* * * * * * * * *

Back onto the `MegaLORD' Ship.
 "Strap yourself in, Ranma." Mai called out from her captain's chair
in the forward center of a gargantuan control room, "It going to be a bumpy
ride for the first time `round!" Ranma nodded apprehensively, heeding her
words as he fastened all four points to the harness. He had also been warned
that he could get a sick stomach for that this is his first `Dimensional
Transition.' `What ever that meant.' he'd mumble inwardly as he impatiently
drummed his foot against the floor panel.
 What Mai didn't tell him, mostly for fear of shattering the fragile, but
huge ego of his, is that he could get the shakes so bad from the first trip
through a Rift, that he would not be able to control himself. No matter as
to
how much willpower he claims to have. Mai smiled to herself as she
remembered her own first time through a Rift, leaving her sick for many an
hour after that.
 Winding up the specially built Rift-Generator, constructed for her by
none other than Inglix `The Mad' himself. Built from the same premise as the
Rift Projector Cannon, but for a MUCH different purpose. Winding up the
capacitors, she punched in the coordinates back to the site near to the
`Four
Dragons' Dojo. She waited a moment before she pushed the `Engage' button.
A few seconds later after she pushed the button, Mai leaned back, to
let the massive power flow through her. She always found it enormously
refreshing. She was broken out of her reverie when a scream of sheer agony
damn near made her jump out of her skin. Mai hasn't heard screams like that
since she was a child, on a doomed colony cruiser.
 Mai turned her chair around, the screaming still echoing in her mind,
as quickly as she could muster. She could believe what she is seeing, for
all
her knowledge of the mundane and the arcane, but she still gaped at what she
saw: Ranma, his head slightly bowed, clutching at both the armrests in
whiter-
than-white knuckled grip.
So tight they held, the armrests started cracking under the strain. His
body began twitching very rapidly, like a guitar string being plucked. His
eyes
wide open, his jaw clenched tight, tears coming out from the level of pain
he is
getting.
But that is not what frightened Mai.
 She is actually watching him phase in and out from reality. She
turned back to her console, confirming that the trip through the Rift is
almost
over. Mai eyes widened as the phasing changed slightly. Instead of just
fading
in and out, Ranma began to shift from his male and female forms, with an
earsplitting scream, nearly rattling the armor plates off of the bulkheads.
Mai
leaped out of her chair and reached over to undo the restraint harness, in
hope
that it could help him.
 Another glass shattering bellow came out of Ranma, this time
sounding both male and female. The scream started dying out as she heard
what sounded like raw flesh being torn from the bone, Mai screwed her eyes
shut from what she is hearing and then a pair of bodies thumping onto the
floor
came to her ears.
Opening her eyes reluctantly, her jaw slackened as she gaze upon, not
one, but two Ranmas on the floor. Both are stark naked, one in male form,
the
other, a buxom female with flaming red hair. Mai realized with a start that
the
female opposite of the chair is Ranma's cursed form. She looked them
carefully over, both are breathing, if not shallowly, the only sign of life
between the pair.
 Shaking her head, "Well." pausing to brush a stray clump of silver
hair out of her face, ".He said he wanted to be cured," smiling to herself,
"but I don't think he wanted it to be this way." she hummed to herself for a
second, then snapped her fingers in the air and yelled, "Medic!!" Very
quickly,
a set of globes, with a red cross on all four points of the compass came and
swept the twins off to the sickbay to be monitored.
 Sitting back down in her chair slowly, she scratched her chin
inquisitively with one delicate finger, "The generators power must have
interacted with his curse in some strange way." trailing off as she rested
her
chin in the palm of her hand, elbow on the armrest, she pondered Ranmas'
predicament for many an hour.
For she already knew that the Female-Ranma will have a difficult
time adjusting to *HER* new body.

* * * * * * * * *

 Awaking with a pained groan, Ranma shifted under the sheets of the
sickbay bed. Forcing his eyes open, like they were Super-Glued shut, he
stared
balefully into the fluorescent lighting above. Clutching his head as he
forced
his way to a seating position, he groaned more so, attracting the attention
of
another in the room.
Turning from her console at the med-station, "Ahh! Good! You
awake, finally!" Mai said cheerfully and loudly, for her voice thundered in
Ranma's ears.
Wincing from her volume, "Could you turn that down a little.my
head REALLY hurts." he said hoarsely, turning to the side of the bed,
totally
failing to notice the red-head on the other behind him.
 Nodding, "Ok.." Mai whispered, getting a look of thanks from
Ranma. He wrinkled his nose, "God.I stink." taking note that his frame and
what clothing he has on is soaked with sweat, as the same for the sheets
themselves.
Laughing lightly to Ranma's bluntness, "Straight to the point.I like
that." Mai face turned solemn, getting up from her chair and padding over to
him, "If you can move.then you can get yourself into the wash room, "
pointing to the nearby door, ".Otherwise, the Meds will have to help you."
She stopped to his look of dread, "No.I'll make it.I *WILL*."
With that Ranma slid off of the bad, stumbling a little bit, "By the
way.what happened? And how long was I out?" he asked her, unable to hid
the fear creeping up into his voice, from the last memory that came up.
Sitting
back down, Mai let out a long sigh, "I don't know exactly what happened."
looking him straight into the eye, ".But we'll talk some more when you get
out and able to move more freely." she stated to him, matter of factly. He
nodded simply and walked into the wash room.

 As soon as he left the room, another groan split the air. This time,
much more feminine, but just as greatly pained, if not more so. Mai turned
to
the red-head's bed, where she is still lying down, not bothering to get up
and
holding her head, trying to stem the inevitable headache coming to her. "Did
someone get the number on that train that hit me?", Ranma-chan grated out
while she is trying to get upright.
Mai was about to answer her, like she did with Ranma-kun, but was
cut off as his mirth filled cry filled the room, "YAAAAAHOOO!!!" Both
women turned suddenly to the cry, watching the door open with Ranma-kun
bounding out the door chanting, "Never gonna be a girl again. Never gonna
be a girl again. Never gonna be a girl again.!!" he stopped dead in his
tracks when his eyes caught view of the red-head on the other bed, tears
starting to fill her eyes for some strange reason.
 Anger clouded Ranma-kun's mind when he saw her, "*YOU*!!! You
are supposed to be GONE!!!" he bellowed into Ranma-chan's direction,
"Dead! You hear me?!? You're supposed to be DEAD!!" all his previous
thinking about fighting women flew out the same window. He would have
flew in to take her apart, to be out of his life forever, but a cool hand
grasped
his shoulder _FIRMLY_, almost making him cry out in pain and spun him
around to the very angry visage of Mai's face.
 The look on her face calmed him a little, the joy of not turning into a
girl filled in the spaces that the anger once filled. "*YOU*! *WILL*! *NOT*!
*ATTACK*! _*HER*_!!" she hissed harshly into his face, "YOU. LEAVE.
*NOW*!!" that was all the Mai trusted herself to say, even though she knew
that Ranma-kun would be overjoyed about being rid of the curse, but she
didn't
think he would react to Ranma-chan being there with him.
Ranma-kun just shrugged off what Mai said to him, "Whatever."
then he bounded out the other door, chanting ' Never gonna be a girl
again!!"
again.
 About ready to order some of the Honor-Guard to subdue and throw
his insensitive ass into the brig, but feminine sniffling to down right
bawling
cut all that off, for the moment anyway. Mai turned back to the Red-Head,
who curled her knees up to her face, hugging her legs fiercely and bawling
her
eyes out. Mai's expression softened considerably as he watched her, almost
helpless in trying to help her calm down.
 With one last sniff, Ranma-chan looked up to Mai's concerned and
helpless looking face and buried her own back into her knees, "Why did he
yell at me like that??!!" she cried, or would have. If not for a cool hand
brushing though her hair and someone rocking her.
Ranma-chan looked back up to Mai, who's doing everything she can
for her, "This is going to be difficult to answer." she told the Red-Head.
Curiousity filling her being, "What would be so dificult to explain as
to why Ranma.Ranma??" Ranma-chan's delicate face screwed into
concentration, ".Why do I know that name?" she asked to no-one but herself.
Humming to herself, Mai thought about that, "That.is a good
question." Remembering some of the things that Ranma-kun told her about
the Springs of Jusenkyo, Mai ran into the most likely possiblity.
Mai then proceeded to tell the Red-Head about the Springs.
Everything, including the particular one that Ranma-kun fell into.
Eyes widening, "..no." Ranma-chan said weakly. Looking at her
hands, ".all I am is a curse." A few tears excaped from her eyes, when she
screwed them shut. She pulled in her legs, wrapped her arms around, her
small
hands cletched tightly into each other. Burying her head into her knees she
could not hold the tears back any longer.

At a loss of what to do, Mai got off of the bed, running her free hand
through the Red-head's hair one last time.
Walking over to her console, Mai punched a few keys. Ordering her
onboard Marine unit to apprehend Ranma-kun and to toss his rear into the
brig.
 Letting a sigh of relief escape her lips, Mai looked back to the Red-
head. Wondering why the sobbing has stopped, her features softened
somewhat as she gazed upon the Red-head's now sleeping form.
Leaning back into her chair, `She has no memory of who she one
was.' Mai thought briefly. Then she noticed Ranma-chan's hands clentching
and not, `.but not all.' Mai watched her for a moment, `.seems like all her
Martial Arts abilities are still there.' she thought again as she turned the
chair
back to the console.

* * * * * * * * *

 Still bounding down the hall, chanting the same. Ranma felt giddy
about finally losing the curse. All that came to a screaching halt when he
stopped in front of a squad of humanoid machines.
The same ones that stopped Ryouga cold.
Ranma was about to turn around and go the other way, "I wouldn't do
ANYTHING, if I were you." and angry woman's voice called out. Ranma
spun around, wondering where Mai's voice came from, "You will be led back
to the SickBay, to talk and for me to explain a few things to you." Mai's
tone
left no argument in his throat, where his usual retorts died instantly. He
was
about to start walking, when a pair of big, mettalic black hands clentched
on
both arms, listing him up and carried him away.

 Watching the 'new' Red-Headed girl fitfully sleep, Mai sighed to
herself, 'Looks like I'm going to have to set some terms for Ranma.' looking
back to the girl, watching another tear roll out of her eye, 'For her
sake.if not
for mine.'

 "LET ME GO, DAMNIT!!!" Ranma yelled as the door opened, he
was about to turn around to yell at them some more, only to meet with Mai's
dark visage, "Ranma." she called out to him, her tone able to deep-freeze
water if given half a chance.
Gesturing to the chair in fron of her desk, "Sit down.I have a few
things to explain to you."
Confused, "What is there to explain?.You someHOW got rid of my
curse, now all I have to do is fill my end of the bargin." he trailed off,
for he
thought he saw Mai's eyes literally glow.
"I'm sure the CURSE is no-more, but that is besides the point." Mai
let it hang to point her finger to the cot next to her, ".SHE is
experiencing
true torment for she does not know who or what she is." Locking eyes with
him, "Think about it.It could be YOU that could be stuck in that body and
from what I understand, YOU hold your masculinity very highly, thinking that
a woman cannot do the same things a man can. Since the fact is that somehow,
your memories, some of them, transferred over to her." Ranma opened his
mouth to argue, but his jaw clicked shut under that arctic gaze she leveled
at
him, "You now have a sibling, Saotome.a sister, who does in fact, think like
you AND act like you do.Most likely has the same love for the Martial Arts
like you do." Mai let it hang there, leaning back into her chair, desciding
to
let him stew there for the moment.
 Thinking back to what Mai said, Ranma looked over to the sleeping
red-head, he thought about what it would feel like being trapped in his
girl-
form for the rest of his life. That gave him the shivers. Watching a tear
roll out
of the red-head's eye, whimpering sadly, as if her confidence is absolutely
crushed.
He could never stand the sight of a girl crying, 'Especially a cute one
as her.' Ranma instantly bit that thought back, 'WHAT AM I THINKING?!?
That's probably ME in there for crying out loud.' wonder filling him again,
'Now I have a sister.' another thought just occurred to him, "Hey, Mai?" She
looked up to him questioningly, "What are we going to do about the name
thing?" he asked her simply.
 Mai couldn't hold back a chuckle to such a menial question,
"Well.'Wild Stallion'." Ranma flushed to that liberal translation, "I was
thinking about naming her, 'Wild Mare'..Ranko as a matter of fact. Makes
sense, neh?" He nodded in agreement, "Now that is out of the way.." Ranma
looked up to her as she stood up, many questions he had, died in his throat.
Leaning down to him, staring him straight in the eye, ".I want for FULL
cooperation on this," Ranma nodded again, wondering where this is going,
"You are going to get along and team up with Ranko here in the Four Dragons
training, or so help me.I'm going to toss you out of the nearest airlock
into
deep-space."
 Having watched some sci-fi/horror flicks, Ranma remembered some
of the gory mess that explosive decompression can do. So, in turn, he gulped
heavily.
Nodding, "I'll do my best." still biting back the fear of what this
woman can do to him, without fighting even.
"Good! I expect nothing less from either of you! I'll deliver you two
to the Four Dragon's Shrine right quick, since I have many things to do."
Mai
smiled, "I have a Super-Corperation to run after all."

* * * * * * * * *

In Some Other Dimensional Plane.some Other Time and Place.

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

* * * * * * * * *

Still Onboard the MegaLORD.Months Later.

 Sitting under a strange contraption, Ranma fretted under the dome
like apparatus, "Tell me why I have to sit here? Under this thing?" he said,
pointing to the dome over his head.
Inwardly sighing, "As I said.maybe for the ten-thousandth time,
Ranma. Your contract stated that I have right to scan for your martial arts
skills.don't worry.", Mai smiled a toothy grin, "Unlike the prototype, this
machine won't melt your brain."
Ranma's eyes nearly came out of there sockets and was about to plea
in stopping this experiment when Mai pushed the initialization key on the
console.

 Sitting back into one of the plush chairs within the room, looking all
the world non-plussed, when inside her stomach is doing cartwheels. She was
about to go to sleep when she heard a loud hum and then a buzz roar through
the room.
Her head snapped up to see Ranma, who's sweating _VERY_ heavily
as the machine went through its course in downloading the `Anything Goes
Martial Arts' knowledge into another battery of machines.
 A few minutes later, the machine finished scanning his neural
pathways and the hum stopped. Breathing a sigh of relief, he got out of the
chair.
Turning to him with a mischievous grin, "Now! That wasn't so bad?
Was it?" Mai asked him sarcastically. Her response was nothing more than a
snort from him. Inwardly shrugging Mai turned to Ranko, who started to sweat
also, "Your tun, Ranko-chan!" she called out to her playfully, making the
young red-head jump. Then quickly turned to frustration, "I'm a *GUY*!!"
she yelled, inwardly wishing that this voice in her head would stop stating
differently. Ranko sat under the bell with a huff, her arms crossed in
agitation.
Mai laughed softly again, "Whatever you say Ranko-chan." and started the
next download.

* * * * * * * * *

 The twins, Ranma and Ranko kicked back on the plush couch while
Mai fiddled with the controls on the consoles around her, they both wondered
how she 'downloaded' the Anything Goes Martial Arts into the two 'droids
sitting on the tables nearby.
Both noted idly that they are shaped like a male and a female, but far
from human, for looked very nasty looking. All jet black, most of the armor
stripped off, exposing the hydraulic/myomer-fiber meshes, but still have the
faceless helmets on them.
But they still gave them the shivers every time the lone red 'eye'
glowed.
 Both were about to fall asleep when Mai yelped for joy, "FINALLY
GOT IT!!" making the twins almost jump though the ceiling. She turned
around to show the twins her mirth filled face, 'Amazing that they are
getting
along so well now.' she noted to herself idly, 'Wasn't too long ago that
Ranma couldn't even stand the sight of Ranko.' Mai remembered drilling into
his head that Ranko is his sister.
Not to mention that if he did anything bad to her, he would get tossed
out of the nearest airlock, that last comment shut him up VERY quickly. But
for Ranko, she also had to get drilled that a woman is not weak and such,
and
that she can still do everything, possibly better and more than, that Ranma
can
do. From Mai's perspective, things couldn't be better, it would seem that
they
finally accepted what the Forge has handed them.
Whether it be for bad or for worse.
 Fiddling with a few more controls on the panels. The slabs which the
two machines rested on righted themselves. A low pitched hum filled the air
as
they came to life. The red eyes on their featureless faceplates flared as
they
accepted the new programming in their neural-nets.
 Punching a few more buttons on the control panels, Mai turned to the
twins, "I have ordered these two to run through the katas in the
Anything-Goes
style.let me know if something goes wrong." The twin nodded and
proceeded to watch the two 'droids go through the paces.

 Finishing the katas, the two 'droids bowed to each other and stood
rock still at either side, the red in their eyes dimmed as they went into
standby
mode. Mai smiled at her latest accomplishments and turned back to the twins,
"Well? How they'd do?" she asked them simply.
"Very well" both Ranma and Ranko chorused, making them both
flush slightly.
"Good.Now." Mai trailed slightly, taping away at a few keys,
".I'm sending these two through the Four Dragon's style."
 As before, the two 'droids started off just fine, but all three can tell
that something is going very wrong. Their movements no longer fluid and
controlled, becoming more ragged and jerky. The male happened to be the
first
to start spasming as it went into the more advanced katas. The female
looking
one soon joined it. Both soon completely shutdown, falling to the floor in a
disorderly metallic heap, smoke trailing out of the cracks in the skull
cases.
 Slamming her fist to the console, "Damn!" she yelled, making the
twins jump, "Another failure." Mai tapped the controls on the panel again.
Sighing in resignation, "Their neural cores are completely fragged.melted
down as is were." Hanging her head in defeat, "Looks like the legends are
true." snorting in contempt, "There can be only one real master of each
Element of the Four Dragons Art."
 Sighing again, "At least I now have a more superior martial art in
memory right now that works.I'm sure that me and MegaLORD could figure
something out with what we have." She trailed off as she felt a pair of
hands
clasp each of shoulders snugly. Mai looked over each shoulder to the
concerned faces of both Ranma and Ranko.
Ranma chimed in, "We know what you are trying to accomplish
here."
Now Ranko, ".There is no failure in trying your best." Turning up
the cute factor a bit, "Besides, there is always a chance to figure your way
around it.eventually." She added in finally, pulling Mai in for a comforting
hug.
 Hanging back, watching the two women with each other, Ranma
plopped back into the couch, still almost ready to go back to sleep.
Releasing herself from the Red-head's warm embrace, Mai snorted,
"Well.I best get you two back to Sensei before he blows a blood vessel
wondering why it is taking so long for a Mind-Scan." Both the twins bit back
laughter of the veiled insult of Dragon-Sensei. Shaking her head and
throwing
her hands up into the air, "It wouldn't surprise me if the old codger knew
this
was going to happen and is laughing his wrinkled, old ass off right now."
This time, the twins couldn't hold back the laughter.

* * * * * * * * *

Onto Another Dimensional Plane.Many a Year Later.

 Walking along a stretch of trees. A fairly young man, wearing full
plate suit of futuristic armor, carrying an over & under rifle over his
shoulder
and a pair of very large pistols on his hips. On his back is a massive pack,
full
of supplies and other things. He's heading to somewhere in particular, to
meet
someone he is to train with. Hawk smiled, `No trouble.The sun is shining
bright.tis a good.' his thoughts were cut off as a woman's scream cut
through the air.
"NOOOOOOOO!!!", sending chills down his spine. He spun into
many directions to find where the scream came from.
 The laughter that accompanied it soon after told Hawk where it is
coming from.
Another scream went through, sounding much more urgent than the
last, "DON'T!! PLEASE!!"
Hawk's blood chilled at the thought of what it could mean. Taking in
a quick series of breaths, he took off running as fast as his legs could
carry him
into where the screams originated.
The ground burned to the speed he moved.
 Coming up a short incline, he slowed to a stop. Looking over the
cliffhang, Hawk's blood both chilled and boiled at the scene he is
witnessing.
A young red haired woman getting the last shreds of her clothing
ripped off of her well endowed, slender frame. Being held down by a bunch of
drooling men. Frowning, `I can't just stand by and let this go now can I?'
he
asked himself as another pained yell split the air, "GAHAHAAAAA!!!" she
cried desperately, making another one of the men clamp his hands around her
mouth, muffeling her almost completely.
 Narrowing his eyes, through the red haze in his vision, his optics
picked up the collars around their necks and wrists, "Joy.Juicers.just what
I
need." he said quietly to himself, cracking an sadistic smile as he unslung
his
rifle, his hands quaking from barely restrained rage, more so than they ever
had been, he wondered idly and quickly about that for a second.
Hawk watched in sheer horror as they slid their greasy paws ALL
over her body, but when their hands slid to between her legs, she struggled
all
the more.
Hearing her muffled cries, Hawk ducked back behind the clearing,
not able watch any more as he hurried his actions, his smile turning into a
vicious frown.
Looking the rifle one over, Hawk searched for ways to get maximum
power output from the built-in Fusion power system. A company edition of the
Compression-Particle Beam rifle, styled much like a skeet shooter.
Its twin barrels hummed softly as the charge rung through it. Hawk
pushed the power slider as far as it will go and flipped the selector switch
for
both the barrels, he then pushed another, more hidden control, labeled
`OVERLOAD'.
 Crawling his way over the overhang, he took aim at the juicer pulling
his pants down. The two at the sides pulled her legs open with some measure
of difficulty, "Hmmm.looks like she's a tough one." looking down the
sight of the rifle, ".but not quite enough against a gang of them." trailing
off, frowning, he sighted the one juicer, "SMILE FOR THE Li'L BIRDIE!!"
he called out to the people below, making them stop dead in their tracks,
spinning all round to find out where the voice came from.
Pulling the trigger, the rifle spat twin lances of condensed super-
charged blueish-white beams of energy, seering the air as it traveled to its
intended target.
 They struck home on the juicers chest. Splattering him all over the
clearing. The others quickly took battle stance, letting the girl go. She
slowly
curled up into a ball on her side, crying her heart out.
Hawk's heart instantly went out to her and he soon spotted a young
black haired man, being held face down into the dirt by a LARGE juicer.
Grimacing, `Happy Happy.Joy Joy.a titan type." He spat out,
taking aim at the big guy, "But not for long." pulling the trigger again.
Only
the titan's arm and most of his upper torso got hit at this angle, it going
up into
a spray of blood and gore. But that was all the the man needed, he got up
and
started literally beating the crap out of the rest that he can get to.
 Not willing to walk away from a good spat, plus his rifle severely
overheated, melted slag in other words. Hawk tossed the useless piece of
warped metal to the ground, grabbed a pistol in each hand and lept over the
cliff, his handheld lasers blazing away at the remaining juicers.
Managing to blow holes into a few of their chests until Hawk hit the
ground. Holstering the guns and tossing his pack to the ground below, he
dived
into the fray with a resounding battle cry. Soon the crunches of bodily
limbs
filled the air, filled also with high pitched male screams of pain.
 The few on the sidelines, waiting for something, took off running like
a bat outta hell, they never made it out.alive.
Hawk sighted them making a quick get away and took off after them.
Snagging their necks from behind and slamming them into the
ground, "See the punishment you have wrought." he told them darkly, very
darkly.
Both the juicers, now on their backs looked up to unbridled fury
being leveled at them. They tried to get up, only for one of them get a foot
through his chest as he tried, "*STAY DOWN*!!" Hawk roared, making the
other urinate under his own thin armor.
More so when Hawk's gaze swung up back to him. The juicer tried to
get away again, but didn't get far, and in the wrong direction.
Hawk quickly snatched the man again as he entered the clearing,
noted idly that the black haired man is watching him. Pulling the man's ear
close, "Say `HI' to Hades when you meet him at the peak of Mount
Tartarus." trailed off as he cletched his hand around the man's neck,
crushing everything contained herein. Hawk threw the worthless corpse away
uncerimoniously away, crunching even more against a large tree when it hit.
Red Haze now lifting, and now able to see clearly, Hawk looked
around the clearing, catching sight of the black haired young man, on his
knees, hunched over and wretching his guts out.
Soon, he got up and wiped his mouth with a few coughs. The two
men, looked around to the aftermath of the slaughter, not like it was
undeserving.
Their gazes sized each other up, the man with the black hair looked as
strong as a bull and much harder to stop, judging by his still very pissed
expression, and sickened creeped up amongst that as well.
A muffled sniffle brought the two out of their reverie. Hawk swung
his gaze to the girl, she was now sitting up, her knees up to her chest and
her
arms wrapped around her legs.
She is just rocking there, sobbing from the near-trauma. Hawk gulped
as his heart melted instantly as he dropped his pack off of his shoulder.
Wiping his hands quickly to get the blood off of them, he dug into it
deeply and brought out a thick blanket. He walked over to her, she took no
notice of him coming until he laid his hand on her knee that has she
embedded
her face into.
As soon as she touched her, she screamed a most blood curdling
scream and back pedaled away from Hawk until she hit the wall of the cliff,
making him jump almost ten feet into the air.
Curling back into a ball, her eyes firmly screwed shut.
Both men's skin crawled when she screamed.
She forced open her eyes eventually when nothing touched her.
Wondering is happening right now, she looked up from the ground where she
is huddled and met with a pair of warm, caring hazel eyes.

Feeling the mental barriers crumble in some places, in others, fall
completely. The Spirit of the Spring pushed against those barriers, meeting
with no active resistance, she pushed harder against the walls that
Red-Head's
mind imprisioned her.
The Spirt smiled to herself as she blended in with the her unwilling
and unwitting host.

Hawk stared as he lost all rational thought as he looked into those
`Baby-Blues.' He and the Red-Head looked into each other for almost a
minute until they had to blink, feeling the electrical current cross between
them.
Shaking his head and putting his hand to it, `Whoa.what happened
there?' Hawk remembered what he is holding in his hand and looked back to
the Red-Head.
The expression on her face mirroring what he felt and thought only a
second ago. He walked slowly over to her, the blanket streched between his
hands. Offering no resistance, she let Hawk wrap the cloth around her as she
stood up.
She felt.comfortable and secure?.as he wound his arms around
her, leaning into him and wrapping her own arms around his torso, she let it
all
out.
Hawk soon found himself with a crying woman in his arms, he held
her gently, trying in all effort to sooth her.

 `Now.we become one.' the female voice said in Ranko's head,
fading away, perhaps for good. With one last push against her psyche, the
Spirit of the Spring melded with Ranko's Mind and spirit.

With one last sniff, The Red-Head found herself being gently rocked
while someone was holding her. As soon as she stopped wailing Hawk let her
go mostly, leaning back some, with his hands still on her arms, "You alright
now?" he asked her softly.
She nodded while she wiped her eyes. Hawk felt someone slap his
shoulder, he swung his head, "Thanks, man.for the save back there." the
young man reluctantly said, fidgeting with his pig-tail.
Hawk bowed his head, "No problem.glad to be of help." trailing
off as he looked to the sky, "Say.the day's still early." his face showing
no
remembrence of what happened a while ago, ".how's about I travel with you
two? It does get a little lonely walking alone with no-one to talk to." He
said
sheepishly, sticking out his slightly stained hand to him, "The name's
Hawk.David KnightHawke."
Raisng an eyebrow, the young man grasped Hawk's hand and shook
it, "Ranma Saotome." He trailed off on the rest of the introductions when
Hawk started.
Looking to him dubiously, "Wait a minute.Ranma?" Hawk shook
his head, "No.can't be.the one that I am suposed to train with??" now
pointing to the Red-Head with a shakey finger, "I take it that you are
Ranko?"
he asked her.
Both Ranma and Ranko looked to each other, then back to Hawk,
"Yeah?" they answered him, not knowing what is going on.
Letting out a sharp laugh, "HAH! Who would have thought I have
met you two coming this away!!" laughing even more for a moment. The
twins looked at Hawk like he is insane, Ranma even moreso than Ranko.
Looking at Ranma, "Is he for real?" Ranko asked him.
Ranma didn't get a chance to answer, "Yep! The real McCoy!!"
Hawk chimed in, digging back into his pack again. Before they could say
anything, "Since we are going to be traveling together, I don't think too
many
people with appreciate you wearing just a blanket.other than myself." He
said to Ranko, cracking a lecherous grin.
Who flushed when she glanced at all that she is wearing, "Eechi!!"
she cried back, hiding herself behind Ranma, tightly wrapping the blanket
around herself.
Shaking his head, "And proud of it! Not like I haven't seen anything
like that before.at least, not that good looking anyway." He muttered, now
holding out some clothing, "Here.you can wear these for the time
being.just hope that they fit ya." Ranko nodded thanks as she snatched the
clothes and darting behind the underbrush to get dressed.
Chuckling as he watched her retreating form, "She's cute." he said
to no-one, would have continued the compliments if not for a too firm grip
on
his shoulder and a fierce look in his eye.
"Just don't try anything, ok pal?" Ranma exclaimed, whipping Hawk
around.
Putting up his hands defensiveliy, "HEY! I just met her!! You think
that I am just as fast as those guys we got earlier?!?!" Hawk said, giving
Ranma an Artic eye and shucking his gruff hand off of his shoulder, "When
she's finished changing, we'll go back to where you guys were training at."
Shifting himself in his armor, "And one other thing.it was a compliment I
was saying about your sister. Is it that horrible a crime?" he asked
roughly.
Stunned at such a comeback, Ranma just shook his head, "No.it
isn't." snorting, "Heh.I could get to like you, ya'know?"
Hawk nodded, "Same here." trailing off as both starting laughing at
such a thing.
Would have continued if not for Ranko, "Hey!! You got a belt or
something for these pants?!?! These things are REALLY loose on me." she
called out, coming out from the underbrush, holding the wide waist pants
around her small frame. The shirt he gave her was like a tent over her, the
sleeves so long, she had to roll them up in order to get her hands through.
So small that she is, she has almost lost herself down just one pant-
leg. Calming himself down quickly from the hilarious sight, "Yeah.I think
so." digging into his pack again, he quickly found what he is looking for,
"I
found something that could be of use." holding up a small coil of rope. He
looked to Ranko's waistline a minute, since she is holding the pants taught
there.
Nodding, Hawk pulled out a few feet worth of rope, "Your waist is
sure tiny." he tickled her at where the pants are pulled tight, making her
squeal, ".hopely I got this right." he trailed off, dodging the withering
glare
he is receiving from Ranko, pointing his index finger up in the air.
A sizzling red energy blade erected from the tip as `lines' glowed
along the finger. Ranko and Ranma backed away from him slowly as he sliced
the rope like it is not even there.
Looking back up to the twins, inwardly groaned at the looks on the
twin's faces, "Don't worry.I have a built in options package." Chuckling as
he gave the rope to Ranko.
"You sound like a used car salesman." she trailed off into a small fit
of the giggles when she glanced to Hawk's disgusted face.
"I object to that slander!!" he cried out, making her laugh even harder
especially when Hawk's fingers flew over her ribs as he helped wind the rope
through the pant belt loops, helping her forget what happened no more than a
moment ago.
Ranma crossed his arms, `Why is she acting like that?' he pondered
to himself as he watched her play around.
Shouldering his pack while Ranko tied up the phenominally loose
jeans around her waist, "So." Hawk drawled out, "Where are you guys
training at?" he asked them, swinging his gaze between the twins.
Ranma pointed into some direction, "The Dragon Dojo.Taddaway
for about 2 hours.since we also came out looking for you," smirking, "Mai
also told us to expect a new partner in crime."
Hawk barked a sharp laugh, "Ain't that the truth!!"
The troop started off onto their way back to Dragon Sensei's Dojo.

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