The members of the elite ATAC, or the Akane Tendo Appreciation Club, were meeting again (pronounced attack!, usually with a yell for emphasis on importance and amusement for those not involved). Their last attempt at a date with Akane Tendo gone seriously wrong with bodies thrown to new distant locations (some members were still missing). Again they regrouped for a new plan which would consist of the hopefulness as any glorious new scheme could contain and the lack of creativity as they would stick with the same old plan again. Which would fail, as always, as each member decided they deserved a date with Akane more than another member and would break rank to run full throttle into an outstretched fist of the beloved goddess Tendo.

But for now, the grouped shared their experiences of the last melee. "Wow, did you see how she sent me flying up into that tree? I think she chose that one because it has the most beautiful blossoms on it," he sighed, lost in some twisted romantic daydream.

Another boy snorted, "Ha, that's nothing. When she punched me in the cheek, she left an impression of her fist," he pointed to the injury while a couple members checked it out with admiration.

"Well, I got a piece of her hair," a triumphant new member, Kouga, held up his prize with a cocky grin.

"No way!" and "Let me see that!" rang through the hall as Kouga was trampled and the hair was quickly grabbed from his tight grasp. It was handed to the revered vice-president who at one-time shared a lunch with Akane back in second grade. He took the piece between his thumb and finger to pinch the strand. Then he held it to the light before waffing it under his nose.

After a pause he announced his verdict, "This is a fake."

Several angry glares shot through Kouga who put up a defense, "N-n-no, it's real. It has to be real."

"Kouga, you may have some followers in this club but you'll never gain true power here with such acts of fraud."

"I got this from her seat!"

The VP shrugged, "That means nothing. It could have easily been dropped by her friends or another student."

Kouga opened his mouth but never was allowed for another protest as the VP whipped out a microscope and placed the hair under its light. "Look closely, see how it was cut. How neatly the edge is snipped away. This was done by a professional. Akane's hair is cut by her older sister Kasumi who does not have the training for such a trim. Her cut is more of a shear than a neatly broken strand of hair."

"Ahhhhhh..." everyone nodded their head in agreement with the ultimate wisdom of the VP as they pushed to see the evidence for themselves.

With his discreditation complete, Kouga slunk back to the corner of the room as the other members ignored him. Kouga gritted his teeth as the VP gave him a smug look. [He's thinks he's so good. Finding loop holes in every piece of treasure I bring.] He watched the VP's godlike smile as the other members hung to every word he said even before he started retelling the same old story of a lunch with Akane Tendo. The VP seemed pleased that his followers were worshipping him appropriately.

[Damn him. Someday, someday Gohei. I'll have your power and we'll see how you like to be alone in the corner.] He felt laughter bubble up in him that wanted to escape as deranged screams of happiness as thoughts of a disgraced Gohei passed through his mind. However, he noticed other fellow classmates tended to get nervous when he laughed that way, especially when he's not talking to anybody but himself, so he quickly stifled it.

Disgusted at the thought of having to hear once again how Gohei briefly touched Akane's hand when she passed him a straw, Kouga drew further back in the room only to catch sight of someone working at a desk. Kouga smirked and immediately stalked to the boy intending to vent some of his frustration out on him by removing him from the room. Preferably by force. "Hey, this is a members only club, boy. Pack up your stuff and get out!"

"I'm a member," the boy said softly not stopping his work.

Kouga looked him up and down taking note of the small frame size and lack of muscles. "Yeah, right. Only students who are able to FIGHT for the love of Akane Tendo can be a member. You don't look like you could bench press ten pounds."

"Really?" again the answer was barely heard as the boy turned around to pick up a few tools and worked again at the strange contraption on the desk.

"Uh, yeah..." Kouga was used to having people's full focus or none at all. Especially when he's trying to insult them. Having only half of the boy's attention was confusing at first but then Kouga decided that it was REALLY annoying and he'd just have to teach this little twerp the meaning of respect. Yeah, that's it. "So you better get outta here now or I'm gonna kick your ass."

The boy now had his back to Kouga and stopped moving about once the threat was given. Kouga was about to pat himself on the back for scaring the hell out of the geek when the boy turned around and yelled, "IT'S FINISHED!!"

Kouga was thrown back five feet after getting hit from the arms which swung wildly upwards with the proclamation. [Guess the little twerp's got some muscle after all.] Gohei stopped his story for a second to glare at the boy for interrupting but then continued on as he noticed audience was still held in rapture. The boy was oblivious to all that as he quickly began to explain to the nearest person WHAT exactly he had done, at a pace that would put a tinker gnome on a caffeine high to shame (***for those D&D fans, you know what I mean***) This unfortunate soul happened to be Kouga. "This is a High-Quality-External-Automatic-Focus- Battery-Powered-Single-Lense-Multiple-Flash-Setting-Single-Exposure- Adjustable-Zoom-Varied-Speed-Three-Dimensional-Picture-Taker, or as I hope to patent, the HQEAFBPSLMFSSEAZVSTDPT! Iwasgoingtotrytohaveittakemultiple picturesbutIcouldn'tgetthe HQEAFBPSLMFSSEAZVSTDPTtodomuchafterthefirst explosionespeciallyafterallthepowerthatwentintotheflashthatwasquietsuprising itnearlyremovedhalfmyhousetoanewlocationsoIhaditbolteddownagainandthecat willneverhavehairgrowthesamewayagain..."

Kouga saw the inventor take a breath and decided now would be a good time to ask a question before he started up again. "It's a camera?"

"Ohnoit'smuchmorethanacamerawithitscapacityto..."

Kouga grabbed the boy by the collar. "Look. I'm a simple guy. I like simple answers at normal talking speeds. Got that?"

"Yes," croaked out the boy.

"Name?" Kouga asked more for curiosity than courtesy.

"Makoto," replied the still intimidated inventor.

"Hmm, so, Makoto, this thing here is a camera?" Kouga picked up the heavy piece of equipment which creaked slightly in protest at the movement.

Makoto eyes fearfully watched every motion and touch Kouga placed on his engineered child, praying it would return with no damage unlike some of his other inventions in the much larger hands of his smaller brained classmates. "Yes."

"So what's so special about it?"

Makoto was never used to people asking him questions before. Usually halfway through his name introduction they walked away. Maybe this time he came up with a crowd pleasing name. "Unlike the conventional camera which can only take two dimensional pictures my HQ.." the fist in Makoto's collar curled a little tighter and he wisely decided to keep it short and straight, "uh, my camera takes three dimensional pictures."

"3-D, huh?" Kouga set the camera back down none too gently along with Makoto, giving Makoto's heart a leap as he quickly examined his invention for damage.

Kouga was disappointed. He had hoped it was something special. Something that would retrieve a part of Akane Tendo that no one else had. Like her book bag or her shoe. That would give him status beyond Gohei and then he could make him suffer. Oh, yes would he make Gohei suffer. Kouga wasn't sure how but he'd figure something out.

With his excitement of beating up the geek gone, Kouga's eyes traveled for the next entertainment. They came to rest on the hall case holding every precious collectible the club had managed to find over the years. Well, more like what they stole or what the feared Nabiki sold to them. There was an old sweatband from P.E. class, a scrap of paper with part of her signature, many pictures and the most valuable item...a glass that once held liquid for the lips of the vibrant goddess they worshipped.

Kouga looked more closely at the pictures framed in the back. Most were barely recognizable at best. A foot or fist was usually blocking most of the view but if one looked hard enough a bit of blue-blackish hair could be seen. One even caught part of a scowl before a heel cut off the rest of the picture as a well placed kick was about to ask the photographer to reconsider his focus.

It was at this point the gears in the mind of Kouga stared to smoke, slip and grind. [3-D camera. 3-D camera. 3-D...] An audible *bing!* sounded off in Kouga's head as the gears came to a crashing halt and another great plan was born.

If only he could stop his maniacal laughter, he would tell the others.

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"Kouga, are you sure about this? I mean, we've never done this before. Isn't this breaking of the sacred code of ATAC?" whispered a boy.

Kouga pushed the brush aside to answer. "My friend. That's what has held us back. This is a war of love and to win we must strike when she leasts expects it."

The boy blinked a couple of times thinking maybe he was talking to Kuno instead of Kouga but then, Kuno would never be so underhanded. He was simply too stupid to come up with a plan.

Kouga shrugged, "Besides, women love surprises." The boy nodded his head doubtfully before the now released branches backhanded him across the face like punishment for questioning their leader.

"Makoto! Where are you?" Kouga turned to find the gangly little runt huddling over his precious equipment. "You all set?"

"No, I need to set up the HQEAFBP...," Kouga's eyes darkened briefly in impatience, "ah, the camera. I told you it takes five minutes for it to warm up once it's on the stand. Plus it's never been tested, I don't know..."

"Well, that's what we're here for. We'll try and get a date, however, if for some strange reason she refuses our requests, we'll get a good picture of her which I can...I mean, which WE can add to the collection. Just make sure you set that thing up fast."

"Ah, excuse me, sir," one of Kouga's braver lackeys spoke up. The rest remained wide-eyed since this was the first time they had heard of the plan and what business they had hiding in the bushes shortly outside of the school. "but, ah...our longest dating competition is about four minutes...and that's with the whole gang. What if Ranma is with her?"

"So what if Ranma is with her? He usually stands back and watches anyways." Kouga could still see doubt in their eyes. "Look, we're trying to get a picture of the goddess in her best form. Her magnificence shines most brightly when she fights, is this not true?"

Branches and leafs found new residence in Kouga's hair as he quickly stood to finish his empowering speech. "Do her cheeks not flush? Does her skin not glow? Do her eyes not burn? Do her fists not hurt?"

The some boys were able to nod their heads while others glazed off into a remembered picture of her glorious fury.

"Capture the splendor of the phoenix in an angel and fight beside me!" The boys gave a shout and began to chant Kouga's name. Kouga stood smugly basking in the warmth of his power. That's when he caught a sliver of a blue uniform coming around the corner.

Kouga gave the warning signal. "Shut up and hide!" The shrubs rustled as twenty boys tried to hide in three small bushes.

Akane came humming around the corner. [This is promising. No Ranma.] Kouga thought. Akane then stopped short of their hiding spot. "What are you idiots doing?" she asked with exasperation.

Kouga stepped out of hiding while pushing Makoto to move to his spot to make his preparations. He decided to use his smooth talking to charm Akane over to his side. A move not made by any member except Kuno thus far. "Ah, well we're just...well, we're just sitting around and, ah...and doing things which involve...um, sitting. Here. Under the bushes."

Akane blinked at first trying to figure out how Kouga got so many leaves in his hair and why they were there. Then she blinked again trying to translate what Kouga was saying since it didn't answer her question and he had this cocky 'I'm soooo good' grin on his face. However, her confusion was quickly resolved by one of the more excited members who cried, "GET HER!"

Kouga cursed under his breath as twenty members raced to fight for the hand of Akane Tendo. He had hope that his brillant social skills would work so that no fight was needed. He did have a handsome face to protect after all. But free good help was hard to find.

He tried to charge the girl, rushing along with his gang, screaming words of love and askance. But even before the first boy could reach her Akane had thrown her book bag into the two attackers behind her and was uppercutting a third into a tree. It hadn't been three seconds.

"Makoto, hurry!" cried Kouga as he felt a kick send him flying back. The shout brought the full attention of Akane to focus as she glared at Makoto and the machine he had in his hands.

Akane leaped over the downed boy using his back for a boost getting closer to Makoto. Makoto never had a girl look at him like that before. Heck, he never had a girl look at him period. He was too absorbed into his inventions. But here was the fiery goddess, staring him down, screaming cries of rage as she bashed one attacker over the head and elbowed another behind her. He never even imagined what it would feel like to have an angry woman aiming her emotions directly at him. It justly scared the hell out of him.

Makoto heard the whine of the camera as it began to power up, never taking his eyes off Akane. Every second she was a step closer to Makoto with angry determination in her eyes. His legs and mind were screaming to run but he was too caught up in his own fear to move. Bodies were beginning to be thrown near his vicinity, like she was trying to hit him with one of his fellow classmates. He was oblivious to that too, as he turned knobs and pushed buttons ignoring whatever labels he had meticulously placed on his machine. The high pitch whine suddenly grew much louder and Makoto stared with his dry mouth slightly open at the girl twenty feet from him.

"I said NO! Why don't you LEAVE!" *PUNCH*

"ME!" *KICK*

"ALONE!" *SLAM*

Three only slightly injured boys with sporting equipment raced to contain her but Akane would have none of it. Using the baseball bat as a jumping board, she back-kicked the boy holding it, then with the momentum from her jump, she landed on the shoulders of the two boys in front, slamming them to the ground. However, before their faces hit the pavement Akane leaped off their descending bodies to make a grab for Makoto and the strange contraption which was most likely a trap.

Makoto sucked in a breath as he saw Akane arc towards him. He stared as she seem to float momentary in the air then began a rapid dropped aimed for him. In his panicked state, his fingers managed to save him by slowly depressing the red button. A second later all was white and he couldn't hear his own scream.

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Outside the gate all was quiet. Ranma was now two hours late getting home and in a bad mood. "Stupid Kuno," Ranma grumbled under his breath. The upperclassman caught him on the way out of school, shoving his bokken stick in Ranma's general direction proclaiming he was a foul evil sorcerer and demanding another fight to win the love of Akane and the pig-tailed goddess. Well, at least that's what Ranma assumed. It was usually what Kuno was babbling about. Luckily, a head bandage covering a fist impact wound made by Akane's morning free for all fight muffled most of the speech. Ranma was surprised Kuno was able to stand. Of course, this only proved Ranma's theory of the hardness of Kuno's brain.

The fight, if one could call it that, was over quickly. And as Ranma's luck would have it, a misplaced bokken strike to a nearby fire hydrant sent a cold spray of water over Ranma's body as he knocked Kuno out. Not willing to stay cold and wet all the way home, he ran to the gym for a quick shower and a change of clothes. Unfortunately, things were never that simple for him and he had to fight Shampoo briefly to get her to leave him alone. Which was difficult since she was all soaped up.

He shuddered, though from what he didn't quite know. After Ranma slid on a bar of soap and crashed into the tiled wall rendering him barely coherent, she said something to him of which he replied "uh" to. It was about the only thing he could say until the bright spots dancing in his eyes went away. In any case, it must have been a good answer because she happily clapped her hands together, threw on clothes that came from no where and bounded out of the showers saying something about tonight.

He sighed rubbing a spot on his head. If Shampoo was happy at his response it was bad for him, and a problem just delayed for later tonight for which he was going to get malleted for sure. Ah, well it got rid of her for now and that's all that ma...

The normal sunny sidewalk changed dramatically as Ranma rounded the corner. Bushes were blown flat and scorched until only a few crisp leaves remained. Dark ash lines on the wall, almost like claw scratchings, marked the wall. Some of those marks were broken as if something had rested there during its making. Spider web cracks blotted the brick fence and the sidewalk caused by something, or someone, hitting the brick and cement hard and heavy. Even a nearby tree had lost some of its branches, a few of the larger ones poked up over the ditch to the left. The tree's normally brown bark, blacken except for an outline in the near the roots which looked untouched by whatever had happened. Bits of debris were everywhere. The marks and the crushed bushes all aimed like an arrow to a dark splattering of a half circle. It resembled the aftermath of a Happo Daikarin.

[Whoa...Whatever had happened here was big.] He scratched his head as he commented aloud to himself. "Geez, how didn't I get involved with this?" However, even as he said it, he knew. It didn't matter what it was, who it was, or if anybody cared. If it was strange and/or something dangerous, Ranma Saotome was involved.

Ranma kneeled down to the half circle, tracing an outline with his finger. [It looks like an explosion went off right here.] However, he hadn't heard anything. No pack of gawking people lined to see what calamity had struck Furiken High once more. No excited whispers from the clubs finishing up their day as he had left. No Nabiki with that 'I know something you don't and you'll pay for it to know' smile as she left for home after Ranma's fight. How could so many people not hear something so destructive as this?

The wind wrapped around him as he stared at the markings. A small jingle of metal, like a miniature wind chime, played to the breeze behind him in the remains of the chaos. Turning on his heel, Ranma's eyes caught a strange lump sitting under the bushes. It was a bag. Or at least that's what he thought it was but it now contained several holes from burn marks and ashed over like most of the area. As he lifted it from the ground he heard the small tinkle of a bell that made the hairs on his neck raise. Turning the bag around he could make out a small melted black mess. The bell had remained intact but the plastic had run into a drop of barely distinguishable features. However, it was enough for Ranma to recognize the running black with yellow mixed in at the top. P-chan. It was the P-chan charm that Ryouga gave to Akane. Akane. AKANE!!

"AKANE!" Ranma yelled. Where was she? Was she here when this blasted went off? Is she...no, he would not think about that. Ranma's heart pumped loud and strong making his teeth ache. His body tense for a fight with breathes coming in short quick gasps.

"Akane!" he shouted again looking for some clue as to where she was. Nothing more in the bushes, nothing in his sight...he needed a better view of the surroundings. Ranma quickly stepped up to the burnt tree and looked at the damage. There was a sizeable crack mark on it but after a test kick it seemed stable enough. It was good enough proof for Ranma and he began to climb the tree. He hadn't gotten to the first branch when it began to creak and jerk towards the extra weight of Ranma who swore under his breath. Before making a leap down to stop himself from being crushed, Ranma spotted a blue piece of fabric waving over the side of the ditch. Jumping down, he ran towards that one small signal, ignoring the crash of the tree which almost clipped him and came to a complete stop at the edge of the ditch. His breath stopped and his ears could only hear the pounding of his heart as his mind dizzily whooshed through the scene giving a surreal feeling to the picture before him.

The ditch was no more than five feet deep with a gentle slope into the creek below. As with a lot of places in Nerima it was fairly clean with but a few gum wrappers and other papers that had made its way there. Grass grew and was well cared for by the grounds keeper. It was a healthy thick green, pillowing the body now laying on it. The blue swirl of a school uniform rippled with a passing wind, giving an artificial sign of life to the stillness. From where he stood Ranma could make out dark smudges intermixed with red angry rashes and blisters on bare skin. The uniform itself was torn and burnt through around the edges. The dark blue of her hair copied the movements of the uniform as it danced. She looked peaceful, quiet, and so unlike Akane with her eyes closed and her arms spread wide like she was accepting an embrace.

"Akane?" Ranma whispered afraid he might wake her from such a serene state and more afraid that she might not.

Stumbling down to her, Ranma dropped to the ground and gently picked her up, not bothering to check for signs of life. She was strong and so she was alive. He would not accept an alternative. With all his training focused in running, Ranma tore down the streets of Nerima to the first place his mind could think of for help.

He slammed open the door with an elbow. "Dr. Tofu!"

Dr. Tofu jumped from his seat as a pale Ranma cradled Akane in his arms. "Ranma, what?"

"Please, Dr. Tofu. Help her." Ranma lifted Akane as if to hand her over. His whole body was trembling and drew shaky breaths that had nothing to do with his recent run.

"Set her down here," Tofu pointed to the patient bed. Quickly he began to check vitals and examine the red rashes on her arms. "What happened?"

Ranma clenched a fist, "I don't know. It looks like it was an explosion." As Tofu continued his examination, Ranma stared at Akane's face willing her to wake up and bash him over the head for being a pervert for touching her.

"Well, she seems to be OK with the exception of some burns and maybe a minor concussion. Her chi is a little strange too. Though I can't place what is wrong, it doesn't seem serious." Ranma released a heavy breath of relief. "Keep watch over her, I'm going to get some salve for those burns. If she wakes up, don't let her fall back asleep, OK?"

Ranma merely nodded, still gazing at Akane's face. [She's OK.] He told himself. Repeating the phrase over and over so that his mind would accept it. If she was yelling at him for being an idiot, he would have believed it. But she was so still.

"So you're going to be alright. Huh, I knew you were as strong as a gorilla or an ox or..." the insults trailed off as Akane's face remained in the same peaceful expression.

"Come on, Akane, you stupid tomboy. It's no fun to insult ya if you can't hear me. Wake up." He poked her arm gently, trying to invoke a respond. "Come on. Open your eyes." When nothing happened, his hand wavered for a moment then slowly curled around her fingers. "Please."

Akane drew in a slow deep breath; her head stirred to the side and Ranma quickly let go of her hand. "Akane?" he asked hesitantly.

"Mmmm." Akane groaned putting her hand over her closed eyes a giving a slight squeeze. "Ranma?"

"Yeah," Ranma couldn't help but smile, happy to see her awake and not under some amnesia shampoo potion.

"What happened?" her voice croaked slightly like she had a bad cold but it was strong.

Ranma frowned. [Maybe she is under an amnesia shampoo potion.] "I don't know, Akane. You tell me."

With her hand still over her eyes, rubbing her temples, she tried to piece together the last moments she could remember. "I was walking home and was attacked. A...a machine or something. I don't know what it was but...There was light. Lots of it and no sound. That's all I really remember."

Anger fired strong in the pit of Ranma's stomach as fingernails left an impression in his palm, almost drawing blood. Someone was going to pay. Instead he pushed that thought aside, he would have tomorrow to hunt down the guilty. He had other things to worry about now. Like Soun's demon head for instance. "Well, it's a good thing you have that tomboy endurance."

"What did you say Ranma?" the usual irritation seemingly clearing away all weakness and injury.

Ranma smiled as he watched the strong tomboy make a quick recovery, leaning forward a little so she would have easy access to mallet him. "Uh, that you possess the endurance of an ox?" If nothing else, at least it would make HIM feel better.

Akane growled, sitting up quickly. "Ranma! You...." She sat staring at the wall at the end of the bed, blinking. Ranma glanced to wall to see what was so fascinating that it would stop Akane in mid-tirade but it was just a wall. Not even one of those informative yet boring medical posters filled the space. Looking back to Akane, she rubbed her eyes and blinked again at the wall, scrunching her brows as if to center in on some small speck that only she could see. But her pupils were so wide and unfocused, it seemed like she...that she couldn't...

"Ranma?" He felt his heart beat trip for a second at the strange tone in her voice. It was something he had heard maybe once or twice before and he hated it. "Why are the lights all off?"

"They're not off..." He meant to add another jab, something off hand like 'dumb tomboy' or the like but it just wouldn't roll off his tongue which stuck to the roof of his mouth. It was probably held down by the heavy weight in his stomach which said something was very wrong. If Dr. Tofu would just hurry up and come back, he'd fix everything.

Akane's head dropped sharply, her chin almost on her chest as her shaking hands rose to an inch from her face. Ranma wished that heavy weight in his stomach would go away. Akane's fine, right? Dr. Tofu said so. But the look on Akane's face....her eyes were so distant. "Akane?"

Her head snapped up at the name and as Akane closed her hands letting them drop slowly, she turned to Ranma with blank dark eyes. "I...I can't see."