* * * * * * * * *
In Some Other Dimensional Plane�some Other Time and Place�
Late at night, or early in the morning depending on the point of view, a non
descript red truck zipped along the highway. A young man at the wheel, with long
auburn hair cascading over his shoulders, polished off by a pair of bifocal
glasses on his face. It appears that he is in a sour mood, VERY sour mood.
�Jeez�What a LOUSY day at work�you�d think they�d get their heads out of their
asses every once in a while�� he trailed off as he ran into a rain-storm of
sorts, �Yay, more fun for me.� Saying more abrasive curses as he flipped the
wipers on, full tilt. But the storm still blinded his view, �*grumble* Great
*grumble*�, he lifted his foot off of the gas just as the tires hit a series of
massive potholes on all four tires, succeeding to throwing the truck off to the
right.
�SHEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTT!!!� he screamed as he is trying to get
the truck back under control in its spin. �Thank GOD there is no-one out this
time of morning.� He thought embarrassingly to himself. Then he caught view of
the upcoming bridge. Realizing that he be in DEEP do-do, he fought the car even
harder, to no avail.
Bracing himself for something very bad to befall him, with his eyes clamped
firmly shut. Cursing to himself, �Damnit�near perfect driving record and this
happens�definitely a VERY BAD day�� he cut that particular thought off when it
dawned upon him that he didn�t hit anything. In fact it felt like he wasn�t even
moving.
Relaxing himself a little, he opened his eyes. And his jaw hit the floorboards.
He was in some sort of storage area. �But in what?� wondering to himself. Eyeing
around and seeing that no-one was out there. �At least yet.�
Squaring his shoulders, �Screw it!� he thought, �I might as well make myself
known.� Opening the door, he spotted a door of sorts opening at one end of the
area, �Kewl Beans�� he thought somewhat happily, as he is heading for the door,
then he stopped dead in his tracks (Almost falling over in the process) as the
most beautiful, scratch that, make that gorgeous woman he has ever seen in his
life has just rounded the corner of the doorway.
Seeing that he is not speaking, make that incapable of speaking. Mai Nakajiima
smiled to herself. �Come with me.�, her deep, sultry voice rang through the
hold. Ringing just enough to get the man out of his shock. Opening his mouth to
speak, all that came out was a choked �Gah?� pointing to himself, wondering if
she is talking to him.
She let a chuckle go free, �Yes. You, Don�t see anyone else in here do you?�
she said, spreading her arms wide to emphasize the entire hold. He made a motion
to his jaw, as if to get it back into place, stifling gutteral thoughts when she
spread her arms. It snapped shut audibly, then he shook his head vigorously up
and down. She laughed again as she spun back into the corridor.
Shaking his head left and right as violently as he can. �This can�t be the
light or heaven�or something��, then he hung his head in thought, but perked up
and followed her lead, with something nagging him as he followed her�
Something is *VERY* familiar about her�
Something he can�t place at the moment�
But determination reared its ugly head to make him found out soon�
* * * * * * * * *
Still Onboard the MegaLORD�Months Later�

Sitting under a strange contraption, Ranma fretted under the dome like
apparatus, �Tell me why I have to sit here? Under this thing?� he said, pointing
to the dome over his head. Inwardly sighing, �As I said�maybe for the
ten-thousandth time, Ranma. Your contract stated that I have right to scan for
your martial arts skills�don�t worry��, Mai smiled a toothy grin, �Unlike the
prototype, this machine won�t melt your brain�� Ranma�s eyes nearly came out of
there sockets and was about to plea in stopping this experiment when Mai pushed
the initialization key on the console.
Sitting back into one of the plush chairs within the room, looking all the
world non-plussed, when inside her stomach is doing cartwheels. She was about to
go to sleep when she heard a loud hum and then a buzz roar through the room. Her
head snapped up to see Ranma, who�s sweating _VERY_ heavily as the machine went
through its course in downloading the �Anything Goes Martial Arts� knowledge
into another battery of machines.
A few minutes later, the machine finished scanning his neural pathways and the
hum stopped. Breathing a sigh of relief, he got out of the chair. Turning to him
with a mischievous grin, �Now! That wasn�t so bad? Was it?� she asked him
sarcastically. Her response was nothing more than a snort from him. Inwardly
shrugging Mai turned to Ranko, who started to sweat also, �Your tun,
Ranko-chan!� she called out to her playfully, making the young red-head jump.
Then quickly turned to frustration, �I�m a *GUY*!!� she yelled, inwardly wishing
that this voice in her head would stop stating differently. Ranko sat under the
bell with a huff, her arms crossed in agitation. Mai laughed softly again,
�Whatever you say Ranko-chan�� and started the next download.
* * * * * * * * *
The twins, Ranma and Ranko kicked back on the plush couch while Mai fiddled
with the controls on the consoles around her, they both wondered how she
'downloaded' the Anything Goes Martial Arts into the two 'droids sitting on the
tables nearby. Both noted idly that they are shaped like a male and a female,
but far from human, for looked very nasty looking. All jet black, most of the
armor stripped off, exposing the hydraulic/myomer-fiber meshes, but still have
the faceless helmets on them. That still gave them the shivers every time the
lone red 'eye' glowed.
Both were about to fall asleep when Mai yelped for joy, "FINALLY GOT IT!!"
making the twins almost jump though the ceiling. She turned around to show the
twins her mirth filled face, 'Amazing that they are getting along so well now�'
she noted to herself idly, 'Wasn't too long ago that Ranma couldn't even stand
the sight of Ranko�' Mai remembered drilling into his head that Ranko is his
sister.  Not to mention that if he did anything bad to her, he would get tossed
out of the nearest airlock, that last comment shut him up VERY quickly. But for
Ranko, she also had to get drilled that a woman is not weak and such, and that
she can still do everything, possibly better and more than, that Ranma can do.
>From Mai's perspective, things couldn't be better, it would seem that they
finally accepted what the Forge has handed them. Whether it be for bad or for
worse.
With the exception of Ranko, who is still clinging onto hopes of being a male
again, even though a thorough study from the three Lords of Magic, others as
well, concluded that there is no hope of changing back to a man again. Both have
been forced to co-operate even more with each other, thanks to both her, and
Dragon-Sensei's efforts.
Fiddling with a few more controls on the panels. The slabs which the two
machines rested on righted themselves. A low pitched hum filled the air as they
came to life. The red eyes on their featureless faceplates flared as they
accepted the new programming in their neural-nets.
Punching a few more buttons on the control panels, Mai turned to the twins, "I
have ordered these two to run through the katas in the Anything-Goes style�let
me know if something goes wrong." The twin nodded and proceeded to watch the two
'droids go through the paces.
Finishing the katas, the two 'droids bowed to each other and stood rock still
at either side, the red in their eyes dimmed as they went into standby mode. Mai
smiled at her latest accomplishments and turned back to the twins, "Well? How
they'd do?" she asked them simply. "Very well" both Ranma and Ranko chorused,
making them both flush slightly. "Good�Now�" taping away at a few keys, "�I'm
sending these two through the Four Dragon's style�"
As before, the two 'droids started off just fine, but all three can tell that
something is going very wrong. Their movements no longer fluid and controlled,
becoming more ragged and jerky. The male happened to be the first to start
spasming as it went into the more advanced katas. The female looking one soon
joined it. Both soon completely shutdown, falling to the floor in a disorderly
metallic heap, smoke trailing out of the cracks in the skull cases.
Slamming her fist to the console, "Damn!" she yelled, making the twins jump,
"Another failure�" Mai tapped the controls on the panel again. Sighing in
resignation, "Their neural cores are completely fragged�melted down as is were�"
Hanging her head in defeat, "Looks like the legends are true�" snorting in
contempt, "There can be only one real master of each Element of the Four Dragons
Art�"
Sighing again, "At least I now have a more superior martial art in memory right
now that works�I'm sure that me and MegaLORD could figure something out with
what we have�" She trailed off as she felt a pair of hands clasp each of
shoulders snugly. Mai looked over each shoulder to the concerned faces of both
Ranma and Ranko. Ranma chimed in, "We know what you are trying to accomplish
here�" Now Ranko, "�There is no failure in trying your best�" Turning up the
cute factor a bit, "Besides, there is always a chance to figure your way around
it�eventually." She added in finally, pulling Mai in for a comforting hug.
Hanging back, watching the two women with each other, Ranma plopped back into
the couch, still almost ready to go back to sleep. Releasing herself from the
Red-head's warm embrace, Mai snorted, "Well�I best get you two back to Sensei
before he blows a blood vessel wondering why it is taking so long for a
Mind-Scan." Both the twins bit back laughter of the veiled insult of
Dragon-Sensei. Shaking her head and throwing her hands up into the air, "It
wouldn't surprise me if the old codger knew this was going to happen and is
laughing his wrinkled, old ass off right now�"
This time, the twins couldn't hold back the laughter.
* * * * * * * * *
Onto Another Dimensional Plane�Many a Year Later�
Walking along a stretch of trees. A fairly young man, wearing full plate suit
of futuristic armor, carrying an over & under rifle over his shoulder and a pair
of very large pistols on his hips. On his back is a massive pack, full of
supplies and other things. He�s heading to somewhere in particular, to meet
someone he is to train with. Hawk smiled, �No trouble�The sun is shining
bright�tis a good�� his thoughts were cut off as a woman�s scream cut through
the air �NOOOOOOOO!!!�, sending chills down his spine. He spun into many
directions to find where the scream came from.
The laughter that accompanied it soon after told Hawk where it is coming from.
Another scream went through, sounding much more urgent than the last, �DON�T!!
PLEASE!!� Hawk�s blood chilled at the thought of what it could mean. Taking in a
quick series of breaths, he took off running as fast as his legs could carry him
into where the screams originated.
The ground burned to the speed he moved.
Coming up a short incline, he slowed to a stop. Looking over the cliffhang,
Hawk�s blood both chilled and boiled at the scene he is witnessing. A young red
haired woman getting the last shreds of her clothing ripped off of her well
endowed, slender frame. Being held down by a bunch of drooling men. Frowning, �I
can�t just stand by and let this go now can I?� he asked himself as another
pained yell split the air, �GAHAHAAAAA!!!� she cried desperately, making another
one of the men clamp his hands around her mouth, muffeling her almost
completely.
Narrowing his eyes, through the red haze in his vision, his optics picked up
the collars around their necks and wrists, �Joy�Juicers�just what I need�� he
said quietly to himself, cracking an sadistic smile as he unslung his rifle, his
hands quaking from barely restrained rage, more so than they ever had been, he
wondered idly and quickly about that for a second. Hawk watched in sheer horror
as they slid their greasy paws ALL over her body, but when their hands slid to
between her legs, she struggled all the more. Hearing her muffled cries, Hawk
ducked back behind the clearing, not able watch any more as he hurried his
actions, his smile turning into a vicious frown.
Looking the rifle one over, Hawk searched for ways to get maximum power output
from the built-in Fusion power system. A company edition of the
Compression-Particle Beam rifle, styled much like a skeet shooter. It twin
barrels hummed softly as the charge rung through it. Hawk pushed the power
slider as far as it will go and flipped the selector switch for both the
barrels, he then pushed another, more hidden control, labeled �OVERLOAD�.
Crawling his way over the overhang, he took aim at the juicer pulling his pants
down. The two one the sides pulled her legs open with some measure of
difficulty, �Hmmm�looks like she�s a tough one�� looking down the sight of the
rifle, ��but not quite enough against a gang of them�� trailing off, frowning,
he sighted the one juicer, �SMILE FOR THE Li�L BIRDIE!!� he called out to the
people below, making them stop dead in their tracks, spinning all round to find
out where the voice came from. Pulling the trigger, the rifle spat twin lances
of condensed super-charged blueish-white beams of energy, seering the air as it
traveled to its intended target.
They struck home on the juicers chest. Splattering him all over the clearing.
The others quickly took battle stance, letting the girl go. She slowly curled up
into a ball on her side, crying her heart out. Hawk�s heart instantly went out
to her and he soon spotted a young black haired man, being held face down into
the dirt by a LARGE juicer. Grimacing, �Happy Happy�Joy Joy�a titan type.� He
spat out, taking aim at the big guy, �But not for long�� pulling the trigger
again. Only the titan�s arm and most of his upper torso got hit at this angle,
it going up into a spray of blood and gore. But that was all the the man needed,
he got up and started literally beating the crap out of the rest that he can get
to.
Not willing to walk away from a good spat, plus his rifle severely overheated,
melted slag in other words. Hawk tossed the useless piece of warped metal to the
ground, grabbed a pistol in each hand and lept over the cliff, his handheld
lasers blazing away at the remaining juicers. Hawk managed to blow holes into a
few of their chests until he hit the ground. Holstering the guns and tossing his
pack to the ground below, he dived into the fray with a resounding battle cry.
Soon the crunches of bodily limbs filled the air, filled also with high pitched
male screams of pain.
The few on the sidelines, waiting for something, took off running like a bat
outta hell, they never made it out�alive.
Hawk sighted them making a quick get away and took off after them. Snagging
their necks from behind and slamming them into the ground, �See the punishment
you have wrought�� he told them darkly, very darkly. Both the juicers, now on
their backs looked up to unbridled fury being leveled at them. They tried to get
up, only for one of them get a foot through his chest as he tried, �*STAY
DOWN*!!� Hawk roared, making the other urinate under his own thin armor. More so
when Hawk�s gaze swung up back to him. The juicer tried to get away again, but
didn�t get far, and in the wrong direction. Hawk quickly snatched the man again
as he entered the clearing, noted idly that the black haired man is watching
him. Pulling the man�s ear close, �Say �HI� to Hades when you meet him�� trailed
off as he cletched his hand around the man�s neck, crushing everything contained
herein. Hawk threw the worthless corpse away uncerimoniously away, crunching
even more against a large tree when it hit.
Red Haze now lifting, and now able to see clearly, Hawk looked around the
clearing, catching sight of the black haired young man, on his knees, hunched
over and wretching his guts out. Soon, he got up and wiped his mouth with a few
coughs. The two men, looked around to the aftermath of the slaughter, not like
it was undeserving. Their gazes sized each other up, the man with the black hair
looked as strong as a bull and much harder to stop, judging by his still very
pissed expression, and sickened creeped up amongst that as well.
A muffled sniffle brought the two out of their reverie. Hawk swung his gaze to
the girl, she was now sitting up, her knees up to her chest and her arms wrapped
around her legs. She is just rocking there, sobbing from the near-trauma. Hawk
gulped as his heart melted instantly as he dropped his pack off of his shoulder.
Wiping his hands quickly, he dug into it deeply and brought out a thick blanket.
He walked over to her, she took no notice of him coming until he laid his hand
on her knee that has she embedded her face into.
As soon as she touched her, she screamed a most blood curdling scream and back
pedaled away from Hawk until she hit the wall of the cliff, making him jump
almost ten feet into the air. Curling back into a ball, her eyes firmly screwed
shut. Both men�s skin crawled when she screamed. She forced open her eyes
eventually when nothing touched her. Wondering is happening right now, she
looked up from the ground where she is huddled and met with a pair of warm,
caring hazel eyes.
Feeling the mental barriers crumble in some places, in others, fall completely.
The Spirit of the Spring pushed against those barriers, meeting with no active
resistance, she pushed harder against the walls that Red-Head's mind imprisioned
her�
Hawk stared as he lost all rational thought as he looked into those �Baby-Blues.
� He and the Red-Head looked into each other for almost a minute until they had
to blink, feeling the electrical current cross between them.
Shaking his head and putting his hand to it, �Whoa�what happened there?� Hawk
remembered what he is holding in his hand and looked back to the Red-Head. The
expression on her face mirroring what he felt and thought only a second ago. He
walked slowly over to her, the blanket streched between his hands. Offering no
resistance, she let Hawk wrap the cloth around her as she stood up. She
felt�comfortable and secure?�as he wound his arms around her, leaning into him
and wrapping her own arms around his torso, she let it all out. �Now we are one�
� the female voice in her said, fading away, perhaps for good. Hawk found
himself with a crying woman in his arms, he held her gently, trying in all
effort to sooth her.
With one last sniff, The Red-Head found herself being gently rocked while
someone was holding her. As soon as she stopped wailing Hawk let her go mostly,
leaning back some, with his hands still on her arms, �You alright now?� he asked
her softly. She nodded while she wiped her eyes. Hawk felt someone slap his
shoulder, he swung his head, �Thanks, man�for the save back there�� the young
man reluctantly said, fidgeting with his pig-tail. Hawk bowed his head, �No
problem�glad to be of help�� trailing off as he looked to the sky, �Say�the day�
s still early�� his face showing no remembrence of what happened a while ago,
��how�s about I travel with you two? It does get a little lonely walking alone
with no-one to talk to.� He said sheepishly, sticking out his slightly stained
hand to him, �The name�s Hawk�David KnightHawk.�
Raisng an eyebrow, the young man grasped Hawk�s hand and shook it, �Ranma
Saotome�� He trailed off on the rest of the introductions when Hawk started.
Looking to him dubiously, �Wait a minute�Ranma?� shaking his head, �No�can�t
be�the one that I am suposed to train with??� now pointing to the Red-Head with
a shakey finger, �I take it that you are Ranko?� he asked her. Both Ranma and
Ranko looked to each other, then back to Hawk, �Yeah?� they answered him, not
knowing what is going on. Letting out a sharp laugh, �HAH! Who would have
thought I have met you two coming this away!!� laughing even more for a moment.
The twins looked at Hawk like he is insane, Ranma even moreso than Ranko.
Looking at Ranma, �Is he for real?� Ranko asked him. Ranma didn�t get a chance
to answer, �Yep! The real McCoy!!� Hawk chimed in, digging back into his pack
again. Before they could say anything, �Since we are going to be traveling
together, I don�t think too many people with appreciate you wearing just a
blanket�other than myself.� He said to Ranko, who flushed, �Eechi!!� she cried
back, hiding herself behind Ranma, tightly wrapping the blanket around herself.
Shaking his head, � And proud of it! Not like I haven�t seen anything like that
before�at least, not that good looking anyway.� He muttered, now holding out
some clothing, �Here�you can wear these for the time being�just hope that they
fit ya�� Ranko nodded thanks as she snatched the clothes and darting behind the
underbrush to get dressed.
Chuckling as he watched her retreating form, �She�s cute�� he said to no-one,
would have continued the compliments if not for a too firm grip on his shoulder
and a fierce look in his eye, �Just don�t try anything, ok pal?� Ranma
exclaimed, whipping Hawk around. Putting up his hands disarmingly, �HEY! I just
met her!! You think that I am just as fast as those guys we got earlier?!?!�
Hawk said, giving Ranma an Artic eye and shucking his gruff hand off of his
shoulder, �When she�s finished changing, we�ll go back to where you guys were
training at.� Shifting himself in his armor, �And one other thing�it was a
compliment I was saying about your sister. Is it that horrible a crime?� he
asked roughly.
Stunned at such a comeback, Ranma just shook his head, �No�it isn�t.� snorting,
�Heh�I could get to like you, ya�know?� Hawk nodded, �Same here�� trailing off
as both starting laughing at such a thing. Would have continued if not for
Ranko, �Hey!! You got a belt or something for these pants?!?! These things are
REALLY loose on me�� she called out, coming out from the underbrush, holding the
wide waist pants around her small frame. The shirt he gave her was like a tent
over her, the sleeves so long, she had to roll them up in order to get her hands
through.
So small that she is, she has almost lost herself down just one pant-leg.
Calming himself down quickly, �Yeah�I think so�� digging into his pack again, he
quickly found what he is looking for, �I found something that could be of use��
holding up a small coil of rope. He looked to Ranko�s waistline a minute, since
she is holding the pants taught there.
Nodding, Hawk pulled out a few feet worth of rope, �Your waist is sure tiny�� he
tickled her at where the pants are pulled tight, maiking her squeal, ��hopely I
got this right�� he trailed off, dodging the withering glare he is receiving
from Ranko, pointing his index finger up in the air. A sizzling red energy blade
erected from the tip as �lines� glowed along the finger. Ranko and Ranma backed
away from him slowly as he sliced the rope like it is not even there.
Looking back up to the twins, inwardly groaned at the looks on the twin's faces,
�Don�t worry�I have a built in options package.� Chuckling as he gave the rope
to Ranko, �You sound like a used car salesman�� trailing off into a small fit of
the giggles when she glanced to Hawk�s disgusted face, �I object to that
slander!!� he cried out, making her laugh even harder especially when Hawk�s
fingers flew over her ribs as he helped wind the rope through the pant belt
loops. Ranma crossed his arms, �Why is she acting like that?� he pondered to
himself.
Shouldering his pack while Ranko tied up the phenominally loose jeans around her
waist, �So�� Hawk drawled out, �Where are you guys training at?� he asked them,
swinging his gaze between the twins. Ranma pointed into some direction, �The
Dragon Dojo�Taddaway for about 2 hours�since we also came out looking for you,�
smirking, �Mai also told us to expect a new partner in crime�� Hawk barked a
sharp laugh, �Ain�t that the truth!!�
The troop started off onto their way back to Dragon Sensei�s Dojo.
* * * * * * * * *

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