Finishing what you start.
  Chapter 2.

Disclaimer.  I don't own them.  So what?


I haven't been this excited since my claws grew in.  I read the summons,
a psychicly endowed rock with the imprinted time and place, again.  It
was real.  An honest summons to the Lord, He-Who-Remembers.  Me, a lowly
creature of the third phile, to serve the Lord.  I almost preen as I
enter the palace.  The guards, members of the second phile, had tried to
stop me, but when presented with the rock, they had no choice but to
move aside.  It's a sweet feeling.  As I continue my trip through the
corridors, nobles and lords see me and sniff.  Let them sniff.  Hah.
Worthless buggers.  They weren't summoned to the Lord.  They don't get
to...

Another explosion has the opportunity to remind me that while these
memories are sweet, now is not the time to be visiting memory lane.  Now
is the time to be very careful.  I creep, quickly but quietly, up the
side of the final building between me and the action.  When I gain the
roof I peer over the edge, masking my presence with every fiber of my
skills.  That's a lot of masking.  I study the seen before me, and then
I groan, completely spoiling my hiding effect.

Them.  Boots, bows, and skirts.  In a variety of pastels.  Oh bleeding
lords of piss.  The Sailor Scouts.  I mentally bash myself upside the
head.  I knew there was a reason why I didn't come into Juuben often.
There are only five of them: blue, yellow, green, red, and multi.  I
think the multi one was Moon, but the other ones escape me.  The five
are putting on a prismatic light show for...

Shit!

I began moving the instant I recognize what the scouts are fighting.
Its big, dark, and scaly.  It's a member of the second phile.  A member
of my species.  I have no choice but to help, and I do so even as the
meaning of this event begins to penetrate.  Others of my race are
beginning to arrive.

The scouts have no colorful attack, no speech, and no warning before I
am on them.  I back hand the blue one as I pass, my other hand in a fist
burying itself into the stomach of the green.  I make certain not to use
my claws.  I want to avoid injuries if at all possible.  If I wound any
of them, but fail to kill them all, then they will be certain to hunt me
down.  And I'm not even going to attempt to kill them unless they're all
present, unsuspecting, and I have a really big projectile weapon.

As the other three begin to turn, the shouts of pain from the two I have
already dealt with alerting them, I begin my own message to my kindred.
Its not so much speech, the scouts my be able to recognize the message
if I used a spoken language.  Its more of a set of sounds combined with
my aural admissions.  Flee.  Meet me at the park, by the lake, tomorrow,
at this time.  Recover.

That's kind of inaccurate.  I didn't actually say park, more 'trees
surrounded by city', and lake was more like 'midsize water', but the
message seems to get through.  The scaled thing turns tail and begins to
flee immediately, as I continue through the scouts like a bowling bowl
through pins.  The yellow one begins to shout and glow, while the red
one jumps away from me.  I crouch low in my run and sweep the feet of
the yellow one out from underneath her, and then straighten myself out
and jump into the air, to land on Moon's head, before continuing on past
them, up onto a building and then as fast as I can into the night.

I don't want to fight them yet.

I jump from roof to roof, a shadow against the moon, moving in a random
pattern in order to assure that I had escaped from any attempts at
pursuit.  What a night.  I think it really would be better off if I just
go home tonight.

***

A creak is my early warning.  My eyes are instantly opened into slits
and I extend my perception to the doorway to my room.  A figure, women,
holding a large metallic object filled with water.  It could only be one
thing.  I groan in my head and prepare myself for an early bath.

"Ranma, you idiot, wake up!" Akane screeches as she propels the liquid
at me.  I hold my breath as the cold water hits, and sit up, making
groggy noises.

"Huh? Wha?" I sputter in a superb imitation of someone who had just
woken up.

Akane continues on, her voice shrill and annoying enough to break glass.
"Its time to wake up you dolt.  Do you want to be late?"  She turns
around and begins to stomp off when I respond.

"Umm, Akane," I say, "-its Saturday.  We don't have school today."  I
have the pleasure of seeing her freeze, and she begins to admit a
decidedly embarrassed aura.  She quickly masks it with anger.

"Nabiki!" she yells.  I should have known.  I crawl across the floor of
the room I share with Genma to my dresser.  Nabiki enters as I pull out
a change of clothes.

"Well," she smirks.  "Are you ready to talk?"  Bah.  Stupid woman.  I
ignore her as I brush past to take a relaxing bath.  My mind is far
away.  That other.  What could he have been doing here?  Have my years
of effort finally paid off?  Is the invasion eminent.  I hope so.  I
really need to get away from all of these fools.  A lesser creature
would have killed them and ran off, but I always finish what I start.  I
started this, and now I'm not going to leave until I finish it.

I enter the front chamber of the bath room.  There, I disrobe, tossing
the soggy clothes into the hamper, placing my dry clothes aside.  As I
had shut the door, I had noticed Nabiki smirking.  What could that mean?
I take a quick inventory of my surrounding.  Lets see, extra clothes in
the hamper, occupied sign missing, humming noise coming from the bath.
I quickly take a mental check to see who it would be.  Akane was
downstairs, the old men are still asleep, Nabiki lurking by the door of
the bath.  Must be Kasumi.  Oh well.  At least she won't hit me, and to
be quite frank, I'm too concerned about the ramifications of last nights
events to care.  I slide open the door of the bath.

"Hey Kasumi.  Want to wash my back?"

An hour later, after a relaxing soak and a pleasant conversation with
Kasumi, who was producing an insane amount of lust vibes, I head
downstairs for some breakfast.  I notice the look Nabiki is giving me
(suspiciously puzzled, no doubt by my actions at the bathroom), but I
pretend to ignore her.  I help myself to some cold miso soup in the
fridge, made by Kasumi a few days earlier, when I have a sudden
premonition.  I shudder briefly as I slurp. .Something climactic was
about to happen.

Knock.  Knock.  Knock

Even as I turn towards the door I hear Akane get up from where she was
in the living room and move to answer it.  Even as I enter the hallway
that leads to the door I see Akane opening the door.

"Hello," Setsuna said, with Hotaru standing next to her.  "We're looking
for Ranma.  Is he in?"

Heh.  I never thought they would take me up on my offer.  Well, put your
best foot forward.  I wave to them from behind Akane as she begins  to
glow.

"Hey girls," I get out before I'm propelled into the stratosphere by a
mallet and a shout of  'Idiot'.  If they didn't believe my explanation
before, they will now.  That's for certain.  I hope those two manage to
stay alive until I hit the ground.

Two minutes later, and a splash that killed three gold fish, I'm back in
the house, watching Akane act as though she didn't just try to kill me.


"I'm sorry for shouting at you," she says with a vacant smile.  "I
thought you might be some more of that idiot's fiancés," she says, not
even having the decency to call me by name.  Setsuna's face remains
expressionless, but I can see Hotaru's disapproval.  She obviously
didn't agree with the treatment I had received, and I decided that I
rather like the little girl.  Setsuna answered.

"So I gathered," she said dryly.  I can't read her expression, but
despite all of her self control, I can make out her disapproval too.
"We're just here because Ranma offered to show us around Nerima."

"Oh, don't worry.  I can show you around," Akane brightly offers.  "I
know just as much as that idiot knows.  He'll probably just take you to
that bimbo, Shampoo."  I bristle slowly.  I really don't like Akane
trying to take them up on my offer.  I started this, and I sure as hell
don't want her interference.  Luckily, Setsuna seems to agree.

"No thank you," she smoothly interjects.  "I'm sure you have other
things to do, and I wouldn't want to interfere with your day."  I can
see Akane starting to insist, so I move to cut her off.

"Well then," I say cheerfully, springing to my feet.  "Times a wasting.
Why don't you two just head out and I'll be out right after I get some
hot water."  Setsuna also rises, with Hotaru shooting Akane dark looks
as she gets up.

"Very well," Setsuna agrees and turns to leave.  Akane glares at me, but
I pretend to ignore her as I jog off to the kitchen.  Kasumi was still
upstairs in the bathroom, recovering from the sexual frustration of
having me naked and within her grips and her unable to do anything, so I
help myself to the water and let myself out.

The two are wait for me.  Hotaru is glowering at the house, while
Setsuna just waits patiently.  As I join them Hotaru snaps.

"I can't believe her!  You could have got hurt, Ranma!  Are you okay?"
she asks, looking me over.  I wave off her attention with the casual air
of long practice.

"Right as rain," I cheerfully quip.  "So you two decided to come and
visit?  I didn't really think you would.  Where are the other two.
Haruka and Michiru?"  I look around the street as though they might be
hiding.

"Oh, papa Haruka had a race to attend, and mama Michiru had to practice
for a concert to practice for," Hotaru chirped cheerfully, her
displeasure already forgotten.  What a cheerful girl.  She must have a
lot of friends.  Setsuna smoothly cut in.

"You offered to show us around, and while Michiru and Haruka were busy,
Hotaru and I decided to take you up on the offer."

I grin at her impishly.  "Well, now do you believe how I ended up
crashing your picnic?"  I am vaguely proud of the fact that I actually
managed to make Setsuna crack a small smile at that remark.  I began to
walk, the other two following.  They hadn't asked to be shown anywhere
in particular, so I decide a general tour would do.  The Cat Café,
Ucchan's, Furinken, maybe a couple of other places.    I head off
towards the Cat Café.

"I can't believe she actually hit you!" Hotaru said, her mouth making a
cute little moue.  "How can anyone be that mean?"

I shrug.  "You get used to it after a while.  The path of the martial
artist is fraught with peril, yadda yadda yadda," I flippantly put out.
Setsuna gives me a sideways glance.

"Why do you put up with it?" she asks me in quiet tone.  I look at her
once before answering.

"What could I do?  If I tell her to stop, she'll just hit harder.
Actually, she's not as bad as her sister, Nabiki," I add.  "Akane only
hits me physically.  Nabiki is more subtle, but a lot more vicious."

"Why don't you just leave," Setsuna asks. Hotaru looks at me with that
one.  Oh boy.

Why don't I just leave?  A question I have asked myself a couple of
times, but this is the first time anyone else has.  I guess I should
think before answering.

After a couple minutes of remaining silent and looking introspective I
answer.  "Because it would be dishonorable."

"Dishonorable?" Setsuna asks.  "Why would it be dishonorable?"

"Because my pops and Mr. Soun made an agreement that the two schools
should be joined.  Since I'm the heir of my side, I have to marry one of
them.  Neither of the other two would except, so I end up with Akane."

"But what about your other fiancés?  I can't remember what you said
about them," Hotaru questions, "But why don't you just marry one of
them?"

"Because then the contract with the Tendos would be broken, and my honor
lost," I tell her.  Setsuna is looking at me intently, Hotaru
questioningly.

"Is honor really that important?" Setsuna asks.  I look at her sharply,
a little too sharply actually.  I can see it's a serious question.  I
guess it deserves a serious answer.  How to phrase it.

After another two minutes of silence, I speak, in a very serious tone of
voice.  "There have been times," I begin.  "There have been times when I
have been without clothes, food, friends, or hope.  Throughout it all, I
have had my honor.  If I were to lose my honor..." I trail off for a
moment.  "If I were to lose my honor, then I would really have nothing."
Silence is their only response.  We walk on.

***

"Alright," I say in a pathetic attempt at cheerfulness.  "So far we've
seen Ucchan's, the Cat Café, Furinkin, Dr. Tofu's, and Ryouga."  I'm
limping, I have bruises all over the left half of my face, I'm a girl,
and I'm still stiff from the paralysis powder.  Pretty tame day all
said.

Hotaru has long ago given up even attempting to close her mouth from its
perpetual gape.  Setsuna was struggling valiantly with the effort of
remaining cool and aloof, but I could see her beginning to fall into
numbers of the perpetually shell-shocked.  I don't really blame them.
Ucchan's had been an okay stop with Konatsu being really nice and Ukyou
really understanding, but after that attack by Mousse and the glomp by
Shampoo, followed by the encounter with the Kunos at Furinken, that
final assault by Ryouga that left me a women, and Tofu's impromptu
lesson in ball room dancing (aided by Kasumi and Betty) Hotaru must be
almost numb from all those face faults and Setsuna had what looks like a
nervous tick by her left eye.

"I must say, Ranma," Setsuna begins.  "I had been convinced that you
were exaggerating in the park.  But now..." she trails off.  I shrug.
Behind us the sun was starting to set.  The incipient night reminded me
that I had an appointment to keep, and I couldn't do it with these two
standing around.

"Don't worry about it," I tell her.  "Look, I don't want to seem like an
rude host, but its getting late.  Do you two need a lift home?"  Setsuna
seems to shake herself and glances at her wristwatch.  She seems
startled by the time.

"Indeed, it is late.  Do you know when the next bus will be coming in?"

I grin at her.  "It's in a couple of hours, but I could give you two a
lift if you want one."

Setsuna raised an eyebrow.  "You don't look old enough to drive," she
states skeptically.  Hotaru was still too stunned by the days events to
speak.

I take a moment to stretch away the last vestiges of the paralysis
powder.  Those two look pretty light, and I want to do something nice
for them...

"Of course I can't drive.  I was offering you a lift, not a ride,"  I
grin at Setsuna's uncomprehending look and continue.  "After all, what
trip to Nerima is complete without a guided tour to the roofs?"

Using my vastly superior speed to forestall argument, I pick Setsuna up
and sit her on my shoulders with one hand, and give Hotaru the same
treatment with my other.  Leaving my arms up to support their waists I
leap.

I hear Setsuna's startled inhalation and the jump seems to have woken up
Hotaru.  She gives a startled squeak, even as I alight on the roof and
begin to run.

"Use your legs against my chest to keep your balance," I instruct as I
hop from one roof to another.  "Put your hands on my head to help.  And
relax," I tell them as though being carried on someone's shoulder at
close to twenty-five miles an hour over the roofs of the city was
normal.  "I do this all the time."

Two roofs later I feel Hotaru loosen up, and I grin when I actually hear
her start to laugh.  Setsuna begins to loose her ridged ness a little
after that.

"I wouldn't mind this nearly so much," she tells me in a tight voice,
"If I wasn't wearing a skirt."

"Don't worry," I tell her, breathing easily.  "You'd be surprised at how
little people look up these in a city."  I have to make sure to pace
myself.  The two might be light, but Juuban is a fair distance away, and
it just wouldn't do to get tired on something as routine as this.  The
trip continues in much the same vein.  Me making idle conversation with
Setsuna while Hotaru gleefully points out land marks from out elevated
position.

"So was today pretty typical?" Setsuna asks me.

"Yup.  Sometimes a day or two will go by when I won't run into a
specific person, but that usually means they're training to beat me or
something.  You were actually pretty lucky."

"Why's that?"

I smirk to myself.  "You managed to come at a day when Happosai wasn't
in.

***

Hotaru throws herself at me and gives me a warm hug.  "Thanks for the
ride Ranma," she laughs happily.  Then she seems to realize that she's
hugging me, and blushes while she darts into her house.  Oh boy, I think
she has a crush on me.  Setsuna offers me a much more sedate farewell.

"Thank you for an interesting day," she tells me as she offers me her
hand.  I grin like an eighteen year old kid, (what a coincidence) and
take her hand.

"Nah, the pleasure was all mine,"  I laugh as I scratch behind my head
with my other hand.  Once more, I'm treated with one of Setsuna small
smiles.  I could really grow to like those.

"While I don't think that you deserve any of the treatment you receive,"
she says, her face suddenly rather serious, "I respect your dedication
to your duty.  If you ever need some help with it, please ask.  I won't
make any promises, but I'll see what I can do."   She turns and
gracefully enters the apartment she shares with Hotaru and the other two
ladies.

I stand staring after her for a minute.  There was something about the
way she had said the word 'duty'.  Something...

I crack a grin.  I could definitely get used to having her around.
Maybe I'll keep her as a slave after we invade and conquer.  I start to
whistle, and walk away with my hands in my pockets.  Full dark has set
in by now, but I still have some time before I need to make my
appointment.  Why not enjoy the night?

***

I stare at Saffron's broken body, jaw agape, unable to comprehend what
had just happened.  I won?  How could I have one?  It should be
impossible.  Saffron was a god, I'm a lowly third phile.  I was chosen
because I was so weak.  The battle should have been pathetically one
sided.  Well, the battle had been pathetically one sided, but it should
have been me that was the one broken.  Not that I'm complaining or
anything.  What could this mean?  Was Saffron nothing more than a faker,
a lowly demon merely aspiring to divinity?  Even as this thought crosses
my head, Saffron's body goes up in ashes, like a phoenix.  A pathetic
mewling noise sounds from amid the blaze, and a second later the fire
and Saffron are both gone.  A crying babe lies where the two had been a
moment before.  No, Saffron had been a god.  A fairly powerful one if he
had been able to almost instantly rebirth himself.  The implication of
this strikes me like a blow.  I just killed a god.  How powerful have I
become?...

A churning noise to my right shakes me out of my reverie.  It is now
very late into the night.  I am slouched against a tree, hidden in
shadows with the lake to my right.  I haven't moved in almost two hours
while I was waiting.  A quick glance to my right tells me what the
churning was.

The lake is a pool of boiling diamonds, as the moon reflects off of its
bubbling surface.  From the depths of the lake, the scaled thing from
the second phile, a second philer, rises from the depths where it had
laid covered in mud.  I have to admit, it was a good place to hide with
its coloring and the texture of its skin.  The second philer looks
around, and quickly detects the 'here I am' aura I'm admitting.   The
moon outlines its sneer when it catches its first good look at me.  I
conceal a scowl.

The reason behind its dislike of me is very simple.  I'm from the third
phile, he's from the second.  It's kind of like a social caste system.
At the top of the ladder is He-Who-Remembers.  Kind of a like a
personified god.  After the Lord is the first phile.  They are, for the
most part, fairly powerful, minor lords and ladies and whatevers.
Important, but not as important as the Lord.  Below that are the second
philers.  They function as commanders and guards, elite soldiers.  And
below them, our the third philers.  Peons and cannon fodder.  When the
barrier drops, the third philers will be the first ones through, to
absorb the brunt of the humans' weaponry.  The biggest problem I have
with this is the fact that the third philers are treated like dirt.  The
reason we are considered third philters, the reason that we're at the
bottom of the rung was because of a weird aural anomaly.  While most
aura's have a kind of descending counter clock wise spiral, human,
creature, or demon, third philers have a descending clock wise spiral.
Because of this we're considered weaker and dirtier than the others, and
scorned accordingly.  Its kind of like assuming someone is inferior
because of the color of their skin or the slant of their eyes.  Humans
do that a lot.

"Third," it snaps arrogantly.  "What are you doing here?"  It looks me
up and down, and I stop myself from straightening into a threatening
stance.

"My name is Ran," I instead answer.  "I am one of the original agents
that our," I emphasized the word, "Lord sent to begin the unraveling of
the barrier."

The second sneered at me, well sneered as best something with no lips
can.  "Well, now you don't have to worry," it tells me.  "Seconds are
taking over that task.  My Lord has finally worn enough of it away so
that the Seconds can take care of the job, and lead the invasion."  That
condescending snot.  He wouldn't admit that the Thirds are just as
responsible for the weakening of the barrier.  He wouldn't admit if
tortured.  "Your task is done, Third."

I feel a warm feeling run through me.  A finish to what I started.
Finally I could leave those annoying humans behind.

The Second continues.  "Now you can return to the rest of your kind."

I have no warning.  The only thing that saves me are the years of
unexpected attacks on me by dozens of super powered martial artists.  I
throw myself away from the tree even as the explosion showers me with
splinters.  I roll and come up in a ready position, hunched forward so
that one hand was on the ground, both my feet spread far apart for
stability.

"What in the name of the Lord are you doing?!" I snap at him.  The
Second merely gives me a disgusted look.

"It's simple, Third.  I'm sending you to visit the rest of your kind.
You weren't here when we had the cleansing."  I go cold.

"The cleansing?" I ask, already afraid of what the Second was going to
say.

"The cleansing.  The glorious hunt that rid the multiverse of you and
the rest of your pathetically deviant race."  The Second attacked
physically.  Despite the growing cold in the pit of my stomach, I easily
fend off its attacks.

"You lie," I snap.  The Second is still arrogantly confident of its
superiority, ignoring the fact that I'm matching its best attacks like
they weren't even there.

"It was a beautiful thing," he tells me, "-when the final Third fell,
obliterated by the Lord himself.  The celebration lasted a week."

I have to get away from here.  The scouts could show up at any second,
and I don't want to explain why I'm speaking with this creature.
Shrugging aside one of the Seconds feeble assaults, I tightened my
fingers flat, and thrust them at Imperial Roasting Chestnuts speed into
the unsuspecting creatures chest.  I close my fist around the slimy mass
that would more or less be the creatures equivalent of a heart.  One
quick tear and the startled creature is lying on the ground, its energy
leaking out of the hole in its chest.  It probably never even felt the
strike.

All I can feel is coldness.  All of the Thirds.  My people.  My race.
My friends.  My family.  Dead.  The last one obliterated by my Lord
himself.  I tilt back my head and roar, a hideous tearing noise that
shouldn't be able to come out of a human throat.  With that, and a
coldness penetrating into my very soul, I flee into the night.  I flee
from the body and what it represents.  I flee.