Subject: [FFML][Fic][Ranma +Crossovers]Private Bet #10 Chapter II(part 2d(conclusion))
From: Shade
Date: 5/2/1999, 6:36 AM
To: Fan Fiction List

Private Bet #10 Chapter II 
by Shade

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and affiliates are the 
property of Rumiko Takahashi, Rifts and 
Phase World are owned by Palladium. Other 
references belong to their respective owners.
~~~~~~~~~
2d:(part 4)......No comment.

-Aboard the Untamed Stallion (Don�t you just hate when I do this. -_^)

Communications officer Tania sighed.

She�d been doing that a lot lately for the past three weeks.
In fact so much so that it was getting on everyone else�s nerves.

�Would you stop that!� Commander Ayla snapped at her, 
the metamorphasized Dragon�s nerves frayed to the breaking point by
that constant irritating sound her Elven subordinate made.

The normally perky girl cringed, cowed by this uncharacteristic 
display of temper. Usually Ayla was the very model of 
composure, able to get her point across with a few carefully 
chosen words or a simple stern look that got even the most 
rowdy crew member in line. For her to start behaving this way 
something had to be seriously wrong with her. And they all 
knew what it was, they were all feeling it too.

The force that bound them all together into a unbeatable united team 
was gone, the one that had smoothed over individual rough edges and friction and been the very heart of the Untamed Stallion was missing.

Reflexively the pretty blonde turned to look at the Captain�s chair, 
a whimsical hope that perhaps he�d be there and everything would go back to normal crossing her mind.

The emptiness that greeted her eyes was a cruel one.

Ranma was gone.

Ayla had refused to sit in that seat even though she was now 
the one in control of the ship. That seat belonged to only one 
person, the true captain of the Untamed Stallion.

She noticed Tania�s glance toward the empty seat 
and her conscience berated her. They were all feeling out 
of sorts, losing her temper did nothing except lower the 
crew�s already rock-bottom morale. She had a responsibilty 
to them all, the Captain had left her in charge......captain.....

{Why? Why did you have to leave?!}

It was a question Ayla had been asking herself constantly as 
every day passed and his absence took its 
toll on them. Three weeks had gone by without any word from the 
Captain after they had taken him to one of the Rim worlds and left him 
there. Three quiet, boring, long weeks without even a hint of action to get their minds off worrying about Ranma. It was driving them crazy, things couldn�t go on for much longer like this before something gave.

The Chiang-Ku was especially worried about Akiko and Yukio.
The twins had become quiet and withdrawn ever since Saotome had left, 
that was a bad sign. Distracted fighter pilots usually ended up as dead pilots. No one else onboard could fly those ships as well as the Turbo Jockies, so replacement was not an option.

Even if she simply suspended them from flying until 
they snapped out of their funk it would mean cutting their 
fighter strength in half and reduce the Untamed Stallion�s
actual combat strength by nearly a third. Without the Katana Starfighers
 they had only the Black Eagle Medium Fighters to deliver the giant 
antimatter cruise missiles that were one of their most important 
anti-ship weapons. 

{Damn it all! We need you Captain............
RANMA, WHERE ARE YOU?!}

*BEEP**BEEP*

�Incoming transmission!� 

Tania�s alarmed voice was like a shot of highly 
concentrated caffeine, the entire bridge snapped into 
alertness as they took their ready stations.

�Source?�

�Checking now......It�s from Fleet Command!�

�The flagship?!� The first officer found herself asking, unable 
to believe it at first.

�Confirmed! Hyperspace squirt from the HopeBringer! Priority 1, 
Condition Red, using the full Antilles encryption package! Slicing now......�

{What could they possibly need us 
for that they�d use a Hypertransmission station?!
The cost for those are prohibitive!}

As the officer read the decoded 
message her eyes widened.......

{My Gods! They�re actually going to do it??!!!}

�Commander?� Lily looked worriedly at the 
shocked expression on the officer�s face.

�Sammy, Bring us about and set course for the Ristmoth System,
 Maximum warp!�

�Acknowledged Commander! Engaging FTL Drive.�

The chestnut haired former Imperial Guardsman 
turned helms(wo)man swiftly moved to fulfill the order, her hands
flashing across the controls that directed the mighty Contragravity 
Engines.(1)

The sleek warship seemed to briefly stretch into infinity as matter 
achieved a velocity faster then Einstein�s laws of relativity allowed.
~~~~~~~~~~~
-Rifts Earth, North America

Janet Braddock was after a man.

Not just any man, but a very special man.
And as the second in command of a large 
and prominant mercenary company who 
also happened to be the daughter of the 
man who ran the company she usually got 
what she was looking for one way or another.

The fact that the mercs had just been hired 
by Erin Tarn to find the exact same person she 
wanted to find was an unexpected bonus.

{It�s time we settled some things Ran. Then I
need to talk to Daddykins about that �No Dating� 
rule of his.}

Around her neck was a small locket with a 
photograph of the man that had saved Janet�s life
from the psychopathic traitor who�d joined the 
company several years ago. A Braddock never 
left a debt unpaid, a certain pigtailed young man
was about to get the surprise of his life....
~~~~~
-Phase World Center

Katrina Sun looked around inside the giant indestructable 
structure known as the �Center� where over ten million 
beings of practically every known race and species could be found
as they made deals that either made them or broke them.
 Even the Dimensional Market of Splynn 
paled beside this trans-universal business node
of the Megaverse. Everything one could desire was 
available for sale here, any whim or fancy could be 
satisfied......for the right price.

There were simply no words capable of describing 
the giant bustling chaos that was Center, it was 
an old joke that the only thing harder then seeing 
the Center was surviving it. Crime was not unheard of
even in the upper levels, the lower levels of Center were 
places only fools and the desperate dared tread. Full scale 
battles between bitter rivals occasionally broke out in the 
many halls despite the Prometheuns attempts to restrict the 
presence of combat robot vehicles and other instruments 
of mass destruction. This was the place for adventure and excitement,
with danger lying around every corner and potential rewards 
that could boggle the mind. 

The Ley Line Walker had no eyes for any of the 
dazzling sights though. After weeks of searching 
she�d finally gotten a lead to Ranma�s whereabouts.
The amnesiac Goddess turned adventurer wasn�t 
about to let the most noble man she had ever met 
just walk out of her life without a fight!

 Her contact had mentioned the Free World Council, 
now all she had to do was find them.....

{Soon Ranma.....}
~~~~~~~~~
-Planet Playtex, Headquarters for the Legion of W.A.R.S.

The Lusty Lingerie Amazons were not happy. 
Weeks of searching with their best agents had 
turned up nothing, even their allied cousins from 
the secret world of Victoria had been unable 
to find the one that the legion had been created for.

Ranma Saotome had vanished from the face of the 
Three Galaxies. The 6.4 billion beautiful girls on the planet 
were quite ready to start panicking now. 

Their race had originally been solely female, reproducing 
through a giant network of automated cloning machines. 
Their civilization had never even seen a man until the 
day that the Untamed Stallion and the Soyokaze literally 
stumbled onto their small empire.

Captain Tylor got off lucky, Empress Azalyn had declared him
to be under her protection. Though they might desire him the 
Amazons were smart enough to know that he was off limits 
for the moment.

Captain Saotome on the other hand.....

The scary thing was that they were quite willing
and even eager to share him. The Lingerie Amazons 
had a saying �Love is something  to be enjoyed by all�.
In Ranma�s case they meant that literally, especially 
since that meant that the other girls after him would 
be available as well......

They *were* a passionate people after all....
~~~~~~~~
-The Tendo Bath (At last)

Time seemed to grind to a halt.

The screen door inched its way open....
~~~~~~

The Tendo daughters carried a small towel 
each and nothing else. Although it was slightly 
unusual for all of them to use the bath at 
once it wasn�t unheard of. They had shared
the facilities on occasion during their childhood.
So there were no surprises to be found as they 
disrobed and prepared to get nice and clean.

The surprise awaited them in the Bath proper.....
~~~~~

Ranma dried his hair, he felt much better now.
Even a jealous Rune Weapon couldn�t put a 
damper on his mood, the steaming hot water 
had felt so good.....

His telepathic sparring with Ishtar 
was pretty much on familar ground,
she was always this way whenever 
he met a girl no matter how nice 
they might be. She was always 
suspicious of them, worrying about the 
vile deeds they might commit upon 
his trusting body. But Ranma now understood 
why she did that. It had surprised him learn 
how deep Ishtar�s feelings really were that first 
time they�d touched minds, he�d never 
imagined she cared that much about him

Ranma had rescued the enslaved Goddess of Light 
from a Splugorth Intelligence that had made the 
fatal mistake of underestimating his newest 
captured experimental subject. Though normally a 
Cosmoknight�s morals wouldn�t allow Ranma to keep 
a weapon that used the captured soul of another being as 
its source of power he�d found himself being asked...even 
begged by Ishtar to be wielded in the name of all that was Good.
It was a request he�d been unable to refuse and one he�d 
never regretted accepting. Her psionic and magical talents had 
proven invaluable, with Ishtar�s help even the most magically 
gifted opponent could be defeated with a reasonable chance 
of success. Ranma had tried to find a way to free her though, only 
to discover to his horror that although it was possible to destroy a 
supposedly invincible Rune Weapon, doing so meant that the soul of 
the being trapped within it would be forever lost!!!

So it had remained, with a bond as close as lovers 
between the sentient weapon and the man who 
carried her yet the only way they could ever meet was 
while he slept, within the brief paradise of his deepest 
dreams. It was a bittersweet union between them,
the one person who the Cosmoknight trusted absolutely 
without reservation was also the only one he could never truly 
know. 

He never heard the door open....
~~~~~~~~~

There was a sharp intake of breath as Kasumi, 
Nabiki and Akane were treated to the sight of 
 glistening, well toned and very nude prime 
male flesh. 

The angle was just right so that they could get good
looks at both his front and part of his lower rear anatomy.

The term buns of steel suddenly popped into Kasumi�s 
head for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

With the towel over his face Ranma couldn�t see 
his three unintentional voyeurs and kept on toweling off.

The girls stared long and hard at his well muscled frame, 
their towels dropping unnoticed to the floor. Their gazes 
roamed up and down his exposed body. They noticed 
something almost immediately that had been hidden from 
them before.

Ranma had tattoos.

Nabiki was awestruck by the finely detailed Phoenix arising from 
flames that lay over the young man�s heart, it almost looked....alive.
She wondered what it would taste like.....

It would have shocked her to find Kasumi was wondering the 
exact same thing of the armored knight on Ranma�s right shoulder.

Akane�s eyes caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a tattoo of three
 eyes just above the inside of his elbow. The other two power tattoos just 
behind Ranma�s wrists went unnoticed for the present.(2)

As if by popular vote the three pairs of 
curious eyes descended south of the border......
~~~~~~

*CENSORED*

�HEY!!!� The female Bet participants cried as the large 
black dot appeared to cover the entire scene.

�Sorry folks, we�re not allowed 
to show this in the mainstream.�
The Bard had his best used car salesman act on.

�Thank goodness.� Shadow whispered 
to the Guardian who nodded in agreement.

Rowan hit the fast forward.

Zora just smiled, a mischievous gleam in her eye.
~~~~~~~~

{MINE!!!} Nabiki�s first rational thought was 
almost violent in its intensity.

{EEP!!!} As if transfixed by a cobra Akane�s wide eyed 
stare fixed on a particular portion of Ranma�s body. 
her mouth kept opening like a fish out of water and 
about as much came out. Her face was threatening to 
explode from all the blood rushing into her cheeks.

{Oh my....this is most improper...I shouldn�t be
doing this........I�ll just turn around and......
turn around....turn....and....um....another minute shouldn�t hurt......}

Kasumi found herself unable to tear her eyes away.

Just as things were about to get interesting Akane noticed 
her older sister starting to head toward Ranma with a eerie 
determined gleam in her eye and panicked. Her arms reached 
out to snag both of the other girls and yanked them back to the 
safety that lay behind the doorway before slamming the door 
shut.

*BANG*

�Huh?� Ranma looked toward the doorway after removing the towel,
 he thought he�d heard someone. But there wasn�t anyone there....

{What was that all about?} 

[*Snicker* Looks like someone just got a free peep show to me.]

{What?!}

He couldn�t get another answer out of her,
Ishtar was too busy laughing.
~~~~~~~~~

Elsewhere in the house Genma and Soun were plotting.(3)

�Genma! The houses MUST be joined!!�

�I know old friend, but the boy is stubborn. We can�t 
simply force him into this, somehow he�s become too 
strong and independent for such measures. We need a 
subtle plan to make him marry one of your daughters.
By the way who is going to marry him anyway?�

�Uh....�

{Think of something Soun!}

�Akane! Yes Akane shall marry him!! He�s a martial artist, 
she�s a martial artist, it�s a match made with heaven�s blessings!!�

Common Sense groaned in disgust and went off to sulk.

�Well then all we need to do is get them 
together and let Nature take its course!�

�Alright then!! It�s Soun and Genma�s...�

They shouted out together much to the dismay of the neighbors.

�....Operation: Get Them Hitched!!!�
~~~~~~~

The Cosmic Forge lay hidden, always 
watching but never interfering directly......

Right now it was having a good laugh, even 
ultra powerful nearly omniscient artifacts have 
a sense of humor. Its chosen one just seemed
to attract chaos wherever he went. But of all the 
beings that it had selected over countless millennia, this 
boy Ranma had come the closest to achieving the necessary
qualities that the Forge had been searching for. The Knights 
were a test, they had been given the first hints of the gift 
but all had never been able to move on to the next step. 
After so many failures the ancient creation was starting to 
dispair of ever being able to find 
the One, but now.....

For the first time in nearly a millennia the Forge knew hope. This 
chosen one had constantly pushed the boundries of his gift and 
discovered new ways to use it, ways that went beyond anything 
any other Cosmoknight had been ever able to achieve. Right now 
he was at cruical point, if he was able to actually take the next step
to the level beyond.....

The Cosmic Forge, Guardian of the Three Galaxies 
laughed.....

...and prayed.
~~~~~~~~

Ryoga the donkey was running as
 if the entire population of the Nine 
Hells were after him.

�Git back here Bessie! I got needs to be relieved!!!�

If anything Ryoga ran faster after hearing that.
Bad enough being used as a pack animal but that....

That was a fate worst then death!!!!

{DAMN YOU RANMA!!! THIS IS ALL YOUR
 FAULT!!!}

Ryoga kept on running long after he lost the grizzly 
old man that was chasing him. He didn�t pay any 
attention to where he was going

Say, didn�t that bunch of pools up ahead look familar?

That stray thought took awhile to get the occupied jackass�s attention.

{AAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!}

*SPLASH*

It was a long night.

(to be continued in Chapter III)

(P.S. I may add another addition to this chapter, 
it still feels a little unfinished)

(1) Contragravity involves using anti-graviton particles to 
neutralize the effects of gravity on an object. This technology 
is the basis for anti-gravity systems and the primary method
for achieving speeds greater then light.

(2) Tattoo Magic: each tattoo can be activated to give 
Ranma a specific power for a limited amount of time.
All use up a lot of power since Ranma has to pay twice the 
amount of energy they normally require because he has only 
five tattoos.

(Chest)Phoenix arising from flames: Super Healing & Resurrection(Restricted)
(Shoulder)Knight in Armor: Magical Armor
(Upper arm)Three Eyes: Supernatural Vision
(Includes see invisible & detect magic)
(Behind wrist) Heart in Chains: Limited Invincibility
(Ditto) Eye between two lines: Magical Vision(Able to recognize 
magical items and symbols plus can also use scrolls)

(3) You didn�t really think they�d give up that easily did you?

*$*$*$*

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
>From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

-Robert Frost

"a politician is an arse upon
which everyone has sat except a man"

-E.E. Cummings
 

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