Disclaimer: Okay, I’m sure you know what this’ll say by now... I didn’t 
create these people I’m using, nor any of the settings, blah 
blah, everything belongs to those peoples who did, blah blah, 
etc etc...

Ranma 1/2 Z Neo: Part 15

(...) thoughts
*...* anything not spoken or thought
^... translations/ notes from the author

Things Revealed
=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=

*A dark streak, dressed in white, slams into Ranma.  The elbow in 
Ranma’s side stops Argos, transferring all momentum to Ranma, 
who is flung away.  The boy hits the rooftop holding Akane, 
Ukyou, and Jet, whether by accident or design, rolling to a stop 
just a couple of feet from Akane. Surprised by the unexpected 
attack, Ranma took the full force of the blow, and so lays 
stunned - just as Akane’s eyes flicker open again.*

Akane:  *seeing Ranma* R-Ranma....  *sitting up onto her elbows* 
Ranma? *Ukyou sits beside her, equally surprised*

Ukyou: Ranma-honey...

Akane: *shouts* RANMA!!!! *Ranma doesn’t move, trying to figure 
out what just happened.  Akane mistakes his lack of motion for 
something worse.  She panics - and the energy Ukyou gave her 
puts itself to use by multiplying.*  

Ukyou:  A-Akane?  *Her eyes widen as Akane goes into a full fit of 
panic power-up, her hair dancing from the blue-black of 
normalcy to the light gold of Super Saiyajin - and darkening by 
the second as Akane’s emotions take over her.  Her eyes go 
from brown to blue-green, also changing by the second.  Where 
as Ranma’s anger controlled his upsurge, giving control as well 
as strength, Akane absorbs power, but has no control.  High up 
in the sky, a certain man makes comparisons with his past*

Vegita:  No... She’s doing it all wrong!  She won’t complete the 
transformation!

Goku:  *nods*  Just like we did the first time. If she doesn’t get 
control, she’ll never get it right.

Gohan: Well, we were just lucky the other guy, ... Ranma?, made a 
good transformation.  We can’t ask for two perfect ones.

Vegita: Shut up, boy.  How would ~you~ even know?

Gohan: ...

*on the rooftop*

Ranma:  *getting his breath back and snapping out of it* Ite^.  Huh?  
*looks up and sees Akane going berserk*  Akane! You’re okay!!! 
(And going crazy!!!)  *Tries to figure out how to calm her, 
hardly acknowledging his own shock and relief that she’s okay*

^Ow

Akane:  *sees Ranma*  Ra-Ranma? *Calms down, and descends back 
to normal Super Saiyajin*  Ranma-!

Ranma: *gently teasing* Can’t you say anything else, you silly 
tomboy? 

Akane:  *Glomps him*  BAKA!!! Ranma no baka.^

^Idiot!!!  Ranma, you’re an idiot. 

Ranma: Urk!  (I had to ask...) C-can’t breathe... *Akane releases 
him*

Akane:  *~looks~ at Ranma*  You’re different!

Ranma:  Huh?  Oh yeah.  *remembers he’s still in SSJ2*  Ummm.... 
*Blushes, looking down* I thought you were dead...

Akane:  (Is that a tear? Is he... crying?) ...

*Hovering above them, his black cape rippling dramatically*

Argos: *sarcastically* What a touching reunion. Such a pity you 
weren’t both dead.  Now I’ll have to do that.  *Tosses off his 
cape, revealing to a fuller degree the two dragons twining 
around his shirt.  A sword hilt, formerly hidden by the cape, 
pokes out over his shoulder.  He makes no move to draw it, as 
if he does not even remember its presence*

Akane: *stands up, her aura glowing.  Ranma also stands up, being 
careful not to let his own aura out of control, knowing it would 
knock Akane away, but also knowing that Akane does not have 
the power to defeat this mystery attacker.* You’re the one who 
will pay for that.

Ranma:  *taking Akane’s hand, whispers to her* You need to power 
up. But not like before.

Akane: *whispers back, still glaring at Argos* How, then?

Ranma: *thinks for a moment*  Relax.

Akane:  *tries to do so*  That’s easier said than done with that guy 
staring down at us.  He’s not going to - 

Argos: *Randomly starts taking potshots at the group, blasting away* 
Just so you know, I’m getting bored of waiting.

Akane: *dodging, has to yell to Ranma* - wait any longer.

Ranma: *also dodging*  Yeah, I just noticed.  (Grrrr.... I can’t let 
Akane fight him.  Not like this.  She’ll get killed.) 

Argos:  (Now how shall I go about this?  Perhaps a few minutes of fun 
before I eat...)  *His gaze flickers to where Ryouga and 
Tempo battle, and a small corner of tongue flickers out as 
he licks his lips in anticipation.*

*Argos slaps away Ranma’s fist, grinning cruelly.  He almost casually 
jabs his knee into Ranma’s side, then brings his other leg up 
and over, flipping Ranma.  Akane charges, wanting to defend 
Ranma, but does not even reach the two others before their 
auras blow her away.  She realizes that the power of the two 
combined utterly dwarfs that of a normal SSJ.  Inside the 
bubble of untouchable space caused by the fighters’ auras, 
Ranma retaliates against Argos, catching himself upside down 
and using the air like solid ground, pushing off against it with 
aura and hands and ramming his feet into Argos’s stomach.  The 
man in white barely recoils, sneering down at Ranma.  Instead, 
he grabs an ankle before Ranma realizes what has happened, 
and starts swinging Ranma in a circle.  Ranma draws on his 
power of ki, stopping the spin and pulling himself out of danger.  
Argos, surprised by this tactic, does not block in time to avoid 
the uppercut Ranma lands on his chin.  Whereas seconds before 
Argos was a clear winner, the tides turn and Ranma starts to 
dominate.  Argos bashes Ranma with a head butt, but Ranma 
ducks, and Argos flips over his shoulder instead.  Ranma chops 
the tumbling man in an overhead sweep.  Argos catches himself 
behind and a little below Ranma, and blasts back in with a silent 
ki attack.  Ranma, not hearing the typical yell that usually 
accompanies ki attacks, is not prepared to take the blow.  He 
recoils, being tossed through the air as well.*

Ranma: Yah!  That was a dirty trick!

Argos:  *grins evilly*  So?  Didn’t your teacher ever tell you to expect 
the unexpected?

Ranma:  *growls in response*  (This guy reminds a little too much of 
Pops...)  *has an idea*  Look! *points to the ground*  A 
thousand yen piece!!! 

Argos:  ... So?  What’s your point?  

Ranma: D’oh!  (Well, that would’ve worked on the ol’ Panda.)  Never 
mind.  

Argos:  Alright.  *Attacks again as if nothing happened, briefly 
surprising Ranma into taking a hit before he starts fighting again*

*on the ground*

Tempo: Hey, watch it!  *Ryouga slams her with a punch.  She can 
barely concentrate, feeling Argos’s energy above her.  Her body 
feels like it’s on the verge of explosion with the powers 
shimmering in the air above her.  Fear steals through her.  She 
wonders how much longer Argos will fight the boy before he 
comes to do... something to her.  Only Ryouga’s continually 
slamming fists keep her from being driven to distraction by her 
own fear.  Still, she gets phenomenally beat up, unable to 
concentrate on the battle.*

Ryouga:  (If I wasn’t pulling my punches, she’d be dead or something 
by now.  What’s her problem?)  *Seeing his opponent’s 
weakness, he avoids seriously hurting her.  Finally, he just 
drops his fists, folding his arms and watching her.  She stands 
and shakes, her midnight black hair flying about her as if stirred 
by an invisible wind.  She shivers as if her red bodysuit and 
black vest don’t keep her warm enough, though before she had 
no problem.  Suddenly, a gust of wind sweeps the road, blowing 
every moveable object on the street past the two, then circling 
back around and encasing Ryouga and Tempo in an oval ring of 
wind.  Ryouga’s eye twitches, and he backs away from the wall 
toward Tempo.*  N-nani?!?!?!^

^W-what?

Tempo:  *With her eyes closed, she steps backward until she leans 
against the wind, which supports her as if it were a solid wall.  
Her voice starts deep and quiet, but raises to a rolling scream*  
Sleeping... winds... AWAKE!!!!  *The wall which surrounds the 
pair explodes up, meeting in a dome above them.  Ryouga 
ducks instinctively, but for no actual need... in the center of this 
windstorm, all is almost eerily calm.  Outside the dome, where 
the walls raised to meet each other, a point forms and lances 
skyward.  It streaks past Akane, who beats helplessly outside 
the power of Ranma and Argos, then blasts through the auras 
and slams between the two fighters, knocking Ranma painfully 
aside and striking Argos with the blunt of it.  The winds 
disappear from the top down, until once again Ryouga and 
Tempo face each other in a small ring of wind.  The final walls 
of air disappear, and Tempo drops to her knees, exhausted, but 
no longer shivering. Ryouga stands stunned in the middle of the 
former oval.*

*in the air* 

Ranma: *shaking his head to clear it* What was that?  

Argos:  *still reeling from the attack, but can sense exactly where it 
came from.  His voice sounds a little strained.* Obviously, bad 
aim. *He narrows his eyes and glares downward at the girl who 
rests on her knees on the ground.  The human boy stands near 
her, looking confused and ... well, confused.  Argos’s senses 
tremble at the release of this strange energy, especially on 
himself.  His eyes start to dilate and his pupils elongate, but 
before he can get out of control, he stops himself.  His dark 
silver hair shifts around his face angrily, agitated by the 
remaining breeze.  Suddenly, Argos stands up to his full height, 
deciding not to play any longer.  His eyes fall on the still 
recovering Tempo, and he lets his hunger take over.*  Treble, 
come with me.

Treble:  *eyes widening with what could only be seen as sadistic 
pleasure* Yes, Argos!  *zooms to his master’s heels and follows 
 as Argos lands upon the street*

Argos: You know what to do, Treble.  *Treble grins and nods, forming 
a ball of ki at his fist.*

Treble:  KYODAI KOBUSHI!^  *He punches forward at Tempo.  
However, at the last second Argos intercepts, grabbing his fist.  
From the look in Treble’s eyes, this is ~not~ how everything 
is supposed to go*  Argos?  M-m-master???

^gigantic fist

Argos:  *an evil glint overtakes his eye, and the ki which Treble has 
summoned flares up, revealing all of his ki in its reddish 
coloring.  Argos’s own aura becomes evident, a slimy black of 
things left too long in the refrigerator, oozing with the feeling 
of rot and decay.*  Do you really think that you were anything 
more than the other two?

Treble:  *pitifully*  B-but you need me, master!  You need me to 
draw the power!  To drain the girl and the boy!

Argos: You obviously have self-deluded yourself.  Can’t you see that 
I am completely capable of draining them - and you - myself?  
*His had crushes Treble’s with a sudden force, and his aura 
seems to overcome Treble’s, absorbing it.  Treble screams as he 
feels his ki being stolen from him, but his screams fade feebly 
away as the monster called Argos feeds.  Finally, Argos finishes 
his terrible task that Treble had thought meant for Tempo, and 
releases the giant.  A thud sounds as Treble’s inert form hits the 
ground.  In the background, a scared and worried Akane hovers, 
unable to approach the titanic power of Ranma, who spreads his 
aura to keep her away and therefore protect her.  Argos looks 
up at the hovering Ranma, scorn written all over his 
face.*  Prepared to die, boy?

*on a neighboring rooftop, where he and Ukyou fled from Argos’s 
attacks*  

*Jet Stream looks on in horror as Argos drains Treble.  However, more 
evident in his eyes and heart is his sister, Tempo, curled around 
herself on the ground, hovering between consciousness and lack 
thereof.  As Argos leaves the ground to face off with Ranma, Jet 
dashes down to the ground, and picks up Tempo, carrying her 
back to the rooftop.  She goes limp in his arms halfway up.  He 
lays her gently down upon the roof.  Forgotten on the street, 
Ryouga tries to figure out everything that just happened.*

 Jet:  Tempo!  Tempo, wake up!!!  I’m sorry!!! Just please, wake up!!!  
*Ukyou watches as Jet starts to panic, her attention caught by 
the monster that glares up at Ranma, her gaze dodging between 
the two.  Finally, touched by the caring Jet shows his sister, and 
knowing she can’t do anything about Argos, who drifts upward 
to meet Ranma, she walks over to Jet and kneels down.*

Ukyou: (Poor guy... he cares so much. And I don’t think he even knew 
about that thing.)  Let me look at her.  *Jet looks at her, his 
eyes wide and slightly suspicious.  Ukyou just ~looks~ at him in 
that way that only a woman can master, and he nods uncertainly 
and stands up.*

Jet: So what’s wrong with her?

Ukyou:  *rolls her eyes* I don’t know yet, I have to look first.  
*checks over Tempo* Pulse is strong... she’s breathing, 
but her breathing is a bit labored... lots of bruises, but 
that’s all from Ryouga I’d bet... *mutters to herself as she makes her diagnosis* 

*in the air*

Piccolo:  *Now that he’s seen this thing in action, he understands 
what it is fully.  He watches closely at what unfolds.  Beside 
him, the Saiyajins stir anxiously*

Vegita:  Kuso!  What was that?!?!

Goku:  *growls*  I don’t like it.

Piccolo:  Shut up, you two.  There’s nothing that any of us can do 
about it.

Gohan:  Piccolo-san... do you know what this thing ~is~?

Piccolo:  Yes, Gohan.  It’s a thing so full of evil that only the purest 
of life can destroy... it would take the full force of five elements 
tapped by five people to get rid of this thing.

Vegita:  Great!  So we need a bunch of druids to save or something!

Piccolo: ... Not quite.  *looks at the young earthling warriors who he 
has had the pleasure of watching train*  (I can’t afford to 
hope... but there’s nothing else left.)

*On the rooftop*

Jet:  Is she all right?   *crowding Ukyou*

Ukyou: Wouldja give me some room, already?!?  *Jet blushes and 
leans back at the rebuke*  She’s okay, just... um...

Jet:  What?

Ukyou:  Ummm... I’m not entirely sure what’s wrong.  I think she’s 
just unconscious, but I can’t tell.  *suddenly occurs to her* Hey, 
don’t you have a doctor you can call?

Jet:  *remembers Syme on the ship*  Oh yeah... *brings his arm up 
to his chin, pulling back the edge of his white glove to reveal a 
wristband identical to his sister’s.  He speaks into it*  Syme!!! 
Syme!!!  

voice over watch:  Yes, Jet?

Jet: Syme, something’s wrong with Tempo!!! She’s... I don’t know...

Syme over watch:  I’ll be right out.

*on the ship*

*Syme gathers up a bag of supplies, and races to the same exit he 
guided the lost escapees through earlier, also the nearest exit.  
The minute he steps outside of the ship, he feels something 
assault him.  Only the automatic light extension keeps him from 
falling like a dropped stone to the ground below as he stumbles 
and has to lean against the doorframe.  He shudders at the 
energy he feels.  However, Jet’s urgent cries to hurry over his 
com-watch^ encourages him to take off again the instant he can 
stand it.  He flies low to the ground, following the beacon 
indicating Tempo’s presence.*

^The wristbands they’re talking through

*in the air*

Argos:  *flexes his muscles, testing his power limits*  Hmmmm... 
Not bad, but I’ve had better.  I suppose that that slave was just 
too weak for my natural form to be revealed.

Ranma:  *descending to stare straight at the cruel evil before him* 
*scornfully* ~Nothing~ is natural about that power. *spits at 
Argos, sensing in his bones an evil far to great and disgusting to 
reasonably exist on the small and semi-peaceful planet Earth.*

Argos: *glares down the boy*  For that you shall die.

Ranma:  *raises a comical eyebrow* Weren’t you already going to kill 
me?

Argos:  *pauses, thinking back over his words* Why, yes, I was. 
*shrugs* so now I’ll just make it that much more painful.

Ranma:  Threats and promises.  Can’t you give anything more 
substantial? 

Argos:  Alright. *punches at Ranma*  (Hmmmm... this boy could be a 
problem.  Perhaps I ought to try the girl and her brother when I 
get the chance.  One of them ought to transform me...)

Ranma:  *dodging the fist*  So where’s the substantial?

Argos: *narrowing his eyes at the insulting boy*  You’ll see soon 
enough.  *summons small ball of ki and tosses it at Ranma.  
Ranma bends out of the way, and takes no more notice of the ki 
ball as it annihilates six buildings and a noticeable amount of 
ground before flying off into nothing.  Ranma raises his arms to 
ward off the next flying energy ball, and brushes it off along 
with the accompanying punch.*

*on the ground*

Ryouga:  *annoyed* Oh joy, I seem to be forgotten once again.  
*looks around*  Where is everyone anyway?  *spots group on 
rooftop*  Oh, I see.  *takes off in that direction, landing on 
rooftop by Ukyou, Jet, Syme, and Tempo.  He peers over the 
doctor’s shoulder as Syme examines the girl.*

Syme:  Back off!  I need some room for this!  *Ryouga obediently 
backs up and goes to peer over Jet’s shoulder*

Jet Stream:  *growls absently* Go away.  *Ryouga wanders away, 
and finally comes to stand over Ukyou*

Ukyou:  ...  *A fist flies backwards and catches Ryouga in the face.  
Ryouga falls back and finally takes the hint, walking off to 
another part of the roof.  Suddenly, a pair of taps indicate 
someone landing beside him.  He whirls around to see Akane*

Akane:  *sounding depressed and a little annoyed*  I can’t believe 
that Ranma.  I go through all that trouble to try and help him, 
and he becomes utterly unhelp-able.  We can’t even get near 
him!  *Ryouga hears something that sounds suspiciously like a 
sniffle, but with Akane’s face turned down and her hair covering 
her eyes, he can not be sure.*

Ryouga: *hesitantly* A-Akane?  *suddenly, she grabs onto him, 
desperately in search of something to hold onto in this changing 
and awful world*

Akane:  Oh, Ryouga!  He always does this!  I hate it!  I hate him!  He 
goes and does something that could get himself killed! -and 
expects me to just sit aside and watch!  I love him and he- he-  
*She chokes on her words and beats her fists against Ryouga’s 
chest, gently but with enough emotion in them to send him 
flying if the heart could be hit in such a manner.  And in a way, 
his heart is hit.  With her words, she has told the eternally lost 
boy that Ranma, not himself, holds her heart evermore.  But as 
his former hope dies, he finds no sadness - only compassion for 
the aching Akane.  He holds her comfortingly as she tries to 
regain her composure.  Finally, she takes a deep breath and 
disentangles herself from Ryouga.*  I-I...  Gomen^, Ryouga.

^Sorry

Ryouga:  *smiles*  Hey, no problem.  Now you know why I’ve always 
been trying to kill Ranma.  How else can I be sure no one else 
does?  *Realizes with a start the truthfulness in this empty 
comfort* *looks down*  I... I guess he’s just my best friend.

Akane:  *a silent yet pregnant pause as she tries to figure out what to 
say, then she shakes her head*  Why are we just sitting here? 
Let’s go and help him!

Ryouga:  *Nods, then pauses* Ummmm.... how?

Akane:  *looks at him semi-annoyed*  We’ll power up as much as 
possible, first! *does so, Ryouga following her lead.  They both 
end up still SSJ1*  

Ryouga: *still struggling to power up more* H-how did Ranma get all 
~that~ power?

Akane:  *shrugs, knowing she’s reached her limit*  I don’t know.  
*Both watch as Ranma continues to fight against Argos, trying 
to figure out what to do next*

*other side of the roof*

Syme: *sitting up*  She’s only tired.

Jet Stream:  What do you mean?  She’s practically unconscious! That 
can’t be sleepiness!!!

Syme:  *a steady, slightly scolding look*  Jet.  She’s tired.  She 
drained herself of energy.

Jet: B-but her ki-

Syme:  That wasn’t a ki attack; it was a different sort of power.  Her 
ki is fine.  She just needs a little rest.  *Jet looks about to 
protest again, but Syme’s look catches his words in his throat.  
He sullenly looks away, sitting by his sister’s head as if to 
protect her.*

Ukyou:  *staring at Syme*  What do you mean?  That ~looked~ like a 
ki attack.  Just like Ranma’s Hiyruu Shoten Ha.^  I mean, he 
uses ki for that, it just feels weird.

^dragon ascension wave

Syme:  *brow furrows*  What do you mean?

*Argos and Ranma’s fight*  

Ranma: *dodging a foot aimed at his temple, starting to sweat* 
(Is he... toying with me?  It seems like nothing I do 
~really~ hurts him.  Yet he doesn’t hurry and start fighting with 
his full power... and it’s as if he wants to.)  What’s the problem, 
Dragon-man? *takes name from Argos’s armor patter of two 
dragons*  Too tired to fight with all your power?

Argos:  *growls*  Hyaa!  *fist flies out, unchecked by Ranma’s 
blocks... or by Ranma, as he dodges out of the way.*  Enough 
of this!  ANGER’S FIRE^!!!!  *streams of energy shoot from his 
hands, lighting the air around them on fire and pouring smoke 
into the atmosphere.  The smoke seems to cover the sky briefly, 
turning an already cloud-darkened sky to midnight, then 
blowing away as the fiery attack ends.  Ranma stands on air 
with his arms crossed to protect his face, smoking.  He looks up, 
proving himself mostly unhurt.*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
^Anger’s fire!

Ranma:  You need to cool off.  HIRYUU SHOTEN HA!!!!!!!!!! *He 
swings his arms down and out to the side in a rounded motion, 
bringing them up again behind him.  His trademarked dragon 
rises, swallowing Argos, who still burns with his own attack.  
This time, he allows for the added energy of Argos’s heat, 
avoiding being drawn into his own attack.  The waterspout 
twists almost serenely, despite the struggling power inside.  
Suddenly, it bursts apart, as a blast annihilates the ground it 
spins upon.  Argos tumbles to the ground, not even catching 
himself before he slams into the concrete below.  A stunned 
second follows, as even Ranma did not expect such an effect.  
Argos twitches, and Ranma tenses, preparing for attack.  
Instead, Argos stands and looks contemptuously up at Ranma.  
Blackish colored blood trickles from a broken lip.*

*on the roof*  

Syme:  *in response to Ukyou’s question about the difference 
between the energy Tempo had used and ki*  Well, it seems 
that the power that Tempo used for her attack was not of ki 
nature.  Rather, it draws a bit of nature into it.  An... elemental 
attack, if you will.  Unfortunately, using it all at once seems to 
have exhausting effects.  *indicates Tempo, who suddenly starts 
to move*

*Tempo groans a little, and raises herself up haltingly by her arms.  
She shakes her head a little, clearing it, and breathes deeply.  
Jet Stream watches with a semi-worried look in his eyes, 
schooling his features to lessen their caring.*

Jet:  What, no more lullabies?  

Tempo:  *absently*  Shut up, Jet.

Syme:  Remarkable.  This... energy replenishes itself incredibly 
quickly.  

Tempo:  Hey, Syme.  *yawns, as if just waking from a nap*  What 
~are~ you talking about?

Jet:  Nothing.  You just did something dumb again.  You do that a lot.

Tempo:  *sticks her tongue out at him*  I thought I told you to shut 
up. *Jet grins jauntily*

Ukyou:  Don’t remember your last attack?

Tempo:  *thinks, then cocks head curiously*  Yeah... I never did that 
before...  *sits up, then makes as if to continue to standing.  Jet 
helps her up.*  

Jet: *explaining his help* You’re turning into an old maid, sis.  You 
can’t even get up without help.

Tempo: Did you even let me try, Mr. Friendly?

Ukyou:  *sweatdrop*  (You’d think they hated each other the way the 
talk...)

*on the ground*

Argos:  *staring up at Ranma*  (*BEEP!*  That hurt!  That’s 
impossible!  Ki cannot hurt me that much... Nor can physical 
attacks...  His attacks are not that strong.  How could I take so 
much damage?!?) *growls, and launches himself back at Ranma*

Ranma: *to himself* What’s with this guy?  *to Argos*  What, don’t 
like water?

Argos:  You ~will~ die for that!

Ranma: *as Argos stops in front of him* Yeah, yeah, heard it before.  
Now, you to fight or not?

Argos:  *summons a ball of ki in response, and silently releases it.  It 
strikes Ranma in the shoulder as Ranma dodges too slowly.  So 
slowly, in fact, that a normal person ~might~ have been able to 
see a blur as he dodged, as opposed to his typical faster-than-
light movement.*  

Ranma: *ignoring a spurt of pain*  Man, that tickles.  *jumps above a 
second silent attack, trying not to show any favoring of his left 
arm*  Kame... hame... HA!  *throws the energy wave at Argos, 
hoping for a similar response as he received to his water attack.  
Instead, Argos knocks it carelessly away.*

*in the sky*

Goku:  What!?!  He shouldn’t be able to do that!  That was a perfectly 
good Kamehameha wave!  

Vegita:  *growls*  He must be stronger than he looks.

Piccolo:  *nods solemnly* 

*on the rooftop*

Akane:  Why did the Hiryuu Shoten Ha work, but not the Kamehamehe?

Ryouga:  *also puzzled*  That doesn’t make sense, does it?

Akane:  No.  And Ranma can’t do another dragon attack right away, 
either.

Ryouga:  What?  Why not?  He used to be able to!

Akane:  *looks sideways at Ryouga*  It’s sort of a side affect.  When 
he had to do a spiral, he had enough time to recover all the 
energy he spent on the twister.  Without the body movement, 
though, his ki just doesn’t seem to recover enough between 
attacks to do it again right away.

Ryouga:  But he can do plenty of other attacks in succession...

Akane:  Yeah, I don’t get it either...  *behind them, Ukyou stands up 
and walks over to the two.  She hears most of their 
conversation*

Ukyou:  *looking back at Syme*  (Maybe he’s right... Maybe it’s not 
ki....)  Akane... Ryouga...

Akane:  *as both turn around* Yeah, Ukyou?

Ukyou:  *hesitates*  I think... er,... *points to Syme*  Their doctor 
suggests that Ranma’s attack isn’t entirely ki... it’s something else.

Ryouga:  Something... else?  Like what?

Ukyou: Some other kind of energy.

Akane:  *pauses, reflecting and remembering* (when I did my 
phoenix attack, I wasn’t entirely tired ki wise... it was like most 
of what was drained was something else.  Like ki was only part 
of what was used...)  Yeah, I guess that could be true...  *calls 
out to Ranma*  RANMA!  Use your dragon attacks!!!

Ranma:  *hearing Akane*  Right!  DORAGON YA BAKUHA!!!!^  *He 
straightens and interlocks his hands in front of his chest.  A 
dragon, dark blue as the angry sea, circles about his feet and 
starts its spiral upwards.  Before it reaches his knees, though, a 
fist buries itself in his abdomen.  Ranma doubles over, and the 
dragon dissipates.*

^Dragon Arrow Blast

Argos:  Yeah, right, kid.  Nice try.

Ranma:  *croaks a little and then gasps, getting his wind back* 
T-tha- *gets cut off again as Argos elbows him in the chin*

Akane:  *gasps*  Ranma!  *without her realizing it, her power 
explodes about her.  Ryouga stumbles away as she takes 
off, and slams her arm into Argos*  HOUOU 
SHOUNETSUJIGOKU!!!!^  *A phoenix forms where her hand 
lays, engulfing her fist in flames - and consequently 
scorching Argos.  The heated air bursts with a rumble of 
thunder, as the storm overhead, for a while quieted, bursts once 
again into action as if in response to Akane’s attack.  Thunder 
rumbles, lightning sparks, and a drizzle of rain fizzles out on 
auras of incredible power.  The clouds for an instant turn red 
instead of black, then fade again to their normal dark grey.*

^Phoenix inferno

*Argos flies away from where Akane touched him, her new powers 
surprising him, especially since she is now no longer repelled by 
his and Ranma’s auras.  Where her fist touched, a tender burn 
mars his otherwise pale skin.  A nasty blister forms in the 
middle of skin that is too blackened to rightly sport such.  
Ranma stands back up, looking at Akane’s handiwork.  He 
places his hand on her shoulder.  She keeps an eye on Argos.*

Ranma: *hesitantly* A-Akane-...

Akane: *not sparing him a glance* No, I’m not staying out of this.  
You need me.  

Ranma:  *smirks ironically*  I know.  Thanks.  *she looks at him, 
surprised, so he turns his own gaze to watch their mutual 
opponent.  Argos holds one hand across his wound, and glares 
at the two young people.*

Argos: *to Akane* I was fighting ~him~. *nods towards Ranma*

Akane:  No.  You’re fighting ~both~ of us.  *A figure floats in from 
the side, to stand beside the two of them, putting a hand on 
Akane’s other shoulder.*

Ryouga:  No, he’s fighting ~all~ of us.  *he reflects briefly on how 
thankful he is that an aura stops the rain before focusing all his 
attention on Argos*

Ranma:  Ryo- *catches himself, then smiles his own trademark cocky 
grin*  Yeah.  ~All~ of us.  *leans forward and whispers to 
Ryouga, never taking his eyes from his opponent* So how come 
Ukyou’s not trying to fight, too?

Ryouga:  *whispering back*  I told her to wait in reserve, just in case 
we need the help.  It took both me and Trunks to convince her, 
too.

Ranma: *nods*  Right.  Thanks.  

Argos: *looking at the little group, then sneers as if in contempt*  
How touching.  (I can’t beat them all if they cover each other 
while they attack.  I need my true form.)  *His eyes roam the 
the surroundings quickly, picking out a slender form on a 
rooftop.  He grins.* (Perfect.)

*On the roof*

Jet:  Would you just stay still, Ash-brains?

Tempo:  Only if you stop bugging me, Mold-head.  I’m trying to watch 
a fight.  *indicates where Ranma, Akane, and Ryouga all fly, 
though she hasn’t been watching for a few minutes.  Instead, 
she has spent the time arguing with her brother.*

Jet Stream:  What, wishing you had the power to make a bruise on 
someone?

Tempo:  If you weren’t ~so~ much weaker than me, that might have 
stung.  

Syme:  *watching them* (She’s fine.  I’ll head back to the ship now.) 
*Hovers a little over the rooftop, about to head back to the ship.*

Jet: Yeah, right.  You’re just still mad about all those times I beat you into 
the ground.

Tempo:  What, those times I let you wiiiiiaaaaaah.......  *her voice 
trails off as she is raised from the roof by a power other than her 
own, her arms cartwheeling for balance.  She futilely kicks her 
feet at the air as she gets higher.  A streak of silver and white 
streaks until it stands behind her. She looks upwards behind 
her, and is held by fear.  Below, Jet screams her name and 
takes off towards her.*  Ar-Argos?

Argos:  *grins evilly* Yes, Argos.  *Raises a glowing fist into the air, 
calling a bit of ki to it.  Tempo tries to raise her arms to block 
the attack, but they refuse to move from their outstretched 
positions.  She braces for attack, and Argos grabs her shoulder 
instead of hitting her.  Her aura and his; light, streamlined blue 
like a summer breeze and an unhealthy pitch black respectively; 
become evident.  As if to terrify her more, his hand slides down 
her shoulder to grasp her upper arm.  He lifts her higher into 
the air as his aura begins to absorb hers.  She screams, yet her 
voice is drowned in a blast of thunder which makes the very air 
vibrate with its intensity.  Jet Stream grabs an outstretched 
arm, trying to pull her away from Argos.  Argos merely lifts the 
girl over his head and holds an arm, palm out, at Jet, black fire 
crackling around his fingertips.  A streak of it blasts Jet away as 
the summer breeze aura is swallowed by the rotting black.  As 
he feeds, Argos starts to change.  His eyes blur together 
into one eye, whose pupil elongates both ways diagonally, 
forming an x.  His formerly silver hair changes to 
gunmetal-colored fur, covering his entire body except his 
stomach, palms, and feet, all of which are now exposed as his 
shirt and shoes are ripped to shreds.  The sword sheath on his 
back breaks open, exposing not the customary sheen of metal, 
but instead a thick and powerful tail.  From the back of his 
head, no less than ten spikes form an armored plate over his 
skull.  The thing formerly known as Argos glares scornfully down 
from his height of 10 feet, 2 inches at the angry and injured boy 
trying to stand to rescue his sister.  Tempo lays limply in 
Argos’s grasp, only a bare sliver of aura remaining about her.  
Argos tosses her at Jet Stream, who scrambles to catch as she 
flies bonelessly through the air.  He catches her and holds her 
close as he glares at Argos, his body radiating hate.  A twitch in 
his arms catches his attention.  Tempo breathes in quiet pants, 
still living.  Jet retreats to the rooftop, keeping a wary eye on 
Argos.  Argos ignores him.*

Argos:  *looking at his transformed hands*  Well, I guess she was the 
one to transform me, after all.  Feels nice to be in my true form 
again.  *Turns toward the shocked group of would-be heros 
flying in the air* *sarcastically* Won’t you come and play?

Ranma: *pulling his gaping jaw back up*  Akane... Ryouga... His 
side... *points where Akane’s attack had wounded him.  No 
longer does a blister show on Argos’s side.*

Akane: *nods*  I guess turning into a monster healed him.

Ryouga: *He shakes his head to clear the incredulous thoughts out of 
it, then smirks* Well, then, I guess it’s time to injure him again.

Ranma: *grins*  Yeah, for once you’re right, P-chan.

Akane: If only you two would stop joking around, we could begin.

Ranma: *smiles at Akane* Of course.  Have we ever let you down?  
*pauses* Never mind, don’t answer that.

Ryouga: Huh?  Anyway, let’s go.  We’ll cover for you while you do 
that thing you were trying to do.

Ranma: Right.

Ryouga: *flying forward towards Argos*  FU-RAI-IN-GU BA-CON!!! 
*The smell of frying bacon fills the air as smoke covers 
everything.  Argos feels a ki attack batter his side, but it does 
not even phase him.  What does bother him, though, is the 
smoke, which hides every movement from sight.  The three 
young humans hide their ki, impairing every sense Argos might 
use.  Suddenly, one spurt of strange energy hammers him from 
the side.  Seconds later, the maw of a dragon formed from 
stormy water bites down on him, crushing his whole body 
between its jaws.  He shields himself as best he can, and 
emerges in a single piece, though a little wounded.  The air 
clears, and he sees the boy known as Ranma standing calmly 
by.*

=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=8=

Author’s notes

Whoa... feels weird, writing 2 of these in one day...  Anyway, this is 
where, obviously, I broke this chapter in half for easier reading.  
The second half is actually Chapter 16, which you might or 
might not have noticed was posted at the same time.  I 
personally hate it when I have to leave a chapter in the middle 
of reading it, so I decided to turn this into two chapters instead, 
as it started out over twice as long (in fact bordering on 3 times 
as long) as my average chapter.  That in part explains why it 
took so long to write it, I hope.  There are a few more reasons, 
but those are just the everyday “real non-comp life” things that 
get in the way, including lack of inspiration for a while and 
writer’s block and a total re-write of a section.  Sorry to 
everyone for the long delay, but I hope you enjoy these even if 
they are a bit late.  Please send all C&C to 
Fanime_Lynn@hotmail.com .  Well, gotta go, so ‘Bye for now!
 
		--Fanime Lynn