Ranma ½ is the property and invention of Rumiko Takahashi. The following story is not produced for any monetary or personal gain.

Keep in mind the journey is almost always more interesting than the destination.

Ranma could attest to the fact that the transition was much smoother than his previous jaunts using circles and spells. It was almost like stepping into another room. Actually it was more like falling. Exhaustion fell around him like a shroud. Dimming his thoughts and even making it difficult to move his muscles. All he could really appreciate was how good it felt to force air into his lungs one breath at a time. Off to his right he heard a sibilant voice.

"Hey! What happened to the gate? Move the human trash off to the side. I need to check the interface." A moment later something like tentacles wrapped themselves around Ranma's leg and he found himself unceremoniously thrown against a wall.

Through his mental haze thoughts of chi techniques gone wrong drifted through his mind. As he had told Komar earlier the risk with experimenting with new techniques was the danger of reducing your life force to below critical levels. He vaguely realized that he was closer to death than he had been since his father's attempt to teach him the neko-ken. A sense of disconnection followed. He was Ranma Saotome, how had that happened to him? He had known the dangers but had always had such a firm grasp on his chi that it had seemed merely a distant possibility.

Gradually as he lay on the floor contemplating this another thought occurred to him. What the hell had he done? Objectively he knew that he had seen an opportunity to cripple the Shogunate's plans with its allies. Looking back upon his actions he couldn't understand how he had unleashed such a completely uncontrolled lethal maneuver. He had been thinking of variations of the Breaking Point for quite some time. After all combined with the Heavenly Dragon it was one of the most versatile techniques he knew. However this particular move he had promised himself to restrict to less inhabited areas. Which was one of the reasons he hadn't tested it out in a more controlled situation.

While he was deliberating over his actions a small part of his mind gloated with satisfaction. It imagined the likely consequences and deathtoll with satisfaction. This was how power was to be exercised. After all if you didn't flaunt it people might never know how great you were. He couldn't understand why he was upset at unleashing the vacuum blades at those ninja losers that had been attacking the Emperor. They pretty much deserved death for getting in his way. He had been avoiding thinking about those deaths when in reality there was nothing wrong with ridding himself of a few obstacles. His father had been an idiot to hide such efficient techniques. Especially considering it was the most useful thing the moron had ever come up with.

"What the heck happened? The whole interface is just gone! It's like the other circle just isn't there." The sound of scales on stone was heard as something large moved itself. "Is the human awake yet? Maybe it knows what's going on."

Another set of tentacles wrapped themselves around the drained martial artist, lifting him into the air and shaking him like an oversized rag doll. "No. It is unresponsive. I suppose we could heal it, but considering it's due for augmentation anyway, it may be best that it's unconscious. Most of the losses occur when the subject resists the process."

"Yeah, I know. But I kinda like how humans sound when they scream. It's very restful, you know."

"Never mind. Send him to the artist. We'll contact the mage through mechanical means. No one else is due through for a while." The tentacled thing dragged the inert form of Ranma out of the room.

Ranma was lost in a world of horror as conflicting emotions and viewpoints poured through his mind. His first reaction was that he had somehow turned into an amoral, honorless, monster. Logic quickly came to fore despite his blurred thoughts and he drew a conclusion. Hashimoto.

Somehow the transferred memories had affected his fundamental beliefs and attitudes. He may not have absorbed the ninja's personality but the reflexes Hashimoto had developed, involving taking advantage of every opportunity and damn the moral consequences had somehow infected him. Groaning in dismay Ranma held on the promise the priest had made, hoping that the situation would go away within two days. The vague thought crossed his mind that he now in all likelihood had more blood on his hands. More actions that he couldn't let himself think about.

He was beginning to loathe this new world he was in. While it was true that he had learned more than he had ever dreamed of, he also had more responsibility than he had ever expected or wanted. Back before his dimensional romps he had only fought his opponents with a fraction of his skill. If that proved insufficient he would gradually increase the ability he brought to bear. Meanwhile he took advantage of the drawn out conflict to analyze his enemy, examining every move they made so that he could make their techniques his. This occasionally resulted in a few embarrassing losses when he miscalculated the skill level of his sparing partner, but was usually quickly corrected. Ranma Saotome never lost twice in a row. On the second round he usually either used their own attack against them or simply negated the specific maneuver they relied upon and brought the combat to a quick end.

Since he'd come to this world all that had changed. He'd constantly been challenged by demons, gods and Robot Vehicles. Each one forcing him to fight at his highest level or face defeat. Losing even one battle in this world would mean more than simply his life. It would mean the end of countless worlds. Assuming Thoth spoke the truth, a newly hatched sinister thought echoed in his mind. Exhausted he let go of consciousness. He couldn't bear the idea that Thoth had lied. If the deity had deceived him then the lives he had taken could never be redeemed. Hopefully when he awoke again the small alien portion that didn't give a damn would be gone.

"Damn this human's hide is tough! I'm going to have to use the equipment meant for our real clients. Pity to waste it on human trash... " a sibilant voice spoke out from where a Highlord sat hunched over the human in question. The skull-like visage was drawn tight with concentration, accentuating the interlocking that give his race such a deadly grin. The web-like mottling that covered the top of the skull furrowed in dismay.

"Hey! If he's already enhanced why do they want the normal stuff?" a small bipedal creature spoke out from the door's archway.

"Well... I suppose we'll use the second set. The Eye is experimental but... the first set does seem redundant if it's already modified. Must have been Bio-Wizardry type augmentation. I don't see any other tattoos."

"He might be a human mutant! I've seen them in the Arena! Some of them take a lot to kill!" the little one squealed in merriment, clapping taloned hands together.

"Well I suppose the master must have allied with the scum for some reason. Never mind. Bring me the inks. I'll set up the equipment," he stated, running sharp claws over the unconscious figure's exposed skin. Damn frustrating how thick the skin was. Difficult to cause real pain without almost killing the subject. Of course the augmentation process was said to be the most excruciation experience possible. "With any luck the human will wake up and we'll get some entertainment from his pain. Either way I suppose I'll be wasting the next few days with this one."

"Yes sir," the robed figure scurried away on his errand.

Ryouga sat in the destroyed waiting room watching the retreating backs of the technicians. For the past hour he had patiently waited while engineers and other knowledgeable men walked in and out carrying sonic cutters, fusion torches and other gadgets. Nothing had worked. Of course. The thing didn't have a breaking point so it was only logical for it to be indestructible. These science types just snorted in disgust when he told them that, but he knew. The martial arts wasn't just about smashing things indiscriminately. That was just a lucky coincidence. No the Breaking Point had refined his chi senses so that he perceived a layer of reality only the most advanced beings knew about. Even humans and other biological structures had Breaking Points. The technique only worked on substances with a rigid, crystalline form, but everything had weak points. Except the thing holding on to his ankle.

Deep in thought Ryouga absently tapped his umbrella against the back of the creatures head. Although the monster was unaffected, each blow drove the thing's face into the ground by a few millimeters. This had disturbed the people who came to try to remove the thing on his leg. Not that Ryouga noticed. When he concentrated on something specific the rest of the world faded from existence. This careless habit contributed to his involuntary spatial dislocations to keep him unsure where he was at any given time. Of course it also allowed him to learn at a rate that could rival his nemesis.

"Damn you Ranma!" he shouted, a dim glow visible around his body. Each tap on the motionless being before him coming more forcefully. He didn't know how, but this whole farce centered around the pig-tailed martial artist. Somehow he had to be involved in this humiliating situation.

"Excuse me, I think I hear the PA calling for me. B..be right back," the last man in the room stuttered, turning off his torch and backing away from the seated figure. He really didn't want to be in the room if the floor collapsed. He had heard in history class about the abilities of the ancient martial artists. At the time he had scoffed at the thought of an unmodified human coming close to equaling the power of even a non-military cyborg. He still wasn't completely convinced, but one thing he was sure of. Magic and martial arts was baffling and scary. He'd come back later when the dour faced young man stopped making the room shudder. The martial artist didn't even acknowledge his retreat.

The thing seemed impervious to physical force. Ryouga had met few entities stronger than himself and Ryouga doubted that even that freak from the Musk Dynasty would be any more successful than himself. Ryouga's thoughts grew darker as he was slowly forced to face a very unpleasant truth. There really was only one way to get this thing off him.

"Get me a glass of cold water and a cup of tea... " he demanded in a commanding voice. The tone immediately faded away as he noticed that he was the only one remaining in the room. "Hey, where'd everyone go? Come on a little bit of hospitality would be nice!" Ryouga shouted indignation edging into his voice.

A sudden flash of light and an odd sensation from the new sense Anhur had awoken within him told him that something had come into existence behind him. Spinning around, he ignored the destructive sounds caused by the prone statue smashing through various objects as it was swung in an arc around the lost boy.

"Ah! I have finally found you. Do you realize how difficult it is to follow that devious device. I think it may have shuffled a few dimensions to try to throw me off course. At least I'm fairly sure leading me through Hades was a trick." The figure's voice continued to trail off muttering to himself.

Ryouga was caught slightly off guard by the dark haired, six foot figure dressed in a humble combination of gray cloth and leather. His senses told him that despite his appearances he was more than human, a fact that was countered by the rather ordinary facial features that seemed an odd mix of Asian and Indian. If his senses hadn't told him differently he would have said that he looked like an ordinary peasant farmer. An extremely healthy, and well built farmer but none the less...

"Excuse me... er... who are you," Ryouga asked in a slightly uncertain voice. He had expected to be attacked. Lacking the normal flow of violence to follow, he was momentarily caught off balance.

"Eh? Oh! Well I'm your Grandfather. Well... not really your Grandfather, more like your Great... dang, how many generations would that be?" The man shook himself out of the musing and began again. "Never mind. I'm your ancestor. I'm not sure if you're up on your genealogy but I think you're descended from Mariko Hibiki."

"You? You’re the god that Anhur mentioned? Because of you my whole family is lost! I haven't seen my parents in over five years! Because of you I've seen Hell!" The outraged martial artist started shouting, building up a head of steam.

"Eh? You too? It's actually kind of nice this time of year. Though the neighbors are kinda rowdy. First time I was there they asked to leave just a few months after I got there," the deity frowned and shook his head sadly. "Can you believe they didn't like orange groves? Now I ask you, what kind of sicko doesn't like a few thousand acres of oranges. It took a lot of work to get them to grow in the magma too. Damn ungrateful demons."

"Er... yeah. That wasn't very nice... " a slightly dazed Ryouga stated, eyes slightly unfocused as he tried to process the new information. He'd never been taken literally before and it had completely distracted him from his anger.

"Now I'm no fan of humans... messy things, always paving over a perfectly good forest... but most of them appreciate a bit of green if they can get their attention away from all that metal and ceramic they seem to like so much," he sighed, "Mariko was like that. That woman was a mortal after my own heart... "

"Um... that's... nice. Why are you here," Ryouga asked, attempting to steer the conversation in some sort of direction so he could get a handle on it.

"Oh. Right. Sorry. I really don't get to talk that often with humans... or anyone, now that I think of it," pausing to collect his thoughts he continued, "This old servitor attacked me, thinking that I was you. I wanted to meet any kids Mariko might have had, so I explained that I wasn't you and followed it."

"Well, as you can see I took care of the thing. It won't be bothering anyone very soon," Ryouga stated with some satisfaction.

The deity looked at the thing attached to his descendant's leg and shook his head. "I don't think you understand. These things are sort of weak by themselves. Which makes sense since most of the original models were basically servants of the Old Ones and their successors. But they are indestructible without large amounts of time and resources. One of their main drawbacks was the time limit."

"Time limit?" Ryouga prodded his newfound ancestor uneasily. He had the feeling he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.

"It varied slightly, depending on who constructed them, but they could usually only work for a maximum of three hours before they ran out of power and had to wait for a day to finish what they had to do."

"You mean... "

"Yep. That thing is going to activate any minute and probably either try to kill you or teleport you wherever it came from," the god clucked to himself at the foolish mortals who had sent the construct herring across the dimension.

"Hey! You said it took a day to reactivate," Ryouga snarled in anger and began to pound the immobile form in frustration.

"Well there are several models. One version was on for three hours, off a day. Another creator made his on one hour, off one hour, one hour on, etc., for a total of three hours on and then off for a day. I think it had to do with spreading the required activity over a wider period."

"Shit!" Ryouga exclaimed, upset at the unexpected turn of events. He quickly dragged the construct over to the entrance to the chamber and poked his head out the door. "Hey! I need some hot and cold water! Now! Where the hell is everyone? Get in here!" Ryouga bellowed.

"Now calm down," the nature god said in a low soothing tone. "These things usually aren't that powerful. The only reason this one can teleport and do all its other tricks are the little gems affixed to the surface. Those were added by mortals to make this thing a bit more flexible... "

"Oh! Of course! Without those I can just grapple it... " looking down at the indestructible, immobile thing attached to his ankle he reconsidered. "I mean toss it out the window or bury it."

"Yes! See? No problem... what are you doing? Stop that! Don't you know anything about magic?" the god said worry beginning to tinge his voice, as he raised his voice over the loud cracking noises.

Ryouga had begun to apply the Breaking Point to the jewels and stones affixed to the body of the creature. Each blow only took a second, shattering the talisman and releasing flashes of light and energy. Several times his hand went numb, but he persevered, systematically removing the magical devices. He naturally was so intent on his goal that he failed to pay attention to the mouthings of his ancestor. He knew what he had to do and he could talk to the odd fellow who said he was his ancestor after he was done.

"Stop that! The more powerful the talisman the more unpredictable the effects when the energy is released! No! That's the stone used for telep... " a sudden bright release of magic and a loud implosion of air and both martial artist and construct was gone.

The deity just stared at the space where his great grandson had disappeared. "What a stubborn, single minded human! Just like Mariko... " A fleeting smile passed over his face before being replaced with a frown. "That trait was much more attractive in a woman."

Without further words the god teleported away. Tracking people was not his strong point. He was a god of nature agriculture, not hunting. Maybe he'd stop by Hell again. It always seemed to be on the way to where he was going. It was such a pain how the dimensions always reshuffled themselves.

The room was very quiet within occupants. Only holes in the floors, ceiling and walls gave evidence that it had held several being of immense destructive potential.

A few minutes later a nervous young girl cautiously, peeked in through the doorway holding a tray with a glass of ice water, an empty cup, and a tea pot.

"Sir? Sir? Excuse me sir, I have your water," the girl's voice quivered in fear as she looked around the empty room.

Ranma found himself writhing in pain. Around him were sinister crimson skinned demons slowly circling him and poking him with sharp oversized forks. At random intervals they would reach out and pierce his flesh with their weapons causing a continuation of the agony. Try as he might he couldn't reach out to stop them or gather any energy for attack or defense. All he could do is lay on the ground glaring the surrounding mob and growling his defiance. Not that it made any difference to the fiends rotating in and out of his sight.

As an indeterminate amount of time passed, he sensed some sort of force insinuating itself within him. Despite attempts to gather his tattered chi around him, the energy began to weave around and into him. Binding itself in some unfathomable way to his life and energies. Somehow the sharp prongs of the devils weapons directed the structure that seemed to starting to become one with his very soul.

An eternity of torture came and went and then without warning the creatures and their odd weapons were gone, leaving him still with shock as the all pervading pain slowly subsided. Ranma lay exhausted and dazed as slowly it dawned on him that whatever the energies were that had been coiling around him were still there. It even seemed to be settling itself closer.

"No, get off, get off, damn you," shouted Ranma, noticing with horror that no sound was coming from his voice.

"... Off!" screamed Ranma sitting up and staring wildly around the room he was in. "Whoa. That was one freaky dream! I'm not even Christian, why would I dream about Hell?" Ranma shook his head in puzzlement, trying to rid himself of the haze that still hovered over his mind and weighed down his limbs. "I'll ask Kasumi about it when I get back. She wears that cross. She might know something."

Putting the odd experience out of his mind he began to examine the room he was in. It was a small chamber, if he extended his arms to either side he would be able to touch the sickly pale walls. A thin thread of sunlight was the only illumination in the room, coming from a narrow window in the upper part of the wall. The entrance was an odd looking door that seemed to be made from stone rather than the wood he had expected to see. Once he had noticed this oddity he realized the whole room was stone, with the exception of the thin pallet he lay on.

Shrugging he stood up, staggered slightly and walked over to the door. He supposed he was feeling pretty good for a man lucky to be alive. Most people didn't walk away from such a massive uncontrolled use of chi. He winced as he thought of the likely consequences of the technique. Suppressing a shudder he pushed the memory to the back of his mind where he had already stored feeling concerning a fatal encounter with the Emperor's would-be assassins and his encounter with Saffron. Some things were too uncomfortable to view without a good amount of time to cushion the memory.

His chi reserves were low but a few hours of concentration would cure that. The Hadou Ken technique would also help him cull ambient chi from the area around him even if he hadn't fully mastered it as yet. Ranma was about to settle down on the floor for a relaxing session of meditation when he stopped himself.

What the heck am I thinking? I'm trapped in a stone closet and I'm taking a nap? Ranma snorted in disgust, he didn't know what had happened since he fell through the portal but sitting in a cell certainly wouldn't get him more information. He still ached all over from strain of attempting to control the chi energy for the final technique he had used but obviously he wasn't thinking clearly either.

"First lets get out, then make a plan," Ranma stated, confident he now knew what he needed to do. Walking over to the door he verified it was locked from the outside, nodding to himself he briefly checked the walls and ceiling with a series of sharp taps. Since the borders of his prison proved to be as solid as the stone they appear to be he moved to the window noting the narrow dimension. Examining it closely he noted that the opening was more of a shaft that window, extending forward more than ten feet before opening into sunlight.

Ranma grunted to himself. The opening was very narrow, far too wide for his male form and it would be close in his female form as well. If he had enough energy he would have had the option of using Happossai's Dimensional Cloak. The breaking point was probably the least expensive technique he knew in terms of chi, but it was also extremely loud and showy. Not ideal for a quiet escape.

Well, first things first. Seeing no convenient cup of water in the room, Ranma reached into subspace to pull out a canteen of water. It seemed far more difficult than normal to pull off this simple maneuver. The first time he accidentally pulled a set of throwing stars out he shrugged and tried again. He was tired after all. The second time he grabbed out a dress he frowned in thought. He hadn't screwed up this often since he first learned the technique. There was no way he could possibly be that tired. Reaching out his spiritual senses he caught a sense of distortion at the edge of his range. He didn't think much of it until he realized the sheer amount of energy required to be detectable at that range.

Chi senses could certainly detect a large variety of energy signatures, but the fact remained that it was best used to sense the spiritual force and life energy used by other martial artists and priests. Everything else was there if you were good enough to see it, but it was much like seeing objects by the shadows they left. If there was a dimensional distortion that large in the area he didn't wonder that he was having a difficult time accessing his pockets. He was grateful he hadn't been able to use the cloaking technique, who knows how it would have been affected. The image of himself coming out of the Cloak in the middle of the stone wall before him sent shivers of horror down his spine. He would have to work on his control if this kind of interference was common in the area. Absently, he scratched a faint itch on his forehead, then rubbed his temples to ease slight foreshadowing of a headache.

Despite a faint concern that he might lose a hand, he reached into subspace for a third time, bearing down with his available will power. He sighed with relief when he saw the steel canteen in his grasp. Quickly removing his bracers he splashed himself and crawled into the window shaft. Grunting with effort she pulled herself along by her fingers and pushed with her toes. About halfway through she became frustrated with the slow progress the lack of purchase on the smooth stone was causing. Exerting her full strength Ranma-chan fully expected to see her fingers sink deeply into powdered grooves of her own making. In her own world she could easily crush rocks in her grasp, and the ambient energy coursing through her body in this new world increased her strength to truly ridiculous levels. She was therefore shocked when all that came from her effort were thin scratches on the surface of the rock and a tingling in her hands.

"Oh man! I can't believe I'm this wiped out. I mean I'm tired, but I thought it was just a simple lack of chi. I mean either that or this is magic stone," Ranma-chan snorted to herself at the idea of building a prison of glowing stone. Then she froze shock as she noticed a low level tingling coming from her hands and feet and even more faintly from the length of her body pressed against the stony surface. "No way! A whole room with enchanted stone for walls? Damn, the walls alone are ten feet wide. Are they paranoid or what?"

Shaking her head in disgust she sighed and continued her slow pace through the crawlway. After ten minutes of sweating effort she was rewarded by being able to reach to outer edge with her hands. With this leverage she was able to easily pull her body forward until her head poked outside. Looking around she smiled in relief. The smile quickly faded as it registered on her mind what she was seeing.

"Holy... good Lord! I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore," looking around again she continued muttering to herself. "Or Japan, or even the freaking earth." Pausing another moment to try to comprehend what she was seeing. "Looks more like Hell if the property values were better."

It had taken a few days to heal the injuries and burns caused by the treachery of the human but it was time to take up the hunt once more. Flexing his scaly talon before his face he nodded to himself. The scales might take a few weeks to regain their luster but he was functional once more. He winced as he recalled the burned limb with the scales and flesh peeling away to expose the muscle beneath. He had not felt such pain for almost a millennium.

Not since an old rival of his had challenged him to mortal combat. It had been a close battle but he had finally won. He chuckled to himself as he called up the cherished memory. The pain he suffered was nothing compared to the agony he had inflicted on his foe. He had lasted for weeks before he had permitted his death. He frowned to himself. If he wanted to ensure the same level of pain on his new opponent he would have to brush up on the anatomy of humans. It wouldn't do to have the mortal worm die too soon. Not after the pain and the fire he had endured.

It was odd that the human had decided to flee here. This didn't seem to be the kind of place that would welcome the common mortal, he mused to himself as he walked down the streets. Even at his full size he only took up a fraction of the thoroughfare. The various races that made up the crowd surrounding him scurried out of his way, bowing and scraping as if their lives depended on it.

Yes, this was a good place. Who knew such an area existed. A whole continent where supernatural beasts ruled. Where the only humans and mortals in sight were dragged along behind their owners in chains. The next step brought an odd sensation under his rear leg, accompanied by a shrill cry of pain. He simply continued walking down the avenue, enjoying the sights and smells. Sure he could have flown, it was actually far easier to fly, letting the winds support the massive weight of his body. But it was far more entertaining to walk. Yes, here was a place that knew how to give a dragon the respect he deserved. There would be time to track down his enemy in the days to come.

Ranma-chan looked out of the opening in amazement. She found that she wasn't in a prison of stone. No, she was in some sort of Egyptian monument that seemed to tower several hundred feet in the air. The shaft itself emerged about halfway up the side of the edifice giving her an excellent view of exactly where she was. Easily enough to thoroughly wish to be almost anywhere else.

A closer inspection showed the monument to actually be a pyramid. The sides created a gradual slope that seemed to stretch out below her, craning her neck around she found that it likewise rose an equal distance above her. She was not in some dead city however, in fact far below her the wide streets that began at the huge plaza surrounding the base of the structure stretched far into a sprawling city. Large buildings and weirdly shaped structures lined the avenue and only stopped by the barrier of a slightly narrower cross street.

The streets themselves teemed with life, though it was with a strong sense of trepidation that Ranma-chan realized that most of it was not human. Creatures of all descriptions slithered, thumped, waddled and crawled through the thoroughfare. They ranged from tentacled creatures out of a hentai anime, to scaled and horned demons. In fact once she grew accustomed to the teeming masses below her she was able to distinguish that some were indeed the demons she had studied in the tomes Thoth had given her.

"... Baalrog, Fenry and ... what is that? I know some of those things are racial enemies... why aren't they trying to kill each other?" Not all of the mob surrounding her were demons, some she recognized as those humans considered the monster races. The vast majority of them were simply unknown. It was only after some minutes of staring somewhat blankly at the scene it occurred to her, where were the humans? Even after a time of specifically looking for some sign of humans she found nothing. Oh, many creatures were biped humanoids, but that was all they had in common.

She was wondering exactly how she was going to fit in when an unusual motion caught her eyes. Coming around the corner was what at first appeared to be a large troop of humans led by an heavily armored humanoid figure. The relief Ranma-chan felt quickly drained away as she abruptly noticed that the all had an odd gait to there walk.

"Chains... they're wearing chains. What kind of hellhole is this place," a rather upset martial artist wondered. The only free human seemed to be the armored one in the lead, and considering the various threatening gestures he was making with the metal shod staff he wielded he seemed to be more of an enforcer than anything else.

Sighing, she summoned the Way of the Silent Thief to hide his presence. This place didn't seem to be an area that humans were appreciated. Pulling herself fully out of the shaft she stood, confident that she was undetected. She was leaping down the slope towards the plaza below, when she had an odd feeling that she was being watched. Pausing, she quickly glanced around.

Ranma-chan suddenly felt that she was on stage and no-one had told her the lines to speak. This was a familiar feeling, but not a comforting one. A good one third of the inhuman crowd beneath her had paused and was staring directly at her. With growing trepidation she slowly looked behind her, vainly hoping there was a dancing clown or other spectacle that might explain the attention. The only thing she noticed was a caped, burly nine foot tall creature with a set of upthrust tusks from it's mouth, another pair to either side of it's chin and an obviously mean disposition. It wore breastplate and some sort of armor covering most of it's arms and legs. A large sword was slug over it's back but in it's hand was held a large rifle of clearly high technology. The one part that grabbed her attention was a faintly glowing visor that seemed built into the oddly shaped helmet the being wore.

"You," it growled in a loud hostile tone. Having just glanced around Ranma-chan knew there was nothing but herself on this part of the sloping surface. "What's a human like you doing crawling around our Lord's home? Obviously only a pathetically stupid human would cloak himself in Atlantis!" The creature let loose with a hacking sound that Ranma-chan assumed to be laughter. "You may have just as well shot off a load of fireworks to announce your presence."

Ranma-chan cursed herself, the anatomy texts she had read seemed to indicate that most supernatural entities could perceive the invisible, she just hadn't considered that her father's chi technique counted. Or even that attempting invisibility would be that obvious. Ranma-chan stopped berating herself when the armored being started insulting her. She immediately stopped hiding her chi and an ominous red glow shimmered around her.

"Pathetic? Why I... " growled an angry Ranma-chan while cracking her knuckles, completely ignoring the hundreds of witnesses some distance below her.

"Watch your attitude, you tattooed slave. You may be someone valued property, but give me an excuse and your just another piece of meat."

Ranma-chan breathed rapidly through her nose trying to keep her anger contained. The odd references distracted her with their irrelevance, making slightly easier to ignore the slights without resorting to the Soul of Ice technique.

"I'm nobody's slave, creep. If you don't give me a little bit more respect... " Ranma-chan threat trailed of as she saw ten more creatures like the first rapidly marching towards her from the central steps of the pyramid. "... or I'll leave. Very quickly."

"Yeah... sure you will. You'll stay where you are, meat." Raising his weapon to point at the martial artist.

"Oh... sure... " Ranma paused in his speech to leap into an acrobatic flip that brought him within striking range of the thing. The rifle shot several bursts where Ranma-chan had just been. Ranma snapped a few punches in the monster's face, then a snap kick which spun it slightly in the air. Grabbing the wildly flapping cape of the creature she unloaded a final full strength kick while it was still rotating before her.

The ripping sound of the cape covered the grunt of pain from the pigtailed martial artist as she recovered from the one blow the thing had landed on her face before her final attack. "Damn thing's almost as strong as I am," she muttered to herself as spun around to face the approaching group, ignoring a trickle of blood running down her face.

Ranma-chan's chi senses stretched out to there most sensitive, attempting to gather as may clues from her attacker's as possible. Her concentration was disrupted as a slight tingling was felt from her forehead. Then the world changed.

Her chi senses, combined with the Breaking Point training had always allowed her to see the world more clearly than most, but this abruptly changed. Everything suddenly came into an unreal focus, as if she could place everything's location to the fraction of a millimeter. As odd as this was, it was only the least of the changes. Everything she saw held a deeper meaning than she had ever realized. Before she had merely sensed enchantment, perceiving a shadow of a shadow, now it was displayed before her in a glory and detail she had never expected. The whole pyramid she stood on radiated a strong magic that she intuitively knew was connected to the dimensional perturbations she had earlier detected. Inside she knew would be found gates to a hundred worlds. The very structure was constructed to tame and focus the ambient energy to it's creator's will. Powerful lines of energy, rising hundreds of feet in the air swept down the wide avenues as far as the eyes could see, each line entering the stone pyramid to be added to the reservoirs inside.

The creatures below her were almost as fascinating, each glowed with there own aura, telling a tale of power, revealing a glimpse of the being true nature. The one with the horns over there had a weapon that generated a protective envelope. A lizard like creature that was a shapechanged dragon argued with a merchant over an enchanted lyre whose song had the power to...

She was shocked out of her daze by the searing pain that peppered her body. The clarity of vision and knowledge that had mesmerized her was shattered, replaced once more with the more mundane but reliable senses she had trained all her life to use,

Rolling on the ground to avoid the fire from the group, she took stock of the damage, gratified that although painful, the strikes she had withstood were not life threatening. Putting the surreal experience behind her she focused on the combat at hand.

Leaping to her feet she spread the cape in front of her, imbuing it with a portion of her chi. Her father's last technique had failed her, hopefully this one would be more successful. Genma may be an idiot but he had crafted an amazing slue of chi attacks... and defenses. A monument that even greed could inspire moments of genius.

Ranma felt the shivering in the fabric as the energy spewing from the rifles struck the cape. Spinning around she folded the material to better receive the next barrage. After several seconds of futile efforts the creatures seems realize the singular lack of effect the weapons were having and Ranma-chan's senses detected the weapons being dropped to hang by their slings, and the unmistakable sound of swords being drawn.

Removing the now bulging shielding cloak from before her she smiled sweetly at the ten monstrous creatures running swiftly towards her. "Well, since you're so anxious to meet me I think you should have a gift. Well actually it's yours. I'm just returning it."

With this last taunt she unfolded the cloak releasing a rain of energy that lasted for several seconds. Although most of the advancing troops were bowled over, few stayed down long, growling with fury and pain as they scrambled upright again.

Ranma-chan was just about to jump into the pack to follow up with a more physical attack when she saw a group of over fifty creatures of the same type bubbling out one of the entrances to the pyramid. The gesturing of the lagging few hinted that this was merely the front guard.

"Geez... " mumbled a slightly overwhelmed Ranma-chan, while rubbing the slight bruise caused by the first creature.

"Fool. You should have begged for mercy when I first approached. Now your death will be long and agonizing!" coughed the original creature, who was just then staggering to it's feet from where it had been thrown twenty yards away.

Ranma-chan looked from the horde to the single monster. "If you want slow and agonizing I think you better mention it quick. I think they're going to try for quick and sure."

"Just die you useless human!"

Ranma-chan was breaking into a sprint away from the onrushing horde when a large explosion behind her completely knocked her off her feet. Rolling several yards away she came to her feet facing the enemy in a ready stance.

Expecting to see some energy wielding fiend of the Saffron ilk she was completely shocked to see a huge burnt shadow behind her on the pyramid's stone surface and the creatures that had been following her either dead or unconscious. Shaking her head in bewilderment she heard another series of explosions behind her.

Spinning around yet again she saw the huge courtyard surrounding the pyramid in a frenzy of violent activity. Where before most of the creatures had been watching her confrontation, laughing and jeering at the stupid human, now most of them were running quickly out of the plaza. Apparently trying to avoid a chain of explosions that seemed to be centered around the group of humans that had been led in fetters up to the base of the huge structure.

Most of the non-humans scrambled away, not wishing to get involved with the dangerous turn of events. Those that stayed, trying to find something to confront, were either shot with some sort of high-powered weapon coming from several sniper sources in the surrounding buildings or blown up by the steady stream of explosives. These seemed to appear randomly about ten feet above the ground before dropping to the ground with light tinkling sounds then triggering in a fierce, though localized explosion.

When a wide clearing had formed around the terrified humans a glittering portal formed in front of them. A young blond haired man in garments more resembling a baseball player than a wizard's dress, a small lizard perched on his shoulder stepped out arms spread wide, as if to keep the gate open. From behind him a dark tressed, well built woman walked, gesturing to the humans in front of them. Ranma-chan couldn't make out what she was saying but it was clear that it convinced the cringing mass of humanity. With a loud cry they rushed forward pushing past the mage and the woman.

Ranma-chan noticed that she must have been significantly stronger than she looked, since the throng merely swayed her on her feet rather than bowling her over. Within moments the last human had stepped through leaving the man and the woman limed in the glow from the portal. The woman's eyes swept the battlefield one last time before her eyes caught on the very confused pigtailed martial artist. Giving Ranma-chan a jaunty wave she turned to go through the portal. The mage also glanced in her direction before giving her a wink and slowly stepping backward through his own gate.

Ranma-chan came to her senses a few seconds later finding herself weakly waving goodbye. Grabbing her arm to stop the silly gesture, she shook her head. "What just happened?"

"That is what you are going to tell us little human," a sibilant hiss came from behind her.

"Geez, not another one of you gorillas... " Ranma-chan started to say while turning around, readying herself for another fight. Unfortunately behind her was not a one of the "gorilla" creatures. There were about two hundred. The one that had spoken was different from the troops. It was a merely seven feet tall, spindly creature that had a mouth ridiculously full of large interlocking sharp teeth with two small tusks jutting out from either side of the chin. There was no nose to speak of and the head was shaped more like a skull that anything else, topped with a web-like lattice of something resembling scar tissue. In one hand it held a staff that seemed to hold a jar full of liquid on one end. Ranma-chan blinked a moment when she realized that inside the jar peacefully floated what seemed to be an eye. It didn't really look very impressive all in all, however it is remarkable what an army can do to bolster one's image.

"I think we can kill her and have one of the necromancers question her," offered the leader's companion. This stalwart fellow was of the same race as the original attackers he had encountered. Unfortunately that's where the resemblance ended. The thing towered over the martial artist at ten feet and must have been twice the mass of the first group, all of it muscle. He also sported an extra pair of arms and bore a huge club-like mace which resembled the skeletal creature's staff in that it too bore a glass jar. Instead of an eye a large worm-like creature could be seen floating in the liquid. An energy blade of some sort protruded from the end of the club, transforming the overall appearance of the weapon into that of a monstrous flamberge.

"I don't suppose I can convince you that I have no clue as to what just happened," Ranma-chan asked hopefully.

"No," the smaller one confirmed the pig tailed girl's fears.

"Darn. Hey... is that a five yen coin behind you?" the red head craned her neck and pointed.

Ranma-chan leaned against the wall of the alley, panting from the last few hours of exertion. "I can't believe how persistent those guys were," she gasped. "This is worse than anything the fiancée squad ever put me through."

"Who's persistent, Ranma?" a familiar voice whispered in her ear.

"Nabiki?" a startled martial artist squeaked while turning around. She was further surprised to see a transparent image of the Tendo sister sitting cross-legged in the air in front of her.

"Hey, I can see you! Did you just learn that," questioned the pig-tailed girl, moderately impressed. It sure beat the telephone.

"Yes. It's very draining ... but I haven't been able to contact you over a week," Nabiki said with a blank expression. Perhaps a little too blank.

"A week? Darn! I hope I never have to do that again." Pausing she assessed the reaction of her audience. Nothing. Nabiki was rarely without a sardonic grin. "Were you worried about me?"

An almost imperceptible wince flickered across the ghostly visage. "Of course not. But... I've found out how ... dangerous Atlantis could be." A grimace of distaste hovered over her features. "It's hard to believe such a place exists."

Ranma-chan paused in thought, a mocking snicker poised on her lips, before the humor of the situation grew stale. "Yeah. Probably whatever you scried in your magic mirror thingy is just the tip of the iceberg." Images of a line of desolate humans being led into the square before the pyramid flashed before her.

"Well? What happened and ... what's that on your forehead?" Nabiki asked, returning to her original line of questioning.

Ranma-chan frowned and rubbed her sleeve across her face. "What do you expect? Geez, I just woke up in a cell a few hours ago... you expect me to clean and well groomed. I'm lucky to be alive!"

A smirk had finally made its way onto Nabiki's face, once she had verified that Ranma was in good health. "Surely the great Ranma hasn't run into something he can't handle? Besides I wasn't talking about a smudge of dirt. You should take a look in the mirror when you find the time. Meanwhile, report!" barked the floating image.

"Hmph. Whatever," grumbled a disconcerted martial artist as she felt around her face with one of her hands. "I had some trouble leaving Japan," seeing a questioning look in Nabiki's eyes she just shook her head, "I don't want to talk about it. It has to do with really nasty side effects of some psychic thing a priest pulled. But it caused me to overextend my chi reserves."

Nabiki's eyes widened in surprise. She was no martial artist, but except for maybe Herb, Ranma had the best control over her chi she had ever heard of.

"I know! I know! There were... circumstances. Anyhow, when I arrived I think I was unconscious till a few hours ago. When I escaped I had a whole bunch of guards after me," Ranma-chan paused in thought, "Did you know most things in this city can see the invisible? Funny, my most useful stealth technique is like a big banner saying 'Here is the guy hiding from you!' It really sucks."

Nabiki opened her mouth as if to say something but was overridden by a venting pig-tailed girl.

"Well at least that's what happens when I'm in line of sight. The chi suppression part still works ... as long as they don't see me they can't track me. Let me tell you... " Ranma-chan continued to ramble before Nabiki finally interrupted him.

"Ranma! Shut-up!" a strange look had come into her eyes and although her face was calm, a tense quiver had crept into her voice. "Let me get this straight. You were in the clutches of our villain and you miraculously broke loose. Right?"

"Yep," Ranma-chan boasted, buffing her nails on her shirt. "They couldn't keep me. Oh they had a few surprises but the never had a chance... " her strutting was once more overridden by the controlled voice of Nabiki.

"My it's sure lucky you escaped," Ranma-chan nodded happily to herself. "After all if you had stayed you might have actually found out who was behind all this," Nabiki's voice had risen to an unpleasant volume as her frustration finally became plainly visible. Ranma-chan had frozen in mid-buff a look of bewilderment on her face.

"Heaven forbid you actually go along with the freakin plan and play along. No, the great Saotome has to be the big man and prove no one can keep him... " by this time Ranma-chan had unfrozen and was making shushing gestures and frantically glancing around. Her activity was completely ignored by an enraged Nabiki who continued even more loudly on her tirade, going on about the stupidity of martial artists in general and Ranma in specific. She also went into some detail regarding the sheer money she had lost while allowing these dimwits to represent her. She was still cursing as her image began to fade and thundering footsteps could be heard approaching the alley's entrance.

Moments later a group of ten hulking brutes obstructed the opening as they peered cautiously into the alley, plasma rifles in one hand, the other resting alertly on the hilts of their blades.

"I could have sworn the human was here. It sounded like a human," the largest grunted in annoyance.

"I still say the human is long gone. She'd be stupid to stay around and if she's a part of the underground she's long gone by now," opinioned the second in the group

"I don't know, we found some humans. She could still be here."

"The first one you shot was a male slave. The second one was a female pedestrian. One of the few free humans in the city."

"Eh. Well humans kinda look the same. No real loss. Free or slave, no one cares."

"Well, the free one was no loss, but the slave has an owner that needs to be reimbursed," contradicted the second.

"Bah, we were on official business. If that demon complains about his property our captain will back us. If he tries to go higher up he knows he could be told he's unwelcome in Atlantis," scoffed the first.

"Well... alright. No harm done. No one important was inconvenienced." The voices and general grunts of agreement from the other guards faded into the distance as they walked past.

Seconds after they left a pig tailed martial artist faded into view. A light sheen of sweat covered her face and a disgruntled red head could barely be heard muttering to herself.

"Yeah, well this is one human you're going to recognize one day when I feed you your liver. If there weren't a thousand of you goons right behind you it could have been today." Shoulders slumped she stared at the ground. "I can't believe I forgot the plan. Of course I was unconscious for a week, but still... " Leaning against the wall again she slowly slid to the ground, ignoring the unidentified residues clinging to the wall.

"Still not too late to find out who owned that place. I'll just have to find another way into the... well whoever owns the place... good graces."

Ranma growled in frustration as he walked down one of the lesser roads that ran through the heart of Splynn. Although smaller than the main thoroughfare it was none the less seventy feet wide. This seemed large at first until Ranma found himself needing to move quickly in order to get out of the way of some of the huge land barges that moved implacably to and from the center of trade. The vehicles he shrugged off. They were large, but he’d seen huge transports at home, even stowed away on many when his father was feeling too lazy to justify walking as training. The air barges were slightly more disconcerting. Most of these were too high up to really make a visual impact. It was when they slowly descended to the top of nearby buildings and the humming of whatever otherworldly engines they used filled the air, making the bones of your skull vibrate in sympathy that the scale of the city truly became apparent. The other disconcerting fact was the huge slugs, lizards, and snail like creatures the also made their way through the streets. It would be amusing except that forty foot long snails no longer seemed humorous when they towered over you. Then of course there were those obnoxious aliens.

"Hey! Scum! Out of way of Gornex the Devourer," a deep growling voice bellowed from in front of the martial artist, quickly followed by a paw the size of a serving plate. Ranma absently ducked the few inches required for the somewhat sloppy roundhouse the fly over his head. In his male form the authorities weren’t actively chasing him but humans seemed to be fair game for everyone and his brother to torment. The slaves he saw on the street were relatively safe since destroying someone’s property carried a heavy fine, however a free human needed to prove himself frequently if he chose to brave the streets.

"I’ll give you one warning to get out of my way," Ranma stated hiding his impatience. This was the fifth time this afternoon he had to defend his rights and it had changed from exciting to monotonous very quickly. Initially he had tried to avoid attention by giving ground, but that not only chafed his pride but proved ineffective as it seemed to encourage the annoying pedestrians.

"Looks like human needs to learn place," the eleven foot shaggy creature loomed over him in a threatening manner.

"Looks like teddy bear needs to learn grammar," Ranma mocked in a deliberately broken manner while bringing the staff he had started to carry around with him to bear. It never ceased to amaze him how stupid many of these creatures sounded even when the translation affect assured him they were speaking their own tongue.

Roaring in outrage the quivering mound of fur and muscles lunged at the smaller human only to search around in a bewildered fashion when the human disappeared from view.

"Where human go?" The confused creature grumbled to itself as it peered through the slowly milling crowds, many of whom had stopped to view the altercation. Never a shortage to see a human dead or mangled in this city.

"Human here behind you, dimwit," Ranma sneered. Infusing the staff with chi he tapped the creature on the arm, spinning it around as if struck by some huge force. Once he was facing Ranma another deceptive tap from the staff to the chin caused the creature to shoot like a rocket into the sky. The pigtailed martial artist shaded his eyes while looking up into the sky, chortling softly to himself.

"Geez, I never get tired of that trick. Now I know why Happosai kept doing that. Takes the pest out of your hair... and is so darn fun to watch!" Looking around he found himself the center of some obviously unfavorable attention. Lazily spinning the staff he gave a fake growl and glared at the crowd. "Anybody else have a problem with the little human?"

As most started to drift off he nodded to himself. Most of these weren't the powerhouses of the city. The creatures with the power and spine to deal with someone like Ranma had better things to do than waste time with a uppity human. The city enforcers didn't care unless they witnessed him breaking the law. It also helped that any non-human that complained about being harassed by a human would lose any respect he could possibly have. In a way it almost made up for being the target for anything with a bug up its ass.

"Verry entertaining," a high pitched humm broke into his thoughts. A creature that looked like a refugee from The Fly was next to buzzing... or rather communicating to him.

"I have my moments," Ranma stated tersely, on guard for the snub that seemed inherent in every conversation he had yet to have since he woke up in the city.

"You have impressive powers for a tattoo warrior. Have you given thought to the Arena? You could make some very impressive money."

"Well no ... I have other things to do in the city. I hadn't planned on any... Arena... activity." Ranma cautiously stated. Ever since he had weathered Nabiki's tirade he had been walking the streets in his less wanted male form. He had really screwed things up when he had initiated his 'escape'. Sure he hadn't been in his right mind at the time, but he'd really fouled up any plans he might have made. It would take some heavy improvising to get back on the proper trail.

"Tattoo warrior? Nah... I just have some martial arts tricks," Ranma brushed off the bug's assumption. Probably the only humans that had any power around here were the ones that wore tattoos like the Shogunates ninja's. Tattoos...

"Hey... do you know much about tattoos? The magical kind, not the artsy stuff," the martial artist inquired hopefully. The creature he was talking to was the only thing that seemed willing to do more that spit in his direction since he'd arrived. It seemed a shame to waste its apparent generosity.

"Ah... you wish to have more. Understandable, but difficult. Humans only get tattoos if they are the personal servants of the Highlords. From your demeanor I must assume you are no one's servant and cannot therefore receive any more such gifts of power. Only Splynncryth's personal Highlords have the authority to authorize this for a free human."

"Shoot. Oh well, I'll find another... " Ranma paused as the meaning of the being's words struck him. "Only Spynncryth's personal Highlord's you say? How many of them are they?"

"Only a handful. Five, I think, though I am not an expert on such things. They never give out new tattoos to any human that does not belong to them."

"Never? I could use new... tattoos. Yeah, the er... stuff I have now is getting old. Same thing over and over. Sure would be good to get some new," Ranma's brow wrinkled in concentration as he thought of words to say to show he was into the tattoo scene, "... ink done."

"Too bad. The only exception would be a personal favor. If one was your patron they may make an exception but... that's hard to imagine. You just don't seem the servant type. Although... " the creature grew silent, lost in thought. "I suppose if you won in the Arena and dedicated your win to one of the Highlord's... well even they appreciate that kind of flattery and recognition. Though relying on a Highlord's goodwill is somewhat of an oxymoron." A slight chittering seemed to mark an alien laugh.

"Do you know the names of these Highlord's?" Ranma requested hopefully.

"Hmm. Yes. They are... " The insectile creature then broke into a fit of chittering, coughing and grunts. The martial artist looked on wide-eyed afraid that the only source of information he had found in the city was about to expire in front of him.

"Are you okay? Should I get you a doctor?" he shouted, poised to run in any direction if necessary.

"Eh? Of course I am. Why do you ask," the creature asked, fully recovered from the fit.

"The coughing and choking. I thought... " Ranma's voice faded away in puzzlement.

"Ah... that. That was simply the names of the Highlord's. I suppose they wouldn't make sense to most humans. Most probably can't even pronounce them. Well. Let's see. How about I write up the names and titles of the Highlords in question. I have a magic around here somewhere that should give me literacy in your tongue somewhere around here." After a slight ruffling of robes and a small flash of magic the creature handed Ranma a list that seemed to phonetically spell out the name of the persons in question.

"I, well, thanks. You've been really helpful. If you need anything just... " Ranma rambled on somewhat bewildered by an act of kindness in what was otherwise a city of nightmares.

"Well I'm not just doing this for you. I can see you are on a course which may lead me to many profits. If it does turn out that you decide to go to the Arena contact me and I will be overjoyed to act as your agent. Simply ask for Syushra of the Bloody Grubs Plaza. Here I'll write the address down for you."

"Thanks... I guess."

"Good luck on your mission. Remember me if you change your mind. I think you could be very popular." With those words the creature skittered away on multi-jointed legs.

Meanwhile Ranma was once more lost in thought. He now had a starting place. Apparently only five of these Highlords had permission to give out these tattoo things. All he had to do was find out which of them owned that prison he had escaped from and ... well there was more to it than that, but it would be a good start.

A dark haired attractive woman stood in a large room. Spread out in a semi-circle around her were twenty people armed and armored in various styles from the medieval to armor that appeared to be straight out of the twenty fifth century. Almost half were glowing in various shades and colors. The woman herself wore the strangest clothing in the group seemingly nothing more than several green leaves wrapped around her along with several weapon harnesses consisting of a sword and two oversized guns.

"Alright people, make sure your protective enchantments and force fields are up. This raid is close enough to the last one that we hope they won’t be expecting it." The woman’s strong voice easily cut through the soft murmurs that the crowd had been exchanging, bringing the group’s attention to center around the raven haired warrior.

"Skippy, open the gate," she quietly requested of the young blond teen that stood near her, leaning nonchalantly against the wall feeding dried tidbits to a odd lizard that perched on his shoulder. Occasionally the small dinosaur would take a small playful nip at the baseball cap the boy wore. "Remember on the other side you're just the backup and the escape portal. I don’t want your usual silly heroics. Your place is getting us out again and getting anything that gets past our defenses."

"Have no fear, our brave White Raven. Your flock is as good as there. My batteries are juiced up and I’m ready to kick some Splugorthian Minion butt." The young man gave a confident grin to his audience, some of whom gave an appreciative snicker, most of which simply waited patiently for him to finish his posturing. Shrugging he waved his hands in a complex gesture and began chanting. As a shimmering circle of light formed on the wall he was next to, he paused to address the group behind him.

"The doorway to adventure awaits…also death, violence and other stuff, but…"

"Enough Skippy! Joke later, we have a job to do. Move out!" The woman fingered her weapons, checking one last time that the harness didn’t snag any of her weapons. It was a dangerous world out there and a woman needed the proper tools for the job of changing the world.

Ranma was shaking in a mixture of horror and rage. Never had he been as angry and horrified as he presently was. If he had the power he would have happily allowed the ocean to reclaim this cursed place. It had started innocently enough, he had asked one of the creatures on the road for directions for a place to eat. While the question had seemed harmless, the shambling thing he had asked had coughed out a laugh and directed him to an open air tent several blocks away.

When he had arrived he had only noted a huge giant standing in front of an enormous scarred wooden block, butcher knife in hand and in a good natured conversation with one of the more obscure demons Ranma had studied. Nodding in final agreement the giant had reached behind him and swung some sort of wriggling figure from some sort of scaffolding or rack and brought the butcher knife to bear.

"A good selection of meat. As tender a piece as you’ll ever find. I’ve been saving it fir my own meal but... the price is right and this bit is yours," with these words a muffled shrieking had begun. The shrieking had risen in pitch and volume as the knife sliced efficiently upward, eviscerating the bound figure. The giant paused a moment, blood covering his hands, "I could tell you that they don’t feel anything... but we both know that the screaming is half the reason you’re here, eh?" With a toothy grin the knife flashed in a elaborate pattern and the screaming which had reached a high point was abruptly cut off. "Damn. That was too quick. I’ll give you a discount on the next one."

Ranma had stared blankly at the tableau, finally realizing just what he had seen. The figure on the table which had moments ago been a captive female was now nothing more than a bloody piece of flesh. The flashing knife signaled the continuing butchering of the hapless victim.

For a moment absolute emptiness filled Ranma, quickly followed by a boiling rage that seemed to hold no limit. It filled his mind, reducing his thoughts to a single focus. Something was going to die. It might eventually be him but before the he had drawn another breath the monster holding that knife was going to die. Thoroughly.

He was about to proceed on a path of destruction that would have ensured the death of most creatures in the area, most likely eventually leading to his own end, when a brilliant light enveloped the area. Pausing to evaluate this new threat he witnessed a glowing blue oval wink into existence behind the butcher block in front of the scaffolding and tent. A moment later humans limned in glowing auras poured out of the light shooting a variety of weapons at the non-humans in the plaza.

Instant mayhem ensued as the butcher attempted to bring his knife around to defend himself from the unexpected onslaught. He stood for seconds before the massed fire overcame what durability the creature might have possessed and limbs began to char and burn under the massed fire.

"Anyone who wishes to survive the day should step back and don’t be a hero. The Liberation Front is here to free the slaves. Don’t get in the way and you won’t die." The voice of familiar black haired woman easily reached the edges of the plaza as the woman herself stepped to the front of the crowd. A quick look at the huge wooden block assured her that the she had been too late to free one of her targets. Her expression of regret was quickly replaced by determination. "Fan out. Remember the plan, group A inside the tent, Group B get the people on the rack, C and B set up the defenses."

The crowd of non-humans appeared as if they might contest the woman’s claim, shuffling and fingering the various lethal instruments most carried on their persons. This hostility was quickly redirected as the ten soldiers behind the woman pointed their own oversized rifles and shoulder launchers at the crowd in unison. After several seconds of complete silence the shapes in the crowd slowly backed away. The evil glares sent their way before they exited the plaza left no doubt that they would remember this humiliation the next time they met a human that possessed less firepower

"Since you don’t seem to be using that one, would you mind if I brought that one home? It seems a shame to let a perfectly good bit of meat go to waste," the demon that had originally conversed with the butcher genially inquired.

White Raven stood shock for a moment before answering with anger clearly evident in her voice. "You are either an incredibly overconfident fool or …never mind. I have no time to waste on you. Back away immediately or I’ll have my people cut you down."

"You humans are such a prickly lot. If you didn’t make such delicious meals and adequate slaves Lord Splynncryth would have expunged you from the continent long ago," the demon hissed while slowly backing away from the counter.

"Hmm. I changed my mind. Team B fire on my order…" her command trailed off as she saw the demon turn tail and lumber off around a nearby building. Her satisfaction was short lived as a low humming was heard in the distance.

"Damn. I thought for sure we’d have more time," the woman muttered to herself a frown of concentration marring her youthful features. "Team C and D prepare to receive at least three assault carriers... or the D-Squad if the gods are in one of their moods. The authorities are more on the ball than we expected today." She paused briefly in thought, making decisions. "Break out the big guns. It looks like we’ll need them to get out of here. Skippy, shield them while they set up. Then prepare our exit."

Ranma was resisting the urge to cheer. It was a huge relief to find that even in this morass of pain and suffering there were humans…and not so human creatures that were fighting to make this hell hole a better place. It was difficult not to go over and help. Only the thought of what Nabiki would do to him if he compromised his only other identity a few hours after screwing up his female identity kept him silent. The butcher was dead and with its life had gone the unreasoning rage that had embraced him. They didn’t seem to need his help anyway.

The dark haired girl had given him a brief questioning look when she had first arrived, but he’d simply returned it with a cautious nod. Since then she had apparently dismissed him as relatively harmless and was presently directing the activity in and around the scaffolding and tent. He could feel that he had not been forgotten and any movement on his part would bring her full attention back to him. Turning his senses onto the group hurrying around before him on prearranged tasks he attempted to get a feel for what kind of people formed the resistance in this city of evil.

The dark haired woman was a trained fighter, not up to a real martial artist’s standards, but from the way she moved and the limited control of her chi he sensed that in a straight fight she might be on par with Akane. The tingling that he felt when his senses examined her told him that there was far more to her than a mere human’s aura. What it was he didn’t know enough about magic to identify. Her general aura was far stronger than a humans should be, but unfocused enough to show that she not only wasn’t what he would consider a dedicated martial artist but probably not a mage, despite the magic energy he sensed as part of her.

The young man was so obviously a mage that it elicited an involuntary growl from Ranma. So far all the mages he had met had been insane or evil. He wasn’t sure what category Nabiki would fit in when her training was done but considering her present morals he feared it would be irritating to find out. The male’s aura had the strong tingle of enchantment like the girl, but the focused aura demonstrated him to be a magician. Of course the fact that he had waved his hands and formed a large shimmering blue dome surrounding the tent and adjacent area also helped make clear exactly what he was.

The others in the group seemed to be mostly humans with a smattering of magic, but the majority seemed to rely on the armor and weapons they bore. Ranma frowned at this. Most of the technology he had been witness to had not filled him with much respect for advanced science. Sure the giant robots had him on the ropes for a short time in the Imperial Palace, but he didn’t see anything among the freedom fighters more substantial than body armor and rifles.

Ranma quickly corrected this observation as the woman gave a command and several large containers the group had carried in unfolded to reveal some sort of rack with multiple tubes jutting at a forty five degree angle into the air.

Another flash of light showed that the wizard with the silly baseball cap had opened up another portal while the group that had gone into the tent was leading a impressive line of humans of all ages, as well as a few non-humans of varying races out and towards the light of freedom. Up in the scaffolding the people were using a mixture of skill, brute force and specialized climbing tools to make their way through the metal maze and extract the people that had been crudely tied to the framework.

Ranma just shook his head. He couldn’t believe he had been so wrapped up in his own concerns that he had been completely oblivious to the monument to human suffering towering behind the wooden block. A pang of regret shot through him as he thought about the poor woman. If he had been paying more attention he might have realized what was happening in front of him. From that moment on he resolved to try to treat every moment in this city as a combat situation.

Of course even as he thought this a voice in the back of his head told him it was impossible to be that alert. His danger sense was finely honed, but it would only alert him to hazards that affected him directly. He had often been surprised by non-lethal attacks, whether from an over enthusiastic Amazon or an inconvenient banana skin. Attempting to focus on his surrounding to the exclusion of everything else might keep him on his toes but it would also quickly mentally fatigue him, prevent him from thinking of strategies and most likely eventually blunt his reactions in battle. At best he might succeed in a compromise. It was certainly true that he had been doing some monumentally stupid things since he taken the place of the ninja candidate.

A high pitched humming sound drew his attention away from the activity in the plaza. Looking around he noted the sound was coming from the air. Stretching his senses he found that there where hundreds of independent, powerful entities approaching from the air. Turning back towards the woman he was about to shout a warning, but noticed she was already giving orders to those left under the dome.

Less than a minute later the first creature flew into view over the surrounding buildings. It was almost identical to the creatures Ranma had seen on the pyramid. Since he had the luxury of wandering the city for the last day he now knew they were known as Powerlords, a pretentious title for the more common members of Atlantis’ army. This one rode a machine similar in function to the sky cycle he had used in Japan with a more segmented shell that was obviously armor of some sort. Metal appendages pointed outward, giving it a shape akin to a star. On one of the jutting points, aligned to one side asymmetrically was a huge eye which glowed as it powered the device.

As it approached the field that enclosed the freedom fighters two forward pointing prongs emitted bursts of energy which seemed to splash against the dome’s surface to no effect. Undeterred by this it began circling several hundred feet above the ground laying down a constant barrage of light across the shield. Within moments of the first shot dozens more of flyers on similar vehicles flew into the clearing and joined the assault.

The attackers swarmed in evasive patterns, bombarding the dome it began to pulse and flicker at various places. Ranma’s senses informed him the energy within the barrier was weakening. Frowning in concern he noted that all of the freed slaves had moved through the portal as well as the two groups designated as their escorts. The two remaining groups were tense as they waited stationed around the individual missile launchers.

Ranma slowly backed away to the cover of a nearby building. He felt somewhat torn, wanting to help when the barrier finally inevitably failed, but not wanting to sacrifice his male identity or engage in another tiring, pointless chase through the city unless absolutely necessary. These newcomers looked far more prepared that those he had battled at the pyramid. There also seemed to be a large number of them. Over a hundred now swarmed in the air and more arrived every minute.

Suddenly the glowing barrier dissipated apparently leaving the defenders helpless. Before the monstrous air force could fire at the ground based fighters, the missile racks simultaneously launched a huge volley at the targets flying above them. Despite the evasion patterns they had been flying in, the sheer numbers of the attackers kept them from keeping out of the way of the initial salvo. Some of the Powerlords were overly enthusiastic in their attempts to get out of the way and ended up crashing into their comrades. These incidents did no more than knock the flyers into an uncontrolled spin for several hundred feet, however it did sow considerable confusion. The missiles themselves each exploded into huge masses of plasma that usually engulfed three or more flyers in their blast radius continued this trend, sending the majority careening out of control.

Few except the truly unfortunate were destroyed but for a moment the sky was almost completely clear. The defenders took advantage of this to make a break towards the gate at a prearranged signal from the raven haired woman. She herself stayed slightly behind the others, firing at the few remaining who were remained a threat. A loud roar of approaching jets caused her brow to crease in concern as she hurried towards the portal to follow her troops to safety.

White Raven's run towards the gateway was temporarily halted by fire from above. This forced her to dive out of the way as some of the flyers that had recovered laid down a steady stream of fire. Although she escaped the assault the sound of thrusters followed by a thump in the direction of the portal told her things had just gotten much worse.

Ranma cursed under his breath as he saw from his perspective the woman hurl herself out of the way of the strafing attacks. His cursing became much louder as he saw eight huge metal gargoyles streak down from the sky, turning at the last second to halt their descend with a powerful burst of some kind of jet that projected from their back. Ranma almost mistook them for Balrogs in armor. The batlike wings and hulking figure certainly looked familiar, however his senses told him it was merely more Splugorth minions. Admittedly they were minions in impressive power armor, but nothing demonic.

This was somewhat less than reassuring as he saw that the eight armored figures were gathered around the woman and the fleet which had been scattered a moment ago was now starting to re-gather itself in the air above once more. The one fortunate part of the situation was that they weren’t firing anymore, seemingly content to let the armored fellows on the ground deal with the one remaining invader.

The woman herself seemed startled by the turn of events but did not hesitate in the slightest. Dropping her rifle to the ground she drew the two swords crossed at her back and leaped to attack the armored suit closest to her. The attack was swift and well executed, easily overwhelming the relatively slow defenses of the larger foe to deliver a strike that completely removed the head of the armor.

This was gratifying to see until Ranma realized that the mechanism was still moving. The lack of blood or weakening in the creature aura told him that the controller was safe inside the main body of the armor. Suddenly slower and less sure of itself it still moved to bring its wings into play, sweeping them through the space that had been occupied by the woman and leaving a trough a foot deep in the ground.

Although she had gotten in the first blow White Raven found it nearly impossible to land a second. Despite the size, the powered armor moved swiftly and with eight foes she had all she could do to avoid the wings, the plasma sword and axe that seemed to be standard issue for each mechanism.

From where he stood Ranma nodded to himself. He couldn’t stand and do nothing yet he couldn’t rush in himself. Cologne had a trick that he had been working to modify to other situations. Like many of the matriarchs technique it looked much more impressive than it was. Still, considering all he needed to do was give the woman time to make it to the portal before whoever was on the other side decided it was too dangerous to leave it open with an army on the other side. Entering a light meditative state he focussed his chi on the earth and rocks under the plaza.

White Raven was getting desperate. The constant evasion left no time to counterattack and the group continued to maneuver between her and the portal. The gateway itself should have already been closed. Skippy had specific orders to close the gate if a member of the team was trapped on the other side. If she lived through this she’d give him a kiss and then kick his sorry ass for endangering the underground.

The odd thing that stuck in her mind during those hectic moments of dodging and parrying for her life was the black haired human who stood partially obscured behind the buildings over a hundred feet away. She had noticed him and the rage that was evident on his face when she had entered the plaza during the initial strike. As the operation progressed she saw that the rage had left and she had the distinct feeling that he approved of what was happening. This was not surprising, although obviously not a slave, he lacked the hard bitten look that most minions possessed. Considering the tattoos he wore he might have even been a freed slave or a hired bodyguard. Unless you worked for the Atlantian system a human couldn’t help but approve of an attack on it. Now the youth looked on with a slightly detached expression and she couldn't help but feel that there was an energy gathering in the area around him. It wasn’t magic but it caused sympathetic tingles to tease her skin. She hoped he wouldn’t get himself killed doing something stupid. With several hundred minions of Splynncryth buzzing around the air like an angry swarm any overt action would be an act of suicide.

Despite her awareness of an odd energy she was still completely surprised when the ground behind one of the armored figures deformed like a bubbling cauldron and a huge stone hand reached up from the disturbance and grasped the closest fighter. Once the hand closed on its victim it instantly shot up into the air forming a pillar as its base fifty feet high. There was a moment of silence as the comrades of the trapped creature gaped at the column that now held a trapped and struggling metal gargoyle. Then the frozen tableau moved as the flying Powerlords began to fire at the stone prison, blasting large chunks of now immobile stone from the prison.

The woman was as surprised as her foes but was able to overcome her shock soon enough to run halfway to the portal before she once more had to avoid the renewed attacks of the armor clad minions. When another stone fist emerged from the ground to sweep two of her tormentors away like a battering ram or an angry child with a toy, she was prepared to leap over the two remaining minions that stood between her and the portal.

Unfortunately, this left her open to the other four behind her who took advantage of this reckless move to attack her from behind with their various weapons in an almost coordinated strike. Thrown through the air she landed within ten feet of the glowing portal but found herself too stunned to do more than inch her way to freedom.

Groaning in frustration White Raven struggled to her feet hearing the heavy steps of the armored minion closing in around her. Through the thick light of the gate she saw a worried Skippy, arms held out to brace the gateway, mouthing silent encouragement.

Ranma looked on in frustration. The modified Shark Fist had proved to be a useful tool of distraction. Although it did little real damage, the Stone Fist looked large and terrifying if you didn’t know it lacked mobility for more than sweeps and lunges. However despite the woman being within feet of the gate it was obvious she was too stunned to do more than stagger to her feet. The last series of blows the enemy had delivered to her back had looked devastating. The leaf armor that she wore had been almost instantly shredded leaving the warrior to absorb the blows of the swords and axes on her own merits. Ranma was frankly amazed she was still in one piece. Obviously she was more than human, as he had surmised when he had examined her aura. In fact she would probably be almost unhurt ... if she survived the next few seconds.

Her very durability gave him an idea. A normal human wouldn't survive, but she appeared almost tough as himself. Without further thought he reached forth his chi once more into the ground.

White Raven looked around drunkenly, trying to force herself to either defend herself or dash towards the portal that was so close. The minions appeared to be rushing at her, their intent obviously to knock her away from only escape within reach. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the human male was staring at her with a grimace of concentration and a light layer of perspiration shown on his brow. Abruptly odd roiling sensation at her feet drew her attention to the ground under her. Looking down she felt a huge force erupt beneath her as if the very earth had rushed up to meet her.

Observing the scene from around the building Ranma looked on with a mixture of satisfaction and worry as a stone fist formed beneath the woman and catapulted her through the gate. He had tried to be gentle, but there is a limit to how softly you can manipulate several tons of stone.

The gateway dissolved into a sparkle of random energy as he pondered the situation. Glancing at the plaza that was deserted except for several hundred flying Powerlords, seven milling armored minions and three scattered columns of stone that varied in length from ten feet to fifty feet in length he shook his head. Nerima may have been hectic but he was beginning to appreciate its rustic charm.

Wrapping himself in the Dimensional Cloak he glided away from the scene of the battle back towards the pyramid. With any luck the remnants of the dimensional energies from the gate would prevent detection of his use of the technique and he could get on with his mission. He was getting more eager to get back home all the time. He never thought he would look forward to the madness of home or long for the peace of the fiancée brigade but... it was time to get on with things.

Leviathan lounged in her apartment on the huge cushioned that she preferred to rest on. Absently she reached over to an ornate golden hued bowl and grabbed a dozen peeled oranges. Mulling over her plans and letting her rage simmer in the back of her mind she ate the fruits as lesser mortals might eat berries or grapes.

Now that she was in Atlantis she could continue her plans. It was a bitter irony that she was so limited in her own realm. Since her captive had escaped she had been the butt of the jokes among the other deevil lords. Oh, not to her face, but their insincere condolences at her humiliation combined with the restrictions of no overt retaliations only thinly veiled the enjoyment they hid at her fall.

Mephisto should have shared her shame but the ancient deevil lord seemed not to care. So engrossed was he in his own plots to grab on to the reins of power in their dimension that after an initial temper tantrum he had subsided into a pouting silence. To tell the truth she was almost glad that the deevil lord had decided to stay out of the plans she was making for her retribution. Mephisto had once been lauded as the most subtle and dangerous of the Lords, but over the last several centuries something had changed within the deevil lord.

Almost all deevil lords were power crazed megalomaniacs, but they were successful power crazed megalomaniacs. This meant that they worked together against outsiders and kept their backstabbing to quick efficient moves that succeeded or failed before their enemies noticed. Above all they kept up the façade that they were one large happily dysfunctional family. Lately Mephisto hid his plans less and less. He would even engage in ranting against the Lord of their plane where others might hear. She had the sneaking suspicion that his ambitions and most his plans were known and mocked at by the other lords. In other words Mephisto was no longer the master of deception he once was and it might be time to disassociate herself from him. He was so wrapped up in his own little world he might not even notice.

A loud screeching wail arose from the entrance, bringing a small smile the giantess's face. It wasn't quite the souls in torment that regularly chimed the time away in her own domain but it was a small taste of home. A discrete flapping of wings told her that her servitor dire harpies had answered the summons and a moment later she landed by the deevil lord's side.

"The Sunaj you summoned is at the door mistress. Shall I lead him in?" the harpy screeched in a disharmonious rattle only another harpy could admire.

"Yes. No... wait. He and his ilk have kept me waiting over a week. I need his services so I can't kill him... make him wait outside for a half-hour. And bring me some peeled melons to go with these oranges. Some lemons too."

Leviathan whiled away the time savoring the contrasting fruits and thinking of various plans of carnage. When a subdued screech announced the presence of company she was in a fine mood to do business in.

"Hail Lady Leviathan. I am honored that you wish to retain the services of my clan," a male voice, sounding partly synthesized came from the figure kneeling before her. The male was clad in armor whose helmet was formed to resemble that of an insect, a cockroach.

"You have kept me waiting for some time. Do you treat all your prospective clients this way?" the deevil lady asked in a dangerously quiet voice.

"Of course not, some of our clients must wait for months. Our services are frequently in demand. Lord Splynncryth is our favored patron, and since we are in his country his wishes take precedence over all others," Leviathan's brow wrinkled in dismay at the blatant reminder of who their main employer was. Of course she might have slain the mortal worm out of hand if he hadn't brought it to the forefront of her mind, so perhaps he was wise in ways of dealing with her kind. It was just as well really, it would have delayed her plans further if she had to look for helpers elsewhere.

"Yes. Convenient. Since you are finally here I'll get to the point. I need an assassin. Probably even a legion of assassins," she paused in thought before continuing. "I don't suppose you would take on Rhada as a target?"

The kneeling man broke into a spontaneous fit of coughing, before speaking in a strained voice. "I'm afraid that would not be... possible. Entities of her stature... and yours as well enjoy a certain position of power in the Universe. It would be folly to try to eliminate one such as you... your fellow lords would simply reincarnate your essence into a new body and your whole ... pantheon... would hunt down the perpetrator."

"Rhada no longer enjoys the protection of our pantheon. She has betrayed us. There is a possibility that she would stay dead. She also does not have access to her normal resources and forces." Leviathan's voice trailed away into silence as she waited for a response.

"I am somewhat aware of the politics behind this situation." The man slowly stated, carefully choosing his words. "Rhada is under the protection of Abdul-Ra. He has the resources Rhada presently lacks, and seems willing to exercise them. Vigorously." A slow, measured breath followed, "There is also the issue that both Abdul-Ra and Rhada presently enjoy a certain protected status, as declared by Lord Splynncryth. Our clan cannot act against our patron's favored guest. He would be very displeased."

"Well... " Leviathan sighed, "I suppose it was a bit much to hope for. Probably would have been too obvious anyway," she muttered absently to herself.

"Is there anything we can do to serve you?" the armored man asked anxiously, Leviathan would be unwise to vent her frustration on his person, but entities of her type weren't known for possessing many of the virtues lesser being developed as survival traits.

"Hmmm. Yes. I think there is. A mortal human has grievously offended me. I would like him eliminated, preferably with as painful and messy a process as possible."

"Mortals are much simpler to deal with. Consider our clan at your service for this purpose." The man smiled under his mask. This was much safer territory. Humans were easy prey. He would be able to expand the influence of his clan with the Deevil Lords for almost no effort.

Ryouga wandered around in a thorough state of depression. He was unsure where he was and fortunately hadn't seen the rune statue since his accidental release of the magical energies had flung him through a portal. Despite his emotions the peripheral of his consciousness registered odd-looking creatures and monsters walking down the wide road next to him. Most of them glared warily at the human with a dark green corona oscillating around, the others simply ignored him.

As the strange parade slowly trickled into his consciousness he sighed sadly to himself. It was Halloween already and he was still searching for Ranma. Would he ever satisfy this inner longing and rage and make his way back to his one true love. Akane... no not her... Akari. He had given up on Akane, hadn't he? How long would he wander this city. With his luck it would probably be New York. That would explain the powerful auras he sensed surrounding him.

There was so much to think about. The man who had claimed to be his great grandfather, the rune statue, and of course how to defeat and humiliate Ranma. Still lost in his thoughts he absentmindedly batted one of the trick or treaters out of his way with his umbrella. He had heard that New Yorkers were rude but these people were almost hostile. More importantly they were slow to move out of the way.

A humming sound accompanied with a slight stinging sensation on the back of his head and a flash brought his thoughts to an abrupt halt. Looking around he found the last idiot he had booted out of the way had drawn a gun. A grimace of distaste crossed Ryouga's features as he faced the wielder. Martial artist's in general held firearms in very poor esteem. For the less skilled they could be deadly, for those on the level of Ryouga and his rival they were crutches for the incompetent. Toys that should be taken away. He growled at the thought that if he hadn't undergone training from the old goul that he would probably be dead by now. These New Yorkers were beyond rude, they were barbarians. With his standard battlecry he leaped towards his attacker.

"Die Ranma!" Ryouga paused as his instinctive shout registered. "I mean... I will punish you in the name of... of... the Hibiki Clan!"

Frowning at his faux pas Ryouga shattered the weapon and battered the costumed freak around the head and shoulders. His blows gradually increasing in strength as he established the endurance of his foe. As his final strike propelled the costumed alien over the buildings he began muttering to himself.

"Well the people in this town may be cowards and freaks, but they all seem to be pretty durable," shaking his head at the thought of a whole town that had undergone endurance training, be continued walking. "I really need to get a new battlecry. It is so embarrassing to call out the name of another rival during battle. Unprofessional. What I need is something generic. Spoon? No. Sounds cool but it just doesn't make sense."

Ryouga continued down the wide avenue, never noticing the way the path seemed to clear ahead of him.

"In the name of the Moon? Now that's just plain silly... "

Ranma stood in the huge plaza before the pyramid. The carnage that had been wrought a few hours before was still evident. Several large holes decorated the surface of the stones around the base, although only small chips were missing from the great monument itself. Ranma snorted, the battles in Nerima devastated whole blocks, obviously this didn't count as more than a skirmish. Looking around the promenade he spotted a likely temporary stall and walked over.

The vendor was some sort of furred humanoid, he couldn't quite tell what race it was since most of the upper part was hidden in the large wardrobe it was rummaging through. Ranma gave a small cough to draw attention to the fact that he wasn't alone. Several moments later he coughed again since the merchant's attention hadn't wavered a moment from the contents he was searching.

"Ahem... "

"Listen you human smuck, if you get phlegm over my merchandise I'll get reimbursed from your hide," a low-pitched growl emanated from the cabinet.

Ranma shook his head. This town seemed only to be impressed with flash and raw power. That was okay, all of his weaker techniques were ridiculously showy. It was his more powerful abilities that had more content than display. With a moments concentration Ranma lit up like a bonfire. The small amount of litter and dust scattered at his feet began to slowly lift up as if released from the constraints of gravity. Chairs strategically laid out in front of the stall began to scrape back along the floor as if pushed by an unseen force.

The merchant spun around with alacrity upon feeling the energies mounting at his back. "Ah... I apologize. I mistook you for a human ape. I sometimes rely too much on my sense of smell. The disguise is really very good. I especially like the tattoos, it adds a real dash of authenticity... "

"C... Cat!" shouted a startled Ranma, jumping back a dozen feet before stopping and desperately starting to chant.

"Cat? Where?" The cat man looked around at his feet, then back and the chanting martial artist. "Hey! No need to cast spells! I apologized already. If you don't want to be mistaken for a human you should change your disguise. Although why you'd want to do that I don't know," he rambled.

"Y... you’re a Raksasha," Ranma stated with only a slight quiver in his voice, fixedly staring off to the side, as if carefully examining a work of art.

"Correct. Now that we've given over with the spell casting, what can I do for you?"

"Could you change into a different form. I find that one very... er... distracting," Ranma tried to ask nonchalantly, his eyes slightly too wide to pull it off.

"Sure, no problem. How's this?" stating with a chuckle he transformed in a quite glow into a fifteen feet tall, scaly monstrosity with eight tentacles.

"Ah, much better," the martial artist visibly relaxed. Monsters good. Cats bad.

"Yes... well," the demon started, obviously not used to people being calmer in the face of a monstrosity. "What can I do for you?"

"You set up camp around here on a regular basis, right?"

"For the last few decades. I pride myself as the best enchanted garment maker this side of Splynn." The mound of scales and tentacles took an almost heroic pose.

"Great! See that window over there, in the side the pyramid? I need to know the owner."

The mass of scales slumped from its pose. Its single eyes seemed to bore into Ranma. "So you're not here for the clothes."

"No. I'm sure they're nice an all but... "

"Go away."

"Hey it's just a question. No need to be rude."

"I am not a spy, I am an artist of cloth!" the mound gyrated energetically. "If you can't appreciate this, then I have no wish to deal with the likes of you. Even if you're not a mortal."

"I never said you were a spy," Ranma gestured frantically to appease the irate demon. As an afterthought he rambled on, "Though it sure would make sense. I mean the center of government is right over there," the martial artist pointed at the huge structure overshadowing the city. "Why I bet you can see the coming and goings of every important event or person that happens around here." He chuckled to himself, "Now that I think about it, it would be stupid not to be a spy. I bet everyone in the plaza is a spy of some sort eh?" Letting out a final guffaw, Ranma turned his attention back to the demon, intent on convincing him to talk using every subtle tactic in the Saotome book.

"Why is everyone staring at me?" Ranma asked conversationally as he noticed that all the venders and storeowners in a large radius about him were glaring evilly at him. "I was just kidding! I'm sure you're all just perfectly ordinary demons and monsters who are interested in making an honest dollar." Ranma paused for a minute. That last bit had sounded stupid even for his normal foot in the mouth banter. "Geez! You guys are spies! Wouldn't want to be in your shoes when the big guy finds out. Sure would be ugly."

"I suggest you leave before you find you have a mob to deal with. The various races here are incredibly difficult to get acting towards a common goal, but you may be the first being to be unanimously lynched here in centuries."

Ranma shuddered as visions of less than pleasant memories cropped up from his days in Nerima. "Hey, you’re a Raksasha, right?"

"Yes. You know you're a suicidal idiot, right?" The scaly blob stated while glaring down at the smaller figure.

"Did know Abdul-Ra and I are good friends?" attempting a different track.

The scaly mass of tentacles stood quivering in rage at the insult, "How dare you even speak the great Lord's name... " the demon froze as it saw the ring on the martial artist's finger. "Is that his ring?"

"Er... yeah, he gave it to me the last time we met. Best buddies. Almost the brother I never had" Ranma was getting into his role and was about to expound on this when the demon continued.

"Then invoke it. Only the original owner may invoke its power. If you cannot do so I shall take great pleasure in taking your torn body to him where he resides in the city and laying it at his feet." A previously unknown orifice gaped open revealing a set of five-inch long teeth.

Ranma may not have been comfortable with guile, but threats he knew. Flaring his aura he stared imperiously up at the demon, purposely ignoring the ring of enraged demonic vendors slowly encircling him. "Invoke it? Of course I can invoke it," he didn't remember Abdul-Ra giving any instructions with the ring or for that matter even saying it was more than just a ring. "Um... just on the off chance it's been a long time since I spoke with him and my memory ain't so great... exactly how do I invoke it?"

"Hah! Fool, you have overstepped yourself! Everyone knows you simply will the ring to activate... " The demon grew silent as whiskers grew on the martial artist's face and his skin slowly took on a velvety texture.

"Strrange... arre you surre that's how it worrks? I don't feel anything happening," Ranma said with his hands on his hips and a distracted air of concentration.

"Well, it's so good to meet a friend of my master," the demon whispered as the fang filled mouth reformed in an odd parody of a smile. "I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have." The ring of evil vendors and salesmen was rapidly closing, leaving the Raksasha to wonder how he was going to explain a dead personal acquaintance to his master. Maybe if he said that he fell into a pit of ravenous sharks. It certainly had the benefit of being almost true.

"Hey, this is odd. My back hurts" Ranma tried to massage his back only to find he couldn't bend his arm in that fashion. Looking down he noticed that his clothed were retreating to form a collar around his neck and his exposed skin had a thick layer of fur on it. His first thought was that his Jusenkyo curse had gone mad and he really should have put his curse locking bracers back on when he had last changed from his girl form. His second thought was that 'oh cool the ring allows me to change shape. Boy that Abdul-Ra is a nicer guy than I thought.' His third thought was 'gee, what would a ring from the lord of demonic cats allow a user to shapeshift to'. A flash of inspiration was immediately followed by a raging panic. The roar the cat form of the martial artist let loose was the last straw for Ranma's already strained psyche. In a moment there was no Ranma, there was only an irritated cat that was rapidly getting crowded by unruly prey.

The cat form of Ranma was truly impressive. Ten feet at the shoulder he resembled a smilodon more than a modern cat. The glowing aura he had in his human form was replaced by a red, vaguely cat shaped, aura that crackled in the air about the creature. It turned on the crowd and let out a roar to show that this pussycat was not a happy camper.

This was enough to send most of the smaller vendors running for cover, however about one fifth remained, bravely standing their ground. These were the more impressive physical specimens most over ten feet themselves. A glowing cat wasn't going to scare them.

When the first lazy swipe of it's paw created a ravine ten feet deep and thirty feet long in the stone of the plaza even the dimmest got the idea that maybe something strange was happening. Perhaps the obnoxious human was really an obnoxious greater entity. Greater entities are allowed to be obnoxious. It's in their charter. They wrote and signed the damn thing and who's going to argue?

When the remaining salesmen and spies had broken ranks and run, Ranma-neko gave a low snarl of disappointment. The crowd was gone but so were his toys.

With an easy leap over the trench he began a pleasant game of cat and mouse.

The scaly blob shimmered and in its place stood the Raksasha in its humanoid form. Looking around at the plaza, with its criss-crossed scarring, ploughed stone and the remnants of his own small shop he sighed. It wasn't much but it had been pleasant to play the merchant. It was especially nice to sit down with the other spies during lunch and scheme. He'd probably be reassigned now. Another merchant, or more likely another spy would take his place on the promenade. Whatever the outcome, he had better go to his lord and report.

Looking up into the sky at the huge eye that was monitoring the area, and had in fact been there since the earlier attack by the rebels, he wondered. The Atlantian forces were remarkable in their absence yet not only were the within spitting distance of Splynncryth's citadel of power, but everyone knew that what the eyes of Eylor saw, Splynncryth saw. Shrugging he dipped his mind into the fabric of space and teleported himself away.

"My Lord, I still don't understand why we stood by and did nothing. Within minutes I could have flooded the area with a thousand guards. As it is it will take days for our Stone Masters to smooth the plaza back to its original state." The pale spindly figure was obviously agitated. Its interlocking teeth clenched and the wormlike wrinkles and veins pulsed rhythmically.

Within the huge pool of slime an enormous eye surrounded by spikes and tentacles stirred in the ooze. "You have no sense of theatrics. And obviously you can't keep track of the cast. That human was the 'pet' Rhada wanted. Not the run of the mill mortal." The mental voice of his master made the Highlord shiver.

The thick liquid churned and the bulk of the Intellegence changed position. "Hundreds of our troops would have died attempting to take the human down. They would have eventually won, however the very fact that a human could do that well against me would have made them wonder... exactly how strong can I be if a mere human could come so close... "

"But they would be foolish to think that. Anyone who knows your might... "

"Oh yes. That is the trick of it. They hear of my might, of my billions of minions and half dozen of inhabited worlds... but what do they see?" Bubbles burbled up out of the ooze as the creature paused in thought. "This planet is filled with beings of immense power. If I brought my full force to bear, so would they, and we would tear this planet apart. And more importantly it might carry over to my other enterprises. So we must consider what the people see.

"What they saw today was that the merchants we thought were so loyal, were revealed as spies for the various interests around us. They were immediately and viciously destroyed by my agent while I watched from above. The doubt is turned into respect."

"But the next group of merchants will be spies as well," pointed out the servitor.

"So what. I never cared if they spy for their petty interests. What I want kept secret will be hidden from their eyes. My competitors think they have an edge and I simply feed them want they should know. My 'discovery' is simply an excuse not to destroy Rhada's toy. There is a deeper game here. A human doesn't get that powerful by accident. As much as I respect Abdul-Ra I doubt he did more that supply a simple enchanted ring. No, what we saw is a greater mystery than it first appears."

"Ah, so we are simply looking out for possible threats."

"Of course not. I love mysteries. I can't wait for the next act. Did you see the looks on the merchants' faces? I might have let Rhada's pet get away with its mayhem on that alone," the entity gurgled in its contentment.

The sight of monstrous creatures roaming the streets of Atlantis was a common one. The factor that drew the attention of the local denizens was that usually the wandering things were a little more civilized. Oh sure, the demons could be crude to those they considered their inferiors, but rarely were they rude enough to sniff the pedestrians as the walked along, minding their own business. Or prowl behind some of the more impressive demons slowly pacing them, body low to the ground... and utterly failing to be stealthy. The creature being stalked would eventually have his nerves shattered and make a break for freedom and then the huge cat creature would leap onto the poor innocent demon and ... simply sit on it until its futile struggles stopped and only whimpering could be heard. Then it would stand up and bound away looking for the next playmate. There were many traumatized minor supernatural entities littering the street on that dark day.

Some victims retained the presence of mind to find a patrol of Overlords, the number of which seemed amazingly numerous for the past several days. The huge armored beings would simply look at the large floating eye hanging several hundred feet above the cat and tell them to go away, their Lord was aware of the issue and would deal with the problem when he got around to it.

It was in this fashion that a wandering lost boy began to have the odd sensation that he was being followed. A familiar, yet oddly different chi signature was following him. He would whirl around to catch sight of this... yet find nothing. He was beginning to get slightly spooked. The obnoxious Trick or Treaters he could handle but this was almost ... supernatural.

The cat for his part was thoroughly enjoying himself. The other playthings all acted boring and predictable. Obviously they had no concept of proper play. His new toy was different. He really knew how to how to tease. He would pause, turn to look around but never quite in his direction and the head off in a random direction away from him. The cat would hunker down to a low profile in the middle of the street and his heart would fill with pride at his evident stealth skills.

Ryouga was starting to become irritated, whatever was following him was a master of the ninja skills. No matter where he looked he could see no clues as to the strange chi he sensed around him. He had to admire their skills, but none got the better of a Hibiki for long. He would root out the coward that was tracking him and show him the error of tormenting a true master of the martial arts.

The playmate had paused in the middle of street. Thinking the boy would initiate another one of those entertaining sudden change in direction the cat hunkered done and thought sneaky feline things. He was surprised when his toy broke into maniacal laughter and raised his umbrella in one hand as if in victory.

"Hah, ha! A true martial artist will never give up! Spoon, "Ryouga shouted his battle cry in challenge. Okay, it would be his temporary battle cry until he thought of something more relevant.

Upon finishing his challenge he immediately walked over to one of the scaled pedestrians that had been giving him wide birth. Seeing the approaching martial artist with his huge entourage of one, the humanoid quickly began to walk in the opposite direction.

"Hey! Hold on! I want to ask you something," the bandana clad boy yelled in exasperation. After ten minutes of futile chasing various costume clad idiots only to have them turn away screaming about cats he was in a foul mood and quite ready to hit the next thing he saw with his umbrella to help him relief some tension. It was at this point the Hibiki sense of direction finally gave in to shear random chance and Ryouga found himself face to face with the largest cat he had ever seen since the damned ghost cat showed up in Furinken.

Looking back on his actions later he admitted to himself that whacking the cat across his nose with his umbrella was perhaps one of his less brilliants ideas. He should have wound up for a full swing or simply chi blasted the damn thing.

The cat sat on his haunches in shock. This wasn't part of the game. That had actually stung. The cat in turn had its own instinctive reaction very similar to Ryouga's. He batted his plaything away. As he watched the figure fly into the air to disappear over a building silhouetted in the sun he had a second thought. He had just gotten rid of his best toy of the day. Huffing in dejection the cat sadly wandered down the street.

The black metal figure stood in the alleyway hidden in the shadows of the building. This town had turned out to be remarkably dangerous for one of his kind. Oh, certainly he was in no physical danger but interference would reduce his chances to capture the lost one significantly. There were also things worse than death when you were an indestructible ex-servitor of the Old Ones.

"Well Zeek? Did he come this way?" a grunting voice broke the silence just outside the alley.

"I think so. I still don't believe it." Another low, rough voice answered. "What are the chances?"

"Well the chances don't matter, cause we just hit the jackpot," chuckled Zeek. "Those rune statues are worth a damn fortune. I saw a collector buy one from this high-class merchant for four billion credits. I almost pissed myself when I saw one walking around without a guard."

"Can't figure out why it was wearing jewelry though. Who knows why the rich do things though."

"Maybe it was on the way to a party," the one creature guffawed, slapping the other on the back in humor.

"Hold on. I think I see it!" the sound of breathing became apparent as the voices approached. "Yeah, get it!"

Cursing its luck the metal form broke from cover, lumbering into the street attempting to find somewhere to hide before it became inactive in a half hour. Behind it came two gorilla like creatures with huge balding heads, intent on making their fortune.

"Er... Zeek?" one gasped as it struggled to catch up the untiring servitor.

"Yeah?"

"Why is there a huge cat following us?"

"Shut up and run, idiot," grunted the other, fully intent on outpacing his companion. He didn't have to be faster than the cat, just faster than his ex-friend. There would be more to go around when he finally sold the artifact anyway.

The raven-haired woman sat at the head of the table. Posture straight and hands flat on the surface before her, she radiated confidence and power. Before her sat a slightly guilty appearing youth and seven other humanoid figures sitting somewhat defiantly in front of her. The chamber was not spacious but the one way window on one wall gave the room natural light and helped alleviate the cramped feeling.

"What you did was reckless! If the gate had been open much longer Splynncryth's temporal investigators might have arrived and been able to track us down," pointing a accusing finger at the baseball cap wearing youth the woman once again stated her argument.

"Awe... come on! It didn't happen, everything worked out so what's the problem?" the youth whined.

"The problem is that more than one woman's life was at stake. In fact... " the woman's tirade was interrupted by another male sitting at the table.

"Raven, just end it already! You out of all of us should know that I am the least likely to champion that irresponsible idiot... but he did the right thing this time," the man's deep voice cut across hers.

"But Max.."

"He's right," another woman spoke up, "Without you our movement would rudderless and our chances would be... less," she ended the sentence on a low note, obviously not wanting to dwell on how low their chances of long term success were in the first place.

"But there's... " Raven began.

"Yes, I would have taken over," Max overrode her sentence. "But I admit I don't have your charisma... or luck."

"Well. I never thought I'd hear you factor in luck to our plans," Raven stated. "Alright, I'm not going to win this one," pausing to gather her thoughts she continued. "The next thing I wanted to talk about was the aid we... I, received during the last debacle."

"Debacle? Some thanks... " the boy started.

"Drop it lizard boy. It ended well, but you still disobeyed orders. Don't expect thanks too," the man growled, tired of the boy's whining demeanor. The mage subsided with a sullen look.

"Anyway, as I'm sure you all saw from the other side of the portal, we had help. I didn't sense magic, but I think we had a warlock of some sort helping us."

"The stone fists? Yes, we saw. Crude but effective," the youth stated in interest, suddenly over his previous fit of pique.

"They bruised my ribs, but I have to say that they saved my life. I think I saw who did it."

"That would be convenient. Assuming it wasn't a setup, another magic user would be valuable addition," the man rumbled in interest.

"Unlikely. I saw him there when we arrived. Long before any of Splynncryth's forces knew we were there. He seemed very angry. I'd be willing to bet that he just arrived in Atlantis."

"He was a human you say?"

"I didn't say that, but he did appear to be," she stated forcibly.

"He must be fairly powerful to wander the city openly. We can send out feelers and find out more. How many powerful humans could possibly have arrived in the last few days?"

"Sounds acceptable, let's move carefully on this one. If he's powerful he may have already drawn attention to himself," as she paused to continue she noticed that the young mage was staring intently out the window. "Skippy? Hello? I would appreciate your attention at these meetings. It might be important later." Thinking of the irresponsible youth she didn't notice the other members seated on his side of the table looking at the window with a slightly glazed look in their eyes.

"Yes ma'am," Skippy whispered quietly. He still wasn't really listening. He and the others on his end of the table were busy watching a black metal statue being chased by two of the ape like Kittani, closely followed by a huge cat monster who was in turn being chased by a young man wearing a backpack as large as he was, waiving a large bamboo umbrella over his head followed by a giant floating eye.

The room was sound proofed, so they were spared the accompanying shouts, screams, roars and curses.

Rhada sat at a huge oak table, a thoughtful expression on her forehead. Her life had certainly changed since she had fallen in love with Abdul-Ra. Oh sure the initial three centuries of captivity were extremely unpleasant, but the last few weeks she had spent with her paramour had been very satisfying. Atlantis was also a very metropolitan city with so many more experiences available than her own infernal domain. The shopping alone almost made up for the wasted years.

There was one small nagging lack that she felt regarding her current situation. Abdul-Ra was her one true love and she would never regret her decision, but she did feel the need for a pet. Abdul-Ra kept the little psychotic human to amuse him, for a short time she had felt a similar thrill as the pig-tailed martial artist had filled her spare time with his amusing antics. Alas, she owed her freedom to the human youth and it would have been poor repayment to keep him against his will, but ... it had been tempting.

She had spent much time at the slave auctions in Splynn, but none of them had the same fire. It probably couldn't be helped, most demonic entities and Intellegences fed off human misery and suffering. Those mortals that were enslaved and rebelled were usually eaten or tortured to death or until their spirit had been broken. She didn't begrudge other entities their pleasures but it did mean that the type of slave she was looking for was in very short supply.

At that moment, still tracing the intricate designs in the surface of the table, her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of rending wood. A moment afterward was heard a chorus of yowling cats. Frowning in puzzlement Rhada concentrated on the screams of pain. She thought she recognized as the doorman and the guards. The other growls were unfamiliar. Abdul-Ra might be upset if he had to replace his minions. She had no idea why he felt bonds of loyalty and honor towards his treacherous people but she had to admit it was one of the things she loved about him. How he did it she couldn't comprehend, it wasn't as if they were worthy of respect, unlike her own people, the Fenry.

She was just standing with the intention to head towards the front entrance when a raksasha franticly fled through the doorway. The demon got about two steps into the room before a gigantic paw reached through the doorway to slam the poor doorman to the ground. Slumping unconscious the fortunate demon didn't notice as an incredibly large feline walked over him, pausing only momentarily to lazily stretch and retract his claws into the back of his sleeping playmate.

Rhada took one look at the huge cat creature that came up to her shoulder and let out a huge smile. "Ranma-chan! How nice of you to visit. I see you finally made use of darling's gift. I was worried you might have problems with it. I'm so pleased that I was worried over nothing," she burbled while walking over to the feline.

"Oh what a good kitty! You brought me a gift!" Scratching the cat behind his ears she continued to croon. "What a sweet thing you are." With a thump the feline dropped the limb he had been holding in his mouth and stood proudly over his present. "Now why don't you sit over there while Mommy takes care of this wonderful... thing... you brought me."

Gingerly reaching down she picked up the inert form of a metal figure. Only then did she notice that it seemed to be holding onto an unconscious human boy in a viselike grip. Grimacing in distaste she lifted the whole saliva covered mess with two fingers and holding it straight out from her body as far away from her as possible, she walked to the rear entrance and threw both humanoid figures into the rear alleyway.

As she was about to go back into her residence she paused, then looked up into the sky. "While I appreciate the return of my pet, I would appreciate removing your eye a little further away from our home." With another nod at the floating eye she closed the door.

Abdul-Ra came home to a strange scene. Rhada sat in the sprawling sofa with a large cat draped over her lap, contentedly petting the purring creature with one hand, an over sized tome floating at eye level. The sight would not have been odd if it wasn't the scale. Rhada was a healthy, well-proportioned female of fourteen feet when standing. Sitting in a couch with a feline ten feet at the shoulder and about twenty feet head to tail on her lap. The cat was still huge even considering her own height.

"Did you consider simply growing larger? That boy is enormous in cat form," the demon asked his mate.

"It crossed my mind, but the couch wouldn't fit. Besides he's very comforting. Well? Can I keep him?" the Deevil Lady teased.

"You know we owe him too much ... oh. That was a joke," the tiger headed demon shook his head. "Sometimes I think I spend too much time with my people. Well, should I change him now or do you want to spend some quality time with him," he teased, utterly confident in her answer.

"Now that your back from your conferences I'd much rather spend quality time with you," she replied with a wink. "One thing I don't miss about ruling a realm is the endless meetings and haggling. Not that I've had to deal with that for centuries anyway ... but I hated it when I did."

"Hmm ... it's just as well. Outright war would be bad for both our dimensions. Although we would win."

"And how can you be so sure. Deevils aren't pushovers," Rhada replied, pride placing a slight edge into her voice.

Abdul-Ra simply gave a confident smile, "Simple my dear. We have you." Rhada immediately relaxed a smile growing on her face. "With you and your minions, as well as that insane Deevil Lord you have loose we'd eventually win. Besides our Lord Modeus has been preparing for this war for ages, while the Dyval Lords bicker among themselves."

"It's good to be gone. Mephisto is merely one symptom. The Deevil nation has become self destructive of late," she said with an introspective tone.

"Hmmph. Let's not get too maudlin. The Demon and Deevil nations are not, nor have ever been one large happy family. If the other Lords didn't plot to stab each other in the back they wouldn't be the supernatural menaces we grown to know and love," he said while emitting a low growling laugh.

Padding over to his seated mistress he reached out to touch the paw of the feline reclining over most of the sofa. The feline playfully batted his hand away the first few times, but eventually the Lord's own catlike reflexes enabled him to touch the paw adorned by the ring. This touch initiated a cascading change that finally resulted in a young human lying in the lap of the Deevil Lady.

"Oh geez. That was nasty," the pig tailed youth firmly emoted.

"I trust you are in good health," the raksasha lord inquired.

"Sure. Dandy. That was weird. I think I remember some of it. Do you think... " he was about to continue when he noticed his host was in his half feline form and immediately turned away again, trying to pretend to himself that he hadn't seen it. "... It's due to the desensitizing stuff?"

"I am not aware of any desensitizing 'stuff' you are going through. I've only heard legends of the Neko-ken. You are the first practitioner of the art I have ever met. I see you found out about the special properties of my gift. It combines remarkably well with the Neko-ken."

"Er... right," Ranma mumbled, kicking himself for confusing Anhur with Abdul-Ra. He was sure his patron wouldn't appreciate that kind of slip of the tongue regardless of how confused Ranma felt, fresh from his altered state. As the comment about the ring gradually settled into his consciousness he momentarily considered tearing the ring from his hand. Sanity reasserted itself as he reached for the band and Ranma's hand slipped into subspace to pluck out his bracer. It had been beyond foolish to not replace it on his wrist. Especially with most of the city searching for his female half.

"Did I dream that part about chasing some statue around the city?" Ranma asked still trying to get a grip on his vague memories.

"No. I hope you don't mind that I threw it out. It doesn't fit the décor," Rhada answered.

"That's fine. This city is really messing with my sense of reality," Ranma sentence trailed off.

Ranma sighed and had to resist the urge to purr. Puzzled at this, he belatedly realized that Rhada had been gently petting his head throughout his conversation. This was odd enough that it took him another moment to register that he was still in the woman's lap. Immediately after this he almost reinvented teleportation as he leaped down to the floor, hands in his pockets and tunelessly whistling as he nonchalantly examined the ceiling. A side-glance at his hosts showed him that there were no furious men or women wanting his head for being in an intimate position with their mates.

"I understand you wanted some information regarding certain High Lords in Splynncryth's service?" Abdul-Ra asked, amusement from antics of his mate's pet barely evident in his voice.

"Wow, how'd you know," Ranma asked, glad to be distracted from his embarrassment, still looking off to the side to avoid staring directly at his feline host.

"One of my minions came to me with an interesting story," the Demon Lord continued with a huffing sound of amusement. "I suppose I should be angry at having to have his position replaced. However you did amuse Splynncryth, so no real harm ... to me at least."

"How was I to know they were all spies?" Ranma cried in indignation. "It's ridiculous! Er ... what did you mean no harm to you?"

"I would guess that only half of those in the plaza were spies, the others were merely offended by your insinuation. Probably fearful that such accusation might be taken seriously." Ranma mouthed 'half' in silent wonder. "Fortunately Splynncryth was watching and found your antics amusing." Shaking his head in disdain he continued, "I hope you can live with your good fortune."

"Okay, so how bad could it possibly be," the martial artist asked.

"Not so bad if you don't mind being followed by his minions and being recorded by a giant floating eye. You can take comfort in the fact that your triumphs, failures and mishaps will be recorded and stored for some supernatural creatures amusement."

"That stinks!" Ranma groused. "How do I get out of it?"

"You don't. I wouldn't go back to your loved ones unless you wish to get them involved in the inner workings of Atlantis," Abdul-Ra's low voice picked up at he continued. "On the other hand as long as that Eye of Eylor is following you no guards will bother you without Splynncryth's direct orders."

"I've just become a supernatural slug's favorite television show?" Ranma asked in distaste.

"Congratulations," Abdul-Ra offered wryly.

"If you ever get tired of fame you can always come back to us," Rhada slyly stated. "Your always welcome. You're already almost part of the family."

Yeah ... Fido, Ranma thought bitterly. "So he's not watching me now?"

"No, of course not. I am a Lord of Hades. As long as you are on my land ... or in my home your privacy is inviolate," or at least violated with more circumspection, Abdul-Ra continued his train of thought.

"Great. So this is show business. Seems a lot like my normal life," the youth sighed in disgust. "You said something about having the answers I wanted?"

"Yes. The High Lord you expressed interest in is called Nagrath Rak. Or at least what he is known as by most humanoids. His actual name is difficult to pronounce."

"He owns the chamber I pointed to? And he is one of the few that are allowed to tattoo outsiders?" Ranma eager questioned.

"Yes. I assume that would explain your new fashion statement?" the tiger headed being asked.

"Huh?" a confused pig tailed elucidated. "I don't get it."

Rhada gave the Demon Lord an amused sideward smile, "Allow me to show you." She immediately gestured with her hand and a large hand mirror appeared in it. Raising it up before the youth she waited.

"Yep that's me alright. Damn I look good," Ranma preened slightly at his image before he noticed something dark on his forehead. Reaching up he vigorously rubbed the mark away with his sleeve. "Shoot, I think I need a bath. You should have said so sooner."

"Take a closer look, my little warrior," Rhada urged.

"Hey! Who's the wise guy who doodled on my face?" shouted an irate Ranma.

"I am guessing that would be Nagrath Rak," Abdul-Ra said, not bothering to hide his own amusement.

"Why that ... and Nabiki knew!" I must have been running all over this damn town with this weird eye on my forehead! No wonder people were staring at me."

"They were probably staring because you were a loose human. Tattoos and the power associated with them are a well known phenomenon here in Atlantis."

"Geez, how do I get the things off? I heard they use lasers or something."

"These are somewhat magical tattoos. They bond to your soul, I understand they simply reappear unless you remove the limb they are attached to."

"That's idiotic! It's on my head, I'd have to... " Ranma trailed off, turning slightly green at the thought. "All right. It doesn't look so ... bad. Much better than Ryouga's old God mark. Almost dashing... yeah," Ranma continued, seeming more to try to convince himself than any others in the room.

"You look adorable. Trust me," Rhada shared, ignoring Ranma's return glare.

"So, what does it do? It is magical, right," the pig tailed youth asked.

"I'm not a Tattoo Master but it is an stylized eye. Probably allowed some type of vision. See auras, magic, maybe read, speak and write all languages," The Demon Lord theorized.

Ranma remembered the moment of clarity he experienced in the pyramid. When all the world came into focus and everything he saw seemed obvious in it's function and history. He had been extremely busy since then and so hadn't thought of the incident since, but it certainly made sense now.

"I'm just surprised the High Lord only gave you one. I had heard that you could receive two at once," the cat demon pondered.

"Why two?"

"Well if you get three it puts a strain on the spirit or soul. People tend to just drop dead at that point. After about a half a year you can get more."

"I don't want more! I don't even want this one," Ranma exclaimed. A sudden thought occurred to him and he frantically pulled up his sleeves and examined his arms. Not finding anything he continued to pull away the front of his shirt.

A muffled cough interrupted him for a moment, "Perhaps you'd like to continue your self exploration in your own chambers," the demon suggested in amusement.

Only a groan met his joking offer. Ranma had found a second mark on his chest. A heart encircled with chains with a outline of a skull surrounding the heart.

"Ah darn. You were right. There are two of them," Ranma said dejectedly. "What is this one for?" a mental command and part of his shirt opened just enough to reveal the mark to the others.

"Protection. I think a force field. There's another element too. That is a very talented patron you found. I think he's mixed the effects of several tattoos. That might be physical and mental protection. He must have really liked you to go to so much trouble for you."

Ranma gave his companions a sickly grin, "You know me. The old Saotome charm." The demon gave a noncommittal grunt in reply. Thinking a bit on his problem the martial artist came to the conclusion that he needed help. Better to give information to people that believed they were obligated to him in some way than a stranger. "So ... say I, you know, wanted to get into this fellows favor. Maybe hang out with him for a while," Ranma awkwardly stumbled his way into his request. "Do you know a way to get to him?"

Abdul-Ra leveled a measuring look at the youth before him. "That is an odd thing to ask considering that he has already invested considerable time applying those marks to you. Doesn't he already know you?"

"Well ... it's odd that you ask that. I was kinda ... unconscious during our time together. I woke up and ... wandered away before I actually met him," Ranma sweated nervously, trying to think of the best way to describe the events without really describing them. "I guess it's probably best, he might connect me to things, well things that might have... er happened to an ally of his."

"So you want to be near him, but not as the human that he spent a week working his enchantments on. That ... is difficult," Abdul-Ra pondered. "It's not as if he merely met you in passing. He must have spent much time and resources on you to give you two such complex tattoos."

"Perhaps not as difficult as you think," Rhada volunteered. "Most of Splynncryth's High Lords don't pay any attention to human appearances. To them they all look alike. The tattoos are the real issue. He's bound to recognize his own work."

"You have a point. If you change your aura slightly," the demon Lord paused and looked questioning at Ranma. The martial artist didn't really notice, since he was making an effort not to look at the tiger headed demon. "Ahem! Would you mind paying a little more attention when we're talking to you?" the demon asked in acidic tones.

"Could you ... you know. Get rid of the cat head, please," a hesitant Ranma finally blurted out in a rush.

"Oh. Certainly. Forgot about your problem," the now placated human continued, "Well, can you?"

"I usually just increase or decrease it. I think I can. It might take a few hours of practice though," the youth mumbled still somewhat embarrassed having his phobia shoved in his face.

"Good, if you do that you can just walk straight up to him."

"Whereupon the High Lord will order his minions to slay the impudent human," Rhada finished. "I think we need to work on the details."

"Hmm. Good point," Abdul-Ra admitted to his mate.

"You know I met someone earlier who suggested that if I win in the arena and dedicate my win to the High Lord, he might accept me in his household," Ranma offered.

The two infernal entities stared at the martial artist in surprise. After a moment Rhada said, "Then why did you ask us?"

"Um... I was hoping you had a better ... I mean faster why to do it," Ranma said, not wanting to admit that it had actually completely slipped his mind.

"I suppose that makes sense. Well whoever told you that was probably correct. A human going up to him out of the blue would be killed. If you prove your competency and stroke his ego as well, I think that might work."

"Do you have any connections in the arena? Some guy called Syushra of the Bloody Grubs Plaza said to contact him if I wanted to compete. But if you have something better... " Ranma left the sentence hanging.

"I haven't been here in years. You know of course Rhada hasn't either," the Demon Lord quietly paced the boundaries of the room. "I'll have my people look into this Syushra's credentials. If they are adequate they will contact him on your behalf." Coming to a stop he turned towards Ranma, "Your not an agent of Ammit, are you," he stated.

"W ... why do you say that? I love crocodile monsters. Why some of my best friends are crocodiles," Ranma nervously answered.

"I should have seen it immediately. Ammit hates humans. He'd never have one as a minion, regardless of its talents. He also has no patience or talent for stealth. You're not very skilled either, but you're making an attempt."

"I was with Ammit when he went in to rescue Rhada," Ranma frantically reminded the demon. The last thing he wanted was to be trapped in a room with two deity class entities out for his hide.

"Yes. Very strange. But never the less, meaningless. I would have seen it if I hadn't been distracted by Rhada's return. Ammit's allies can be counted on one hand, he usually only deals with those of his pantheon. Should I continue or do you feel like volunteering anything yet?"

"Anhur," Ranma mumbled. "I really need you not to mention this to anyone," Ranma admitted dejectedly. "It's very important."

"Anhur? That is ... unexpected. Still, I'm not at odds with him," Abdul-Ra muttered to himself. "I suppose if Ammit asked for his help... "

"I have no issues with Anhur," Rhada added. "If he helped in my rescue, he has my gratitude. Ammit however ... do you realize he still has several thousand of my Fenry in his service?"

"Really? I hadn't realized," Abdul-Ra said in surprise. "Well I'm sure he'll give them back. Actually, I'm not positive, but with some prodding... " Thinking out loud, he continued, "You know I haven't heard from him since your rescue."

"Anyway. I have no problem with you being a servant of Anhur," Rhada declared. "I'm sure we'll get along famously once we meet. He has a reputation of being a fine war god and a entity of his word. Even if he is also the god of assassins," she ended in a mutter.

"He's the god of what?" Ranma screeched in surprise.

"Well what did you expect? He is part of the pantheon of Taut," Abdul-Ra offered.

"Which means ... what?"

"Well ... he doesn't suffer the ridiculous morals and mindless rules that govern Taut's brother pantheon, the pantheon of Light."

Ranma remained silent. He had known his patron wasn't a fount of goodness but knowing he was the god of assassins was disturbing. Maybe Nabiki had been right in her warnings. He had been assured by Anhur himself that his missions wouldn't go against his own moral code. Whether it was possible to do the right thing under the direction of an evil entity, even an evil entity with his own moral code, was a question he would have to carefully consider. Later.

"Getting back to the original subject," Abdul-Ra prompted when it became apparent the human was lost in thought. "If you win the games you will be in an excellent position. You won't be able to use your new tattoos while the High Lord watches, but other than that I don't see any problems."

"So what about the big eyeball you said is floating behind me all the time now," Ranma asked.

"Well, that will be a little awkward, but shouldn't really impact things. It will stay invisible or hidden most of the time."

"So the Highlord won't mind a spy camera from his boss looking over his shoulder all the time?" he prompted.

"Well a Highlord should never be doing anything Splynncryth would find objectionable. They are linked to their Lord and treason would mean instant death. Splynncryth will probably honor their privacy as he does ours. Which means he won't enter the homes unless invited."

"Okay, I just don't want to go through all this only to find out the Highlord don't want a pet eye following him around."

"I don't think it will be a problem. If you make a good enough showing he'll have to explain to Splynncryth the reason he doesn't want you."

"This seems to be working out pretty well," Ranma said, confidence in their plan beginning to take hold. "Thanks for your help."

"There are some minor issues I'd like to bring up at the moment. I would like to add some stipulations to the aid we will be providing," the Demon Lord smiled slightly while addressing the martial artist.

"Stipulations? You mean conditions," Ranma warily inquired. He didn't want to lose his only allies, but official deals with demons was a risky proposition from all that he'd heard.

"I don't think you'll find these too restrictive," Abdul-Ra purred, eliciting a flinch from Ranma. "The first is common courtesy. I don't want any assassination attempts to be linked back to me."

"Hey I'm no assassin! My fights are all face to face. Besides from what you said Splynncryth will want Nagrath Rak's head more than I ever will," Ranma said without really thinking. He immediately worried that he'd said too much, but shrugged it off. His allies must already know that he was there to spy on the Highlord. His actions pretty much spoke for themselves.

"Good. That makes our involvement much less politically awkward," the demon nodded. "Our next condition involves payment," he watched the martial artist squirm uncomfortably and smiled. "Oh, nothing too onerous. We do owe you quite a bit. However Rhada seems to have taken a liking to you. We've tried to find her a replacement, but all of them seem to lack your spirit," the Deevil Lady in question took this opportunity to run a large, though delicately proportioned, hand through Ranma's hair, which in turn made the martial artist jerk in surprise.

"Yeah ... I'm one of a kind," Ranma faintly said. He wasn't very grateful for his charisma at the moment.

"I was thinking maybe twice a year, a month each visit for the next twenty years," the demon lord casually stated.

"Twenty years?" Ranma exclaimed. That was a long time, immortal or not.

"Now, calm down, little dear," Rhada soothed. "Think of it as a vacation. You've been to Abdul-Ra's realm already. It's a very nice place by any mortal standard. Your every whim will be catered to."

"But ... but it's full of cats!" Ranma cried out desperately.

"They are all shapeshifters," Abdul-Ra offered. "I'll command them to take human form in your presence."

"Two months is a long time. How am I going to explain this to the others," Ranma mumbled to himself. Anhur's mission's were already promised by his contract with the deity. Additional time away would have to be explained. He was sure that telling his friends that he was offered an official position as a Deevil Lady's pet would not really go over very well. "Wait a minute. Do you trade?" the pig tailed youth asked.

"Well, yes. I am technically a sovereign of a nation, though it's actually a sub realm of Hades," Abdul-Ra explained.

"If I could open up trade agreements between you and Nabiki I could explain my presence here as the negotiator," Ranma nodded to himself eagerly as the beginning of a plan started to come together. "That way Nabiki would explain to the others why I was gone. She always had much better at people management than me anyway."

"Do you think that she'd mind dealing with demons?" the raksasha asked.

Ranma thought for a moment, "Nah, she'll deal with anyone as long as their words good. I don't think she'll mind if I'm the only contact though. I somehow doubt that Hades is on her vacation list."

"I think my realm is the one of the few that has regions that aren't inimical to human life. She doesn't need to know that it doesn't just contain deserts and lava flows."

"For her own peace of mind then. Alright, I'll do it," Ranma gave a triumphant grin. Guaranteed vacation for twenty years was an acceptable price. He might have been less sure of himself if he had seen the Deevil Lady possessive smile as she again started to pet the martial artist's hair. The pigtailed youth grimaced, uncomfortable with the touch but understanding that the feelings behind it were very different than when his fiancées touched him. He even vaguely recalled enjoying the sensation while in cat form.

Nabiki sat on the floor of her room. Fine lines of concentration marred her forehead as she stared into a porcelain basin before her. Although the liquid it held was merely water it simmered and bubbled, emitting a heatless silvery energy.

Waving her hand over her make-shift scrying pool she relaxed leaning against her bed. It had been hard work following up on that fool Ryouga. He had somehow gotten lost when he was supposed to be speaking with the city council regarding a trade agreement. It was only through sheer luck she had found this out with her enchantments and had spent the last several days in an exhausting attempt to continue negotiations with her newly mastered image communication. Concern about Ranma fouling up what little plan they had come with only compounded her worried state.

Never the less she had succeeded. She had forged contracts with two of the major forces in existence in the other alternate Japan Ranma had traveled to. She frowned at the terms. How both Ranma and Ryouga had managed to get such poor terms still amazed and frustrated her. If the act of exploration hadn't called for their durability she would have insisted on going herself. Martial artists all seemed to have the negotiation skill of six year olds. Not to say that she wasn't rich through the terms she had ... but it could have been so much more.

A knocking sounded out her door, along with a muffled voice calling her name. Nabiki sighed, of course as with all things connected to Ranma there were complications. "Come in Masayo!"

The Demon Queller opened the door and peeked in. Personally Nabiki thought she was a sweet girl, though she naturally seemed a bit obsessed about Ranma. It had been a slight shock to find that she felt this way even though she believed Ranma was a girl. Nabiki didn't mind, it wasn't as though she was interested in her.

"So what brings you here today? Did the Emperor send you with the shipment again," the Tendo girl asked casually from her seated position.

"Well ... kind of." The demon spooker mumbled from the doorway. "The war has sort of been won."

"I assume your side 'sorta' won," Nabiki asked slyly.

"Er ... well, I suppose you could say that." The Demon Queller looked at her feet. "With both the Republic of Japan and the New Empire cooperating in a coordinated attack the Oni front line collapsed. Completely routed in mere days. We actually spent more time traveling to the them than fighting them."

"And your other problem?" Nabiki prompted.

"As we thought, the Shogunate attacked as soon as we occupied with the Oni. If we hadn't allied with the Republic we would have easily been taken over. As it was, the allies ambushed the attackers and drove them into a retreat."
"That's it? No details?" the Tendo asked. Usually these fighter types boasted for whole minutes about their victories.

"Well ... I was with the group fighting the Oni, but I hear we drove them all the back to their cities. At that point the resistance fell apart." Masayo shrugged in puzzlement, "They theorize that the leaders retreated through a portal with the majority of their forces. They just left the cities alone."

"I suppose the New Empire magnanimously offered their protection in return for accepting their leadership."

"Hey! It wasn't like that at all!" Masayo yelled indignantly. "You don't know what's it's like over there! If you don't have some sort of protection then your nothing more than fodder for Oni, monsters and possessing entities," her voice trailed off as a haunted look entered her eyes. "You just don't know what its like," she whispered.

Nabiki shrugged guiltily, she wasn't used to dealing with fragile personalities. "Sorry. So what happened then?"

"Well with the Shogunate cities defenseless many of the leaders of both the allies were in favor of just leaving the traitors as Oni fodder. Fortunately the Emperor had mercy and convinced the Republic to accept them under their own wing."

"Wait, the Emperor didn't take them himself? That makes no sense! They're adjacent to the New Empire and nowhere near the Republic," Nabiki exclaimed confused.

Masayo looked at Nabiki in pity, an attitude guaranteed to aggravate the Tendo daughter. "It is against the precepts of the Empire to use technology in any way. The only way we could accept them would be if they razed their cities and began anew. The Republic believed technology is the true path of the future but they are more accepting of the use of magic." She paused for a moment. "It's not a politically sound decision, since we are now bordered on two sides by the Republic, but it was the only decision our Emperor could make in good conscious."

"Yeah, a real humanitarian," hiding her sarcasm as best she could. She strongly doubted that the two powers could peacefully coexist indefinitely. Humans didn't seem to be made to get along together. She'd be happy if she was wrong, after all they did have the Oni as a common foe, but if one did consume the other she was just thankful to have contracts with both of them.

"So crisis averted, the bad guys retreated to their backer in Atlantis and we all live happily ever after," until the Old Ones get us, Nabiki thought to herself. "So what brings you here?"

"Atlantis? Where's Atlantis?" Masayo asked in some concern.

Nabiki cursed her slip of the tongue, chalking it up to an exhausting few days. "Atlantis? Heh heh, that just a euphemism for limbo, or a generic hole in the ground. Get with the times girlfriend," Nabiki casually stated with a practiced smile. "So?"

"Well, I did well in battle, making up for much of my dishonor," she humbly stated. "As a reward the Emperor offered me a position as liaison here." Obviously straining for herself control she continued, "So is Ranma back from her errand?"

Smiling to herself, Nabiki just shook her head, "Looks like it might be a while. I can set up a place close by for you to stay in." If envoys are going to be dropping by I should probably buy a few neighboring houses and hire a maid service, she thought to herself, sure the expenses were unfortunate but in all professional businesses you had to treat your clients well if you wanted to continue doing business. This wasn't the small time anymore, she smiled at the thought.

Nabiki's warm fuzzy feeling were dispelled as she felt a disturbance in the dimensional layers somewhere in the city. Not her portals and not a true gate ... yet. A frown crossed her countenance as she stretched her senses, adding a minor spell to allow her to perceive more. In a moment she knew, something was happening at the Neko Hanton.

Groaning to herself she sighed, she should have known. The fiancée brigade was gone, as was Balthazar. The sheer peace and quiet should have informed her something was happening.

Ranma walked down the street. He'd been in the city for several days and had almost gotten to the point that he could ignore the hostile glares and casually bat the minor nuisances he met away. For the moment he was deep in thought as he contemplated his new career as an arena fighter.

He had avoided participating in the public fights in the past, satisfied to test his abilities against those who challenged him. That was not to say he never went to them. He often would walk into the various pit fights and public exhibitions, watch, then usually walk off again. Although these fights could be brutal they often resembled two pit bulls tearing at each other. They lacked skill, grace, and for all the blood shed they also lacked power. Not ferocity, but at ten years of age his casual slap could send a normal man ten feet. There was simply no point joining in. Even his father, whom no one had ever called an honorable man, never stooped that low. Selling his son for rice and two pickles was one thing, but sully the Art? Never.

He vaguely hoped this would be different, but doubted it. There would be blood and pain ... and probably a lot of clumsy flailing around. It was distasteful but Ranma thought he could keep his goal in mind long enough to finish the competition. If not he was sure that Nabiki would be happy to remind him what the stakes were. He wondered what the gang was up to. Were they still inflicting gratuitous property damage without him? Probably. It never took much to spark their tempers. It was part of why they were fun to be around. It was also why he needed vacations.

He had just come from his new agent, Syushra, to sign and finalize his contract. The contract seemed standard and one of Abdul-Ra's more legally minded minions had examined it and given his okay concerning it. The games started next week and would run a month. If he won every battle he would fight once a week for a total of four engagements. It all seemed very straightforward if a bit tawdry.

Syushra himself seemed an honest ... entity. At least Abdul-Ra's research hadn't shown any dirty dealing in an industry that wasn't known to breed honesty. It was just taking him a bit of time to adjust to dealing with something that appeared so odd. Of course his agent's address, the 'Bloody Grub Plaza' had really creeped him out. There were no tortured humans or sentients, but there were a lot of bugs. Apparently the area specialized in exotic cuisine. Grubs, slugs and other less savory appetizers abounded. He had almost jumped to a neighboring building the first time he had seen someone's breakfast skitter away before the patron was fast enough to consume it.

Syushra had been polite and came across as very forthright. They had chatted for several hours about various fights they had each been in or witnessed. The alien had a story to suite every occasion. Each one very witty and humorous. He listened attentively to Ranma's own stories giving his own version of a chuckle in the appropriate places. He was, in short, the perfect host.

This in itself made Ranma feel awkward. He had never really met someone who was so easy to get along with. It would have been a very pleasant time if he could just get over the fact that Syushra looked like the guest star from a horror film. Probably his only lapse had been the time he asked Ranma if he was hungry and offered to treat him to a very nice local restaurant. The alien must have been an astute study of the human features since he had immediately realized that his guest looked quite ill and retracted his offer.

Still Ranma had come away with a lot to think about. The stories his host had shared regarding the Arena had been a mixed bag. Blood and gore intermixed with honorable battle. In a way in was comforting. He had been given the impression that Syushra was extremely knowledgeable and would be willing to share his wisdom in order to efficiently defeat his opponents.

It would be fair to say that Ranma was on autopilot while walking down the thoroughfare. It would not be accurate to say that that he was ignoring his surroundings. His experience in Nerima as well as various subsequence events had honed his battle senses to a fine hair trigger. So while his conscious mind paid no attention to the two humans wearing the body armor shaped into insectoid forms, his back brain noted their location as well as the position of the other entities and their chi's he sensed in a wide area around him.

When the two casually walked up behind him, simultaneously formed a sword in each hand, then aimed them at him, his reflexes took over. It wasn't as if Mousse hadn't tried the same thing before. Throwing himself forward onto his hands he kicked back with both feet while allowing the blades to tangle with the others where his torso would have been.

His feet meanwhile met the stomach of to two behind him. The impact threw both opponents twenty feet backward and forced one of them to drop his sword at the ground by Ranma. The martial artist casually continued his roll forward to face his assailants.

"Hmm ... you certainly don't look like fiancée's," Ranma mocked at the two figures hastily getting to their feet. "Martial arts rivals? Nah, usually they yell out a challenge. At least the first time they attack me. You're also a bit more clumsy than my usual fare." Saying this he casually kicked the sword laying at his feet. The weapon was sent through the air hilt first at the forehead of the face mask, knocking the single sworded figure back on its butt. "Oh, you dropped this."

The pair silently moved forward to flank the pig-tailed youth. Ranma grinned to himself. He couldn't help it, random attacks made him homesick. As the duo began their assault he in turn began his commentary. "Not bad ... for a twin set of losers," darting from side to side to avoid the flurry of strikes he continued. "I enjoy this more than a salvo of missiles. We'll have to do this again some time. When you get out of the hospital."

Positioning himself he tapped two of the dancing blades on the side, which in turn altered their trajectory to tangle them in the other set. A loud series of clangs alerted the martial artist that his simple tactic had succeeded and the area was temporarily free of weapons.

Darting quickly into the space in front of each attacker in turn he deftly grabbed hold of the ridge that held the helmets in place. "I'd love to chat more, but I have places to go, people to see ... oh and your friend here to interrogate," holding the fellow in his left at full extension he initiated the Butterfly Kiss, the transferred kinetic energy sending the first assassin sailing almost a half mile away. He easily deflected the remaining attacker's sword by the simple expedient of shaking him like a rag doll.

"Kind of tough to aim all those little swords of yours when your worlds moving like that," Ranma offered sympathetically while continuing to toss the hapless figure around in seemingly random directions, constantly avoiding the flailing blades. "I really feel for you. The first time Ryouga used it on me ... well, as you might notice, it's really not a very dignified move. Effective until you know the counter." At this point Ranma began pounding the armored individual rhythmically into the ground, first in one direction, then the other.

"It's great against people in armor too. That heavy layer of protection doesn't seem very useful against internal impacts. Of course I'm using more force than normal in your case. I can tell by your aura that you're tougher than a normal human," smiling warmly, he continued. "That's okay, it's still a good move for keeping you off balance until I can do this."

At that point Ranma paused and threw two carefully aimed miniature vacuum blades, one at either side of the armor's neck. He followed this up with a palm strike to the face plate, shattering the insect visage.

"Well, so that’s what you look like," Ranma muttered to himself, "I don't remember you." He did notice the tattoos at the neck and face but other than that it was just some unknown young human.

While the shaken human was recovering Ranma took advantage of his stunned condition to remove his swords. It didn't look like his hand to hand skills were a particular threat to him. Taking a better grip on his hapless victim's throat he started his interrogation.

"So ... who sent you? Either it was an idiot or someone vastly misinformed about me," Ranma helpfully gave another shake to loosen the tongue. The young man silently glared into the face of his captor and gritted his teeth. A moment later a luminescent blue glow formed around him. Ranma's grip was slightly displaced by the immaterial substance and the assassin took advantage of this to twist free and take a ready stance some feet away.

"Let me guess. A force field, right?" Ranma taunted, attempting to get some sort of reaction from his opponent. At least the idiot was disarmed, Ranma thought to himself.

Behind the martial artist the swords laying on the ground shimmered, then disappeared. Ranma, feeling the tingling sensation that presaged enchantment stepped back and to the side, allowing him to view the area behind him without losing sight of his opponent. He was slightly surprised to find the swords had vanished. A moment later he was even more dismayed to see them reappear in the young assassin's hands.

Ranma frowned to himself, mentally calculating how soon it would be before the other fellow could get back. Chances were he wouldn't be stunned long and the attack itself was mostly to gain distance, doing very little damage. Nodding he came to the conclusion that he had a few minutes to test his opponent's abilities. It would be valuable to know his enemies' capabilities.

With this decision he leaped over his opponent and then began a methodical pounding before the swords could be brought to bear. The hardest part with dealing with swords was getting in close. Fortunately only Kuno had ever been good enough to keep him at a distance for any amount of time. And that was only when using that silly watermelon training regime.

After about fifteen seconds of the Chestnut Fist, the blue glow disappeared allowing free access to flesh. The martial artist was about to renew his verbal assault when his danger sense told him of a threat from behind. He leaped away expecting that either reinforcements had arrived or the assassins partner had made his journey sooner than expected. He was therefore taken by complete surprise when a 5 meter long head filled with dagger like teeth closed around one of his legs.

The shock was soon followed by surprise, then pain. Oh, sure he was far more durable in this environment than at home, but rows of saber sharp teeth still hurt like hell even if his leg was in no danger of being removed. Most worrying, it lowered his mobility by several magnitudes. No ... now that he thought about it, the fetid aroma and slime that was on his leg was the worst.

Ever since the Orroci he had lost any desire to see a big lizard up front, his encounters with Ammit and the Dragon had just driven the feeling home.

Not one to dwell on his misfortunes he grabbed a nostril in one hand and with that leverage began quickly knocking out the teeth around his leg several at a time. The huge creature didn't even register the pain for several seconds leaving Ranma essentially free to leap away when the thing roared in pain and violently shook its head.

Gracefully landing many meters away the pig tailed youth leisurely massaged his leg while appraising the situation. His assassin now had another force field up and both his swords out. He was seemingly in control of a large T-Rex. Admittedly, the dinosaur wasn't very fast and it didn't 'feel' as threatening as most magical or supernatural entities did. Most likely it was just a big animal as opposed to a monster that used ambient supernatural energies to fuel it's durability. All right, one more foray.

The lizard was closing in on him, so he simply leaped between it's legs, under its body and tail and into a swift jump kick at the unmasked youth. Ranma felt a tingle of magic and then a wall of air impacted him mid-flight. Tumbling end over end trying to regain his balance he was again struck in the side by a huge scaled tail. Once more tumbling in the air he managed to come to a semblance of a controlled landing about fifty feet away.

Working the kinks out of his muscled he looked back at his attackers. The youth was now floating in air, electricity dancing on the surface of the armor and exposed skin. The T-Rex was rapidly approaching with earth shaking steps.

It was obvious that he had drastically underestimated his opponents. They had begun their assault with an incredibly weak attack and he had assumed that even if they were holding some of their forces back, they weren't holding much back. The use of magic swords, spell effects without any obvious spellcasting and monster summoning proved him wrong. Of course the very fact that they had attacked him with such a pathetic initial strike demonstrated that they knew practically nothing about him either. In this case the war might go to the one who knew more about the other.

Ranma knew he could win, heck he was barely winded. That wasn't ever in question, however it was obvious that this person wasn't working alone. Ranma also knew it would be best if they found out as little about his capabilities as possible. Until he decided to challenge them on his own ground. It was just a variation of the Saotome Final Attack.

With that thought he engaged the dimensional cloak and ghosted towards nearby cover.

Nabiki hurried through the silent streets. They were presently deserted. The Nerima citizens apparently sensing that such a quiet day was merely a prelude to a disaster of epic proportion had mostly decided to either stay in or visit relatives in neighboring prefectures. Not having anything to do except waiting, Masayo had followed in her tracks. She easily jogged next to the panting Tendo girl, even finding the leisure to glance around at the scenery.

Nabiki was worried. If the disturbance had occurred elsewhere she may have shrugged and sent someone to find out what had happened. The Neko Hanten actually had people who know something about magic. Usually only enough to be irritating but there were many events taking place that should not be interfered with. Ranma wasn't here so chances are there was nothing to be worried about, but still...

The anomaly she had sensed was slowly building. It had been worrisome but it was getting to be more. When the eatery finally came into sight the radiance pouring out of the windows and from under the door inspired a last ditch panicked rush towards the front door.

Nabiki was not one of the martial powerhouses that frequented the area but she was not without some limited training. This combined with one of the most unpleasant adrenaline rush she had ever experienced combined to allow her destroy the flimsy lock on the door and rush inside. She immediately wished she had waited.

Inside were all the people that she had been concerned about. Shampoo huddled on the floor next to the Summoner, Balthazar, listening intently to his instructions. Ukyou and Akane stood across from them quietly waiting for them to finish. The two girls from the Timiro Kingdom stood on either side of them. Such a scene of peace would not have been cause for concern except for the circle on the floor which was radiating a huge amount of energy and light. It gathered in a wide pillar and almost coated the walls and ceiling in eerie luminescence.

Nabiki was far from a master of the mystic arts, most of her powers were granted from Thoth rather than through her own means. However none had ever accused her of being slow on the uptake. The girls in front of her were breaking down the dimensional barriers and it wasn't just to chat about the weather.

"Stop," Nabiki shouted at the top of lungs. Her image as the unflappable business person could be restored later. Right now the universe as she knew it was endangered. Unfortunately, whatever effect Shampoo and the circle mage had been trying for was finished. The Amazon looked up from the circle and turned in puzzlement.

"What Mercenary Girl want," she asked from the sitting position. Behind her the pillar flexed and bent. A final deformation sent waves of energy throughout the area the excess energy dispersed, displaying a different scene on the other side of the newly created portal.

"Stay put," Nabiki commanded futilely, "Ranma is coming back in just a few weeks. You'll do nothing except risk his life if you go through that."

"Shampoo is going to help Airen," the blue-haired girl sniffed disdainfully. "Shampoo not abandon him like the others."

"Hey," a chorus came from the other girls as they glanced away from the mesmerizing gate to their rival.

"I know Ranma bit off more than even his ego can handle. Just because you’re the only one who knows enough about magic to follow him doesn't mean we don't care," an irate Akane responded.

"Yeah and don't think we're going to let you alone with my Ran-chan," Ukyou inserted, earning a glare of her own from the other girls.

"Ranma isn't going to thank you if you jump through that portal. Let me contact him and you can see for yourself that everything is fine. He really doesn't need help," Nabiki stated quickly, trying to keep their wavering attention focused on her. "Look, its really a simple mission. He's in no danger at all. Just wait for him," Nabiki urged as she lied through her teeth.

"Mercenary Girl lie ... Airen needs us," that was as far as she got before a huge clawed hand reached through the portal and grabbed the girls hair. In an instant the Amazon had been pulled through the portal. After a moment of shocked silence the others shouted in rage.

When projectile and laser fire began to spray wildly through the portal the shouting was quickly muted as the girls dived to the floor. Nabiki cursed to herself from her own position hugging the ground. The circle mage was cowering in one corner and the other girls were now spread out throughout the room.

Nabiki heard groaning timbers sound throughout the restaurant and realized with a shock that the energy and projectiles that had completely missed the people had blown huge gaping holes in the walls and ceiling. Her eyes widened in panic as she was able to see through the openings and see that outside large portions of nearby houses and even several houses behind those houses were either gone or had huge areas missing from them.

Eyes slotted in determination she quietly apologized to Shampoo and summoned burrowed energy from Thoth and focused it through her hand. A small fiery sphere formed in the palm of her hand and in a smooth motion she aimed and fired. Not at the portal, but at the circle under it.

The instant the energy impacted, the portal winked out taking the humming of lasers and whistling projectiles with them.

There was a moment of complete silence as each girl took count of what had just occurred. Nabiki, although feeling ill at the fate she might have condemned Shampoo to was glancing nervously around her. Most of the walls were gone and she could see the sky through the upper floors of the restaurant.

"Everyone out of the building, now," commanded Nabiki, barely able to keep her voice from breaking up."

"You ... you just left Shampoo to that thing," Akane whispered in horror, just staring aghast at her sister.

"I had no choice, we... "

"What kind of monster are you," her younger sister began.

"Your sister is wise," a gruff voice broke in, "She has saved you from a fate which you most assuredly earned." Masayo stood from where she lain. "If you continue to blindly open portals to my world you will find that there are many things that will attempt to destroy you. I believe Ranma may survive such things but it's obvious that he is the exception in this world not the rule." Frowning to herself she looked around. "You have paid a price, but if we don't leave we'll pay a heavier toll. It's a miracle this building is still standing. I for one will not tempt fate any longer in this fragile world." So stating she promptly walked out through one of the open walls, bits of ceiling starting to fall around her in earnest.

This action prodded the others to leave the condemned area themselves. Once outside they stood in silence taking in the ruined blocks surrounding the once popular eatery.

They were still staring out at the devastation in shock when the edifice behind them signaled its end with a long resounding crash.

Nabiki simply shook her head in wonder. Ranma was going to freak when he found out Shampoo was in Atlantis. Heck, even Thoth was going to be upset. Nabiki was supposed to be in control of the area. Any problems here were ultimately her responsibility.

Looking at the burning buildings surrounding her Nabiki tapped her foot on the ground in contemplation. This would take a bit of effort to put a positive spin on.

"This is complete crap!" the first armored made an angry gesture in the air. "We had absolutely no warning that he was some sort of mutant wizard!" The other individual quickly gave a blow to the back of the first person's rear helmet in token rebuke.

"Don't whine, the client will be charged appropriately for the lack," shaking his own insect helmed head he looked around the battle scarred landscape. "We should have been better prepared."

"Well... we know he had to be more than standard human simply to be walking unmolested in Atlantis. There was no way to know he was some sort of powered freak."

The other turned to face the younger man. "It's my responsibility. I should have set up surveillance instead of simply choosing to strike at him directly."

"Hey! That was my idea!" the other objected, relieved not to be blamed, but not pleased to have his contribution ignored.

The older man simply grimaced under his mask at his companion's behavior. "It was my mission. Despite it being your bonehead idea it was my responsibility for accepting it."

"Well... I won't argue," the younger reluctantly submitted.

"By the way. Get rid of the damn dinosaur," he gestured at the huge reptile that was presently sniffing hungrily at the back of his armor.

Ranma wasn't far from these proceedings. He had ducked off into the alley, engaged the Dimensional Warp technique and then employed a mixture of the Silent Thief chi masking and mere stealth. He had found that if he fully engaged the technique in plain sight, the supernatural entities all seemed to stare at him as if he was holding a beacon. By merely masking his energy and practicing due diligence through mundane stealth he was able to practically be invisible without the annoying 'here I am' side effect caused by actual invisibility.

What he had found was educational. The second fellow he had knocked away with the Butterfly Kiss had come back a few minutes later to find the first searching the area, dinosaur in tow. The helmet Ranma had smashed open had hastily been taped together. A poor bit of protection, but it was obvious to Ranma that the armor was more for anonymity than protection. After all anyone that could put up a new force field as fast as he could take them down couldn't be using mere armor for anything but aesthetics.

The conversation he had been overhearing was not surprising. Drawing a correlation between the armored individuals and assassins had been anything but difficult. The question of course was who. He hadn't been in the city long enough to have any new enemies and his old ones had no knowledge of Atlantis that he was aware of. That of course was the purpose of his present hidden state, who had hired these people and who exactly were these armored people.

Fortunately the eye that had been following him had chosen the last few minutes to conceal itself. Ranma could feel it's chi, but to all other means of perception it was simply not there. Probably didn't want to spoil the entertainment.

Hopping up onto some neighboring roofs he simply waited until the two below stopped bickering and started to walk away. Ranma simply followed.

Nabiki absently tapped her chin with her finger in contemplation. Masayo did not know anything about Atlantis but she did know a few things about monsters. Of course that simply led to Masayo's firm belief that Shampoo was either dead or fervently wishing she was dead. Nabiki herself had her own ideas. She was convinced that Shampoo was wishing she was dead.

She was grasping at straws but the attack through the portal had been far too overwhelming and organized to have been just a few demons on the street with ideas of random destruction. No, she firmly believed that the portal had caught the attention of the authorities in Atlantis and they had simply been mistaken for the typical dimensional raiders. This led to the belief that Shampoo was alive and probably being interrogated at the moment. Alive but probably wishing she wasn't.

Even though it made her inwardly wince, Nabiki simply thanked Thoth that it wasn't Akane. It wasn't that she hated Shampoo, but Akane was her sister.

The man in the grotesque armor was presently more than happy to be wearing it. The armor and helmet easily covered his face and expression leaving him to concentrate on keeping his voice calm and level. It was getting difficult recently. In front of him stood a huge serpentine figure. He would never mistake it for a mere serpent however, it was a dragon, and adult dragon filled with all the pride and power that goes with that position.

"So…why shouldn’t I kill you again," the dragon asked with some less than concealed ire.

"You, of course could but my companions would avenge me. They would hunt you down and…"

"Yes, yes I heard that part," the dragon stated dismissively, "it was the other reason that caught my attention." He had heard so many dying shouts of vengeance over the years that he mostly ignored them unless they were especially entertaining. Besides did the little armored man really believe he’d let any one know what happened to him? He was already using a minor spell to prevent transmissions and cries for help. Simple precautions.

"We are the private assassins of Lord Spynncryth. If anything happens to me you shall face his wrath," the man elaborated attempting to sound firm and confident. A difficult thing to accomplish when you're facing a dragon’s head as large as your body. And for some odd reason his electrical systems seemed to be malfunctioning.

"And why would Splynncryth’s private assassins be following me around trying to drum up some side work," the great wyrm’s head angled itself slightly to regard the assassin with one eye.

"Lord Splynncryth allowed us to do sidework as long as it doesn’t interfere with his wishes." This of course was all an exaggeration. The Sunaj did work for Splynncryth, but it was a far looser alliance than most people believed. Of course allowing people to draw their own conclusions usually gave the Sunaj more freedom and influence than most except the direct minions of the Splugorth possessed. Most of the time.

"Of course. A sovereign lord lets his minions go off and assassinate whoever they like," hot breathe washed over the man as the dragon snorted his disbelief. He hadn't been alive this long to not recognize a line of bull when he was fed it. "Obviously that’s the story you're going to stick to. Well stop wasting my time and tell me why you've felt obliged to risk your life by bothering me."

After a moment of silence where the Sunaj reflected on the benefits of still breathing he started into the speech he had begun before he was interrupted by an irritated dragon. "We have heard that you are hunting a martial artist. It so happens that we have become aware of the location of this person, for a certain price we can eliminate him for you... ."

The words were interrupted as a huge clawed hand smashed the assassin back and pinned him firmly against the wall. "Where is he? I don't need your services, I'll kill him myself for the affront he gave me!"

The roar of the dragons voice momentarily overwhelmed the armored man. With the audio buffering systems down along with the other systems the sound traveled unimpeded to his ears, causing excruciating pain.

"We have agents tracking him, we can give you the location if you wish," the man gasped through the crushing grip on his chest and the more localized pain in his ears. He had to admit that he was hoping the dragon would volunteer to do his people's work for him. He just wished the process of convincing it wasn't so painful.

Ranma ducked behind another building. He was almost certain the armored people he was following couldn't see invisible but he didn't want to take any chances until he had a better grasp of what their abilities were. The forcefields didn't worry him so much, he was confident that he could overload the damage capacity of the field with little effort. The summoned dinosaur did worry him. That was pure distilled magic and that meant it could be a wild card in combat until he found what its limitations were.

His prey walked purposefully into a three story building of human proportions. Hopefully this meant it was their destination. With his luck they were all vampires and this was merely the storage for cattle. He grimaced and the thought. He wouldn't discount it but the Splugorth were notorious in their hatred of Vampire Intellegences and their humanoid minions. Not that he was an expert but his talks with his manager and his 'mistress' Deevil had brought to light some gross political structures.

Ranma maintained his Umi-sen technique as he hopped onto a building opposite the one he had just made the decision to stake out. A few of the creatures on the street stared at him obviously aware that there was a human in there midst attempting to hide. Ranma simply looked boldly into the their eyes... or whatever they used and dared them to do something about it. In most cases they simply went on about their business unconcerned, a few of them looked at him, looked up to where the eye was floating and cloaking its presence to the casual eye and hurried onward. A smaller number tried to play 'abuse the cowering human'. He made short work of these idiots, however although he tried to be discrete he wasn't always successful. It was the main reason he thought the armored guys couldn't see the invisible. Or of course it could be an elaborate trap. It wasn't like he hadn't walked into dozens of them in his lifetime.

He had just made himself comfortable for a long sit when he heard a voice.

"Ranma? Are you there," a familiar voice echoed in his ear.

"Ah, damn," he muttered to himself. "Nabiki this isn't the best time. I'm spying on some psychos and I'm being watched by someone else. I don't think they can do but its possible they might trace you given enough time."

"Sorry Ranma but we have trouble, is this better," Nabiki asked as her voice suddenly seemed to bypass his ears and resonate in his head. The gods had given him some contact with this mode of communication before, he had just never expected it from someone else.

"Telepathy? Since when can you do telepathy," Ranma focused his voice internally as he had with the few deities who had used this mode of communication on him.

"Since I learned this darn spell. The option comes with the spell but its not often used because it's so tiring," Nabiki's voice had more than a tinge of worry in it and a large amount of urgency. "It's your fiancée brigade."

"Oh come on," Ranma exclaimed in exasperation. "I'm not even there! How much trouble can they possibly get into."

"They can if they get it into their heads to follow you," Nabiki stated flatly.

"Follow me? Nabiki, I'm in another freakin dimension, not the dimestore down the street! How could they even think about it? You have the only key to the circles and they all go to very safe places... very far from me," he pondered skeptically.

"Well guess who made those circles for me? Guess who would do anything for the attention of a beautiful woman? Guess... " Nabiki was interrupted at this point.

"I'll kill him," Ranma got the point and was beyond furious. "He's a damn Summoner... he knows how dangerous this place is," pausing in his tirade he asked the next logical question. "Are they okay? You stopped them in time, right?"

"Well... I found out about it a little late," Nabiki tentatively started. She disliked having to justify here actions to anyone but if she wanted Ranma's help she had to give a little. "Shampoo had 'Zar start the ritual at her place. I got there just in time for some things to start shooting through the portal."

"Are they okay?," Ranma asked worriedly.

"Um... most of them are", lacking a better way to say it she just told him, "They grabbed Shampoo then the portal was disrupted. The Neko Hanton and the block surrounding it was destroyed but everyone else was okay."

"They have Shampoo," Ranma asked, continued, "Who's 'they'? If they took her she's probably still alive."

"I'm not positive but I think they were what passes for authorities in those parts.

"Ugh. I mixed blessing. They'll probably want to interrogate her before they put her on the market or eat her," Ranma thought to himself.

"Eat her," Nabiki exclaimed obviously catching the last part of his thought.

"Eat? Did I say eat? I meant greet her, yeah. Greet... lots of friendly aliens over here," Ranma lamely tried to cover his slip. "The girls must have opened a portal to a sensitive spot or somehow made them think they were pirates. They don't usually respond so preemptively to dimensional travelers. That's were most of the buyers come from."

"So you can get her back," Nabiki inquired hopefully, ignoring his earlier pathetic babbling.

"Sure no problem I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding," Ranma stated absently. Obviously he'd have to work fast before something permanent happened to Shampoo. He was at a loss as to what to do but his manager seemed to know how to finesse the system. Surely they could work out a story that would get Shampoo out alive. If not he'd have to try to break her out. He was confident he could do it but that might damage his chances later on with his mission. Nabiki wouldn't like it, but he wouldn't like it if they started eating his fiancee's. That wasn't the kind of attrition he was hoping for when he started his waiting game plan.

Standing up he starting leaping from building to building heading towards his managers office. If he had bothered to look back he might have noticed a large black dragon writhing through the air towards the entrance of the building he had been watching moments before.

Ryoga was extremely unhappy. He didn't remember much after that long chase through the streets involving the giant cat. Apparently wherever he had followed Ranma to had dangerous creatures roaming the street. He also was beginning to have the sneaking suspicion that the people on the street weren't wearing costumes.

He had woken up a small stone cell, it had a small cot in the corner and a small basin that was perpetually filled with water. Although spartan it wasn't unclean or unpleasant. The door to the chamber was locked however, so he couldn't help but think that somebody thought he was their prisoner.

Of course stone walls don't a prison make, especially for a master of the Breaking Point, however someone thought he was kept here. The question of course was who. Rather than perhaps create an incident he had made the decision to wait and see. He still was feeling a bit battered, though the bruises were quickly fading.

A scraping sound at the door was heard and it swung open a moment later. What it revealed was a huge humanoid with a bulky musculature and two large fangs protruding from the mouth of what almost looked like a neanderthal. A low toned voice issued from the crude face.

"Well if the little godling isn't awake," the creature taunted. "You should more careful where you get drunk and pass out, god boy. If our patrol hadn't picked you up you might have ended up in somethings stomach. Things that look human should be careful in our fine city, they just might get eaten."

"Right... " Ryouga looked at the creature and thought over its words. Okay, maybe he'd been a little naive about the Halloween thing. The people would have all had to have been as rich as Kuno to afford costumes that good. "So now that I'm awake and we're all sober, how about letting me out?"

"Not so fast, god boy. There's fines and baggage fee for housing you for the night... " the thing continued on for several minutes listing a number ridiculous services.

"Wait! You pressed my clothes while I was unconscious and you want a tip," Ryouga interrupted at one point, unable to stay silent any longer. "I don't even have any local money!"

"That's okay, god boy, here in Atlantis we can exchange almost any currency in existence... for a fee," the jailer offered magnanimously.

"Er... I'm not sure at the going rated from yen to the credits I hear you use here, but isn't a half a million credits a bit high," Ryouga offered hesitantly.

"You high and mighty godlings disgust me," the humanoid snorted, gesturing as if to ward away dirt. "You get wealth thrown at you by your parents but won't even pay for services fairly given."

"Now wait a minute! I never had anything just handed to me," Ryouga protested hotly. "Everything I have I earned by my own hands!"

"So you'll make good on your debts," the creature inquired dubiously.

"Of course I will," Ryouga indignantly stated. Then he froze as he realized what he had just promised. He hadn't been blindsided this badly since he had made a deal with Nabiki.

"Great so hand over the money and I'll get it exchanged for you... at cost, even," it generously offered.

"Everything I have is in my backpack. You probably have it somewhere," Ryouga muttered dejectedly.

"Hmm... yes we do. A shame nothing you have covered the amount you owe," the creature sadly shook its head. "I suppose this means you'll have to default on your promise. And here I thought you were honorable. For shame."

"Hey! I made a promise and I'll keep it," the young martial artist stated stubbornly. How this had become a matter of honor he didn't even want to think about.

"You're new to Splynn? You know I happen to have a few connections," the creature stated thoughtfully. "You look like you’re a fairly powerful scrapper. I bet you're not a bad fighter with the blood of a deity running in those veins of yours."

"Yes," the martial artist answered cautiously.

"I have a relative who manages a few fighters in the arena. If you agree to sign with him for a couple of fights I think I could write it off."

"So, its like a street fight," he had fought his share of those to feed himself over the years. It was usually pathetically easy for a fighter of his caliber but if he had to do it then so be it.

"Yeah... just like a 'street fight', just a bit more of a crowd," the creature offered politely. Ryouga wasn't sure when he'd gone from 'god boy' to this things pal but really thought it didn't bode well.

The creature shuffled into a dimly lit office. In the darkened corner of the room a small tentacled creature tapped on the screen of a monitor, entering some arcane figures.

"Well," it asked in a bubbling voice.

"He was easy," the larger creature boasted. "Doesn't know a thing about Atlantis. He actually thought we were the authorities."

"Really. I didn't think he'd be that easy," the other bubbled.

"It was simple. Once I found out that he had that honor weakness I knew it was over," the creature chuckled and continued. "It also helped that he's a moron."

"It doesn't matter how stupid he is as long as he can fight. He's a demi-god, maybe even a godling. They're all fairly tough, even given the competition in the Arena."

"Just be careful. I've seen a few jokes who called themselves godlings." The creature positioned itself differently in the seat, causing some unsavory wet noises to be heard. "I think this one is different. He might be one of the more powerful ones."

"I think so," a large toothy grin followed this statement.

"Keep going with the obligation track. Also, try to make it seem like it is his own idea. We don't know how close he is to his parents or ancestors... or whatever spawned it," a wave of a tentacle enunciated this view. "If something happens to it, let it seem that it got into the trouble by itself."

"We might come close to winning. It's been a while since we collared a good one. The last few died before they could get close to getting us a profit."

"Even if he comes in first place we could afford a leisure pool in the office," wet sucking noises showed the creatures pleasure.

His companion stayed silent. He wasn't as fond as his partner about dark moist places. He would spend his money on some serious drinking and female company of the cheap kind.

Ranma crept warily through the rather dimly lit corridors. The smooth stone walls had no seams giving an almost painted look to the surface. Beside him strode two huge Overlords who occasionally deigned to give him a glare of disapproval. Every hundred feet a massive stone door would adorn the wall. Small, dark vents would be cut out near the bottom and whimpers or cries of misery would waft through them. Honestly he'd rather be elsewhere.

He silently sent a prayer of thanks in the general direction his manager. He had no idea where to even start looking for Shampoo. The arcane bureaucracy of Splynn eluded his grasp and mastering even the basics of where to ask would have taken more time than he believed he had. When he had come to his manager for advice he had simply laid a sectioned arm on his shoulder and told him that he'd take care of it. Ten minutes and one call later and he had the location of the purple haired Amazon.

He admitted that he'd been all for breaking in and simply destroying anything that got in his way. This must have been more obvious that he had thought since his manager had gently restrained him on the way to the door. Only his gratitude had kept him from brushing past and continuing with his brute force idea.

He really hadn't been thinking straight. Ranma wasn't perfect. He may not admit that to anyone else, but he wasn't stupid. He may never lose when he was serious but he had... been inconvenienced... by his challengers on many occasions before he put them in their place. He had his flaws, buttons that people could push. Most of his buttons turned his playful battles into deadly confrontations his foes rarely walked away from without artificial aids. But they did make him react in certain ways.

One of the most frequently used buttons was 'the kidnapping of Ranma's fiancées'. It was a sure fire way to get Ranma's attention and keep it focused for the duration. It also pissed him off. Really pissed him off. Sure he'd been through the Soul of Ice training but it was never enough to do more than concentrate his outrage to a honed edge. He had so few friends over the years that the thought of someone taking them away could not be tolerated.

Never the less, Ranma stopped long enough for his manager to offer his help and so here he was. Only part of it were connections. True the insectoid knew many powerful people, not the least of which were the Demon Lords Ranma himself was staying with. The real issue was experience. It dealt with fighters. Many of these fighters were not the powdered, civilized fisticuffs of the advanced civilizations. It worked with the most effective fighters he could find.

Once in a while he could find one with restraint, self-control and acumen to accompany the power and skill he required. However, most of the time the people he worked with were dull brutes. Now if you have powerful idiots working for you, chances are they don't like authority. In Splynn if you like fighting and hate authority you might pick fights with the military. If you survive this you will end up in prison.

This had happened so many times over the years that it simply took one call to locate a newly acquired 'prisoner'. One more call arranged her freedom. For a price.

"I assume this friend of yours wasn't really a dimensional raider," the chittering enquiry caught Ranma off guard after the second communication ended.

"Is that what they thought? I was wondering why they grabbed her," Ranma said thoughtfully. "I mean they have tons of people gating in here. That’s how they make their money, right?"

"Hmm... yes. However your friend seems to have made her entryway directly into a rather sensitive installation. They were going to use her for some quite unpleasant experiments before I spoke with them... " his voice trailed away hesitantly.

"What," Ranma prompted cautiously.

"He didn't come out and say it but I think they may have already done something to her," he chittered anxiously.

"What!" Ranma exclaimed again with far more force and outrage.

"Calm down! We're getting her back and we'll see what damage was done soon enough," he paused to give Ranma time to collect himself. "There is also the promise I had to make to get her out."

"Promise," Ranma asked with a certain amount of trepidation.

"Er... yes," the creature paused for a moment. "My influence is one dimensional in a way. As you may know, the greater beings that have influence in Splynn suffer from ennui, bored and jaded. They give great latitude for beings that have a chance to relieve them... "

"Can you get to the point," Ranma interrupted, tired of the rambling explanation.

"Fine. In order to free her I had to say she was one of my fighters who had strayed," the manager tapped a chitinous foot rapidly on the floor. "Most of the entities I sponsor really aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, so I've actually had to bail them out of worse situations."

"Well that's fine," Ranma said reasonably. "Once she's free we'll just say she sprained her foot and that’s that."

"Er... no."

"After all... huh? What do you mean no," Ranma stopped himself as the statement penetrated.

"The government actually keeps track of these things. The person I contacted may even place bets on the person I free. After all if I go through the trouble and expense to expedite the entities freedom they must be worth the trouble. If their fight is cancelled they'll come looking for her."

"What if she's gone," Ranma asked worried he wasn't going to like the answer.

"Well, since she's going to need to be picked up I manufactured an excuse for you to go in and get her. She's your partner."

"My what? I don't need her as a partner! She hasn't practiced seriously since she followed me to Japan," Ranma cried indignantly. "What's she's going to do? Dose the opponents with love potions?"

"Excellent! She knows magic!"

"Huh? Did you just hear what I said?"

"Yes. It doesn't matter. If she runs off they're going to come for you. So unless you both plan to run off you're stuck. I would try to think about your new partners assets rather than her drawbacks."

"But... but," Ranma babbled, internally torn. He really hated getting the girls involved in his fights but if he screwed this chance to grab the Highlord's attention Nabiki would nail his hide to the wall. Thoth would probably be upset too. Oh, and the universe ending thing was also a bad thing.

"Fine."

Again he blessed the foresight of his manager. This place reeked of magic and advanced technology. He still believed he could have broken in. Finding Shampoo would have been... unlikely in the limited time that he would have had. Shampoo's chi could be sensed but unless he went through this magically enhanced rock, he certainly couldn't have gotten to her.

The trio finally stopped in front of what appeared to be an anomaly. Instead of a thick stone door it appeared to be organic, perhaps wood. It pulsed with a dark, sickly energy that set Ranma's primitive magical senses and far more advanced chi senses aflame.

"Why is her cell different from the others," the martial artist asked already guessing the answer.

The Overlord gave a deep laugh, "Seems your minx has an affinity to stone doors. We had some problems at the start. She wasn't particularly powerful to begin with but it seems she has a talent for going through rocks as if they were nothing."

Ranma glanced once more at the entry and nodded. This was organic material impervious to the traditional Breaking Point and seemed soaked in negative chi. Shampoo wasn't advanced enough to work through negative chi and lacked the creativity that Ryouga and Ranma possessed that allowed them to adapt to situations the original techniques seemed unsuited for.

"Well, lets get my partner," he prodded his escorts before continuing. "What do you mean she wasn't?"

"Never mind, you'll see. You'll even thank us. Azlum aims to please," the one on the left said, giving a toothy grin while opening the door. Giving his escorts an evil glare he quickly walked forward to catch sight of his fiancée.

Sitting in the corner, hair falling around her like a waterfall, arms wrapped around her legs was the Amazon. She only had a few scraps of clothing left and was covered in dirt and bruises. He could tell she was barely conscious and from her chi level knew she was lucky to be aware at all.

Crossing the room he ignored the spongy feeling of the floor to kneel beside the girl.

"Shampoo," he softly questioned, to draw the girl's attention to him. Seeing no reaction he reached over to infuse her with a small amount of his chi and tap a few pressure points he knew would open up her energy channels and help center her. Behind him he could hear the guards chuckling to one another.

Abruptly Shampoos head jerked up, her eyes locked onto his and a massive physical force threw him across the room.

Shampoo herself obviously was quite invigorated by Ranma's attentions. She quickly stood and walked towards the man now pinned to the wall.

Ranma was shocked as hell. He wasn't at all hurt, but that had taken even his honed danger sense by surprise. An invisible force hung him from the organic wall like a Christmas decoration from a tree. It wasn't like he hadn't been in this position before, Ammet had placed him in a similar situation in his first meeting with the deity. Ammet had even bombarded him with excruciating attacks while he was there.

He could respond with brute force, he himself had limited flight ability, perhaps enough to counteract the not insignificant force being exerted on him. He was certainly easily strong enough to push himself away from the wall, but then he'd just be thrown against another. He could wait her out, this had to be using energy and it wasn't really painful. He was interrupted from his contemplation by the sight of the purple haired Amazon slowly approaching him with a grim smile and a long glowing sword.

"Okay... change in plan," he muttered to himself. His fiancée was walking towards him looking like she was about to use an advanced chi sword technique on him. Well... he didn't sense chi, so maybe it was that psi stuff Ammet used. He hated that stuff. Magic he could sense, he hadn’t encountered psionics enough to sense the garbage let alone resist or counter it.

"I don't suppose we can talk about this?" Ranma asked hopefully?

Ryouga was really getting tired of the trainers they kept sending him. They were all slackers. How did they ever intend for him to get ready for the tournament with the pathetic wimps they threw at him.

"Don't you have any decent equipment around here," he asked the ogre-like alien he was presently complaining to. "How am I going to get any tougher if all you can give me to spar with are these lightweight pansies," he gestured at the array of unconscious foes scattered at his feet.

The ogre shivered, this guy was nuts. He'd laughed at the idiot at first. Then he'd seen him in action. The guy may not be operating on all pistons but he had pressure to spare. He'd rounded up some impressive brute squad to train the kid, but godboy simply mowed them down. He kept asking for rocks and weights and so far it hadn't even slowed him down.

"Maybe I should train on my own for a while," Ryouga sighed. "I'm sure you mean well but your all so weak."

This of course infuriated the ogre. He had trained some of the best. Even some winners in the Splynn Arena tournaments. Sure it had been a few years but still...

"Alright, you’re a little more advanced than I thought you were. No problem. I have a little trinket from Phase World that will make you sweat more than you want." He pondered the wisdom of using the items, they'd killed the last trainee, but this guy was really irritating him, regardless of what his boss said. He really hated these over privileged supernatural freaks.

"Phase who?" Ryouga asked in a puzzled tone. He was pretty well traveled but he'd never heard of it. Maybe it was in Australia.

"Grr... never mind. Lets just say they have really advanced technology. The best in the Three Galaxies."

"Is that a mall?" the martial artist wondered aloud.

"Argh!" giving a cry of frustration he reached into a bag at his feet and threw a pair of oversized gauntlets and boots at his student. Ryouga of course lazily caught the slow moving objects and looked at them.

"Er... boxing gloves and ski boots? Is that a new event in the tournament?"

The ogre sighed in disgust. "Put them on and press the big green button once."

Ryouga quickly sat down and put the equipment on. Standing up once more he clicked the button. "Is it supposed to do anything?"

Glancing at the readout that displayed on the oversized boots he grimaced. It read five. "Click the green button a few more times. If it starts killing you, hit the red button."

Ryouga immediately started mashing the green button before the words caught up with him, "Kill... ?"

This was as far as his question got before he was pulled towards the ground on his hands and feet. "This... this... "

"Is that good enough, godboy," the ogre sneered at the kneeling youth. "Those gauntlets control your personal gravity. Right now at 25 times gravity you weigh about two and a half tons. Bah I expected better of you."

"... is great," the martial artist finished his stuttering triumphantly, trying and failing to pull himself to his feet. "I can finally get rid of this bulky backpack! It only holds two tons anyway," the ogre's eyes widened at this. If the backpack was actually that heavy, hard to believe considering its size, then the boy was sitting with fifty tons on his back. It didn't look like he was going anywhere but it still boggled the mind.

Ryouga had finally given up on standing and was struggling to pull off his backpack. When he was free he hopped around a few times to get the feel of his new state.

"This is very cool, the weight is much better distributed," the martial artist muttered to himself. "This exercises all of my body, not just the lifting muscles." With this he clicked the green button a few more times before taking a deep breathe. "Now I can start the real training."

The trainer dumbly shook his head. The readout showed one hundred gravities, which meant that godboy weighed about 10 tons. He was either going to win this tournament with godboy or retire. Maybe both.

The black tressed woman pulled up her hood and sat in the shade of the restaurants public seating. She was pretending to sip a drink she had ordered to better blend in and was frankly regretting it. It tasted and looked truly vile. It was green and lumpy. She didn't want to think about the little grasshopper creatures she saw swimming in it. Perhaps this trip wasn't as good an idea as she had first imagined.

The area of Splynn she was in was actually more tolerant to humans and mortal dimensional beings, but it was also tailored for the insectoid races. Many of these races were fairly pleasant, but they tended to give humans the creeps. And their drinks had the unfortunate woman on the edge of purging her stomach as long as she held the damn stuff.

However this was the location that her informants told her that pig tailed man was staying. She had been the one to make the decision and now it was time to try to contact him. He seemed to have some very valuable abilities and it was time see if it was merely a whim that had him help her cause earlier or he was inclined for more serious aid.

The information they had gathered so far seemed... odd. He seemed to have Sunaj after him, as good a character reference as could be asked for. The Demon Lords he was found to be speaking with concerned her. The group she had gathered around her for the rebellion held some odd sorts, even some that could be categorized as evil, but she still preferred to work with like-minded individuals who fought for freedom. Still he didn't seem to be pure evil and if he had contacts so much the better. It just meant she had to be cautious. That was fine, when she wasn't blatantly risking her life on a mission she could do cautious.

Now it was just a matter of waiting for the fellow to come back from wherever he was.

The purple haired woman slunk towards the martial artist hanging against the wall. "Shampoo wait long time for Airen."

"Gah! Shampoo, please speak Chinese! Your Japanese sucks and it isn't getting any better from the translation effect," Ranma complained.

"Now you're teasing me, beloved. I'll have to punish you for that," Shampoo held up her sword in a threatening manner. The two guards at the door chuckled and elbowed each other. Obviously they had expected violence. "I think I'll cut off your clothes and ravish you," Shampoo finished with a purr.

The guard's mouth hung agape at the last statement. Obviously there own encounters had ended in a different, less pleasant threat.

Ranma's mind was in a whirl. This was not Shampoo he was used to. Oh sure she was using force tactics but instead of throwing herself on him immediately she seemed to be relishing the chase.

"I had some time to think," she continued, finally coming next to Ranma. "I think I must have been insane to think that throwing myself on you like a little girl with a crush would ever work. It's time to grow up and stalk my man like a real woman should." During this speech she had placed one hand on Ranma's chest and the other was poised over his shirt to carry out her promise.

The martial artist's hand shot out to grasp the sword hand of the Amazon. "Shampoo, what happened, this isn't like you." He was concerned about the sudden change.

"I've never felt better, beloved," Shampoo enunciated each word by tracing tickling designs over Ranma's chest. "You could say I've seen the light, but to be honest I really don't remember much of the last few days." Letting her hair brush lightly against Ranma shoulder she sighed. "Now that I'm thinking clearly I'll show you how a real woman seduces her husband." A quick, wicked smile flitted across her face as whispered the last in his ear.

Now Ranma had always found Shampoo attractive, but she had suddenly crossed a line between cute and irritating to sexy and distracting as hell. Despite this, or even perhaps because of this, he had been carefully examining the chi flows of his fiancée. He was intimately familiar with all of his fiancées aura and health. Akane may get kidnapped the most frequently but he cared about them all. He had thus been able to find several very large differences in the chi flow of the woman before him. Betting that these differences were responsible for her new powers his free hand gently tapped her in the temple.

The grip on his body immediately faded, leaving him propped up against the wall under his own power. The sword flickered and then dissipated completely, leaving Shampoo looking bemusedly at her empty hand.

"I should have known better than to think I could hold you down long," the Amazon whispered in his ear. "I'll have to do this the long way."

"Shampoo, we have to leave," Ranma stated firmly, taking hold of Shampoo's shoulders to keep her a little further away and look her in the eyes. "We have a tournament to get ready for."

"But I want to talk about us... what tourna... " her question was interrupted as Ranma swept her up in a tight embrace that literally took her breathe away. While Shampoo was extremely pleased by this she was more than slightly puzzled. She had expected a long and pleasant chase before getting Ranma to this point. It only took a moment of thought to realize the real reason she was encased in the hug.

"As much as I enjoy this, let's talk about this tournament," Shampoo found her guess confirmed as she was engulfed in a very satisfactory liplock with her husband. When Ranma stepped away she gave a happy sigh. "I suppose we can talk about it later."

"Come on you disgusting humans! This is a jail, not a whorehouse," grunted one of the guards who had gotten over the shock. Stepping back he gestured for the humans walk ahead of him.

After Ranma had explained the tournament problem away from the guards Shampoo nodded in agreement. "I am an Amazon, husband. We were born to fight, while I could have trained more since I met you I think these new abilities will help quite a bit."

"Don't get too cocky, I was able to disrupt those fancy psionics of yours for a few moments once I had a chance to study your aura," Ranma warned.

"Very true," the Amazon said while holding his hand. "It is why you’re my husband after all. I don't think we have to worry about our opponents being able to match your abilities."

"Yeah, your right," Ranma confirmed merrily as he knocked a belligerent minor demon into an adjacent wall. Every time he came up with an excuse to drop Shampoo's hand she just picked it up again. But at least she wasn't hanging on him. While having his fiancée around again was slightly tense he had to admit it was nice to have a friend around again.

"I understand why you kissed me, but I hadn't realized my jailors spoke Chinese," Shampoo stated curiously. She really didn't remember too much but the creatures had never spoken in a language she could understand for as long as she was there. She hadn't gotten her amulet that allowed her to understand all languages until after she was free.

Ranma froze. Since Anhur had gifted him with languages he had never really thought about it. He had just assumed the creatures understood what was said. "Yeah... magic is pretty common in this land. For better or worse. It's good to be careful. Yeah... just careful.

Shampoo winked at him from his side. Her new tactics would finally convince her husband to act like one. Side by side the two approached the area they would be training in.

Ranma had been consciously paying close attention to his surrounding since he found out that the Sunaj assassins were hunting him. It was as he was almost across from his manager's office that he noticed something familiar. There was a person who's chi he had met before. Though they had met only briefly, the black haired woman who had freed the slaves from the meat market had made a lasting impression.

As he noticed her start to get up from the table while looking in his direction Ranma pushed his senses outward to verify that the Eye of Eyelor was still floating peacefully above them. Grimacing at the lousy position he had just been placed in he whispered to Shampoo. "Go inside and wait for me, I'll be right in."

Standing still, he concentrated intently and very gently used his rock fist technique to enclose the foot of the raven haired lady. Then he leaped to the roof and started to lead the Eye in a merry chase. Losing it ten minutes later by the simple expedient of ducking for cover and after removing his bracers for a moment, switching gender.

Taking a less circular route back to the plaza she leaped down from the roof and over to the black haired woman. She still sat there, however there was a pile of stone dust scattered at her feet.

Walking up to the woman she bowed slightly. "Sorry about that but I'm being followed by a spying eye and I saw you were about to walk over to me. Not so good for either one of us."

The black haired woman narrowed her eyed at Ranma-chan, "Sorry miss but I have no idea what you're talking about."

"But... oh shoot. Wrong gender," Ranma-chan grimaced. "If you'll trust me for a moment, we can get out of direct line of sight and I'll show you what I meant."

"And why would I follow a complete stranger into an alley," the woman drawled a question.

"Just out of line of sight, I can sense you’re a strong fighter. Not as good as me, of course but... who is," Ranma-chan said good naturedly. She had found that if people thought she was joking they bristled less when she told them the truth.

"Fine," the woman said tersely, obviously suspecting foul play. Just as obvious was her confidence that she could take it. Ranma-chan could appreciate that.

Just around the corner Ranma-chan stopped, checked for spies in the area. Once satisfied she turned around to face the other woman. Reaching into her subspace pocket the pig-tailed girl pulled out a thermos. Then she looked on nonplussed as the other woman drew her sword and sliced the bottom of the container off.

Looking at the water steaming on the ground she sighed, "If your going to destroy all my hot water this could take longer than I thought."

The black haired woman looked slightly embarrassed at ruining what appeared to be hot water but covered fairly well. "Move slower."

Taking a deep breath Ranma-chan slowly opened his subspace pocket. The technique actually wasn't meant to be held open. Sweating slightly as she poured her chi reserves into the opening and pulled out another thermos. Used in this fashion Hidden Weapons more resembled Happosai's Dimensional Cloak. A definite chi hog.

The woman's eyes did widen upon seeing the red headed girl's hand disappear into a glowing disk and then pull out another thermos. Ranma-chan slowly unscrewed the lid and poured in onto herself.

The sword did waver a bit upon seeing the change but quickly steadied. "So you are the girl. A shapeshifter. Well, I've seen stranger."

Ranma's eye twitched, "It's a curse. Water triggered," regaining his composure he continued. "So what's a big hero like you doing here?"

"This 'big hero' is looking for other heroes who might risk their lives for the good of others," she said with a slight smile.

"Well you found me. That's actually pretty impressive since you've only seen me once. Your network must be pretty good."

"It is but I really didn't want to talk to you about it. I wanted to talk you about your intentions."

"Well I certainly like what your group is doing. Being human who wouldn't? I wouldn't have helped you guys if I didn't approve."

"Enough to contribute? I'm not sure if you’re a warlock or wizard but you seem to have a significant amount of power. We could use your help."

"I'd love to help but I'm occupied on my own crusade at the moment," he paused to look her in the eye. "I should be finished in a few months and free to take on other obligations." If he survived his bout as a catspaw he should have plenty of time for other undertakings even after the time promised to Rhada. What he'd seen so far in Atlantis had left an impression he'd be overjoyed to erase.

"Can it possibly be more important than saving lives here in Splynn," the woman urged once more.

"Lady, if can't say much, but if what I'm doing doesn't work out we'll all be wishing we were as lucky as those dead slaves," he shrugged his moment of seriousness off with a smile. "But don't worry, haven't lost when it counted yet and I'll just get better," he bent to whisper in her ear as if conspiring with her. "Doesn't seem possible, does it."

"You’re a funny man Ranma. I hope you're as good as you think," she paused in contemplation. "You'll need it."

"That's true... but it sounds like you have something specific to say," Ranma prompted.

"The Sunaj have been hired to kill you... "

"Knew that."

"You seem to have a lot of enemies. Leviathan hired the Sunaj and the Sunaj have convinced a dragon to join the fray."

"Dragon? What the heck is he doing here," Ranma muttered to himself while cracking his knuckles. He'd been practicing. Maybe he still wasn't in Ammet's league but a dragon... that might be in his reach. "I hadn't expected him to be so persistent, but I suppose it's par for the course."

"They say you can know a man by the quality of his enemies," the woman said with a smile.

"What do they say amount sheer quantity," Ranma joked. "Thanks. I had tracked the Sunaj back to their headquarters, now I don't have to waste time watching them. Though I need to find out more about what their tattoo thingies do. That dinosaur was an unpleasant surprise."

"Your trying for a place in the Arena, I'm sure the veterans will help you. Consider that thanks for helping us during our last rescue," she started to turn, then paused and said over her shoulder, "If you need help or wish to join us, use this," a small cubed flew through the air and Ranma quickly caught it.

"By the way, what's your name," Ranma mumbled, concentration split between the departing woman and the featureless cube.

"White Raven," she said as she turned the corner.

Ranma stood looking at the cube. It was a really nice cube. He sure wished he know what to do with it. With a shrug he put it into the dimensional pocket he had specially made to hold all the very nice things he never used. It would go nicely with the snake staff, the rings and the other mementoes of his journey.

"Well, what happened to Shampoo? She's completely different... well not completely different, but she hasn't tried a potion on me," Ranma looked around his manager's office uncomfortably. "Although that empathic transmission thing is really embarrassing."

"From what you say, her personality has done a complete turnaround. That combined with her lack of memory and new psionic gifts is a bit ominous," the insectoid chattered from the oddly shaped chair it straddled.

"Ominous? It can't be that bad, can it? She's less irritating, I mean she's as aggressive as she was before but less... annoying."

Ranma had a hard time deciphering his managers expressions but he was pretty sure it was glaring at him. "I didn't mean ominous for you. I meant bad for your girlfriend."

"She seems healthy, she got superpowers and realized the errors of her ways," he paused. "Er, some of her ways. I don't get it," Ranma said defensively.

"I have heard rumors that there was a research base that... tapped into something," the insectoid was still for a moment before it continued. "Those subjects who were exposed to this thing were said to have the same symptoms. Sudden unexplained psionic abilities, memory loss... personality shift."

"I just don't see it. Sure she's a little different but not that much. She once got her hands on the reversal gem... that was drastic. Love to hate, hate to love. She just seems more mature. She's really far more focused than she was and has much more discipline," Ranma hesitated before continuing. "Don't get me wrong, I liked her, but she was a flake."

"I could be wrong," the insect admitted. "The 'secret' is more a rumor than a known fact. Even if I was right I'm not sure we could do anything about it. It would take a mind mage of the highest caliber to shift through her mind to find out what happened. They're exceedingly rare in this dimension."

Ranma's mind immediately went back to his adventures on the Palladium world. One of the fellows he had worked with in the caravan had been a Mind Mage. He'd had no idea what one was at the time, but they seemed pretty common there. Of course since the Timiro Kingdom's princess had decided to shack up at the Tendos until he came back he doubted he'd find much there for him except an arrest warrant.

"I'll look into it. It'll have to be later though," after the princess had gone home and he wasn't wanted dead or alive on the civilized continents of Palladium. "Until then I can see from her aura that Shampoo is healthy and not insane... well, not more than any of us from Nerima," Ranma voices faded into contemplation. "Until I find out otherwise I'll just assume her stay in prison matured her."

"I suppose so... the stories of Azlum are just so disturbing. No proof but so many cases of people with the same... characteristic changes your friend displayed coming out to slay or hide from them."

"It can't be that. I said I checked her aura. It must be something else," Ranma chuckled to himself. "I mean Shampoo never really tried to kill Akane and if she was the opposite then she would have had to have been a undercover psycho," Ranma broke into a full fledged laugh. "She was a flake, not a homicidal maniac."

"Didn't you tell me that she tried to kill you first time you met?"

Ranma sat stock still. "Er... that was just some silly law." He shook himself to clear his mind of the nerve-wracking images. "She really is a nice girl... really... "

Maybe finding a mind mage should be a higher priority. He personally thought his manager was wrong. The thought that Shampoo had been a psychopath and wasn't anymore wasn't much better than her not being one before and now being one.

Ranma ducked under one glowing blade while moving inside his opponent's guard in order to get close enough to deal with the other. "Butterfly Kiss!"

This declaration of his move elicited a groan of dismay before his foe went flying a dozen meters back, impacting with the practice arena wall. From her shallow impact crater where she was imbedded in the wall Shampoo glared at her airen. "Ranma! Why do you always end the match that way?" she groused petulantly, "You've had that move used on you enough by the old pervert to know how aggravating that is."

Ranma smiled widely at this complaint. The move was overused but he had a reason for it. "Now if I use it all the time, how come you haven't come up with a counter for it yet?" When Shampoo asked him this question he replied that it was for her own good, in reality it was more for his mental health. When he first started sparring with the Amazon, whenever he called break she would immediately move in closer and lightly brush up against him as she walked with him out of the practice area. It wasn't really hanging on him and the contact was never heavy, more shear proximity than anything else. However, it was more effective than when she used to drape herself around him. In self-defense he had started ending the matches by getting her as far from him as the arena allowed. With the improved durability the world granted them, crawling from a crater was nothing more than messy. The fact it allowed him to get to the exit without his Amazon partner was the main benefit.

Shampoo herself was beginning to suspect as much. While Ranma no longer turned into a gibbering idiot and he didn't have to worry about the fiancée brigade witnessing any acts of impropriety she saw that he was uncomfortable with her closeness. Still, he never protested, simply kept in motion so it was more difficult for her to stay close to her. It was a game of cat and mouse and she was loving it. It was a war on Ranma's subconscious, obviously the frontal approach wasn't working. She must have been out of her mind to think it would. It was a wonder Great Grandmother hadn't had her sedated. No, it was vital to her new plan that her airen become used to, even comfortable, with her presence.

It was working too. Sure he fidgeted a bit, but he didn't scream or yell for her to leave. She had even noticed him inhaling with an abstract look on his face as he noticed her perfume. It was the first time since she started chasing her erstwhile husband that she felt that progress was being made. It might take time but for some reason she seemed to have much more patience than before. Still... the Butterfly Kiss was obviously Ranma's way of getting space. She'd have to scale back her efforts yet again. Patience.

As Ranma walked out to the lunch room he pondered their progress. Shampoo had really improved quite a bit now that she was concentrating on it. It was a relief to have a serious partner to train with. Usually it was Ryouga. Admittedly Shampoo couldn't push him as hard as the lost boy could but the blued haired Amazon was a competent package. Akane was a nice girl when she wasn't angry at something but she had these blind spots. Cooking, swimming and martial arts were three of them... and P-chan of course. She couldn't believe that she wasn't proficient at these things and so proceeded as if she had expertise far beyond what she possessed. With martial arts at least it wasn't as if she was incompetent, she just believed she was far better than she was... and therefore was unable to do the work that would enable her to have her beliefs matched in reality.

Ukyou was different, it was her goal to excel in her school. And in her school she was unmatched. Naturally in Anything Goes style combat she lacked the skills to keep up, but that simply was not her desire. She was, at heart, a cook. Few could match her in this area and her competitive instinct was only actually engaged within this realm. This focus had allowed her to surpass Akane's diffuse efforts and kept her on par with Shampoo when the Amazon's attention was solely on Ranma. Now that Shampoo had once again started to train she began to demonstrate why she had once been the best of her age in a village dedicated to warrior women.

The Amazon could be hot blooded in combat but after being knocked on her butt a few times she settled down and focused. No complaints that he was too fast or hitting too hard, just buckling down to improve what she needed to in order to accomplish her goal. Ranma himself had taken some time to get into his partner/mentor mode. He hated striking the woman but in an arena where death could come to the loser he had to ensure that she was prepared. Better a few bruises now than death later. Ranma had to frequently remind himself of this.

As for training, Shampoo would improve by simply sparring but... there were faster ways. Ranma had never taught anyone but he knew there were better ways. Recently he had taken a few minutes before and after each session to try to analyze Shampoos strong points and weak points. Ranma firmly believed that there was no one in existence who could do this better than he could. Usually he used this to dissect his opponents style and either imitate it, incorporate it or counter it. He had never tried to improve upon it for someone else's benefit... until now.

Each session he would try to press Shampoo in a specific fashion. Whether it was to push her speed-wise, endurance or fluidity, each spar would have a goal. Usually after each spar he would then go over the specific maneuvers he had seen as lacking and she would spent time on her own smoothing or correcting these with improvised katas. Shampoo wasn't picking things up as fast as he himself would have but he had trained with others enough to realize that she was really very talented in her own right. Ranma wasn't positive but he might go so far as to say that except for the old ghoul she was the most skilled female martial artist she had ever met. Masayo had more power and White Raven was... well mostly an unknown but as far as skill went Shampoo was very good. Combined with her new psionics and durability and she was formidable.

Ranma was going to cut today's training short. The dragon that was hunting him stayed away from the training arena during the day and stalked him at night. Ranma actually enjoyed teasing the brute, leading him around dark alleys, cutting his aura, circling around back and then letting his presence be known. Usually by throwing a bit of garbage, a taunt or similar obnoxiousness. The dragon would then go on a rampage trying to get to him. Ranma was sure that if the eye hadn't been above watching him and probably enjoying the comedy skit, the dragon would have been banned from Atlantis from shear collateral damage. When Ranma got tired of this he would simply ghost away. He had no intention of formally confronting the beast until he knew more about the abilities of that breed of dragon.

One of the things he had noticed is that while he was playing tag with the black dragon the assassins would leave him alone, retreating just inside visual range. From the aura of the watchers it was apparent that more than the first two Sunaj were involved. All counted there seemed to be fifteen people working on his case. He would let them follow for a few hours, play with the dragon, and then disappear. Or rather he would employ his more advanced stealth techniques and then the hunted became the hunter.

He had spent many hours tracking the habits of the people assigned to his 'case'. He knew where they lived, worked and played. Most importantly he knew where and when they wouldn't be missed. Now that he had laid the groundwork it was time to take care of the Sunaj. His manager had gone into extensive details regarding tattoos and their abilities, he was aware of the limitations of the armor and weapons. In other words there was no reason to delay any further. The dragon would wait on more research, the assassins had their time in the sun and it was time to sweep the board of them.

Ranma waited patiently. The first victim was due home any minute. This would be a test of the preparations he had made. It could be the apartment was monitored by higher technology than that he had taken into account of and he would soon be inundated with assassins. It was because of this possibility that he had chosen one of that the assassins that lived isolated away from most neighbors as his guinea pig.

Looking about the room he noticed how sparse it was. A bed, dresser, table and chair. It was obvious that everything had come with the room. It was kept with almost military precision, everything folded, the bed made and no dirty clothes. This alone told him quite a bit about the character of not only the assassin but his guild. The room spoke of temporary placement and the tidiness spoke of discipline and perhaps a lack of personality.

Footsteps were heard outside, Ranma verified that his own aura and presence was generally suppressed and glanced to the side where a small device from his manager was supposedly telling the security systems that nothing was wrong. That would come into play once he dropped his attempts at stealth.

The door opened and into the room strode a large man in armor. He wore the typical armor the pigtailed martial artist had come to expect from his profession. The head was somewhat personalized, showing a scaled beast, perhaps a parody of a basilisk.

The armored man took one step into the room when Ranma reached over to the man's shoulder, pushed him over an outstretched foot and struck the back of the helmet with surgical precision. The Sunaj wasn't anywhere close to being subdued with the one strike and his muffled voice could be heard yelling for backup inside the damaged helmet. Recovering, he somersaulted to forward to his feet, glancing wildly about for his attacker. A shimmering blue field sprung up around the man.

Ranma smiled in satisfaction. So far, so good. He engaged his stealth once more and hung from the ceiling above the other man. He leaped down upon the hapless man began to methodically beat him into submission. The room was small, without too much space to maneuver but against a single physically inferior foe this was actually in his favor.

Five force fields later Ranma's smile was a bit more forced. The man was almost out of energy for those damn protective fields and since Ranma kept disarming his foe the armored man also had to waste energy re-summoning the swords but the battle was being drawn out into minutes rather than the seconds he had expected. Time to improvise. Ranma was good at that.

Leaping around the room and gradually converting his chi into harnessed kinetic energy, he initiated an older maneuver. "Meteor Kick," he shouted while rebounding from the ceiling directly above the armored man. The Meteor Kick was first used on Pantyhose Taru, it used chi and kinetic energy in a way similar Happosai's Butterfly Kiss, however it took more time to build up the energy. The other difference of course was it could do a huge amount of damage.

Upon impact the force field dissipated like a soap bubble in a furnace, the helmet beneath shattered... and so did the floor beneath them. The apartment was on the third floor and the two rocketed through all the levels until solid ground was impacted... and the Sunaj tunneled straight down until he was imbedded into the concrete up to the shoulders. Ranma, who was still standing on his opponents head lightly leaped off.

Reaching over into the debris that now surrounded them he picked up the shattered helmet and careful examined it. It was as his manager thought. His first strike had indeed disabled the helmet's radio system. Satisfied that he had a bit of time he kneeled in the rubble and took the limp man's head by a lock of his hair.

"You and I are going to get to know each other very well," he said good naturedly as if speaking to a pet, "Oh, yes we are."

"So Fred, tell me again what an Atlantean is?" Ranma asked in a puzzled voice. He had evidently walked into a mess of politics.

"I can't understand why you forgot about this, Uncle Ranma," the other man protested. "I thought you said I was suffering from memory problems."

The two men sat in the remains of the basement, several ragged chairs had been salvaged from the wreckage and were having a very civil conversation. Despite the smashed concrete and dirt that was strewn around area the man Ranma called Fred was pristine from the neck up and the scent of shampoo hung in the air.

"Indulge me Fred," Ranma said congenially, "As you can see we were caught in a natural disaster. I remember much of what you forgot but I need to know about our proud clan."

"Are you sure my name's Fred?" The other man said in a confused tone.

"Of course I'm sure, nephew. Why I named you myself," Ranma assured. "Now go on, I so admire our brave history."

"Well, as you know, our race the Atlanteans lived on this continent ten thousand years ago," Ranma nodded in encouragement. He had heard of Atlanteans during his stay with Anhur. They were an offshoot of the human race with great physical and magical abilities. They were supposed to enjoy using tattoo magic and pyramid magic. Until he had arrived in Atlantis he had no idea what tattoo magic was, he was still unsure what pyramid magic was. He doubted it had much to do with the New Age magic some of the funny Americans played with.

"Well the mages of the time used the energies stored in the pyramids to try to open an experimental rift. The magic rebounded out of control and a huge rift formed that spread from the coast of Atlantis to what is known as the South American shores. The dimensional vortex led to a thousand worlds and many monstrous creatures were dropped on the unprepared populace." The man didn't look particularly horrified by the story, more vexed.

"Many lives were lost before the rift was finally closed. The creatures that had been left behind either went into hiding or eventually were slain. However the earth was damaged. Magic energies flowed out of the planet and were not renewed as is normal in a healthy planet. Our way of life and civilization is heavily dependent on magic so this created a problem."

Ranma grunted to himself. Typical, an advanced civilization experiences a disaster and all they think about is how they are inconvenienced. Okay, that wasn't a fair judgment but he was in a lousy mood. He also wondered if his own world had once had a similar accident. It too had relatively little magic.

"The mages of the time were further horrified to learn that the accident had destabilized Atlantis. It was starting to fade into another dimension. One not amicable to life as we know it."

"Hmm... can we fast forward just a little bit? Ten thousand years can take a while," Ranma interrupted starting to get impatient. He didn't see how this applied to a bunch of people trying to kill him.

"I'm surprised your mother didn't slap you if you interrupted our sacred histories when she first explained them."

"I'm incorrigible. Now hurry up, nephew," Ranma urged.

"Fine. Our ancestors fled through dimensional gates before the magic became too low open them again. To repent for our role in the disaster they decided to become galactic paladins. Crusading to right wrong and other such foolishness," Ranma turned a sidelong gaze on him. How do you go from paladins to assassins?

"Then Atlantis returned and a new leader headed our clan with a dream," Fred's eyes gleamed with an almost religious fervor. "No longer would we humble ourselves to aid lesser creatures. We would lead them and slay those who stand in our way."

"And the other clans," Ranma asked neutrally.

"They must all, sadly, die," the man spoke with regret for the first time in his voice. "We have already started isolating them and slaying them in small numbers. We even once killed many at once, though to ensure it wasn't traced back to us many brave families volunteered to die with our enemy."

"Wow, I'm impressed," Ranma nodded. These people really were nuts. And they seemed intent on dragging some very good people down with them in their insanity.

"As you should be. Through our hard work we shall bring glory to our people. It is worth any sacrifice."

"Why the assassin thing?" Ranma asked, puzzled. Not that he expected them not to be killers after a story like that, but it didn't fit yet.

"In order to make arrangements to reclaim Atlantis and rid ourselves of the weaker clans we created the Sunaj identity. Through them we were able to forge bonds of alliance with the current occupier of Atlantis, Splynncryth as well as the other Splugorth."

"Um, do you expect that he will give you the land back?" Ranma asked curiously.

"Either that or we will take it. Until then we use his power base for our own purposes," the man declaimed confidently.

Ranma looked up at the eye that hovered in the corner, hidden by its own means. "Right."

The armor clad man checked his helmet's chronometer for the seventh time in as many minutes. The latest shift of his agents had failed to report. He couldn't imagine what could delay five of his people at once. Most of them didn't socialize outside their duty. They had left their family behind for the greater glory of the race. Work was their life. It was a necessary burden they gladly took up. He checked the clock again.

He was at a loss. They didn't respond to the communicator and the guild magician was not due into work until noon. He could almost guarantee that the mage did not answer his comm. The old man was all attitude. Still... something was evidently happening; he really had no choice but to try. Nothing. Damn arrogant mages.

Starting to sweat he began to contact all of the Sunaj at the local guild, even those who had just been relieved of their duty. All responded except the fifteen assigned to the human that Leviathan had targeted, and the mage of course. He immediately called the remaining to him. Somehow he had lost contact with half the local office and if they had been targeted his choices were to order his men to go to ground or gather them to regroup.

This was Atlantis, they still had the favor of Splynncryth and much leverage as being known as his minions. He still believed that even if his men were being attacked that sixteen Atlantean warriors would be more than adequate. Unless the authorities of Splynn themselves were to align against them it would take a veritable army to take them down.

The sound of the door opening drifted to his ears and his frayed nerves jerked his body into action as he reflexively aimed his rifle at the door, internal energies were being marshaled in case a defensive barrier or sword needed to be called. He relaxed only slightly when he recognized the beetle headed armor of one of the first of who he had recently contacted.

"It's a disaster!" shouted the newly arrived person. "We have the alert the clan master! Unless we move it could be the end... "

"Shut up and report!" shouted the commander, fingering his rifle nervously. He knew the man before him to he a stable reliable soul. If something had panicked him this much it had to be huge.

"Didn't you see the front door? It has our clan mark on it," the almost hysterical man continued.

The commander blanched. This could be a disaster. The clan mark was known more formally as the 'Mark of Heritage'. Each of the original Atlantean clans had their own mark to symbolize their lineage. The main reason the Sunaj wore the hideous armor was not simply to instill fear but to hide their identity. Occasionally one of their own was killed and body left, but as long at they were not identified personally the mark could be shrugged off as simply a tattooed assassin who either blindly emulated the Atanteans or someone actively defaming them. It was one of the reasons most of the lower ranks of the Sunaj were drawn from the unknown or isolated people that had no reason to meet the other clansmen. However, now someone, probably the human target, knew their connection to the Atlantean clans. If the other clans found out... and believed it... it would be an unmitigated disaster indeed. They were years from being in a position to eliminate their enemy without taking huge losses in return, probably even then they couldn't defeat the allied clans.

"We may have to move early despite the inevitable casualties," the leader slowly stated, his rank hanging heavy on his heart. "I believe that Leviathan's target may be responsible. I am unsure of how he found out from our people but I... I think we have no choice but to believe he did." He still didn't understand how, they had defenses against psionics, conditioning against almost any interrogation means imaginable, even the armor was booby trapped to explode upon death and take the body, and evidence , with it... but the conclusion was inescapable. "When the others arrive we will have to initiate an all out simultaneous strike on the target and his companions," the commander haltingly continued, verbalizing his thoughts. "If we can capture him and verify that the knowledge has not... reached our targets then we will not have to initiate our plans early."

Sighing he put the rifle aside and thought about what he would tell the people that would be soon trickling in. He activated his empathy tattoo. It allowed him to read the emotions of those surrounding him. With this he would be able to judge his audience better. How he broke this news to the people to be arriving would determine much in the coming hours.

He jerked his head to one side. There was the panicky emotions of the fellow across from him but there was also the cool, ice cold emotions of someone else.

Ranma had miscalculated. It really wasn't the first time. His insight on motives really sucked. It may have had something to do with his father's philosophy. Sure the 'taunt them until they are blind with rage and swinging wildly' method worked in the short run but it always seemed to cause trouble in the long run. When he paused to consider it really made complete sense. He himself never fought harder than when he was mad. He had mastered his anger into a tool but he never tried to kid himself that he wasn't furious when someone kidnapped or attacked his fiancées.

So why hadn't he thought more on the consequences of declaring his knowledge to the Sunaj. Instead of a statement that 'coming after me was more than you can handle and you better back off' he had ended up with 'if you don't come after me in your maximum force your whole clan is doomed'. That really wasn't the effect he was going for. If he let this continue he would have to protect Shampoo, and probably his manager from an all out war with the Sunaj. He could easily handle one or two Sunaj freaks at a time but there were sixteen left in the city and they were one dimensional gate from hundreds of reinforcements.

All in all he had better make up for his miscalculation before it escalated beyond any form of redemption. It shouldn't be impossible. Only the two in room knew that he was aware that they belonged to a rogue clan and if he got rid of the symbol on the door... hmm, why was that fellow looking his way. He had full stealth engaged and they never activated those 'see invisible tattoos' unless they actually thought they needed them.

Okay, I suppose I'll have to initiate Plan B sooner than I thought, Ranma thought sourly to himself.

A shimmering field appeared around the commander. A moment later a similar aura sprang up from his sub-ordinate. Ranma was dismayed by the element of surprise being completely lost. Obviously something had keyed them into his present and they had activated the enchantment that allowed them to perceive him. Ranma quickly debated which one to eliminate first. The commander was more of a threat but the lackey by merit of his being the weaker opponent would be easier to eliminate from the equation.

No problem, Ranma thought to himself as the leaped at the second assassin. A moment later he had just kicked the flunky into the rear wall, his field significantly diminished. Ranma had no time to congratulate himself as a huge impact swept him off his feet and propelled him toward the Sunaj he had just struck. Groaning in pain Ranma twisted in the air to orient him toward the commander. This incidentally aligned his feet with the face of the stunned fellow he had just hit to the back of the room.

The leader had picked up his rifle again and was shooting a constant stream of fire at the pigtailed martial artist. In his other hand he held an elaborate sword Ranma would have sworn he had not possessed a minute before. Unlike the previous Sunaj armaments this weapon appeared more solid, more real than the previously used summoned constructs.

The initial burst caused a fiery pain in his back to bloom. Many others immediately followed. Since he was already on top of the feebly struggling assassin, he took advantage of the fraction of a second between bursts to flip him in front of him to act as a shield from the projectiles. This last attack shattered what remained of the poor man's helmet as well as the left arm and torso of the armor.

Ranma was not left unscathed through the torrent of fire, using a human as a shield was unwieldy and awkward. Half of the rounds found their home on Ranma's shoulder and cheeks, leaving a bloody line of bruises and welts. Ranma grimaced, it hurt, but the same attack back home would have him missing half his body instead of just suffering superficial, though painful, flesh wounds.

Ranma took advantage of his involuntary anti-missile barrier's sudden dearth of armor to touch the first in a three step series of pressure points. He started to enact the next pressure point but it was obvious that the commander was readying another barrage. Hoping to delay this, he threw the injured Sunaj at his officer. Although this did delay the rifle fire, the senior assassin simply and efficiently stepped to the side, avoiding the human cannonball.

Ranma spent several crucial seconds dodging the rounds while trying to line himself up for a meteor kick. He soon gave up this plan. The commander was far better at hand to hand than any of the others yet encountered and he dodged the first two attempts. Well, he admitted himself, the Meteor Kick was for much slower or less skilled opponents. His larger attacks were out, he needed the front of the building intact, so as to not forewarn the incoming Sunaj. Armor screwed up the access to pressure points, speaking of which...

The subordinate Atlantean had struggled to his feet. One arm hung useless thanks to the aforementioned pressure point, the other wielded a large summoned battle-axe. A renewed aura radiated from the man, obviously his newly engaged force field. At a hand signal from his commander they simultaneously rushed the martial artist from opposite sides. The commander had thrown aside the empty rifle and summoned a second, more typical enchanted long sword.

Ranma frantically dodged between the well-coordinated strikes. These men had worked extensively together, and it showed in the manner they flowed with one another's attacks. Finally, finding an opening in the less experienced man's defense, the martial artist rolled between his feet, turned to keep the younger Sunaj between him and the veteran, and placed a Chestnut strike between the other's shoulder's. The defending enchantment flickered as it absorbed the kinetic energy, and then failed. The man was propelled forcefully in the ground and Ranma followed up with a Breaking point at the now exposed armor. Without the field to keep away Ranma's touch, the ceramic armor easily succumbed to the technique and sent a fine spray of dust and rubble around the immediate area.

The temporary incapacitation of the lesser Sunaj had the unfortunate effect of freeing the commander of the burden of having his man act as Ranma's shield. He followed up on this advantage much faster than Ranma expected and laid a fairly deep cut into Ranma's arm as he went for the second paralysis point on the fallen soldiers other arm.

The pigtailed young man cursed. He was getting tired and getting sloppy. The fallen soldier would now lack the use of his arms, but Ranma himself was getting cut to pieces while the commander was almost unhurt. He diverted a bit of chi from his depleted reserves to stop the bleeding and ensure he kept the use of his damaged arm for this battle.

Confident that the injured Sunaj was out of the way, he concentrated on the commander. Dodging in and out of striking range he began to work on the forcefield and armor. After a minute of this Ranma was coming to realize that the commander may not be as good as himself but he just might be good enough. The other Sunaj just weren't fast enough to parry or avoid the shear number of attacks the martial artist could field. If they were fast enough they still weren't skilled enough to tell the difference from a feint and an attack. Ranma could instantly turn a block into a throw, combine his dodge into a trip or body block. It other words they simply weren't close to his league. The commander wasn't quite there either but with only one fourth of Ranma's Strikes getting past the other's defenses and taking about one tenth of the Sunaj's hits, Ranma was getting worried. If he didn't wrap this up before the gathering Sunaj got here he would have to choose to use the Saotome's secret attack (run away) or choose his more lethal attacks. That was if he had enough energy to pull them off at this late point in the game.

Large platter sized jaws of tiny 3 inch dagger like teeth closed on his shoulder. Ranma's eyes grew larger and he tried to jerk his body to one side as he saw a large raptor, jaws firmly clamped on his body. A moment later the pain registered and he readyied himself to attack this more immediate threat.

Okay so I guess being paralyzed didn't completely neutralize the other fellow, Ranma thought frantically, I hear him issuing commands to the beast in the background. Through the pain of being jerked around like a rag doll by the carnivore it flashed through his mind that at least the commander couldn't really hit him like this.

He groaned as the sound of rifle fire impacted his ears and the pain of the high velocity missiles stitched across his back. Okay, so reloading his gun was fairly logical, Ranma berated himself. The jaws relaxed, going limp and Ranma realized that the lizard had taken damage as well and had dropped the martial artist in order to deal with the pest that hurt it.

From his position sprawled on the floor he had an excellent view of the commander as he stopped firing and dropped his rifle to the floor, parrying the beast's claws and head with an armored gauntlet. Glancing at the fallen Sunaj he saw that he was trying to get the lizard's attention. From what little he knew about the summoned beasts he thought that once the injured Sunaj actually gave a command it would ignore the more experienced assassin to once more concentrate on himself. He couldn't have that.

Leaping through the legs of the flailing lizard he reached the partially paralyzed man and with a light touch, completed the series of shiatsu. The man froze and whatever commands he had intended to give froze in his throat. Making sure the commander was occupied, Ranma took a moment to break through a briefly renewed force field and render the man unconscious. It had slipped his mind that the more experienced tattoo wielders did not require motion to activate their enchantments.

Upon the assassin being rendered unconscious the martial artist glanced back to the battle to see the lizard fade from existence, the commander's two weapons having just completely bisected the magical beast. For a moment the two stared at each other, assessing his opponent's condition and comparing it to their own. Of course the difference was that Ranma knew he had to be able to deal with thirteen more Sunaj and the commander knew he just had to delay Ranma long enough so that his reinforcements got here.

As one they leaped towards the other. Ranma finally got a clean full powered strike through the defense of the older Sunaj, throwing him back through the rear wall and into the alley behind the building. Ranma was about to follow after him when his eyes fell on the rifle laying on the ground. Smirking at the anticipated irony, he picked up the weapon and followed the Sunaj outside.

On the ground lay the commander in the act of rolling to his feet, swords still in his hand. He had just got to his feet when he saw the pig tailed youth standing before him with the rifle in his hands smiling.

Ranma smiled, he was going to enjoyed this. Having felt the effects of the weapon he was confident that although a single burst would hurt the Sunaj, hopefully breaking through the field, it would be far from lethal. They were both too durable for that. He pulled the trigger.

Then he pulled the trigger again. When nothing happened, he glanced briefly at the gun, then frantically used it to parry the two swords aimed at his skull. The first sword stopped halfway through the barrel. The second sword simply shattered the gun and continued to sketch a wound across the youth's chest. Okay perhaps that wasn't as funny as he thought it was going to be.

"Did you perhaps forget to load my weapon," the assassin's mocking voice followed the martial artist as his somersaulted backwards. Ranma's decided not to reply to that. He had no idea. The darn thing may have simply had the safety on. Did he look like a modern weapons expert?

Well they were outside, if he didn't have to worry about destroying the building perhaps he could try something else. Rapidly closing he touched the ground at his opponent's feet setting off an explosion of rock on dust. Quickly maneuvering in the heavy cloud he used his chi senses to dance around the dust and deliver a long combination of chi powered strikes and kicks. He quietly cursed as the last combo in the series served to knock the assassin back out of the cloud and into the light.

Stepping out of the obscuring cloud he saw that the other man's armor was shattered. The only sword he had in his hands was the summoned long sword and his face was heavily bruised. Ranma didn't really feel much better but believed he had more reserves. The Sunaj stretched out his empty hand and another of the summoned swords appeared in it.

Once more they came together a whirlwind fists and glowing blades. The older man no longer had a glowing aura that offered additional protection, leading Ranma to believe that he was on his last legs and no longer had the energy to spare. Smiling in triumph Ranma prepared to make a final attack.

The next thing he knew he was face down on the ground and there was a large weight on his back. Struggling to turn his head he saw that there was a large Tyrannosaurus Rex on back looking dumbly around at its surroundings. Apparently it had just been summoned and hadn't gotten its bearing yet. It was a little cramped in the alleyway but had enough room to move forward and back ward.

Ranma felt himself getting annoyed. No it was more than annoyed. He hadn't like giant lizards since even before Ryouganzoua. Since then he had grown to really dislike them. Then he started fighting these tattoo men and found out that the favorite monster they seemed to like summoning were dinosaurs. They were constantly being created out of nowhere and sent to attack him. Then this bozo creates on right on top of him and here he was, imbedded in the ground. It really bugged him.

Growling in righteous indignation Ranma channeled the last of his reserves into his strength and, grunting in the effort, lifted the huge, slightly puzzled, multi tonned beast over his head. Glaring in triumph at the shocked Sunaj before him, he took one ponderous step forward and discovered something he hadn't realized before.

Dinosaurs aren't really make to be picked up by one foot. The weight isn't distributed correctly to be balanced and the skeleton structure isn't really rigid enough to support such an action without...well, things moving. So it was that the creature who Ranma had lifted finally figured something was happening at it's feet and contorted its gigantic body to see what it was, perhaps even take a bite out of it.

Ranma tried to compensate for the huge shift in tonnage but no matter how he ran forward or back the creature would simply shift again trying to figure out what the heck was happening. It finally simply became too much to bear and the overgrown lizard came tumbling down on top of a very disgruntled martial artist.

"All right you scaly freak, lets try this again," a rather bruised Ranma growled from his cramped position under the er...he though it was under the stomach ... Slowly, he once more gathered his strength and lifted again, only to find the monster fading into nothingness. Puzzled, he jerked his head around trying to figure out what was happening only to see an unconscious Sunaj commander on the ground before him, embedded in the ground and giving the illusion of being rather flat.

Sighing the pig tailed youth began to relax. Now he could take the symbol off the door and...

"Commander, are you all right," enquired a frantic voice from the hole in the rear of the building. Tiredly looking toward the opening, he saw an armored individual about to step through.

Sighing once more, not in satisfaction anymore, Ranma limped towards his next opponent.

"Hey Shampoo, you have any hand lotion," Ranma asked wearily. He looked tired too, the magic clothes he wore had been damaged, and although they were slowly re-knitting themselves at present they were torn, ragged and had huge splotches of blood on them. Some of it was even his. The only portion of his body that seemed to be clean and free of any sign of conflict was his hands.

"What happened to you? Did the ghost cat start chasing you again," the Amazon smiled teasingly, once a quick visual scan showed her husband was in no real physical danger.

"Ghost cat! Where," Ranma shrieked eyes darting quickly around. His nekophobia was not quite under control and he didn't think he could concentrate enough at the moment to keep his fear under control.

"Now really, you should know I'm only playing with you, darling," Shampoo volleyed back. She would have done more desensitizing of her own except that she was in the middle of morning calisthenics and training had recently become a serious priority. She could try to woo her husband later.

"I'll be gone for the rest of the day," Ranma said slowly, sitting on the couch under the practice arena pavilion was feeling really good after a whole night of frantic exercise. He just wanted to sleep so badly but had to finish what he started. The leader had been a real bear of a man and he had not been taken unawares like the others. Ranma had been fortunate in taking out the lackey early and had routed most of the collateral damage towards the rear. He had taken a beating but finally won just in time for the next two assassins to rush inside. These were much weaker but the constant battles were beginning to take their toll.

Ranma had gone to the front door, popped the hinges and replaced it with the similar, unmarked door to the rear of the headquarters. After destroying the door with the controversial symbol he had taking out a basin of water, a bottle of shampoo and hunkered down to wait for the people trickling in. This wasn't his original plan, but... if there were only fourteen left in the city who was aware of his involvement it would be a shame not to take advantage of the opportunity to wreak complete and total confusion.

While he had waited for the assassins he searched the small complex. It was spartan except for a seemingly advanced computer system. Ranma couldn't really make head or tails of it. He had spent most of his time on this world in physical and spiritual training. Stay alive first and if you have any spare time before you collapse in an exhausted heap, then worry about technical and vocational studies, that was his motto. He unplugged the modules and stuck them into subspace for future reference. Maybe Nabiki would like it as a gift.

Ranma leaned his head back on the couch and rested his eyes for a moment. It had been bad. He had never fought more than two Sunaj at a time, but they seemed to come at him back to back. He had once trained with Ryouga all day and hadn't been this tired.

The smell of perfume and small hands massaging his shoulders gradually lulled him into the border between sleep and wakefulness. "I'd love to keep doing this all day but you seemed in a hurry when you came in," Shampoo's soft voice drifted in his ear.

"Hmm, yes. Important," he said fuzzily, still half asleep. "Lives could depend on it... especially ours." Groaning reluctantly, he staggered over to the main building where the manager kept his office.

Splynncryth bubbled in contemplation, relaxing in his pool of therapeutic slime. He hadn't had any idea that his gamble would pay out such huge dividends. He had allowed... or at least not interfered... when the Sunaj had been contracted by Leviathan to kill his new toy. He had expected a long cat and mouse game. After all he had known his cats paw was powerful but what chance had he against thirty or more Sunaj? Well obviously more than he had thought. The Splugorth was far from stupid. He knew the principles of combat. In order to subdue an opponent without killing them it was necessary that you either have something up your sleeve or be significantly more powerful. His pawn had proved to be both. By stealth and strategy he had defeated his hunters in detail, taking them down one by one where he could not overcome them in mass.

This, combined with that odd method of hypnosis he had witnessed seriously endangered the secrecy that the Sunaj relied upon to maintain their effectiveness. When the rogue Atlanteans had first approached the Splugorth it had been obvious to the alien intelligences that this day would come. Secrets this large could not be kept forever. The revealing of this secret had a large possibility of resulting in the deaths of a huge number of Atlanteans. The 'good' Atlantean clans were annoyances, the 'evil' mildly useful. If they annihilated one another he would be satisfied. The irony would be humorous. On the other hand if the Sunaj survived they would be outcasts and driven deeper in the welcoming arms of the Splugorth. Not as amusing, but again, Splynncryth could appreciate the irony.

Did he want to interfere? The Sunaj were adequate, if reluctant tools. He had been aware... all the Splugorth had been... that they would eventually be exposed. It would be fairly trivial to retrieve the evidence of the Sunaj being an Atlantean clan. Without hard evidence the other clans would never react coherently. And then there was his most recent entertainment. He was sharing the experience with other beings of power. Rhada, Abdul-Ra, perhaps Anhur, though his involvement in the situation was unclear, and even Leviathan, though her involvement seemed less benign. There was the puzzle over why they were all focused on one being, a mere human. There was much more involved that he had first assumed and nothing had been clarified.

No. He would let this play out more. The Sunaj would serve his amusement one way or another and they really were the least of his minions. They would survive or fall on their own merit... or come crawling back to him to beg sanctuary.

This decided he turned to the next aspect of his toy. His skill and power far exceeded his expectations. So much so that if things proceeded as they had there would really be no competition during the next set of games in the Arena. He could of course let the higher order of his minions compete, but this would cause a disturbance. His peers would think he was 'fixing' the games. The minions would likely slay the lesser competitors out of hand and they had quite a following in the city. Not that he really cared, but if he caused unrest he would rather do it for a purpose.

Still the human had enemies that could not be dismissed. Perhaps he should encourage them to enter. At least one of them had difficulties making the human stand still long enough to engage. It wouldn't be too difficult to point out the benefits of being in a large but confined arena. And if they killed all the lesser opponents then any anger would devolve around him rather than Splynncryth.

Yes, that would be entertainment.

"So you have no idea where any Atlanteans can be found," Ranma inquired again, somewhat dispiritedly.

"Nope," the alien chittered, whistled and clacked. "My business is firmly grounded in the black mire of hopelessness that we know as Atlantis," it stated in mild good humor. "The Atlantean race are widely known as wandering paladins and do-gooders. Not a lot of that going on in this town. Or not for long, anyway."

Ranma nodded to himself. He had been so impressed with how well his manager knew his way around the local system he had just assumed that he had all the answers. Thinking over the people he knew he was slightly taken aback at the fact that most of them were considered evil by most common philosophies. Anhur, the god of assassins. Wasn't that a kick in the pants, it was ironic that he presently had such assassin problems. Obviously the Sunaj didn't clear anything through him. Then there was Abdul-Ra and Rhada, really nice people except for the cat fetish demon thing. Still he really had doubts that they rubbed elbows with a crowd known to hunt devils, demons and similar evil.

"Well, thanks anyway," he slowly made his way outside, lost in thought.

The alien clicked his mandibles in amusement. It didn't know what his protégé was up to but from all the oddball requests it was fielding he was obviously hip deep in something. It would be more reluctant to aid the young man but he seemed to be a decent entity. He was also the best damn fighter it had ever had the pleasure to manage. It had to admit that this fact aided in his patience more than anything else.

Ranma-chan used her senses to ensure that she had lost the spying eye that the present Lord of Atalantis and resident uber squid had tagged him with. She didn't mind it following her around when she was about her daily business, in many ways it was convenient not to have to worry about the authorities. However when she was planning on trying to get in touch with what passed as the rebel underground it seemed unwise to have a cosmic couch potato looking over her shoulder.

After finding a relatively deserted spot she took out the small cube the woman known as White Raven had given her and tried to activate it. This was a bit more difficult than she had originally imagined. The cube was a featureless dull white, completely lacking in anything that appeared to activate it. After rubbing and pressing various parts of the surface and getting no reaction she was beginning to get frustrated.

"Stupid box," Ranma-chan muttered angrily. "If you need help or wish to join us, use this," Ranma growled in a parody of White Raven's voice. "Why couldn't she just give me a flippin radio or something." Disgusted she tossed it at her feet. She was immediately engulfed in a blinding white light. When the brilliance faded the martial artist was gone.

"Okay, maybe this is better than a radio," Ranma-chan mumbled to herself as she looked around at a small fairly comfortable carpeted room with a couch on side and a wide screen on the opposite wall. Her chi senses detected a fair amount of magic but nothing living within several hundred feet. One thing she didn't see, which was slightly disturbing, was an exit. Ranma-chan walked over to the wall and tapped at it lightly while examining it for breaking points. While it seemed to be a normal wall it was actually solid stone, not plaster or more conventional building material. A bit more investigation revealed the whole room seemed to be hollowed out of living rock.

"Right," the red head muttered to herself. Talking to herself seemed to be getting to be a habit. "A room with no way out except teleportation." Sighing she sat down on the couch and waited.

"Hello," the mage known as Skippy repeated a bit louder. He was in the monitor room when the alert came in that someone was in the contact chamber. It was a simple matter to reach over and switch on the cameras. What he saw was a very fetching red head in red and blue silk pants and a muscle shirt. The girl was slouched in the overstuffed couch her head leaning back and mouth open... snoring like a chainsaw.

"This is silly," turning to one of the technicians in the room he asked, "Is this thing on?" He had been trying to wake the sleeping girl but had received no response. After hailing her multiple times he had increased the volume, slowly becoming convinced that there was a technical difficulty.

The technician had been watching the one sided exchange from the start and had already been checking the status indicators. "Seems okay from this end. We may have to send someone in to check it. Of course this kinda screws with the security but it's either that or... well there isn't anything else. She's out of position for the portal so we can't get her out from this side unless she moves."

"Fine," the young man said petulantly, "Bring me a talisman bank and I'll gate in. Have a squad ready at the entrance to take care of it if it’s a trap." The talisman bank was simply a stack of energy storing devices that could act as a reservoir for the needs of larger spells. Although they were rechargeable it usually took many days of hard work. Skippy wasn't pleased at having to use one, he was the mage who had to do the work of recharging it.

Skippy had another take his station as he went to the more secure area where the squad would wait for him. This room had turrets and armored walls. It was meant to act as a secure area in case something unpleasant followed them back from their forays. After giving a few commands to prepare the people, he tapped into the battery bank, opened a portal and stepped through.

The room looked identical to what he was expecting. The redhead was still sleeping on the couch and the large screen opposite her showed the technician who had replaced her and his small lizard familiar that he had left behind. "Well?" Skippy asked. "Is this thing working."

"WELL I HEAR YOU FINE, HOW IS IT ON YOUR END," the technician seemingly bellowed, sending Skippy reeling to the side of the room clutching his head.

"Argh! Turn it down! Turn it down," Skippy called out. Looking at the girl still asleep he continued, "Send a medic in here, if that didn't wake her she's obviously sick or injured.'

Walking over to the girl he reached over to touch her shoulder. He was surprised to see her seemingly roll over in her sleep avoid his outreached hand. Frowning he tried again found her moving in the opposite direction. Confused he tried several more times, faster and faster. Regardless of how he moved, his advances were all avoided by what appeared to be coincidental movement, suspiciously fast movement but...

"Oh, its Ranma," a familiar voice came from the speakers. Turning Skippy saw White Raven herself on the screen. He turned a mild glare at the technician and received a shrug in return. It was standard procedure to notify her or her second in command, Max if something odd came up.

"I thought Ranma was a guy," Skippy muttered. "Is she putting me on?"

White Raven sighed. Skippy was a senior member of the Resistance but was always lax when it came to keeping up with the intelligence work. She had put Ranma under intense mechanical surveillance before she contacted him. Unfortunately she had, at the time, missed the Eye of Eylor and the water curse but she at least knew some of his more obvious quirks.

"It is simple training. Just don't outright attack her and she should be perfectly safe," White Raven saw a puzzled look cross the young mage's face. Why would he attack her, wasn't he... or rather she on the safe list. Raven saw this and smiled, one of the servants at the arena Ranma was practicing in had let his frustration get away from him and been a tad too aggressive. The result was one servant on the other side of a hole in the wall and a still sleeping pigtailed boy. Raven's brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to recall how Ranma's training partner had dealt with this. Oh yes.

"Breakfast!" the woman called out over the speaker.

Instantly Ranma-chan stood awake and alert looking around for something edible. After a moment she took in the glowing portal in the center of the room, the presence of the mage and the larger than life image of White Raven. "Huh?" a confused Ranma-chan grunted, her brain not quite in sync with her body.

"So what brings you here," enquired Raven, not willing to wait for the other to get her bearings. "The last I heard of you there were certain errands you had to finish before you could think of joining us."

"Er... why am I here?" a confused look crossed her face and her stomach growled loudly at her. Her first reaction was to say breakfast but there was something else she was here for. Ah yes, "I need to speak with an Atlantean."

Now it was White Raven's turn to be confused, "Then why are you here? The continent is full of Atlanteans."

"No, no," protested Ranma-chan while dismissing the statement with a waving right hand. "Not the big monster squid Atlanteans," Ranma-chan illustrated by waving her arms to demonstrate the tentacles of a Splugorth. "I mean the human Atlanteans who lived here ten thousand years and caused their continent to sink in the first place with a bungled spell."

White Raven looked nonplussed for a moment. As a dimensional traveler she was well versed on events that had impacted the multiverse on such a large scale. Still what happened ten millennia was not on her list of events that impacted the immediate events. A moment of silence continued as she concentrated on Ranma's statement.

Ranma saw the blank look on the woman's face and continued. "They wear tattoos and do things with pyramids... you know magic?"

White Raven connected this description with a passing comment Max had made regarding the history of his people. "Oh. Atlanteans!" she stated in comprehension. "I hadn't ever heard them described... quite that way." Most people she knew considered Atlanteans crusaders and paladins. Max would have a fit if he heard them mentioned in this twisted manner.

"Indeed," a voice said next to her dryly, "Quite refreshing." She winced as she saw that the very Atlantean she had been thinking of stood behind her.

"Oh. Max," she paused awkwardly. "We were just talking about you," she trailed off.

"Great!" Ranma-chan broke in enthusiastically ignoring the stilted silence. "So you're an Atlantean," Ranma-chan enquired eagerly. "Funny, I thought you'd be taller."

White Raven massaged her temples. Her second in command was an even tempered man outside of battle but this really wasn't how she had planned to introduce the martial artist, who she viewed as a potentially large asset, to her inner circle, who already were huge assets.

"Well I am sure it's hard to live up to a reputation of a... 'bungler', I believe," Max asked with deceptive calm. He didn't know whether to outraged or amused.

"Well, I'm sure you guys have gotten the spell thing down in the last few thousand years, we all make mistakes," Ranma consoled cheerfully. The Atlantean really didn't look as tall as the others, maybe he was malnourished, she thought to herself. Of course he was standing next to White Raven, who was really built. Ranma-chan focused her thought elsewhere. She kept getting distracted by thoughts of food and had no idea why. "Er... if it wouldn't be rude, could I see your... um," Ranma-chan racked her brains for the term the Sunaj had used. "... family markings? No, I meant Marks of family... um... no," Ranma-chan was floundering. "The tattoos on your arm that show what clan your from?"

"You mean the Marks of Heritage," Max supplied, his demeanor slightly altering towards irritation as the subject became more personal. "I really have more important things to do than to deal with admirer."

"Admirer," Ranma-chan asked, thunderstruck. "Of Atlanteans," her tone was so incredulous that White Raven winced and Skippy snickered from the arm of the couch he had retired to in order to enjoy the show better. Ranma-chan was confused. How had the tattoo guy jumped to that conclusion? She knew she was a bit crude language-wise but 'bungler' had pretty much encompassed what little she knew of the Atlanteans. She hadn't expected Max to hear, but well, so far she wasn't impressed.

"No, it's purely business," Ranma-chan continued, matter of factly. "I have a message, and I need to make sure it gets to the right clan," or at least not to the wrong clan she thought.

Max simply grunted, now thoroughly in a sour mood. White Raven gave him a subtle nudge and he sighed, moving to unlock the gauntlets of the light body armor he wore. He then held his wrist up to the camera pick-up and an intricate design done in an almost iridescent blue stood out. Ranma-chan carefully examined the marking and hummed to herself in understanding.

"So you recognize the marking as the correct clan," Max asked as he noticed the light of understanding enter Ranma-chan's eyes.

"Nope," Ranma-chan chirped, eliciting a start from her audience. Really, she may have been endowed with the ability to read and speak all languages from Anhur's gifting but the clan marking was a symbol and was not actually a language. The third eye tattoo had briefly activated, obviously triggered by his close scrutiny of the tattoo, but it could discern nothing of interest from a image on a view screen. Out of the corner of her eye Skippy burned bright with magical auras and the floor was a triggered teleportation platform, but that really didn't interest her at the moment.

"But I know who you aren't," the martial artist winked at the people on the screen, "And that matters a heck of a lot more." Ranma-chan took out a small metal rectangular brick, about an inch across and handed it to Skippy.

"I'm not into technology or anything but my manager says that this is a," Ranma-chan's face scrunched up in concentration as she prompted her memory. After a moment she shrugged, gave up and took out a pamphlet which she began to read from. "The Mark XXIIM espionage special. It is able to store holographic data for two weeks of high definition surveillance. Find out what your competitor... " Ranma-chan broke off as she realized that she had read too far into the description. "Well actually this is just the memory from one. The unit was an add-on to another device I was using to disable a security system, or rather several systems. I think it was ... " her face gained another look of concentration and once again she shrugged and pulled out another leaflet.

"I think we get the point," White Raven interjected. The underground used these devices frequently in their war on the present establishment of Atlantis. She was confident that she was far better versed on the devices Ranma-chan was talking about than Ranma-chan herself. Skippy suppressed another snicker which drew a glare from the red head.

"'Kay then," the martial artist stated shortly, slightly disgruntled to have her spiel interrupted. "Anyway, this has some information on the Sunaj... "

"I think I already mentioned that we don't have the resources to openly help you," White Raven broke in once more.

Ranma-chan spared her a brief exasperated look, then waved her hand dismissively. "Naw. I've taken care of the Sunaj... or at least the ones in the city." The others drew up in surprise and skepticism at this statement. "They're involved in a bit of nastiness with the Atlantean clans. I just thought I'd give this to someone that could pass a warning up to one of your leaders or something."

Max leaned forward. "The Sunaj were plotting against us," he enquired in interest.

Ranma-chan paused before she nodded, "I suppose that's one way to say it."

"One last thing, it's important that the Aerihman Clan doesn't see this. Anyway, I have a ton of things to do and I am so hungry I could eat a horse, so if you could just send me on my way... " Ranma-chan prompted. At White Raven's nod Skippy tapped into the enchantment bound into to room and the martial artist vanished.

Nabiki sighed as she watched Akane play with the newly arrived little girl, Komar, from the alternate Japan. Looking over to where Masayo frowned at the two disapprovingly she had to ask.

"What made you bring her here," Nabiki asked the warrior.

"She was missing Ranma," although the words were gentle the expression as she looked at Akane was not. Masayo did not get along well with Ukyou, Shampoo or Akane, viewing them as wild little girls with no self control. Dangerous little girls with access to magic and not insignificant skill. "It's quiet on the other side. The Oni are pacified. The enemy has fled to somewhere unknown. Since I travel here often, I brought her with me to show here where Ranma lives. It will give her an idea of where Ranma grew up."

"Er... Ranma only spent about a year here. He grew up on the road," Nabiki pointed out.

"It doesn't matter, she's enjoying herself," Masayo's frown deepened to again contradict her words.

"You aren't too fond of Akane," Nabiki pointed out the obvious.

"She really isn't bad as long as she doesn't see you as being after Ranma," Jess broke in from the side. She had often taken the role as the peacekeeper when Nabiki was too stressed and Kasumi's aura of tranquility failed. She and Masayo got along well together. Jess's hard work, dedication to the martial arts and cool temper meshed well with what the Demon Queller considered admirable.

"Her attitude grates on me," Masayo confirmed, ignoring Jess's attempt to look on the bright side. "Has Balthazar been punished," she inquired, changing the subject.

"Well, we threatened to ship him off home to meet the King's justice if he did one more piece of unsupervised magic," at Masayo's raised eyebrow, she continued. "Supervised by me," Nabiki clarified.

"Hmm. Lenient considering he was largely responsible for your companion's demise," Masayo mentioned without regret. She considered Shampoo even more irrational than Akane.

"Uh, Shampoo survived," Jess felt obligated to mention. "She's training to help Ranma in the Arena."

"Oh good," the lack of sincerity in the Demon Queller's statement was overwhelming, though she did wonder what the Arena was. "Where's the princess?"

"She's with Balthazar, studying," Jess said. Nabiki smiled smugly.

"I thought she hated the toad," Masayo asked her interest raised. Masayo didn't really like Cindra but then again she didn't dislike her. She was relatively harmless, if annoying.

"She does," Nabiki said, "But I pointed out that as long as she needs his magic to go places she's stuck with him. Magic users can live a long time. I also pointed out that if she knew circle magic that she wouldn't need to endure his presence anymore."

"So she's willing to endure the maggot now for freedom in the future. I'm impressed I didn't know she had it in her." Jess nodded at Masayo's statement, she didn't know the princess had it in her either.

"Any more problems with Ranma's... fiancées," Masayo asked. Usually she wasn't so grim but she always disliked talking about her competition for Ranma's heart.

"I haven't seen Ukyou since the incident, but I have to watch Akane," Nabiki said, her own mood growing sour at the subject. "Since she found out that Shampoo survived and is competing with Ranma she has been nosing around Balthazar when she thinks I'm not watching."

"So she still is obsessing over Ranma," the Demon Queller asked, oblivious to her own similar obsession.

"Yeah, she also seemed to be spending a lot of time looking at pictures of her and Ranma and things he gave her since he's been around," she paused and then shivered slightly. "I think she spends too much time with the damn hammer Ranma gave her. I'm not sure but I think she may talk to it."

"It's not a possessed weapon, is it," Masayo asked,her own experience coming to the fore.

Nabiki snorted, "Of course not. It's pretty powerful but not evil."

"Be wary. Often when people are seen to be speaking to powerful magic artifacts, the artifacts are indeed talking back," the warrior warned.

Nabiki looked once more at Akane and Komar playing happily on the living room floor and nodded. She would take another look at the weapon if she could convince Akane to let someone else touch it.

Max, White Raven and Skippy sat in the council chamber. After the martial artist's declaration of hunger they had moved into the chamber for several reasons. The first was that the room had good security so they could avoid casual eavesdroppers in the complex. It was unwise to spread too much information around in a city controlled by the Splugorth. The second was that the room was also equipped with an advanced holographic projector. It was usually used for maps and strategic planning but it was often used to view surveillance intelligence.

Skippy sat down in the chair he usually took and slid the small memory brick into the reader and leaned back to watch. The image being projected was that of an empty room. Used to dealing with surveillance, where hours, even days could pass before anything of note would happen he leaned over to the keypad and gave the pre-programmed command to fast forward until the image showed motion. A moment later he leaned forward again he eyes widening. The door opened and into the room walked what was easily recognized as a Sunaj in armor. He took one step into the room before a young man, dressed almost identically to the red headed woman they had just met, seemed to phase into existence behind the assassin. One blow almost split the helmet and sent the assassin to the ground. A minute of combat that was so fast it almost seemed a blur and the Sunaj was sent through the floor with the martial artist following, foot outstretched.

After a moment of silence the young man leaped up through the hole and the point of view shook for a while as the equipment was relocated. Skippy absent mindedly typed in the command to steady the camera and provide an artificially smooth picture. The new view settled down to show the assassin embedded up to his shoulders in the ground. His mask was off... shattered really... pieces of it could be seen stuck to the man's hair and face. The three people watching the drama looked on with interest. No reports could be found of what a Sunaj looked like out of armor. They really hadn't even known if they were humanoid until that moment. The young man casually started to hum to himself as he seemed to pull a bottle and a basin of water from somewhere and begin the lather the unconscious man's head.

The three looked at each other in silent puzzlement. The battle had been impressive. They had expected to see some unpleasant interrogation afterward and had steeled themselves for it. This... this was not what they had expected.

Looking back to the image they saw the man's hands blur. Skippy typed a command and the image reversed and slowed. It could now be seen that the man's hands glowed with a soft blue light and his hands were pressing, tapping specific points on the man's head in a complex pattern that frankly had no meaning to him. The hands blurred once more, despite the image's slower speed and the unconscious Sunaj's hair was rinsed, dried and brushed. The basin and bottle disappeared, most likely back where it had come from.

Without a sign of effort the young man reached over lifted the assassin out of the floor he had been embedded into, breaking away large pieces of stone that held on in stubborn resistance. Laying the man on the ground he almost gently patted the man on the cheeks. "Wakey, wakey, Frank. You've had a terrible accident and have lost your memory of the last few weeks. Fortunately I found you and am here to help you," the youth paused from the oddly stilted speech. "I am your uncle and you can trust me completely." The man woke and looked at the pigtailed youth with a dazed look that quickly came into focus.

Max nodded to himself. It was certainly an odd why to go about an interrogation but the 'shampoo' had obviously been a chemical treatment that induced a hypnotic state. Then the person simply stated the facts he wanted to be foremost in the victim's mind and woke him. Interesting, he would soon see how effective the method was.

From that point it was almost a straightforward question and answer session. The young man quickly affirmed that other was a Sunaj assassin, but from there it took an odd turn.

"You're, I mean we, are Atlanteans," the martial artist asked puzzled at one point. "You mean we were born on Atlantis?"

"Uncle you jest well. You know that we are true Atlanteans, born and bred on this land far before and unclean creatures claimed what we were forced to abandon. We are the Aerihman clan, sworn to reclaim our birthright."

"Right," the youth stated skeptically. This line of questioning led to the man showing his Marks of Heritage and gradually the scheme to exterminate the other clans of Atlantis.

To Skippy this was interesting but nothing more than a dramatic soap opera. He knew nothing of Atlanteans except Max was one and had a big paladin image he was keeping up. White Raven looked upon the revelations with concern. She knew quite a bit about the modern Atlanteans. She had traveled for decades on her own through the dimensions and had learned quite a bit since she had first combined forces with Max a few years ago. She placed a comforting hand on Max's arm.

Max himself was turmoil. He had trouble believing what he was seeing. He had been aware of... all the clans had been aware of... the Aerihman Clan being more violent and belligerent than the others, especially under the leadership of their new clan head, Lord Aerihza. Several times the other clans had to reign them in from high handed treatment and abuse of other non-Atlantean races. Still after their latest reprimand a few years gone by, they had seemed to calm down and if they weren't model citizens, they were far more polite.

Obviously, if this wasn't some elaborate ploy then all the other clans were horribly mistaken. Horror soon became anger as he learned that the rogue clan had engineered the massacre that had ended the lives of 1300 Atlanteans. Max himself remembered hearing about it. At the time tensions were high between the Aerihman Clan and there had been some suspicions that this clan had been involved in the tragedy. The fact that men and women from the Aerihman clan had died in that disaster dispelled this belief and harmony soon returned to the clans. His mouth turned down in a grimace of distaste. If, as the assassin in the hologram stated, they had been volunteers then the whole incident took on a new light.

The other clans hadn't suspected a thing. The clans treated one another like family, offering one another the hospitality of the home or aiding another in combat with the supernatural at a simple request. In this atmosphere it would be simple to slay the family as they slept or turn on them in the middle of combat. Aye, if the Aerihman were indeed the Sunaj then as minions of the Splugorth they would have ample opportunity to set up traps and ambushes.

Max's attention was jerked back to the image as the pigtailed youth had managed to get his 'nephew' to tell him about the identifying Marks of Heritage. The man removed a gauntlet and there indeed was the symbol of the Aerihman Clan.

Lost in his own thoughts he only dimly recalled the display showing fourteen more impressive encounters. After each battle there followed a brief interrogation, more to confirm the information already known than to ferret out anything new.

The battle with the leader of the local chapter of Sunaj was not shown. It was obvious in the aftermath, since the recorder was set up to show the leader's own question and answer period. The pig tailed youth had obviously taken far more of a beating during this encounter as his clothes were torn and blood liberally coated his arms and chest. Max stiffened again as he saw the face of Sunaj commander. He knew him. Not well, but at several clan meetings he had seen that man as a minor officer in the Lord Aerihza's staff.

White Raven and Skippy's eyes were riveted on the images before them. They were witnessing history. A whole local guild of Sunaj had just been taken down overnight. That alone would have a huge impact on the local political structure. Oh, sure the local group was only about thirty people but the Sunaj had a position and reputation that had abruptly been altered. There was also the issue of the true identity of the Sunaj. That may or may not become public knowledge but glancing at Max's angry and resolute face, it would not be ignored.

The battles continued until it was obvious that the youth in the image was on his last legs of endurance. The commander and his aid had done most of the damage, but there had been a few other instances of fighting two of the Sunaj simultaneously.

Raven had her own console up and was looking from the display to her report frowning. "Unless our intelligence is off there was a mage that was not taken down."

Max called up the same report Raven was viewing and nodded. White Raven shared her notes and it was evident that she had checked off the descriptions of the Sunaj as the holo played back. All the known members were checked off except for the mage. "Says here he rarely shows up before noon. That probably explains it. Mages can be notoriously unreliable." Skippy glared at the Atlantean but declined to pick up the gauntlet.

"I suppose it's no surprise that I need some time to take care of clan business," Max continued in clipped tones, obviously upset but in control.

"Take all the time you need," White Raven urged. It would be hard to do without the experienced second in command but the recording made the need self-evident. Unsaid was also the fact that if the Atlantean clans took out the wayward Sunaj, Splynncryth would be out another whole tier of minions that normally acted as informal bounty hunters, assassins and troubleshooters. Well unless the other clans drove them into the Splugorth's hands as the only sanctuary. When she brought this possibility up Max nodded shortly.

"I am aware of the issues. If mishandled we could trigger a disaster... or rather precipitate one earlier than the... Sunaj... wanted." Max paused as if asking himself if he really wanted to confide clan business to one who was an outsider despite being a friend. Finally he continued, "The Aerihman Clan is well integrated with the others. They are intimately aware of the inner working, defenses and weaknesses of all of the others." Max's fists clenched in suppressed anger, "They were family, despite our disagreements there was no need to hide anything from them." Turning quickly to Skippy he asked, "I need transportation to the clan elder. I can give you the coordinates."

"Well, we already used one of our reserve batteries," Skippy answered reluctantly. "However, this is an emergency. Just say when."

"This may take a while to deal with. We will have to move carefully to avoid them finding out that we are aware of the situation and attempting a preemptive strike," he stated, addressing White Raven. "The good thing... the only good thing... that might come of this, is that if we work this correctly you might have a lot of volunteer Atlantean freedom fighters anxious to strike out at the Splugorth for corrupting our kindred," Max gritted his teeth. He knew he certainly felt that way.

"As long as they are willing to take orders," White Raven acknowledged, "You know we are so numerically outclassed that we can't afford loose cannons."

"I'll be sure that they are aware," the Atlantean sighed, "That is in the future anyway. As I said this is going to take a while. Be careful while I'm gone."

"Now Max, you know I'm always careful," Raven smiled as she waved goodbye to her friend.

Both Max and Skippy snorted in disbelief at that statement and then looked at one another in surprise. Who would have believed that they would agree on something.

The black metal figure moved deeper into the shadows. Since it had escaped the cat beast it had stealthily hunted its prey. This city wasn't kind to artifacts of its ilk and care was required to prevent something or other from trying to lay claim. Naturally this slowed down its pursuit to a crawl. It had to hope that the godling it trailed stayed in one place for a significant amount of time or its cause would be lost. Already almost half its embedded talismans were destroyed. This made travel difficult but far from impossible.

Its mobile period had almost lapsed. It was time to find a hiding spot until its enchantments regenerated and it could move once again. It had made about a mile that day, hopefully it would make another mile tomorrow. It was slow but the creature had patience. It would fulfill its mission.

Revision 1.0