Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to their respective creators. I did not create them. 

Ranma ½ Z Neo: Part 5

*…* actions
(…) thoughts
~…~ emphasis on word
^ comments from the author


Beginning to Wait


Chapter by Fanime Lynn, story idea by Tony Chen
=====+=======+======+=====+======+====


*The scene is a spaceship. To be exact, the spaceship in which 
Team Phalanx resides. The view shifts to a small, dark room, 
which holds four familiar faces. Well, actually, the room is 
so dark that all one can see is four pairs of eyes.*

Vejita: *sitting with back against the wall, obviously in pain, 
but doesn’t show it in his voice* I cannot believe ~I,~ 
prince of the planet Vejita, have been defeated in such a 
way. This must be your fault, Kakaroto.

Goku: *in similar position, only against opposite wall, and not 
in quite as bad of shape* Hey, don’t blame me, Vejita. I got 
beat up back there too.

Gohan: *laying on stomach, least injured of whole group* I’m 
sure Trunks will be along soon to get us out.

Vejita: What makes you so sure that he can do what all of 
together could not?

Goten: *laying on back, only slightly worse off than Gohan* 
Remember the kids from the past, who Trunks made into super 
saiyajins? Maybe he can bring them to now to help.

Goku: Goten has a point, Vejita. If Bulma can find a way to 
reverse the effect of the pill Trunks gave them, then they 
could turn super saiyajin and defeat these people.

Vejita: Grrrrr…. (If he can defeat these people, then perhaps he 
is worthy to be my son.)

Goten: ….*lying on his back* (I wonder why they’re keeping us 
here? They haven’t done anything to hurt us, and are making 
sure we don’t die, but they haven’t let us out or tried to 
heal us. What are they waiting for?)

Gohan: Hey, Goten, whatcha thinking about?

Goten: *rolls over onto his side* Nothing.

*The scene shifts to a domed building on the planet Earth, where 
it focuses on the room of one certain individual. A girl 
pokes her head in, carrying a tray full of food.*

Ukyou: Hey, Trunks, you awake?

Trunks: *sullenly* Yeah.

Ukyou: Brought you some breakfast. Hungry?

Trunks: *perks up a bit at the mention of food* Sure.

Ukyou: *sets tray down in front of him* Here ya go, Sugar.

Trunks: Thanks. *starts inhaling food, under Ukyou’s supervision*

Ukyou: I brought these, thinking you might want to see them. 
*takes small flat computer out of her pocket; presents it to Trunks*

Trunks: *stops shoving food down his throat just long enough to 
take computer from her hand* Yeah, I do. I’ll look at it 
later. *resume eating; soon food is completely gone* That 
was good. Thanks!

Ukyou: No problem! It’s the least I could do.

Trunks: *reminded of his current situation, looks unhappy again* 
It’s not your fault, so don’t feel guilty. I shoulda seen 
that thing coming.

Ukyou: Well, now at least you can tell me what to do, so I can 
do it quicker. *relishes idea of having him to herself, 
having developed a slight crush on him*

Trunks: *slightly mollified with the idea that he won’t be 
totally useless to the group*  Yeah, I guess.

Ranma: *Poking his head in* Hey, Trunks! *Is shoved the rest of 
the way into the room by Akane*

Akane: Ohayoo gozaimasu^, Trunks-kun. How are you this morning?

^Japanese for good morning

Trunks: Fine, I guess.

*Just then, the eternal lost boy crashes through the wall, 
giving Trunks a new doorway to the lab, which is next door*

Ryouga: Hehehe…. Oops. *sweatdropping nervously. Everyone else 
just facefaults*

Trunks: *sighs resignedly* That’s okay, I’ll fix it later. (I 
suppose I should have expected this when I brought him here 
in the first place)

Akane: No need.  Ranma will do it for you.
 
Ranma: Hey, wait a sec…

Akane: well, it’s the least we can do. 

Ranma: Then why don’t you do it?

Akane: Because I don’t feel like it. *The two banter for a 
awhile longer, and everyone else just ignores them.*

Trunks: *to Ukyou* Hey, you’ll make sure they don’t kill each 
other, right?
Ukyou: Of course. I won’t let anything happen to ~my~ Ran-chan.

Trunks: *sweatdrops* Yeah, whatever.

*A couple of hours later, Trunks has a new door where the hole 
in the wall previously was. He’s watching TV, and chowing 
down on stuff that Bulma and Ukyou have brought him. 
Everyone else is in the kitchen, trying to figure out what to do.*

Bulma: I’ve put the antidote into pills, so it’ll be easier for 
you to carry, Ukyou.

Ukyou: Thanks. Could you get me a first aid kit to use? Your 
friends might be pretty beat up in there.

Bulma: *hands her a capsule* Here, take this. It has every thing 
you need… even capsules containing the big stuff. *with 
pride* I created it myself.

Ukyou: that’ll do. (A capsule within a capsule? Cool.) *takes capsule*

Bulma: These strangers are strong… Probably much stronger than 
Gero. You’ll have to be careful if they’re hiding a secret 
power. *Says quietly, as if to herself* They can’t be so 
easy that a level one Super Saiyajin could beat them…

Ranma: We can train hard. We’ll be prepared for them when they come.

Bulma: Use the gravity room. It’s down the hall, too the left. 
And don’t set it above 20 times normal, or you’ll all be squashed.

Akane: (Squashed? I guess we should follow her advice.) Hai.

*Group goes to gravity room, where Bulma shows them how to work 
it. They begin training when she leaves, Ranma vs. Ryouga 
and Akane vs. Ukyou, beginning at normal gravity.*

*Far away, in a jungle, Piccalo meditates, levitating above a 
pool filled with piranhas. He senses a sudden surge in 
energy, coming from the direction of Capsule Corp. He 
decides to go and investigate.*

Piccalo: (It’s been a long time, Gohan. I’m sure you’ve gotten 
much better. Perhaps we’ll have a spar.)

*Piccalo flies off towards Capsule Corp.*

*Back at CC*

Ukyou: Hey, Akane, you’ve gotten much better. Have you been 
practicing?

Akane: *dodging Ukyou’s flying mini-spatulas* Yeah, Ranma and I 
have been sparring every morning over the summer. 
*retaliates by throwing a punch, then kicks out* I’ve 
finally almost cured him of his aversion to hitting girls.

Ukyou: I can’t believe it. Ranchan, actually fighting back? Wow. 
*manages to whack Akane with her giant spatula, but gets a 
kick in the shins for it.

Ranma: Hey, P-chan, what’d ya say we go Super? *throws a 
roundhouse kick a Ryouga*

Ryouga: Sure, I’d love to beat the #$%@ out of you. *Sends one 
last Shi shi Houdokan at Ranma before stopping* 
HYYYYYAAAAAAHHH!!! *Powers up*

Ranma: *dodges energy ball* HYYYYYAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! *also powers up*

*Ranma and Ryouga fly at each other, their auras visible. 
Ranma’s is bright blue, and Ryouga’s is an orange- red.*

Ukyou: *Pauses in middle of a punch* Hey, the guys are going 
Super Saiyajin. Why don’t we do the same? 

Akane: Might as well. *stands up, having been knocked to the 
floor inn an earlier part of the fight.* HYYYYAAAAAAHHHH!!!! 
*forms golden aura, gets spiky hair, eyes turn green*

Ukyou: HYAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!! *same thing happens*

Akane: Ready? 

Ukyou: Hai. *the two fly at each other.*

Akane: BAKYUUMU NO KEN-HA: SHANSUU^!! *Akane does a vacuum wave, 
making Ukyou helpless, then punches into the center of the 
sideways twister. A beam of energy, similar to the Kamehame 
Ha, slams through the center, throwing Ukyou to the other 
side of the room, and knocking her out of Super Saiyajin*

^Vacuum Fist: Revision!!!.

Ukyou: *struggling to get her breath back* Wh-what *pant* was… 
that? *pant*

Akane: Oh, that? I revised my vacuum wave over summer. Are you 
okay? This is the first time I’ve tried it at full power.

Ryouga: Wow, Akane, that was awesome!

Akane: *blushing* Arigato.

Ukyou: I’m fine. Akane, that thing’s amazing! I didn’t have a chance!

Akane: I’ve improved most of my attacks, and made a couple of others.

Ryouga:…. (A..a..akane…. She’s so wonderful……)

Ranma: Hey, P-chan, snap out of it.

Ryouga: Ranma! Prepare to die!

Ranma: Ho-humm. Can’t you ever think of anything else to say? 
*With this, Ryouga charges Ranma, attempting to hit him dead 
on. Ranma easily dodges.* (Good, he’s mad. Now’s the perfect 
time to try ~my~ new move.) *smirks*

Ryouga: (I’ll get you this time, Ranma!) *smirks*

Ranma: *the two are just feet away, and both begin their move* 
TENSHIN MOKO NEKO! 

Ryouga: FU-RAI-IN-GU BA-CON^!!!

^Ryouga’s attempt at English. Due to the Japanese language, this 
is how ‘Frying Bacon’ would probably sound.

*From Ranma’s fist sprout many ki-spheres in the shape of cats’ 
claws. Ryouga’s fist is surrounded by a flame-like aura, the 
room grows smoky, and is filled with the smell of burnt 
bacon. The cat-claw ki balls collide^ with Ryouga’s fist, 
creating a huge explosion.*

^Try saying that ten times fast. =]

Akane/Ukyou: *Trying to see through the smoke, but can’t* Ranma! Ryouga! 

Akane: Are you okay? 

Ukyou: Anyone left in there?

*The smoke dissapates slightly, revealing two collapsed forms, 
sprawled on the ground. The girls walk up to them, unable to 
see which is which due to the still to-thick dust cloud.*

Akane: *Looks down at figure at her feet* Ranma……

Ukyou: *walking up to other figure* Ryouga, hon, you okay?

*Ranma’s eyes groggily open, and he winces at the pain he feels 
all over.*

Ranma: Hey, what happened? *Akane helps him sit up, which he 
does with much care*

Akane: You and Ryouga fired your attacks at each other at the 
same time. I think the explosion knocked you both out. By 
the way, did I hear ‘neko’ in your attack?

Ranma: Yeah……*shudders* Just as long as I don’t think about the 
meaning of the word, I’m fine. Is Ryouga okay?

Akane: Hey, Ukyou--

Ukyou: I heard him. Ummm, I’m not sure. He’s not awake yet. 
*leans over him. The smoke has cleared enough that Ranma and 
Akane can see her do so.*  *whispers* Hey, Ryouga….  
*nothing happens, so she tries again, this time louder* HEY, 
Ryouga!! *still, nothing happens. Concern shows on Ukyou’s 
face, and she leans over Ryouga* Hey, Ryouga, you dead? 
*poke, poke, poke*

Ryouga: Wahahahahahaha! STOP!!! STOP!!! STOP IT!!! *Ukyou 
stops,  now that Ryouga’s awake.* 

Ranma: What’s you problem, P-chan?

Akane: *hammers Ranma* Don’t make fun of Ryouga!

Ryouga: That’s my ticklish spot! *tries to sit up* Ite!^ What happened?

^Japanese for ‘Ouch’

Akane: Your ki attacks collided, and the resulting explosion 
knocked you both out. What ~was~ your attack, anyway?

Ranma: *knows enough English from having his pop take him to so 
many restaurants (only to not pay the bill) to understand 
what Ryouga was trying to say* Hmmmmm…… Pretty good name for 
~your~ attack, Ryouga.

Ryouga: *blushes* SHUT UP, Ranma!

Akane: *having failed English* Well, what did it mean? 

Ryouga: *sweatdrops nervously* Uhhhh, nothing…

Ranma: Oh, it means-- mmmph! *Is unable to continue, since 
Ryouga has mysteriously recovered from his discomfort long 
enough to run over to Ranma and cover his mouth*

Ryouga: It means nothing, Akane! I just made it up, that’s all!

Ranma: *pulling Ryouga’s hand off his mouth* Hey, get your hands 
off me! I wasn’t gonna tell, I was just joking!

Ryouga: RANMA, YOU-- *stops suddenly, eyes widening* Uh-oh…

Ranma: *to Ryouga’s quickly disappearing form* Hey, whatcha 
running from, Ryouga?

Akane: Uh…… Ranma, look up……

Ranma: *groans* Oh, no…… 

*Above the group, the ceiling to the gravity room is damaged. In 
fact, most of it is gone. Through the open spaces, a ~very~ 
gray sky lurks. As Ranma groans, it opens up to pour sheets 
of water onto everyone but Ryouga, who now stands under the 
only part of the room still in tact.*

Ranma-chan: Aw, man, why does this ~always~ happen to me??

Ryouga: …… (Glad I got over here in time. I can’t let Akane see 
me like that!)

Ukyou: Why don’t we go inside? *The others all agree.*

Ranma-chan: *calling to Ryouga over her shoulder, who is on the 
other side of the room from the door and can’t cross over* 
You can join us when it lets up…… If you can find the door, that is!

Akane: Don’t be so mean to Ryouga!

Ranma-chan: Yeah, whatever, Akane.

*The group goes inside, excluding Ryouga, that is. They see a 
rather unhappy Bulma waiting for them inside the front door, 
glaring pointedly in the direction of the ~former~ gravity room.*

Bulma: *as they walk in* ~Why~ do I always get stuck with the 
‘Destroy everything in sight’ people? It’s bad enough being 
married to Vejita, and having Trunks, but now you as well? 
What did I do to deserve this!?! *She rambles on a while, 
thoroughly chewing Team Akane out. As she does, she loses 
Ranma, who goes to heat up some water; Akane, who goes to 
‘help’ him; and Ukyou, who goes to save Ranma from Akane’s 
help; leaving a certain Mrs. Briefs yelling at air, until 
Ryouga finally finds his way inside, to stand contritely in 
her presence. Bulma notices none of the cast change.*

Ryouga: *as she finishes scolding* May I go now? I hafta, umm, 
go kill Ranma now… 

Bulma: Be quiet, I’m not done yet! *pauses to think of something 
else to say* Uhhh, to make up for it, you can water the 
flowers outside… 

Ryouga: *glad to get out of her presence* Sure thing! *runs off*

Bulma: *realizes something* Hey, wait a minute, I don’t ~have~ a 
flower garden…… Ooops. *shrugs and goes to make lunch for everybody*

*later*

Ranma: Hey, this is great! Wonderful! Best I’ve ever had!

Akane: *sweatdropping* Ranma, it’s just a sandwich. Nothing to 
get excited about.

Ranma: *grumbles to himself* Well, it is.

Akane: Hey, there’s P-chan! *spots her ‘little pig’ in the 
doorway, looking lost*

Ranma: (uh-oh. Ryouga, you’re gonna owe me big) Akane, that’s 
not P-chan…

Akane: Of course he is! Can’t you tell? What other piglet has a 
bandana like this?

Ranma: Akane, P-chan is a pig. Pigs don’t live forever, and 
we’re very far in the future. Futhermore, we didn’t bring 
him with us. How could that possibly be P-chan?

Akane: Oh. Guess you’re right. Well, maybe it’s his great-
grandson, or something like that.

Ranma/Ukyou: *sweatdrop*

P-chan: Bweee! *sticks tongue out at Ranma, nuzzles Akane’s chest*

Ranma: Why you little… *attempts to grab P-chan from Akane to 
seriously hurt him, in very unpleasant ways*

Akane: Ranma, you jerk! Don’t tease P-chan! *hammers Ranma 
through ceiling*

Bulma: *watching the whole thing* …… (What… interesting… people 
these are…) *sweatdrops*

Ukyou: I thought you two didn’t want to fight anymore.

Akane: As long as he leaves P-chan alone, we won’t.

Ukyou:… *sweatdrop*

*After lunch and Ranma’s return from… well, who knows where, 
Team Akane goes to train in a mountain forest far away. 
Before they left, Ryouga found some hot water and turned 
back into a human.*

Ryouga: So, Ranma, ready to get pounded?

Ranma: Actually, I was thinking we should switch partners. That 
way, the girls could get a little better, a little faster.

Ukyou: Great idea!!! So who’s pairing up? *puts on her cutest grin*

Ranma: Uhhh… *knows he’s in a bad situation once more* We’ll do 
it tomorrow! *says very quickly*

Ukyou: Oh. *pouts*

*The group lands at the chosen spot, and start sparring in the 
same teams as before. No special moves are used, being one 
rule set down at beginning of the session. At sunset, they stop.*

Ranma: I think it’s time to show each other all the new moves we 
know.  Who wants to go first?

Akane: I will!

Ranma: Okay, aim them at that boulder over there, and show us 
all of them, at normal power.

Akane: Alright. *everyone powers down* Ready? *she gets nods* 
CHOUKYOSEI HANMAA UCHIKUDAKU^!!! *draws a hammer out of 
hammerspace^^, made of ki. She uses it to smash the boulder 
into billions of little pieces, hitting it four times before 
ending her move*

^SUPER HAMMER SMASH!!!

^^It’s a term I’ve heard many times and like. To whoever made it 
up: Please don’t sue me! I don’t have anything to take!

Ukyou: That’s pretty good, Sugar.

Ranma: Yeah. Good thing that wasn’t the only boulder around. 
From now on, just aim at whatever boulder you can find, ‘kay?

Akane: Hai. *targets next boulder to start her attack* Ready? 
*everyone nods* BAKYUUMU NO KEN-HA: SANSHUU^!!! *does same 
attack she had used on Ukyou. This time, it only chips the rock*

^VACUUM PUNCH: REVISION!!!

Ranma: Wow. That’s a good attack. 

Akane: But, Ranma, it didn’t destroy the rock!

Ranma: But the worst part of it is the fact that you can’t 
breathe, not the energy beam that you shoot through it.

Ryouga: He’s right, Akane. It does more damage to a person by 
not breathing than just hitting them. Your attack guarantees 
that your opponent can’t dodge, or run, or block it. Plus, 
it unsteadies them so that you can hurt them again.

Akane: *looking bored from all the explaining* Oh. That’s all 
the attacks I have right now, anyway.

Ranma: What about your Pheonix moves?

Akane: I haven’t worked on those. I don’t know why, but I just 
can’t seem to be able to use them.

Ranma: Oh. (Maybe the Pheonix’s touch wore off. That’d be a 
shame; it was a great attack.) Well, who’s next?

Ryouga: Hey, wait a minute, Ranma, who died and made you boss?

Ranma: Oh, so you’re afraid to show everyone your attacks, is 
that it?

Ryouga: Why you…… Of course not! Mine are a thousand times 
better than yours, anyway!

Ranma: I don’t believe you. Prove it!

Ryouga: you asked for this, Ranma! Watch and weep! *targets a 
boulder* FU-RAI-IN-GU BA-CON!!!^ *Whole area grows smoky, 
and the smell of burnt bacon fills the air. A loud CRACK is 
heard, but nothing can be seen through the smoke.*

^Same thing as last time he used it. If you don’t remember, then 
go back. If you’re too lazy to go back, well, then, you’re 
not very curious.

Ukyou: Not bad, Sugar.

Akane: *whines* I can’t see a thing!

*The smoke clears enough that the group can see a shattered 
boulder. Ryouga stands triumphantly over it.*

Ryouga: There, Ranma. Beat that!

Ranma: It’s not bad. Could be better, though. Got anything else 
up your sleeve, P-chan?

Ryouga: Why you…… *targets yet another boulder* BAKUSAI TENKETSU 
CHOUKYOSEI SHINSEI^!!! (A large, powerful explosion rips 
through the ground, destroying the land that Ryouga is 
standing on for about a kilometer all around. Ranma and the 
girls fly up into the air to avoid damage, but still get hit 
by numerous flying rocks. When the ground settles enough, 
they all land.*

^BAKUSAI TENKETSU SUPER NOVA!!! (I don’t know what Bakusai 
Tenketsu translates too, exactly)

Akane: WOW!!! That was amazing, Ryouga! 

Ryouga: A-a-arigato, Akane! (She said it was amazing! Oh, Akane, 
you’re so wonderful!)

Ranma: Are those all your new moves?

Ryouga: Grrr… *sullenly* yeah.

Ranma: Ukyou, How about you? Got anything new?

Ukyou: Just a couple.

Ranma: That’s Okay.

Ukyou: Here I go, then! RAKURAI UCHINUKU^!!! *She strikes out, 
in a pattern almost as fast as Ranma’s chestnut fist. Her 
fist glows, and, if one looks closely, they can see that she 
appears to be holding a single piece of lightning in her 
hand. She quickly destroys the boulder.*

^Lightning Punch!!!

Ranma: Cool.

Ukyou: And I perfected my ki transfer. 

Ranma: Could you demonstrate?

Ukyou: Sure thing, Ran-chan. But I’ll need someone to do it on.

Akane: You can practice on me.

Ukyou: ‘Kay, come over here. *Akane walks over to Ukyou. Ukyou 
places her hands on the other girl’s back, and hums. Soon, 
both girls are surrounded by a white aura. Ukyou mutters 
something under her breathe, and the aura disappears.*

Akane: *opening her eyes* Wow, I feel great!

Ukyou: *also opens her eyes* I gave you some of my energy, 
that’s why.

Ranma: That’s definitely useful.

Ukyou: Especially for my job in all this.

Ryouga: You’re gonna hafta be careful, though. Don’t give away 
all your energy.

Ukyou: *touched by his concern* I’ll try not to.

Ryouga: Hey, Ranma, your turn. We’ve shown our moves, now show 
us yours.

Ranma: Sure thing. TENSHIN MOKO NEKO!!! *shoots many cat claw 
shaped ki balls from his fists. Totally annihilates rock*

Ryouga: Got any others? We’ve already seen that one.

Ranma: Shut up, P-chan. *looks around for spot to do newest 
attack, finds it* Stand back, everybody. *walks over to 
clear area* DORAGON YA BAKUHA^!!! *stands with hands locked 
together in front of him. A dragon, glowing blue, breaks out 
from the ground and spirals upward. When it reaches his 
arms, Ranma points his hands in the direction he wants it to 
go. The dragon shoots towards the area Ranma is pointing, 
which happens to be a nearby mountain. The dragon hits, and 
the mountain goes bye-bye.*

^Dragon Arrow Blast =] =]

Akane: *gawking* R-Ranma, ~what~ was that? 

Ranma: *panting a bit* That was something I discovered I could 
do just recently. It takes a lot of ki, though.

Ukyou: Poor Ran-chan. You look worn out.

Ryouga: … (How’d he do that? Grrr… Ranma, I will not allow you 
to beat me again!)

Ukyou: Well, if everybody’s done now, maybe we should go back.

Ranma: Good idea.

*Team Akane takes off, flying back to the Capsule Corp. 
building. They eat a quick dinner, report to Trunks on 
everything, and go to bed, exhausted. They fail to notice a 
certain green person watching them from above on their 
return trip, nor do they notice him watching through windows 
as they prepare for bed. After the last one is asleep (which 
is Ryouga, since he got lost and had to be found again), the 
being enters the house.*

Bulma: *not very happy about her visitor* Hey, Piccalo.

Piccalo: Who are those kids?

Bulma: *sigh* Well, it’s a long story…

Piccalo: I’ve got time.

Bulma: (can I trust him? Then again, do I have choice?) *decides 
to tell Piccalo who they are* Well, it all began a while 
ago,… *fills him in on what she knows of Trunks’ first trip 
to the past, and the current situation*

Piccalo: (This isn’t good.) I will train them, starting 
tomorrow. *leaves to go off to… where ever he likes to 
disappear to overnight.*

Bulma: *watching him leave* I hate to say this, especially for 
him, but I wish him luck.

====+=======+========+=======+======+====

Author’s Notes:

I know this took too long to complete, but hey, not (totally) my 
fault. I won’t go into the details (there’s too many), so 
we’ll just say, “I had a minor case of writers block.” 
Alright, practice now. Say, “She had a minor case of writers block…” 

Anyway, tune in next week (well, probably not quite that soon) 
for ch.6, the exciting… uh… continuation of the story! 
You’ll see the entrance of Piccalo, the mighty green guy, 
and what happens when he meets our heroes! Until then, umm, 
be, umm, good… Oh, forget it. Just try to get around to r
eading it when it’s finished.

Send all C&C to Fanime_Lynn@hotmail.com , and I am in desperate 
need of some fanart, so if you feel like it, send that, too. 
Arigato, & Saiyonara! (thanks, & goodbye!)