Okay, some notes before I get into this:

1. I apologize for the last two versions of this. There were more
errors in there than I care to admit, and places where I planned
things out poorly. I've fixed them, and this should be the final
revision of the first chapters. 
2. I've been advised by one reader to tag this as a darkfic. Seems
like a good idea, so there it is. If this is your first time
reading...you've been warned.




Disclaimers: 

Ranma 1/2 is the property of Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan, Kitty, and
VIZ Communications.
Rockman and Rockman X are the property of Capcom. 

<historical log file: 1997.7.11>
<Nerima, Tokyo, Japan, Asia>
<File comments: Project Salvage initiation>
<File authenticator: Dr. Light, cyberneticist>

<processing file...commencing data playback...>

 ---hajime---

	In a remote laboratory hidden beneath an abandoned warehouse in the
Nerima district, a rotund, elderly man in a white lab coat examined a
terminal screen, frowned, and tapped several keys on the control pad.
An image on the screen flickered, then steadied. The man smiled
slightly, and walked to the other side of the lab.
	He stopped in front of a large metal locker, which had two glass
panels in the doors. Through each glass panel, a smooth, pale, young
face was visible. The faces were marred only by small indentures in
the skin here and there, where bits of metal glinted, and wires ran
into various monitors lining the locker.
	"The tests are achieving all the desired results," the man said,
smiling kindly at the faces. "If the last set of data checks out
positively, it'll be time to bring the first of you to awareness..."
	Suddenly, an alarm klaxon blared. The man looked up, eyes wide with
shock. The klaxon sounding indicated an unauthorized teleport into
the laboratory confines. "Albert?" he called out, "Is that you?"
	A flash of blue light ripped the air above his head, and two objects
fell to the ground. One appeared to be a futuristic silicon
clipboard, with a message hastily scrawled onto its translucent
surface. The other...he paled.
	The other object, by all rights, shouldn't have existed. He'd
definitely sketched plans to develop it someday, if his current
experiments were successful...did that mean it had worked? He picked
up the smooth blue energy-matrix crystal, and turned it over in his
hands.
	On one side, the crystal was charred black, cracks lining its
surface. He felt tears coming to his eyes as he looked at the damage,
knowing full well what it meant. He picked up the clipboard, and read
its message.
	<Dr. Light-I am writing to you from a time in your distant future.
My name is Cain. A number of years ago, I discovered your buried
experiment, and activated him. Since then, many others based on your
design have been built...but something went horribly wrong. A virus
broke out among them, causing many of them to become corrupt, evil.
Your original model became the first among many to help thwart the
threat from the virus...but the Irregulars have, alas, become too
powerful.>
	<I am writing this, to warn you. A group of Irregulars has traveled
into the past, into your era, and I fear the harm they will do to the
course of history.>
	<You hold proof that what I say is true. The crystal which I sent
with the message is what remains of the heart of X.>
	Dr. Light dropped the clipboard numbly, and stared at the marred
indigo crystal. Sinking to his knees, he wept.

	Dr. Wily stalked into the basement lab, wicked thoughts churning
through his mind. He had already begun coding the algorithms which
would be neccessary to reprogram Light's machines to turn against
him. As soon as the final testing was done on the robots, he would
reprogram their matrices, making them his loyal followers. He rubbed
his hands in evil glee.
	As he entered the lab, he noticed his "partner" on the floor,
weeping. Wily, for all the darkness in his heart, was, for now, still
this man's friend. He walked over, concern--genuine concern--etched
on his craggy face. "Thomas? What's wrong?"
	Light wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "It's...it's nothing."
	"Nothing? Hmmm. --what's this?" Wily picked up the clipboard, and
began reading it.
	Light's eyes widened. "No...don't worry about that..."
	Wily blinked repeatedly, and looked up at his partner. "X? What's
this all about, hmm? And...what's that in your hand?" Wily snatched
the blue crystal from Light, studying it intently. "This crystal..."
	"Albert, please! We must destroy that, and erase all evidence of its
very existence!"
	Wily shook his head. "Nooo...'we' won't be doing anything. *You* are
going to sit down here and be a good boy, while *I*," he said, an
evil smile blooming on his face, "find out what the secret of this
crystal is." He reached out and snatched a code card out of Light's
coat pocket, and walked into the good professor's office, locking the
door behind him.
	Light stood stock-still, shocked. "Albert...what in heaven's name
are you about to do?"

	Wily booted Light's personal computer, and inserted the code card
into the reader. While he waited for the secure files to load, he
turned the crystal over in his hands. "What secrets does this matrix
possess...?" he wondered. "It looks like a power cell, but with some
other purpose integrated..."
	As the secure files began opening, Wily turned his attention back to
the computer. With each passing screen of information, his eyes
widened further, and his grin became more and more sinister. "Well,
well, well," he said to himself. "He was hiding some very interesting
data here. I think I'll forget about those algorithms...and
concentrate on this instead..."
	
	Wily's megalomaniacal laugh reached Light's ears, causing the kind
scientist to tremble in fear...

	--ROCKMAN 1/2--

	A Ranma 1/2 - Rockman - Rockman X crossover by The Eternal Lost
Lurker

	CHAPTER ONE

	"Dammit, Ranma! Hold still so I can crush you!"
	"You gotta be kiddin' me," Saotome Ranma replied as he leapt over an
umbrella strike by his long-time friendly enemy, Hibiki Ryouga.
Ryouga had arrived in Nerima once again, and once again he launched
himself at Ranma, trying to bash the pigtailed boy's brains in. Their
fight was beginning to draw the usual crowd--Akane had arrived early,
and was standing along a nearby fence, arms crossed, scowling at
Ranma. Up the street, Shampoo was pedaling closer on her bicycle, and
Ranma was pretty sure that the rest of the usual crew would make
their appearances anytime soon.
	"Stop picking on Ryouga-kun!" Akane yelled, fuming. Ranma made a
rude gesture at her, which she responded to by pulling a loose board
from the fence and hurling it at him. It smacked Ryouga in the face
instead, and Ranma leapt away, laughing. Akane blushed. "Sorry about
that, Ryouga-kun!"
	Ryouga shrugged. "Don't worry about it." He returned his attention
to Ranma. It seemed like it was going to be another average day in
Nerima.
	Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of blue light in the sky above.
The fighting ground to a halt, as did any speeches or gestures the
recent arrivals to the fight scene were going to make, as the sky
seemed to rip open. A massive black object pulled free from the
opening. It was at least a kilometer long, and looked like a cross
between a zeppelin and an aircraft carrier. From various decks and
ports on the massive vessel, tiny specks began streaming out, which
grew larger as they descended towards the ground.
	"What the hell!?" Ranma wondered.
	"Aiyah! What that?" Shampoo asked.
	Akane stared wide-eyed at the enormous airship. Ukyou, who had just
appeared, smirked and said, "Odds are whatever it is, Ranchan didn't
have anything to do with it this time."
	"INCOMING!" Ryouga yelled. The group cleared out as something
vaguely humanoid touched down in the middle of the street, leaving a
sizeable impact crater. The thing was definitely made of metal, and
its body seemed to be composed of spherical modules. One red eye
glowed on its head, and in one hand it held some type of gun. 
	"It's some kinda robot!" Ranma said.
	The robot looked around, examining each member of their group. It
took aim at Akane with its weapon. Ranma's eyes widened. "NO!"
	The robot turned its eye on him momentarily. It soon found a fist
embedded in its eye, as Ryouga shot forward and punched it in the
head. There was a crack, followed by a spark. Ryouga withdrew his
fist, shaking out his hand as though in pain. The robot's eye was
cracked, and sparks sputtered from the shattered lens. It began
firing its weapon wildly. 
	"Oh no you don't," Ukyou said, dashing in. She struck its elbow
joint with the edge of her spatula. It wasn't enough to tear the limb
free, but it was enough to knock the joint out of place. The arm
ceased moving, and the gun ceased firing.
	Soon, more machines of various types were dropping towards them.
"Heads up guys...there's a whole lot of them, and only a few of us,"
Ranma said. He launched himself into the air, and delivered a
dropkick to a vaguely ostrich-like mechanoid, wrestling it to the
ground. It squawked electronically and flailed its mechanical wings
and legs uselessly. Ryouga smashed his umbrella down on a small robot
with a hardhat-like shell. It clamped the shell over itself, and a
loud clang resounded from the weapon's impact with the metal. Ryouga
smirked, and stabbed a finger at the pavement. "BAKUSAI TENKETSU!"
The street erupted, and the small robot let out a metallic cry of
surprise as it was blasted apart from the inside by concrete
shrapnel. 
	A skeletal robot, carrying a large steel hammer, took a swing at
Akane. The short-haired girl scowled, and grabbed the haft of its
hammer. The robot's jaw dropped as Akane wrenched the weapon free of
its grasp. Akane raised her new mallet, and smashed it over the
robot's head. It collapsed to the ground in a heap. "Alright, who's
next?" Akane growled. Several mechanoids began backing away from her
fearfully.
	The melee lasted for over ten minutes, as the martial artists
pounded various mechanical creatures into the ground. Mousse had
arrived, and at some point had appropriated a blaster from one of the
robots, employing it against them. Just as it seemed the onslaught
was nearly over, and Ranma and Ryouga had a moment to catch their
breath, a sinister cackle from above caught their attention.
	The group looked up, and saw two large robots hovering above them.
One of the two vaguely resembled a vulture, using large metal wings
to hold itself in the air. Its legs ended in sharp-looking talons.
However, it also had humanoid arms, with taloned hands, and its head,
while beaked, still managed to hold a sinister sneer, as its eyes
gleamed malevolently.
	The other robot was supporting itself in the air by means of a
rocket pack. It had a great many appendages, with two large, humanoid
legs at its base, two smaller sets of almost ornamental-looking legs
above those, and a pair of arms which ended in very sinister claws.
Its head was small, with bulbous eyes...and from the base of its
body, curled slightly up between its legs, was a long, multi-jointed
tail, with a pointed apparatus at one end. It shucked its rocket
pack, and dropped to the ground, landing on its lower legs. The tail
swung up and back, reappearing over its head, looming ominously.
Ryouga flinched, having seen a tail much like that on a certain
arachnid in a desert he'd travelled...that was a scorpion's tail.
	"Well, what do you know," sneered the bird robot, "It seems there
are some humans who know how to hold their own after all."
	"Heh, not for long...they haven't faced us yet," the scorpion
mechanoid chuckled menacingly.
	"Who the hell are you and what do you want?" Ranma demanded.
	The bird robot looked at him, and smirked evilly. "I am called
Strike Vulture, and my companion is Burn Scorpus. And we're here to
destroy mankind." 
	Shampoo blinked. "Is bird-thing for real?"
	Akane frowned. "Sure sounds like it."
	Ranma scowled. "Well, you can try, but I don't care how tough or
ugly you are, we'll stop you!" he shouted.
	Vulture yawned. "You're even cornier than that stupid fool X," he
said in a bored tone. 
	Ranma hissed to the girls, "Get to safety. Mousse, you go with them,
and protect them. Me an' Ryouga'll take these two clowns."
	"We can fight too, ya know," Ukyou said.
	Ryouga shook his head. "Ranma's right, Ukyou. You're all good
fighters, but we don't even know what we're up against here. It's
best if you let the two of us handle it."
	The girls looked unhappy, but decided perhaps it would be best if
they listened. Mousse escorted them to a safe distance from the
battle zone.
	Vulture snickered. "Ah, devotion to your friends. How touching...how
*pitiful*," he sneered. "Still, just to show you that we're
fair...when we kill you, we won't go after them next."
	Scorpus blinked. "Hey, what the hell's the fun in that?"
	Vulture shrugged. "Don't ask me. I got programmed with this blasted
sense of warrior's honor. Makes me say stupid junk like that, and
live up to it."
	Scorpus grumbled. "Anyway, get ready!" 
	Ranma and Ryouga assumed their stances, each facing off against an
opponent. Vulture sneered down at Ranma. "Prepare to die, little
human."
	"Don't count your eggs before they're hatched, you metal chicken
from hell," Ranma retorted.
	"Why you little...!!" Vulture roared, and divebombed Ranma. The
martial artist backflipped, barely avoiding the sharp talons...which
tore a gash in the pavement.
	
	"Prepare to fry," Scorpus said, as he raised his tail higher over
his head. A red ball of energy gathered at the tip of the tail.
Ryouga leapt wildly to the side as Scorpus suddenly cut loose with a
tremendous fireball. 
	"It'll take more than a little flash fire to take me down," Ryouga
said. Diving to the ground, he jabbed his finger into the pavement.
"Eat cement! BAKUSAI TENKETSU!" Scorpus was knocked off his feet as
the ground exploded beneath him.

	"Hah! Good job Ryouga!" Ranma cheered. "My turn," he said, and leapt
into the air. Vulture raised his talons, but Ranma arced backwards at
the apex of his leap, and drove a powerful rising knee into the
robot's gut. Vulture fell backwards a good meter, before halting his
momentum. "Not bad, for a human," he grunted. "Alright then...RAZOR
DOWN!" He brought his wings forward abruptly, releasing a hail of
metal feathers which flew straight at Ranma.
	Ranma hissed in pain as one of the feathers tore into his bicep, and
another clipped his side. "Okay, time to get serious," he said.

	Ryouga saw what had happened, and became worried. Dodging another
fireball, he flung several bandanas at Scorpus, and backflipped over
to where Ranma had landed. "Hey bud, you alright?" he asked.
	Ranma nodded, clenching his teeth. "Just took a nasty cut from that
damn feather," he said. 
	Meanwhile, Scorpus roared out in rage as two of Ryouga's bandanas
sliced effortlessly through his ornamental limbs, severing them.
"GODDAMNED BRAT! You'll pay for that!" he bellowed.  He launched
another fireball, which Ranma and Ryouga rolled to avoid. Ranma
hissed as his arm touched the ground.
	
	"Ranma, I have an idea," Ryouga said.
	"Yeah, what's that?"
	"Those fireballs Scorpus is throwing...you think if you get a near
enough miss off one, you can use it to pull a Hiryuu Shouten Ha?"
	Ranma blinked. "Yeah, I guess so. Why?"
	"Get under Vulture, and I'll try to get Scorpus to shoot one off in
your direction. Maybe you can take the bird down for a bit."
	Ranma nodded. "It might work. Anou...what're you gonna do about
Scorpus?"
	Ryouga grinned. "I have an idea. Just trust me."

	Ranma rose from the ground, and immediately scrambled to avoid
another talon assault from Vulture. "Ready for more?" the bird
taunted.
	Ranma grimaced. "Give me your best," he spat.
	"Hahahahaha! I like you, you stupid little shit," Vulture said.
"RAZOR DOWN!"
	Ranma rolled to dodge the next wave of feathers, and barely missed
being decapitated. "Alright you, that's it. MOUKOU TAKABISHA!"
	Vulture's eyes widened as the energy ball sped towards him. He
dodged to the side, but the blast clipped his wing, taking the tip of
it off. "AAAAHHH! You little...you'll pay for that!" 

	"SHISHI HOUKOUDAN!" 
	Ryouga's blast slammed Scorpus in the gut, knocking him down. The
arachnodroid flipped himself up with his tail, and took aim at the
lost boy, loosing another blast of flames. Ryouga rolled to the side,
and the blast continued on...straight at Ranma.

	Ranma grinned. "Alright! Now we're talking!" Spiralling the flames,
he cried, "HIRYUU SHOUTEN HA!" as he thrust his fist upward. A rising
cyclone, ablaze with ki, tore into the sky. 
	"What the hell...? AAAAHHHHH!!!" Vulture shrieked as the cyclone
slammed into him, sending him spiralling into the ground. He started
to rise, only to receive another Moukou Takabisha to the gut. Sparks
flew from his armor. He gnashed his beak. "You insolent snot..."
	"Heh, looks like you're grounded, bird," Ranma chuckled.
	"Maybe so..." Vulture said, smirking. "But...SO ARE YOU! GRUDGE
WING!"
	"The HELL!?"
	Vulture's wings tore free of his back, sending up a shower of
sparks. The robot grunted in pain, but the wings sped forth. Ranma
tried to dodge, but the wings tracked him. Folding into a V-shape,
Vulture's wings slammed into Ranma at the shoulders, the crook of the
V hitting just above Ranma's groin. Ranma screamed in agony...

	Ryouga taunted Scorpus. "You're a lousy aim, stupid bug."
	"I'll show you lousy aim!" Scorpus said, moving closer. He readied
another flame blast. Ryouga held his ground until the fireball
reached full size, then launched himself into the air, headed
straight for Scorpus. Grabbing the scorpion's tail just behind the
blaster, he moved as though to suplex the robot, but instead, plunged
the sharp, burning end of the tail directly down into Scorpus' head,
and held it there. Scorpus screamed as the blast erupted...straight
into his body.
	Ryouga let go of the tail and leapt free at the last possible
second...but it was a second too late. As he released the tail, it
twitched backwards, and caught him in the gut, impaling him. He found
himself trapped on the tail as Scorpus exploded. It still penetrated
his scorched body as he flew several meters through the air, landing
next to Ranma's corpse, which he got a good look at right before he
lost consciousness.

	The Grudge Wing had severed Ranma's arms and legs, and the lower
part of his torso. Blood flowed freely from what was left of the
pigtailed martial artist. Vulture limply picked himself up off the
ground, and tapped his comm unit. "Skybase...one to teleport,
emergency priority." Vulture teleported away in a flash of light,
leaving the smoldering remains of Scorpus behind.

	The girls and Mousse came running at the sound of Ranma's scream and
the explosion. Akane was first on the scene, and she immediately sank
to her knees, shock evident on her paled face, a haunted look in her
eyes. She stared at the bodies of Ranma and Ryouga, and shook her
head, tears beginning to well up. "No...Ranma...Ryouga....no....oh
gods, NO!!!"
	Mousse looked over the carnage grimly, and quietly removed his
glasses. "I'm quite thankful to be blind right now," he said softly.
	Shampoo stared. "Airen...Ranma...is gone..."
	Ukyou shook her head. "No...no. I...I won't believe it. Not a bit of
it, do you hear me? THIS ISN'T HAPPENING!!"
	For a while, all was silent. Then, Ranma's torso twitched. Ryouga's
charred limbs also twitched. Shampoo raised her head. "Aiyah?
That..."
	Everyone stared. "Ranma..." Akane breathed.
	Mousse slipped his glasses back on, and set his jaw, as he strode to
the two bodies. He reached down, and gingerly felt their necks. He
gasped. "They're...they're alive," he said. "Barely, but...they're
alive."
	"Masaka..." Ukyou breathed.
	"Aiyah...Shampoo know pig-boy and airen tough, but..."
	Akane looked up, blinked, and said, "What the hell is everyone just
standing around for? We gotta get an ambulance, fast!"
	The girls looked at each other, and took off running. Mousse looked
down at the bodies, and softly said, "Hang in there, both of you.
There's still hope."

	Dr. Light frowned worriedly. Wily was locked up in that office, and
he had no way to stop whatever the mad scientist was doing. He looked
at the metal locker, and began calling up diagnostics on the main
monitor. However, as he was doing so, he caught an emergency bulletin
flashing across the silent television in the corner. He fished around
in his pocket for the remote, and turned up the volume.
	"...just in. Moments ago, a large air vehicle of unknown origin
appeared over Nerima district. A wave of robotic creatures dropped
from the vehicle. Eyewitnesses report that the various martial
artists known to cause frequent havoc in that area dispatched the
invaders. However, according to both eyewitnesses and paramedics, one
of the martial artists was dismembered, and another was gravely
burned, and mortally wounded. The two youths, whose names have not
been disclosed to the press as of yet, are alive, in critical
condition at Nerima Medical Center. The word from hospital officials
at this time is that the boys are not expected to survive."
	Light went pale. "No...this is all *my* fault," he gasped. "I caused
this...those poor boys..."
	His mind churned. The two were alive, but not for much longer. Even
if they lived, what kind of condition would they be in? What of the
one who was ripped apart...what kind of life could he hope to live? 
	Light looked over at the metal locker again. The two sleeping,
unconscious faces within, as yet completely unaware of their own
existence...not truly alive.
	Those two boys, were truly alive. But not for longer.
	Light grimaced, but after a moment, set his jaw firmly, his resolve
growing. He walked over to the locker, and leaned against its front
panel. "Forgive me, Rock. Forgive me, Roll. But this is for the
best." Reaching over to the main console, he tapped a few keys, and
entered his access code.
	The monitors dropped to zero, and the lockers went dark. Turning
away harshly, Light made his way to the elevator, grimly determined.
"Hang in there, boys."

	The Tendou family, the elder Saotomes, the three Joketsuzoku, and
Ukyou were gathered in the waiting room of the critical ward of
Nerima Medical. The entire Tendou clan was weeping, Akane and Soun
more hysterically than the others. Ukyou was crying, her body shaking
from the force of her sobs. Tears streaked Shampoo's face, but she
held herself in check, displaying the stoic demeanor she knew her
great-grandmother would expect from her. Cologne looked grim, and
Mousse was lost in his thoughts. Genma was holding Nodoka, trying to
comfort the sobbing woman, while his own face was twisted with grief.

	Ono Tofuu emerged from the operating room, his medical coveralls
smeared with blood, his face haggard. He had arrived the moment he
found out what had happened, and had been in the O/R with Ranma,
Ryouga, and the surgical team ever since.
	"Tofuu-sensei, how are they--"
	He shook his head. "They're still alive, but that's about all we've
got to go on." He sighed. "We've cauterized Ranma's lower torso to
stop the bleeding. That's all we could do."
	Nodoka looked like she was going to be ill. Genma grimaced, but
asked, "What about his arms?"
	Tofuu sighed. "The cut was clean...under ordinary circumstances, we
might be able to try to reattach them. But, the fact is..." he
frowned. "The curse is a problem." At the questioning glances of the
others, he elaborated, "I mentioned the fact of Ranma's curse to the
surgical team. They were skeptical, but they know I don't joke around
at times like this. I was concerned about the effect it would have on
anything we tried to do for him." He sighed. "We poured cold water
over his...parts," he continued. At that, everyone began looking ill.
"There was still enough blood in his legs and lower torso that they
were basically alive," he went on. "When we poured cold water over
them, they changed. But the arms..." he shook his head. "The arms are
a loss. Nothing happened when we poured cold water on them." He bowed
his head. "If we did try to reattach them, chances are, the first
time Ranma got splashed with cold water, his arms would tear off as
his body shrank."
	"Excuse me a moment," Nodoka said, and dashed for the ladies' room.
Akane was quick to follow.
	Tofuu sighed. "I won't lie. Chances are, it's a moot point anyway.
Ryouga may pull through, but Ranma's injuries are so horrible..." he
shook his head. "There's not much hope."
	"Perhaps," said a thickly accented voice from the waiting room
doorway, "I might be able to give some hope."
	Everyone looked up, to see the rotund, elderly gaijin in the
doorway. Tofuu blinked. "Who are you?"
	"My name is Thomas Light. I am a cyberneticist." Tofuu's eyes
widened. Light continued, in a sad tone of voice, "I'll tell the
truth...this entire mess, everything that has happened...I'm to
blame."
	"You?" Genma asked, advancing on the man. Soun gently restrained
him. 
	"Explain yourself, gaijin," Soun said sternly.
	Light nodded. "The robots which attacked, are invaders from the
future. A future which should never have come to pass." At the
confused looks, he elaborated, "My life's work has been designing
artifical humanoids that could think and feel like humans. The
ultimate achievement of science...fully Humanoid robots, able to
build and maintain glorious cities, for both humankind and the robots
themselves." He sighed. "Alas, it turns out that I succeeded. Only,
something in the future went wrong...a number of the robots turned to
evil, and eventually overpowered the ones that resisted them. I
received a warning from a future scientist who originally unearthed
my ultimate creation...one which will now never come to pass.
	"However, the robots remain dangerous, and my traitorous partner,
Wily, has uncovered my schematics for the very matrix which allows
robots like the ones those two brave boys fought today to be built in
the first place. I fear for the world, now that Wily has those
plans...he can twist them and corrupt them in truly horrible ways."
	"All this is fascinating...but I don't understand what it has to do
with Ranma and Ryouga, other than the fact that something you claim
to have created caused this," Tofuu said.
	Light nodded. "I'm just getting to that. I've completed a cybernetic
body system, which I was intending to give to two artifical beings I
created. However, when I learned of the plight of...what are their
names? Ranma and Ryouga?" At everyone's nod, he continued, "When I
heard about it on the news, I knew there was only one right thing to
do." He fixed the entire assembly with a firm gaze. "The cybernetic
systems I designed for my robots...can be used to repair and replace,
as neccessary, their bodies."
	Tofuu's eyes tried to pop out of their sockets. "...bionic parts?"
	Genma blinked. "What's that mean?"
	Tofuu pushed his glasses onto the bridge of his nose. "It means,
basically, rebuilding Ranma and Ryouga as robots."
	Genma scowled. "You want to turn my son into a machine?"
	"Not exactly," Light elaborated. "The robotic systems I've built
allow for the entire range of human movement and expression. Whatever
is left of their bodies that can be salvaged," he added, "will remain
intact, encased in protective armor. Their minds, their hearts...the
people they are, will not be lost." 
	Genma's eyes shone with a mixture of hope and uncertainty. "My
son...could live? Could continue to practice the Art?"
	Light nodded, smiling gently. "Yes, I heard both boys are martial
artists...the bionics will allow them to continue to fight...in fact,
they'll both be stronger than ever before," he added, proudly.
	Everyone was silent for a moment. Tofuu frowned thoughtfully. "How
soon could you do this, if we agree to it?"
	"Immediately. As soon as arrangements can be made to release them
and transport them to my laboratory." After a slight pause, he added,
"And you may all accompany us. You probably won't want to witness the
operation, but I have more than enough space for you to wait in."
	At this point, Akane and Nodoka returned. "What's going on?" Akane
asked.
	Soun cried happily. "Akane! Good news! There is hope! This man can
bring Ranma back to us!"
	Akane looked at the gaijin. "Is it true?"
	He nodded. 
	"Well," Tofuu said, "Ranma can be vied for, his parents are right
here. But I don't know about Ryouga...nobody has a clue where his
parents are. I couldn't say how they might react if we permitted this
without their consent." He rubbed his chin. "Also," he added, looking
at Light, "There's something else. The two boys have a unique
condition. Both are suffering from the effects of a curse they
acquired in China."
	Light blinked. "A curse?"
	Akane frowned. "Only Ranma's cursed. Ryouga..."
	Nabiki smirked, and rolled her eyes. "Get with it, sis. It's obvious
to everyone *but* you."
	"...ANYWAY," Tofuu said, "The curse causes them to change form when
splashed with cold water. Hot water restores their natural form, but
only until the next splash of cold water. I'd be afraid that if an
accident happened--and they happen all the time around here--the
change in form would cause the bionics to tear away from their
organic bodies."
	Light stroked his beard. "Hmmm." He looked up, eyes bright. "Aha! I
know how to handle that. I've designed a special circuit for use in
the weapons system of one of my prototypes. I've tested it...it
works. It would be easy enough to adapt it to work with the entire
bionic system," he said. Seeing everyone's confused looks, he
elaborated, "It's a circuit that allows the form of the system to
change. I developed it to allow the weapon system to function as
various different weapons. Adapted for the bionics themselves, it
should allow the entire body--both organic *and* cybernetic--to
undergo the transformation from the 'curse'."
	Tofuu nodded. "Okay, if you're sure about it." He looked up at Genma
and Nodoka. "This is your decision. Ranma is your son."
	Genma nodded. "I couldn't bear to lose my only son. I'll do anything
that gives us even the slightest chance that Ranma will survive."
	"Hold up a minute," Nabiki said. "How much is this going to cost?"
	"NABIKI!" Akane shouted. 
	Light chuckled softly. "She's wise, that one. That's always a good
thing to ask." He sobered. "However, this will cost nothing,
monetarily. It's my creations that are responsible for what happened
to those two boys. It's my responsibility to do whatever I can to
keep them alive.
	"However, assuming this succeeds as I expect it to, and the bionics
and weapon systems function as my projections indicate they will, I
would ask the two boys to perform a favor for me."
	"What favor would that be?" Nabiki asked.
	Light's eyes flashed with anger. "To track down those evil machines
and destroy them. And to stop Wily before he does something the
entire world will regret."
	Similar anger burned in the eyes of everyone else in the room.
"Ranma and Ryouga have their own score to settle with those robots,"
Akane said. "I think you can count on them...they're going to want
their revenge."
	Light nodded. "So, shall we proceed?"
	Tofuu nodded. "I'll start making the release arrangements. You work
on transportation."
	The two doctors scurried off. The group in the waiting room
exchanged nervous glances.
	"Ranma...as a robot," Ukyou said, trying to imagine it. 
	"My son...my son will live," Genma said.
	"I hope he is as enthusiastic about it as you are, husband," Nodoka
said. "I seriously doubt that bionics can restore the most important
thing Ranma lost."
	Genma blinked, and thought about that. He paled. "You're right..."
he sighed. 
	Soun seemed to realize what they were talking about, and he became
grim. "Then, the union of our two families will truly never take
place," he said quietly.
	Akane felt a lump in her throat.
	"Don't give up hope!" Genma said. "If Ranma lives, a way could be
found to ensure that the lines of Saotome and Tendou merge and
continue into the next generation."
	"Maybe," Nodoka said skeptically.
	For long moments, everyone was lost in thought. Half an hour later,
Tofuu and Light reappeared. Behind Tofuu, orderlies pushed two
gurneys, each carrying a sealed, two-meter long bag. Tofuu smiled
apologetically. "I thought it would be best if we transported them in
body bags, with oxygen and IVs," he said.
	Light nodded. "That might be a good idea. It may take a little while
for me to configure the transformation circuit for the bionics.
Alright, fellas, load them into the van," he said. After the bodies
were loaded, Light motioned into the van. "The parents can ride with
that one. The rest of you, I got another van for." He pointed at it.
"Pile in."
	The group boarded the two vans, which took off for Light's lab.

	---interlude: dr. light's laboratory---

	"...stabilized..."
	"Can we be sure this thing's 100% reliable?"
	"Nothing's ever 100%. What we can be sure of, is that it's stable at
the moment."
	"So you're saying--"
	"I'm saying that it's working the way we hoped it would."
	"At the moment."
	"It should remain stable as long as it's operational."
	"In other words, as long--"
	"--as he's alive, yes."
	"The other one's going to be a problem--"
	"Not so. In fact, he'll probably be quite pleased with
the...alterations the bionics allow for."
	"Alterations...? ...oh. Yes, that's much better than what he had
before...will that be able to hold up against mallet blows?"
	"It shou--mallet blows?"
	"Trust me."
	"Hn. I imagine when this settles down, I'd like to have a talk with
you, or these two boys. I'm sure the anecdotes would be...most
entertaining."
	"Heh. They'd make a wonderful manga, at any rate. ...I don't know
how they're going to react to spending the rest of their lives like
this..."
	"You mean the armor?"
	"Exactly. Doesn't exactly give them much chance for a normal
life..."
	"This is only temporary...I'd have had to do this to Rock if he
agreed to fight."
	"Rock?"
	"One of my prototypes. When this mess is over with, I'll remove the
protective armor and give them synthetic skin all over...well, except
for the boots. Even Rock and Roll would have had those permanently."
	"Ah. Okay, that settles that."
	"I just hope this battle gear works. I didn't have a set designed
for Roll." 
	"But you had one designed for Rock?"
	"As a precaution. In case something such as this came to pass."
	"So...where'd you come up with this equipment?"
	"Ah. This set was designed for an experimental project. It's a
modified version of..."
	"Of?"
	"Nothing. Nevermind. Well, everything's functional. Let's close
up...set those monitors. We'll want to know when they regain
consciousness."
	"Right. You know, I've never been too well-versed in this sort of
thing--"
	"In that case, you're a very quick study...I've had trained
apprentices who wouldn't have lasted through this."
	"--thanks. Anyway, I think I'll have to brush up on my studies in
this area when I get a chance."
	"Che...don't waste your energies. Science is a wonderful thing, but
your kind are a dying breed. You shouldn't turn your back on the
traditional ways of medicine...far too many doctors in the Western
world are foresaking the old in favor of the new. The end result?
Things like this."
	"Without this, though--"
	"Yes, yes, don't misunderstand. I wouldn't forsake science--wouldn't
forsake cybernetics--for anything. Not even after what's happened.
Just keep in mind--science should help human beings, not become part
of them."
	"That's a surprising thing to hear a cyberneticist say."
	"Che...we're not all blind fools. Why do you think I specialize in
creating *artificial* beings?"
	"..."

	CHAPTER TWO

	"Oh man...my head's killin' me..."
	Ranma groaned as he groggily awoke. "Man, that was a horrible
nightmare." He tried to open his eyes, but winced and quickly shut
them again when the light only served to intensify his headache. 
	"How are you feeling, young man?" spoke an accented, elderly voice.
	Ranma frowned. "Who--?"
	"My name is Dr. Light. You've been through a terrible ordeal,
Ranma," he said. 
	"My head feels like...like Akane's been using it as a practice
dummy," Ranma groaned.
	"Ran...Ranma no baka," Akane's voice said softly. Her tone puzzled
Ranma...she sounded relieved--and shaky, like she'd been crying?
	"A--akane?"
	"Oh, Ranma..." she said again. Yes, definitely tears in that voice.
Ranma opened his eyes, and immediately raised his hand to shield them
from the light...	
	The light glinted brightly off his hand. Ranma blinked at it.
	He had on some kind of blue metal glove. How had that gotten there?
"Ranma," Dr. Light's voice began again. Ranma found the owner of the
voice--an old gaijin in a lab coat. "Tell me...what do you remember
about the battle with the robots?"
	Ranma's eyes widened. "That--that wasn't a dream!?"
	Tofuu, who was standing behind Light, shook his head grimly. "It was
no dream, Ranma."
	Ranma frowned. "But--how--I mean, when that Vulture thing went
down...the Grudge Wing..."
	Ranma noticed that a lot of people were gathered in the room they
were in--and that the room looked like some cross between an
operating room and one of those computer rooms on the sci-fi shows
he'd seen on TV. There was Dr. Light, and Tofuu-sensei. There was the
entire Tendou family, all looking at him with varying expressions of
relief. His parents were weeping in each other's arms, and hadn't
blinked since he'd opened his eyes. Shampoo looked rather pale.
Mousse's expression was unreadable, and Cologne looked vaguely
fascinated with him. Ukyou was fighting to keep her composure, but it
wasn't working.
	"What--what happened?" Ranma asked. "Where am I?"
	"Ranma, I want you to listen to me, because I have something
important to tell you," Light said. Ranma nodded. Light took a deep
breath, and said, "What do you remember about the Vulture robot's
attack, before you lost consciousness?"
	"Pain," Ranma said. "I tried to get out of the way, but that thing
was too fast...and razor sharp..." He frowned. "Felt like getting hit
with a katana...is that why I'm in an operating room?" he asked,
looking up at everyone. "It cut me up bad or somethin'? How bad was
it?"
	The occupants of the room displayed various reactions. Light and
Tofuu grimaced. Genma scowled, while Nodoka began weeping. Akane,
Shampoo, and Ukyou turned green. Mousse bowed his head. Soun began
wailing. Nabiki shook her head sadly, and Kasumi looked more subdued
than Ranma had ever seen her. "What's goin' on?" Ranma asked.
	Tofuu stepped forward. "Ranma, this is going to be hard for you to
hear...that robot's attack dismembered you."
	Ranma blinked. "Huh!?"
	"Your arms, legs, and a good bit of your abdomen were severed
completely," Light said. 
	"What're you talkin' about?" Ranma smirked. "I got arms, see?" he
flexed his fingers. "I got legs...I can feel 'em..."
	Tofuu nodded. "You do...now. Thanks to Dr. Light."
	"Will someone stop beatin' around the bush and tell me what the hell
everyone's talkin' about?" Ranma asked. "I got a bad enough headache
as it is."
	"You nearly died, Ranchan," Ukyou said. 
	"Son..." Genma said, pushing his glasses onto his nose, "maybe you'd
better take a look at yourself."
	Ranma looked down. His arms were encased in that same blue metal as
he'd seen earlier...as were his legs. He was wearing more of the same
on his body, only much lighter in color. "What's this metal stuff
anyway?" he asked after a moment.
	Light looked him in the eyes. "It's your body, Ranma. Your own arms
and legs were lost to you. Please understand...you would have died,
if we had not done this."
	"And what exactly did you do?" Ranma asked, a sinking feeling
growing in his stomach...at least, he hoped it was his stomach.
	Light looked at Tofuu, who seemed lost in thought for a moment. "How
best to put this," Tofuu mused, before meeting Ranma's gaze. "You've
been mechanized," Tofuu said.	
	Ranma blinked. "Mechanized?"
	"I don't know if that's the word I'd have chosen," Light said, "but
basically...yes. Your arms, legs, and abdomen have been replaced with
bionics which I designed. Currently, about 50 percent of your body is
artificial," he finished.
	"Arti...ficial...I'm a machine?" Ranma asked.
	"Partially," Light said. "An energy supplication system has been
added to take place of your digestive and excretory systems, which
were mostly destroyed. You have fully functional bionic arms and
legs, as well as hardwired nerve interfaces to allow you to control
everything the same as you would control your natural body. Your
circulatory system has been rerouted and reinforced, to make sure all
the blood stays in your organic parts, and circuitry has been added
to your bionics to account for your curse."
	Ranma made no response for several long moments. "This is a dream,
right? Or a joke?" he said at length.
	Light sighed sadly, and shook his head. Tofuu stepped closer, and
laid his hand on Ranma's shoulder...Ranma assumed he did, anyway. He
didn't actually feel any such contact.
	"This is going to be hard for you to accept, and deal with," Tofuu
said, sadness and weariness in his voice. "It was the only way we
could keep you alive...and to give you a reason to want to live," he
finished.
	"A reason to want to live..." Ranma echoed.
	"Had you lived somehow, in your condition," Tofuu continued, "you
would never again practice martial arts. It will take some time to
get used to, as the nerve interfaces settle in, but once you've
adjusted to your new situation, you'll be in top fighting form
again." 
	Ranma blinked, and looked at Tofuu. "I...I can still do martial
arts?" he asked.
	Tofuu nodded. He smiled gently. "It's better than nothing, ne?"
	"H...hai..." Ranma answered shakily. He shook his head. "I...I need
time to deal with this..." he said.
	Tofuu nodded. "That's understandable. To be honest, we were afraid
of what your reaction to this might be," he admitted.
	Ranma looked at him grimly. "I'm too much in shock to react this
suddenly," he said in a warning tone. "When I do, you'll know it."
	Everyone in the room...even Cologne...gulped.
	Ranma blinked. "What happened to Ryouga?" he asked.
	Light and Tofuu shared a glance, and the gaijin scientist pointed at
a bed across the room. "We just finished up with him a few hours
ago," he said. 
	"He didn't come as close to death as you did," Tofuu said, "but he
was burned almost beyond recognition, and most of his internal organs
were irreparably damaged. We gave him bionic supplication systems,"
he added, "and fully replaced his skin and most of his muscle tissue
with artifical materials."
	Ranma looked at the form on the bed. It was Ryouga alright, although
his face now had the coloring of a caucasian. The rest of his body
was encased in red metal. "What's with the metal, anyway?" Ranma
asked.
	Light furrowed his brow. "We'll discuss that once you've adapted to
this. For now, I'll just say that it's only temporary, for both of
you."
	Ranma looked at Ryouga again. His black hair was less unruly, and
much more stiff than usual, but...Ranma blinked. That damn bandana of
his was *still* there.
	Light noticed what he was looking at, and chuckled. "Amazingly, that
piece of cloth survived everything unscathed. We couldn't get it off,
so we had to work around it."
	Ranma shook his head. "I don't know whether to be relieved to see
something normal...or scared by it." He closed his eyes, feeling very
drained suddenly. "Could...could I have some privacy for a little
bit? I gotta think about this for a little bit."
	Light nodded. "Of course, Ranma. We understand...this won't be easy
for you to handle." He nodded to Tofuu, who moved off to the side and
wheeled in a large partition.
	"Ranma," Tofuu said seriously. "I know you, and I know that as soon
as you get control over your new body, you'll probably start
exercising to work out your frustrations." He patted the partition.
"If you feel the need to hit something, please hit this. It's the
only thing in here that could withstand an attack from you, other
than Ryouga."
	Ranma grimaced, and nodded. "I'll keep it in mind." 
	The entire group filed out of the lab, each of them pausing to
glance back at Ranma before exiting. Light was the last to leave.
Before he left, he approached the blue-armored cyborg. "Ranma...I
think you should know, that Ryouga might wake up any minute now. If
he wakes up before we come back in here, you'll have to explain the
situation to him."
	"EXPLAIN it!?" Ranma exploded. "Hell, I don't even *understand* it!"
	Light sighed. "I know...but please. You at least know the basics of
what you were told, right?" Ranma nodded. "There's a file folder on
the counter that explains your situation in detail. You should be
able to understand at least some of it. When you're ready, press the
blue button on that panel over there. That's the intercom. Oh, and
feel free to walk around, stretch out a bit. Learn how to control
your new body."
	Ranma nodded. "Alright. It may be a while...this is the weirdest
thing I've ever been through in my life."
	Light nodded, smiling sadly. "Judging by what Tofuu-sensei said
while we were operating, that is indeed saying something." With that,
the elderly gaijin exited the lab. The metal door slid shut behind
him.
	Ranma stared at his metallic hands for a long time, and sighed. "I
can't handle this," he groaned.

	*****

	Wily had been monitoring activity in the lab, and scowled. "What is
that goody-good Light up to?" he wondered. "Surely he didn't bring
Rock and Roll online already..." The evil scientist furrowed his
brow. "I can't be sure what he's going to do first...send Rock after
those invaders, or try to break in here and stop me...hmm..." 
	Wily glanced over at a console on the wall, and his eyes widened.
"Oh-ho," he said, grinning. "If the invaders won't keep them
occupied, this certainly will." Sliding the chair over to the panel,
he logged into the database.
	
	[Input username: WILY_]
	[Input password: *****_]
	[Access approved_]

	Wily cackled evilly as he began entering strings of code at high
speed. "Just a few hours," he said. "In just a few hours, the
construction team will be under my control...Rock won't stand a
chance, and neither will Blues if he shows up. Your robots can't stop
me, Light!" Laughing maniacally, Wily continued to reprogram the
construction robots.

	*****

	"You insipid fool!" 
	Strike Vulture cowered before a shadowed throne in a large bay of
the Skybase. Sparks continued to emit from his shorn wing joints, and
he clutched his various damaged sectors in pain. "Forgive me, my
Lord...I could not remain after dispatching the humans. My primary
weapon was lost, and I was too weakened to hold out..."
	"You allowed mere humans to defeat you?"
	"They were not mere humans," Vulture hissed. "They were powerful
enough to be Hunters."
	"Impossible! Humans, capable of defeating Reploids?" the voice of
the master boomed.
	"Have you heard the tales of the Lost Human Arts, my liege?" Vulture
countered.
	There was a pause. "I see," the figure upon the shadowed throne
rumbled. "Still, this does not excuse the fact that you left Scorpus'
remains down there. What if the humans recover his power core?"
	Vulture shrugged as best he could. "What if they do? The technology
needed to access its abilities won't exist for another thirty years
at least. It's useless to them."
	"Nevertheless, I want you to retrieve Scorpus' power core. Then,
have yourself repaired, and assimilate it."
	"Sir?"
	"I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself, Vulture. DO not fail me
a second time."
	"Yes, my lord." Bowing, Vulture teleported from the room.

	*****

	Ranma stretched, tensed, and flexed his new robotic muscles. The
joints were a little stiff, but he found that the more he worked
them, the easier they gave. "Well, at least that's something good
about all this," Ranma mused. Earlier, while pacing around the room
shakily, trying to force his new legs to work, Ranma had read the
file Light told him about. What little of the information in the file
he could understand brought the grim reality of his situation home.
	Ranma now knew that this wasn't some kind of surreal dream, much as
he might wish it was. It was all there in the folder...the extent of
the damage Vulture's attack did, his near death, the procedure used
to rebuild his body with bionics. Details on Ryouga's injuries, and
his reconstruction. Ranma grimaced...Light had said he was currently
fifty percent machine. Ryouga hadn't gotten off nearly as
easily...there wasn't much left of the lost boy other than his
skeleton, and organs north of his diaphragm. He had less than five
pounds of organic skin and muscle left on his entire body. Ranma
really wasn't looking forward to Ryouga's reaction when he came to. 
	The most depressing part of the entire situation, of course, was the
fact that Ranma had lost the one thing he'd been raised to believe
was more important than anything else. He'd lost his manhood.
Literally.
	The cyborg martial artist clenched his metallic fists, and growled.
"That son of a bitch...I swear, if I ever see that blasted robot
again, I'll rip his fucking beak off..." Ranma hauled off and threw a
punch at the partition Tofuu-sensei had provided. There was a
resounding crunch of metal against metal. When Ranma withdrew his
hand, he blinked. The partition, a four-inch thick titanium plate,
now held a perfect imprint of a fist, punched almost all the way
through. The bionic fighter examined his hand. 
	Not even the paint was chipped. 
	"Okay, I could get used to that...I think..."
	A groan from the other side of the room caught his attention. He
grimaced. This wasn't going to be pleasant. 
	"Kuso...did anybody get the license number of that semi?" Ryouga
asked, trying to sit up.
	Ranma walked over and laid a hand on Ryouga's armored chest,
exerting a measure of force to restrain him. "Take it easy, man."
	"Ranma?" Ryouga asked, opening his eyes and squinting.
"Ugh...bright," he said. 
	"Yeah, it is. You'll adjust in a minute." He helped Ryouga sit up.
"Ryouga...you'd best be prepared for a shock," he said. 
	"What's goin' on?" the lost boy asked, blinking his eyes open. Ranma
grimaced as he saw them. Ryouga's actual eyes had been burned away,
and Light had replaced them with the optics from the prototype Roll.
The artificial eyes glinted a metallic blue color, tiny flecks of
light dancing across the irises. Slowly, his pupils dilated down to
pinpoints, reminding Ranma of camera shutters. "Ugh...I musta got
knocked out hard," he said. "My vision's blurred."
	"It should clear in a moment," Ranma said absently. "Your brain
needs time to adjust to the input from the optics." 
	"Huh?" Ryouga said. 
	Ranma sighed. "We gotta talk," he said. "Ryouga, you ain't gonna
like what I'm gonna tell you..."
	"What's goin' on, Ranma?" Ryouga's eyes whirred, and he focused on
the pigtailed cyborg. "What's with the armor? Looks goofy."
	Ranma smiled. "You should take a look at yourself, man," he said.
Ryouga looked down, and blinked. 
	"What the--?" He fixed his gaze on Ranma. "Talk, Saotome."
	Ranma sighed. "You remember the fight with those two robots?"
	Ryouga's eyes widened...or a close approximation thereof.
"That...that wasn't a nightmare?"
	Ranma shook his head. "Afraid not, P-chan."
	"Who...who you callin' P-chan," Ryouga said, staring at Ranma as
though he were a ghost. "Ranma..." he began warily. "When...when I
blacked out, I...I saw you. You were..."
	"Dismembered," Ranma said. "And you were burned to a crisp. We both
almost died, man."
	"But...I don't understand," Ryouga said. He looked down at his
hands, encased as they were in red armor. "What happened to us?"
	"We're not human anymore, Ryouga."
	"Not...human?" 
	"Well, not completely. This gaijin doctor named Light had a way to
keep us from dying. Ever seen that gaijin flick Robocop?"
	Ryouga blinked. "You mean, we're...?"
	"Cyborgs," Ranma said. "We're still...us," he said, "y'know, on the
inside. And we're still cursed. But our bodies are mostly machines
now."
	Ryouga shook his head. "No...cut it out, Saotome. This isn't funny.
Stop joking."
	"I wish I *was* joking, Ryouga. But it's true." He picked up the
file folder, and handed it to the mechanized lost boy. "Here...is
your vision clear enough to read yet?"
	Ryouga nodded, taking the folder. He opened it, and began reading.
After a few moments, he looked up at Ranma, pupils whirring open.
"This...is this..."
	Ranma nodded. "It's true. All of it."
	"We're...we're robots?" 
	"We're robots," Ranma affirmed. Standing, he offered Ryouga a hand.
"C'mon, get up. You gotta work your new legs, get used to them." 
	Numbly, Ryouga pushed himself off the table, and nearly fell down.
"Whoa..."
	"Easy. It takes a little practice."
	Ryouga eyed Ranma warily. "How long have you been awake?"
	"About half an hour," Ranma admitted. 
	"Where is everyone?"
	"Outside, waiting." Ranma sighed. "I needed some time to come to
grips with this."
	Ryouga nodded. His eyes caught the titanium partition, and the dent
in it. "Whoa...what happened there?"
	Ranma grinned. "I happened." He flexed his right hand. "The one good
thing about these bodies...they have power to spare."
	Ryouga began doing some light exercises, testing the limits of his
metallic limbs. "Hmm...mind if I take a shot at it?" he asked.
	Ranma shrugged. "Be my guest. Sure helped me."
	Ryouga nodded, grinning. "I got a lot of aggression to work out."
Stepping in front of the titanium plate, he clenched his fist and
cocked it back. Ranma stepped back as Ryouga's optics began glowing
slightly. "KYAAA!" 
	The titanium plating buckled, splintered, and finally exploded into
tiny shards of metal under Ryouga's assault. When he was finished, he
let out a whoosh of breath. "Whew...that felt good," he said.
	Ranma chuckled nervously. "Ah...yeah..." Recovering, he said, "Well,
are you ready to talk to everyone?"
	Ryouga nodded. "Yeah..."
	Ranma walked over and pressed the blue button on the intercom.
"Light-sensei? We're ready."

	The door opened, and the entire group filed in. They looked
significantly better than they had when they'd left. "Ah, good,
Ryouga has awakened as well," Light said. "How are you feeling, young
man?"
	"Fine, I guess. Considering most of me is biological waste and
what's left of me got turned into a tin can," he said. Several among
them grimaced.
	"Ryouga...I'm sorry if we've done something you wouldn't have
wanted," Tofuu said. "You have to understand, it was either this
or..."
	Ryouga waved a hand, cutting him off. "No, sensei, I'm not upset.
I'm grateful...it's just gonna take a while to get used to this," he
said. 
	Light nodded. "I can only begin to imagine how difficult it is for
both of you to accept this." He looked at the twisted remains of the
titanium partition. "I take it you boys vented a little steam?" The
two martial artist cyborgs chuckled. "Now, listen carefully...I have
to ask something of you."
	"Like what?" Ranma asked.
	Light frowned. "The Irregulars...the robots from the future. They
must be stopped."
	Ryouga clenched his fists and growled. "Count me in," he said. 
	Ranma nodded, scowling. "I owe that bastard bird, big time."
	"I won't try to deceive you. It's going to be a dangerous battle,
even with your enhanced abilities."
	The two boys shrugged. "I think it's safe to say that right now,
revenge is the most important thing we have to live for," Ranma said.
Ryouga nodded in agreement.
	The fiancees, hanging back from the crowd, exchanged nervous
glances. They were all thinking the same thing: Would Ranma still...?


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The three things you can count on in life:
1. Someone will be offended by your words.
2. Someone will be offended by your actions.
3. Someone will be offended by your existence.
---
The Eternal Lost Lurker
...who uses a Microsoft e-mail client, and is
damned proud of it.
EternalLostLurker@worldnet.att.net
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Garden/9502

Remember, breath mints are known to help 
prevent Zakari disease.
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