Chapter 2  Humiliation
	
	Next week, as promised, Lucca and her friends arrived at the Tendo dojo.  Ranma had put together a team that would fight Lucca's friend.  They were Ranma, Ryouga, Mousse, Shampoo, Ukyou, Kunou.  Putting the team together had been easy enough.  Shampoo and Ukyou helped willingly.  Ryouga wanted to fight to sharpen his martial arts skill, not to mention that this was another opportunity to be close to Akane.  Mousse followed wherever Shampoo goes, and Kunou offered his "unconditional assistance to smite the enemies of the pigtailed goddess" when Ranma accidentally fell in the pond.  Ranma knew everyone had their own motives, but he wasn't worried.  There just wasn't that many ways for someone to ambush him in a one-on-one battle as opposed to a team brawl.  Ranma knew they were short-handed but could care less.  <Maybe I'll just surprise them by taking all of them myself,> thought Ranma, <That way that pesky brat Lucca will finally learn some respect!  She'll learn not to fool with me, the world's best martial artist!>

	Ranma had reluctantly asked Akane for help just so that Akane wouldn't think Ranma didn't respect her.  <The last thing I need is to get hurt by that tomboy before the fighting even begin.  These people look good enough,> he told himself.  As Ranma expected, Akane promptly refused to take any part in Ranma's 'foolish fighting' but agreed to watch the fight.  As Akane silently sat down in the dojo, she thought, <It is not like Ranma really needs me.  This is just a friendly match, after all.  It is not like we're fighting to the death or anything.  Why should I care, then?  If Ranma might die, maybe I'll be nice to him for once.  Now, though, that can wait.  Despite the fool and jerk he is, he should be able to handle these people by himself.  When it comes to martial arts, Ranma never lose.  I'm sure he'll win.  At least he was thoughtful and asked.  I don't ask for much.  If only Ranma can be like how he is today, I will be very happy.  However, he can't even do that!  Why do we get into to fight all the time anyway?  We can't even be neutral to each other!  Well... well... it is all Ranma's fault!  He is such a jerk!>

	"We're ready whenever you are!" declared Ranma.

	"Wait," interrupted Lucca as she pointed her finger to Akane, "Isn't she going to fight?"

	"Ha!" stated Ranma, "We don't need Akane.  She is too slow and only get in my way.  We're better off without her..."

	"Ranma, you jerk!" screamed Akane reflexively.  It was a weird thing.  It wasn't the insult, not at all.  She didn't really hate Ranma for insulting her because she was quite accustomed to Ranma's insensitive remarks.  After being insulted for almost everyday in her life with Ranma, Akane could really care less about what Ranma had to say.  However, she felt that there was an urge to hit him.  <It is almost as if something is wrong if I don't hit him,> thought Akane, <If I don't hit him, people will start making up stories about us.  Then our relationship gets even worse.  It is better that we just insult and hit each other.  At least our fighting never turned out to be serious.  It... it is the only way I can treat him sometimes.>  Akane reached for her mallet to smack Ranma, only to find that she couldn't pull it free.  It was as if some other force was restraining her.  Try as she might, she could not pull her mallet free.  Turning around, Akane quickly noticed the cause.  A robot-looking creature was casually holding down Akane's hyperdimensional mallet with one finger.  Akane was furious and continued to try to pull her mallet free.  Eventually, Akane noticed that this wasn't going anywhere and had to give up on bashing Ranma.

	Ranma, oblivious to what had happened, wondered, <What's wrong with Akane today?  She usually hits me for saying things like that.  I was fully expecting a hammering, but it didn't happen.  It feels... kind of weird.  It almost feels as if I need to get hit...  Oh well, I can worry about that later.  Maybe for once she isn't such a violent tomboy after all.>

	Meanwhile, Lucca continued, "It wouldn't be fair for us to have a man advantage over you.  Robo, why don't you just sit next to her and watch the fight."

	"Surely, Lucca." answered the robot-creature that was holding Akane's mallet earlier.

	<So that's his/its name,> thought Akane as she slumped back to her seat, <I'm not going to let that Robo get away with this that easily.  How dare he/it humiliate me like that!  He/it shouldn't have got in between my business with Ranma!  Besides, it is not like I was actually going to hurt Ranma!  We do this all the time.  Why does he/it have to interfere!>

	Just as Akane was brainstorming the possible ways she could revenge, Robo walked to her and apologized, "Miss Tendo?  I'm terribly sorry for what I did a moment earlier.  I know that was rude, but I can't see you hit Mr. Saotome like that.  Resorting to force to solve problem is not the right way to do so.  You can hit me or do whatever else you want do as long as it will make you happy."

	That was not something Akane expected.  She was used to living with the insensitive and rude likes of Ranma or Kunou.  She had rarely met anyone who was remotely polite and well-mannered, save maybe Ryouga.  Akane's flashfire temper quickly cooled off and she realized that she was at fault also.  "Uh..., it was nothing, really.  I guess I...  I probably have my faults, too." apologized Akane.

	"You are too kind, Miss Tendo.  I thank you for your kindness." said Robo.

	<He's awfully polite,> thought Akane, <If only Ranma was half as polite and gentle like him/it, instead of being that insensitive and rude jerk!  I really wish Ranma can be a little bit more gentle sometimes.  That Robo is strong too, being able to restrain me so easily.  Even Ranma couldn't have done that so easily, not when I'm angry.  He may be a lot stronger than I'm, but I can always beat him up when he get me mad.  Wait a second, these people seem so confident that they didn't need Robo.  If Robo reflected their average strength, then, what does this mean for Ranma?  Would he be hurt?  WAIT!  WHAT AM I THINKING!  Why should I care how his stupid fight go!>

	While Akane was cursing herself for being concerned and worried about Ranma, Lucca continued, "Then it's all settled.  Frog will fight for us first.  Which one of you will fight him?"

	A short little frog-like creature stepped forward and it was evident that he was the one called Frog.  Before Ranma could answer, Kunou jumped in front and replied, "I, Tatewaki Kunou, accepts the challenge from this, um, frog!"

	<He's just trying to show off to Akane by beating that Frog person,> thought 
Ranma, <Or, maybe it is for the 'pigtail goddess'.  Oh well, I suppose that even the likes of Kunou can defeat that mutated frog thing.  Good choice, Kunou.  This is going to be a piece of cake, even for you.>

	"Ah, thou art indeed heedless.  I was like thee once before," remarked Frog, "Alas, Crono, wilt thou lend me thy wooden sword.  I have no desire to use the Masamune for such a fight like this."

	The boy named Crono silently handed his wooden sword to Frog.

	"Ah, while this may not be the Masamune," continued Frog as he held the wooden blade high, "Alas, I feel the spirit of Cyrus flows through me through even this wooden blade!  Alas, let us fight!"

	"I shall smite thee, evil creature!" declared Kunou, "The vengeance of the Heavens is slow but sure.  I shall destroy a pest like you!"

	<When is that Frog going to finish his speech?> wondered Ranma, <he talked just like Kunou!  Well, neither of them is understandable, anyway.  Although Kunou may be an idiot, he is actually pretty strong.  He should have no problem defeating this mutant Frog.>

	Kunou charged straight into Frog and attacked Frog with his bokken.  There was a flurry of motion and then Frog emerged unscathed, while Kunou lay unconscious on the floor.

	"He is in no danger," commented Frog, "A few day of rest and he should be okay again.  Thou art quite formidable, but thou wilt need more training to defeat me.  Thou hast good potential to be a good swordsman.  I look forward to the day when we shall fight again.  Until then, farewell."

	<I guess they are pretty good,> thought Ranma, <Still, beating Kunou doesn't mean anything.  I could have done that myself.>

	Meanwhile, Akane was rather puzzled at Kunou's defeat and asked, "Robo, what happened?"

	"Oh, Miss Tendo.  Frog attacked Mr. Kunou and..." began Robo.

	"Wait," interrupted Akane, "How did you know our names?  I do not believe I was introduced to you yet.  And can you please stop addressing me as "Miss Tendo", or Ranma as "Mr. Saotome"?  This formality is... you know... rather uncomfortable.  Hey, you call your friends by their names, don't you?  You didn't call Frog Mr. so-and-so.  Just don't be so formal, okay?"

	"Sorry, I forgot that human don't like formality," apologized Robo, "You're really  keen and observant, Akane.  Now, to answer your question.  I came from 2300 AD and my memory banks contained information about everything that happened prior to 2300 AD"

	"Oh, I see," said Akane, not really too surprised.  After living with Ranma so long, she figured that anything was possible as long as Ranma was around.  <So this time it is time travel and people from the future.  I've seen weirder things during my life with Ranma.  I'm keen and observant?  Make that when Ranma's not around!  I can't believe how foolish and stupid I can be in front of that insensitive jerk!  It's weird... as if I can't act normal in front of him.  So, that Robo knows everything that has happened and almost everything that will happen, up to 2300 AD anyway.> she thought, <I always thought that time travel was some kind of crazy idea!  Guess I'm wrong on this one.  Wait!  He knows everything...>  Akane thought several moments to decide whether or not to ask her question.  Then, summoning her courage, she timidly asked, "Uh... Robo, I would like to know.... that... who am I... uhh... married... to?"

	"Searching the information right now," responded Robo, "Hm... it appears as if you didn't marry anyone."

	"What?" asked Akane.  She always thought she would marry someone and deep down inside she knew she would marry Ranma.  "Okay, um... what about Ranma?" she added.

	"Okay, Ranma Saotome... born in Japan... he is supposed to be the heir of the Anything-goes Martial Art School... died at the age of 16 on about 6 months from now..." paused Robo, "Reason of death... unknown... It appears that one day he went off with someone for a martial art combat.  Location: unknown.  He was never seen again after that fight and presumed to be dead.  His body was never found even in 2300 AD  Suggested reasons of death:  He fought someone and probably was somehow vaporized in the process, therefore the body was never found."

	"Mmmm..." Akane tried act calm, but she couldn't.  <In six months, Ranma would die and get vaporized,> thought Akane, <Very possible... consider the kind of people Ranma had fought already.  Ranma was going to die in a mere 6 months.>  "Can I... um... change the future?" asked Akane, "I mean... Ranma is my fiancee, after all..."

	"Yes, it is possible," agreed Robo, "As Frog would say:  No one this young is supposed to die.  If he shouldn't die, then he shouldn't."

	"Oh, I see," answered Akane.  <I always wanted to make sure,> she thought, <If it is going to be Ranma, then... I guess I'll live with it.  It is not easy, but I think I can do it.  But... if it isn't going to be Ranma, then I might as well break off our engagement right now!  For one thing, I don't like to be around that senseless jerk!  But now... he is going to die... I must stop it!  Even if Ranma was only my friend I should do it.  Our relationship... no matter what... I will not let him just die like this!>

	"Anyway," continued Robo, "The future is not fixed, Akane.  I wouldn't be worried about your marriage just yet nor Ranma's death.  You are still young.  There is plenty of time for changes to happen between now and your marriage.  Just remember, the future is always changeable.  The Day of Lavos was supposed to occur, and that was prevented.  There was once a future where Marle died, and we changed that as well.  If it is the right thing to do, then you can change the future."

	"Day of Lavos?" asked Akane, "What is that?"

	"An event in 1999 AD," answered Robo, "Let's just say Earth would have been destroyed had it not been prevented."

	Akane thought, <So there still is time for change, he says.  I guess he is right.  If it is possible to change something that important it shouldn't be any problem to change this minor event.  I shouldn't worry too much about this fiancee stuff.  After all, future's changeable, isn't it?  I better start looking out for Ranma and make sure he doesn't die.  After that, there will be time to think about our future.  Well, Ranma.  Let's see how well you and I can do, and that'll determine our future, okay?  First... you got to survive... and I'll make sure you do.  No one else will write our future for us.  Let you and me be the one that have the final say on this.>

	Akane continued to dream happily about her future when she suddenly remembered that every time she tried to confide her true feelings for Ranma, someone else always managed to hear it and would spread the truth.  In the end, it always caused her or Ranma to be embarrassed and end up saying things they didn't want to.  It was almost as if they couldn't even summon enough courage to admit that they cared for each other and must do something incredibly foolish to prove their point.  She knew that she would die from embarrassment if anyone ever found out that she was asking whether Ranma was going to be her future husband.  <This time I'm not going to let people found this out!  This is my decision, and I don't want anyone starting rumors again!> thought Akane.  Turning around, she asked Robo, "Oh Robo, please promise me that you would tell NO ONE about this, okay?  I absolutely positively do not want anyone to know about this.  Just keep this between you and me, please?"

	"That request has been stored in my memory banks and will be honored." replied Robo.

	"Thank you, Robo.  You don't know how much this means to me." Akane thanked Robo.  She already had a vivid picture of what could have happen: someone heard about Akane asking about her future marriage and starts to spread rumors that she really loves Ranma after all.  Then, either she or Ranma would deny this like crazy and end up hurting each other in the process.  <This has happened too many times,> thought Akane, <It is not going to happen again!  Whether I really love him or not, no one else needs to know.>

	While Akane was asking these questions to Robo, the fighting continued.  Lucca was the next person to fight for her group.  Ranma, a bit unconfident and uneasy about his first encounter with Lucca, decided not to fight her himself.  Instead, Mousse volunteered to fight.

	Lucca pulled out a toy gun from her pocket and declared, "I shall use this weapon so that I won't risk killing any of you on accident."

	Ranma was fuming.  It was almost like his first encounter with Mousse when Mousse used toy ducks as weapons.  Ranma considered to personally handle that annoying brat, but decided not to as the fight between Mousse and Lucca already started.  Mousse launched his impressive arsenal of weapons.  Lucca made no obvious attempts to dodge the weapons and she got hit from the whole gamut of weapons from Mousse ranging from swords to bombs to everyday objects.  No... Ranma noticed that she was avoiding things like swords and knifes, and wasn't trying to dodge the impact weapons.  Ranma realized that he would o the same as well, because he could block most of the weapons.  A sword or a knife, however, would hurt him regardless of how well his defense was.  Eventually, she used the toy gun as an impact weapon and whacked Mousse on the head several times with her toy gun and knocked Mousse unconscious.  Ranma was surprised.  Even Mousse shouldn't have lost this easily, especially from the damage of a toy gun.

	"Thank you.  Now you know the power of Lucca the great!" Lucca bowed as she stepped down.

	The rest of the fights didn't go well, either.  Ranma silently watched as the one called Ayla easily withstood all of Shampoo's attacks and then she tossed Shampoo into low earth orbit.  For a while it looked like Ryouga might have a chance to defeat the one called Magus, or, at least, before Ryouga got lost.  Magus dodged one of Ryouga's attacks by hovering in the air.  Ranma wasn't even remotely surprised.  He has seem far too many stranger things in his life.  However, Ryouga deduced that Magus must have ran away from the battle and chased after him.   Needless to say, Ryouga went the wrong the direction and got lost.  Ranma hasn't seem Ryouga ever since then.

	"Crono and I will take the final match together," announced Marle,  "Hey you, Ranma, right?  That girl over there, she's called Akane, right?  Isn't she your girlfriend or something?  Why don't you two fight Crono and me?"

	"Well, there's no way I am going to pair up with that tomboy," replied Ranma,  "She's not my girlfriend!  I guess I'll just pair up with Ukyou..."

	<Here we go again!> thought Akane.  "Ranma, you jerk!" screamed Akane.  Again, her action was more reflexive than actual anger.  She hammered Ranma smack in the head with the mallet she conveniently drawn from hammerspace.

	"Oh no!  If you have already taken damage then the fight wouldn't be fair!" remarked Marle, "Here, let me help you, AURA!"

	Just as Ranma was wondering what in the world that Marle girl was doing, he felt that he seemed to recover his health already.  Feeling refreshed, Ranma replied, "Who needs your help?  I'm fine and let's fight!"

	"How ignorant," sighed Marle, "Are you really sure you don't want to pair up with her?  I'm always pretty good at these kind of stuff, and I think you like her."

	"Me?  Never!" answered Ranma and Akane simultaneously.

	"All right," conceded Marle, "I guess I might be wrong.  By the way, Crono doesn't like to talk he doesn't need to, so I'll be doing all the talking.  We promise to go easy on you, okay?  Don't take that as an insult, mind you.  If you're good enough we will of course use our full power."

	Meanwhile, Akane had calmed down and can't help but to ask, "Robo, why didn't you stop me?  I thought you don't like people solving problems with force?"

	"Well, stopping you would be also using another form of force to prevent you from using force on someone else.  Therefore, that doesn't really help the situation.  In the end, I still have to use force to stop you, right?" shrugged Robo, "I figure that you might as well let your feeling out.  I see that you feel much better now after you hit Ranma, Akane.  Besides, I already analyzed your strength and figure it wouldn't do serious damage to Ranma.  Also, not to offend you or your friend, but it really wouldn't have made any difference anyway.  Finally, I'm not too sure about this as human emotions are always hard to tell, but I don't think you really hate him, don't you Akane?  After all, you're his fiancee.  You say that yourself."

	"You got that one wrong, Robo!" replied Akane, "I really hate him.  He is such a jerk.  He never cares about me.  All he do is insult me.  Why shouldn't I hate him?  You may be super-smart and know every single fact, but you don't have a clue about human emotions!"

	"Whatever," agreed Robo, "Well, you know this a lot more than I do.  I say just trust your true feelings.  If this is the way you really feel, then go right ahead.  I won't be stopping you."

	Akane almost couldn't stop laughing when she realized that Robo really believed her.  <Oh my gosh!  I'm criticizing someone having no idea about human emotions!  Who am I to say Robo doesn't know anything about human emotions?  I sure don't know anything about it!  Heck, even though he is a robot, he probably knows more about it than me!  He's right, too.  I don't really hate Ranma, that much I'm sure.  But... how I really feel... my true feelings,> thought Akane, <I don't know.  I hate him.  No, that's a lie.  Okay, so I don't hate him.  I'm just his friend and his fiancee.  No... that's a lie too.  I guess I love Ranma.  No, I do love Ranma, but it is so hard!  Yes... Robo was right.  I do love him.  Still, sometimes I can't help but to wonder if it was just that fiancee vow that keep us together!  I wish I can just let it all out, but it is so hard to say how I really feel to that jerk!  Sorry, Ranma.  It is your fault, too!  You force me to treat you the way I always treat you.>

	Akane then thought of something else, "Robo, about what you said earlier.  Why wouldn't it make any difference."

	"Marle and Crono will win no matter what," answered Robo, "First, my analysis shows that Marle and Crono clearly exceeds Ranma and Ukyou in any category.  This, obviously, was because Marle and Crono trained very hard.  Also, Ranma obviously didn't take Marle's advise and may even underestimate Marle and Crono.  From what I've heard from Lucca I've deduced that Ranma is probably aggressive, reckless, and lacks the quality of patience.  Factoring all this in, I really don't see anyway for your friend to win.  Crono and Marle are better, simply put.  Ranma's recklessness and lack of patience will cause them to lose even if they are at a same level as Marle and Crono.  Remember that anger tends to cause people to make bad judgments.  Even you, Akane.  When you are insulted by Ranma you acted so immaturely.  I know it is possible for human to overcome almost insurmountable odds, but not in this case.  Nothing is really at stake here, and I'm sure Ranma will underestimate Marle and Crono."

	Akane was simply amazed.  It wasn't the part about how good Crono and Marle was surprised her.  After all, she did heard Lucca mentioning something about saving the world and it does seem now that they're much better than any of the enemies Ranma had ever fought.  However, it was that analysis of Ranma's personality and Akane's behavior that amazed her.  Robo had only seem Ranma and her for a few minutes, and already he knew this much.  <Who say machine can't understand human emotion?> she wondered, <Robo probably knows more about human emotions than Ranma and me combined!  He's right, of course.  I always act immaturely whenever Ranma insults me.  Ranma is indeed aggressive, reckless, and does not have patience.  And he says he doesn't know much about human feelings!  Wonder how I should rank in my understanding of these things?>

	While Akane was talking to Robo, Ranma had already started to attack Crono.  To Ranma's surprise, Crono moved with an amazing agility and easily dodged his attack.  <I thought I was pretty fast,> thought Ranma, <But look at him.  My fists can't even touch him!>  Ranma continued to try to hit Crono in rage, but he knew it was probably futile.  Taking a quick glance at the battlefield, Ranma noted that Marle was also passively dodging Ukyou's attacks.  He also realized that both Marle and Crono had not fight back yet!  Ranma was furious.  <Those people hadn't even bother to fight back yet!>  As the battle continued, Ranma realized that the girl named Marle was considerably slower than Crono.  <She is fast, all right,> thought Ranma, <But not nearly as fast as the Crono person.  I think she is probably as fast, or maybe a little bit faster, than me.  As much as I hate attacking girls, it seems like I have no choice.  Okay.  This is a formal martial arts challenge.  She is my opponent, so I must defeat her first.  I must knock her out first and with a two-on-one advantage we'll be able to win!>

	Ranma slowly moved closer and closer to Marle while pretending to continue to attack Crono, knowing that he probably won't hit him anyway.  Finally, Ranma got close enough and he got his chance.  Ranma suddenly shifted his attack from Crono and concentrated his attacks on Marle.  Caught off guard, Marle didn't have enough time to dodge Ranma's attack.  That was all the time Ranma needed as he delivered around 100 solid punches.  The force of Ranma's punches slammed Marle back into the walls.  After that, Ranma grabbed Ukyou and retreated to a safe distance to see what happened.

	"I can't believe this!" exclaimed Akane, "Ranma attacked a girl?  He must be really mad to use so much force on that girl.  Is she going to be all right, Robo?"

	"An interesting tactic, trying to take out Marle first...  Oh, don't worry about it, Akane," smiled Robo, "It might have caught Marle off guard, but no serious damage was done.  See, I told you he's angry."

	"Really, but..." began Akane and then she stopped abruptly as she noticed that Robo was right.  Marle was hurt, that's true.  However, the seriousness of the damage was far below what Ranma and Akane thought.  Marle quickly got up and wiped the dust of her face.  She seemed just as healthy and energetic as before.  "Wow...  That hurts, you know!" remarked Marle, "You could have done my damage.  Why did you hold back your power?  I see... that's because I'm a girl!  I'll teach you a lesson for thinking all girls are wimps!  You just got lucky there, and now I will no longer be so careless again."

	Ranma was partly relieved and partly disappointed.  The punches did far less damage than he thought, but they did work.  Marle was right, too.  Ranma still had felt uneasy hitting a girl and didn't hit hard as hard as he could have.  Ranma now knew that he wasn't fighting some kind of invincible superhuman.  They were much better than Ranma, that much Ranma would confess.  Still, Ranma knew he has beaten people much better than himself before such as Herb.  Ranma hoped that Marle would be angry and lose control of herself, but she didn't.  She was only temporary shocked by getting hit and hurt from someone she didn't expected.  After she got up, the momentary shock was gone and a calm and confident look returned to her cheerful smiling face.  Ranma noticed uneasily as a bluish aura seemed to gather around her.  It reminded him of the times when Akane was REALLY angry.  Unlike Akane, though, Marle seemed to be in perfect control of her power.  When Akane get that bluish aura around her, she would be on the brink of going berserk.  However, Marle was simply calmly and confidently building her power to a higher potential.

	It only took matter of seconds for Marle to finish.  With that familiar bluish aura still surrounding her, Marle announced, "Ah!  That feels great!  It's been such a long time since I've warmed up to battle-ready status.  Ready?   ICE!"  With that, she sent a blast of ice storm toward Ranma.  Ranma instinctively dived out of the ice blast's way.  He took a quick glance at realized that the ice blast had completely eradicated a section of the wall.  Marle, obviously displeased for missing Ranma, sent a few more ice blasts and eventually one of them scored a direct hit.  The power of the ice blast sent Ranma crashing through the walls.  "You have to do better than that to defeat me," taunted Ranma, "I take it that it is magic, right?  Ha!  After dealing with all these magic all these years magical attacks isn't anything too surprising.  That was good, but not enough to defeat me!  You'll never be able to defeat me with these pathetic attacks!"

	"If you take a few more of these it'll be enough," retorted Marle confidently, "Don't even bother.  You want me to just attack you blindly and hope you'll win?  You think I'll lose my judgment in a frantic effort to win?  I've plenty of patience, Ranma.  We'll see who's going to win soon enough."

	Meanwhile, Akane was watching and thinking, too.  <It is almost like the fight he had against Ryouga,> she thought, <But how can that girl have the same stamina as Ryouga?  She is only my age!  She doesn't look like she is any more better built than I am.  How can she have that kind of stamina to simply shrug off Ranma's attacks?>

	Ranma cursed as his plans to insult the opponent obviously failed.  His previous foes, no matter how strong, always shared a common flaw.  They do not have patience and fall for his tricks easily.  Even if his enemies were better, their judgments and abilities were hindered by their blind rage.  Now, though, Marle was obviously not falling for that.  If anything, Ranma was the one being blinded by rage.  Marle shot some more ice blast through the air, but Ranma managed to dodge them.  Then, Marle fired another blast of icy energy and it was a complete miss.  Ranma couldn't resist this chance and taunted, "Look!  You missed completely!"

	"If only you'll watched more carefully, " smiled Marle, "I'll warn you on this.  Be prepared for Crono and my special attack, the Icesword!"

	"What?" puzzled Ranma as he turned around.  He saw Crono drew his wooden sword and Ranma immediately felt energy and power pulsating from the blade.  Crono leapt high in the air and prepared to attack. 

	Even as Crono was ascending in air, Ranma felt the heat and intensity of Crono's power.  <What timing!  How do they do it so well?  Foolish girl, though.  If she didn't warn me I would have been hit because her attack would have distracted me.  Now, though, I'll let them know my true powers!  He s going to try to attack me from the top,> thought Ranma, <I can already feel the heat of his attack.  Feels more like energy than heat... but it will do.  Hiryu Shoten Ha is not that effective against energy, but it will work.  The energy caused by his attack should be enough for me to use my Hiryu Shoten Ha to knock that him out!>

	Meanwhile, Crono had completed his ascent and was beginning to descent upon Ranma with his sword.  Just as Ranma was preparing for his Hiryu Shoten Ha, he noticed something was very wrong.  The icy blast was heading for Crono.  It was meant to hit Crono, not as a distraction.  Still, Ranma didn't have enough time to think about this and had to continue with his original plan.  Just prior to Crono's descent, Crono caught the icy blast with his sword and dived down to attack Ranma.  "I have you now," shouted Ranma, "HIRYU SHOTEN HA!"
	
	To Ranma's surprise, his punch didn't create any tornado at all.  Even as he wondered what went wrong with his attack, Crono had descended upon him.  The last thing he saw was the ice blade Crono wielded and then everything turned black.  Just before he lost his consciousness, he seemed to hear Marle commenting, "Sorry about that!  Didn't really mean it!  This is fun, though.  Hope you'll be okay!"