaki... Yosho. Where
are you situated?"

        Natsumi piped up, "We're situated out of Shinjuku, actually.
We used to be based in Tokyo, but..." she trailed off, slumping
slightly. "We've abandoned Central Defense West, so now we just have
Central and Central East."

        Ranma nodded knowingly, tugging at her ill-fitting clothing,
and noticing for the first time that she was missing all of one
pant-leg below the calf. Grimacing, she summoned the bodysuit,
phasing through the clothing and wadding it up into a ball. "So... I
guess we can help here, Yosho. Washuu?"

        The women stared at her for a moment, then shook their
heads. "Um..." Miyuki began, "we can certainly use your help... and
yours, too," she said, turning to Yosho. He nodded slightly, folding
his arms behind his back. "Everything we _can_ to stop the
reavers... we have some Americans, too. They came in after their own
country was pretty much destroyed, but they brought over some ships.
They're controlling the harbor--" she cut herself off suddenly,
smiling guiltily. "Um, anyway, can you help us?"

        "Washuu? What do you think?" she asked, glancing towards
Yosho briefly, then surveying the area again.

        "It's a marvel, really. She's well constructed. I think I
can repair this, since the biological centers aren't actually
damaged." Ranma blinked, drifting over to Washuu's side, and
blinking again when he realized that Nuku was not human, seeing the
dully glinting metal of Nuku's innards.

        "Uh..." Ranma said, feeling confusion again.

        Nuku's eyes drifted open slowly, and she murmured, "Nuku-
Nuku couldn't protect Mama-san and Papa-san... Ryunosuke... they
can't play with Nuku-Nuku anymore...."

        Ranma seethed internally, hating the monsters more with each
moment. "Washuu, I can't stand this. We're close by, and you can
reach me. I'm going to Nerima."

        Washuu heaved a sigh, doing something that appeared to send
Nuku to sleep. "I understand, Ranma. Be careful, please."

        She nodded, leaping away, and flying towards Nerima,
surveying the city below as she sped along. Ran-oh-ki followed her
closely, perching on her shoulder and sharing her worry. "This
sucks," she whispered.

        Making a small noise, Ran-oh-ki nuzzled against Ranma's ear,
and she patted him absently, increasing her pace.

        ***

        Kasumi hummed softly, her traditional smile weaker, as she
strung the laundry up to dry. Nodoka made a small noise, helping
her. Kasumi smiled a little more brightly. Nodoka had moved in,
since her own home was further north, and thus... more vulnerable.

        Kasumi couldn't complain in the least, though, with Akane
and Ranma gone.... She frowned at that, glancing skyward, as a warm
breeze wafted through the yard. "Where do you suppose Akane and
Ranma are, now?"

        Nodoka stared, her features fading to a sad look as she
joined Kasumi in gazing skywards. "I don't know... I'm not sure how
fast those ships move. But, they're probably happy together. From
what you've told me, Ranma is a very manly boy." She nodded sadly,
turning her attention to the laundry again. "I wish Genma had told
me that he was cursed sooner. And where is Ranko-chan, anyway?"

        Sighing, Kasumi shook her head, honestly answering, "I don't
know, Auntie."

        ***

        Nodoka shook her own head in response, finishing hanging the
laundry from her basket, and trudging into the house. She passed
Soun, idly flipping through a stack of notes, and listening to a
radio, playing some old and recycled music. Nodoka paused for a
moment, recognizing the tune, and humming softly as she headed
towards the kitchen.

        Obliging Nodoka's unspoken request, Soun turned the radio
up, allowing Nodoka to hear as she prepared lunch for the household.
"When sakura falls in spring; it makes me want to..." she sang
softly, under her breath, only able to remember a handful of the
words.

        Yet through it all, there was the nagging, apprehensive
feeling that something important was going to happen.

        And then the music cut out, replaced by an announcement from
the newscasters. "...Update, for Tokyo residents, and good news for
all involved! The city has gained two new defenders, all the way
from Okayama! We have a Masaki Yosho, and a Saotome Ranma joining
the ranks, along with their companion, one Hakubi Washuu. And on the
survivor watch...."

        Nodoka dropped the knife on the cutting board, only able to
blink in stunned amazement.

        ***

        "...one Hakubi Washuu." The radio droned on, but Keiichi was
unable to focus on it, nervous apprehension gnawing away at him.
Belldandy, Urd, and Skuld... he was worried about them, certainly,
but he was worried for his sister more. She had headed to Hiroshima
for a weekend trip, and then the communication lines failed, and the
trains had stopped....

        "...watch. We repeat, there is a Morisato Megumi who says,
'Keiichi, don't you dare move, I'm coming home!' The next survivor,
yes folks, they're still trickling in, is a 'Fujimiya Momiji'. If
there are any relatives out there, please inform your nearest
authority. And that's it for this update, further bulletins as
events warrant." The music stuttered suddenly, restarting where it
had paused for the announcement, and Keiichi was only able to stare
at the radio in numb shock.

        "Bell--" he started, nearly leaping when he noticed her
behind him at the table, smiling beatifically and offering him a
glass of iced tea. "Er... thank you, Bell-chan... did you hear?
Megumi's okay -- she's on her way back to us!"

        Belldandy's face was flooded with a joy of her own, and she
clasped Keiichi's hands warmly. "Once she's back...."

        His smile faded, and he nodded. "Yes... once she's back...
we'll... leave. But with her, right, Bell-chan?" She smiled sweetly,
reassuring him. Even though she had explained that certain rules
prevented her interference, she had promised that Megumi would
return safely...

        ***

        "Setsuna should have been here by now!"

        Rei rolled her eyes, sighing. "Well she's not, and I don't
think we can stay much longer; my grandfather is packing up,
preparing to move everyone to the harbor tonight."

        Makoto frowned petulantly, muttering, "If we could have
joined the Defense people, then we might have done more good."

        "Well, we are running out of time," Usagi said, sighing. "We
need a backup plan, because this is taking too long."

        "What's the backup plan?" Minako asked curiously.

        "Easy!" Usagi answered, smiling again. "We'll have Haruka
and Michiru and me take Mamoru down to the ships so we can be sure
we get enough room for everyone, and everyone else waits for
Setsuna."

        "Um... Usagi, I think Setsuna wanted us to defend the city,
not run away."

        "Well, lets get ready to run away if we have to, and ready
to defend the city if we can!"

        Ami frowned thoughtfully. "That's... that's actually not a
bad idea," she admitted.

        ***

        "Hikaru? Are you sure... sure you can _do_ that?"

        She nodded determinedly. "We can't do anything here, but we
can take our families and our loved ones to Cephiro with us, where
it's safe."

        Umi seemed hesitant, then nodded. "I'll... I'll get my
family. Fuu?"

        Fuu nodded, easily agreeing with Hikaru. "We can make the
greatest difference that way, I think.... But time moves differently
there, doesn't it?"

        "Maybe. If things get really bad, we can just stay there...
but I'm _sure_ Clef can manage something! We need to take everyone
we can there to be safe, then get reinforcements and come back!"

         "Okay. Let's go ahead and get ready!"

        ***

        She ran. Perhaps she was a coward, and that was all she did,
but she was being chased, and she _knew_ one man could help her...
the man she loved anyway. There was no reason to remain _here_ at
any rate.

        There was a noise behind her, but it was too late -- the
portal was opening, and that meant that he _knew_ she needed help.
"Vahn!" she cried out urgently, rising through the air in a column
of light, as the monster below snapped at her in futility.

        ***

        "We have to go now. It's not safe. You know it, I know it...
hide with me, be safe, and then we can come back when this is taken
care of."

        "I know but.... But... Jiji, and...."

        He sighed, drawing her into an embrace, and looking around
the temple. The once-daily ritual of sweeping the steps before the
shrine had stopped when he had slain the... thing... there. Its
blood ate away the stairs, leaving precious little left, and he was
worried that the smell would make Kagome ill -- he knew it made him
sick. "They will rest in peace, if they can, Kagome. We have to
go..."

        She nodded slowly, crying softly. He couldn't blame her. Not
this time. "O... Okay. Let's go... we can come back, right?"

        "When it's safe." If there were shards of the Shikon-no-
tama, it might be one thing... but as things stood, there was no
reason to attempt to fight the monsters any longer. They were
damnably fast, and dangerous, even to him....

        ***

        Ranma shivered, feeling odd pockets and distortions in the
distance. Ran-oh-ki's senses insisted they were harmless -- gateways
being opened and people _leaving_, somehow, but...

        She sighed, feeling somehow that the city below was becoming
a ghost town, even as she watched.

        But Nerima was near -- she thought she could see the
remnants of the school, for one. She increased her pace, worrying
that she was beginning to feel strain from it.

        ***

        Ryouga sulked, his dog leading him onward, and the radio on
his belt hissing with the latest updates. "...Nerima ward. Repeat,
we have an incoming. Plan to repel, nearest defender is... team two.
Be advised, we have an incoming...." He thumped the radio a few
times in annoyance, then sighed, looking around.

        A duck fluttered down towards him, quacking urgently. He
stared, blinking for a moment, then fumbled for his hot-water
thermos. After dousing the duck, Mousse stood before him, adjusting
his glasses, and looking weary. "It's a few blocks north of here,
looks like it's heading towards the Tendo place. Not too quickly...
where's the old man?"

        Grunting, Genma rounded the corner. "You saw it? Nothing to
the west. The school's still empty..."

        Ryouga nodded, patting Checkers on the head. "Lead us to the
Tendo place, okay, girl?"

        Checkers yapped once, and then began trotting down the road,
the three martial artists trailing it. Ryouga shivered, even though
it was noon, and broad daylight... rumors had it that there was
another attack in Yokohama not long ago, and he hadn't heard a
report back on that, yet. Hopefully they managed to chase it away...

        "I see it," Genma said, pointing.

        "Oh, _crap_!" Ryouga barked, picking up his pace to an all-
out run.

        ***

        Genma bounded along, easily keeping pace with the two boys,
and wondering absently about the future. If nothing else, the school
would live on, since Ranma was safely away with Akane.

        He simply had to do his best... the TV had stopped giving
useful information some time ago, but last he had heard, help
from... 'Jurai', or whatever that blonde girl had mentioned should
only be a month or so away.

        All they had to do was survive, and if possible, fend the
damn monsters off. Not that they'd been very successful in killing
them. Slowing them, sending them running to lick their wounds, yes,
but actually killing them...

        He growled, low in his throat, seeing the monster smash
easily through the outer wall of the Tendo home. "I thought you said
it was a few blocks away!" he yelled at Mousse.

        The boy grimaced. "It was!"

        Genma swore, leaping the intervening distance and rebounding
off of the roof. The monster was beneath him, making a beeline for
his wife, and Kasumi. "I think _not!_" he yelled, spreading his arms
at the creature and unleashing a shouted, "Kijin raishuu-dan!"

        The monster reeled from the blow, vacuum blades pushing it
back, but not breaking the carapace. Nodoka and Kasumi scrambled
into the house, while Mousse attempted to tangle its legs in some of
the many lengths of chain he carried about him. Ryouga flailed at it
with his umbrella, able to ward it off, but not to do significant
damage.

        Genma heaved an internal sigh, knowing only one way to stop
at least, this one monster, but also knowing the horrible cost
involved.... The monster lashed towards him, and he narrowly evaded
a blow, saved thanks to a tangle of chain. Centering himself, he
shot one glance at Nodoka, who's panicked eyes met his, and smiled.
He looked away, grim again, and prepared himself for the blow that
would settle things.

        "Dokuja tanketsu shou!" he cried, utilizing an attack
designed to rip the heart out of an opponent.

        His fingers strained, nearly breaking before they shattered
the monster's carapace, and slid within. Bellowing in pain, and
ignoring the incredulous gasps from the two boys, he wrenched,
yanking the armor open, and spilling acidic blood on the ground.

        That, he reflected, his entire body going numb as he fell to
the ground, was what he should have done in the first place.... He
had stopped one, able to dimly sense its struggles lessening, as its
tainted lifeblood seeped out. He even dimly imagined he could hear
Ranma's voice, as everything slowly faded to darkness....

        But he had finally fought for what he believed in. Finally.
He closed his eyes, shutting out the world, and feeling an intense
peace wash through him. If only... he had stood for what he
believed... sooner....

        ***

        Ranma grimaced, seeing a thin plume of dust rise from the
Tendo home. She dropped to the ground, landing near the pond, and
gaped. Kasumi and Nodoka were holding on to each other, staring with
wide eyes at the scene before them. Ryouga... Mousse... and Genma,
facing off against a reaver?

        But Ryouga and Mousse were only staring, as Genma... he
was....

        Ranma staggered forward, hearing a piteously worried,
"Miyah?" from her shoulder.

        "Pops?" she whispered, absently shoving the reaver's body to
one side, and crouching near the prone man. She reached out with a
shaking hand, tracing the lines of his face, and trying to ignore
the ruin of his lower body, already destroyed by the reaver's acid.
"Pop?" she asked loudly, blinking as tears spilled from her eyes.
She shook him gently, realizing in a clinical sense what was going
on, but unable to admit it to herself. "POP!"

        ***

        Washuu shook her head, standing next to Yosho. "Oh, no,
Noriyasu-san, despite appearances, Ranma is a man."

        Yosho smirked, looking around the hastily assembled office.
Washuu glanced at him, guessing he was noting the 'Defense
Headquarters' sign that had been stuck to the window. Men and women
lay scattered about the place, answering phones and sorting through
large stacks of paper. In the back of the room, there was a giant
map of the city, with markers representing various units.

        Washuu squinted, trying to count them, as someone walked up
to the board with a checklist, and began removing them. A young man
with semi-unruly hair, and a very tired air about him. He finished
removing the markers, shaking his head, and picked up another
clipboard, shuffling some of the other markers around. "Seta-san!"
he yelled, not looking away from the board. "We haven't heard from
Mano-san in a while."

        Seta glanced back, rubbing at his stubble, and shaking his
head. "Should be fine, Oe-kun. She's with Aoyama at the moment."

        The young man -- Oe -- nodded to himself, mumbling. "Motoko
and Yohko in Funabashi-ku..." he sighed, turning towards Seta.
"We're going to lose that area, tonight. We've lost too many people
on that front...."

        Seta frowned, scratching his chin. "How short are we?"

        Oe rubbed at his eyes, knuckling back a yawn. "Not sure...
looking grim, but we need at least... five more people, I think. Is
there any good news? Maybe those 'senshi' are willing to help us?"

        "No sign of them, I'm afraid. But we do have something."
Seta glanced at Washuu and Yosho, then nodded, raising his voice for
everyone to hear. "Ladies, Gentlemen! We have some good news."
Everyone fell silent, turning to look at Seta. "We have a confirmed
kill, today, and Hakubi-san here says that one of the new members
has already killed three -- ah, 'reavers' himself, not counting the
one today, which Masaki-san here dealt with!"

        Ragged cheers erupted, and even Oe managed a wan smile.

        Washuu winced, as a sharp yell rose from her communicator,
though the others couldn't hear it. She heaved a shuddering sigh,
unable to keep her eyes dry with the pain she could hear in Ranma's
voice. "There's another confirmed kill in Nerima," she whispered
hoarsely.

        -----------------------------
        Author's Notes:

        Revised: 01-09-02