                         The Great Crossover Crisis

Disclaimer: It my writer?s right to write this.

< >: Thoughts

(* *): Computer responses

P-Ranma: Fist of the Pikachu (Ash, Trainer)

T-Ranma: Ranmatech (Tekno, Prototype)

Kojiro: Cat Fist Fury

D-Ranma: Dragon Child (Draco)

B-Ranma: Fighting Blind (Koga)

DD-Akane: Akane from Dual Destinies

Ranma Red and Ranma Blue: Twin Ranmas from Dual Destinies

Ranma: Ranma 1/2

^^ ^^: Kami-sama is speaking

<< >>: Lyrics

                                 Chapter 11

                      The Good, the Bad, and the Ranmas

P-Ranma was tip-toeing through a dark cavern as he searched for the beings
responsible for causing all the trouble in the area. He could feel it in his
bones that he was getting close. All the clues that he and his counterparts
had collected were now falling into place. They had decided to split up to
explore the other caverns and side tunnels. The only thing left to do was to
catch the bad guys. It was at that point that he realized that he was alone.
Raiden was nowhere in sight.

"Raiden" Where are you?"

It was then that a rumbling sound was heard and something suddenly burst out
from and adjacent wall of the cavern. P-Ranma's battle aura flared as he
leapt back to get more fighting room. The gigantic tunneling machine
lumbered forward with its huge diamond-tipped drill directed at the Pokemon
Trainer. In the driver's seat, the nefarious Demon Digger cackled as he
prepared to ram into his target. That'll teach him to snoop around where he
wasn't wanted!

P-Ranma's eyebrows furrowed as he prepared to launch a massive ki blast at
his opponent. As he was about to release his attack, he called out for his
Pokemon one more time.

"Raiden! Pikachu... where are you?"

That was when his Pikachu suddenly dropped down from above and landed on top
of the Demon Digger.

(And now we start hearing the lyrics...)

<<Pika pika chu, where are you" We've got some work to do now. >>

The Demon Digger tried to shake off the electric rodent, but Raiden held
fast as he began powering up his electric sacs.

<<Pika pika chu, where are you" We need some help from you now.>>

"Pika... CHUUUUU!!!!"

"YEEEEEEOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!!!" The Demon Digger screamed out as 50, 000 volts
were pumped into him.

<<Come on Pikachu, I see you.>>

<<Getting ready to shock the bad guy!>>

The Demon Digger ran from the digging machine screaming with his hair on
fire and Raiden chasing after him, preparing to let loose with a
Thunderbolt.

<<I feel bad for him, his future's dim, for the Pokemon's going to make him
fry!>>

Raiden let loose with another high-voltage blast and you could see the
skeleton of the Demon Digger as he howled out in pain.

<<You know we've got a mystery to solve, so are you ready to go and make
things rock... 'round the clock'>>

Raiden then began bashing in the Demon Digger's face with his martial arts
skills. Soon the monster is begging for the cops.

<<And Pikachu when you are through I know you'll give them all a
Thundershock!>>

"Pika.... CHUUUUUUU!!!!"

ZZZZZZZAAAAAPPPPPP!!!

"YEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW!!!!"

<<That's no crock!>>

By now, the screams of being repeatedly beaten and given drastic
electrotherapy had gotten the attention of the other Ranmas. They emerged
from various side tunnels to see Raiden finish off the dreaded Demon Digger.
The Scooby Doo gang also arrive on the scene.

<<Pika pika chu, here are you>>

<<You're really turning up the voltage!>>

"HELP! PLEASE!"
ZZZZAAAAAPPPPPP!!!
"ARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!"

<<"Cause we can count on you, Pikachu!>>

<<There's no one with your kind of courage!>>

"Pikachu!" Raiden said gleefully as he sat atop the bad guy, who was
sprawled on the cavern floor, and smoking a bit from being cooked
medium-rare.

A bit later...

"So, let's see who the Demon Digger really is." Velma said as she pulled off
the mask.

The Scooby Doo gang gasped while the five Ranmas nodded when they saw who it
was.

"Zoinks! It's Mr. Brown, the head foreman of the mining company!" Shaggy
exclaimed.

"Right." T-Ranma said as he began filling in the details. "That white powder
that Daphne and Freddy found was actually diamond dust. I had it analyzed
and I did a geological scan of the area. I found out that a huge vein of
diamonds was near the site where the miners were digging for copper, zinc
and all those other metals."
"I get it." Kojiro said. "Brown probably stumbled upon the vein by accident
during the initial survey, right?"

Koga nodded. "And he decided to mine out all the diamonds for himself. The
only problem was that the land that the vein was located at belonged to the
Indian reservation. So he invented the legend of the Demon Digger to scare
away the workers and anyone else from getting too close to his operation,
which was to illegally mine the diamonds."

"But what about all those tremors that were caused when the Demon Digger
struck the ground with his pickaxe?" Shaggy asked.

T-Ranma shrugged as he replied while tapping his temple with a finger. "Just
some really cheap special effects that were used as a cover-up for what was
really happening. They didn't fool my optic circuits though. What you saw
was a holographic image from a hidden projector, while Brown was down below
operating his digging machine. The projector was set by remote control and
whenever he started digging, the images would be showing the Demon Digger
striking the ground with his pickaxe. What you thought were seismic tremors
were actually vibrations caused by the machine as it burrowed through the
ground. As for those trails of white powder, that was of course the residual
diamond dust that was left over from the excavations."

"I've got to admit, that was some sweet set-up." Draco whistled.

The police detective nodded as he was about to lead Brown and his
accomplices away. "It was, but it's all over now."

Brown growled as he was being pushed into the police car. "Bah! And I would
have gotten away with it too if it weren't for those five look-alikes and
that oversized rat of theirs!"

Raiden smirked as he nibbled on a Scooby snack. As the police car drove
away, Scooby Doo walked up to Raiden and gave him a friendly lick.

"Scooby-Doo!"

"Pikachu!"

(*End of recording.*)

Ranma whistled as he and his other selves sat in the viewing room of the
complex. The lights then came on as the wide screen viewer in front of them
went blank.

"I can't believe it! You mean there's a universe out there in which the
characters of that American anime actually exist?"

"You bet." T-Ranma affirmed. "I've been keeping records of all of our
adventures since we started on this trip through dimensions. We've been in
realities in which many anime characters are actually real-life people." He
turned to his other selves and addressed them. "Remember that world with the
Sailor Senshi, guys?"

"DON'T REMIND ME!" P-Ranma said angrily as he turned his back to his
technological counterpart.

"What's up with him?" Ranma asked.

Tekno shrugged as he replied. "Well, Ash had gotten into a situation in
which he had to directly... get involved with the Sailor Senshi and..."

"I SAID DON'T REMIND ME!" P-Ranma still shuddered a bit as he remembered his
role as the Silver Senshi. "Besides, I'm sure that other guys don't want to
go through that Justice Five bit again."

The other Ranmas shuddered a little as they nodded in agreement. That had
been corny.

"Justice Five?" Ranma asked.

T-Ranma had a little sweatdrop as he laughed nervously for a moment. "Okay,
I admit that it wasn't one of my better ideas, but it all worked out in the
end, right?" When he got a foreboding silence from them, he decided that now
was the time to change the subject as he signaled the projector to roll
another clip.

----------

Click!

"Who are you?" The bad guy said as he and his gang were bruised, battered
and sprawled all over the landscape.
"Well you could say that we're hunters of peace..." Koga began.

"Chasing after the elusive mayfly of love." Kojiro added.

"After all, this world is devoted to..." Draco said.
"Love and peace!" Vash the Stampede finished as he held up two fingers in a
vee as he repeated his mantra.

"Love and peace!" The other Ranmas repeated as they all stood among the
rubble of the town. In the background, Merille Styfe had a huge sweatdrop as
she surveyed the damage caused by the fight that broke out between Vash the
Stampede, the bounty hunters and the five nearly identical interlopers.
Surprisingly enough, no one got killed, though the city was in ruins and
guess which insurance company was going to pay for it"
<Oh no! NOW he's got a poss! >

----------

Click!

We now see an image of P-Ranma in his cursed form in a dress and standing on
a stage aboard the SDF-1. Minmei had developed laryngitis, so guess who had
to sing"

"Come on Trainer! Those barrier satellites I put up around the Earth won't
keep out the Zentreadi fleet forever!" Prototype said over the
communications systems as his ship was leading the Robotech Defense Forces
and their Zentreadi allies against Dolza's armada.

"But..."
"Sing!"

P-Ranma sighed out a mushroom puff as the music began to play.

<<Life is only what we choose to make it...>>

<<Let's just take it...>>

<<Let us be free!>>

<<We can find the glory we all dream of...>>

<<And the battle...>>

<<We can win!>>

<<Still, we must fight or face defeat...>>

<<We must stand tall and not retreat!>>

<<With our strength we can find the light...>>

<<There's no threat we can't fight...>>
<<Together...>>

<<Come together...>>
<<We can win!>>

P-Ranma winced as she knew what was coming up next. One of the major points
of the battle plan... the Kiss, was up next..
<Ugh! > The Pokemon trainer turned around as Lynn Kyle approached her.

Outside in space, T-Ranma's ship and D-Ranma's dragon form were aiding the
combined forces in tearing up the Main Fleet of the Zentreadi armada.

Thankfully, at that point, T-Ranma signaled the projector to show a new
clip.

----------

Click!

"Don't ever show that one again!" P-Ranma said.

Ranma nodded as he remembered being kissed by Mikado Sanzenein.

----------

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Cobra Commander laughed as the last of the GI Joe
members were put into chains.

"You'll never get away with this Cobra Commander." Duke said defiantly.

"Oh really?" He sneered. "GI Joe headquarters has been destroyed. Your
entire team is now is chains. Who's left to stop me?" He turned to his
triumphant troops and shouted out their battle cry.

"COBRA!"

It was at that time that T-Ranma's ship flashed in from the skies and five
figures dropped down toward the ground. The lead diver was armed with enough
weaponry to level a city by himself.

"YO JOE!"

----------

Click!

"For the LAST time, Aisha! I AM NOT A CTARL CTARL!"

Aisha Clan Clan could only stare at Kojiro in his hybrid form with a bit of
a blush on her cheeks.

----------

Click!

"Am I glad we got out of THAT universe!" Kojiro commented.

----------

The five Ranmas were now standing in the middle of some forest moon. They
looked at each at each other as Kojiro asked...

"Do any of you want to say it or should I?"
"Go ahead." Prototype replied.

"Thanks." Kojiro took a deep breath and then shouted out to the heavens.
"WHERE IN THE SPACE-TIME CONTINUUM ARE WE NOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW"!"

The Neko Ken fighter's shout startled the local village of Ewoks.



----------

Click!

Ranma looked at the others with a huge sweatdrop. Kojiro and the others
could only shrug as the Cat Fist fighter replied with a sheepish smile.

"Well, we were really stressed out at the time."

----------

"It's the Muppet Show with our very special guests, Kojiro, Trainer,
Prototype, Draco and Ranma Saotome, yaaaaaaaayyyy!!!"

----------

Click!

Ranma was about to say something, but Trainer held up a hand and said,
"Please, don't ask!"

----------

We now see a very prehistoric-looking scene with Kojiro in a hard hat,
operating what appears to be an Brontosaurus. On the side, the quarry
foreman looks down at his sundial watch and then pulls the tail of a bird,
signaling the end of the day. That's when the ship flashes in from the sky
and the Cat Fist fighter waves a fond farewell to Fred Flintstone as he
leaps out of the cab and slides down the tail.

"EEEEEEEEEE YABBA DABBA DOO!"

<<Ranmas! Meet the Ranmas!>>

<<They're the greatest team to ever be!>>

The ship swooped down and let out a line for Kojiro to catch as it then
pulled up and accelerated toward the sky. The Neko Ken martial artist is
reeled into the craft as it speeds up into space.

<<Hopping, through the nexus.>>

<<They've left their mark in Fred Flintstone's city!>>

----------

Click!

"Now you've GOT to be kidding!" Ranma said in disbelief.

Kojrio shrugged as he replied. "Nope. That was real too. And it wasn't all
THAT bad. I wouldn't mind having another one of those Bronto-Burgers." The
Cat Fist fighter then licked his chops a bit as he remembered the succulent
taste of juicy dino-meat. He had developed a taste for prehistoric cuisine
and shrugged as he thought that it was probably due to the saber-tooth tiger
part of him.

----------

The Joker was really impressed after Prototype easily rescued Vicki Vale
from the trap and spirited her away minutes before Batman even arrived at
the scene.

"Where did HE get all those wonderful toys?"

----------

Click!

"Hey! I saw that movie!" Ranma exclaimed.

----------

<<You've got the touch!>>

<<You've got the powerrrrrrr!!>>

<<Yeah!>>

"Come on guys! It's time to light our darkest hour!" Koga said as he and the
others blasted Galvatron out of Unicron's

chest.

<<After all is said and done!>>

<<You never walked You never run!>>

<<You're a winner!>>

Rodimus Prime smiled as he picked up the Autobot Matrix of Leadership and
nodded. The power of the Matrix was let loose and began tearing up the
Planet Devourer's insides.

<<Got the moves, you know the street!>>

<<Break the rules, take the heat!>>

<<You're nobody's fool!>>

The new Autobot Leader and the five Ranmas ran for their lives as Unicron's
body began building toward critical mass.

<<You're at your best when the going gets rough.>>

<<You've been put to the test but it's never enough!>>

A few minutes later, the rest of the autobots and their human friends join
up with them and they all make their exit through Unicron's remaining eye.
The head of the monster was blown off and put into an orbit around Cybertron
as the main body exploded like a supernova.

Later on Cybertron, Rodimus Prime finishes his speech with that famous
phrase as the five Ranmas left in their ship.

"Till all are one!"

"TILL ALL ARE ONE!" The five martial artists chorused as the ship entered
the nexus.

----------

Ranma Blue gave a whimsical smile to his brother as they watched the clips
from their own dimensional pocket.

"I always wondered where Skuld got that song for our battle against
Sharoka."

----------

The native Ranma became entranced as he saw the exploits of his dimensional
counterparts and the martial arts skills they displayed during their romp
through dimensions. He saw them take out the Death Star, fight demons and
monsters that would have made mincemeat out of him. They fought interstellar
battles, visited strange and exotic worlds and had more experiences that
made his own ten-year training journey look like a weekend vacation. After
seeing more than a hundred samples of what his counterparts had gone through
and what they were capable of, he was more determined than ever to learn all
their secrets and techniques to become the greatest martial artist in the
world... no, in the universe!

It had been a week since the five other versions of himself had landed in
the lot behind the Tendo home, and their presence had already caused some
major changes to occur. With the help of Care-Bot Unit 7, Kasumi had been
given a chance to actually experience life outside the Tendo home. She was
now seeing other people besides the usual crowds of housewives that she
associated with while grocery shopping. She was free to go out and have fun;
see the sights, go to movies and shop for things other than the essentials
for her family. However, her main interest of her new lifestyle was in the
oldest member of the dimensional Ranmas.

Apparently, Kasumi had started to become attracted to Prototype and his
maturity. Unlike Dr. Tofu, the technological martial artist kept a cool head
whenever he was in her presence and was the perfect gentleman. He
complimented her often and whenever she was near him, the eldest Tendo
daughter would sport a shade of red on her cheeks. He was polite, yet
dashing, like the daring rogues of those torrid love novels that she read in
secret. He was tall, handsome, well-developed and older than she was, (as we
all recall from the beginning, she prefers older and more mature men). He
was basically the utmost potential that the native Ranma could achieve, both
physically and mentally.

There were a few obstacles in her way though. First of all, Kasumi had
something of a rival, namely a girl-teacher who had recently grown up. Miss
Hinako was no longer cursed to revert back to her child form and had been
making a few advances toward Tekno at school. Unlike the crush she had with
Soun Tendo, her attraction toward Prototype was more of an adult nature.
Prototype found himself in a bit of an uncomfortable position and had to
politely turn her down each time. However, Hinako had proven to be quite
persistent as she continued to vie for his affections.

Kasumi's shy nature was also working against her, since she had no prior
experience to dating before taking her mother's place as the caretaker of
the Tendo clan. She felt somewhat inadequate and had low self-esteem,
thinking of herself as ordinary and plain, though the technological Ranma
and his counterparts assured her she was anything but that.

The presence of the other versions of Ranma were also making her a bit torn.
Kojiro was wild and absolutely gorgeous whenever he switched to his hybrid
form. Koga displayed a kind of maturity that went beyond his years and a
gentle soul that mirrored her own. Draco was... exotic with his mystical
powers and she felt mesmerized every time she looked into those slitted
pupils. As for Trainer, well... he was.. fun to be with. He knew how to have
fun and his Pokemon were just so adorable. His Pikachu had become especially
fond of her and her cooking. Raiden would often come to the kitchen for some
tasty tidbits.

As for the rest of the Tendo family, the five otherworldly versions of the
best martial artist in Nerima were also making a few impacts as well, not to
some people's liking though. Nabiki had become extremely cautious, more so
than usual, especially around Prototype. Ranma wasn't sure exactly what
happened to her when she went into the complex, but she hadn't been trying
to make any money off him or his other selves. In fact, she hadn't made any
money period.

However, the three residents of the Tendo dojo that had been getting a lot
of lumps lately were Akane, Happosai and Genma, though Ranma had to admit,
they asked for it.

Happosai had been the first to get the worst of the encounters...

Flashback to six days ago...

<Ow! That smarts!> The old lecher winced as he made his way back to the
Tendo Dojo. He had landed painfully in Juuban after his short and
humiliating battle against the Neko Ken fighter. <Since when did Ranma get
THAT fast and strong? And I don't remember him being able to use the Cat
Fist like that! Grrr! He'll pay for that! Hey! I know! I'll use the
Moxibustion Point on him! Heh! Once he's weak, I'll get all his enemies
after him! That'll teach him! >

It was at that point that he saw Ranma standing in the dining room with his
back turned as he was speaking to Kasumi. Happosai grinned as he leapt
forward and applied the pressure point to a spot between Ranma's shoulder
blades. It was then that he turned around to face the grinning master of the
Anything Goes.

"HA, HA, HA, HA! Now you'll pay for getting into my business Ranma!"

Draco looked down at the gnome as he felt a slight warmth on his back and
shrugged. He had felt much hotter temperatures in the Dragon World. "What
are you talking about, you little troll?"

"You no longer have any strength and will be weak forever!"

"Oh really?" Draco said with contempt as he picked up the heavy table with
one hand and said to Kasumi, "Don't worry, I'll have one of the Care-Bots
fix this later." He then casually crushed it into splinters.

Happosai's widened as he stuttered. "W-W-Wha? You can't be able to do that!"

"Who says? DRAGON FIRE!"

Anyone for Roast Happosai?

End of flashback...

Draco had later explained to Ranma that his skin had the same constitution
as dragon scales, which made him virtually immune to most shiatsu attacks.
Of course, Happosai had thought that he had somehow missed the correct spot
and showing his usual stubbornness, decided to try again. However, this time
he mistook Prototype for Ranma. That had proven to be a big mistake as the
technological Ranma was the strongest of the five.

Flashback to that same day, but a little later...

Happosai was slightly charred after being barbequed, but saw that he had
another chance when he saw Ranma causally sitting in the den reading a
newspaper. With his back turned, the old pervert had another chance as he
leapt toward his unprotected side.

However, Prototype had long since detected his approach, and though the
lecher was as formidable as Cologne, the attack he was using wasn't anything
effective. He shrugged as Happosai's shiatsu attack made contact.

<Computer, was that the Drayllian Strength Draining Attack?>

(*Shiatsu technique similar to what the Drayllian Pacifists use, though it
is just as easy to correct. Nanites had already brought decreased ki levels
back to normal.*)

T-Ranma nodded as he casually swatted Happosai like a bothersome fly. "Get
lost, you little gnat."

Happosai went shooting off like a rocket and smashed through the wall. He
kept on going and went through a few more walls of several houses before
finally rolling to a stop in the middle on a street two blocks away. That
was when a transit bus ran over him.

At that moment, Care-Bot Unit Seven appeared.

"Care-Bot Unit Seven is online. Beginning structural repair on east wall."

"Sorry about that Care-Bot."

End of flashback...

Now a normally, a person would have given up, provided that he survived
being fried and being hit with the equivalent of a speeding freight train.
However, Happosai was anything BUT normal and Ranma knew just petty he was.
The old lecher decided that the third time was the charm. Unfortunately, it
was an UNLUCKY charm.

Flashback to that same day, this time it is early evening...

"Give me back my strength!" Ranma shouted as he chased after Happosai.

"Ha, ha! I got you now and..."

WHAM!

The ancient pervert was slammed to the floor as a staff suddenly appeared
and beaned him on the head. Before he could recover, a hand flashed forward
and applied several shiatsu points to his back, temporarily immobilizing
him. That was when B-Ranma stepped forward as Ranma ran up to him.

Happosai's eyes widened as he saw two Ranmas.

"Huh? Two of you?!"

B-Ranma shrugged as he addressed his native double. "What's wrong, Ranma?"

Ranma was fuming as he pointed to the paralyzed Happosai. "That little troll
used the Moxibustion Point on me and was going tell all my enemies that I'm
weak now."

"Oh? What's the Moxibustion Point and why do I sense that your ki levels are
reduced all of a sudden?"

"It's a pressure point that reduces a person's strength to a baby's."
"Hah! And there's nothing you can do about it!" Happosai sneered. "This is
payback to what he did to me at the school!"
"Wrong Ranma." B-Ranma commented as he simply walked around Ranma and then
extended his senses to his patient's lines of ki. He then located the point
in which the flows of inner energy were being restricted and applied the
correct pressure to the release point. Ranma suddenly felt a burning
sensation and then his strength fully returned. He then felt another series
of quick, but gentle finger jabs in his back. He turned around with a
questioning look to his blind counterpart.

Koga shrugged as he replied to Ranma's unspoken question. "I'm just ensuring
that Happosai never uses that particular attack on you again. Those pressure
points I just applied to you have now made your body immune to the
Moxibustion Point." He then addressed to the still paralyzed Happosai. "Now
as for you."
Happosai winced as he felt a spot of heat on his back. It was at that time
that the paralysis wore off and he got up to attack Koga. However, with the
Moxibustion Point now working on his body, his usual perversion-fueled
strength was reduced to its lowest levels. He was easily swatted to the
ground.

"Now let's see how you like being weak for a while." B-Ranma said as he held
his staff like a golf club and swung. "FORE!"

Happosai was sent flying off into the distance.

End of flashback...

Ranma shook his head while smiling. His dimensional counterparts had no
problems whatsoever in handling Happosai. He hadn't seen that old lecher
since then. Things hadn't gotten boring since then, as Akane finally got a
chance to spar against each of the Ranmas. However, that had proven to be a
really BIG mistake.

----------

Flashback to four days ago...

P-Ranma sighed as he had just about to leave the dojo, when Akane suddenly
appeared and challenged him to a match. The Pokemon trainer had been playing
around with his Pikachu and the sparring session had been nothing more than
simple relaxation. Prototype had been doing some maintenance in the complex,
so the other Ranmas had been taking turns using the dojo.

"I really don't feel like sparring now." Ash replied as he signaled to
Raiden. The electric mouse hopped up and perched on his right shoulder.

"What's the matter" Afraid that you're going to lose?" Akane taunted. She
had been getting very irritated at all the attention that Ranma's other
selves had been getting and wanted to work off some steam. This Ranma only
sparred with cute little animals, so he certainly wouldn't be a match for
someone of her caliber. She also saw his refusal as a slight to her own
skills as well.

"Nope. I just don't feel on picking on a really weak opponent." P-Ranma
replied. Like the native Ranma, this Ranma had a bit of a problem with tact,
though not as great since he had been traveling with others and learned some
social skills.

"W-Weak? You're calling me weak? I'll show you who's weak! Come on!" Akane
went into a basic stance.

P-Ranma sighed as he assessed her skill and power level, which wasn't that
much higher than Sam Ryker's. Jeanette's skills were much higher. However,
it was apparent that Akane wasn't going to back down, so...

"Oh, all right. If you can beat Raiden, or last at least one minute against
him, then I'll give you a match."

"Pikachu!" Raiden hopped down and took his own stance.

"You're nothing but a coward if you're going to let your own animals fight
your battles for you!" Akane sneered at the little rodent. Though she
thought it was cute, it didn't compare to her sweet little P-Chan.

P-Ranma shook his head as he calmly replied to her remark. "I consider
Raiden not only as my Pokemon and my best friend, but also as my best
student. I take my role as his trainer and sensei very seriously and judge
the performance of my other Pokemon and opponents in comparison to his
skills. I taught him everything he knows, and he taught me a few things as
well. If you can't even hold your own against him, then there would be no
point in you challenging me to a match. Now are you going to accept Raiden's
challenge or are YOU afraid that you're going to lose to him?"

That last quip got Akane's temper steaming as she angrily tensed up and spat
back. "Fine then! This won't take more than ten seconds! YOU won't even last
that long!"

P-Ranma shrugged as he bent down to his Pikachu and gave some last minute
instructions. "Anything Goes Raiden, but NO electric attacks during this
match, got that?"

"Chu!" Raiden nodded as he faced off against Akane.

Trainer then gave the signal for the match to begin.

Akane charged at Raiden with the intent of a quick knockout, but...

WHAM! BAM! CRASH!

Akane found herself in a very large hole in the floor with her feet sticking
up as Raiden dusted off his paws.

"OW! NO FAIR! I WASN'T READY! THAT STUPID, FAT RAT CHEATED!"

Now there were three things that one should never call a Pikachu. Fat, rat
and especially... stupid.

"Pika... CHUUUUU!!!!"

ZZZZZAAAAAAAAPPPPP!!!

Akane was now smoking a bit as Raiden trotted off.

"Raiden! I said no electric attacks." Trainer scolded.

"Pika! Pika pika chu!"

P-Ranma thought for a moment, then shrugged as Raiden ascended up his arm to
his shoulder. "You're right. I didn't say that you couldn't shock her AFTER
the match." He then looked back to where Akane was still sprawled and
gestured to his watch. "Three-point one seconds, Akane. Better train harder.
The girls I travel with can at least hold their own for thirty seconds
against Raiden!"

"Pika!" Raiden smiled as they headed toward the kitchen. Maybe that nice
Kasumi girl had more of those rice balls. At that moment, Care-Bot Unit 7
appeared to fix the hole in the floor.

----------

Ranma shook his head. Akane HAD been asking for that one. However, he also
knew just how stubborn she was when she set her mind to something and if one
Ranma wasn't going to fight her, then she'd try the others.

----------

Flashback to that same day...

"What? Are you kidding?" Kojiro said after being challenged to a match. "You
REALLY want to spar against me?"

Akane was still trying work off steam after being beaten by P-Ranma's
Pikachu. The fact that the rodent shocked her afterwards had been adding
insult to injury. She needed to pound on something and one Ranma was as good
as another.

"Well... are you just going to stand there or are you going to fight? Or are
you just scared that...?"

SLASH!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Akane screamed after she looked down and saw
that her gi was now in a pile of tatters at her feet, along with her bra.
She was only clad in her panties as she covered up her chest with her arms.
Kojiro was now standing behind her facing away and in a slight crouch with
hands extended like claws. He stood up and glanced over his shoulder.

"Too slow, reflexes are like a dead slug's, defense is nonexistent, and..."
He gave her a once-over and shrugged. "Nothing else you have is anything to
get excited about." To Kojiro, Ukyo had a better figure and he also knew of
some very comely Felinar females as well.

Akane's face was beet red as Kojiro casually walked away. Care-Bot Unit 7
then jetted into the dojo and used the built-in broom and dustpan in its
body to sweep up the remains of Akane's clothes. It then jetted away,
leaving Akane in her still stunned state.

----------

Ranma sighed again. Just what was Akane thinking? Did she really think that
she could beat him; a true master of the Neko Ken? Did she expect Kojiro was
going to leap into her lap and purr, just because he knew the Cat Fist?

Of course, if at first you don't succeed...

----------

Another flashback...

"I really don't think this is a good idea..." Draco said as he and Akane
faced each other in the dojo.
"Shut up and fight!" Akane growled as she tensed up and then charged at him.

CRASH!

Akane was seeing pretty birdies in the back yard as she was sprawled on her
back near the koi pond. Back in the dojo, Draco stood with one arm held out
and his index finger extended while gazing out at the Akane-shaped hole that
the youngest Tendo had made in her abrupt exit.

<Whoops! Put a little too much into that one! I'm so used to fighting B-Ko's
mecha and sparring against A-Ko! >

At that moment, Care-Bot Unit 7 jetted into the dojo.

"Care-Bot Unit 7 is online. Now beginning repairs to dojo wall."

----------

<Man! Did Akane actually THINK she had a chance against someone who is
half-dragon? Herb was gave ME a tough time and he was descended from
dragons! >

Of course, Akane still kept on trying...

----------

Flashback...

Koga had just wanted some peace and quiet as he sat down in the middle of
the dojo and played on his silver flute. His sixth and seventh sense then
alerted him that someone was entering the dojo, but he continued on playing
as he ascertained that it was only Akane.

Akane's temper had hit new highs as she glared at the Ranma sitting on the
floor and ignoring her. She started yelling at him and telling him to get up
and face him, but the blind Ranma continued on playing as if she wasn't
there. After a minute or so of trying verbally goad him into a match with no
results, she decided on a more physical approach. She aimed a punch at
B-Ranma's head. This always got the native Ranma's attention.

WHAM! WHOMP! THUMP!

Akane couldn't understand it. How did she end up lying on her stomach and
paralyzed with B-Ranma sitting cross-legged on her back, still playing that
flute? She had even registered him getting up from his sitting position.

Koga continued on playing his flute while perched on his new seat cushion.

----------

<I STILL don't know how he did that! > Ranma wondered.

----------

One more flashback...

"Ow." Akane groaned as she once again found herself in pain and sprawled in
a deep hole in the floor of the dojo. T-Ranma simply wagged his pinky at
her.

"Well that was fun. I needed to practice my Galforian Galactic Digit
Fighting. See you later."

----------

Being beaten by someone's index finger was humiliating enough, but being
defeated by the baby finger was worse. As of now, Akane was sulking in her
room and refused to see anyone. Ranma did feel a pang of pity, though he too
had often teased Akane about her less than stellar skills in the martial
arts. To be thoroughly humiliated by five replicas of himself probably made
her self-esteem as a martial artist reach its lowest point.

Akane had been very proud of the fact that she was the best fighter in
Nerima, until Ranma came along and blew that out of the water. Then along
came the other girls and their skills in Amazonian Wu Shu,
Okonomiyaki-style, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Martial Arts Figure Skating, Martial
Arts School of Delivery Service and all those other styles, which easily
beat her further down on the martial arts scale. During the time that Ranma
had come to Nerima, Akane's status had been moved from top of the line, to
the bottom of the barrel. Now with five masters of their own art living at
the Tendo dojo, his easy to anger fiance wasn't even considered noteworthy.

----------

In that place beyond places...

Ranma Red sighed as he and his brother watched what was happening in that
reality.

"You know, I think those five are overdoing it a bit."
Ranma Blue nodded while shrugging. "Well, what do you expect" Unlike our
Akane, this own is even slower to learn from her mistakes and has almost no
control over that temper. She's never had to take responsibility for the
consequences of her own actions. Ranma either saves her or takes the fall.
Soun pretty much ignores the abuse that she puts on Ranma every day and even
Kasumi has given up on making Akane change. She explodes at the slightest
provocation or whatever she interprets as an insult to her. However, unlike
the native Ranma, the other five won't take any of her abuse or temper
tantrums."

"We both know that Akane isn't really a bad sort, but it looks like she's
going to be eating a LOT of crow for the next half-year."

"It's too bad that we can't send anyone to make her see that her treatment
of Ranma isn't the way to go. In her current time line, she's headed for a
very sad ending."
Ranma Red then became silent for a moment, then cocked his head to one side
with a whimsical look. "Hmmm, why not?"

Ranma Blue looked at his brother with confusion. "Huh?"

"Why not send someone over to have a chat with Akane?"

"What?! Are you serious?"
"I don't see any reason why we shouldn't. After all, the rules state that we
can't DIRECTLY interfere with this Ranma's time line. That's why we sent
those five versions of ourselves. Now why not send over a version of Akane
who actually learned from her mistakes and let her give this Akane some
pointers on how to make her life get turned around."
"Do you realize how tall that order is? Most of the time lines that we've
scanned all have Akane as a violent maniac! Our Akane was like that and she
had to die before she changed!"
"Then that's who we'll send."

"Huh?"

"Who better to give Akane some advice than another Akane who has learned
that violence and anger is not the way?"

Blue was about to protest further, then thought about it. "Well, you've got
a point there, I suppose. But, I don't know if Kami-sama would allow
that..."

^^ YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION. ^^

The Twins were both startled at the sound of Kami-sama's voice, then blinked
at each other before Ranma Blue sent out a silent message to the Akane of
their reality.

----------

"So that's who you want me to talk to?" DD-Akane asked as she looked through
the dimensional viewing portal. She was now in her late thirties and had
allowed her hair to grow down to her waist. Her face had become more defined
and the look in her eyes showed that she had long experience, both in life
and the martial arts. "Good grief, was I EVER like that?" The Akane of the
twins' reality stared in disbelief as her younger counterpart displayed
childish temper tantrums and very little control or discipline.

"You really have to ask us THAT?" Ranma Blue said. "After what we all went
through?"

"Sorry, I really don't want to be reminded of what I was like back then."
DD-Akane said as she watched the time line of her other self unfold. "So
what exactly happened to this Akane?"

"Well, this is what happened to everyone if things were left alone in this
reality." Ranma Red gestured to a timeline that branched off from the one
they were viewing.
DD-Akane frowned as she saw the final outcome and the tragic ending to the
relationship between Ranma and her other self in this reality. "And
Kami-sama wants this to be avoided?"

"Yep. That's why he assigned us to this task." Ranma Blue affirmed. "Since
we know what he's going through now, and we have the power to help him,
Kami-sama decided that we'd be the right choice to handle this matter. This
reality is very important to the space-time continuum. We have to make
certain that this Ranma survives. As a result, he's GOT to learn a few
things. However, it wouldn't hurt for the other girls to learn a few things
as well. Kojiro is helping out Ukyo, while Shampoo is getting a few lessons
from Koga."

"Yeah. My brother and I think that this Akane might benefit from a little
advice from her better self. Namely you."

"Well... I guess I can point her in the right direction." DD-Akane said as
she considered the assignment.
"Just don't make her look better than the other girls, Akane. Kami-sama did
state that Ranma is to be given the choice of who he marries. Those five
counterparts that we sent to his world are only there to help him out with
his problems and give him the opportunity to make his own choices in life."
Ranma Blue warned.

DD-Akane nodded. "Don't worry, I'm not going to make her into a
super-martial artist, best cook or something, because I know that it will
only go to her head. I remember how cocky I was whenever I was became better
than anyone else. Thankfully, Cologne drilled it into me that there will
ALWAYS be someone better. This Akane expects that everything will just be
handed to her. She could use the lesson that if she truly wants something,
then she's going to have to earn it like everyone else."

"Don't go too hard on her. Just... push in the right direction." Ranma Blue
reminded.
"I'll try, but it will be strictly up to her if she takes my... advice."
"That's all we can expect from her." Ranma Red said as he began casting a
spell.

----------

Meanwhile, back in that particular reality...

"You know, you guys really shouldn't have gone overboard like that! I mean,
Pops IS an idiot and all, but you guys..." Ranma said.

"Hmpf! As far as we're concerned, he got off easy!" Kojiro growled as he and
the other Ranmas were having a snack in the complex. "He's lucky that he's
still breathing after that stunt he and Akane's father tried to pull!"

"I'll say!" Koga agreed. "He actually THOUGHT that we'd go along with that
crazy scheme!"

----------

Flashback to three nights ago...

The Tendo family with Genma and Ranma saw the five other Ranmas enjoying a
very good meal at a restaurant and decided to join them. The otherworldly
Ranmas had no complaints about them joining them and invited them to sit
with them while asking the waiter to bring some more menus.

"Hey people! Nice to see you all here." Draco said as the Tendos and
Saotomes took their seats.
"Hello Draco, everyone. It is very nice to see you all here." Kasumi said.
"Father had decided to treat us all to dinner tonight. What a very nice
coincidence that we would find you here at the same restaurant that Father
was planning to take us."

The five Ranmas became a bit tense at hearing this and had a feeling that
something was up. With both Genma and Soun together, both Koga and Kojiro
were well aware that they must have some hare-brained scheme in the works.
They already had informed their other selves of their own experiences with
the less-than-dynamic duo, and warned them for any half-baked plans that
involved them.

As the rest of the Ranmas finished with their meals, the Tendos and Saotomes
were busy digging into their dinners. For a while, all seemed peaceful as
the Ranmas quietly made small talk with everyone. Akane simply ignored the
five as she still remembered her humiliating defeats. Then, as Genma and
Soun watched the five, they noticed the glances that Kasumi was giving
T-Ranma. Nabiki was also a bit nervous at looking at the technological
Ranma, but she did seem fascinated by the slitted pupils of Draco's eyes.
The two idiots mistook these glances as sure signs. That was when they
decided to drop the bomb.

Soun called for attention by striking the side of his glass with a spoon,
then stood up with his drink. "As head of the Tendos, I would like to
propose a toast to our guests and welcome them. Genma and myself look
forward to the day when both Prototype and Draco officially joins our Ranma
in uniting the Schools of the Anything Goes."

"Huh?" Draco said.

"Excuse me?" Prototype inquired.

Soun took on a stoic air as Genma backed him up. "Genma and I had solemnly
made a pledge to unite our children in marriage and ensure the future of the
Anything Goes. Akane will marry Ranma, and we had decided that Kasumi and
Nabiki shall be engaged to Prototype and Draco, respectively. This way, the
bond between our families shall be three times as strong and..."

"No." Prototype said simply as he stood up with hands on the table.

"Not interested." Draco affirmed as he too stood up in defiance.

Genma ignored their protests as he and Soun began prematurely celebrating.
"Oh, isn't this wonderful Tendo?"
"Yes. It's perfect and..."
"Didn't you hear us? We SAID NO!" Prototype said as he causally slammed a
hand on the table. However, with his superhuman strength, that caused the
table to collapse, causing the dishes and food to come crashing onto the
floor. The other Ranmas also stood up angrily and glared at the two as the
rest of the group looked on.

"But it's a matter of honor that all the Saotome children marry..." Soun
began.

"There's a few details that you're forgetting!" Prototype growled. "First of
all, we're not interested in getting engaged to anyone at this point and
we're certainly not going to get engaged against our will!"
"That's right!" Draco gritted as his battle aura began to glow. "It's bad
enough that the Genma is trying to railroad me into an engagement back home,
but I'm not going to put up with that nonsense here!"

Soun became a bit nervous as he stuttered out, "Oh, well if you two aren't
interested, then perhaps the others..."
"NOT A CHANCE!" P-Ranma said without hesitation.

"NO WAY!" Kojiro agreed.

"NOT EVEN IN YOUR DREAMS!" Koga said.

Genma became very irritated at this defiance and that's when his mouth moved
a lot faster than his pea-sized brain. "Ranma! I will not put up with this
refusal! It was a sacred oath that I made with Soun and two of you will
follow through and marry his other two daughters! As your father I decide
what is best for you and..."

That was when Koga, Kojiro, Draco and P-Ranma's battle auras exploded into
full intensity and Prototype saw that the situation was getting out of hand.
"Er... guys! Remember that he's not your...."

WHAM! CRASH! BAM! THUMP! ZZAP! FWOOSH! SIZZLE! KABOOM! CRASH! BOOM! KAPOW!
SMASH!

"...father."

----------

End of flashback...

"Man! You guys really laid a number on Pops. It'll take him weeks to get out
of the hospital , not to mention the damage that you did to that
restaurant."

"Hmpf! He deserved it." Draco said. "Imagine, he and Mr. Tendo actually
thought that we'd go along with that, just because they said so."

"What a pair of losers!" Kojiro remarked.

"I'm glad that I'm never going back to my world if that's waiting for me."
P-Ranma added.

"Still..." Ranma said. "That wasn't a reason for you guys to go overboard
like that. Pops and Mr. Tendo have done some really stupid things in the
past, but Pops didn't deserve to be put out like that."

Prototype nodded as he gave his other selves a disappointed gaze. "He's
right guys. Now I know that most of you despise Genma in your own worlds,
but keep in mind that he's NOT your father."
"He acts just like him." Koga said. "He and Soun didn't even consider the
fact that we won't be here forever, nor the fact that we don't respect Genma
or any of his wishes. What a total moron!"

Draco looked at Ranma with pity and said, "I don't see how you could have
stayed with him for so long, when most of your problems are because of him
and all those deals he's made."

"Well... he is my POP and..."
"And that's the main reason why we let him have it!" Kojiro cut him off.
"We've all decided that we will never listen to Genma or go along with any
of his ideas. He's the main cause of a lot of our problems back home. When
your Genma said that we had to do as he said, just because he was our
father, that's when we lost it. We've never listened to him before, and when
he tried to use that 'you'll do as I say, because I'm your father' routine,
well that's where we draw the line!"

"That's right! We'll never go along with his orders. Not now, not ever!"
Koga said with a bit of bitterness in his voice.

Ranma was about to say something else, but saw that the others were going to
brook no further argument.

----------

The end of the week...

"Well guys, it's been a week and we've observed our native self and his
world. So what do you think?" Prototype asked as he and the other Ranmas
were discussing Ranma underneath a tree at Furinkan High. However, they had
one more person listening in on their conversation. Ranma was hiding behind
another tree nearby and was listening in on their conversation.

Though Koga, Kojiro, Draco and Prototype all knew that he was there, they
decided to let him stand their as T-Ranma muted their conversation with a
sound-suppression field. Ranma found that he couldn't hear a thing as they
began telling each other about their opinions about him.

"Can I speak freely?" Kojiro asked.

"Go ahead." Prototype replied.

"Well... to put it short, Ranma is a weenie."

Ouch!

"Isn't that a little extreme to call him that?" Prototype asked.

"Well, you said I could speak freely, and that's how I feel about him."

"Oh come on now, he's not THAT bad."

Kojiro paused for a moment to think about it, then nodded. "All right, I'll
admit that he isn't really a weenie, but he comes close. He takes a lot of
crap every day, but he doesn't really do a thing to stop any of it. Most of
the problems he has come right back to that worthless father of his! All he
thinks about is martial arts! And I really don't like the way he treats the
Ukyo here."
"Well... I have to agree a little with you on that, Kojiro." Koga said
slowly. " I don't really like the way he calls elder Cologne an old ghoul
and how he treats Shampoo."
Prototype held up his hand. "Now, now... let's not allow our emotions to get
in the way. It sounds to me that you both are basing your opinions by
comparing your lives with his. Keep in mind that this universe is not any of
yours, so things that you know from your own realities may not apply here.
I've noticed a few things about the Ukyo and Shampoo of this world. They're
quite different from what you described them during our travels. I went over
the recordings of this dimension and noted that Shampoo is quite devious and
is willing to resort to underhanded tricks and potions to get what she
wants, namely Ranma. And her great-grandmother is willing to do the same to
see that Amazon Law is upheld. Ukyo can be quite devious herself and she has
tried a few schemes."

Koga frowned a bit, and had to admit that this world's Shampoo wasn't like
the one he knew of. "I'll admit that she's not like my cousin, but..."
"But you'd like to see her as happy as the one in your world, right?"
Prototype finished, then turned to Kojiro. "I'd would think that you'd like
to see Ukyo just as happy, right?"

"Yeah, well.. I know from first hand how much she suffered over the last ten
years, and it really makes me mad the way Ranma doesn't seem to notice how
much she feels about him. I don't approve of the stuff she's pulled to get
Ranma but..."
Prototype interrupted. "Hey guys! Like I said before, keep in mind that this
isn't any of your realities, so stop trying to run Ranma's life for him. If
he's anything like us, then I know he would resent our trying to force
something onto him. What we're here today is to simply discuss his problems
and try to give him some advice on how to get his life straightened out, or
at least make it more bearable. I know that a lot of things about Ranma's
life really disgusts you guys, but unlike the rest of us, he never got away
from Genma and made all the mistakes that we worked hard in our lives to
avoid. "

Draco nodded. "I agree with Tekno. Those two girls had a chance to get Ranma
in their worlds, so they had no reason to act the way that Shampoo and Ukyo
are acting here. Shampoo grew up with Koga, while Ukyo has Kojiro as her
official fianc backed by the goddess Bastet, no less. Genma and Soun's
promise don't hold a candle toward a deity's plans or against an entire
village of Amazons."

"True." Prototype agreed. "We really have to remember that this Ranma has
never been able to make decisions for himself. Genma is usually the one who
decided for him or certain situations come about and force themselves on him
without him having any say in the matter."

"You know, after seeing how much his father had screwed up his life with his
broken promises and poor decisions, I've always wondered why he never dumped
that panda sooner, or at least get away from him for a while. I did after
what happened to me in Jusenkyo." P-Ranma said as he casually stroked his
Pikachu behind the ears.

"Pika!" Raiden agreed. In the Pokemon world, a Pokemon had the choice to
abandon its trainer if he or she proved to be too abusive or caused trouble.
There had been several cases of that happening.

T-Ranma shrugged. "Well, he's spent ten years of his life with only his
father as a role model, so that's the only life he knew. Out of all of us,
both you and Kojiro had the most similar life to Ranma's, up to the point of
Jusenkyo. Let me ask the two of you this question. Why didn't you guys leave
him sooner when you realized that he was an idiot? After all, I'm pretty
sure that you two realized that Genma didn't always have both his oars in
the water, sometime along the way, right? Probably after that Cat Fist
training, right?" When both Trainer and the Cat Fist did not immediately
respond, T-Ranma nodded knowingly. "I thought as much. You both probably
stayed with Genma out of a sense of loyalty or duty as his son, right? Now
that's one good point that we can all agree on about Ranma. He's got a sense
of honor and loyalty. That's something we can all relate to. After all, we
are all martial artists."
Reluctantly, the others nodded.

"All right then. Let's have no more personal bias influencing our
observations and judgments about him. We're here only to talk about his
problems, okay?"

The others all took a deep breath, then nodded. In his hiding place, Ranma
leaned a bit closer to listen in on their conversation but frowned as he
still couldn't hear a thing.

"Well, to start off with, Ranma could really use a few lessons with
etiquette. I mean, his tact and social skills are deplorable!" Koga began.
"Just over this week alone, I counted one hundred and ninety-seven
inappropriate remarks, most of which got him pounded by Akane. If my own
Amazon mother heard stuff like that coming out of MY mouth... well, let's
just say that she'd wash out my mouth with more than just soap!"
"Yes, I will admit that he does suffer from terminal foot-in-mouth disease.
However, he's been raised by Genma, so he's probably been taught to
retaliate against any kind of attack, verbal, physical or otherwise. You and
Draco were lucky since you grew up with someone that taught you social
skills. As for the rest of us, we had to learn the hard way that saying some
things can be inappropriate. In fact... some of us are still working on it."
"What do you mean?" Kojiro asked.

"Well... I'm not being insulting or anything, but..." T-Ranma began. "you
and Trainer do have a tendency to speak your minds, though you both have the
power to back up your words. Kojiro has the Neko Ken, and Trainer has the
support of his Pokemon. As for me... I went through a lot of galaxies and
met up with thousands of different races. I also have this biocomputer in my
head to help me on a few situations." He tapped his temple with an index
finger. "What does Ranma have? Nothing but whatever he learned from Genma,
which isn't much."

"Speaking of what Ranma has, how about the things that he doesn't have?"
Trainer said.

"Such as?" Draco asked.

"Oh, how about a sense of independence and the ability to make his own
choices?"
"Ooh, that was low." Kojiro said as he winced.

"True, but he does raise a valid point." Prototype said. "Ranma could use
some lessons in self-reliance and being able to make his own decisions. Then
again, we have Genma to blame for that too. He's made all the choices in
Ranma's life and never allowed his son to think for himself. In fact, it
seems to me that Genma considers Ranma as nothing more than a meal ticket or
a way of getting something without earning it. All those broken promises and
engagements are proof of that."

"Hey, I thought we were supposed to keep our own opinions about Ranma to
ourselves." Draco remarked.

Prototype nodded. "Well, I will admit that it is very difficult, but you
have to agree that Genma is one very poor negotiator and makes most of his
decisions based on his stomach. And you've all seen Ranma's past history up
to this point. Imagine selling out his own son for a fish, a bowl of rice
and two pickles! The fact that he never upheld the bargain doesn't make it
any better."
"Yeah, and don't forget, he STOLE Ukyo's dowry." Kojiro added with emphasis.

Prototype gave his Neko Ken counterpart a slight glare, warning him to keep
things objective. Though he had to concur that Kojiro raised a valid point.
"True enough. Genma is a hypocrite when it comes to honor, and he seems to
only use it to serve his own ends. And I believe that's how he's goading
Ranma into following that pledge to the Tendos. Frankly, I'm surprised that
Ranma has quite a strong sense of honor, despite having only Genma as a role
model."
"Hmpf!" Koga snorted. "Honor means absolutely nothing to Genma except as a
tool to use to control Ranma and an inconvenience to disregard when it works
against him."
"Koga..." Prototype warned, seeing that emotions were coming into play
again.

"I know that you want us to focus on only the problems that are giving Ranma
so much trouble, but let's face it, Genma is mostly to blame for them. You
guys know about my special abilities to sense the inner character of others,
right? I've already given Genma the once over, and he's pretty much the same
as the Genma in my world or the ones that inhabit each of your own. He's an
opportunistic, greedy and total idiot... plain and simple. That stunt he and
Mr. Tendo tried to pull on us and engage two of us to Nabiki and Kasumi is
proof of that. He saw that we could handle Happosai and the fact that we are
masters of our own Art. He didn't even consider things such as the fact that
we won't be here forever, nor the fact that we have more than enough power
to say to no. Nope, he just tried to force it on us because he actually
BELIEVED that we would be like his Ranma. He tried to use that 'honor line'
on us and said that as our 'father', we have to obey. Well, we never
listened to Genma in our own realities, so what made him think that we'd
listen to him now?"

"I'll admit, that was quite foolhardy of him."

"Right, and though we were wrong in beating him down like that, you have to
admit that he had that coming. That's Genma's biggest flaw in which I'm
afraid that Ranma has learned from him. I've already sensed much of Genma in
him. Genma NEVER thinks about the consequences of his actions and will not
take RESPONSIBILITY for his actions. He's only concerned with the quick fix
or instant reward. That's why he's made so many bad deals in which Ranma is
expected to pay. In fact, he's quite happy to let his son take
responsibility to save his own hide. I mean, we all know what happened when
Ukyo met Ranma again and how Genma said that it was all his son's fault for
choosing okonomiyaki over Ukyo. Ranma had told me that he never remembered
any of that... and do you know what? I believe him. My senses have told me
that he was telling the truth. I certainly don't remember any of that in my
lifetime either. How about you guys?"
Draco, Kojiro and Trainer all shook their heads as Prototype considered
Koga's words. "So are you saying that Genma made that all up?"

"It's possible, but then again, we may not have any conscious memory of it.
However, there are other examples that proves that Genma will do just about
anything to save his own skin, even if it means letting his son take the
blame. When Happosai showed up, Genma gladly offered Ranma instead of
letting that lech choose him or Mr. Tendo as the heir. When the dojo was in
financial troubles, he was more than willing to accept Kodachi's money and
get Ranma hooked up with her, despite the fact that he made that promise
with the Tendos. I could go on and on, but you guys get the idea. If you
want any suggestions on how to help Ranma improve on his life, then the
first thing on the agenda is for him to do what we did, and get away from
Genma. Genma's going to continue screwing things up for him if he doesn't."

"That IS something to take under consideration." Prototype agreed. "By the
way, what exactly did you mean that Ranma has learned Genma's biggest flaw?"

Koga sighed. "It's just that. Ranma has learned from Genma to act without
really thinking. I know that we're not perfect, but we've made some
decisions that we can be proud of, right? As for our native counterpart, he
doesn't seem to have much control with his mouth and that usually leads him
into trouble, especially with Akane. He's also made some very poor
decisions, especially when something came up that might cure him of his
curse. He seems only interested in the quick fix or instant reward, and
doesn't think very much of long-term consequences. I do agree with your
decision not to tell Ranma or any of the others about the fact that we can
either control or cure Jusenkyo curses."
"Thank you." Prototype said. "And examples of his behavior of not thinking
things through?"

"Well... I suppose that over the past week, he's been pestering each of you
to teach him how do some of your martial arts techniques right?" The four
others nodded. "Well, if we were to teach him some of our techniques, then
how will that help him in his other problems? Will a new technique solve his
fiance problems, help him with that seppuku pledge with his mother, or get
rid of all the enemies and rivals that keep attacking him for no valid
reason? No, they won't. They won't help in the slightest! He's learned quite
a few powerful moves, but they've not made life easier for him. Besides,
most of our techniques can't be taught to him! He can't stand the sight of a
cat, so learning the Ultimate Neko Ken is out. I don't think he'd want to
give up his sight to learn the Unseen Light. He doesn't have nanites or
dragon blood running through his veins, and he'd need to become a Pokemon
trainer to get the true power of Trainer's techniques. Learning a new
technique won't help his social skills nor solve any of his current
problems. You said that yourself , Prototype! However, since he's been
taught that martial arts is the only important thing in life, he has
absolutely no idea on how to handle things outside of the fight. He's only
concerned with improving his skills and isn't thinking of anything else!
He's got a one-track mind and pretty soon, he going to be derailed!"

"Yeah, well I for one, can't help but feel sorry for him." Trainer said.
"After all, I know what it's like, since I have the same curse as he does.
Unlike him though, I have a way of controlling it." Trainer absently
fingered the Water Stone Pendant that he always wore.

Ranma caught the movement and wondered as he strained to listen in on their
conversation. They all had his backs to him and he couldn't read their lips.
He then focused on the pendant that Trainer wore and began to suspect. Was
that the reason why Trainer never changed whenever he got splashed with cold
water? Was it some kind of magical item that canceled out the curse? Ranma
became even more excited as he began thinking about how to get a hold of it,
disregarding Koga's statement that he didn't think about long-term
consequences.

T-Ranma then decided to wrap up the discussion for the day. "Well, it seems
that we all agree that Genma is a major factor toward Ranma's behavior, and
getting him away from his influence might help. Though spending some more
time with Ranma might give us a better idea on how to help him. That is...
if he accepts our help."
"I don't know... he seems to be a lot on the stubborn side." Koga said. "I
have a feeling that he may not take to our advice and resist."
"It's up to him whether to accept what we're offering him. We'll give him a
few incentives to at least listen, and we might even show him that taking
control of his own life is a heck of a lot better than letting his father
run and ruin it."
"Hey! How about letting him live with us in the complex for a while?"
Trainer suggested.

"That's an idea." T-Ranma nodded. "A little time away from Genma might do
him a world of good. In any case, that's all for today."
The other's nodded as T-Ranma dispersed the sound suppression field and
motioned for the others to follow him into Furinkan High.

"By the way, guys... did all of you notice that Ranma was behind that tree?"
T-Ranma asked in a whisper.

"I sensed him when he came into the school yard." Koga shrugged.

"Smelled him before he got within a hundred feet." Kojiro said.

"I sensed his curse." Draco affirmed.

"Raiden smelled him too." Trainer said.

As the otherworldly Ranmas headed toward the school, Ranma stood and
wondered about them. However, his attention was mostly centered on the
pendant that Trainer wore around his neck. His eyes gleamed at the
possibility of ridding his curse was within his reach. Now how was he going
to get a hold of it?

Meanwhile, at the place beyond places...

"Oh boy! I can see that this is going to turn into a madhouse pretty soon!"
Ranma Blue said as he saw what was going to happen.

"Well, we knew that those five were going to get into a lot of chaos when
they came in. And they do have their work cut for them with this Ranma"
"Well, our Akane has her work cut out with her counterpart as well." Ranma
Blue said as he glanced toward where DD-Akane was about to enter the
dimensional gateway that he and his brother had created. "Remember Akane,
just a few nudges! And keep a low profile, okay? We have to have this
business done before... it comes for Ranma."

"Right." The older and far more mature Akane said as she turned and gave her
husband Shinnosuke a kiss before entering the gate.

To be continued...

Author's notes

Well, this story is now winding toward it's climax as the five Ranmas will
TRY to help the canon Ranma. Now as the danger to Ranma's life... well,
we'll find out later. I also have a few surprises in store in the next few
chapters. Stay tuned!
