An Inevitable Outcome Feature

                             Written and Directed
                            by C. Richard Davies

                                TOGETHER AGAIN

                                 1996 Chapter

                             Based on the works of
                      Naoko Takeuchi, Rumiko Takahashi,
                     Kosuke Fujishima, Matsumoto Izumi,
                              Masaki Kajishima,
                     and various interpretations therof.

                                 Incorporating
                         original characters created
                            by C. Richard Davies

                     Dedicated to John Biles, Fred Herriot,
                               and Larry Mann.

                                   ACT THREE  

Establishing Shot:  The still burning remnants of the Nerima train station, 
late at night.  Our view pans across the rubble slowly, occasionally 
catching a glimpse of fabric or flesh scattered by the explosion.  We 
finally come to see AKANE, stunned, her dress in tatters, sitting on her 
rump.

                                 AKANE (V.O.)
 		   In a way, it made no sense at all.
 		   I had been through so much.  I had
 		   been in battle before this.  I had
 		   been *dead*, technically, once.  But
 		   the sudden shock of watching the
 		   the destruction of the train station
 		   -- seeing so much sudden and
 		   apparently *pointless* death -- it
 		   shocked me to my core.  BEAT  And
 		   even now, it still does.  Not as
 		   much as what came after, but -- I'll
 		   let that speak for itself.

                                 KUNOU (O.S.)
 		   Tendou Akane-san?  

AKANE blinks.  KUNOU comes slowly up behind her, his clothes also slightly 
torn up and the bouquet of flowers he was carrying scorched.

                                    KUNOU
          	   Tendou-san, are you injured?  

KUNOU starts to lower a hand to her shoulder.  AKANE blinks again, and 
twists away, suddenly producing her mallet and swinging it at KUNOU.  

Something under the ruins of the train station *shifts*.  

AKANE manages to stop the mallet just before it smacks into KUNOU's 
impassive face.  She lets out a long shuddering breath.

                                    KUNOU
 		   I am pleased to see that you are
 		   well, Tendou-san, and indeed that
 		   your firey spirit remains unquenched
 		   by these --

                                    AKANE
 		   Kunou, do yourself a favor:  Don't
 		   make me regret holding back.  

She pulls her mallet back and puts it away.

                                    AKANE
 		   What happened?

                                    KUNOU
 		   An explosion, originating within yon
 		   train station, did pummel all about
 		   with great tumult.  I fear that many
 		   have not escaped grievous harm as a
 		   result, as you and I have.

                                    AKANE
 		   Oh God.  H-how long was I out?

                                    KUNOU
 		   I cannot say with any degree of
 		   certitude, Tendou-san, but I believe
 		   that the incident occured perhaps
 		   ten or twenty minutes ago.

                                    AKANE
 		   MUTTERED I don't remember anything
 		   after the damn explosion and --
 		    Wait a minute.  Twenty
 		   minutes and there's no ambulance
 		   here yet?  No police?  Something's
 		   wrong here.  

The voice, very reptillian, emanates from the rubble.

                               VIMOGORGE (O.S.)
 		   How true, daughter of man.  How true
 		   your words.  

AKANE stares dumbfoundedly at the pile of rubble, while KUNOU stares 
impassively.

                                    KUNOU
 		   Alas, it is, as I feared, the work
 		   of sorcerers.

                               VIMOGORGE (O.S.)
 		   LAUGHTER How truly these children
 		   speak!  How truly!  

AKANE starts to come to her feet.

                                    AKANE
 		   Kunou ... I think we should get out
 		   of --  

AKANE starts to put weight on her left ankle ... which doesn't seem to be 
up to the task.

                                    AKANE
 		   -- OW!  

She collapses and looks down at her ankle -- and then, seeing the very 
large, purple bruise covering it, really wishes that she hadn't.

                                    AKANE
 		   WHISPER Oh, no.  Not again.

                               VIMOGORGE (O.S.)
 		   Oh dear?  Can the daughter of man
 		   not run?  This won't be any fun at
 		   all if the prey can't run ...  

The rubble begins to shift again ... something is starting to move.

                                    AKANE
 		   DISBELIEVING What ... what *are*
 		   you ...  
And then it breaks free.  The VIMOGORGE has a long, snake like body with 
an enormous, lion-like head and four legs with talons on paw-like 
hands.  Bat-like wing membranes are attached to the creature's first pair 
of limbs.  Heavy plating on the tail end of the creature turns it into a 
spike.  Slime covers it, dripping to the ground where it sizzles.  
Moustache-like tentacles come out of the snout of the beast.  Its eyes are 
black, with tiny pinpricks of light, and they are fixed on AKANE.

                                  VIMOGORGE
 		   I AM *DEATH*.  

AKANE stares up at it, genuinely terrified ... and KUNOU steps forward, a 
strange light in his eye.

                                    KUNOU
 		   WHISPERED At last ... a worthy
 		   opponent ...  

He pulls forth his bokken, and begins to walk a slow and measured pace 
towards the VIMOGORGE.  AKANE stares at him in complete shock.

                                    AKANE
 		   KUNOU!  WHAT IN HELL ARE YOU DOING?  

KUNOU looks back at her with a serene expression.

                                    KUNOU
 		   SINCERE What I was born to do,
 		   Tendou Akane-san.  Fear not, I shall
 		   put an end to this rude beast 'ere
 		   it should cause you any further
 	 	   injury.  

He turns to stare up into the eyes of the VIMOGORGE, which stares down at 
him as a man might look down at a particularly interesting bug.

                                  VIMOGORGE
 		   WHAT IS THIS DOG MEAT THAT COMES
 		   BEFORE ME?

                                    KUNOU
 		   Who am I?  I am Kunou Tatewaki.
 		   Graduate of Furinkan High School.
 		   Undefeated Captain of the Kendo
 		   Club.  BEAT  But my peers call me
 		   -- the Blue Thunder of Nerima
 		   District, Tokyo.  Age:  Twenty!  

And he attacks the VIMOGORGE.  AKANE watches, appalled.

                                 AKANE (V.O.)
 		   For the rest of my life, I know, I
 		   will wonder.  Had he been training
 		   so much over the last year that he
 		   had finally begun to reach a level
 	 	   of mastery that put him among the
  		   rest of the great martial artists of
  		   Nerima?  Or had I told Ranma a
  		   greater truth than I'd realized
  		   three years ago; that when Kunou
  		   fought a woman he viewed as capable,
  		   he was somewhat effective, when he
  		   fought a man he viewed as capable,
  		   he was very effective, and when he
  		   confronted a menace that he chose to
  		   regard as worthy of his respect ...
  		   that he always was one of the
  		   greats?  BEAT  I don't know.  I
 		   never will.  

KUNOU is moving very fast as he attacks the VIMOGORGE, and is able to get 
in several blows before the creature even realizes what's happening. 
(However, the sheer surprise of being attacked by such an apparently 
insignificant threat may have a part of this.)  The hypersonic blows of 
the katana bruise but don't seem to break the VIMOGORGE's skin, and it is 
moving fast enough that KUNOU finds it difficult to strike more than once 
in a temporarily weakened spot.  The VIMOGORGE lashes out with its 
tentacles, and wraps several of them around his sword arm, dragging KUNOU 
up towards its mouth.  KUNOU manages to swing himself such that he gets a 
leg grip on the creature's neck, and resist the pull of the tentacles.  A 
period of strain ensues ... and the tentacles give before KUNOU's shoulder  
does.  Ichor drips down from the stubs, and the VIMOGORGE lets out a howl 
of pain.  KUNOU immediately dashes up the length of the beast's neck, and 
slices his bokken into the base of the creature's throat.  Ichor erupts, 
covering him, and KUNOU is blinded by the spray.  The VIMOGORGE twists and 
rolls in a panicked effort to get rid of the irritant.  KUNOU drives his 
blade into the wound -- and the VIMOGORGE slams its underbody into the 
ground.  

There is the sound of a wooden blade snapping.  

The VIMOGORGE convulses further, twisting in evident agony, for several 
minutes ... until it finally lets out a strange howl, and the pinpricks of 
light in its eyes fade.  

A moment later, it explodes in a burst of purple light.  

AKANE is even more stunned than she was earlier.  She slowly, painfully 
forces herself to her feet, and hobbles to where the VIMOGORGE had lain. 
KUNOU is lying there, flat on the ground.  His face is bruised and covered 
with ichor.  One of his eyes is swollen shut.  His legs bend in the wrong 
direction.  His breath is slow and irregular.  Blood is running from his 
mouth.

                                    AKANE
 		   KUNOU!  

She half-runs half-stumbles to where he is, and slowly, gently lifts his 
head into her lap.

                                    KUNOU
 		   WEAK Tendou Akane-san?

                                    AKANE
 		   It's gone.  Whatever it was, it's
 		   gone.

                                    KUNOU
 		   WEAK Doubtless one of the servitor
 		   demons of the sorceror Saotome come
 		   to drag you back to your servitude.
 		   BEAT But it is gone?  

AKANE nods, unable to speak.

                                    KUNOU
 		   WEAK Then my struggle was not in
  		   vain.  BEAT  I have but one regret
 		   then ... that I was unable to free
 		   osage-no-onna from his foul clutches
 		   'ere I --

                                 RANMA (O.S.)
 	   	   But Kunou-sama, you did ...  

AKANE slowly turns to look up with a horrified expression.  RANMA (female 
form) is standing a few feet away, wearing a red Chinese dress and staring 
down at KUNOU with a soft, loving expression as she walks slowly close to 
them.

                                    KUNOU
 		   WEAK My goddess in pigtails!  Can
 		   it be true?  Are you indeed freed
 		   from the bondage of the sorceror?  

RANMA kneels down beside him, and brings her face close to his.

                                    RANMA
 		   Could a woman whose heart was in
 		   bondage give this to her liberator?  

And she kisses him full on the lips, passionately.  After a moment, she 
releases him.  He is smiling, peacefully.

                                    KUNOU
 		   MURMURED A man, being chased by a
 		   ferocious lion, came to the edge of
 		   a ravine, over which hung a cherry
 		   tree.  He climbed up onto the tree,
 		   and moved out onto one of the
 		   branches, in hope of leaping to the
 		   other side of the ravine.  Suddenly,
 		   he saw on the other side of the
 		   ravine a lion, equally ferocious.
 		   Then the branch began to crack.
 		   BEAT  The man ... plucked a cherry
  		   from ... the tree and ... said ...
 		   "How ... sweet ... this ... is ..."  

And he dies.  RANMA gently reaches out to close his eyes.  AKANE stares at 
her at her in shock.

                                    AKANE
 		   Ranma, *why* --?  

RANMA looks up at her.  Her lips move, but it is not her voice.

                                NINIANE (V.O.)
 		   Was that her name?  Ranma?  

AKANE is shocked.  The illusion around NINIANE begins to fade, revealing 
her true features.

                                   NINIANE
 		   I was able to discern her appearance
 		   and voice from his memories, but he
 		   did not know her name.

                                    AKANE
 		   Wh-wh-who are you?

                                   NINIANE
 		   My name is Niniane.  I mean you no
 		   harm, Tendou Akane.  I have just now
 		   come from your father's home, in
 		   order to protect you on your journey
 		   back there ... unfortunately, I could
 		   not arrive before that creature made
 		   itself known.  BEAT  Are you well
 		   enough to travel?  I think that you
 	 	   would wish to avoid the attention of
 		   the authorities.

                                    AKANE
 		   What ... but ... but Kunou ...

                                   NINIANE
 		   He will be found by the police, and
 		   there will be another unexplained
 		   death in the Nerima district.  There
 		   have been many already, one more
 		   will not change matters.  

AKANE looks as though she wants to protest, but the calm, unyielding 
expression on NINIANE's face forestalls her.  She gently lowers KUNOU's 
head out of her lap, and NINIANE helps her to her feet, supporting her.

                                    AKANE
 		   Goodbye ... Kunou-sempai.  

NINIANE leads AKANE away from the wreckage.  A gust of wind blows cherry 
leaves across KUNOU's body.

                                 AKANE (V.O.)
 		   Meanwhile, back at my home ...  

Cut to the dining room of the Tendou home, just as a bright light flashes 
in through the window.  We see KENT look up, at first startled, then 
chagrined.  He stands, walks to the sliding door, and slides it open.  He 
looks up into the sky.  

The bulk of the Helifortress fills up the sky above the Tendou dojo.  A 
spotlight mounted under the body shines down.  

KENT looks up with an annoyed expression.  RANMA, UKYOU, and RYOUGA join 
him at the door.

                                    RYOUGA
 		   What the *hell*?

                                     KENT
 		   Some ... associates of mine.  BEAT
 		   Sensei, would you mind very much if
 		   an aerial battleship landed in your
 		   yard?  

SOUUN's head is resting on his left shoulder, his eyes vague.  KASUMI is 
making sure he doesn't fall over and hurt himself.

                                     KENT
 		   That's what I thought.  

He waves for the ship to "come forward".  

In the cockpit of the Helifortress, ANDREW watches KENT wave on a monitor. 
He grins, and presses a pair of controls on the console while pressing 
forward on the steering mechanism.  

The Helifortress tips forward so that its body is at an angle of about 30 
degrees from the ground.  Two pairs of landing gear start to descend from 
the body, with the two that are further back from the front of the 
battleship being longer.  When the skids have reached the ground, the 
rotors of the ship slow and stop.  A portion of the hull, located roughly 
at the center of the square formed by the four landing gear, rotates out 
to be parallel to the ground, and starts to descend as a shaft towards the 
pond in the backyard.  When it reaches the bottom, the shaft -- which is 
an elevator, obviously -- opens its doors.  MCGOVERN steps out --

                                   MCGOVERN
 		   Hey, Kent!  Great to see YAAAA--  

-- and falls into the pond.  STENGOVITCHH and RAVEN come to the edge of the 
elevator and look down as MCGOVERN surfaces with a mortified expression on 
his face.  RANMA seems nonplussed.

                                    RANMA
 		   These friends of yours ... really
 		   know how to make an entrance, don't
 		   they?

                                     KENT
 		   SHOCKED McGovern?!

                                   MCGOVERN
 		   Um ... hi.  

Just then, NINIANE appears to hop over the wall of the dojo, carrying 
AKANE in her arms.  RANMA's head twists in her direction, almost as though 
it's involuntary.  He is clearly shocked at her condition.

                                    RANMA
 		   Akane?!  

AKANE looks up, weary.

                                    AKANE
 		   Ranma?  

RANMA dashes over to where NINIANE is walking with AKANE.  RYOUGA starts 
to head after him, but stops a few seconds later with a morose look on his 
face.  NINIANE gratefully hands her over, and RANMA and AKANE spend a few 
moments staring at each other.

                                    RANMA
 		   So ... what happened to you?

                                    AKANE
 		   I ... I really don't want to talk
 		   about it.  

RANMA looks down at her leg, and sees the bruise.

                                    RANMA
 		   Lemme guess, you tripped walking
 		   here and --

                                    AKANE
 		   Excuse me?  I am *not* that clumsy.

                                    RANMA
 		   Then what happened?!

                                    AKANE
 		   I don't wanna talk about it!  BEAT
 		   And where you when I was at the ...
 		   the train station, anyway?

                                    RANMA
 		   Hey, all I knew was that you were
 		   s'posed to be home this afternoon,
 	 	   not this late in the evening!

                                    AKANE
 		   And whose fault is that?

                                    RANMA
 		   You didn't call!

                                    AKANE
 		   You weren't *home* when I did!

                                    RANMA
 		   Oh so now I'm supposed to sit around
 		   waiting on phone calls from an
 		   uncute tomboy like --  

AKANE mallets him.  As a result, they both fall to the ground.

                                 AKANE (V.O.)
 		   It was our first meeting in months.
 		   BEAT Of course it turned into a
 		   fight.

                                    RYOUGA
 		   IRATE How *dare* Ranma treat
 		   Akane-san like that when she's
 		   injured!  

He starts heading towards them again, only to be slammed into the ground 
with a spatula.

                                    UKYOU
 		   ALMOST IN TEARS It's wonderful to
 		   see them getting along that well ...
 		   just wonderful.  

KENT watches these antics from near the pond as he pulls a dripping 
MCGOVERN out.

                                     KENT
 		   MUTTERED Children.  Children with
 		   more power than some gods I've had
 		   to deal with ...  

NINIANE approaches him.

                                    NINIANE
 		   And another one of them slew a
 		   vimogorge earlier tonight.

                                     KENT
 		   Vimogorge?!  

NINIANE nods, soberly.

                                   NINIANE
 		   He died in the accomplishment,
 		   however.  I made sure that there
 		   were no ... unfortunate side effects
 		   from the deed.  

NABIKI, who has approached them while looking up at the Helifortress with 
a covetous expression.

                                    NABIKI
 		   Excuse me?  Who died?

                                     KENT
 		   WARNING Nin--

                                    NINIANE
 		   BRUSQUE Some boy named Kunou
 		   Tatewaki.  Why?  

NABIKI is silent for a very long moment.

                                    NABIKI
 		   UNMOVED Kunou-chan?  He's dead?  

NINIANE nods.  NABIKI stares momentarily at KENT, who finds himself unable 
to meet her gaze.

                                    NABIKI
 		   VERY CONTROLLED Who exactly are
 		   you people?  And what is going on?  

Cut to a shot of the Tendou Dojo, with the Helifortress parked in the 
yard, in early morning sunlight.

                                 AKANE (V.O.)
 		   My older sister wouldn't get an
 		   answer to that question for a few
 		   hours.  BEAT  I still wonder why
  		   none of the neighbors came by to ask
 		   why there was a giant -- whatever
 		   you want to call it -- in our yard.
 		   Maybe they were just used to the
 		   weirdness by that point.  BEAT
 		   I finally got put to bed by my older
 		   sister, and spent the rest of the
 		   night trying to not have nightmares
 		   about what had happened to Kunou.
 		   I didn't get a chance to talk to
 	 	   Ranma ... as usual.  But it seemed
 		   that Ranma took Kent's advice about
 		   keeping his friends -- in this case,
  		   Ryouga and Ukyou -- close, even
 		   though I would probably have phrased
 		   it as keeping his enemies closer.
 		   As for Kent himself, he went up into
 		   the vehicle and spent that night
 		   consulting with his friends about
 		   what to tell us and how much. He
 		   came down, in the early hours of the
 		   morning, to see just what had been
 		   done at the site of the explosion.  

Cut to the grim sight of many white sheets spread over the ground of the 
shattered train station, covering the bodies and parts of bodies that have 
been recovered.  KENT moves through them, his face emotionless, his eyes 
completely hidden by his glasses.  Ambulance and rescue workers are still 
trying to free some victims from the rubble.  

We see a uniformed police officer leading KUNOU KODACHI towards one of the 
sheets.  Her face is even more emotionless than KENT's.  Two other police 
officers lift the sheet.  KODACHI looks down.  She blinks once.  She nods, 
and turns and walks away.  KENT follows her with his eyes as she does.  He 
starts to walk again.  

He examines the wreckage of the station itself, and nods once.

                                  URD (O.S.)
 		   Pretty awful, isn't it?  K

ENT looks up to see URD and SKULD looking at him, still in their 
trenchcoats and glasses.  KENT blinks.

                                     KENT
 		   It is indeed.  BEAT  And you are?

                                     SKULD
 		   Special agents Tana Skuldey and --

                                     URD
 		   -- Urd Megami.  We're with the --

                                    SKULD
 		   -- a special group of undercover
 		   agents of justice.  Who are you?  

KENT produces his badge.  The gold trim glistens in the early morning 
sunlight.

                                     KENT
 		   Kent Masefield.  Planetary Defense
 		   Forces.  Commanding officer. BEAT
 		   *Which* special group of undercover
 		   agents of justice, young lady?
 		   There are *so* many, as I'm sure
 		   you're aware.  

URD and SKULD look non-plussed.  URD opens her mouth for a moment, then 
closes it and blinks in shock.  

KENT's face has Divinity tattoos.  Or rather, he has black-scabbed wounds 
on his face where a god would have them, in patterns that echo but are 
subtly different from the tattoos on URD's, SKULD's, and BELLDANDY's 
faces.  

URD shakes her head.  KENT's face is normal, with no scabbing anywhere. 
He is staring at her oddly.

                                     KENT
 		   Is something wrong?

                                     URD
 		   Um, no!  No, not at all.  Um, okay,
 		   truth?  We're not agents from some
 		   do-gooder organization.  

SKULD stares up at her older sister in shock, while URD swiftly clamps a 
hand over SKULD's mouth.

                                     KENT
 		   DRY Do tell?

                                     URD
 		   Yep, me and my sweet lil' sister
 		   here were just playing a little
 		   practical joke on the Japanese, you
  		   see, we're tourists and we thought
 		   it might be a good idea to pretend
 		   to be secret agents and --  

KENT holds up a hand.

                                     KENT
 		   Look, word to the wise.  It's a bad
 		   idea to pretend to be an agent of
 		   any government, from a cop on the
 		   beat up to the head of state.  It
 		   can really get you in a lot of bad
 		   trouble.  Just ... cut it out.

                                     URD
 		   Right, sure, anything you say, come
 		   on, Tana dear!  

She wrestles SKULD away, SKULD protesting angrily under URD's hand.  KENT 
shakes his head and returns to his examination of the ruins.

                                 AKANE (V.O.)
 		   Meanwhile, in Juuban ...  

Cut to the living room of the Hikawa Jinja's "manse".  A loud snoring can 
be heard.  RAYE comes into the living room, looking rather dishevelled in 
her robes.  She homes in on the couch as the source of the snoring noise, 
and looks over the back to see RYOUKO curled up there.  RAYE's face twists 
in irritation, and she heads over to the door leading outside.

                                     RAYE
 		   Bakemono ...  

She exits.  RYOUKO's eyes don't open.

                                     RYOUKO
 		   Twit ...  

Cut to the deck just outside the house, where AYEKA is kneeling and  
enjoying the sunrise.  RAYE enters the scene from within the house, and  
notices AYEKA.

  		                         RAYE
 		   Oh, good morning, Ayeka-san.

                                     AYEKA
 		   Good morning, Raye-san ...

                                     RAYE
 		   Did you sleep well?

                                    AYEKA
 		   Yes.  Thank you again for letting us
  		   stay here in the wake of our current
 		   difficulties.  

There is a long and uncomfortable pause.

                                     RAYE
 		   It's different, now, isn't it?  

AYEKA nods, sadly.  RAYE kneels down a foot or so away from her.

                                     RAYE
 		   I ... where ... where did you come
 		   from?  BEAT  I mean ... you *look*
 		   just like a human.

                                    AYEKA
 		   It is best never to put too much
 		   stock in appearances.

                                     RAYE
 		   True enough, but --

                                    AYEKA
 		   I have no more idea as to why our
 		   two peoples are so similar than you,
 		   Raye-san.  Perhaps you are a lost
 		   colony of ours.  It's happened
 		   before.  BEAT  My world is located
 		   ... um ...  

She looks up at the early morning sky, and points at the approximate 
location of the Pleiades.

                                    AYEKA
 		   ... there.  Our world and our sun
 		   are both named Jurai.  BEAT  I
 		   have not seen either in roughly
  		   seven hundred of your years --

                                     RAYE
 		   SHOCKED SEVEN HUNDRED?

                                    AYEKA
 		   QUICK I spent the vast majority of
  		   that interval in coldsleep.  We are
 		   a long lived people, but I am still
 		   a youth.  On my world, I would be
 		   considered to be on the threshold of
 		   adulthood.

                                     RAYE
 		   Me too.  I turn eighteen in a few
 		   weeks.

                                    AYEKA
 		   I see.  BEAT  I came to this
 		   world ... for a number of reasons
 		   that don't really matter now.  Here
 		   I found my love -- Tenchi -- scion
 		   of a line of my people who had come
 		   to this world many years earlier.  

TENCHI, looking slightly bushed, appears in doorway, unnoticed by either of 
them.  He hangs back, not wanting to eavesdrop, but unable to back away 
either.

                                     RAYE
 		   Then, he's the one you were telling
 		   me about ... the one whose feelings
 		   you aren't sure about?

                                    AYEKA
 		   NODS Yes.  At times he seems so
 		   dedicated to me ... but sometimes I
 		   honestly worry that he cares more
 		   about that ... horrible woman than
 		   he does about me!  

TENCHI looks stricken, as though he'd rather be anywhere else.

                                     RAYE
 		   "That horrible woman" meaning the
 		   demoness currently sleeping in my
 		   living room?  

AYEKA nods vigorously.  TENCHI braces himself.

                                    AYEKA
 		   SPITS Ryouko.  That ... bakemono
 		   has caused me more pain and anguish
 		   than anyone else in the universe.
 		   She ravaged my world, broke up my
 		   family, came close to killing my
 		   little sister, and ... OOOH!  She
 		   does so many things simply to annoy
 		   and anger me!  

TENCHI relaxes, with a disturbed expression on his face.

                                     RAYE
 		   If he knows all this, why does he
 		   let her hang around with him?  

TENCHI opens his mouth to answer.

                                    AYEKA
 		   GRUDGINGLY Because ... in spite of
 		   herself, I believe, she has been
 		   something of a comfort to Tenchi at
 		   times.  And she did ... *VERY*
 		   GRUDGINGLY aid in saving my life at
 		   one point.  BEAT I'm convinced
 		   that she did so only because she
 		   knew that Tenchi would never forgive
 		   her if I came to harm by her action
 		   *or* inaction, but the fact remains
 		   that she did act to protect me.  And
 		   one of Tenchi-sama's best, noblest
 		   qualities is that he is so loving
 		   and generous ... that he extends an
 		   open heart to everyone he knows.  

TENCHI is blushing like crazy.

                                     RAYE
 		   This all seems so fantastic ...

                                    AYEKA
 		   More unbelievable than pretty sailor
 		   suited soldiers of love and justice?

                                     RAYE
 		   SMILING You have a point.

                                    AYEKA
 		   In truth, your life seems far more
 		   incredible than mine.  And not just
 		   to me either.  Sasami-chan was up
 		   half the night talking about how
 		   "totally cool" it would be to be a
 		   magical girl like you Soldiers.

                                     RAYE
 		   SMILES SADLY Well, it's fun once
 	  	   in a while ... but it's an awful
 		   burden, too.  Feeling like you're
 		   the only line of defense between
 		   darkness and light ... knowing that
 		   you can be called to lay down your
 		   life for the cause ...

                                    AYEKA
 		   And would you give it up?

                                     RAYE
 		   Never.

                                    AYEKA
 		   Tell me how it began.  

RAYE looks up at the moon, still visible in the sky.

                                     RAYE
 		   SOFT Thousands of years ago, our
 		   moon was inhabited by a great
 		   civilization ... the Moon Kingdom,
 		   ruled over by the wise and kind
 		   Queen Serenity.  BEAT  But the
 		   evil Queen Beryl, envious of the
 		   power of the Moon Kingdom, led an
 		   army of monsters against it, killing
 		   its defenders and the Queen's only
 		   daughter, the Princess Serenity.
 		   With her last strength, the Queen
 		   banished Beryl and her army to the
 		   dark Negaverse ... and sent all the
 		   souls of those who had died in the
 		   battle to Earth, to be reborn there.
 		   BEAT We are the defenders of the
 		   Moon Kingdom, reborn.  And our
 		   Princess ... is Serena.  

AYEKA's eyes bulge.

                                    AYEKA
 		   Serena.  BEAT  The ... um, rather
 		   enthusiastic young lady with the
 		   unusual hair style?

                                     RAYE
 		   SMILES WRYLY It was something of a
 		   shock to *me* at the time, too.
 		   BEAT But after all, you shouldn't
 		   put too much stock in appearances.  

AYEKA blinks at that, and then sees the smile hovering around RAYE's lips. 
She smiles herself, then, and they both have a hearty laugh.  TENCHI, 
standing back, smiles too.

                                    AYEKA
 		   So in your own way, you're an alien
 		   too.

                                     RAYE
 		   SAD SMILE The Kamis know I always
               felt like one when I was growing up.
 		   BEAT So ... since you weren't here
 		   on a school trip like you said, why
 		   did you come to Tokyo on your own?

                                    TENCHI
 		   I'd like to know that myself, Ayeka-
 		   san.  

RAYE and AYEKA both whirl as the realize that TENCHI is standing behind 
them, rather embarrassed.

                                    AYEKA
 		   Oh!  Uh ... Tenchi-sama ... how long
 		   have you been there?

                                    TENCHI
 		   Not very long.  

RAYE stands, still very embarrassed.

                                     RAYE
 		   Well, I'll leave you two to discuss
 		   ... things.  I wouldn't want to
 		   listen in on private conversations,
 		   that's unbelievably --  

She realizes what she's saying, and flushes.  RAYE bows, and heads back 
into the house.  TENCHI comes and kneels down where she was kneeling. 
AYEKA gazes at him nervously.

                                    AYEKA
 		   ANXIOUS Tenchi-sama, I --

                                    TENCHI
 		   I'm not angry with you Ayeka. BEAT
 		   Well, not much.  BEAT  *Why* did
  		   you trick Mihoshi like that?  You
  		   know that she's easily tricked, but
 		   you still ...

                                    AYEKA
 		   WEAKLY It was the only way I could
 		   think of to get to the Okayama train
 		   station.

                                    TENCHI
 		   So that you could come to Tokyo.
 		   BEAT Why did you need to go to
 		   Tokyo?  

AYEKA lets out a long sigh, and produces the battered copy of the X-Files 
tankoubon which she bought yesterday, and holds it out towards TENCHI.

                                    AYEKA
 		   This is why.  

He stares at it in confusion.  

Cut to the breakfast table of the Tendou home.  On one side are lined up 
(in this order) UKYOU, NABIKI, RANMA, AKANE, KASUMI, and RYOUGA.  On the 
other side (in this order) are PATRICIA, ANDREW, MCGOVERN, NINIANE, and 
KENT.  PATRICIA is wearing a grey jogging suit with a crest identical to 
the symbol on KENT's badge -- a pyramid with an eye.

                                     KENT
 		   Kasumi-san, won't your father be
 		   joining us?

                                    KASUMI
 		   No ... he has elected to not get out
 		   of bed this morning.

                                    NABIKI
 		   No great loss there.

                                    KASUMI
 		   SHARP Nabiki.

                                    NABIKI
 		   Neechan, I don't care any more.  I
 		   just want to know what the hell
  		   we've gotten into, and how I can get
  		   *out* of it.

                                     KENT
 		   All right.  That's an understandable
 		   reaction.  BEAT  The problem is
 		   not explaining what's going on ...
  		   the problem is where to start.
 		   BEAT It's possible that there has
 		   always been an organization like
 		   ours.  I know of at least one group
 		   that was active during the war which
  		   did much the same sort of thing we
  		   do, and which has definite ties to
  		   us.  But our story, for all intents
  		   and purposes, begins on a certain
  		   specific day:  

Cut to TENCHI and AYEKA.  TENCHI is reading aloud from the manga.

  		                  TENCHI
 		   June 21, 1947.  An American business
 		   man named Kenneth Arnold is flying
 		   in his private plane over Washington
 		   state, and sees nine objects flying
 		   at speeds of about 2000 to 3000
 		   kilometers per hour.  When he
 		   reports the sighting to the media,
 		   they are immediately dubbed flying
 		   saucers.  BEAT  According to UFO
 		   scholars, less than two weeks later
 		   the wreckage of one such flying
 		   saucer was discovered in a farm near
 		   Corona, New Mexico ... a town less
 		   than nine miles from Roswell.  The
 		   official report is that it was a
 		   weather balloon.  

Cut back to the Tendou home.

                                    ANDREW
 		   It wasn't a weather balloon.  It
 		   wasn't a flying saucer, either.  It
 		   was something much worse. BEAT A
  		   flying classroom.

                                    RANMA
 		   Huh?

                                    ANDREW
 		   All the technology in that thing was
 		   specifically designed by whoever
 		   dropped it to be easily reverse
 		   engineered by whoever got their
 		   grubby lil' hands on it.  It was
 		   probably damn near magic for people
 		   whose concept of a user friendly
  		   computer was a cute girl trained in
  		   the use of a slide rule, but it's
 		   not that far from where we are now;
 		   probably about thirty to forty years
 		   in advance of current technology.
 		   It was intended as a cheap bribe to
 		   whoever found it -- "See what we can
  		   give you?  Isn't it worth letting us
 		   mess with a few of your species?"  

Cut back to TENCHI and AYEKA.

                                    TENCHI
 		   Also recovered from the crashed
 		   spacecraft were a number of corpses
 		   of apparently alien beings.  BEAT
 		   Ayeka-san ... I really don't see
 		   what the point of all this is.  Were
 		   ... were these aliens Jurains?

                                    AYEKA
 		   FIRM No.  Very much not.  Consider
 		   the picture, Tenchi-sama ...  

TENCHI looks down at the artist's conception drawing of the alien -- a 
stereotypical "Gray" -- large head, small body, pasty skin, huge slitted 
eyes.

                                    AYEKA
 		   We know them as the Alephae.  

Cut to the TENDOU home.

                                     KENT
 		   Whoever they are, they don't seem to
 		   have designs of "conquest" on us as
 		   such.  At least, not yet.  And the
 		   reports of them abducting humans and
  		   performing medical experiments on
 		   them are by and large a screen for
 		   their real aims.  

Cut to AYEKA and TENCHI

                                    AYEKA
 		   They are masters of psychological
 		   warfare.  When they happen on a
 		   species which they deem to be
  		   "worthy" of their attentions, they
 		   begin efforts to determine the
  		   species' gravest mental or emotional
 		   liability ... and the best way to
 		   exploit it.  

Cut to the TENDOU home.

                                   MCGOVERN
 		   Their actions seem to be predicated
 		   on a desire to convince humanity
 		   that all extraterrestrial life is
 		   utterly hostile towards our species.
 		   They're trying to increase our level
 		   of xenophobia, which was already
  		   high to begin with.  

Cut to TENCHI and AYEKA.

                                    AYEKA
 		   Often, when the Imperial Navy has
 		   found and liberated worlds which
 		   have been dominated by the Alephae,
 		   the worlds have proven to be almost
 		   psychotic in their paranoid fear of
 		   alien contact -- and many have even
 		   disintegrated so far that they view
 		   other branches of their species --
 		   different ethnic groups, different
 		   philosophies or religions, or even
 		   different *genders* -- as the aliens
 		   to be feared and hated.

                                    TENCHI
 		   Ayeka-san ... this is incredible.
 		   But I don't see why you had to come
 		   to Tokyo to learn more about it.

                                    AYEKA
 		   Tenchi-sama, I have lived on this
 		   world for just about a year.  BEAT
 		   Yoshou-oniisama has lived here for
 		   more than seven hundred.  BEAT
 		   Even if the article is right, and
 		   the Alephae have been here for only
 		   forty-nine years ... *why* *hasn't*
 		   *he* *done* *anything*?  

Cut to the Tendou home.

                                     KENT
 		   The problem with conducting these
 		   sorts of terror tactics is that
 		   someone will eventually find out,
 		   and probably start taking steps to
 		   fight back.  BEAT  Within a few
 		   months after Arnold's sighting, an
 		   agency had been created by the U.N.
 		   to investigate what was going on.
 		   BEAT By 1953 they knew they were
 		   at war.  That's when their agency
 		   changed into the Planetary Defense
 		   Force.  BEAT That's us.

                                    RANMA
 		   HALF-JOKING What happened to "I
 		   could tell you but I'd have to kill
 		   you"?

                                    ANDREW
 		   Kent!  What have you been telling
 		   these people?  BEAT  We don't kill
 		   people who find out, we recruit 'em.
 		   It just makes sense.  

KENT gives ANDREW a very annoyed look, which the older man receives with 
equanimity.

                                    AKANE
 		   Excuse me ... how are the things
  		   that you fight connected to what
 		   happened last night?  If that was an
 		   alien, then --

                                     KENT
 		   Not exactly, Akane-san.  While we
 		   *began* fighting against the aliens,
 		   since then we've discovered a host
 		   of other entities that seem to have
 		   been born entirely on Earth or ...
 		   in other places.

                                   NINIANE
 		   Other places which frequently cannot
  		   exist in the scientific world view.
 		   What you and that young man faced
 		   last night, Tendou Akane, was one
 		   such.  The technical name for it is
 		   vimogorge -- which means, power
 		   eater, approximately.  

RANMA looks at AKANE, startled by the reference to "that young man". 
AKANE does not meet his gaze.

                                   NABIKI
 		   REALIZATION Like what you were
 		   saying last night -- it wants the
 		   souls of martial artists?  Ones that
 		   have advanced their training to the
 		   point where they're practically
 		   magic-users?  

KENT nods.

                                   NINIANE
 		   Correct.  They also seek the souls
 		   of actual magic-users and psychics.
 		   They are also quite willing to feed
 		   on ordinary human souls when their
  		   favored prey is unavailable.

                                    UKYOU
 		   Isn't there anything they *won't*
 		   eat?

                                   NINIANE
 		   Gods.  Have you one at hand?  

Cut to URD and SKULD, wandering the streets of NERIMA.  SKULD seems rather 
angry, while URD just looks tired.

                                 AKANE (V.O.)
 		   As a matter of fact, we did.  We
 		   just didn't know it yet.

                                    SKULD
 		   I demand an explanation!  

URD comes to an abrupt stop.

                                     URD
 		   Okay.  I'm tired, I'm hungry, and my
 		   feet hurt.  This whole plan has
 		   definitely entered the realm we call
 		   "not fun".

                                    SKULD
 		   SNAPS That isn't what I was talk--

                                     URD
 		   HEAVY Fine.  But before I give you
 		   one, Skuld, you know what the
 		   Almighty always says:  "Breakfast is
  		   the most important meal of the day!"
   		   Positive treasure trove of sage
  		   advice, our dad.  

She looks around, and her gaze settles on the Nekohanten.  She shrugs.

                                     URD
 		   Come on, this place looks pretty
 		   good.  Cute name.  I wonder if they
 		   actually serve ... nah.  

SKULD glowers at URD as she marches away.

                                    SKULD
 		   MUTTERED Sure.  Show the world
 		   how you have no control over your
 		   physical urges.  Well, I'll show
  		   *you* how a goddess --  

SKULD's belly rumbles, and her expression becomes tragic.

                                    SKULD
 		   I wish oneesan were here ...  

She sadly follows URD to the door.  

Cut to a train station in Nekomi.  BELLDANDY is looking perplexedly at the 
ticket agent.

                                  BELLDANDY
 		   But I don't understand.  Why are
 		   there no trains to Nerima today?

                                    AGENT
 		   Apparently there was some sort of
 		   accident at Nerima station.  It's
 		   probably one of those crazy martial
 		   artists that they've got there, you
 		   know?  

BELLDANDY obviously has no idea what the AGENT is talking about, but she 
smiles sweetly and nods all the same.  She turns and heads out of the 
station.  Outside, KEIICHI is standing nervously behind Banpei, which is 
glaring at MARA, standing a few feet away with an annoyed, bored 
expression.

                                   BELLDANDY
 		   Unfortunately, there seems to have
 		   been some sort of accident at the
 		   train station in Nerima.

                                   KEIICHI
 		   Could it be the work of this ...
 		   Adversary?

                                     MARA
 		   Uh-huh.  Sure.  An entity that
 		   desires the immediate death of all
 		   material life, everywhere, is going
 		   to start by disrupting train
 		   schedules across Japan.  BEAT You
 		   seriously intend to *unite* with
 		   this walking *turnip*, Bell--  

MARA drops off as BELLDANDY gives her The Look.  It is a look that just 
hints at the incredible amount of anger that BELLDANDY is holding at bay.

                                  BELLDANDY
 		   COOL, CALM Mara, please do not
 		   insult Keiichi-san in such a way.

                                     MARA
 		   TINY Right.

                                  BELLDANDY
 		   It seems, then that we needs must
 		   take a bus to Nerima, if we wish to
 		   rendezvous with my sisters.

                                   KEIICHI
 		   Belldandy ... wouldn't it be simpler
 		   for you and Mara to just ... you
 		   know ... *go*?  I mean, without me?
 		   I mean ... I'd probably just get in
 		   the way.  

MARA has recovered from her intimidation enough to nod vigorously.

                                  BELLDANDY
 		   No, Keiichi-san!  You could *never*
 		   be in the way.  I need you to be
 		   with me ... always ...

                                   KEIICHI
 		   Belldandy ...

                                  BELLDANDY
 		   Keiichi ...

                                     MARA
 		   MUTTERED Gag me ...  

A few moments later, KEIICHI, BELLDANDY, and MARA are all seated in that 
order on a large bus.  KEIICHI looks very tired -- he's been running on 
all cylinders since last night, and hasn't had a chance to sleep.  So, as 
the bus pulls out of the depot, he slowly slips into unconsciousness. 
BELLDANDY watches over him as he does.  MARA watches her as she does so, her 
face a mixture of irritation, confusion, and envy (perhaps with a bit 
of regret admixed in?  Who can say?)

                                      MARA
 		   You really do mean to do it, don't
 		   you?  BEAT  You intend to unite
 		   with ... him.  

BELLDANDY nods, not looking at MARA.

                                     MARA
 		   *Why*?  I do *not* understand *why*
 		   you ... STRUGGLES the most, the
 		   greatest, the *brightest* of all
 		   your office would throw *everything*
 		   away for ... *him*?  

BELLDANDY's explanation is given in a quiet tone, as if she is stating the 
most obvious thing in the world.

                                  BELLDANDY
 		   Because I love him.  I love him more
 		   than springtime.  I love him more
 		   than sunlight.  I love him more than
 		   anything in the world.  BEAT I
 		   love him more than God.  

MARA looks horribly stricken for a moment, then turns her head away, 
trying to seem as though she's annoyed.  

Cut to the interior of the Nekohanten, with a small early lunch clientele. 
SHAMPOO is waiting tables, and turns to look at the two new customers -- 
URD and SKULD -- as they enter.

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   CHEERY Aiya!  Welcome to Neko-
 		   hanten!  Please have seat and --

                                     URD
 		   MANDARIN, TIRED Do you serve any
  		   kinda booze in this joint?  

SHAMPOO blinks.  SKULD looks momentarily confused, then smacks her head in 
irritation.

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   Uh ... yes.  Yes, we do.

                                     URD
 		   Fine, start sending servings to our
 		   table and I'll tell you when to
 		   stop.

                                    SKULD
 		   URRRD!  

URD walks, obviously ignoring SKULD's distress, to one of the tables, and 
slumps down.

                                     URD
 		   I'm beat.  

SKULD sits down across from her, and glares at her.

                                    SKULD
 		   MANDARIN Urd, what language are we
 		   speaking.

                                     URD
 		   Does it matter?

                                    SKULD
 		   We're *not* supposed to go switching
 		   languages on the spur of the moment
 		   like this!  It's not a good way to
 		   blend in!

                                     URD
 		   JAPANESE Better?

                                    SKULD
 		   JAPANESE Yes!  Now, you said that
 		   you'd explain why you freaked out
 		   when you saw that guy!

                                     URD
 		   I'll be able to explain it better
 		   when I get some alcohol into my
 		   system.

                                    SKULD
 		   You liar!  You're planning to drink
 		   yourself into oblivion so that you
 		   don't *have* to explain it to me!  

SHAMPOO arrives then, carrying a pair of sake jugs.  She sets one in front 
of each of them, then gets a lacerating glare from SKULD.  Embarrassed, she 
picks up SKULD's jug.

                                     URD
 		   I'll take hers.

                                    SKULD
 		   MANDARIN Oh no you don't!  You're
 		   going to tell me what happened, and
 		   *then* you can booze 'til your eyes
 		   turn black!

                                     URD
 		   HAKKA Oh yeah?  

She starts to chug the first jug.  SHAMPOO begins to back away from the 
table, looking very nervous.

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   Ummmm ...

                                    SKULD
 		   BASQUE Darnit, Urd, you cannot
 		   just douse your sorrows like this!
 		   We have work to do!  

SHAMPOO drops the menus in front of them.

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   MANDARIN; RAPID-FIRE I'll let you
 		   take a look at our menus and be back
 		   to get your orders shortly thank you
 		   and have a nice day.  

She dashes off.  

Cut to the rear of the Nekohanten, where COLOGNE is reading a dogeared 
copy of the Sangokushi.  SHAMPOO enters at a dash.

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   MANDARIN Great-grandmother, there
 		   are --  

COLOGNE doesn't look up.

                                   COLOGNE
 		   Practice your Japanese, girl.

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   SIGH; JAPANESE Great-grandmother,
 		   there strange people in restaurant.

                                   COLOGNE
 		   BORED Of course there are.  This
 		   *is* Japan, after all.

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   But --

                                   COLOGNE
 		   Very well, what exactly is *so* odd
 		   about these particular people?
 		   Describe them.  

Cut back to the dining room.  URD and SKULD are still arguing.

                                     URD
 		   -- and I'm telling you what I saw!
 		   He had two marks HERE --  

She points to the marks just under the corners of her eyes.

                                     URD
 		   -- and one HERE --  

She points to the mark between her eyebrows.

                                     URD
 		   -- and you know what that means!

                                    SKULD
 		   *I* think it means you're going
 		   crazy on me.  BEAT  Okay, now for
 		   the moment, let's assume that you
 		   saw what you say you saw.

                                     URD
 		   SARCASTIC Gee, thanks.

                                    SKULD
 		   A divinity *cannot* hide the marks
 		   of his or her presence, so it's a
 		   good thing that most mortals don't
 		   notice them or know what they mean.

                                COLOGNE (O.S.)
 		   WHAT?  

Silence falls in the dining room.  COLOGNE abruptly hops out from the 
back, and surveys the crowd.  Her eyes light on SKULD and URD (who stare 
back).  She closes her eyes, and lets out a long-suffering sigh.

                                COLOGNE (V.O.)
                    Ancestors, what have I ever done to
 		   deserve this?  BEAT  Don't answer
 		   that.  

She coughs.

                                   COLOGNE
 		   Due to a recent family tragedy, I am
 		   forced to close the Nekohanten for
 		   the remainder of the day.  I deeply
 		   regret the inconvenience.  BEAT;
 		   TIBETAN Would the two deities be so
 		   kind as to remain, however?  

Everyone begins to get up and file out, except for URD and SKULD, who 
share an exasperated expression.

                                     URD
 		   ENGLISH Busted.

                                    SKULD
 		   AESIR Yep.  

Finally, everybody but them has left.  SHAMPOO comes out of the back of 
the room with a confused expression.

                                   COLOGNE
 		   MANDARIN I wish no trouble with
 		   you or your kind.

                                   SHAMPOO
 	   	   MANDARIN Great-grandmother?

                                   COLOGNE
 		   Not now, child.

                                     URD
 		   Neither do we.  BEAT  What we want
 		   is -- CHECKS MENU some ramen would
 		   go nicely with --

                                    SKULD
 		   VERY FORMAL Nor do we seek to
 		   cause you great distress.  We are
 		   engaged in an investigation into a
 		   nexus of improbability which has
 		   recently increased several times in
 		   size.  Do you know anything with
 		   regards to this?

                                   COLOGNE
 		   Improbability, eh?  BEAT  My son-
 		   in-law.  It's bound to be him.

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   What?

                                   COLOGNE
 		   Great-granddaughter, have you not
 		   noticed that *everything* strange
 		   which happens in this district
 		   either has its origins with or
 		   draws in your husband?

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   Well ... sort of ...

                                    SKULD
 		   Tell me more about this son-in-law
 		   of yours ...  

SHAMPOO suddenly notices the mallet slung across SKULD's back.  A series 
of images run through her mind, and is reproduced in SD-form above her 
head.  SD-AKANE hitting SD-RANMA over the head with a mallet.  SD-AKANE in 
a wedding dress beside SD-RANMA in a tuxedo.  SD-SKULD hitting SD-RANMA 
with her mallet.  SD-SKULD in a wedding dress ...

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   VERY SLOW Excuse me.  You wouldn't
 		   happen to be some strange girl who
 		   has a delusional belief that she has
 		   any rights at all to my husband for
 		   the simple reason that you were at
 		   one point a long time ago engaged,
 		   would you?

                                    SKULD
 		   BLINKS ME?  Marry?  A *mortal*?
 		   Are you *crazy* or just plain --  

COLOGNE interposes herself between SKULD and SHAMPOO.

                                   COLOGNE
 		   I apologize for the ignorance of my
 		   great-granddaughter.  TO SHAMPOO
 		   Behave!  These are our honored
 		   guests!

                                     URD
 		   Speaking of which, a little more
 		   sake would be nice?  

Cut to a posh dining room.  Our point of view pans around it over AKANE's 
voice.

                                 AKANE (V.O.)
 		   As it happens, they weren't the only
 		   ones having dinner at that time.
 		   There was a rather important, if
  		   somewhat more confrontational dinner
 		   happening in Nerima, between two
 		   cousins ... and their fiancees.  

Our point of view pans onto KYOUSUKE, MADOKA, SHIKEN, and KASUGA AKANE. 
(She is now very grown up, but her red hair is still cropped fairly 
short.)  Everyone is smiling and having a good time.

                                    SHIKEN
 		   ... I was shocked!  No, no, I was
 		   amazed!  I mean, I had only started
 		   dating Akane a little while before
 		   your ... incident in Bosnia,
 		   Kasuga-san, and I had no idea that
 		   she was related to you!  I never
 		   even thought to ask!

                                 KASUGA AKANE
 		   I didn't want to seem like I was
 		   bragging about your misfortune.

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   It wasn't that bad, really; I hardly
 		   remember anything from when I got
 		   knocked out to when I woke up in the
 		   U.N. Hospital.

                                    SHIKEN
 		   But it must have been hard for you,
 		   Ayukawa-san.

                                    MADOKA
 		   SMILES MYSTERIOUSLY It was ... a
 		   somewhat confusing experience.  But
 		   I had friends to help me through it.

                                 KASUGA AKANE
 		   Oh, really?  Hikaru?

                                    MADOKA
 		   NODS Yes, she was in town then.
   		   BEAT Um, excuse me.  I think I
 		   need to visit the washroom.  

She looks at AKANE, who smiles and waves.  MADOKA blinks, and heads off. 
As she steps out of sight, SHIKEN's beeper goes off.

                                    SHIKEN
 		   Oh!  Please excuse me, this could be
 		   important.  

He stands and leaves.  AKANE and KYOUSUKE watch him go.

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Well ... he seems like a nice guy.
 		   A little --

                                 KASUGA AKANE
 		   STILL SMILING -- silly?

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Well, I wouldn't say that ...

                                 KASUGA AKANE
 		   STILL SMILING I would.  BEAT
 		   God I hate my life.  

KYOUSUKE blinks.  AKANE's smile flows off her face, and she turns to look 
directly at KYOUSUKE.  She looks old before her time, tired, and sick.

                                 KASUGA AKANE
 		   HISSED I'm supposed to *marry*
 		   that human turnip!  I don't believe
 		   it!

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   A-akane?

                                 KASUGA AKANE
 		   What was I *thinking*? BEAT *Was*
 		   I thinking, or was someone else
 		   doing my thinking for me?  BEAT
 		   That's one of the reasons I wanted
 		   to talk to you ...

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Wait a minute.  What are you saying?
 		   You mean, you don't love Koyama-san?

                                 KASUGA AKANE
 		   No!  I don't!  BEAT  We met on an
 		   omiai arranged by *my* parents,
 		   Kyousuke.  Does that suggest that
 		   something less than ethical might
 		   be going on?

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   HORRIFIED WHISPER You think that
  		   your parents might have used the
 		   power on your mind to make you fall
 		   in love with him?  BEAT Akane,
 		   that's crazy!

                                 KASUGA AKANE
 		   I'm not sure it was my parents.

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Well, that's a relief --

                                 KASUGA AKANE
 		   I think it was ojiisan.

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   WINCES Akane!  This is paranoid!

                                 KASUGA AKANE
 		   Oh really.  Let's consider the facts
 		   shall we?  When I was a teenager,
 		   did I show *any* interest in boys?

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   You mean, other than that time you
  		   were bombed out of your skull and
 		   invited me up to your room?

                                 KASUGA AKANE
 		   You see, you just proved my point!

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Which was what?

                                 KASUGA AKANE
 		   Only when I am without control over
  		   my actions -- drunk or mind-
 		   controlled, take your pick -- have
 		   I shown any interest in a hetero-
 		   sexual relationship.  BEAT  I'm
 		   *GAY*, Kyousuke!

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   DEEP SIGH I can somehow tell where
 		   this is leading.

                                 KASUGA AKANE
 		   IGNORES HIM I've come up with a
 		   great plan.  I'll use the power to
 		   make myself look like you.  Then you
 		   can go to New York and look up
 		   Hikaru-chan while --

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   -- while you seduce Madoka?

                                 KASUGA AKANE
 		   ENTHUSED Right!  Oh, she'll be
 		   upset at first, but --

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Akane, where in the world do you
 		   come up with this stuff?

                                 KASUGA AKANE
 		   DEFENSIVE This way, everyone's
 		   happy!  I'm happy, Madoka-chan is
 		   happy, you're happy --

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Oh yeah?

                                 KASUGA AKANE
 		   -- and Hikaru isn't lonely in New
 		   York like you sometimes worry that
 		   she might be, so she's happy!

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   And your fiance?

                                 KASUGA AKANE
 		   He can go be happy kissing ass at
 		   his company for all I care.  BEAT
 		   Kyousuke --

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   FIRM NO.  BEAT I don't know how
 		   you found out about my worrying
 		   about Hikaru, Akane, but that was
 		   *very* low.  Even if I was inclined
 	 	   to go along with that stupid plan,
 		   *that* would have killed me on it.  

There is a long pause in the conversation.

                                 KASUGA AKANE
 		   I just don't want to live a lie
 		   anymore.

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Then get out of the engagement the
 		   old-fashioned way, Akane.  You're
 		   an adult now, you can --

                                 KASUGA AKANE
 		   You seriously think they'll *let*
  		   me do that?

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Oh, come on!

                                 KASUGA AKANE
 		   Kyousuke, think about it.  Consider
 		   if you will my family and yours.
 		   Your mother married a non-esper,
 		   and mine married a distant cousin
 		   who *was* one.  Which of our family
 		   lines produced more powerful espers?
 		   BEAT And ask yourself this.  Why,
 		   when ojiisan put up so much of a
 		   fuss when your father and your
 		   mother fell in love, is he so happy
 		   to see you marrying Madoka-chan?  

KYOUSUKE blinks.  He opens his mouth ... and can't find anything to say.  

Cut to MINAKO's bedroom.  MINAKO is lying in bed with a contented look on 
her face.

                                 AKANE (V.O.)
               Questions about love and the reasons
               why we love someone were on more
               than one mind that day.  Speaking
     		   for myself, I was busily avoiding
 		   dealing with Ranma.  BEAT  In the
 		   months that I'd been at Nekomi, he
 		   hadn't once sent me any letters, he
 		   hadn't called, he hadn't visited.
 		   BEAT  But I hadn't written or
 		   called him either.  BEAT  In any
 		   event ...  

Cut to the kitchen.  AETHAN is standing by the phone, wearing a bathrobe 
entirely too small for him and a non-plussed expression.  The phone is 
ringing.

                                MICHAEL (TEL.)
 		   Hello?

                                    AETHAN
 		   Hello, Michael.

                                MICHAEL (TEL.)
 		   Hey!  What happened to you?  You
 		   didn't come back to the hotel last
 		   ni--

                                    AETHAN
 		   I'm aware of that.  What happened
 		   was ... a story too long to tell at
 		   this point.  Suffice it to say that
 		   I am not in any danger.  Thus far.
 		   BEAT  However, I ran into one of
 		   our more worldly associates.

                                MICHAEL (TEL.)
 		   Uh-*huh*.

                                    AETHAN
 		   You may recall him from the Mexican
 		   conference.  He hinted that there
 		   was a large deal brewing here, as
 		   well.  You may wish to examine the
 		   relevant sections of the news, see
 		   if you can discern any trends.

                                MICHAEL (TEL.)
 		   Gotcha.  Just give me a call when
 		   you think something's about to pop.

                                    AETHAN
 		   I shall.  Be seeing you.  

He hangs up, and looks down at his robe.

                                    AETHAN
 		   How do things like this *happen*?  

ARTEMIS comes wandering in through the kitty hole in the door of the 
house, looking rather tired.  He stops dead when he sees AETHAN.  They 
stare at each other for several moment.

                                   ARTEMIS
 		   VERY SLOW AND CALM That's it, I'm
 		   going to *kill* you.  

He leaps at AETHAN's face, claws out and snarling.  AETHAN is knocked to 
the floor, more from surprise than anything else.  He struggles with the 
outraged cat, trying desperately to keep him from clawing his eyes.

                                    AETHAN
 		   Artemis!  Calm down, dammit!  You're
 		   over-reacting!  Nothing happened!  

MINAKO comes wandering into the kitchen, wearing little more than the 
beatific smile on her face.

                                    MINAKO
 		   What a beautiful, sunshiney day ...

                                   ARTEMIS
 		   You *liar*!  ATTACKS  

MINAKO realizes what's going on, and grabs ARTEMIS, wrestling him off of 
AETHAN.

                                    MINAKO
 		   Artemis!  That's no way to treat a
 		   guest!

                                   ARTEMIS
 		   Lemme at him!  Seducing your host is
 		   no way for a guest to behave!

                                    MINAKO
 		   Oh for Pete's sake, Artemis!  He
 		   *didn't* seduce me!

                                   ARTEMIS
 		   VERY DUBIOUS Oh, really?

                                    MINAKO
 		   No!    I seduced him.  

ARTEMIS looks profoundly shocked.  He stares at AETHAN, who is too 
mortified to meet his gaze.  ARTEMIS hangs his head.

                                   ARTEMIS
 		   DESPAIRING Where did I go wrong?

                                    MINAKO
 		   I think it was when you explained
 		   condoms to me.  Ever since then, the
 		   cat was out of the bush, and into
 		   the hand.

                                    AETHAN
 		   MUFFLED That's out of the bag,
 		   Minako.

                                    MINAKO
 		   That's another way of putting it,
 		   yes.

                                   ARTEMIS
 		   You really ... you actually went and
 		   ... you ...

                                    MINAKO
 		   NODS Three times!  BEAT  Wanna
 		   see us do it again?

                            AETHAN & ARTEMIS (sim)
 		   NO!

                                    MINAKO
 		   Okay.  I'm gonna go have a shower,
 		   then.  SHAKES FINGER No peeking!  

She sets ARTEMIS down on the floor, peeking under AETHAN's robe -- which 
causes her to smile broadly -- as she does, and then skips off.  ARTEMIS 
stumbles over to collapse against AETHAN's side.  They are both silent as 
they hear the shower begin to run.

                                    AETHAN
 		   It wasn't what I intended to happen.

                                   ARTEMIS
 		   I've said the exact same thing about
 		   a thousand times in connection with
 		   her.  BEAT  Did I cut you badly?

                                    AETHAN
 		   They've healed.

                                   ARTEMIS
 		   Oh good.  BEAT  Welcome to the
 		   family.  

AETHAN starts to stand, gently lifting ARTEMIS up with him.

                                    AETHAN
 		   Thank you, Artemis.  I hope that
 		   your endorsement will stop Mr. Aino
 		   from shooting me ...  

He walks towards the bedroom.

                                   ARTEMIS
 		   This is Japan.  Where's he going to
 		   get a gun?  BEAT  And besides,
 		   haven't you noticed that they're
 		   never around?  Her parents, I mean.
 		   *I'm* more of a father to her than
 		   he is.

                                    AETHAN
 		   I'd noticed the last part, at least.  

Cut to KASUMI in the kitchen, washing dishes.  PATRICIA walks into the 
room with a strained expression on her face.

                                   PATRICIA
 		   Ahh ... excuse?

                                    KASUMI
 		   Ah!  Hello, Ms. ... Delafontaine,
 		   right?

                                   PATRICIA
 		   Yes.  I --

                                    KASUMI
 		   How can I help you?

                                   PATRICIA
 		   DEEP BREATH I no speak good Japan.
 		   Please, where bathroom?  

KASUMI quickly dries her hands, and leads her to the bathroom.  They pass 
KENT and ANDREW in the hallway.  PATRICIA pauses to look at KENT, who does 
not meet her gaze.  She sighs and proceeds.  KASUMI looks at her with 
sympathy.  We follow KENT and ANDREW.

                                     KENT
 		   I can't *believe* that you brought
 		   her with you ...

                                    ANDREW
 		   We might need what she has.  'Sides
 		   that, it wouldn't be right to just
 		   leave her on the base.

                                     KENT
 		   She's *seventeen*, Andrew.  She's
 		   too young to be --

                                    ANDREW
 		   And what about you?  And what about
 		   these martial arts demigods that
 		   you've stumbled onto?

                                     KENT
 		   It's *not* the same thing.

                                    ANDREW
 		   Look, she's here, there ain't no
 		   point in arguing about it now.

                                     KENT
 		   SIGH Fine.  But she is our *last*
 		   resort, you understand.  If every
 		   thing else that we have fails to
 		   play out, *then* we launch. BEAT
 		   She doesn't even have any --

                                    ANDREW
 		   LAZY Two hundred hours of sim.

                                     KENT
 		   -- *real* experience!

                                    ANDREW
 		   And how's she gonna get any if you
 		   don't let her go in?  

KENT gives ANDREW a withering glare.

                                    ANDREW
 		   Kent, she's like *you*.  *You* were
 		   born for what you do, *she* was born
 		   for --  

KENT's glare gets even more intent, and ANDREW cuts off and looks away.  

Cut to RANMA, sitting on the porch, staring up at the Helifortress with a 
disgruntled expression.  KENT and ANDREW come around the corner.  KENT 
notices RANMA.

                                     KENT
 		   Hey, Ranma.

                                    RANMA
 		   Yo.

                                     KENT
 		   You said something about having a
 		   few more allies that you hadn't
 		   called in yet.  You talked to them
 		   yet.

                                    RANMA
 		   No ... I've been trying to avoid
 		   dealing with them ... but I guess
 		   there's no putting it off any
  		   longer.  

He stands, and heads into the dining room.  He picks up the phone and 
dials a number, visibly bracing himself as he does.  

Cut to the Nekohanten.  SHAMPOO and URD are still talking.

  		                 SHAMPOO
 		   This is incredible.  *You* gave my
 		   ancestors their first love potion?

                                     URD
 		   SIPPING SAKE If I remember right.
 		   It was a while ago, y'understand ...
 		   Joketsuzoku was a lot less milit--  

The phone rings.

                                COLOGNE (O.S.)
 		   Shampoo, answer the phone.

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   Yes!  TO URD Excuse me, please.  

She heads over to the phone, and picks it up, reverting to her Japanese.

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   Hello, this Nekohanten!  You want
 		   what?  

Go to a split screen, RANMA on the left, SHAMPOO on the right.

                                    RANMA
 		   Hey, Shampoo.  It's --

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   OVERJOYED RANMA!  You call ask
 		   Shampoo on date!

                                    RANMA
 		   No, I didn't.  Shampoo, I think you
 		   and your great-grandmother should
 		   come over to the house and --

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   *MORE* OVERJOYED At last!  You ask
 		   Shampoo to join in silly no-needed
 		   Japanese wedding!  

RANMA looks up at the ceiling with a "why do I even *bother*?" 
expression.

                                    RANMA
 		   SNARLED NO!  Shampoo, would you
 		   pipe down and let me finish a
 		   sentence?

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   RESTRAINED Okay.

                                    RANMA
 		   Look, there's some kind of demon
 		   running around town, and the people
 		   who've come to fight it told me that
 		   there's safety in numbers, or
 		   something like that, and it's going
 		   after martial artists.  So maybe you
 		   and your great-grandmother could get
 		   up here so that we can make some
 		   kinda plan?

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   BLINKS Demon?

                                    RANMA
 		   PATRONIZING Yes, Shampoo, demon.
 		   Maybe you've heard about all the
 		   murders in town these last couple
 		   days?

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   SLOW Yes ... BEAT Shampoo tell
 		   great-grandmother, and we come.
 		   BEAT Ranma think it would be good
 		   if Shampoo bring goddesses visiting
 		   her restaurant as back up?  

RANMA stares at the phone, perplexed, for a moment.

                                    RANMA
 		   You're having a few of the Fukano-
 		   kami-ryu martial artists over for
  		   drinks or something?

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   No no, different goddesses.  Nice
 		   ones.

                                    RANMA
 		   Whatever, Shampoo, just get over
 		   here as soon as possible.  Seeya.  

He hangs up and takes up the full screen.

                                    RANMA
 		   SNORT Goddesses.  Right.  BEAT
 		   Well, that's one hurdle curled.  Now
 		   all I gotta do is make sure Akane
 		   doesn't find out I invited her over.  

A blue battle aura glows immediately behind him.

                                    RANMA
 		   SAME TONE Y'know, one of these
 		   days, I'm gonna learn to keep my
 		   mouth shut.  

He turns to see AKANE glaring balefully at him.

                                    AKANE
 		   GROWL RANNNMAAAA.  BITTEN What
 		   did you call her and tell her to
 		   come over for?

                                    RANMA
 		   It wasn't my idea!  Do you think I'd
 		   call that crazy chick over here --

                                    AKANE
 		   YES!  You've probably been running
 		   all over Nerima with her while I've
 		   been gone!

                                    RANMA
 		   ANGRY Well excuse me for not
 		   following you around like some
 		   lovesick piggy all the --  

AKANE hits RANMA, sending him flying through the dining room out across 
the porch -- just as PATRICIA and KASUMI walk around the corner -- and 
into the pond in the back yard.  AKANE storms limpingly through the dining 
room to stand on the porch, just as RANMA (now female) crawls out of the 
pond, stomps up onto the deck, and poises to yell at her.  She stands like 
that for a full second, then finally swivels and starts to walk away.

                                    RANMA
 		   Hell with this.  

AKANE blinks, not fully comprehending what has just transpired.

                                    AKANE
 		   RANMA!  Where do you think you're
 		   going!

                                    RANMA
 		   NOT LOOKING BACK My room.  

AKANE storms after him.  PATRICIA and KASUMI have been watching this. 
PATRICIA turns to KASUMI with a quizzical expression.

                                   PATRICIA
                    Love?

                                    KASUMI
 		   I hope so, dear.  

PATRICIA follows KASUMI as she heads into the kitchen.

                                    KASUMI
 		   So, I meant to ask -- what exactly
 		   do you do in Kent-san's Planetary
 		   Defense Forces?  

PATRICIA takes a moment to puzzle out the question, then nods.

                                   PATRICIA
 		   I ultimate weapon.  

KASUMI pauses, and turns to look at the short, almost scrawny girl.

                                    KASUMI
 		   You ... own the ultimate weapon?  

PATRICIA blinks, thinks about it, and then smiles, embarrassed.

                                   PATRICIA
 		   Sorry.  Mistake.  BEAT  I *am*
 		   ultimate weapon.

                                    KASUMI
 		   Oh my.  

Cut to AKANE pounding on the door to RANMA's room.

                                    AKANE
 		   Ranma!  Open this door right now!

                                 RANMA (O.S.)
 		   Or what?

                                    AKANE
 		   Or ... or ...

                                 AKANE (V.O.)
 		   "Or I'll break it down."  BEAT The
 		   thing is, I couldn't.  Living in a
 		   dormitory with a dozen other girls
 		   had taught me a few things about
 		   the need for privacy.  A long time
 		   ago, it felt like, I could have just
 		   slammed the sliding door open and
 		   burst in.  I *had*, a couple times.
 		   But ... now I wanted him to ask me
 		   to come in.  I wanted him to let me
 		   come in.  BEAT  Does that make any
 		   sense at all?

                                    AKANE
 		   Ranma ... STRUGGLES can I MUTTER
 		   plz NORMAL come in?  

There is a long silence.

                                 RANMA (O.S.)
 		   What?

                                    AKANE
 		   Can I ... please ... come in?  

There is another silence.

                                 RANMA (O.S.)

 		   Sure.  Whatever.  

AKANE braces herself and slides the door open.  

RANMA is sitting on her futon, glaring at the window (thus looking away 
from the doorway).

                                    AKANE
 		   Ranma, I --

                                    RANMA
 		   I didn't go running around with her
 		   at all.  I went out of my way to
 		   *avoid* dealing with her.

                                    AKANE
 		   ANGRY Oh really.  I recall a
 		   certain incident with a reversal
 		   jewel --

                                    RANMA
 		   Y'know, I don't know why, when
 		   Cologne zapped you with that thing,
 		   you didn't just start killing me.  

AKANE reacts as if slapped.

                                    RANMA
 		   I mean, when you put it on right
 		   side up, it's supposed to make you
 		   feel even more of what you actually
 		   feel for a person, so --

                                    AKANE
 		   Ranma!  I *don't* want you *dead*!

                                 AKANE (V.O.)
 		   Much.

                                    RANMA
 		   Sure.  BEAT  No, you're right.  If
 		   that thing was working properly, you
 	 	   would've just transferred to another
 		   high school like *that*. SNAPS
 		   FINGERS

                                    AKANE
 		   Ranma ... BEAT; ANGRY This is
 		   about my going off to college, isn't
 		   it!  You're just upset that --

                                    RANMA
 		   -- I got in less fights?  Yeah, a
 		   little.  BEAT  But you know what
 		   kills me, Akane?  You know what
 		   really, really kills me?  BEAT
 		   For all I know, you were running
 		   around with some college guys while
 		   I was here.  And then you come back
 		   and --

                                    AKANE
 		   RANMA!  I didn't have time to do
 		   anything like that, and unlike a few
 		   people I know, *I'm* faithful.
 		   BEAT How could you think something
 		   like that?  Do you seriously think
 		   that I could change that much from
 		   one year away from --  

RANMA turns to look at AKANE angrily.

                                    RANMA
 		   As a matter of fact, YES.  I *know*
 		   you can change how you feel and act
 		   completely!

                                    AKANE
 		   What are you talking --

                                    RANMA
 		   "Wanna be friends?"  

She looks away again, and AKANE blinks.  And remembers.  And is upset.

                                    AKANE
 		   That's *different*!

                                    RANMA
 		   In one lousy second you went from
 		   the only person who'd treated me
 		   like a human being in years to --
 		   all because I *wasn't* --

                                    AKANE
 		   I was upset!  You ... you didn't
 		   even try to explain!

                                    RANMA
 		   'Cause I knew that you'd start
 		   hating me if I did!  Just like you
 		   *did*!

                                    AKANE
 		   Ranma!  How I feel about you does
 		   *not* change when *you* do!

                                    RANMA
 		   Oh yeah?!

                                 AKANE (V.O.)
 		   No matter how much I try, I can't
 		   explain to myself why I did what I
 		   did then.  

AKANE grabs RANMA, spins her around, and kisses her soundly on the lips. 
RANMA's eyes bulge, and she starts to push AKANE away.  They stare at each 
other.  

And then they do it again, and begin to fall onto the futon.  Our point of 
view starts to look at the shaded window.  Appropriate noises are heard.

                                 AKANE (V.O.)
 		   I had *no* idea what I was doing.
 		   BEAT Okay, that's not quite true.
 		   While I was at college, I'd ...
 		   accidentally wandered into the
 		   showers while two of my floormates
 		   were ... anyway, I'd run out after
 		   a few minutes, because I'd been too
 		   embarrassed, but ... I remembered a
 		   few things.  BEAT  I knew, at
  		   least, more than he did.  She did.
 		   Whatever.  BEAT  A lot of ... it
 		   was due to the sheer insanity, the
 		   chance we were taking, of getting
 		   caught by my father, my sisters, or
 		   by Ukyou.  BEAT  I wonder if it
 		   would have been even sweeter if we'd
 		   known we were endangering our lives?  

Close in on the window, through which we can see two angry eyes glaring.  

Cut to the other side of the window.  SHAMPOO is staring through.  Her 
face is white with fury.

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   I.  KILLLLL!  

She reaches back, her bonbori in hand ... and her arm is caught.  She 
looks back to see URD glaring at her.

                                     URD
 		   Okay, what's going --  

SHAMPOO points at the window in incoherent fury.  URD takes a look.

                                     URD
 		   Well ... not a lot of technique, but
 		   quite a bit of --

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   That Shampoo's husband!

                                     URD
 		   Oh.  BEAT  Um, so you're --

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   NO.

                                     URD
 		   Then -- oh!  Jyusenkyo.  Cool.

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   Not cool!  Not cool at all!  Vile!
 		   Disgusting!

                                     URD
 		   What's *your* problem?  

SHAMPOO draws in a deep breath ... and starts ranting in rapid-fire 
Mandarin.  URD's face goes from vague confusion to shock to as close as 
she gets to horror.  SHAMPOO is in tears at the end of it.

                                     URD
 		   Oh, geez.

                                 AKANE (V.O.)
 		   I never found out what she'd told
 		   the goddess.  BEAT  It can't have
 		   been anything too important, though
 		   -- probably just some biased story
 		   of her life up until that point, and
 	 	   how I was stealing her husband from
 		   her by foul enchantments.  Typical
 		   Shampoo lies, in other words. BEAT
 		   Anyway, nothing came of it.  While
 		   downstairs, Kent Masefield was
 		   explaining the situation to Cologne.  

Cut to the living room of the Tendou home.  COLOGNE is seated on the 
couch, her staff close at hand, while KENT kneels before her.  NABIKI is 
watching the discussion with a neutral expression.

                                   COLOGNE
 		   "Those who eat the souls of the
 		   mighty," eh?  

KENT inclines his head.

                                    NABIKI
 		   I take it you've heard of this kind
 		   of thing before?

                                   COLOGNE
 		   You take it correctly, Tendou Nabiki
 		   -- but in the history of the Joke-
 		   tsuzoku, there are not many things
 		   in the myriad hells that we have
 		   *not* heard of.  TO KENT You know
 		   then, the ways to kill them?

                                     KENT
 		   One of the local warriors --

                                    NABIKI
 		   INTERRUPT His name was Kunou.  

KENT continues as though NABIKI hadn't interrupted, earning him a harsh 
glare from NABIKI.

                                     KENT
 		   -- was able to dispatch one of them
 		   with the assistance of one of my
 		   associates.  To slay the vimogorge
 		   requires both a magical and physical
 		   assault.

                                    NABIKI
 		   Or else what happens?

                                   COLOGNE
 		   Slay the soul and not the body, and
 		   it can continue to wreak havoc.
 		   BEAT Slay the body, and the soul
 		   dies -- but its death spasms tear
 		   open a gate to the Hell That Is Best
 		   Not Described.

                                    NABIKI
 		   BLINKS The what?

                                     KENT
 		   Chinese Hells usually have very
 		   descriptive names.  So one which is
 		   "best not described" is ... well,
 		   you can imagine.

                                   COLOGNE
 		   I doubt that.  BEAT  In any event,
 		   Mr. Masefield, you were wise to ask
 		   for my presence.  And fortunate, as
 		   well.

                                     KENT
 		   BLINK Oh?  Were you planning on
 		   taking some sort of trip, that we
  		   couldn't get in contact with --

                                   COLOGNE
 		   SMILE No.  But your invitation
 		   came at a remarkably fortuitous
 		   point in time --

                                  SKULD (O.S.)
 		   It's *beautiful*!  Oh WOW!  

Cut to the porch, where SKULD is standing -- actually, all but floating -- 
as she stares up at the Helifortress with a rapturous expression.   
COLOGNE, NABIKI, and KENT (in ascending vertical order) stick their heads 
out to see what's going on.

                                    SKULD
 		   All my life I've waited to see
 		   something like this ... something
 		   that showed true engineering --

                                     KENT
 		   Ex-cuse me.  

SKULD whirls around.

                                    SKULD
 		   BREATHLESS Did you build that?
 		   Did you -- REALIZES WHO HE IS Oh
 		   no!

                                     KENT
 		   You again?

                                    SKULD
 		   Uh ...  

URD, supporting a still teary SHAMPOO, wanders around the corner, talking 
to her.

                                     URD
 		   ... but the thing is, you *can't*
 		   let something like that ruin you.
 		   You've got to be --

                                     KENT
 	 	   SUSPICIOUS You're both here?  

URD looks up, startled, and stares at KENT for a moment, half-expecting to 
see the marks appear on his face again.  Nothing happens.

                                     KENT
 		   All right, what's going on here?
 		   Did you tell these people that you
 		   were secret agents --

                                     URD
 		   Nope.  We told 'em the truth.  Urd,
               Goddess Second Class, Limited, and
  		   well met.  

SKULD's eyes boggle.  NABIKI nods, and turns to head into the house.

                                    SKULD
 		   *URD*!

                                     KENT
 		   I see.  BEAT; AESIR, STILTED You
 		   are those who weave fate?

                                     URD
 		   It's actually more like programming,
 		   but yeah.

                                     KENT
 		   Isn't there supposed to be another
 		   one --

                                     URD
 		   She's busy, right now.  You're
 		   taking this rather well.

                                     KENT
 		   SHRUG Superhuman martial artists,
 		   espers, demons, aliens ... after a
 		   while, one stops being surprised by
 		   anything.  

NABIKI returns, carrying a jug, and still nodding calmly.

                                    NABIKI
 		   DEADPAN I'll drink to that ...

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   QUIET Sound like good idea.  

Cut to a shot of RANMA and AKANE, curled up together under the covers.

                                 AKANE (V.O.)
 		   Meanwhile ...  

Cut to a shot of KYOUSUKE and MADOKA, sitting on a couch.  KYOUSUKE is 
talking.

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   ... and then she has the nerve to
 		   talk to *me* about taking care of
  		   Hikaru!  *Akane*!  Ms. "I'll Pretend
 		   To Be You So Hikaru Doesn't Get In
 		   The Way of My Attempt to Impress my
 		   Peer Group!"  

MADOKA nods.
                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Doesn't what she was suggesting
  		   *bother* you?

                                    MADOKA
 		   Not as much as what Akane was
 		   saying about your grandfather
 		   bothers you.  

He stares at her, aghast.  She gives him The Look.  KYOUSUKE slumps.

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   What if she's right?

                                    MADOKA
 		   What if she is?

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Then ... you and I are ...

                                    MADOKA
 		   FIRM You and I are in love.  It
 		   took me a hell of a time to find you
  		   after you left me that first time,
               and I am *not* going to let you go
  		   just because you're worrying about
  	 	   the reasons that I decided to love
  		   you.

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   But --

                                    MADOKA
 		   But what?  I *know* why I love you.
 		   If we were brought together by some
 		   psychic manipulators, I choose to
 		   believe that they were acting in
 		   accordance with what was meant to
 		   be.  Because this is *right*. BEAT
 		   Kyousuke, do you *seriously* think
 		   that I would feel the way I do about
 		   you if it had been imposed on me
 		   like Akane thinks her feelings for
 		   Shiken were?  If she can tell the
 		   difference, don't you think *I*
 		   could?

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Shiken can't.  

MADOKA gives him another dose of The Look.

                                    MADOKA
 		   That's because he's an idiot.  Do
 		   you think *I'm* an idiot, *Kasuga-
 		   kun*?

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   FLINCH A-A-A-Ayukawa ...  

They look at each other for a moment, then break up into laughter.

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   No, you're not an idiot.  I am,
 		   though.  

MADOKA nods calmly.  KYOUSUKE glowers for a moment, then smiles.  The 
phone (located on the table behind them) rings.  KYOUSUKE picks it up.

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Kasuga res--

                               OJIISAN (PHONE)
 		   In answer to your question, no, I
 		   didn't do anything to make Akane-
 		   chan fall for that young man, and
 		   neither did her parents.  She's just
 		   being paranoid.

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Ojiisan?!

                                    OJIISAN
 		   Yes, now ... in a few minutes,
 		   you're going to receive a phone call
 		   from an old friend of our family.
 		   Don't be intimidated, no matter what
 		   he says.

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   What?

                                   OJIISAN
 		   The honor of our family, and the
 		   safety of the world depend on you,
 		   Kyousuke!

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Excuse me?

                                   OJIISAN
 		   Say hello to Madoka-san for me!

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Ojiisan!

                                   OJIISAN
 		   Yes?

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   LONG BREATH You mean that you
 		   didn't try to get me matched up with
 		   Madoka?  

Dead silence.

                                   OJIISAN
 		   Say hello to Madoka-san for me!  Ja!  

Click.  

KYOUSUKE stares at the phone in his hand with an appalled expression, 
before setting it down.  Moments later, it rings again.  He lets it ring 
twice, before MADOKA irritatedly picks it up.

                                    MADOKA
 		   Moshi moshi? BEAT  It's for you.  

She hands him the phone, which he reluctantly accepts.

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Hello?

                                 KENT (PHONE)
 		   Kasuga Kyousuke?

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Yes.

                                 KENT (PHONE)
 		   My name is Kent Masefield.  I need
 		   you to come to the Tendou Dojo in
 		   Nerima as soon as possible --

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Hold it!  Why should I just get up
 		   and go somewhere on your say-so?

                                 KENT (PHONE)
 		   I'm sorry, I can't explain it in
 		   greater detail over the phone.

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Well, then I can't come --

                                 KENT (PHONE)
 		   VERY COLD  Kasuga-san.  Get your
 		   butt down here or you and your
 		   family are on CNN.  

Click.  

Cut to KENT dropping a cell phone in the pocket of his jacket.  His 
expression is annoyed as he walks through the living room to the porch. 
He stares out at the horizon, standing silently.

                               OJIISAN (V.O.)
 		   Was that really necessary?  

KENT flinches.

                                 KENT (V.O.)
 		   Probably not.  It *was*, I stress,
 		   a bluff.

                               OJIISAN (V.O.)
 		   All right.

                                 KENT (V.O.)
 	 	   You're sure that he can handle it?

                               OJIISAN (V.O.)
 		   He's the most powerful of his
 		   generation, Kent.  If he *can't* do
 		   what you need him to do, none of us
 		   can.  BEAT  And it's worth a shot,
 		   right?  

KENT smiles, painfully.

                                 KENT (V.O.)
 		   He would be, wouldn't he?  

There is a long silence.

                               OJIISAN (V.O.)
 		   Regrets?

                                 KENT (V.O.)
 		   Many.  But ... he was the one she
 		   wanted, and who was I to argue?
 		   BEAT There is one thing I wonder,
 		   though.

                               OJIISAN (V.O.)
 		   What?

                                 KENT (V.O.)
 		   "Kyousuke"?  She told me that she
 		   wanted to name her first child
 		   Akira.

                               OJIISAN (V.O.)
 		   She changed her mind, I suppose.
 		   BEAT Are you going to tell him?

                                 KENT (V.O.)
 		   I don't know yet.  BEAT  Should
 		   I, Fa-- Sensei?

                               OJIISAN (V.O.)
 		   I'm sure you'll do the right thing.
 		   BEAT  And you could call me the
 		   other, if you felt inclined.  

KENT shakes his head.

                               OJIISAN (V.O.)
 		   All right.  I'll leave you to it,
 		   Kent.  Good luck.  

KENT stands, still staring at the horizon for a few minutes.  

From the kitchen, PATRICIA is staring at him through the window with a sad 
expression.  KASUMI watches her with one just as sad.  

Cut to the parking lot of the shopping mall from last time, in early 
evening.  It is deserted except for the Masaki van.  RYOUKO materializes 
beside the van, looking around cautiously.  When satisfied, she beckons 
offscreen.  SASAMI, MIHOSHI, AYEKA, and AMY all come running quickly, 
followed a few moments later by TENCHI, DARIEN, LITA, and AETHAN -- each 
carrying a tire.  SERENA and MINAKO (both carrying their respective cats, 
LUNA and ARTEMIS) are "helping" DARIEN and AETHAN.  RAYE is bringing up 
the rear, and keeping a close eye on AETHAN.  A few moments later, the 
exploded tires on the van have been replaced.  DARIEN is lowering the jack 
on the last one.

                                    DARIEN
 		   Well, that should be good enough to
 		   get you back to ... Okayama?

                                    TENCHI
 		   Right.  I really am sorry to put you
  		   out like this ...

                                    SERENA
 		   Oh, it's no big deal!

                                     RAYE
 		   MUTTERED Says the one who nearly
 		   had a heart attack trying to lift
 		   one of the tires.

                                    SERENA
 		   RAAAAAYEEEEE!  Why are you always so
 		   *mean* to me!  

A tongue war immediately commences, with the Senshi and associates sighing 
and not watching.  The Tenchi family, on the other hand, watch in 
confusion and/or apprehension.  RYOUKO and AYEKA, standing a little ways 
away, watch with confused interest.

                                    RYOUKO
 	 	   ... is it just me or do they --

                                    AYEKA
 		   Don't be ridiculous, Ryouko.  While
 		   Raye-san is almost as refined and
 		   polite as am I, Tsukino-san is much
 		   more kind and *decent* than you
 		   are.  

MIHOSHI is in tears.

                                   MIHOSHI
 		   Oh, it's *so* sad to see such good
 		   friends fighting!  

RYOUKO and AYEKA have suddenly ill expressions.  Little bubbles appear 
over their heads -- super-deformed versions of themselves dressed in 
sailor fuku.

                                  SD-RYOUKO
 		   My Tenchi-chan!

                                   SD-AYEKA
                    My Tenchi-chan!  

In the middle, between the two bubbles, appears a third -- an SD-MIHOSHI 
(sailor fuku) hugging an SD-TENCHI (tuxedo).

                                  SD-MIHOSHI
 		   Wai!  My Tenchi-chan!

                                   SD-TENCHI
 		   Mihoko ...  

They kiss.  Our focus changes to RYOUKO and AYEKA's stricken faces.

                        SD-MIHOSHI & SD-TENCHI (O.S.)
 		   Mmmm ... rapture ...

                                 RAYE (O.S.)
 		   Ummm ... Ayeka-san?  

AYEKA blinks, and comes back to reality.  RAYE is looking at her with a 
puzzled expression.

                                      RAYE
 		   Something wrong?

                                    AYEKA
 		   No!  No, nothing's wrong.  Ahem.
 		   Thank you once again for inviting us
 		   into your home while we were looking
 		   for the spare parts for our vehicle.

                                     RAYE
 		   Oh, it was nothing.

                                    AYEKA
 		   Not nothing, but a great deal.  If
 		   you should ever visit Okayama --

                                    RYOUKO
 		   HEAVY SARCASM -- be *sure* to come
 		   and see us.  

RAYE and RYOUKO exchange an angry glare.  AETHAN, who is standing beside 
MINAKO, lets out a long sigh.

                                    AETHAN
 		   MUTTERED At least it's not just
 		   directed at me ...  

Suddenly AETHAN flinches.

                                 KENT (V.O.)
 		   Aethan.  I need you to come to these
 		   coordinates, as soon as possible.

                                    MINAKO
 		   Aethan?  Are you all right?

                                    AETHAN
 		   MUTTERED I'll be there.  ALOUD
 		   I'm fine, Minako, but ...

                                    MINAKO
 		   You'll be where?  BEAT  Aethan,
 		   where are you going?  

AETHAN tries to step back from her, but she presses close to him.

                                    AETHAN
 		   Minako, I have to ... leave you, for
 		   a while.

                                    MINAKO
 		   What?!  Why?!

                                    AETHAN
 		   I --  

Cut to WASHUU's laboratory.  WASHUU and MADELINE are watching the screen 
intently.

                                    WASHUU
 		   Geez ... these two are almost as
 		   good as the soaps Mihoshi watches.

                                   MADELINE
 		   They are rather melodramatic.  But
 		   are you ready to implement the
 		   second phase?

                                    WASHUU
 		   Yeah.  BEAT  If Ryouko finds out
 		   that I did this, she'll never --

                                   MADELINE
 		   I do not care.  

WASHUU glares at MADELINE, whose expression is cool and implacable.

                                   MADELINE
 		   If you do not do this, there is a
 		   good chance that your daughter will
 		   not be alive to forgive you for the
 		   mistakes you have made over the last
 		   sixty hours, which put her in this
 		   jeopardy in the first place.  Given
 		   that --

                                    WASHUU
 		   Tell me, are all innately telepathic
 		   species as lacking in *tact* as
 		   yours is?

                                   MADELINE
 		   Yes.

                                    WASHUU
 		   Explains a few things ... anyway,
 		   the second phase has already begun.  

Cut back to AETHAN and MINAKO arguing, with the others watching.  ARTEMIS 
has climbed onto LITA's shoulder instead.

                                    SERENA
 		   Shouldn't we ... try to stop them?

                                     RAYE
 		   No, the sooner they break up, the
 		   *safer* --

                                     LITA
 		   Raye, put a sock in it.

                                    AETHAN
 		   Look, I am sorry, but I cannot tell
 		   you where I'm going, because you'd
 		   try to follow me!

                                    MINAKO
 		   Of *course* I would!

                                    AETHAN
 		   And it's too *dangerous* --  

From his expression, AETHAN immediately realizes what kind of a mistake 
that statement was.

                                    MINAKO
 		   ANGRY Dangerous?!  I *live* for
 		   dangerous!  SHOUT VENUS COSMIC
 		   POWER!  

While the transformation sequence begins, AETHAN steps back.

                                 AETHAN (V.O.)
 		   Michael, I need you to do a very
 		   quick two-stage teleport to my
 		   location and then to a certain set
 		   of coordinates.  Up for it?

                                MICHAEL (V.O.)
 		   I'm on it.  

MINAKO's change completed, she takes another step forward.

                                    MINAKO
 		   Now, the Sailor Suited Soldier of
 		   Love wants some explanations, or
 		   I'll punish you in the name of --

                                    AETHAN
 		   Goodbye.

                                    MINAKO
 		   -- no, Venus -- what do you mean,
 		   `goodbye' --  

MICHAEL materializes behind AETHAN, and grabs him by the shoulder.  RYOUKO 
suddenly clutches her stomach, in sudden pain.  Her face is confused. 
MINAKO realizes what's about to happen.

                                    MINAKO
 		   No!  

She leaps forward, grabbing ahold of AETHAN's coat, just as MICHAEL 
teleports them, inadvertantly dragging her with them.  RYOUKO's stomach 
pains again manifest.

                           SERENA and ARTEMIS (sim)
 		   MINA!!  

AMY is busily typing her computer.

                                     AMY
 		   I *think* I have a lock on their
 		   destination!

                                    SERENA
 		   Right!  Everybody, transform!  

The transformation sequence goes off.  TENCHI stares, blinkingly at them, 
blushing deeply as he does so.  Of course, RYOUKO and AYEKA notice this. 
Meanwhile, DARIEN does his quiet, subtle transformation to Tuxedo Mask.

                                    SASAMI
 		   QUIETLY OVERAWED I definitely want
 		   to be a magical girl ...

                                    SERENA
 		   Luna!  If Darien helps us, can we
 		   do a Sailor Teleport without Mina?

                                     LUNA
 		   I'm not sure, but I think that
 		   ought to work!

                                    SERENA
 		   All right!  TO TENCHI Masaki-san,
 		   I'm *really* sorry we're ducking on
 		   you like this ...

                                    TENCHI
 		   DAZED That's okay ... I know how
 		   these things happen.  

SERENA flashes him a quick grin, then grabs Tuxedo Mask's hand in one hand 
and Sailor Mars' in the other.  AMY and LITA complete the circle, and the 
power begins to develop.  

RYOUKO is bent over now, and AYEKA notices quickly.

                                    AYEKA
 		   Ryouko?  What's wrong?

                                    RYOUKO
 		   I ...

                                     LUNA
 		   Sailor ...

                                   ARTEMIS
 		   TELEPORT!

                                    RYOUKO
 		   AGGGH!!!  

The Sailors vanish in a flash of light.  RYOUKO is curled up in a ball on 
the ground.

                                    TENCHI
 		   RYOUKO!  What's wrong?!

                                    RYOUKO
 		   CRYING I don't *KNOW*!  I --  

RYOUKO begins to emit blue sparks, startling everyone, and attracting LUNA 
and ARTEMIS' attention.

                                     LUNA
 		   What --  

The lightning flashes, and everyone vanishes, including the two cats.  A 
moment later, SAILOR PLUTO materializes, and stares where they were a 
moment before.  

She's pissed.

                                    PLUTO
 		   LIKE A CURSE Washuu ...  

Cut back to WASHUU's laboratory.  WASHUU is leaning back, a smug 
expression on her face.

                                TSUNAMI (O.S.)
 		   EXTREMELY ANGRY WASHUU!  What have
 		   you *done*?!  

WASHUU, startled, whips around.  TSUNAMI (or possibly a hologram of her) 
is standing immediately behind her, with an extremely angry expression on 
her face.  MADELINE is nowhere to be seen.

                                  TSUNAMI
 		   You are going to explain to me what
 		   you have done to Sasami, *now*, and
 		   then you and I are going to have
 		   words, *sister*.  

Cut to the porch of the Tendou Dojo, where KENT is still standing.  AETHAN 
and MICHAEL materialize a short distance away.  AETHAN blinks.

                                    AETHAN
 		   QUIET Minako?  BEAT Michael,
 		   *where's* Minako?

                                   MICHAEL
 		   She the girl with the interesting
 		   outfit that was grabbing onto you?

                                    AETHAN
 		   *Yes*.

                                   MICHAEL
 		   Ummm ... maybe she let go before the
  		   teleportation took effect, or I
 		   couldn't carry her so she got left
 		   behind --

                                    AETHAN
 		   ANGRY/SCARED Michael, what usually
 		   happens when you try to teleport
 		   too much mass?

                                   MICHAEL
 		   Well ... nothing.  BEAT  I mean, I
 		   don't go anywhere, so ... so she
 		   probably let go --

                                    AETHAN
 		   MICHAEL!  She's lost in the *VOID*!

                                   MICHAEL
 		   -- or that could have happened, too.  

AETHAN is on the verge of hysterics as KENT walks towards him.

                                     KENT
 		   Aethan.  Something the matter?

                                    AETHAN
 		   Kent!  Have you someone who can
 		   teleport handy?  Someone dear to me
 		   has been --

                                     KENT
 		   Not at the moment, no.  What --  

There is a flash of intense light above the pond.  KENT whirls around just 
in time to see the Sailors (*minus* MINAKO) and the Tenchi family drop out 
of nowhere into the pond.  There is a large splash.  

In the kitchen, KASUMI is preparing some food, and looks out the window.

                                    KASUMI
 		   Oh my!  More guests!  

SERENA crawls out of the pond first, followed quickly by LUNA, who is 
*very* annoyed to be wet.

                                     LUNA
 		   MUTTERED The *one* time I get
 		   dragged along on one of those
 		   teleports is the time I get plopped
 		   into the nearest body of water --

                                    SERENA
 		   Luna?  BEAT  I ... feel funny ...  

Cut to RANMA's room, where RANMA has gotten out of bed and is staring out 
the window.  AKANE is pulling on her clothes.

                                    AKANE
 		   What?  What is it?

                                    RANMA
 		   You're never going to believe me.  

AKANE shakes her head and limps over to look out the window herself.  

Cut to the porch, where NABIKI wanders past, and looks out at the pond ...  

Just as SERENA abruptly detransforms.  She stares down at herself in shock 
and surprise.  

NABIKI is silent for a long moment, then shrugs.

                                    NABIKI
 		   Aliens, demons, goddesses, espers,
  		   and wizards ... of course the Sailor
 		   Senshi *would* show up.  

Cut to the kitchen.  KASUMI looks out at SERENA and LUNA.  For a moment, a 
full moon symbol glows on her forehead.

                                    KASUMI
 		   Oh, *no*.  

Cut to the pond, where RAYE, AMY, and LITA also detransform after they 
crawl out.  They all seem very surprised to have done so, as though it 
wasn't voluntary.

                                     LITA
 		   FRIGHTENED Amy?  Please tell me
 		   you know what's going on?  

AMY shakes her head, bewilderedly.  RAYE looks around anxiously ... and 
her gaze settles on AETHAN.  Before AETHAN can react, she is in his face.

                                     RAYE
 		   *YOU*!  WHAT DID YOU DO?!

                                    AETHAN
 		   Ms. Hino, now is not --

                                     RAYE
 		   AND WHERE'S MINA?

                                    AETHAN
 		   BEAT; QUIET I'm not sure.  She may
 		   have been lost in the teleportation,
 		   because she foolishly grabbed --  

RAYE slaps him with every bit of power she has in her arm.

                                     RAYE
 		   You son-of-a-bitch!  You've gone
 		   and gotten my friend *killed*!  

AETHAN's face goes absolutely cold.

                                    AETHAN
 		   And?

                                     RAYE
 		   STARTLED What do you mean, and?

                                    AETHAN
 		   VERY QUIET, BARELY CONTROLLED  I
 		   am a monster, am I not?  I am only
 		   using her to satisfy my vile lusts,
 		   am I not?  Thus, my grief at her
 		   loss should be minimal, should it
 		   not?  I can find an equally capable
 		   blood-toy anywhere, can I not?  

AETHAN has been slowly moving his head towards RAYE so that instead of her 
being in his face, he now looms over her.

                                    AETHAN
 		   THE SAME Ms. Hino, if you would
 		   kindly exhibit a greater degree of
 		   consistency in your bloody-minded
 		   prejudice, it would be greatly
 		   appreciated.  

He turns away and glares at MICHAEL.

                                    AETHAN
 		   SHORT FIND HER.  

He turns and stalks away from them.  

Meanwhile, TENCHI has hauled a stricken-looking RYOUKO up onto dry land. 
SASAMI (who looks extremely disoriented), MIHOSHI, and AYEKA are all 
standing nearby.

                                    TENCHI
 		   Ryouko?!  Are you all right?

                                    RYOUKO
 		   VERY WEAK Tenchi ...

                                    TENCHI
 		   Ryouko, what's --

                                    RYOUKO
 		   Tenchi ... I don't have very long to
 	 	   ... be with you ...

                                    TENCHI
 		   PANICKING Ryouko, what are you
 		   saying?

                                    RYOUKO
 		   The darkness, Tenchi, the darkness
 		   is falling ... it won't be long now
 		   ... but ...  

MIHOSHI is beginning to tear up, while AYEKA has a look that hovers 
somewhere between skepticism and concern.

                                    TENCHI
 		   Ryouko, there's *got* to be some way
 		   to --

                                    RYOUKO
 		   No ... you can only comfort me as I
 		   go into the darkness ... Tenchi ...
 		   one little kiss is all I ask --  

AYEKA closes her eyes, and nods decisively.

                                    AYEKA
 		   BRISK Ryouko, I'm so sad to hear
 		   that you're dying.  No, no, I'm a
 		   liar ... after all, when you're gone
 		   I *will* have Tenchi all to myself,
 		   so --  

RYOUKO bolts up.

                                    RYOUKO
 		   Oh yeah?!  Is that what you think?

                                    TENCHI
 		   ANGRY Ryouko.  

RYOUKO realizes her mistake.

                                    RYOUKO
 		   I'm saved!  Tenchi, you saved my
 		   life with your deep feelings for me!

                                    TENCHI
 		   FLAT Great.  

Cut to RANMA's room.  RANMA and AKANE are still at the window, watching 
RYOUKO and AYEKA squabbling while TENCHI tries to stay out of the way.

                                    RANMA
 		   MUTTERED Why does that seem oddly
 		   familiar?

                                    AKANE
 		   Do you think we should go down and
 		   say ... hello?

                                    RANMA
 		   Um.  Yeah.  And I want some hot
 		   water, too.  

He turns away.  AKANE is still standing at the window with an apprehensive 
expression.  There is an odd tension in the air.

                                    AKANE
 		   Ranma?

                                    RANMA
 		   Yeah?

                                    AKANE
 		   ... it was nice but I don't want it
 		   to happen again for a while.  

There is a long silence.  RANMA finishes pulling on her pants, and walks 
out of the room with a stony expression on her face.

                                 AKANE (V.O.)
 		   The implications of what I'd just
 		   done had *finally* caught up to me.
 		   For three years I had dance-stepped
 		   around the issue of what I felt
 		   about him ... and about *her*.  Now
 		   it was out in the open ... and he
 		   still hadn't said the words.  BEAT
 		   And neither had I.  

Cut to the staircase.  As RANMA descends, SHAMPOO steps into view, heading 
upstairs.  Her expression, if possible, is even more stony than RANMA's. 
RANMA flinches as he meets her gaze.

                                    RANMA
 		   Um.  Hi, Shampoo.  

SHAMPOO walks up the stairs very slowly, until she is standing in RANMA's 
face.

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   SLOW, ANGRY Nihao, *husband*.

                                    RANMA
 		   SWALLOWS Uh ... has Kent already
 		   told you about the situation?

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   Shampoo understands situation very
 		   well.

                                    RANMA
 		   Okay ... sorry I wasn't there to
 		   greet you when you came by, but --

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   Shampoo understands. BEAT Excuse?
 		   Shampoo need have bath.  No feel
 		   *clean* right now.  

She cuts around RANMA, leaving her with a confused look on her face. 
SHAMPOO continues up the stairs.  She pauses at AKANE's door.  She stares 
at it with revulsion and loathing.

                                   SHAMPOO
 		   HISSED How?  *Why*?  

She continues on.  

Cut to an exterior view of the Helicarrier's control cockpit. Through the 
windows, we can see that ANDREW is trying to ignore a very persistent 
SKULD.  

Cut to inside the cockpit.  ANDREW is examining sensor readings while 
SKULD bugs him.

                                    SKULD
 		   ENGLISH Come on?  *Please* tell me
  		   a little bit about how this thing
  		   was built?  It flies, right?  You're
  	 	   not supposed to be building flying
 		   objects this big for a few centuries
 		   yet ... I mean, what does it use to
 		   power the rotors?  I didn't see any
 		   fissionables when I went poking in
 		   the engine room, so --

                                    ANDREW
 		   SCOUTS GAELIC Whoever sang "Thank
 		   Heaven for Little Girls" should be
 		   dragged out into the street and shot.  

SKULD mallets ANDREW.

                                    SKULD
 		   SCOTS GAELIC *Meanie*!  

BRAN steps down into the cockpit, and sees SKULD glaring at ANDREW's 
unconscious form.  He nervously turns to go, but SKULD spots him before he 
can.

                                    SKULD
 		   ENGLISH Hey!  Hey, do you know how
 		   this ship was built?  Do you know
 		   where I can find the one who built
 		   it?

                                     BRAN
 		   Uh ... well, that would be me, miss.  

SKULD is *very* excited.  Her whole face lights up.

                                    SKULD
 		   Reeeallly?!?  

Cut to the front gate of the Tendou dojo.  We see KENT slip out the door, 
and let out a weary sigh.

                                     KENT
 		   MUMBLED Join the Planetary Defense
 		   Force.  Travel to strange, exotic
 		   places.  Meet interesting people --

                               KYOUSUKE (O.S.)
 		   -- and threaten them?  

KENT looks up.  KYOUSUKE is standing nearby with an angry expression. 
There is a long silence as the two men consider each other.  KENT finally 
nods.

                                     KENT
 		   You look like them.

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   BLINKS Excuse me?

                                     KENT
 		   Your parents.  You look like them.

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   You knew my mother and father?

                                     KENT
 		   I only met your father once, very
 		   briefly.  BEAT  But I did know
 		   your mother.  I met her when your
 		   grandfather was training me.

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Oh.  BEAT Wait ... then, you're an
 		   esper too?

                                     KENT
 		   Yep.  Telepath.  I'm pretty good,
 		   but not as good as your mother was.
 		   BEAT Of course, she couldn't
 		   communicate with anything *sapient*,
 		   but ...

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   Then why would you threaten to
 		   expose my --

                                     KENT
 		   Oh.  That.  BEAT  Sorry.  A number
 		   of things had put me in a bad mood
 		   when I called.  

KYOUSUKE stares at him, then shakes his head in disbelief.

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   All right, you've got me here now.
 		   What do you need me for?

                                     KENT
 		   You're part of my back-up plan,
 		   Kasuga-san.  If all goes well, we
 		   should be able to dispose of the
 		   demons that have begun to infest the
 		   city before they can tear open a
 		   gate to bring more of their kind
 		   here.  

KYOUSUKE's mouth begins to hang open when KENT mentions demons.

                                     KENT
 		   If we don't, we're going to have to
 		   perform a major banishing ritual
 		   that requires complete coordination
 		   between the participants, which can
 		   only be achieved by placing them in
 		   a psychic link.  I'm going to show
 		   you how to do it, in the event that
 		   I'm killed in battle and can't do it
 		   myself.  BEAT  The important thing
 		   is that we have to defeat the demons
 		   before they get the bright idea to
 		   try and awaken something that's
 		   sleeping beneath the Pacific, not
 		   too far from here.

                                   KYOUSUKE
 		   What?  Gojiira?

                                     KENT
 		   Yes.  

KENT gently guides a stunned KYOUSUKE into the dojo as we start to pull 
away.

                                 AKANE (V.O.)
 		   I think I pity Kasuga Kyousuke more
 		   than anyone else who became involved
 		   in this.  Aside from the fact that
 		   he had his esper abilities, his life
 		   *had* really been fairly normal.  He
 		   wasn't a warrior, and now he was
 		   being asked to become involved in a
 		   fight against opponents he'd never
 		   dreamed existed.  BEAT  In any
 		   event, all the players had finally
 		   been drawn together ... with a few
 		   key exceptions.  

Cut to a shot of BELLDANDY, MARA, and KEIICHI stepping off a bus.  

Cut to a shot of a deserted street.  Suddenly, a hole begins to tear in 
the air, and MINAKO pushes herself through it before it seals behind her. 
She gulps air like a woman rescued from drowning, and looks around 
confusedly.

                                    MINAKO
 		   Where *am* I?  

Cut to black.

                                 AKANE (V.O.)
 		   And the Adversary began to make its
 		   moves.

                                TO BE CONTINUED   


Together Again: 1996 Chapter, 04/20/98