A touch of grammar correction here, a bit more character 
motivation there...

	Mousse was a blur.  One minute he and Shampoo were arguing from 
opposite sides of the dinner table, the next they were huddled together 
beneath his golf umbrella.  Flipping his glasses onto his face with a 
sharp nod, he stared through the umbrella's one transparent wedge, 
looking for the cause of the destruction.  A giant saurian eye stared back.
	*Dragon!* Shampoo shouted.  Her breath was warm on Mousse's ear, but 
the winds muted her voice to the faintest whisper.  He wouldn't have 
understood her at all if he hadn't already been thinking the same thing.
	Sharp talons tore into one of the walls, and that much more of 
the hut came apart, wet cardboard in a child's hands.  The Joketsuzoku 
veterans hunched low, guarding themselves against the elements as best 
they could.  Transforming now would be very, very bad.
	*BROOK,* the dragon roared, *I HAVE COME FOR YOU!*  Its voice 
echoed with thunder, cutting through the howling winds and further 
deafening the humans.  Mousse saw his daughter shouting something back at 
the beast.  Her words, carried away by the storm, had no impact on the 
dragon.  It reached for her.
	Brook was having none of that.  She picked the dinner table up 
over her head and and slammed it down on the dragon's claw.  Wood 
shattered, and the dragon reflexively pulled back.  The young amazon 
followed up her assault with what was left of the chairs, throwing them 
at the dragon's head one after the other.
	Mousse felt Shampoo tense, her arm around his waist pulling them 
closer together.  Years of familiarity communicated her plan; words were 
useless in this environment, and only actions had a voice.
	Shampoo jumped, carrying Mousse to the top of what was left of the 
wall.  He let go of the umbrella; she caught it and jumped again, this 
time giving her lover the height and the angle he needed to attack.
	It was a cold, calculated plan, unlike anything either would have 
thought of twenty years before.  Age and experience made a world of 
difference.  Where before, the sight of a loved one in danger would have 
sent them both charging headfirst into battle, now it just gave them 
incentive to be that much more exact.  Chains sprang from Mousse's sleeves, 
wrapping around the dragon's head like a wrought-iron muzzle.  The 
chains also served to alter the trajectory of Shampoo's jump, and the 
two of them landed on top of the opposite wall.
	The Amazon released her hold on Mousse, instead taking up half the 
impromptu steel leashes.  She jumped a third time, reversing the path of 
her last flight while Mousse anchored himself where he stood.  The fifties 
B-movie fishbowl helmet he now wore only kept his head dry, but he'd 
waterproofed his robes years ago.  They'd hold out against the rain, for 
a little while, at least...

	Shun didn't like what he saw.
	Two world-class martial artists reaching meltdown in a domestic 
argument was bad, but it was something he could understand.  He'd heard 
about the Saotomes, after all.  A dragon, now, that was something else 
entirely.  Dragons just didn't happen in real life.  You only saw them at 
the movies.  _Or in mystic China._
	Brook was busy throwing everything she could find.  That seemed 
to be about as effective as taking a flyswatter to Mothra.  It was also 
hard on the furniture.  _Not that they'll need much, considering that 
they don't even have a_ roof _anymore.  And there goes kitchenwear!  I 
guess I'd better offer Shampoo my employee discount at Grace Brothers._
	Tachi held her bokken in both hands, standing firm against the 
stormwinds that tore through what was left of the hut.  Shun crawled 
over to her.  "You look about as menacing as an angry kitten."  She 
couldn't hear him; Shun saw that she was concentrating on the battle.  
"Oh no you don't!" he shouted, realizing her intentions.  He grabbed her 
around the waist and pulled her to the ground.  "Leave this to the 
professional homicidal women!"
	Tachi struggled madly, but she didn't have much leverage, and she 
was determined to hang on to her bokken.  That was enough of a handicap for 
Shun to maintain his feeble attempt at a wrestling pin.  "Let go of me!" 
the girl shouted, elbowing him in the chest to emphasize her point.
	"Ow, dammit, cut it out!"  Shun tried wrapping his legs around 
her, vainly searching for a way to hold a person who was bigger, 
stronger, and more determined than he was.  "You're not making my job any 
easier, you know."
	"I said, 'Let Go!'"  Tachi finally dropped her sword, only to 
plant her fist in his face.  Shun felt a lot of pain.  Then he felt 
nothing...

	Tachi pulled herself free from Shun's limp arms.  There was a 
battle going on, and once again she was less than useless.  _At least in 
the Nekohanten I had the excuse of being tied up.  Here, thanks to Shun, 
I'm just excess baggage._
	She watched Shampoo and Mousse as they jumped back and forth in their 
battle with the dragon.  They looked like a pair of spiders, weaving a web 
around an enormous fly.  It was a clever plan, certainly more intricate 
than anything her uncle would have thought up.  Ranma would have attacked 
the dragon head-on.  _Of course, he'd probably be able to win._
	The adults finished their midair dancing simultaneously.  _I've 
never seen teamwork like that before.  Everyone back home is too stubborn 
to fight together properly._
	An arm around her waist startled Tachi out of her analysis.  She 
made a fist, expecting to wallop Shun again.  Instead she saw Brook.  The 
young Amazon helped Tachi to her feet, then shouted something Tachi 
couldn't hear.  _I'm glad Mom taught me to read lips._  She pantomimed 
agreement with Brook's suggestion to leave, then bent down to get a good 
grip on Shun's unmoving body.  _We need to get him out of here before he 
gets hurt._
	Brook had a slightly different take on the plan.  She picked Shun 
off the ground with one arm, grabbed Tachi with the other, then ran out 
the front door.  She didn't bother to open it, but by this time the hut 
was in such bad shape that she didn't need Amazon muscles to break 
through the wall.  "Hey, wait," Tachi cried.  "What do you think you're 
doing?"  She struggled, but Brook was carrying her like a sack of rice, 
and there was no way for Tachi to break free and hit the girl.  "Let me 
go!" she pleaded.  "I can help you!  Honest!"

	The dragon seemed surprised, unwilling to believe anyone would 
dare to fight back, let alone that they would be successful.  It snorted, 
fog pouring through its nostrils as it struggled against the chains that 
bound it.  Mousse and Shampoo braced themselves, knowing full well what 
would happen if the dragon could work its way free.
	The beast coiled, then swung its tail at one of the remaining 
walls.  Jade scales crashed through timber, knocking Mousse from his 
perch and tearing half the chains free from their anchors.  Mousse landed 
on his back, hard, and the waterproofing on his robes gave out.  A wet, 
stunned MuMu-chan lay trapped beneath a fishbowl, staring up a an angry 
dragon hundreds of times his size.
	Another swing, another crash, and neko-Shampoo was left to 
confront the beast alone.  Cat-women might always land on their feet, but 
they still get wet when they fall in a puddle, umbrella or not.
	The dragon ignored the animals; what could they do to stop him?  
Instead it flexed its jaws, snapping the chains that muzzled it.  *BROOK!* 
it roared.  *YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME!*
 ______
{B-{=__