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The FFML Refugee List

Rursus Iterum Chapter Three

Part A

Strike! Sink or Swim?

 Disclaimer: Takahashi provided us with the paint, property of her and
Viz video, and additional colors borrowed from Soeishinsha Co., Ltd. and
U.S. Manga Corps. this time around. I'm simply a peasant with an easel.

 Previous chapters can be found here:
http://members.tripod.com/lwf58/fan_fiction/durandall/index.html

 ------------------

 Eiko gaped at the boy in front of her as he offered a nervous smile,
hands fidgeting absently with the staff slung across his shoulder. His
eyes were still the same cerulean blue that she had expected to come to
accept she would never see again -- the hue so full of that warm love
and trust that she had thought she would have to learn to live without.
Her heart skipped a beat, seeing that the glow from his gaze hadn't
dimmed, and that -- however it had happened...

 Ranma was back.

 Flushing, he lowered his gaze to his feet, dropping his hand to his
side and letting the jo tap against the ruined carpet below. "Um," he
muttered, before pausing to clear his throat. "Um, I'm _really_ sorry
about this." Swallowing back further words, he bit his lip, allowing his
empty hand to rise and scratch the nape of his neck.

 The redhead slowly smiled, realizing that the situation was real, more
than a passing dream or cruel fancy. Wrenching her ankle free of its
concrete confinement, she took an unsteady step towards him. "Ran...
ma?" she whispered, unable to summon the strength to speak any louder.
That whisper turned to a muffled sob, as she managed, "Ranma? Is that...
you?"

 He nodded, raising his eyes to meet hers again. "I... yeah, it's me,
Eiko. I'm... really sorry."

 She blinked, taking another slow step, and coming to a halt just before
him. Looking up into his face, she could see the lines of worry and more
recent lines of anger in his face -- lines that had not been there
before he... he...

 "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

 Ranma flinched at that, and shook his head. "I'm sorry," he muttered
plaintively. "Pops... Pops told me that you were dead. I mean... I
woulda come back, but..." He trailed off, biting his lip.

 Eiko slowly began to smile. "But you're not dead," she stated. "Right?"

 The boy shook his head quickly, still staring at his feet and unable to
meet her eyes for the moment. "Not last time I checked..."

 Releasing a whoop of joy, Eiko grabbed him in a hug, spinning him
around quickly, and barely restraining the urge to jump up and down in a
madly gleeful dance. "You're back! You're back! YES!"

 He returned the embrace, emitting only a muffled sputtering noise until
she set him down -- but did not release him. "Finally," she managed,
nearly at a whimper. "I missed you... oh, Ranma, you don't want to know
how horrible it was thinking you were dead and trying to go on without
you..." She released him, looking up into his flushed and smiling face.
"I always somehow hoped... that you would come back. Ranma? Do you..."
she trailed off, her warmly glowing eyes peering into his and nearly
brimming over with moist affection.

 Ranma swallowed, blinking, and suddenly appearing to remember
something. "Uh..." he began, slowly. "There's a lot we have to catch up
on..."

 ***

 Agent CD138621 S113, code-named 'D', was unable to restrain a smile of
delight. True, the injuries taken in pursuit of the princess had pained
the agent horribly... but sacrifices had to be made in the name of duty.

 And those sacrifices had paid off, because today D was planning on
returning to the people that had been left behind in pursuit of the
mission. The princess had been found at last, and would be returned to
her people! She sniffled, wiping away a stray joyous tear.

 Thumbing the com-link active while the engines to the Leota Class Scout
warmed up from their long disuse, the agent considered the vehicle. D
smiled again, thinking that the machine had gone on too long without
being piloted. A hand patted the navigation console tenderly, as D's
deep rumbling voice asked, "Did you miss me? I'm back! And we're going
home, soon..."

 The com-unit finally finished negotiating the connection through a now
heavily scrambled ionosphere -- a good sign in D's book. It would mean
that the Egota Class Cruiser was on the descent, and its point-defense
systems would be creating heavy disturbances, most likely disrupting the
relatively primitive communications technology of the natives.

 A perky seeming green-haired girl was on the moderately distorted
viewing pane, her image blurring out at short intervals. "Agent CD138621
S113?"

 D nodded, answering, "Code name 'D.' I'm bringing the princess home."

 ***

 Captain Napolipolita smiled, rolling a bottle idly around in one hand.
The native barbarians had been repelled by the automatic defenses so
far, but the Egota Class Cruiser was low enough in the atmosphere for
the captain to deploy their ship's own units in response. The fighters
would throw the natives into disarray, providing D enough cover to
escape without risk to the princess.

 Nodding curtly at the communications officer who had relayed D's
message, the Captain's voice rang out to the bridge crew. "Ready the
Widows for launch. We'll destroy these barbarians yet." Slurring
slightly, the tone shifted from one to formal command to an indignant
whine. "And someone get me another bottle of bourbon, damn it all! This
one's empty."

 ***

 Ranma cleared his throat, glancing behind him towards the hall that
Biiko had disappeared down mere moments ago. "Um, well... you see,
Eiko... uh... Pops screwed up a few other things, too..."

 Eiko shook her head, pressing her face into Ranma shoulder. "I don't
care," she declared. "It can't be anything really bad. You're back,
right?" She broke off and stared up at him in worry. "What could he have
done?"

 Looking nervous, Ranma admitted, "He, uh... engaged me to some other
girls..."

 Eiko stepped away sharply, peering into his eyes and hoping to see a
trace of humor. "You're kidding. Right?" Shaking her head, and trying to
keep a certain hysterical edge from her voice, she asked, "What does
this mean?"

 He scratched the back of his head, looking away. "Um... don't mean
nothing, yet. I mean, I ain't married or anything, just engaged, you
know... Er... well..." he trailed off with a frown, unsure of what to
say.

 After a moment of consideration, the redhead grinned again, her golden
eyes shining with hope. "But you came back for me, right? That's great!"

 Ranma ducked his head meekly. "Err... it's not quite that easy, you
see, 'cause... well... you haven't met 'em yet." Eiko's cheerful
demeanor persisted, as he continued. "See, first off, I'm supposed to
marry this girl that Pops engaged me to before I was born, and inherit
her dojo and stuff..."

 The girl nodded, maintaining her hopeful smile.

 "Then there's this girl I met when we were kids, and I'm supposed to
marry her, too. Er... she's a good friend, though... she makes
okonomiyaki." Ranma released a puff of air, his hands fidgeting with his
bo uncertainly. He wasn't even sure why he included that detail, but the
way Eiko's face darkened at the mention of okonomiyaki worried him.
"Er... anyway, and then there's this Chinese Amazon that I beat in a
fight..."

 Eiko shook the frown from her face, smiling hopefully again. "But," she
said, poking Ranma in the chest, "you came back for _me_, right?"

 Ranma stumbled back a step at Eiko's prodding, catching himself and
fidgeting uncertainly for another moment, before he nodded
apologetically. "Yeah, and... 'cause I... uh... there's some other stuff
too, ya see-"

 "I don't know who you are, but you'll pay for messing with me!" The
shout rang out, surprising both of the teens. Further conversation was
interrupted by the arrival of one slightly singed and very angry
Daitokuji Biiko, flying down the corridor towards Ranma.

 Eiko clasped her hands under her chin, her eyes flying wide and
sparkling with joy. Ranma was going to fight to protect her? It was all
she could to keep from jumping up and down from the sheer elation the
moment inspired within her.

 The pigtailed boy made a face and leapt into the air, neatly arcing his
leap over Biiko bringing himself to a position to strike the
girl-become-airborne-projectile.

 Biiko stared in shock as Ranma stabbed towards her left arm with a
single finger. After striking a point not protected by Biiko's armor,
Ranma curled himself into a ball and flipped free. Tumbling in midair,
the pigtailed boy managed three seemingly lazy flips before he came to
rest on his feet, arms low and jo clasped loosely in his free hand. He
smirked, facing Biiko in a relaxed ready-stance. The
battle-bikini-armored girl flew down the corridor, missing Eiko by mere
inches as the redhead belatedly ducked to avoid an unpleasant impact.

 Ranma's eyes followed Biiko's course as it shifted from straight line
to slowly expanding corkscrew, and he winced in sympathy as she slammed
into the far wall. "Well," he remarked to Eiko, watching the
bluish-gray-haired girl struggle to regain her feet, "I guess she had it
coming after everything she did to you."

 The normally haughty girl staggered forward, bits of wood and masonry
sloughing off of her arms as she removed herself from the indentation in
the wall, smaller clouds of dust rising as the falling chunks of debris
struck their larger cousins on the floor. Clutching one arm in shock as
it hung limply, she stared at it for a moment uncomprehendingly before
the reality of the situation registered. "What did you do?!" she
shrieked. "My arm! I can't feel my arm!"

 Ranma's smirk grew wider as he nodded and leant against a
not-entirely-ruined wall. "Shiatsu paralysis. You won't be able to move
that arm for a few hours, unless someone else unlocks it."

 "There's no such thing," she sputtered indignantly.

 Scowling, Ranma tensed, releasing his aura, and causing both girls to
stumble back in alarm. "And I suppose there ain't anything like ki,
either, huh?" The blue ki-flames bled easily into the visible spectrum,
their uppermost reaches licking at the ceiling while its width was
easily three times Ranma's own.

 Biiko said nothing, only able to gibber at the display. The pigtailed
martial artist nodded, glad that the girl was unable to know that while
Ranma could sheathe himself in an aura of ki... he couldn't do anything
with it, yet.

 That aspect didn't bother him, though. There was time, and he could
come up with something if he had to. Aside from which, as Ranma had
learned, good bluffers didn't get called often.

 Eiko merely blinked, taking a tentative step forward. "Ranma?" she
asked, wonder apparent in her voice.

 He suppressed the essentially harmless light show, still staring at
Biiko. "And if you want to do anything to Eiko, you gotta go through me
first. Got it?"

 Biiko said nothing, merely growling as she stabbed a button on the
bracer she wore about her paralyzed arm. Dismissing her, the pigtailed
boy turned towards Eiko again. "Anyway," he said, losing some of his
bravado. "Um... Oh yeah. What I wanted to talk to you about... you see-"
He threw himself to the floor suddenly, a brief volley of missiles
passing over his head narrowly, the searing heat from their exhaust
making Ranma wince. He tried to roll away as they arced sharply downward
after he dodged, forcing them to slam into the floor and scattering
debris across him as they tore up more of the swiftly deteriorating
school. "What the-" he gasped, spinning again to search out where they
had come from.

 He groaned, seeing Biiko smirk at him, her arm no longer paralyzed.
Raising her voice in a haughty tone, she sneered, "You underestimate the
power of technology, whoever you are. You're a mere peasant, and cannot
hope to combat the mighty Akagiyama M-line 23's internal diagnostics and
intensive care functions!"

 Ranma rolled to his feet, swiftly sidestepping the next barrage of
missiles, and ducking another hail of blasted masonry. Growling, he
charged forward, only to change direction and leap, narrowly avoiding
yet another salvo. "Geez!" he exclaimed, hanging onto the nearly smooth
ceiling, and causing both girls to gawk. "How many of those things do
you _have_?"

 Biiko shook her head, trying not to wonder how Ranma managed to cling
to the ceiling with two feet and one hand, still holding his jo in the
other. Eiko sighed longingly, causing Ranma to look down and momentarily
distracting the boy with the view that his vantage and Eiko's uniform
provided.

 Seizing the opportunity, Biiko leveled her wrist to fire the next burst
at the pigtailed boy.

 ***

 "Well," Ukyou panted, leaning against a skyscraper, and peering at the
sky with worry. "What now?"

 Akane shook her head, more winded than the okonomiyaki chef, and
wheezed out, "Don't know... we safe... here?"

 Swallowing, the taller of the girls let herself sink to the ground, one
hand going to the stitch in her side. "Think so."

 Gulping for breath, Akane sank to the ground opposite her, and groaned
weakly. "Oh, no..."

 Ukyou let out a slow breath, frowning. "What?"

 Akane rifled through a pocket intently, her face a mask of
concentration, and produced the newspaper clip again. "I just thought...
of something..."

 Ukyou eyed the clip, having memorized the picture already. "Yeah?
What's that?"

 Akane managed a sickly grin. "I think this article's just about a
girl... er... 'Eiko' it says here."

 Blinking, the okonomiyaki chef took the paper tentatively, reading the
article. "Um..." she began, uncertain. "Well, Ranchan wouldn't wear a
dress... would he?"

 Rolling her eyes, the youngest Tendo complained, "He has before, hasn't
he? But I don't think that this is him."

 Ukyou grimaced at the article. "Yeah, you're right. So you think we
came here for no reason? Just chasing after a girl?"

 ***

 Biiko managed an indignant squawk, as her attack preparations met with
a sudden and fierce tornado, a giant column of battle-aura fueled wind
bore her upwards, tearing through the ceiling and upper floors of the
school with frightening ease. The concentrated maelstrom shrieked in
fury for a long minute, shredding everything above it and flinging
debris around recklessly, before it shrunk and faded, leaving a huge
fall of dust to cloud up and obscure the end of the hallway.

 Emerging from the cloud of dust, a grizzled and ancient amazon hobbled
forward, balanced precariously on her staff. Her knowing smirk
complemented her tone of voice. "So, my dear Ranma-chan... Impressed by
my Amazon lore, hmm?" She addressed the question to Eiko, who was
staring at the display with wide eyes. "I trust everything has been well
for you?"

 Ranma looked up towards the voice, managing to lose his grip and fall,
landing awkwardly atop Eiko. He blinked, before looking down to see
Eiko's startled eyes peering back at him, wide and shimmering golden.
"Ack!" he sputtered, leaping up and landing in a defensive stance,
facing the Amazon elder.

 Flushed, the redhead climbed to her feet, smirking at Ranma's mirroring
blush before she turned to watch the display. Eyes widening further, she
thrust a finger towards the elderly figure, exclaiming, "That's my
competition?!"

 Ranma looked at Eiko and winced, coughing slightly. "Um... no." Turning
to face Cologne again, he scowled, addressing the oddly shocked Amazon.
"What are you doing here?"

 Cologne collected herself, ignoring the 'thud' as Biiko landed roughly,
as well as the subsequent groans. "Ranma..." the Amazon said slowly,
eyes darting between Ranma and Eiko. There were many possible
explanations for why her Son-in-law was standing next to a nearly
identical copy of his girl-form. None of them were good, in her
estimation. "So... you came here for her?"

 Ranma nodded tersely, holding an arm in front of Eiko as though to
protect her from the ancient Amazon. "Yeah," he muttered. "What's it to
ya?"

 Cologne grumbled, simply shaking her head, as Biiko regained her feet
behind her. The armor-clad schoolgirl glared, and waved her fist
threateningly, shouting at Eiko. "What's going on here? Have you no
honor? Bringing all these people into the fight -- Eiko! Prepare
yourself!"

 So saying, the girl launched herself over the still-dazed Cologne's
head, catching Ranma off-guard and slamming into his chest. He had
enough time to dazedly wonder at the similarity to some of his father's
beloved techniques before he had the wind knocked out of him.

 Grabbing onto the pigtailed boy tightly, Biiko increased her
acceleration, plowing straight through the already damaged wall behind
him, where Eiko had impacted previously. The redhead gawked, then turned
to follow, Cologne trailing her closely through the newly created and
dust-filled aperture that led outside.

 ***

 Miss Ayumi narrowed her eyes, trying to avoid staring at Shiko, as the
young blonde gazed out the window, lost in her thoughts. Her students,
not being as diligently devoted to her curriculum, began to shuffle
around in their seats uncertainly. She ignored them, lecturing, "And so
we can see that the inverse of the square is proportional to the events
of sixteen-fifty-three, where, if you consult your math-books, we
discover that it is in fact, a combination of the base alkaloids..."

 A sudden tremor shook the building violently, causing all of the
schoolgirls to look up in alarm. Struggling to maintain her balance,
Miss Ayumi shot a glare at the window, wondering what had caused the
event. "Everyone remain calm," she ordered. "It's probably just another
little accident from the chemistry lab."

 Shiko's eyes flew wide, and she turned away from the window, crying
out, "Eiko!"

 The teacher frowned, wondering at the little blonde's shout. Before she
could reprimand Shiko, the diminutive girl was on her feet, and charging
towards the classroom door, a second yell of, "Eiko!" trailing behind
her.

 Ayumi shouted after her, "Shiko-san! Come back here!" She halted her
pursuit of Shiko, seeing other students begin to edge towards the
doorway.

 Asa, a reasonably becoming girl with her hair in a ponytail and
sporting a bandage about her temples led a secondary charge, taking Ume
and Ine with her as she followed Shiko out the door.

 The confused teacher chased them to the hall, whereupon they increased
their pace. "Hey! What do you think you're doing!?" Miss Ayumi shouted
after them. Any response was cut off in a clatter of shattered glass and
crumbling masonry as Mari smashed through the wall, her powerful muscles
rippling beneath her school uniform.

 "Eh..." Ayumi managed, watching Mari shed her bandages and join the
chase. The final girl was a real behemoth, and Miss Ayumi gave in to the
temptation to remain silent, rather than risk the schoolgirl's 120-some
kilo ire, as Mari's inarticulate bestial cry echoed down the corridor.

 ***

 Ranma choked, struggling for breath against the crushing force on his
ribcage. "Damn," he wheezed, resisting the urge to simply club Biiko
about the head, as another stone barrier smashed apart, the brunt of the
force directly on his spine.

 Taking stock of his options, he swiftly struck several shiatsu
paralysis points, numbing her arms and dropping painfully to the ground.
He rolled along the asphalt of a street, momentarily thankful that he
didn't land in someone's house, and slammed into a final cement barrier.

 He was distantly aware of Biiko passing through another part of the
same concrete wall, yelping something indignantly.

 Eiko and Cologne followed the line of destruction that Biiko's charging
assault had left, following the swath of destruction closely. The
redhead slid to a stop near him, and helped him to his feet, worriedly
asking, "Are you okay? Ranma? Are you okay?"

 He nodded, patting the side of his head as though to dislodge the
sudden fit of dizziness. "Believe it or not," he stated, wobbling
unsteadily, "I've had worse."

 Eiko nodded weakly after a moment, not quite sure how to interpret the
remark. Ranma shook his head a few more times, then settled for watching
Cologne warily as she visually inspected him.

 The aged Amazon clicked her tongue and sighed, tossing Ranma's jo to
his feet. "You dropped this, Son-in-law," she commented. Her
scrutinizing gaze picked out the way Ranma was moving. Confidently. Like
a fighter. The fighter he'd always been, simply... more cautious. She
knew that Ranma was resourceful, but she had never expected him to
simply take something like the strength-sapping moxibustion in stride.

 Ranma took the staff, wincing slightly as he rubbed a shoulder, while
Eiko glanced between the two of them, confused. Shaking her head, the
girl looked behind Ranma, at the bowl-shaped indentation he had left in
the wall, right next to the irregularly broken segment that Biiko had
smashed through, littering the ground behind the wall with rubble and
filling the air with dust. "Wow," she commented, wondering how sturdy
Ranma was. He was strong, fast, and tough when she had known him those
long twelve months and more ago... had he gotten stronger, too?

 She smiled at him brightly, even though he was intent on staring the
Amazon down. If he was faster and tougher, then it stood to reason that
he would be stronger, too. Maybe even stronger than her. Strong enough
to let her feel normal, at least.

 Cologne shook herself out of her reverie, frowning. Who had taught
Ranma to deal with it? Was he just more adaptable than she had thought?
"Well, Son-in-law, you seem to be doing quite well for yourself."

 Ranma nodded guardedly at the old woman. "Yeah? What's it to ya?" he
asked crossly.

 Frowning irately, Cologne said, "Wouldn't you like to know a trick that
even a weakling like you could use to defend himself?"

 Eiko's smile faded, turning into a reproving glance at the old woman,
while Ranma raised an eyebrow speculatively. "What do you mean?" the
redhead questioned, curious to this development.

 Glancing towards Eiko momentarily, Ranma sighed. "I, uh... got this
strength sapping... thing... on me that makes me weak." His gaze focused
back on the old woman. "So what are you trying to sell me, ol' ghoul?"

 Cologne walloped Ranma over the head with her staff, hiding a relieved
grin. "Who's an old ghoul?" Ranma scowled, rubbing his head and saying
nothing. "At any rate," Cologne continued, still shooting the occasional
glance at Eiko, "I know a technique that even someone as weak as you can
use..." she trailed off, staring at something behind Ranma blankly.

 Ranma swallowed nervously and turned around, not entirely surprised to
see Biiko standing atop the wall, heaving for breath, and holding a tank
over her head. A large tank, covered in cannons, treads, and other
massive, heavy pieces of steel. He had never tried before, but was
willing to bet it weighed much more than he could deflect on his best
day.

 "Oh boy," he muttered. "This just keeps getting better and better."

 ***

 Shiko stared uncertainly at the rope ladder dangling before her. Asa,
Ine, and Ume all peered down at her expectantly, and after a moment,
Mari joined them in looking down from their perches in the
giant-schoolgirl-powered gyro-copter.

 She bit her lip nervously, looking towards the line of destruction
tearing across the city in the distance. Another look towards the
hot-pink craft hovering above her decided her, and she grabbed onto the
rung dangling before her, hauling herself upwards.

 Ine and Asa began hauling the ladder up, while Shiko struggled to
climb, and Mari began pedaling faster. Smirking, Ume took the controls,
and began accelerating slowly, giving Shiko time to board before using
the maximum speed they had available to them.

 Shiko squinted, just barely able to make out a trio of fleeing figures
followed by another, this one hefting a... tank? "What's that?" she
asked, worriedly.

 Ine stared intently forward, grabbing a pair of binoculars from beneath
her seat. "It looks like Biiko, and she's chasing Eiko and some other
people with a tank!"

 Shiko blinked at that, before frowning unhappily. "She's having fun
without me?"

 ***

 Ukyou winced as another blast rocked the city, and her eyes widened at
a giant spider-like tank scurrying down the street, bearing a familiar
redhead and an even more familiar pigtailed boy as it fled. "Um...
Akane?"

 The youngest Tendo looked up, climbing to her feet wearily. "Yeah,
Ukyou?"

 Ukyou wordlessly pointed at the pair on the oddly shaped spider-tank as
they receded down the street, tailed by an ancient Amazon on a walking
stick. "I think we found him."

 Akane's eyes widened as another girl rounded the corner, this one
dressed in a metallic version of Kodachi's normal mode of dress, and
hefting a giant tank over her head. "Hey!" Akane shouted, chasing after
the tank bearing girl and joining the procession. "What do you think
you're doing!?"

 Ukyou sighed and joined the chase, trying to ignore the hot-pink
gyro-copter that was following _her_.

 ***

 Ranma looked back from his perch atop the spider tank, next to Eiko,
where she was gasping for breath, and groaned.

 She caught the groan over the rushing of the wind, and looked back with
Ranma. "Who's that?" she asked, pointing towards the enraged girl
chasing Biiko.

 Wincing, Ranma coughed. "Er... that's Akane, she's my, ah... fiancee."

 Eiko narrowed her eyes, seeing someone running behind the schoolgirl.
"That's the boy that kissed me this morning!" she exclaimed, pointing at
Ukyou as the okonomiyaki chef came into sight momentarily.

 Ranma lost his grip, stunned, and fell from his perch, rolling with the
fall and coming to a rest on the street as Cologne paused near him.
Dazedly, he asked, "Huh?"

 The redheaded girl leapt from the moving spider-tank and landed near
Ranma, watching Biiko hurl the tank towards them in a fast, low arc.
"Ranma!" She shouted, "Look out!" Ranma rolled to one side as Eiko threw
out her arms and caught the tank, the recoil forcing her to slide
backwards and tear long gouges in the street beneath her where her feet
tore through the pavement.

 Cologne blinked again, saying nothing for the time, as Eiko grunted,
and threw the massive tank back at Biiko.

 Biiko leapt over the hurled tank, firing another salvo of missiles at
the apex of her leap. Unnoticed by Eiko, Akane slid to a halt, seeing
the eight-ton tank swiftly descending towards her. Just before impact,
Ukyou leapt in a low tackle and bore her to the ground only centimeters
from the edge of the new crater.

 Ranma and Eiko regained their footing, scrambling backwards
defensively, as Cologne stabbed her staff into the street before her,
throwing up a defensive spray of rubble which detonated the missiles
harmlessly.

 Eiko swallowed, unconsciously grabbing onto Ranma's arm as she watched
Biiko pause in befuddlement. The armor-clad girl's face twisted from
confusion to anger in a moment, as she cursed at the ancient Amazon,
rubble still raining down about the ancient figure. "Not fair! Not fair
using your weird little friends, Eiko!" Biiko heaved for breath,
seething in rage, and was oblivious to the muffled explosion in the
distance.

 Ranma turned swiftly in response to the sound, seeing the walls of a
building down the street explode outwards to spray more rubble onto the
road. People began streaming out of a wide, gaping hole in the wall, the
crowd failing to keep level enough heads to not fight each other and
evacuate in an orderly manner. A massive spider-tank moved about slowly
above the crowd, outlined by the massive gap and occasionally knocking
additional chunks of masonry free in its scan of the surroundings.

 A man emerged from the panic-stricken crowd for a brief moment, running
a short distance towards the teenagers and yelling, "FLEE! The
Hottentots are running amuck!" before disappearing into the rush of
people.

 Biiko took advantage of the pair's confusion, sweeping down towards
Eiko and Ranma while they were distracted, only to be deflected by a
metallic blur striking her bracer. She somersaulted backwards to a more
defensive position as she registered a projectile disrupting one of her
suit's power systems. The girl's eyes widened in shock as she stumbled
backwards to halt on the pavement several meters away, frowning at the
implement wedged into the steel bracer of her armor. "What the..."
Growling, she tore the spatula free, dropping it to the ground and
turning towards the latest distraction.

 Akane stomped forward, a furious expression on her face, and snapped,
"What do you think you're doing, beating up someone who can't protect
himself!?"

 Ukyou nodded righteously, grabbing her large battle-spatula from her
back and brandishing it menacingly. "If you think that you can beat up
_my_ fiance, you've got another thing coming!"

 The shorter girl shot her a glance at that statement, but said nothing
for the moment, instead taking another step towards Biiko. "It's a
martial artist's duty to protect the weak, after all."

 Ranma stared at the pair blankly, along with Cologne and Eiko. "Um," he
commented. "I can take care of myself, you know..."

 Eiko nodded, smiling at Ranma to give him encouragement before turning
to watch the current debacle.  Cologne sighed wearily, observing the
proceedings dourly, and wishing that she could get Ranma's attention
long enough to talk to him.

 Biiko took a step back as the two angry fiancees drew nearer, trying to
ignore the short spray of sparks from the damaged armor followed by a
writhing tendril of electricity. "What are you talking about?"

 As it occurred to her, Eiko turned back to Ranma, asking, "Why did that
boy say that your fiancee was his?"

 Ranma groaned, shaking his head. "Oh, man," he lamented. "This is just
as bad as Nerima!"

 ***

 Shiko's hands clasped the edge of the cockpit as she peeked over the
rim and down onto the street, watching the people below squabble.
Frowning, she noticed that Eiko was standing next to some boy she'd
never seen before. A new friend, maybe?

 Shaking her head, she waved over the side of the gyro-copter and
shouted, "Eiko-chan!"

 The redhead and her pigtailed companion looked up, while the aged women
next to them simply folded her arms across her chest and began to stare
upwards darkly.

 Before Eiko could respond, Shiko added, "I've got lunch ready for you!"
So saying, she waved a bento at the girl excitedly. The boy next to her
just shook his head, spreading his arms in a helpless 'what next?'
gesture.

 Shiko drew in her breath to add more, but paused as she heard a low
rumbling noise, as a craft completely unlike the claw tanks, F-15Js, and
spider-tanks drew near, an odd protrusion of metallic tentacles reaching
towards her. The other girls on the gyro-copter panicked, Ume veering
away sharply to try and evade while Mari's growling intensified,
pedaling harder to provide enough power to escape.

 The tentacles darted forwards quickly, one of them nicking the rotors
in their pursuit of Shiko. The blonde shrieked in terror as the
gyro-copter violently rocked to one side from the rotor damage. "Eiko!
Help me!" she cried out, as the cold steel protrusions grabbed her and
bore her upwards. "Heeeeelp!!"

 ***

 Ranma stared along with the other combatants on the street,
slack-jawed. "What the..." he began, uncertainly. "That was weird."

 Eiko blinked in surprise. "Shiko?" she asked worriedly. "What..." The
girl trailed off, looking at Ranma for support as he stared upwards.

 "What," he asked, pointing upwards, "is that?"

 The others turned to look, seeing a gigantic distortion in the clouds,
vapor sweeping aside and parting to make way for the immense bulk of a
spacecraft of some sort. It descended slowly, its bulk blotting out the
sky as it's halo of flashing light from the SDF craft and the invaders
battle intensified.

 Biiko said nothing for a long moment, simply gaping at the light-show
until one thought managed to make itself known. "Shiko!" she gasped,
slapping yet another button on the bracer of her power-armor and
activating the self-repair feature. While the bracer wove itself shut
quietly, Biiko stomped towards Ranma and Eiko, waving a finger beneath
the redhead's nose in an admonishing manner. "You fools! Eiko, if you
hadn't brought all your weird friends here to distract me, this never
would have happened! I'll go save Shiko myself -- I'll save her and win
her heart! Ha!"

 With those words, she gave a self-satisfied nod and launched herself
skyward. Ignoring Ranma's weak gestures towards her, she activated the
boosters on her power armor, and took flight, her laugh trailing her
ascent.

 The pigtailed boy shook his head, sighing. "Now what?"

 Eiko stared as Biiko ascended past the recently stabilized gyro-copter,
nearly causing it to crash again as her wake swept across it. "Shiko,"
Eiko breathed. More urgency returning to her voice, she turned to Ranma
and insisted, "We have to save Shiko!"

 Ranma stared upwards, seeing Biiko vanish in the distance. "Well," he
drawled. "That's going to be kind of tricky, isn't it?"

 ***

 Agent D grumbled quietly, wishing that there were a way readily
available to quiet the shrieking blonde. "Hey!" D exclaimed. "What's
wrong? I'm taking you home!"

 Shiko shook her head violently, whipping tears across the craft's
cabin. "I don't wanna go! I wanna be with Eiko!"

 D grumbled, thumbing the com-link active again. The perky green-haired
girl from before answered, wincing at the exposure to Shiko's shrieking.
"Er... I've gotten the princess and am bringing her back."

 Nodding quickly and cringing as the static briefly died down, enabling
Shiko's voice to come across more clearly, the girl answered,
"Understood!"

 Sighing, D closed the link, sparing a moment to eye the wailing girl
before increasing the craft's pace slightly.

 ***

 "Shiko..." Eiko collapsed to her knees, staring upwards at gargantuan
craft, still-descending towards the city.

 Ranma scratched the back of his head, looking around for something to
give him an idea. "Dang..." he muttered, not finding anything. Sighing,
he looked up, as Akane and Ukyou drew near. Wincing, he said, "Uh...
hi?"

 Akane opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by the
spider-tank down the street finally smashing through the wall
completely, dislodging the large, hand-painted, "Gravi-con!" sign above
the aperture that crowds of people had escaped from mere moments prior.

 Ranma pointed at the tank as it scurried towards them, exclaiming, "Got
it! Let's hijack that crawly-thing and have it take us up there!" The
girls simply stared at Ranma in confusion for a long moment, while
Cologne raised an eyebrow in a considering manner. Ranma nodded, more to
reassure himself than anything else. "See," he began again, pointing
upwards. "These things can fly. We just gotta get one, and make it take
us up there!"

 Ukyou shrugged, and drew her battle-spatula, standing in the path of
the still advancing machine. "Hey," she said, winking at Ranma. "If
Ranchan thinks that it'll work, I trust him."

 Akane nodded after a moment joining Ukyou. She glanced at Ranma, her
expression clearly stating, "We've got a lot to talk about once this is
over."

 Eiko snapped herself out of her stupor and joined the other pair of
girls, as the tank drew closer. "Right," she stated. "If Ranma thinks we
can get up there and save Shiko, then I believe him too."

 The tank began to slow, seeming hesitant about confronting the
determined trio. Eiko darted a few worried glances towards Ukyou before
edging away uncomfortably. The Okonomiyaki chef was resolutely trying
not to blush while failing to meet Eiko's worried glances. Akane,
however, was trying -- not very successfully -- to keep from giggling at
Ukyou, remembering when the chef had kissed Eiko earlier that day.

 Ranma shrugged, bounding forward along with Cologne and landing astride
the vehicle. The three girls followed a moment later, Ukyou giving it a
passing whack with her spatula, and yelling, "Up! Take us to your
leader!"

 The boy groaned, tossing his jo to the ground, and managing to hide his
look of surprise as the spider-tank actually began to rise.

 ***

 Japan's Self Defense Forces Pilot Yamamoto Kobato swallowed, throwing
his plane into a steep incline, hoping that he could momentarily rise
above the combat and get his bearings. He patted the control console
with one hand affectionately. "You'll see me through this one all right,
won't you, Princess?"

 The plane gave no answer, but he smiled in gratitude anyway. He made a
note in his head to learn the proper English word for 'Princess' and
have it painted on the plane when he made it back.

 The last time it had occurred to him, he had forgotten the spelling,
and had the name of the plane -- his 'little princess' -- shortened to
the few English characters that he knew. 'Little' because of his own
first name, and 'Princess' because she carried him to heights he would
never be able to reach alone...

 He grinned, leveling out, preparing to reenter the fray. "You're
holding up great, P-chan!" He whooped, diving back into the dogfight,
before he noticed that he was out of fuel.

 ***

 Ranma gritted his teeth, trying to convince himself that he knew what
he was doing, while the spider-tank they had managed to semi-commandeer
hurtled upwards, passing a startled and furious Daitokuji Biiko.

 The power-armor clad girl caught up with the vehicle's flight, latching
onto a leg as the craft juked around a passing fighter plane, and rose
above the giant ship as the larger craft continued its descent. Changing
direction abruptly, the small flying vehicle darted across the surface
of the much larger craft, passing a mere thirty meters above, as though
it were searching for something.

 Ranma coughed weakly, gripping onto a handle-like protrusion
tenaciously, while the three girls clung to him even more tenaciously.
"Can't... breathe" he wheezed out, prompting a snort from Cologne, where
she had driven her staff through the tank's hull and was clinging to it
with a casual attitude.

 Deploring whichever kami had seen fit to consign him to such a fate, he
rolled his eyes upward beseechingly, only to see an out-of control F-15J
veering towards them unsteadily. He continued watching as the craft
adjusted its course, aligning itself on a direct collision course with
the small pod.

 "Oh, man," he gasped, releasing his grip and sending himself and all
three girls rolling in a loose tumble to knock into Biiko as she
laboriously tried to clamber up the side of the craft.

 The pilot activated the ejection seat before the impact, and a similar
pod ejected from the tank. The five teens scattered to the gale-force
winds, Cologne abandoning the craft moments before it slammed into the
F-15J with a resolute 'thud,' instead of the deafening explosion all had
expected.

 ***

 Ranma found himself tumbling, and loosely attached to one shrieking
girl, though he wasn't able to ascertain which one due to the violent
and sudden motion. Grumbling to himself about the indignity of it all,
he wrapped himself around the girl, quieting her struggles instantly,
and braced himself for impact.

 Flying backwards, he idly tried to compare the situation to something
safe, like leaping from a speeding train. He focused his vision forward,
seeing the halted hulks of the F-15J and the spider-tank fall. A single,
black projectile burst free of the debris, arcing in a long trajectory.

 Ranma tracked it distractedly, as all of his attention and skill was
focussed on bracing for impact, and protecting the girl in his arms.

 He slammed into a wall -- harder than steel, but far more forgiving
than he had expected -- with enough force to daze him, rattling his
teeth and rendering him nearly unconscious. Belatedly, he raised one
hand, catching the soft black projectile in one hand, eliciting a
startled and nauseous, "Bwee!"

 The girl in his arms shifted, slipping from his grip and down to the
ground, peering up at him worriedly. "Ranchan?"

 ***

 Akane shrieked, wondering what was going to happen next, and grabbed
for the nearest support as she broke free from the disaster area. She
found soft but firm arms encircling her, and looked up to see Ranma --
no, a girl that _looked_ like Ranma -- holding her, looking ahead with a
determined expression. "Hang on!" the girl shouted over the wind,
whipping her body around to angle towards a swiftly approaching bulkhead
feet-first. "This might not work very well."

 Swallowing nervously, Akane braced herself. "Uh-oh."

 ***

 Biiko looked up, seeing a tangle of the combatants from the street all
slam into her, knocking her free of her hard-won purchase, and sending
her spinning free. She righted herself, and increased her altitude to
evade an approaching barrier, wincing as something impacted with it
forcefully enough to override even the sound-dampers built into her
armor.

 Turning away from the distraction, she focused on a vaguely familiar
building set amid the vast fields of protrusions.  Weapons,
communications... she could only guess at the their functions, but the
anomaly of the building ahead was too interesting to pass up.

 She darted forward, once-again in control of her flight, peering at the
almost Greek construction in confusion. "Hmm..." she mumbled, glimpsing
a figure between the pillars.

 ***

 Japan's Self Defense Forces Pilot Yamamoto Kobato stared at the ruins
of his beloved craft as he drifted away on his parachute, unable to
resist the urge to wipe away a tear. "P-chan," he whimpered, staring at
the smoking wreckage of the plane.

 ***

 "Ranchan? You okay?" Ukyou peered up at Ranma worriedly, seeing him
suspended in the center the giant bowl-shaped depression he had created
to shield her. She bit her lip, worriedly, seeing his dazed expression
shift to a tired one, then watching his eyes drift closed.

 Grunting, she leapt up the three meters to the bottom of the bowl,
grabbed his leg, unceremoniously yanking him free and catching him
before jumping back down onto the plated deck below.

 She lay him down, wondering where on _earth_ the piglet that he had
caught had came from. The animal squirmed free of Ranma's grip, and
marched resolutely in a tight circle, confounding the okonomiyaki chef
further as it dragged a chain of knotted clothing behind it.

 "Okay," Ukyou said. "This is starting to scare me. Ranchan? Wake up?"
She patted him on the cheek a few times to rouse him.

 Shifting slightly, he murmured, "Aw... Tofu... sleep more... train
later..." Slowly sitting up, he blinked at Ukyou. "Ucchan?"

 She nodded, beaming her best and brightest smile at him. "Hey, Ranchan!
You okay?"

 He peered about, nodding dazedly. "Where's everyone else?"

 Ukyou shrugged, standing up and looking around. "I'm not sure... What
should we do?"

 Ranma climbed to his feet slowly, wincing as he pulled himself upright.
"Oww... Find Eiko and Akane, then find her friend, then get away."

 "Um... okay. Where should we start?"

 The boy grabbed the trailing article of clothing from its tangle around
the piglet, and hefted it up to eye level. In a very solemn voice he
stated, "I'm not sure I even want to know how you got here." Grunting at
Ranma in annoyance, the piglet looked resolutely away, its eyes still
seeming to spin dizzily. Ranma snorted, slinging P-chan over one
shoulder. "Let's get some hot water, and get inside this thing."

 Ukyou nodded obediently, falling into step behind Ranma.

 [End Part A]

 ------------------
 Author's Notes:
 05/11/01 -- pre-reader draft.
 05/14/01 -- First revisions. Scene with Godzilla removed, as well as
6.7 MB of lemon content.
 05/20/01 -- Tentative final.

 If you're wondering who the 'Hottentots' guy was, ask Mad-Hamlet.

 Thanks to all of the pre-readers who helped with this project: Nathan
Shuker, Bjorn Christianson, Donald Mc, and last -- but not least --
Corwin, and Ginrai.

 And thank you Carlos, that was _not_ a BDSM ref. (You are all _so_ much
happier not knowing.)


--
Haiku of my lament:

Forgive my spelling,
my U.S. education,
is the source of blame.

Part B

Strike! Sink or Swim?

 Disclaimer: Takahashi provided us with the paint, property of her and
Viz video, and additional colors borrowed from Soeishinsha Co., Ltd. and
U.S. Manga Corps. this time around. I'm simply a peasant with an easel.

 Previous chapters can be found here:
http://members.tripod.com/lwf58/fan_fiction/durandall/index.html

 ------------------

 Unleashing a 'Kiyah!' Eiko struck the bulkhead with enough force to
tear it wide open, leaving both herself and Akane unscathed. Stumbling
once awkwardly, they come to rest in the middle of a large, abandoned
corridor, both of them breathing heavily.

 Akane gasped for breath, wheezing, "That was... scary..."

 Eiko nodded, her eyes still wide. "Yeah, it was."

 "Can you put me down now?"

 Flushing nearly dark enough to match her hair, Eiko set the other girl
down, while they caught their breath. "So," the redhead began, "how did
you meet Ranma?"

 Akane groaned, frowning uneasily at the other girl. "I met him the day
we were engaged. What about you?"

 Eiko shrugged, eyeing her theoretical competitor guardedly. "We met
over a year ago, before he... left."

 Frown deepening, Akane asked, "Why did he leave?" She knew Ranma wasn't
half the womanizer she claimed... was he?

 Eiko's eyes took on a pained tinge. "His father," she muttered, "told
_my_ father that Ranma was... was... dead..."

 Akane winced, mulling things over. Had Ranma, then, not been fully over
her when she had met him herself? "Oh," she said softly, considering
things. "That... explains a lot..."

 The redhead smiled brightly, driving back the upset and the depression.
"But he's back now."

 A twinge of pain assaulted Akane, an unfamiliar pinch near her heart.
"Oh?" she said uncertainly. "What does that mean?"

 Eiko shrugged, taking a step forward, Akane falling in behind her. "I
don't know yet. I hope he still wants me... I mean, he did come here for
me, so that means something, right?" She shook her head, smiling softly.
"Maybe... maybe things won't work out perfectly, but he's not dead, and
I'd rather he was with someone else than... that..."

 Akane winced again, considering things. Did she have a chance? This, at
least, was enough to make her reconsider. She knew _now_ that she wanted
the chance, but it was certainly going to be harder...

 She sighed, smiling at Eiko warmly. At least Eiko was good-natured
about it. "Well," Akane stated, peering around at the unfamiliar and
alien design of the hallway. "Where should we start looking?"

 ***

 Biiko grumbled, feeling the plate of... glass?... that separated her
from Shiko. Her suit's visor could not identify the composition of the
substance, but she expected that it would break easily enough.

 Nodding to herself, she hovered back a few steps, leveling her bracer
at the window, and pressed the activation switch.

 And nothing happened.

 Blinking, she read a flashing notice on the edge of her visor warning
her that she was out of ammunition. She reached behind her, to where the
extra packs would be clipped to her armor with a shrug.

 They were missing.

 Biiko blinked, trying to twist and turn, to see behind her and where
the clips should have been. "Argh!" she yelled, beating her fists
ineffectually against the barrier. "Where the hell did they go?"

 A voice from above her dryly informed the frustrated girl, "It would
appear as though Son-in-law has taken them from you."

 Biiko shrieked, batting herself about the head frantically, as Cologne
nimbly leapt off of the armored girl's helmet. Heaving for breath, eyes
wide in alarm, Biiko asked, "What?"

 Cologne smirked, shaking her head. "Son-in-law doubtless thought that
you were being too childish in your behavior, and took away your toys."

 Biiko's eyes narrowed, and she pouted. "I am not childish."

 Sighing, Cologne jabbed at the barrier with her staff, causing it to
detonate inwards. "Personally," she said in a conversational tone,
shards of glass raining down behind her, "I don't think there's a real
need for weapons like that. A stick or a bare hand seem to work just as
well, wouldn't you say?"

 The armor-clad girl stared at the Amazon, dumbfounded, then sighed, and
floated into the building, settling to the floor and marching towards
Shiko. "Whatever," she muttered, shaking Shiko gently. Biiko frowned,
calling, "Shiko? Are you alright? They didn't do anything... sexual...
to you, did they?"

 The diminutive blonde yawned hugely, shaking her head. "Huh? What?
Where am I?" She blinked at the armor-clad girl before her, and then the
old woman that was staring at her with a patently bored expression. "Oh,
now I remember... I cried myself to sleep."

 Biiko groaned, rolling her eyes. "Right. Well, let's steal one of their
vehicles and escape."

 Cologne raised an eyebrow at that. "Can't fly down on your own?"

 The girl grabbed Shiko's wrist, beginning to tug the girl away. "Too
risky," she snapped at the Amazon. "We should be safer in one of their
craft."

 The old woman shrugged, following as Shiko began to prattle. "Where's
Eiko? I want to see Eiko..."

 ***

 Ranma shook his head, wincing slightly as the pain began to fray at his
self-control. "That was some landing," he groaned, rubbing his shoulder.
The pig dangling over his opposite shoulder made a non-committal grunt
in response.

 Ukyou bit her lip again, then gestured towards the ruined remains of
the F-15J and the spider-tank. "Well," she said uncertainly. "What do
you need hot water for?"

 The boy muttered, saying nothing, and began to poke through the
wreckage. After a moment he emerged from a particularly dense pile with
a slightly worn  -- and oddly familiar -- brass kettle in one hand. He
stared at it dubiously, then shrugged, and looked Ukyou in the eye. "Can
you turn around for a moment?"

 Ukyou turned around, uncertain, but trusting of Ranma. There was a
splash and some muffled cursing, but she resisted the urge to look until
she heard Ranma's voice, "Okay, you can look again."

 He looked incredibly weary, eyeing another boy speculatively and
nodding to himself. Ukyou's eyes tracked to the other boy, and she
rolled her eyes, muttering, "Of course. Ryouga."

 Ryouga glanced over towards her from his irritated glare at Ranma.
"What?" he said, sounding hurt.

 Ranma waved a hand at them both dismissively. "We can fight later.
Right now, we have to find our friends, and hopefully get off of this
thing."

 Ukyou bit back her tongue, falling in step next to Ranma with Ryouga
trailing just behind. After a moment, she asked, "Where did the little
pig go?"

 The pigtailed boy's laugh -- echoed shortly by Ryouga's -- contained
little humor, and there was a highly strained note to it. "Dunno,
Ucchan. He gets lost easily, I guess."

 Ryouga interjected, halting that line of conversation, "When did you
two join the S.D.F.?"

 Ukyou snorted, shaking her head. "We didn't; we just ended up on this
ship... But we're trying to find Akane, that girl and her friend, then
escape."

 The lost-boy nodded knowingly, marching towards a vaguely door-like
structure. "Akane's in danger and Ranma's too weak to save her. So... do
we need to get inside?"

 Ranma muttered something under his breath, but bit it back, nodding.
"Yeah, whatever. Now, break the door down and we'll get inside and
rescue her. "

 ***

 Eiko trotted forward, as she scanned around for some clue to lead her
to the others -- or Shiko. "So," she said, wondering at the lack of any
personnel in the corridor. "What next?"

 Akane skidded to a halt, pointing towards a glowing disk inset into the
floor. "What do you suppose that is?" she asked, a faint frown creasing
her face.

 The redhead blinked, scrambling to stop and backtrack to the alcove
that Akane was indicating.

 The pair eyed the panel for a moment before nodding once at each other
and stepping forward.

 Akane yelped briefly, startled, as it began to rise, bearing them with
it. A flash of color and movement caught her aye, and she smirked at
Eiko, struggling with the skirt of her uniform and momentarily glad that
she was wearing a more sensible T-shirt and jeans.

 Eiko giggled in embarrassment, as an unseen breeze wafted her skirt
upwards, nearly revealing her panties. Akane turned away studiously,
leaving the pair back-to-back as the alien elevator ascended. The
redhead muttered quietly, wrestling with her skirt for control. "You
know," she commented to Akane, "the next time aliens attack, I'll wear
jeans, too."

 Akane's grin widened, and she nodded. "Normally I don't wear things
like this, but it's colder here than Tokyo, so..." she trailed off,
kicking herself backwards and knocking Eiko sprawling behind her as the
elevator reached its peak. "Eeep!" she finished, as a gigantic sword
cleaved through the space that she had occupied only a moment prior.

 ***

 Ranma stared down the corridor for a long moment, unmoving. Then he
winced, shaking his head. "Do you hear that?" he asked, gesturing down
the empty hallway.

 Ryouga shook his head, after exchanging a glance with Ukyou. "I don't
hear anything. Say, Ranma? Where is Akane, anyway? I know you're too
weak--"

 Ukyou whacked Ryouga upside the head with one fist. "Hey!" she hissed.
"Don't you talk about my Ranchan that way."

 Ranma sighed, looking at both of them irately. "No," he stated. "I came
here to try and fix some of the things Pops screwed up."

 Ryouga and Ukyou both shut up, the chef not able to meet Ranma's eyes.
Ryouga shifted his weight from foot-to-foot uneasily, then shook his
head. "Er... right. Well," he began, "what next?"

 The pigtailed boy shrugged, then pointed down the corridor. "I don't
know exactly where were going, but I think I got an idea. Follow me." He
turned and began to trot down the corridor, leaving Ukyou and Ryouga
barely able to match his pace.

 "Oh, yeah, almost forgot," he said, almost as an afterthought, glancing
back at the pair following him. "Duck."

 The trio ducked, sliding forward as a barrage of bright lights flashed
overhead, searing the air where they had been and melting the bulkheads
behind them. "Ack!" Ukyou squealed, mimicking Ranma's next motion as he
rolled to the right, evading another laser beam, and then another as he
hopped high and to the left again...

 ***

 Biiko dragged Shiko behind her, darting her head quickly back and
forth, searching for... searching for...

 Cologne sighed, wondering why she had chosen to follow this girl in
particular. "You're lost, aren't you?"

 The armor-clad girl glared at Cologne for a moment, coming to a halt at
a cross-shaped intersection. Smoothing her features back into a mask of
control, she stated haughtily, "I am not lost."

 The Amazon sighed, nodding at Shiko as the young girl glanced between
the two in confusion. "So you're just taking the scenic route, hmm?"

 Biiko scowled, grabbing Shiko's wrist and dragging the girl down yet
another corridor. "I know what I'm doing," she huffed.

 ***

 Eiko climbed to her feet, Akane slipping off the redhead's back and
taking up a ready stance next to her. "Hey," said Eiko as she turned to
face the gargantuan warrior in battle-bikini. "I recognize you!"

 Agent D grinned, hefting her sword. "I'm sworn to defeat you and
protect the princess!"

 Akane could only stare for a long moment in befuddlement. "Um," she
began uncertainly, "what princess?"

 D frowned, eyeing the two uncertainly, while Eiko prepared for battle.
"What do you-- You mean... you didn't know?

 Eiko shook her head in negation, not lessening her ready posture. "I
have no idea what you're talking about. We want Shiko."

 The agent-turned-armed-guard shrugged in a dismissive manner, her
glance shifting between the two girls before she settled on Eiko.
"Whatever," she said offhandedly, "neither of you are getting past me to
the princess."

 Eiko grit her teeth, leaping above a sword-strike as it descended
towards her, arcing over D's back, and elbowing the giant as she
descended. Grunting in pain, D spun, smashing her sword towards Eiko
again, as the redhead caught the blade between her hands, straining to
keep the edge from striking her.

 Her grip began to slip, the slick metal working its way free of her
hands, inexorably drawing down. The redhead snarled in determination,
wishing she had thought to remove her bracers first -- but then the
pressure was gone, leaving her holding the sword while the overly-bulky
agent rolled away, colliding with a narrow railing with a painful
sounding 'thump.'

 Akane scowled, reassuming a defensive posture, as Eiko flashed her a
grateful smile and reversed the blade, gripping the hilt easily in both
hands. "Thanks." The martial artist nodded once, eyes remaining trained
on the giant woman as she climbed to her feet.

 "Hey," rumbled D, "that's not fair!" She scowled at the pair of girls,
somehow producing another sword from her shield, and advancing on them
again.

 "Neither is the way you ambushed us!" Eiko snapped, using her sword to
deflect the giantess's blade as Akane slipped beneath her guard and
delivered a powerful palm-strike to the massive woman.

 Wincing, D drew away, nearly unbalanced by the blow. "Hey!" she
complained, lowering her sword momentarily and rubbing at a quickly
growing bruise with her shield hand. "I promised to defend the princess
with my life, and I'm going to do it!"

 Akane shrugged, commenting to Eiko, "She's strong but I don't think
she's very skilled."

 Eiko nodded noncommittally, muttering, "Then again, we do outnumber
her..."

 D fumed, producing another blade from somewhere, and tossing aside her
shield. "Okay," she declared, "No going easy on you this time!"

 Akane blinked, as Eiko shoved the heavy blade into her hands,
whispering, "Watch out, she's a lot stronger than she looks." The Tendo
girl could only wince at the thought, as the gargantuan muscle-bound
woman stomped towards them.

 "This can't be good," Akane observed, stepping to one side as Eiko
moved the opposite direction.

 ***

 Ranma ducked, coming to a quick halt. Not having enough time to duck,
Ukyou tripped across him, falling to land in his lap, the pair of them
then tripping Ryouga into a large steel door. Startled, the lost boy
only had enough time to yell a single panicked, "Aaarg!" before
barreling into the door and smashing it out of the way.

 The pigtailed boy blinked at the now-open door, and shrugged, while
Ukyou dazedly peered about. "Ranchan?" she asked.

 "Yeah?"

 "Did you do that on purpose?"

 He nodded, still looking towards the dark doorway. "Yep."

 Ukyou flushed darkly, clinging to Ranma, and hugging him tightly. "You
do love me!" she squealed.

 Ranma blinked again, struggling for breath. "Huh?" he wheezed. "I just
made Ryouga smash into the door."

 The lost boy called back from the dim recesses ahead of them. "Ranma!
We don't have time for you to play around with your fiancee. Why don't
you move her off your lap, and hurry up?"

 Ranma snapped, "Because I _can't_, you moron. She weighs too much."

 Ukyou's smile lessened drastically, as she turned, loosing her hold --
but not leaving Ranma's lap -- to stare at him. "What?"

 The boy shrugged uncomfortably, looking away. "You weigh too much. I
can't move you."

 Ryouga snorted, rolling his eyes. "Of course it's _her_ fault; it's not
like he was too _weak_ to move her," he muttered sourly.

 ***

 Biiko turned yet another corner, wondering if her guidance system were
failing her, and she was lost... but no, the monitor on her visor would
tell her if she were crossing familiar territory. She sighed, glancing
at the old woman easily keeping pace next to her. "So," she said,
addressing Shiko as the blonde trotted next to her, "I don't suppose you
would know the way out from here?"

 Shiko blinked twice, then shook her head, offering only a cute 'I'm
sorry' expression. "Nope. I don't know the way out."

 Sighing, Biiko came to a halt, and consulted the map on her visor
again. "Well," she grumbled. "What now?"

 Cologne snorted, "You could always ask your betters."

 "Elder, maybe, but not better." An inarticulate cry of rage and a loud
'smack!' rang out from the bowels of the ship, causing both Biiko and
Cologne to pause before the argument could escalate. "Um," Biiko
continued, unnerved. "Okay, how in the hells do we get out of here?"

 The Amazon elder nodded knowingly, brandishing her staff. "We take the
path of most resistance."

 ***

 Ryouga chuckled at Ranma, who was scowling irritably, and rubbing at a
throbbing, red, handprint-shaped mark on the side of his face. "What the
heck, Ucchan... what was that for?"

 The okonomiyaki chef sniffed disdainfully, remarking, "It's horribly
rude of you to tell your cute fiancee that she's overweight."

 He groaned, rolling his eyes. "Great," he muttered, "now can you get
off me so that I can stand up?"

 Ukyou flushed darkly, but stood, rubbing at her sore hand when the
pigtailed boy wasn't looking. He sighed, clambering through the opening
and into the darkness. "Hey!" he said after a moment. "Ryouga!? Do you
know what this stuff is?"

 Ukyou frowned, climbing into the darkness after the pair, and waiting
for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. Ryouga's voice rumbled from
near the dimly illuminated entryway. "Um... no?"

 "Oh man... look." With that, Ranma's body erupted with fire, blue
tongues of ki-flame flaring outwards and illuminating the pair of
panties that Ryouga was holding to his face.

 The lost boy blinked, turning the article over several times before
comprehension struck him like a bolt of lighting. His eyes widened
suddenly, turning eerily blank as he fell stiff on the floor, blood
trickling freely from his nose.

 Ukyou stared around, first in shock at Ranma, who had never presented
as much focus in his aura, then at the mounds of feminine undergarments
littering the room. "Dang," she muttered, glancing around and shivering.
"It's all girls' stuff..."

 Ranma nodded absently, peering at the dim recesses, and grinning as he
found another door. "Great," he muttered, eyeing the door. After
prodding it for a few moments, he nodded to himself again, and walked
back to Ryouga. "Wake up, Ryouga. We need you to open another door."

 The lost boy roused slowly at the mention of his name, only to pass out
again at the sight of the panties he still clutched in his hand.
Groaning, Ranma set about untying one of the lost boy's bandanas. Ukyou
watched attentively, as the pig-tailed boy re-tied the bandana over
Ryouga's eyes. "Wake up!"

 Ryouga woke with a start, turning his head about in alarm. "Arg!" he
said, a panicked edge to his voice, "I can't see!"

 Ranma exchanged a pained glance with Ukyou, before taking a step back.
"It's okay, Ryouga. Just come here and open a door for us." Nodding
obediently, the lost boy stumbled around at random until Ukyou led him
to the door.

 Making sure Ryouga was facing the right way, Ranma removed the bandana,
commanding, "Knock it down, Ryouga."

 Ryouga pulled back his hand and slammed a single finger into the door,
reducing it to a hail of shrapnel as Ranma and Ukyou ducked behind him.
The lost boy nodded in a self-satisfied manner, oblivious to the jagged
pieces of metal as they rebounded from his hardened skin harmlessly.

 Ranma slipped past the lost boy, rubbing at his cheek again absently as
he peered around. Ryouga trundled after him, frowning. "What now?" the
lost boy asked, absently retying his bandanas.

 "Well," Ranma stated, pointing towards a glowing disk on the floor.
"That looks good."

 Ryouga and Ukyou exchanged a puzzled glance, following the pigtailed
martial artist as he dashed towards the glowing impression.

 ***

 Akane stumbled away, one hand sliding from the handle to the
unsharpened back of the blade instinctively to improve her chances.
"Ugh," she grunted, straining against the immensely powerful
swordswoman. Slowly, she felt her footing begin to give way, and edged
back. Only the fact that D was primarily occupied with Eiko, who seemed
able to match her blow for blow had saved her, so far.

 Eiko struck quickly, each attack being deflected by D's speed and
skill. "Well," the redhead grunted, launching a kick into D's ribcage
between exchanges, "I think we can win this!"

 Akane nodded dubiously, wishing she didn't have to rely on the weapon,
but not trusting her bare hands against the woman's brute strength and
naked steel. Slipping back, she overbalanced, one foot going behind her
and finding... no support. Her eyes widened as she flailed around
blindly, dropping the sword, and managed a single startled shriek before
she disappeared from sight.

 Eiko's eyes widened in alarm, and she suddenly found herself harried,
trying to evade both swords at once, without one of her own. She feinted
a leap to one side, hoping to buy some time, and dove beneath the
woman's legs, rolling onto her back and landing a vicious kick to the
inside of D's thigh as she tumbled away.

 D bellowed in pain and wheeled about, spinning to bring both swords to
bear on the redhead -- but Eiko wasn't there. She dashed around to
remain behind D, tagging her kidney with an elbow smash before the
giantess spun, a forearm crashing into her and sending her tumbling to
land near the elevator.

 She whimpered, realizing that as hard as Biiko had hit her, the alien
had hit her _much_ harder. Staggering to her feet, she squared off
again, ready to continue the fight. "I'm not going to let you kidnap
Shiko," she declared resolutely.

 D scowled, swinging the swords at Eiko in a pair of diagonal slashes.
"And we'll never let you take the princess from us!" she retorted.

 Eiko staggered back, the sword's edges missing her narrowly, but
slashing through her flimsy clothing easily. "Gaaah!" she sputtered,
windmilling at the edge of the elevator as she belatedly noticed the
tear in her clothing that ran all the way from the hem, and clear
through to... nothing.

 A pair of hands supported her from behind at the last moment, and an
irate voice announced, "Okay, now I'm angry." Eiko flushed, looking down
at the cut in her skirt that lay it open from the waistband on.

 She spun, seeing -- of all people -- Ranma standing behind her, leaning
in an odd stance to support her before shifting his position back to a
more normal one.

 Behind him was a boy she didn't recognize, wearing a hot-pink bandana,
and the boy from that morning, looking stunned and carrying Akane in his
arms. Akane looked equally stunned, and Eiko had to admit that they made
a cute couple, with Akane clinging to the okonomiyaki chef so tightly.

 Ranma stepped forward, joined shortly by the bandana-clad boy. The new
boy nodded, eyeing D distastefully before declaring, "For your crimes
against Akane-san, I can never forgive you!"

 Snorting in response, Ranma pointed the boy towards the discarded
sword. "That's right, Ryouga. Anyway, you don't mess with _my_ friends
and get away with it." Ryouga glanced at Ranma uncertainly, then nodded,
the pair breaking apart to encircle D and attack from both sides.

 D growled, "I will halt you at all costs!"

 Ranma snorted, easily ducking a blow and eyeing D carefully. Ryouga
deflected an incoming strike with some effort -- snatching up the
discarded sword at the last moment -- but he did deflect it, leaving the
pair of fighters momentarily unbalanced. Ranma charged behind D before
she could completely rebalance, and struck her back, the air snapping
with the speed of the blows as he struck too quickly for the girls to
count the number or blows. The pigtailed boy gave a self-satisfied nod
and stepped away, smirking.

 Ryouga sweated, wondering how long he could hold D's swords at bay as
her swords held against his, the edges grinding together slowly. He
clenched his eyes shut, straining to keep the sharp death-dealing
implements away from himself, grunting and pouring as much strength as
he could gather, halting the inevitable strike. "Ranma," he grunted,
feeling his strength ready to give out. "I can't... hold her... back...
long..."

 The pigtailed boy gave an annoyed sigh, rubbing at the discolored patch
on his check. "She can't move, Ryouga. I paralyzed her."

 The girls blinked, as Ryouga slowly, uncertainly, and with no small
show of embarrassment, stepped back. D worked her jaw, trembling at her
inability to move, while the swords remained in the same position.

 Ranma grinned, looking around. "So," he said casually, as Ryouga
dropped the sword, "where next?"

 "Um," Akane said after a moment. "I'd like to be set down now."

 ***

 Shiko and Biiko dazedly wandered behind the amazon as she destroyed the
obstacles before her with casual grace, smashing through metal bulkheads
and alloy barriers in a straight line.

 She paused after coming across an oddly shaped room. Peering about, she
asked, "What's this, now?"

 Biiko stumbled in, making sure not to trip over the rubble that lay
scattered about, and eyed the room. "It looks like... an elevator."

 Cologne nodded knowingly. "I see, I see... and can you make it take us
where we want to go?"

 The girl stared at the old woman blankly, while Shiko simply observed
the pair. Shrugging, Biiko turned to study what looked like a control
panel of some sort. "Probably..."

 ***

 Captain Napolipolita raised an eyebrow as a sudden explosion reduced
the elevator door to shrapnel.

 She was left with a view of a gaggle of teens in various states of
irritation. The redheaded girl with the indecently torn skirt stepped
forward first, her face carrying mixed messages of worry and anger.
"Hey!" she shouted. "Give Shiko back to us!"

 Standing next to her, a thin, nearly invisible blue aura visible about
him, a pigtailed boy stepped forward, offering his silent support. He
was joined by another pair of boys, once with a hot-pink bandana, and
another with a massive, unfriendly looking spatula. Behind them was
another girl, this one with short, bluish-black hair, glancing at the
pig-tailed boy briefly and emulating his stance.

 Swallowing, the captain considered her sidearm, frowning. "I can't do
that..." she complained, eyes nervously darting between the opposition,
while the bridge crew stared in apprehension. Straightening herself to
her full height, the captain proclaimed, "She is the Fourth Princess of
the Fifth Queen of the Lepton Kingdom of Alpha Cygni. We will never
abandon her!"

 Eiko shook her head angrily, complaining, "Maybe she is, but most
importantly, she's _my_ friend! I'm not going to let you just take her
away!" She nodded once in affirmation, wiping at a stray tear.

 The captain edged away a step, shaking her head before slumping to the
floor, kneeling awkwardly. "Arg..." she muttered, clutching weakly at
her side. "Can't... fight... need..." She raised her head slightly, a
frown twisting her visage. "Need..." As her voice dropped to a whisper,
the teens crept closer, trying to make out her words. Nearly whimpering,
Captain Napolipolita managed, "... booze..."

 Ranma opened his mouth to say something, but caught himself, and spun
towards the elevator as it whirred to life. "Uh-oh," he muttered, as D
reached the top of the lift, snarling angrily. Eiko winced, as the
mammoth warrior stomped forward heavily, seething in rage and snarling
incoherently. The pig-tailed boy shifted his position, preparing to
dodge. "Guess her pressure points are different from humans. That should
have held her for a few hours."

 The redhead nodded, spinning again as the central elevator in the
control room activated, bearing Biiko and her traveling companions into
the bridge. The girl's voice carried, augmented by her power armor,
"Well this isn't the right way either!"

 The old woman next to her shook her head, pointing with her staff. "No,
I'd say it worked."

 Shiko broke away from Biiko, dashing towards Eiko. "Eiko-chan! I found
you!" she cheered.

 Eiko leapt forward, calling out, "Shiko!"

 Ranma shrugged, sparing only a glance as she darted away, and he
squared off against his much larger adversary. Ryouga solemnly removed a
bandana, spinning it in one hand and reducing it to a hot-pink blur
before hurling it at D.

 Everyone froze, wondering what the hot-pink projectile was, as D batted
it out of the way. It landed on the deck at her feet. Soft, frilly lace
trim, and hot-pink decorated with occasional blue hearts. It was a pair
of panties.

 Ukyou snorted, rolling her eyes. "Figures," she muttered under her
breath, as Ryouga goggled in embarrassment.

 The lost boy turned to Ranma, his features paling nearly white.
"Ranma," he squeaked out. "Did I have... _that_... tied around my head
the entire time?"

 Grimacing, Ranma nodded. "Yeah..."

 The lost boy nodded solemnly, "I see," and promptly fell over
backwards, rolling down the stairs to come to a halt near Eiko, as she
swept Shiko into her arms and dove for cover. Biiko belatedly joined
them, and after a moment of hesitation, Cologne sent Ryouga rolling
behind another bit of cover, standing idly to watch what would happen
next.

 Ranma nodded, gesturing Akane and Ukyou back. "Be careful," he warned.

 Akane bit her tongue, simply nodding, and mirroring Ranma's stance,
while Ukyou nodded, readying her battle spatula.

 Surveying her options and finding them lacking, D dove for the captain,
snatching up her sidearm and turning to face the teens. Ranma, Ukyou,
and Akane shared a confused blink before springing away and diving for
cover themselves.

 The ailing captain clung to the agent weakly, trying to dissuade her
from shooting blindly. "Careful!" she shrieked. "You'll hit the
princess!"

 Ignoring the captain, D grunted, firing recklessly.

 Akane huddled to the port side, cowering next to Biiko, Shiko, and the
redhead, while Ranma and Ukyou joined the prone Ryouga and Cologne. The
ancient Amazon regarded Ranma inscrutably. "Well?" she asked. "I hope
you have some sort of plan?"

 Ranma winced as a hail of energy beams lanced through the floor nearby,
narrowly missing him, and tearing long molten gouges in the floor.
"Kinda," he said after a moment. Waving towards the group of girls, he
yelled, "Why don't you shoot back at them?"

 Biiko glared, but settled for a rude gesture in lieu of speaking.

 Shaking his head, Ranma turned his attention towards Akane, shouting,
"Catch this!"

 Akane nodded, raising her hands to catch a small black box wrapped in
yellow-and-black tape and large, garish warning labels. Biiko stared at
it, snatching it from the other girl's hands and frantically slapping it
into her wrist bracer. Grinning viciously, she popped up, firing a salvo
of small missiles in retaliation of the energy beams.

 D squawked in terror, avoiding being hit directly, but singed by the
explosions regardless. The captain took the brunt of the attack, and was
flung backwards into a smoke and debris filled cloud.

 Biiko grinned, offering Ranma a begrudgingly respectful nod before
turning to glare further at the singed alien. Emerging from the smoking
rubble, and cackling like some hell-borne demon, the captain hauled a
large assault weapon into place, kicking the brake and leveling the
multitude of barrels towards the teens.

 Ranma groaned, ducking behind his source of cover again. "This day just
keeps getting better," he remarked bitterly.

 Cologne shrugged in a consolatory manner. "I've had worse."

 "Really?"

 "No, not really."

 "Great," he deadpanned.

 Ukyou latched onto him, whimpering, "Ranchan! I'm scared!"

 He sighed, rolling his eyes beseechingly again. "What next?"

 Eiko glanced over, seeing Ranma and his other friends huddling for
safety. Biiko was holding herself tightly to the ground, having blanched
after looking down the many barrels of the engine of destruction that
was even then tearing apart the bridge. Shiko made a frightened noise,
and Eiko held her close, preparing to shield the little blonde with her
own body, should it become necessary.

 The fire tapered off, after one central column of instrumentation was
destroyed, and a faint, "Oops," echoed about the suddenly quiet control
room.

 Ranma sighed, trying to disentangle himself from Ukyou. "C'mon, Ucchan,
I have a feeling we should move." Seeing him eye Ryouga, Cologne nodded
and prodded the boy with her staff.

 Ukyou let go of Ranma unsteadily, as the ship gave an alarming lurch
and shudder, followed by the activation of a shrieking alarm system. The
two groups of martial artists poked their heads up over the control
panels to look, only to see a flustered looking D trying to console a
wailing captain.

 Ranma groaned, looking out the front of the bridge's wide windows. "Oh
look," he commented dryly, "we're going to crash."

 The boy shook his head, bracing himself near a console beneath a
bulkhead, and gesturing the others near. They crowded around bracing
themselves in similar positions. Eiko squeezed next to Ranma, Shiko in
her lap, while Ukyou claimed the space on the opposite side of Ranma.

 Ryouga sat next to Ukyou dazedly. Biiko wedged him into place firmly,
before sitting next him. "You'll protect me, right?" she asked. He
blinked, unable to do much more than goggle and nod at the scantily clad
girl.

 Akane stumbled, sprawling loosely across Ranma and Ukyou's laps,
staying there when Ukyou grabbed her wrist and tried to nod
reassuringly.

 The craft began to vibrate violently, so Ranma turned to Biiko,
shouting to be heard across the low -- but building -- roar, "Why don't
you just fly away?"

 Biiko scowled, then pointed towards Shiko, curled up in Eiko's lap and
seemingly unalarmed. Ranma shrugged, bracing himself again, while
Cologne subtly found a spot near Eiko and braced herself as well.

 Ranma closed his eyes, preparing to take yet another impact. "Too
many," he muttered under his breath. "Too many for one day."

 Eiko turned to face him suddenly, and yelled over another roaring
explosion that sent the deck angling sharply, "Ranma?"

 He nodded briskly, still wincing at the remembered pain from the last
impact. "Yeah?"

 Staring him in the eye, she yelled, "Thank you for coming after me,
Ranma."

 He nodded again, unable to resist smiling. "Glad to help!"

 Flushing slightly, and shifting from her braced position, Eiko planted
a kiss firmly on his cheek before settling down to await the impact
again.

 Akane and Ukyou's eyes widened as they stared, while Ranma simply
reddened, stunned.

 ***

 Eiko skipped towards her house, lighthearted. Her clothing was signed,
torn, and her skirt was torn open to the point of indecency, but she
wasn't going to let it get her down.

 She hummed lightly, traipsing through the doorway. "I'm home!" she
called out.

 Her mother blinked, adjusting her spectacles and taking in the various
signs that her daughter had been in battle recently. "Oh?" she said,
taking in her daughter's condition. "How was your day?"

 The redhead giggled, saying nothing and dashing upstairs to the shower.
Her mother frowned crossly, setting aside a laundry basket with a
blue-and-red costume. "Now I'm worried..." she muttered, making a note
to discuss it with her husband.

 Safely ensconced in the cleansing warmth of the shower, Eiko smiled
again, and whispered, "Today was great."

 ***

 Ranma limped towards the ruined remnants of what he had dubbed 'the
ugly yellow building,' using a new staff and shaking his head wearily.
Tofu looked up from the corner of the street, grinning as he saw Ranma
approaching, and largely intact.

 "Ranma! How was everything?"

 The boy smiled widely trying to ignore the trio of red, handprint
shaped marks on his face. "Pretty good so far," he managed.

 Tofu shook his head, looking towards the sunset, oddly offset by the
massive bulk of the alien warship above them, balanced on the central
spire of Graviton City. Tofu sighed, then offered a hand to Ranma. "I
know you've got your own plans, but I found a place, if you're looking.

 Ranma nodded hesitantly. "Might be good to find a place to stay... what
do I have to pay you?"

 The doctor began walking down the street, Ranma trailing him. "Well, I
figure you can help me set up my sand garden, and chores around the
clinic..." After a moment, he added, "And I think you could probably use
living around someone to patch you up, hmm?"

 [End Chapter Three]

 ------------------
 Author's Notes:
 5/11/01 -- pre-reader draft.
 5/14/01 -- secondary draft. Removed the completed Grand Unification
Theory due to its irrelevance. In this story.
 5/20/01 -- Tentative final.

 Thanks to all of the pre-readers who helped with this project: Nathan
Shuker, Bjorn Christianson, Donald Mc, and last -- but not least --
Corwin, and Ginrai.

 And I shouldn't go on without thanking the real source of
inspiration... So thanks to my muse, Rouge-hime, because this would
never have happened without her.


--
Haiku of my lament:

Forgive my spelling,
my U.S. education,
is the source of blame.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     desaix@sysnet.net
Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee           
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