Disclaimer:  I did not create Ranma 1/2, Dragonball Z, or anything belonging to 
them.  Please have pity on this poor, poor lil’ beginning writer.  *puppy-eyes*

Ranma 1/2 Z Neo: Part 13

(...) thoughts
*...* actions
....^ author’s notes

The Powers That Be
 =.^.=.^.=.^.=.^.=.^.=.^.=.^.=.^.=.^.=.^.=.^.=

*Just outside of a city, a city which holds a titanic battle, a being floats in the air. 
His green skin reflects the bright sunlight of the late morning, and his eyes 
behold flashing figures within the city, invisible to the eyes of a normal 
human.  Fortunately for him, he is neither human nor normal.  Piccolo 
watches the battle with surprisingly little emotion, considering its evident 
importance... and even more odd, considering the vast evil force he senses 
from his perch.  He waits for the source of the evil to appear, but it does 
not reveal itself.  It could be any one of the fighters, or perhaps, a fighter 
yet to show himself.  Piccolo’s eyes narrow, as he studiously tries to figure 
out what is going on.  He prays for the safety of the young warriors he 
barely had a chance to spar with, vibrantly hoping that they will be 
immune to the evil, whatever it is, when it reveals itself.  He circles almost 
lazily to a better and closer viewpoint, all the while vowing not to interfere 
until he can work out what the evil is.*

*in the heat of the battle*

Ryouga:  Come on, woman!  You can do better than that!  

Tempo:  *growls*  Shut up and stand still!

Ryouga: Not a chance!  *he flaunts his speed and strength in her face, and it is 
all Tempo can do not lash out and debilitate him right there and then- the 
pressure points needed to paralyze a person are completely unguarded.*

Tempo: *kicks out instead, landing a solid yet ‘surprisingly’ light kick into his 
stomach*  I’m just going easy on you, that’s all!

Ryouga:  Try going a little less easy... I like a good fight!  Or was that just a 
bluff?!  (But I believe she can do better... this is like fighting Ranma!  Why 
doesn’t she fight back???)

Tempo:  *merely growls at him*  (Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!  If this isn’t worth 
it, I’m coming after him and beating him back for this!!!)

*At Jet and Ranma’s battle*

Jet:  *lightly knocking Ranma’s punch away*  Hmmmm... That’s got about as 
much strength behind it as a baby’s punch!  

Ranma:  *dodging a roundhouse kick at his stomach*  And that was as slow as 
as... well, I’d say molasses running uphill in January, but that would be 
insulting the molasses!

Jet Stream:  Well, I didn’t know molasses hated being called blindingly fast.

Ranma: *chuckles*  Compared to you, it is!  *he dodges the retaliating blow*  
*saracstically*  Oooh, I’m scared now!

Jet Stream:  No, no, you’ve got it all wrong.  If you’re going to practice begging 
for mercy, then do it right!  More like *affects a panicky voice* ‘No, 
please don’t hurt me!!!’

Ranma:  Ah, I see you’ve been expecting that you’d fight me.  How long did it 
take you to master that?

Jet Stream: You misunderstand me.  Out of sympathy, I listened to cries for 
mercy so that I wouldn’t let yours affect me too much, so that I could 
bring myself to swiftly end your pain.

Ranma:  Hmmmm... You’re too wordy, you know?

Jet Stream: Hmmmm... This better?  *thwacks a particularly savage blow at 
Ranma, who takes it in the shoulder.*

Ranma:  Not bad.  I think it sort of stings.  *tries not to wince at the bruise*

Jet Stream: *catching the return blow on his forearm, it numbs briefly*  Yes, 
same here.

Ranma:  *looks around absently, almost negligently blocking the blows from his 
opponent*  We’ve drifted quite far from the ship....

Jet:  *also glancing around* True.  Why don’t we drift back?  I’d like to see how 
badly my comrades are beating your friends.

Ranma:  Sure.  I can’t wait to see the look on your face once you see ~your~ 
friends unconscious.  *The two start drifting back in the general direction 
of Team Phalanx’s ship, still exchanging blows and words*

*Akane’s battle with Treble*

Akane:  Urgh!  *sweat trickles down her shirt*  What’d you do, take six steroids 
every morning growing up?!?!

Treble:  *smirking* Yeah, that’s it.  Only, I didn’t eat steroids, I ate little 
girls like you.

Akane: *~looking~ at him*  That’s sick, you know?

Treble: *smirks* I know.  *Akane flits too and fro about him, feeling about to 
drop, though she till speaks.  She is soaked with sweat, while Treble barely 
glistens in the warm day, as if it doesn’t bother him a bit.  Suddenly, Akane 
feels her strength start to go out, as she passes the point of exhaustion.  
She jumps backward, out of Treble’s range, and concentrates*

Akane: yyyaaaAAAAHHHHH!  *she powers up to Super Saiyajin*  Alright, time to 
get serious!  *the sudden surge of power revives her, and she feels as if 
she has just taken a nice cool shower and a long refreshing nap.  Her hair 
peaks almost gracefully over her head.  Her eyes glint with hidden power.*

Treble:  Good, I was starting to get bored with warming up.  *draws a bit of 
power to himself*  This should do the trick.  *restarts his attack*

*Like Ranma and Jet, Treble and Akane start heading back to the ship; however, 
their return journey is the mark of coincidence rather than purpose*

*Jet and Ranma’s fight*

Ranma:  *pauses in his attack, catching Jet’s fist just as something catches his 
eye*  Wait a sec, okay?  I’ll be right back.  *flies down to the ground as 
Jet watches, confused.  Minutes later, Ranma emerges from the building 
he entered, tossing a small black box into the air and catching it again*

Jet:  You done?

Ranma:  *mumbles to himself*  Now I see why Nabiki loves doing that so 
much...  *fingers the yen in his pocket that he avoided paying the lone 
jewelry shop owner, having convinced the man that Ranma was doing the 
guy a favor by buying from him now, never mind that he paid only a 
hundredth of the typical price*  

Jet:  Hello?  Anyone there?

Ranma: Yeah, yeah, I’m coming!  (Sheesh.  Some people are just ~so~ 
impatient.)

*The boys resume fighting*

Jet: So, what did you get?  Your tombstone?

Ranma:  No, but I should’ve gotten one for you... d’oh!  How silly of me to 
forget.

Jet:  Well then?

Ranma:  None of your business.  *inside his pocket, still in its case, is a lovely 
diamond ring, the diamond encircled by blazing rubies, all set in gold* 
Besides, why do you want to know?

Jet:  *shrugs* Just curious.

*The boys come into sight of the ship.  They can just see Treble fighting with 
Akane, and Tempo and Ryouga easily stand out against the solid grey-
silver of the ship.  Ranma notices instantly Akane’s struggle, while Jet’s 
eyes widen to behold his sister, loosing badly.  Neither boy pays attention 
to the other as he rushes to help his respective cohort.  Ranma’s hair 
blazes to gold as he jumps to help Akane, while Jet merely imposes himself 
between Tempo and Ryouga*

Ranma:  *pulling her out of reach*  Akane, are you okay?

Akane:  Ranma!  Let go!  I’m fine!

Treble:  *laughs nastily* Sure you are.

Akane:  *glares at the overly large brute*  Shut up.  *turns to Ranma*  I’m just 
a little bruised, that’s all.  I can handle it.

Ranma:  *is about to argue, but then sees something in her eyes* Sure?

Akane: Yes!  Go back to your own fight!

Ranma:  *backs away*  Alright, then.

*other end of the ship*

Jet: *catching Ryouga’s arm*  Tempo, what’s all this?!?!

Tempo:  *tries desperately to think of someway to get Jet away* (I can’t let him 
beat up this guy after all that to make sure he’s still okay!)  I’m fine!  I’m... 
just a little out of breath, that’s all.  I haven’t been training enough lately. 
Now let me get back to my fight.

Jet:  *peering closely at his sister*  You’re not sick, are you?

Tempo: *anxious, snaps at him* Do I look sick to you, mold-head!?

Jet: *Hearing her old, familiar jibe at his hair-color, he relaxes a bit* Not too sick, 
I suppose.  

Tempo: Now let me fight my own battle!  Go away!

Jet:  *backs off*  Sure, what ever.  *flies back to where Ranma waits, halfway 
between Treble’s and Tempo’s battles*  So they don’t want help.

Ranma:  *lifts his shoulders in a sign of defeat* I’ll never get women.

Jet:  Me neither.  Now, then... *kicks out.  Ranma, still in Supersiayjin, blocks his 
punches with unexpected strength.  Surprised, Jet bounces back, and 
raises his own power level.  Ryouga and Tempo, seeing their partners have 
all dispensed with the normal fighting, likewise power up.  Suddenly, 
Ryouga’s eyes narrow dangerously. He charges her, and she jumps into 
the air, expecting him to follow.  Instead, he touches the ground*

Ryouga:  Bakusai tenketsu^!!!  *rocks shower off the ground, distorting Tempo’s 
vision*

^Breaking point technique

Tempo: What is this?  Ooomph!  *She doesn’t see Ryouga’s charged uppercut, 
thanks to his smoke shield.  She takes the blow to the chin, and flies high, 
 catching herself before she starts to descend to the ground*

Ryouga:  Ka... me.... ha... me... ha!!! *he opens fire at her body high in the air. 
Tempo, caught totally unaware, takes the brunt of the blast before she can 
retaliate.  She does so with a vengeance, summoning her own wave of 
energy which not only battles Ryouga’s, but then negates his and blasts 
him.  He remains unhurt, for neither blast was as strong as it could have 
been.*

Tempo:  *pants briefly*  You caught me by surprise!

Ryouga:  *grins* I know.  

Tempo:  Good.  *She draws one hand back over her head, as it stretching.  
Suddenly, the hand fills with light* Okibi hindama^!!!!!!!!!!!  *She 
brings the hand forward, throwing the glowing ball at Ryouga.  His eyes 
widen, and he brings his hands to his chest, cupping them*

^Blazing star

Ryouga:  Shi shi Houdokan!!!!  *he combats the energy blast with one of his 
own.  Tempo falls back, and Ryouga rushes her* Hyaa!  *He attempts to 
slam his knee into her gut, but she rises above his head, dancing out of 
range.*

Tempo:  Too slow! *With the stakes so high, she realizes she can’t afford to just 
let Ryouga beat up on her.  At their current power levels, it could kill her. 
She dodges around, starting to take the battle seriously.  Jet, watching 
from his battle absently, sees this, and is reassured enough to return his 
attention back to his own fight.  He takes a hint from his sister, and ups 
the ante*

Jet:  *He skips back from Ranma and brings his hands even with his chest, 
palms flat.*  Berugu momiau!!!!^ *He shoves his hands away from his 
body, sending a wall of energy flying at Ranma.  Ranma, sensing more 
than seeing the attack, has only time to cross his arms to defend his face 
as the attack hits him.  He braces himself, and pushes through it, his 
toughened body proving equal to the task he sets it to.*

^mountain push

Ranma: *as the wall passes, he immediately begins his own attack*  Hiyruu 
Shouten Ha!!!!!!!!!! *Ranma’s practically patented water cyclone whips out. 
Both boys turn cold as the cyclone adsorbs Jet’s attack and becomes 
stronger; Ranma, having long since lost the need for an opponent’s energy 
to begin the vortex, has forgotten this little detail.  Both are sucked into 
the twister.  Seconds later, Jet hurtles a ki sphere into the bottom of the 
tornado, ending it.  Jet and Ranma-onna^ land side by side.*

^female Ranma

Jet Stream:  *looks at Ranma for a minute, then remembers Syme’s warning 
about the gender-switching ability of the boy* Don’t think I won’t hit a girl!

Ranma-chan: I didn’t do that on purpose!  This, on the other hand... Tenshin 
Amigurikan! *her punches increase in pace*

Jet: Not bad. *While they fight, Akane keeps pace with Treble, on a level playing 
field again now that she’s Super Saiyajin.  Sensing Ranma’s release of 
energy, she decides she’s also tired of being overwhelmed.  She flies up 
into the air*

Akane:  I wonder, can such a big bulk actually fly?  (In the air, his size isn’t such 
an advantage.  Add ki attacks, and we may be nearly even)  *Treble also 
flies into the air, rising to her bait*

Treble: With a vengeance! Kyodai Kobushi!!!!^ *He uses his ki to reinforce and 
quicken his punch.  Akane barely dodges, knowing that such a hit would 
be the end of the fight*

^Gigantic fist

Akane:  I don’t ~think~ so!!! BAKYUUMU NO KEN-HA: SHANSUU!!!!^  *With a mere 
twist of her arms, the sideways twister bursts forth and steals the air from 
Treble.  The blast that Akane punches into the center slams him head-on, 
knocking him head over feet*

^Vacuum fist: revised

Treble:  *panting as he regains his breath* Why... You l-little... *his eyes blaze 
with anger as he gets his breath back.  He flips backwards, and draws 
his hands together, interlocking his fingers at Akane* KYUUKYOKU 
HAMETSU BAKUHA!!!!^

^Final destruction blast

*Inside the ship*

*Ukyou squirms forward, hot and tired by now.  The heat of the tunnels blinds 
her, and she finds it difficult to breath.  Still, she continues on, to the 
sound of Trunks’s voice over the pendent* 

Trunks:  You ought be right at another intersection.

Ukyou: Yeah.

Trunks: Go left.  *Ukyou does* 

Ukyou: Ugh.  Now it’s starting to stink in here, too.

Trunks:  You’re right over the kitchen.

Ukyou: Whoever was last down there, they evidently cooked as bad as Akane 
does.

Trunks: *sensing Ukyou is trying to make light of her situation in order to keep 
on going*  Ukyou...

Ukyou:  Yes, Trunks?

Trunks: ... I’m sorry that I brought you into all this.

Ukyou: (I know he means all of us, but still... It’s nice to hear it) Thanks, Trunks. 
It’s okay.

Trunks: I’m the one that should be thanking you.  Left again, by the way.

Ukyou:  *smiles* It’s not so bad.

Trunks: *a brief pause* According to the map, you’re almost there.

Ukyou: How much further, exactly?

Trunks: About three feet.

Ukyou: *stops where she is* Trunks...

Trunks:  What?

Ukyou:  (Baka^....)  Nothing.  You just need to give me more warning.

^idiot/silly

Trunks: Oh. Sorry. Well are you there yet?

Ukyou: *feels around in front of her* Well... 

*inside a small, pitch-black room*

Goku:  Oooh, and Chichi’s lemon cake!  That’s it, I’ll have her lemon cake first 
when we get out of here!

Goten: Dad, you’re making me hungry!

Vegita: *growls* Shut up, Kakaroto.

Gohan:  Hey- what’s that?

Goku: What’s what, Gohan?

Gohan: I heard someone. Above us.

Vegita: You’re hearing things, boy.  There’s nothing above us.  Just a ceiling.  
And you know we can’t hear anything through that.

Goku: *listens hard* No, he’s right, Vegita. There’s someone up there.

Vegita:  I told you to shut up, Kakaroto! I’m ashamed of you.  A bunch of 
Saiyajin, and you’re hearing things.

Goten: Well, if that’s so, then I’m hearing things too.

Vegita: *is about to retort, but then he hears the scuffling, too.  A mutter comes 
from seemingly the ceiling, but the warriors can’t tell in the darkness. A 
clatter sounds from above, and a foot lands on Vegita’s [broken] leg.  His 
eyes widen in pain, but his pride enables him not to yell out.  Instead, he 
tackles the foot, expecting it to be one of his captors. He yanks it 
sideways, out from under the person. A female yelp sounds, and a crash. 
Vegita travels his hand up her back and grabs her arm, twisting it behind 
her.*

Goku: *Finds he is the pillow of Vegita’s victim*  Hey, who’re you?

???: Ow!  Let me up! I’m here to help you people!

Vegita: *doesn’t let go* Prove it!

???: ‘Tousan^, let her go!

^Dad

Vegita: *hears Trunks’s voice* Trunks! Where are you?

Trunks: I’m over one of Mom’s radios.  She’s telling the truth.  She’s there to 
help you.

Vegita: *grudgingly lets go of Ukyou’s arm* Then hurry up and help.

Ukyou: *rubbing her arm*  Sheesh. You really didn’t have to be so rough.

Vegita: *irked, he addresses her* I am Prince of the Saiyajin. I have been locked 
up these last seven days with these low-class dimwits, humiliated!  I have 
every right to be rough!

Ukyou: *rolls her eyes. Luckily for her, it’s pitch black, so Vegita can’t see* Right. 
*takes out a small lamp from her shirt and turns it on.  The tiny light 
brightens the whole room just enough so that the outlines of the 
inhabitants can be distinguished. Though the room is still dim, Ukyou has 
enough light to see what she’s doing*

Gohan: *sighs in relief* Ugh.  That’s much better.  *He looks up at their rescuer 
[now sitting up, in Goku’s lap], and sees a slim young man’s profile with 
long hair.  Then he remembers his initial impression, and corrects 
himself: a slim woman with long hair.  She stands up and stretches*

Ukyou: Ugh. You’re right.  Those vents are much too narrow.

Vegita: Well, woman? What are you going to do?

Ukyou: *suppressing a surge of annoyance* This. *takes out the capsule box 
Trunks had given her, and takes one out.*  Would you two scoot over? I’ll 
need someplace to put this down.

Gohan/Goku: Sure. *scoots over.  Ukyou depresses the capsule and a stand pops 
up with medical supplies in the open space.*

Ukyou: Alright, who’s hurt the worst?

Goku: *looks around* I think Vegita is.

Vegita: Shut ~up~, Kakaroto.

Ukyou:  *peers closely at the irate man* Ummm... No, I think you’re worse off.

Goku: No, not at all.  Vegita definitely got the most beat up.

Vegita: *veins pop out on his head* Kakaroto, I warn you...

Ukyou: *sighs, knowing she’s defeated* Right.  *takes out a bandage from the 
large kit beside her and approaches Vegita* I’ll take care of the broken leg 
first.

Vegita:  *looks as if he’s about to argue, but then thinks better of it* Just 
be quick, woman.  *looks away*

Ukyou: *quickly splints and wraps the leg, to Vegita’s great pain* Almost done.

Goku: Didn’t Trunks give you any senzu beans?

Ukyou:  *pretending not to hear the hiss of pain from Vegita as she ties off the 
bandage* No, he said you were out.

Goku: Oh.  *Ukyou finishes with the leg, and then starts on Vegita’s left arm.  
Apparently, it is much worse.*

Vegita: Don’t you know how to be gentle, woman?!?!  I could do a better job 
than that!

Ukyou: My name’s not woman.  And if you don’t stop complaining, then I’ll let 
you do a better job than me- on your own.

Vegita: *shuts up*

Trunks: *over the pendant* Well, what did you expect, ‘tousan? 

Vegita: *warningly* Trunks...

Trunks: *shuts up*  

Ukyou: *looks at Goten* Would you hand me a pair of scissors? *he does* 
Thanks. *Ukyou finishes treating Vegita [to a serenade of alternating icy 
silence and burning obscenities].  She then moves on to Goku, and treats 
each Saiyajin in turn, in the tiny room*

*Akane and Treble’s fight*

*Energy traces Treble’s arms from his shoulder to his fingers.  His arms seem to 
glow, and his eyes shine eerily golden in reflection.  The energy 
transverses to his fingertips.  When it seems to have all collected there, he 
rips his hands apart, flinging the glowing sphere at Akane.  She gasps in 
fright, then forces herself not to panic as the ball nears her.  She draws 
upon the attack most natural to her to counter the destruction ball*

Akane:  CHOUKYOSEI HANMAA UCHIKUDAKU!!!!^  *She takes out her mallet of 
ki and wallops the incoming attack like a baseball.  It flies away into the 
air, harmlessly exploding in space^^* 

^Super Hammer Smash

^^Well, harmlessly except for the small group of would-be invading aliens that it 
completely destroyed, not to mention all that space clutter that’s been 
piling up over the years

Treble: *staring at the petite girl, gasping from shock but quickly recovering* 
Not bad.

Akane:  *finishes panting* Thanks.  *jumps back out of the range of his punch* 
And no, you didn’t catch me off guard.

Treble: Well, one can always hope.  *suffers a tap in the leg from Akane* I 
didn’t even feel that, shrimp.  *distracted, he doesn’t see Akane start to 
twist her shoulders in a circular pattern*

Akane: Then how do you know that I did anything? *arms go out to her sides*

Treble: I sensed it.  Not that there’s much of you to sense, though.

Akane:  Really?  Well, sense this!  BAKYUUMU NO KEN-HA: SANSHUU^!!!! *her 
vacuum wave slams Treble, and she punches a blast of energy down the 
center, sending him once more tumbling away breathless* Yata.  Don’t 
believe that actually worked twice!

^Vacuum wave: Revision

Treble: *Recovering* You little brat!!! *Starts punching at her angrily, sending 
her into a flurry of dodging.*

Akane:  *sticks tongue out* Nyah-nyah! *jumps up to avoid a ferocious punch*

*Jet & Ranma’s battle*

Jet: *kicks out at Ranma-chan, who dodges in a blur of golden hair*  You’re 
faster as a girl.

Ranma-chan: Yup.  But either gender, I’m faster than you, so it doesn’t really 
matter. *viciously blocks Jet’s kick and ducks under his raised leg to throw 
him*

Jet: *catching himself*  You really think so?  *throws a roundhouse at Ranma.  
Ranma jumps backwards out of his reach and circles around Jet, getting 
back within range on the other side, while Jet spins around.  Jet just 
manages to bend over backward under Ranma’s attack, and takes 
advantage of this position to drive his foot into Ranma’s gut. Ranma flies a 
few feet off the ground, and the powers herself to stay in the air, with Jet 
at just the right level for a roundhouse kick.  She nails him in the jaw, and 
he falls back a bit before taking to the air to retaliate with a barrage of 
attacks, starting with an uppercut super-powered by his own rising body.  
Ranma-chan takes the hit, and spins a brief circle around Jet, dizzying him.  
She slams the fronts of his knees with her own, and lets his face meet her 
elbow.  Annoyed, Jet takes the advantage by blasting a ki-blast into her 
face, making her back off enough for him to recover.  Jet elbows her and 
concentrates* HANEKAERU HAPPA^!!! *A small, concentrate sphere of 
energy forms at his foot level, and he kicks it, like a soccer player scoring a 
goal*

^Ricochet blast

Ranma-chan: *Dodges the flying blast carefully.  However, it hits a building 
behind her, and bounces off.  She notices the returning blast too late to 
dodge, thanks to Jet’s physical attacks, and barely counters it as Jet flies 
out of the way.  Ranma-chan ducks into the building damaged by Jet’s 
ricocheting blast, seeing something.  Instants later, before Jet can follow 
her, a male Ranma emerges.  The two continue fighting*

*Akane & Treble’s fight*

Akane:  Outta my way!  *She bats aside a flying brick that Treble has levitated 
at her, along with a hundred or so of others.  She jumps high into the air 
to avoid the flying rubble.  Treble also flies up.  The two now face off on 
top of a large office building, abandoned and tall, right beside the 
spaceship.  Treble continues to keep Akane on her fleeting toes, lashing at 
her with not only flying rubble, but also his fists.  She feels no strain yet 
upon her endurance, but at this rate, she can only last so long.  Treble has 
plenty of energy laid away beneath the surface to last a while, for Akane 
has yet to fully power up; he therefore decides not to bother to tap into his 
reserves more so than he already has.*

Treble: *Carefully studying his opponent as she flits around, he senses 
something odd* (She holds a latent power... what is it? It seems so hot.  
Does she even realize it is there?)  *He growls, angered at this enigma.  
His anger drives him to drive Akane yet harder.  She increases her jumping 
rate; any normal observer would see a large man with a golden halo 
around him, if anyone was brave enough to approach the fight.  No one 
apparently is.  Therefore, Akane’s dodging remains a defined figure 
moving around a big, ugly man.  She ducks beneath punches powerful 
enough to shatter her if they were to land, and skims the ramming kicks 
capable of destroying whole mountain ranges at a time.  Through all this, 
Akane keeps her cool.*

*Tempo & Ryouga’s fight*

Tempo:  Hey! Pay attention!  *Ryouga’s attention has once more wandered to 
trying to figure out where he is.  Since he is still right in front of the 
spaceship, Tempo glares at him.  She kicks into his stomach to get his 
attention.  He retorts with a head-but, dizzying them both.  Tempo clears 
through the stars quickly enough to jack her ankle into his armpit, flipping 
him sideways.  He easily catches himself, and punches at her.  She 
dodges, doing her best to stay defensive.  Suddenly, all the dirt and 
debris around her rises, and she follows it to Treble’s battle with the other 
girl.  She pays for this inattention by eating what dirt remains on the 
ground when Ryouga’s foot knocks her over*

Ryouga: You were saying? *Tempo rolls to avoid a stomp to the ribs.  She blocks 
an attack aimed at her head, then an elbow at the gut.  She catches 
Ryouga’s roundhouse kick on her shin.  Ryouga levels a fist at her chest, 
but she blocks with her forearm, and ducks the follow-through.  Ryouga’s 
fist gets tangled in her hair, and she delivers a quick uppercut (lightly) to 
his chin.  He tries to yank his hand out of her locks, to her dismay*

Tempo: Yow!!! Ow!  Itaiiiiiiii!!!!^  Stop that! *She carefully untangles his arm for 
him, in an attempt to spare herself more pain.  Her bright eyes trace the 
inevitable path of this arm as it races at her, and then over her, as Ryouga 
instantly resumes the fight.*  (Boy, he’s got a one-track mind, doesn’t he?)

^Ouch!!!

Ryouga:  (She’s still not fighting back...)  *Ryouga and Tempo fight diligently on 
the ground, opposed to Ranma’s and Akane’s battles.  Tempo answers his 
punches only with blocks and the occasional replying punch.  No longer 
does she pay attention to the rising dust, which joins Treble’s battle with 
Akane as he attempts to wear her out.  He is starting to succeed, as Akane 
feels again a strain upon her endurance.  Her body starts to burn once 
more with the return of exhaustion, and a trickle of sweat traces the small 
of her back before absorption into her light battle gi.  Soon, it is joined by 
other beads of sweat.  Akane ducks flying objects as well as flying 
punches, barely missing a concrete slab the size of her body.  Treble sends 
these very awkward objects at her as accents to his slamming fist, hoping 
to distract the girl enough to land a punch.  Both know one punch will 
essentially finish her resistance.  Akane struggles to find an opportunity to 
attack.  She lays occasional blows upon her antagonist.  Treble barely 
bothers to notice.  Akane senses the bigger man’s continuing endurance, 
and her own lack thereof.  She faces her biggest challenge in realizing 
where the next attack will be, and what from: Treble, or his escort of flying 
objects?  Akane’s brow wrinkles in concentration, and she briefly wishes 
that she could just incinerate the debris.*

*At the door of the ship*

*Observing the fight, Argos sees multiple instances of trouble all about him,          
most for Tempo.  What confuses him, however, is the strange energy that 
crackles about him.  It reflects, in a way, Tempo’s own: strange, 
mysterious, robust; it lances at him from each of the strangers and Tempo, 
each different yet alike.  He was so greatly annoyed by Tempo’s 
mystery that he had built the walls of the ship to concentrate a 
person’s signature within an area, and so every blast fired within the ship 
rebounds harmlessly against the walls, and every presence inside the ship 
is deadened to a person in the next room.  Now, with these four powers 
beating upon him, a strange desire steals into him.  He puts it off; hunger 
is an instinct conquered easily enough with practice, no matter what type 
of hunger it is.  Argos has had plenty of practice.  His eyes trace his 
fighters’ battles, watching them innocently combat with the natives, 
believing it will glorify their race.*

Argos: (Fools.  They are such willing puppets, following every order I give them.  
Someday I shall finally drain them, and return to myself.  Such pathetic 
creatures....)  *The man stands in the door of the ship, watching the fight. 
He decides to go outside to get a better view, and a balcony of light forms 
where the gangway once was.  Argos steps onto it, and watches carefully.  
As he emerges from the partial shielding of the ship, his hunger increases 
tenfold.  Little does he know he himself is observed.*

*High in the air, watching the battle also, a green figure studies the monster that 
steps out of the ship.  Part of him having once been the King of the 
Demons, Piccolo understands at once the nature of this evil.  His eyes 
widen in fear and realization as he recognizes the evil this thing is capable 
of.  The great green amalgamation of Kami, Piccolo, and Nail grimaces in 
relief that neither he nor the Saiyajins have joined the fight.  Energy and 
life drainers hold far more evil within them than even Piccolo Daimao had 
ever experienced.  Only the Earthlings, with their changeling states of 
human to Saiyajin and back stand a chance against this creature.*

*Akane & Treble’s battle*

*Akane sees a motion in the corner of her eye coming from the spaceship.  Her 
vision flits to it briefly, then returns to the task on hand: dodging Treble.*  

Treble: KYODAI KOBUSHI^!!!!!!!! *A fist looms in her eyes, hurtling toward her 
face.  Her inattention to the battle leaves her in dire straights.  A fire of 
fear burns in her, untouched before.  For the first time, she looses her 
cool.  Fear seems to burst out around her*

^gigantic fist

Akane: *Reflexively, without thinking about what she’s doing, she draws back 
her arm, and summons the painlessly painful hot fear into her arm.* 
HOUOU SHOUNETSUJIGOKU!!!!!^ *She punches forward, flames outlining 
her arm and swirling around her fist.  Her hand collides with Treble’s, and 
a phoenix forms from the flames, engulfing the collision of fists.  It then 
disperses in a supernova, making the air boom with the sudden heat.  
Ranma looks up from his battle with Jet Stream; the crack of thunder and 
the sky turning red distract both boys.  Ranma feels a burst of triumph at 
the return of Akane’s powers; Jet tastes a hint of fear.  Ryouga and Tempo 
watch, both stunned, at the explosion.  They both share Ranma’s feeling of 
elation, though Tempo can not understand why she should be so happy.  
The air suddenly clears, and Akane stands alone atop the building, swaying 
a little on her feet from using a power so deeply hidden for so long.  She 
knows she put too much energy into that counter; she is now worn out.  
Akane slowly regains her head, watching all the while for Treble to return.  
He does not fail her.  Minutes later, he emerges from far away, practically 
steaming with hateful energy.  His fist is severely burned, yet he barely 
notices, so great is his anger.*

^Phoenix inferno

Treble: *The air around him radiates with angry frustration* Now you die, girl!!!

Ranma:  *still watching from far off* Akane...

Jet Stream: *Shaking off the cold grip of fear, and disliking the taste very much, 
he decides to take it out on Ranma-chan*  Pay attention to ~this~ fight!!! 
*Swings a punch at Ranma, and spirals yet higher into the air.  Ranma 
follows*

Tempo:  *shivering, despite the now-warm air* Right.

Ryouga: *Upon hearing Tempo’s words, he returns to her* Uh, yeah.  *The two 
continue their battle.  They soon become absorbed in it, their attention 
strung between the flying fists and feet.  Tempo ducks under Ryouga’s 
high kick.  Ryouga attempts to follow through with a low kick, but Tempo 
catches his foot and swings him around to throw him.  He has plenty of 
time to catch himself, and so he does.  He whips out a bandana and 
frisbees it at Tempo.  She jumps out of the way, then jumps again as his 
fist follows the flying bandana.  He pulls off seven more bandanas.  Tempo 
idly wonders how many he wears, all the while staying just a step ahead of 
Ryouga. She catches one and throws it back, reinforcing it with ki as she 
senses him doing.  The boy draws out a humongous umbrella and deflects 
the bandana.  Tempo draws a little more power into herself.  The rate of 
the fight triples with Ryouga’s addition of using hammerspace.*

*Piccolo watches the scene from high above.  Ranma and Jet Stream perform a 
ballet in the air, dancing above the others.  Akane and Treble clumsily 
clash upon the rooftops of high office buildings.  Ryouga and Tempo race 
along the ground. *

Piccolo: (I sense a balance among the young warriors.  They move together, 
flowing in their battles.  The only mar to the picture is that hulking 
ogre, who seems so out of place, and that feeling of something missing... 
Any minute now, the cracks in the pattern of the fight shall either be 
expanded or obliterated.  I just wonder which... and which would be for 
the ultimate better... It all lays on the shoulder of the girl, Akane.) 
*Piccolo’s reflections mirror the battle, for Akane’s fight with Treble is the 
only fight that seems clumsy.  The giant’s size and Akane’s petite-ness 
create an almost comic picture.  It is surely this battle that will determine 
the day*

*Akane & Treble’s battle*

Akane: Uhh- *She groans a little as she jumps back, very winded since her fiery 
regaining of her phoenix powers.  Luckily for her, her attack had 
incinerated the debris surrounding her. *  

Treble: Tired, little girl?  *he keeps her moving.  Akane’s resistance begins to 
wear down, and her vision grows fuzzy around the edges.  It clears up 
again, but too late to dodge the foot in her side.  She tumbles across the 
roof, catching multiple bruises all along her sides.  She flies through the air 
and stops as she crashes against the side of a building, then starts to fall.  
Treble flies up.  Realizing what he’s about to do, Akane crosses her arms in 
front of her stomach in an attempt to protect herself.  Treble rams his 
knee into her arms, opening her belly for attack, and kicks upward again, 
sending Akane flying back into the air.  This time, she regains enough 
control to land herself on a building.  Treble appears beside her.  His fist 
crashes into her stomach with enough power to shatter mountains.  Akane 
has only enough time to feel her cranberry juice breakfast rise up before 
she falls unconscious.  

*Above*

*Ranma fights ferociously with Jet Stream.  He hasn’t the time to spare a glance 
at Akane’s fight; he is easily matching Jet, but a moment’s inattention 
would destroy that.  He swings to block Jet’s flailing attack, and answers 
with a savage shove of his own.  Jet Stream punches at Ranma’s neck, 
and Ranma ducks, kicking Jet in the stomach.  Jet looses his breath, but 
spins out of reach before Ranma can continue the attack.  Ranma follows 
through with a punch to Jet’s shoulder, but misses as Jet moves out of the 
way.  Jet dodges his next punch also, then dives in toward Ranma with a 
punch of his own.  Ranma leans to one side, and Jet goes beyond him.  
Ranma turns, following Jet’s motion.  He slams his fist into Jet’s head as 
the other boy rises upwards with an uppercut, sending him back down.  
With Jet out of his line of sight, Ranma catches his first glimpse of Akane’s 
battle since her phoenix punch.  His eyes fill with horror as he witnesses a 
fist to her stomach.*

Ranma:  *As she coughs up something red, then collapses* A-Akane... *Anger 
clouds his vision.  He does not notice the dust swirling up from the ground, 
nor the clouds drawing inwards at his anger at the one who dared do such 
a thing to his fiance.  His mind draws one conclusion about the red trickle 
running down her otherwise serene face, the only conclusion most people 
would reach.  He feels a grief so strong that it seems tangible to Jet 
Stream, who backs away from his opponent holding so much raging 
power.  Ranma swears vengeance on the man who has, to his eyes, 
murdered Akane*

*Ryouga starts at the sudden increase of power around him.  He and Tempo 
both abandon their fight and look up to the skies, searching for the source 
of power.  His eyes behold Ranma blazing in the sky, with Jet cowering in 
the background.  Ranma stares at something upon a rooftop, but Ryouga 
can’t see Akane lying prone on the rooftop; at street level, she is blocked 
by the building.  Ryouga watches in amazement as Ranma’s energy 
increases exponentially, growing at an amazing rate.  Behind him, a watery 
dragon steams, painting the sky blue.  Ranma’s hair grows yet more 
golden, and his eyes turn completely green, as he ascends to Super Saiyajin 2.*

=.^.=.^.=.^.=.^.=.^.=.^.=.^.=.^.=.^.=.^.=.^.=.^.=.^.=

Author’s notes:

This was probably the hardest chapter to write so far, so I hope you enjoy it!  
Sorry it took so long, but like I just said... Anyway, no more “tune in next 
times”, ‘cause I don’t want to give anything away before it happens.  Well, 
I guess there’s not that much to say, then... I hope you’ve enjoyed the 
fanfic so far.  Hard to believe it’s come so far, since I first asked Tony if I 
could make a continuation... *nostalgia* Alright, alright, I’ll get going now.  
Send all C&C to Fanime_Lynn@hotmail.com and remember this: getting 
feedback makes me more inspired to write! =^]  (That also applies to 
most of the writers I know, too!!!)  Well, gotta go, so ‘Bye for now!
                                           --Fanime Lynn