...And here it is.

*************************************************************

Mornimg classes were relatively quiet, until Akiko saw the Principal, 
still
being chased by the shears, run past the window, sending the class into 
a 
ten-minute giggle fit.  At lunch, Akane asked Nozomu what had happened 
that 
morning.  "It was funny, but why was the whole school cracking up?"

"That was us, I'm afraid."  Nozomu answered.  "It's the major down side 
to
us being kids.  We can be incredibly empahtic.  If one of us feels 
something
strong enough, the other does too.  The emotion grows and eventually 
flows
back.  At a certain point, it's transmitted to anyone around us.  If one 
of
us finds something funny, you see what happens, but if one of us gets 
really
pissed off, you can have a riot on your hands real quick.  That's why I 
did 
that: I cut off the rest of my hair, which should grow back by 
tommorrow, to
lessen my anger, then I got the Principal to get rid of it.  Besides,"  
He
rubbed his scalp.  "For some reason melanin and baldness go well 
together."

"I see your point."  Akane said, remembering her reaction when Ryoga 
accidentally cut most of her hair off in that fight with Ranma:  She 
slugged
them both.  "But how are you floating?"  

"Another reason I prefer our older forms.  As kids, we continuously draw 
energy from our surroundings, similar to Miss Hinako, but on a much 
smaller
scale.  We also have much more raw power as children, but we can't 
control 
it all.  We can draw power from anything:  Psychic Energy, Life force, 
possibly even Ki.  We draw it out at about the same rate its 
replinished, so 
in groups, or near a Ley line, there's no bad effects on anyone around 
us, 
but in an area of low energy, we can be fatal after a long period of 
time. 
Lucky thing you and Ranma have enourmous amounts of P.P.E. and Ki."

"We do?"

"Well, with Ranma it's obvious, with you it's painfully obvious.  
Painful
for Ranma, that is!"  Nozomu chuckled.  

"Very funny."

"I'm serious.  You have a lot of power, but the only time you show it is
when you're pounding your boyfriend over there."

"That baka?"  Akane immediately responded.  "He's NOT my boyfriend!"

"Who'd want to marry a Kawaiikunee Tomboy like you?"  Ranma 
automatically
called back, in the middle of a discussion with Akiko and Ukyo, which he
was having in an attempt to tactfully (for once) avoid eating the lunch
Akane made for him.  

Akane fumed and started to reach behind her for her mallet, when Nozomu 
suddenly called, "HOLD THAT THOUGHT!"  

"Akane nearly lost her concentration, but held on.  "What?"

"Lina, could you give us a quick magic-detection spell?  Akiko, focus 
it,
please."  The girls held their palms out as they began their spells.  A 
faint glow appeared around Akane's hand.  "Uh-huh.  Now, Akane, pull out 
the
hammer."  

As Akane brought her hand back around, the glow formed into the shape of 
one
of her smaller mallets, then faded to an outline around the wooden 
mallet.

"Hmmm...." Nozomu said, taking the mallet out of her hands.  He 
concentrated, 
and the wood turned to translucent energy.  "Cool.  You converted your 
'Ki' 
into solid matter, wood in this case."

Ranma snortred.  "You should see how she transforms food into 
radioactive 
waste."  

*SPANG!*

"What'cha do that for, Ucchan?!"  Ranma groaned as he nursed the bump on 
his
head.

Ukyo reholstered her spatula and glared at him.  "Why don't you stop
insulting her for a change?"

"Ow, Since when did you start taking her side?"  

Ukyo smiled.  Ranma began to reconsider Nozomu's earlier words.

************************************************************

At the end of the day, they headed for the gate, where Ayame was waiting 
for
them.  She led them back to town, where they went through a twisting 
series
of alleyways, finally coming to a nondescript door on the side of a
building.  "This is one of our safe houses, where our clan members can 
contact each other and generally relax as our true selves."  She pointed 
to
a small mark by the doorknob.  "This is one of the symbols of my clan."

Nabiki studied the mark carefully.  "Kinda obvious, if you know what to 
look 
for."  

"What?"  Ranma asked.

"You're not supposed to look at the mark itself.  If you look around and
between the markings, you see the outline of a four-point shuriken."

"I'll be damned," Nozomu said as he took a second glance, "She's right."

Ayame knocked on the door in a pattern too fast for even Ranma to 
follow.  
After a second, the door was opened by a huge man who could have found 
work
as an extra on 'Fist of the North Star'.  

The giant smiled brightly and scooped Ayame up in a near-crushing hug.  
"Ayame -chan!  Where have you been, I was so worried about you when you 
failed to report in this morning!"  

Ayame hugged the man back, kissing him on the cheek.  "I missed you too,
Oniichan.  We need to speak to the Jonin right away."


Ayame's brother frowned at the others.  "If you're bringing in 
outsiders, it 
must be important.  Follow me."  He led them through a lounge area of 
sorts, 
where ordinary-looking people of all types relaxed, talking, reading, 
and 
playing various arcade games.  A few of them looked up at the small
procession their clanmate brought in, particularly the still-levitating 
pair
of small children.

They came to a metal door painted very realistically to resemble wood.  
Ayame 
and her brother said something that, to the suprise of the twins, was in 
Dragoneese.  They basically identified themselves and their companions.  
The 
door opened, and they were allowed inside.  

Nozomu grinned at his sister as they entered the spacious office.  
Various 
plants adorned the corners of the room.  a large vid-screen hung over 
the 
back wall, and the medium-sized mahogany desk had a computer terminal
sitting on it.  

"Ayame has told me about your fortunate assistance in the matter of the
goblin..."

"Boogie-man."  Nozomu corrected innocently.

"We know the difference between a goblin and a Boogie-man."  Akiko 
added.

"Goblins make a better splat mark when you slam them against the wall." 
Lina said.  The three of them looked at each other, and giggled slightly
at a private joke.

The Jonin rolled his eyes.  "Anyway, We have heard a lot about you, 
Ranma 
Saotome, though much of it's been somewhat biased."  He reached over and 
hit
the intercom button.  "Pantsuto, come in please."

A hidden door on the side wall opened, and Tarou walked in.  "Stop 
calling
me that!"

"You care to try and stop me?"  the Jonin said, raising an eyebrow.

Tarou paled a bit and shook his head.  "No, sensei."

Ranma looked on in shock.  This old man had just shaken up Tarou without
even trying.  

"So what do you want with us?"  Nabiki asked.  "We've seen a safe house 
of
an apparently secluded, if not secret, organization.  Due to the fact 
that
you now owe us a favor, you're not going to kill us.  So that means 
you're
about to try making a deal with us.  Let's cut to the chase, shall we?"

Tarou grinned as the Jonin's eyes narrowed.  "I told you not to 
underestimate Fem-Boy and his friends."

"I agree.  Very well, Since you put it so eloquenly.  Ranma Saotome, 
we've 
been keeping a close watch over you sine your first encounter with 
Pantsuto.
Your skills are imressive to say the least."

"So why are you watching us?"

"To keep you out of the hands of the B'aal-Rogg.  Seven hundred years 
ago, 
they sacrificed one of our ancestors and unleashed a great horror upon 
the 
land that we were barely able to stop.  out of the 834 members of the 
clan,
only 38 walked away from that battle, and over half of them were so 
mentally
scarred that they went mad within weeks.  It seems that once a century, 
one 
of our clan is born woth a certain life energy.  If the Baal-Rogg 
sacrifice
him or her, the energy is released, awakening their demonic master.  
Every 
hundred years, we stop them, or we seal the monster back, at the risk of
annihilation.  To protect ourselves, we trained in the martial arts.  
But
our enemies also recruit warriors and agents to undermine us."

"So to protect yourselves and your land, you became an Yakuza?"  Nozomu 
asked.

Tarou snorted.  "Those wimps?  Don't make me laugh.  They're worse than 
you
weaklings."

Nozomu got quickly in his face.  "There are countries weaker than us."

Akiko seperated the two, preventing any property damage.  "You can pound 
on 
each other later.  We have more important things to worry about."

"That it true."  the Jonin replied.  "Apparently, the Baal-Rog have 
chosen
Ayame's child for their sacrifice, and have begun trying to take him.  
Now 
our true battle begins."

Akiko turned and looked into the Jonin's eyes.  "Then we will help.  If 
there's anything we can do, just ask."  

The Jonin nodded, realizing that this girl and her brother were most 
definitely _not_ normal children.  He had Ayame and Tarou escort them 
back 
out, and returned to his work.

***************************************

Chibi-Nozomu walked alone through the burning streets of the city, 
searching 
for any signs of life.  A squadron of Shadowhawk fighters streaked 
overhead,
energy building between the needlelike twin booms of their tachyon 
cannons.

"What the hell is going on here?"  he said out loud.  Nova's forces 
shouldn't 
even be in this dimension, much less using space fighters in broad 
daylight.

He continued until he reached the gates of Frunikan high.  Entering, he 
saw 
dozens of corpses strewn about, many of them mangled or burned beyond 
recognition.  A ball of energy five feet across sailed over his head, 
destroying a nearby storefront.  The KnightWing lay crashed and burning 
in the front of the school building among the charred wrecks of tanks.  
Packs of gargoyles soared overhead, while gurgoyles roamed the streets 
below 
their winged brethren.  A deep, inhuman laugh echoed from somewhere atop 
the 
school.

Nozomu climbed over the hot metal wreck of the Knightwing.  The pilot 
sat 
slumped over the controls, blood seeping through her red hardsuit and 
pooling on the floor of the cockpit.  "MAMA!"  Nozomu cried as he jumped 
down 
through the shattered canopy.  Slowly, he removed his mother's helmet, 
letting her red hair fall over her face.  He frantically searched for a 
pulse, but found none.  Solomnly, he checked the rear of the plane, but 
found the rest of the Knight Sabers in the same condition.  Sylia, 
Priss,
 Linna, Edge, Mackie, and Nene were all dead.  Silently, he stepped away 
from the ship and headed for the stairway to the roof.  He knew whatever 
was 
responsible for killing his family was up there, and they would pay for 
it 
for the rest of its existance.  

Both minutes of it.  

Tears streaming down his face, he raced up the stairs and blasted the 
door 
open with an Aura Blast.  There, the view was much worse.  various SDF 
soldiers, police, and others lay in pieces around him.  Next to the 
door, 
Principal Kuno was impaled to the wall by a steel beam.  The Tendo's 
Panda 
lay still, it's head twisted completely backwards.  Surrounding him were 
the 
bodies of the Tendos, Ukyo, and Ryoga.  Over at the edge of the 
building, 
Ranma fought alone against a shadow-shrounded man weilding a large 
sword.  
Ranma seemed to be holding his own until he jumped back and threw a huge 
ki-
blast.  The shadow raised his sword and hurled it _though_ Ranma's 
attack,
disappating it and impaling him at the same time.  

The shadow threw back his head and laughed.  That same demonic laugh 
Nozomu
heard as he stood over the bodies of his family.  Ranma struggled to his 
feet, 
trying to continue the fight.  

"Oh no, Ranma."  The shadow sneered, creating a pair of large energy 
balls 
in his hands, "This fight is over.  **AURA BLAST!!**"  The balls 
exploded 
forward, engulfing Ranma and not even leaving his clothing behind.

Nozomu ran forward, his head spinning.  How the hell did he know that 
attack? 
Just as he was about to reach the shadow, something held him in place.  
Nozomu found himself trapped in midair, unable to move.  

The shadow turned to face him, and Nozomu could almost see the face of 
the 
killer.  A purple gleam appeared right above his eyes, and flared to 
life.

Chibi-Nozomu stood face-to-face with his older self.

"No......"  Nozomu cried, "Why are you doing this?"

Adult Nozomu laughed.  "Why not?  Look at the carnage around you!  You 
know 
how exited you get in a fight, enjoy it!"  A-Nozomu placed his hand over 
C-Nozomu's forehead.  "Feel the rush I felt, revel in it!"  The dark gem 
in
his hand flashed with his younger self.  C-Nozomu felt the rush of 
euphoria
as images of A-Nozomu's rampage filled his mind.  

He watched as he unleashed a host of demons upon Tokyo.

He watched as he waded through police lines, cutting down officers in a 
single stroke.

He watched as he fought against Nova's troops.  

He watched as he tore through Frunikan High like a typhoon, slaughtering
at will.  

He watched as, one by one, he slayed Ranma's friends and family as they 
tried 
to stop him.  

He watched as he gleefully shot down the KnightWing with a shot through 
the
cockpit.  

He watched himself laugh as he imagined the screams of his parents, his 
family, as they plunged to their deaths.

Tears flowed down his cheeks as the images flashed through  his mind, 
over 
and over, A-Nozomu's laughter ringing in his ears.

He despised it, yet he felt the pleasure of it course through his soul.

Kami-Sama help him, he loved every moment of it.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"

*******************************************************

In another part of the country, a little girl woke up screaming.  Beside 
her, 
her sister was shocked awake as well.  

"Sasami!"  Ryoko cried as she phased in beside her futon.  "What 
happened?"

Sasami threw herself in to Ryoko's lap, crying.  Ayeka stroked her hair, 
trying to calm her down.  Ryo-Oh-Ki hopped up and miya'ed, concerned for 
her 
friend.

Washu and Tenchi entered the room as well, Washu sweeping the room with 
a 
large sensor.  "Everyone,"  she said as she turned off the sensor,  "I 
picked 
up residual energy from a psychic backlash in the room.  Someone, or 
something powerful just let out a psionic scream that somehow intruded 
on 
Sasami, or Tsunami's mind."  She held out her hands, and her holographic 
keyboard appeared under them.  A holographic tablescreen appeared in the 
center of the room, and a 3-D map of Japan appeared.  "Alright!"  Washu 
exclaimed.  "I've pinpointed the scource of the Psi-pulse."  

"Where is it, Washu?"  Tenchi asked.

"*Ahem*"

"Washu _CHAN_." Tenchi corrected.

"That's better."  The map scaled in towards Tokyo, and highlighted a 
roughly
rectangular area northwest of Shinjuko.  "It's somewhere in this area.  
I
could narrow it down to the exact house, but there are too many powerful 
auras 
in the area, and they're interfering with the scan."

"How powerful?"  Ryoko asked.

"Some of them may be as powerful as you are, Ryoko."

"Just great."  the ex-pirate sighed.

Tenchi examined the holo-map carefully.  "Washu-chan, is this a direct 
satellite image?"

Washu nodded.  "None of this world's satellites could give me the detail 
I 
needed, so I built my own!"

A popped up on Washuu's shoulder.  "Washu-chan, you're a genius!"

B popped over the other shoulder.  "Washu-chan's the greatest in the 
universe!"

Tenchi bigsweated.  "I knew it."  he groaned.  "Can you show me a map 
sketch?"

Washu hit a few keys, and the view switched to a road-map like picture 
of the 
city.  The disturbance area roughly covered a single ward in the city.

"I was afraid of that."  said Tenchi.

"What is it?"  Ayeka asked.

"Nerima,"  Tenchi answered.  "My cousins live there."

==============================================================

Anyone see this coming?  And no, Ranma's not Tenchi's cousin.

Chapter 3 of all of my series' will be a while in coming, as I now have 
three stories to write.  C&C would be greatly appreciated.

SAMAS

Only one way, and that's my way
Grim Reaper callin', Judgement Day!
-Method Man.



______________________________________________________
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