Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Takeuchi Naoko, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC.

Ranma walked casually into his house, and was nearly blinded by the beaming smile his mother focused on him. She rushed forward and grabbed him in an incredibly tight grip and said, “My manly, manly son!" For over a minute this treatment continued until Ranma could pry himself free. When he did, he found his father standing in front of the TV, his mouth slightly agape and a thin line of drool running down his chin.

Reverently, Genma said, "M-my son b-b-beat the M-Master."

The TV was still tuned to the news station and there was a large picture of himself being shown on the screen. The reporter was saying, '… and, as our viewers at home witnessed, this mysterious youth appeared and took control of the situation. Who is this new hero, and just what are his intentions? Tune into our Eleven o'clock broadcast for more info. Remember, if you know this young man, please call into the studio. There is a twenty thousand yen reward for his identity.'

Oh, shit! He was f@%#$d! Now everyone in Tokyo was going to be looking for him, and when they did find him, as they were surely going to do, he wouldn't have any peace.

"Oh, Ranma, you've made your father so proud!" Genma took his turn embracing his son, adding to it a series of intense slaps on the back.

"Don't forget how he handled that monster," Nodoka added.

"To think that my years of sacrifice to teach you the Art have finally paid off… I must tell Tendo! He'll be shocked!" Genma rushed into the kitchen and the nearest telephone.

"I'm going to call the news studio now. I can't wait to tell the neighbors. They're all going to be so jealous that their children aren't super-heroes like my son." She raced into the kitchen, intent on wrenching control of the phone from her husband.

Dejectedly, Ranma went to his room and locked himself in. He could at least enjoy the last few hours of peace that he would have for a very long time. How did the Sailor Senshi manage to keep their identities a secret? It wasn't like they wore masks or anything.

"Um, guys?" Makoto cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. They had gathered at Rei's temple to discuss the newest addition to the weirdness that was Juuban.

"What is it, Mako-chan?" Usagi asked, snatching a muffin from Rei's plate while the girl was distracted.

Their arguing over whether Ranma was friend or foe was getting heated; the Inner Senshi thinking he was good, and the Outers thinking that he was up to no good. “I, well… sorta know Ranma… kinda." Makoto squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the imminent explosion that her words were sure to provoke. Nothing happened though. Slowly, she peeked through a barely open eye, then opened them and, much more timidly than anyone suspected she was capable of, said, “He’s my… fiancé."

This time there was the expected explosion. Everyone, even Ami, exclaimed their shock and confusion. Questions went unheard as all the girls spoke at once, loudly. Eventually their momentum began to slacken and cooler heads prevailed, namely a pair of talking cats.

"Are you saying that you were engaged to this Ranma during the Silver Millennium?" Artemis asked.

Luna performed the feline equivalent of a bitch slap on Artemis and hissed in his ear, “You silly cat! Makoto leaned the other way back then. Like Haruka and Michiru." Then so that the others could hear she said, “Sorry. Artemis should have known that you weren't engaged during the Silver Millennium. That means that you are currently his fiancée. Care to explain?"

Makoto answered, “It’s an arranged marriage. My mom and Aunty Saotome set it up years ago, before either of us was even born. I didn't even meet him until an hour before Ami called me to the park."

Setsuna walked into the room, apparently undisturbed by the stares she received, and took a seat on an unoccupied cushion. “I suppose that you want to know about Ranma?" Everyone nodded. “Sorry. The only thing I can say for sure about him is that he is a time traveler and that he is multiphasic."

"Multiphasic? What does that mean?" Usagi asked, ignoring the importance that Ranma had traversed time.

"It means," answered Ami, "that he exists on more than a single plane of reality. May I ask how this is possible?"

Setsuna replied, “That, I'm afraid, is beyond even my expertise. However it is accomplished, though, the effects are obvious: I can view neither his past, future, or even present."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Rei asked indignantly. “We all saw what he was capable of. Are we supposed to attack him when we don't even know how powerful he is, or if he's even evil?"

"Just because he isn't evil doesn't mean necessarily that we won't have to destroy him." Setsuna continued. “As long as I can't judge his effect on the time stream, we must consider him an enemy."

"Perhaps we should attempt to discover his intentions," said Ami. "He doesn't know that Makoto is Sailor Jupiter, and he might let something slip, a clue to his purpose here, or an indication of his character."

"I can tell you his character. He's a jerk! He wouldn't even hit me when I sparred with him!"

"It's so romantic. He didn't want to harm his betrothed," Minako sighed. She was bombarded with pillows and other miscellaneous things for the next couple minutes.

"He did help us today. Couldn't he have just as easily attacked us?" commented Hotaru shyly. “If he had blasted us like he did Happosai and Taro…"

"Speaking of Taro, what had become of him?" Setsuna asked.

"We told the police what Ranma said about cold and hot water. They have him in some kind of special containment ward in Nerima. It seems that it was built for this type of situation. Don't ask why, I haven't a clue," answered Ami.

Makoto watch alarm began beeping and she hurriedly said, "Oh no, I'm late! I was supposed to help Aunty Saotome cook tonight. She'll be upset." She shuddered, gathered her things up and said her goodbyes.

"Watch out for Ranma," Rei called out to her as she ran out the door.

Finished packing his few belongings, Ranma slung his pack over his shoulder and reached under his mattress. He pulled out a large roll of yen bills that he had kept hidden from his father. The news vans had begun arriving only five minutes earlier, but now the street was lined with them. Reporters and their camera operators swarmed on the lawn hoping for a glimpse of Ranma. He would get in touch with his meddling parents when he had settled down. Most likely he would have to move to America to get away from the Press. At least he could speak passable English. Taking one last peek out the window, Ranma saw his father explaining to a horde of microphone-toting men and women that the Saotome and Tendo schools of Anything Goes Martial Arts were responsible for defeating Taro and Happosai. They actually believed that Ranma had been sent by his master to defeat them. Baka Oyaji. The back yard was clear as he climbed out the bathroom window.

Suddenly, just as Ranma jumped, the world went white and he felt a strange tugging sensation. The next thing he knew, he was standing in a large room that looked as if it had been borrowed from a Star Trek set. Several men and women in lab coats and a larger number of armed soldiers stood in various places.

"Welcome to Project Waverider, Mr. Saotome," a pretty gaijin scientist greeted him. Her brown hair was pulled back in a bun and she wore a pair of wire-framed glasses with slightly darkened lenses.

Ranma didn't do anything overtly hostile. Even with his skills, there was a good chance that the soldiers, at least they were dressed like soldiers, could shoot him before he escaped. There were too many of them, and too many people that could get caught in the crossfire. “You’ve got me at a disadvantage," he finally said.

"Sorry. I'm Dr. Peterson." She pointed to two men and said, “This is Dr. Takashi and Dr. Noyuki. I assume that you are wondering why we brought you here?"

"That, and how you brought me here."

"Fair enough. If you'll follow me." She led Ranma through a maze of computer terminals and corridors until they passed through a huge steel door. When they entered the cavernous room that it led to, their escort of soldiers split in two and took up position on each side of the door.

Once inside of the room, Ranma followed her to the railing of the platform they were standing on. Below them, on a floor that must have spanned a dozen square miles, were thousands of huge metal spheres. They were illuminated by an even greater number of flood lights hung from the ceiling. "Whoa. What is all that?"

"That, my friend, is Project Waverider, the last chance humanity has at a future."

"Okaaay, but how do I play into this?" Ranma asked. How were a bunch of giant balls going to save humanity, anyway?

"First I believe you need to understand the problem." Dr. Peterson took a deep breath and continued; “Earth’s orbit will soon be carrying it through a section of heavily distorted space, that a deep space probe discovered two decades ago. The effect this will have on Earth will be catastrophic, literally tearing the planet apart. My father began working on a way to save our species as soon as the discovery was made. In cooperation with Japan, Great Britain, and a number of wealthy industrialists, America has been preparing Waverider for fifteen years. When the Earth passes through the distorted space, those spheres will ‘ride’ the spatial waves into a dimensional tear that will carry them to a nearby habitable planet. Each sphere contains equipment, food, and everything else we could possibly need to survive."

It all sounded like science fiction to Ranma, but the Doctor sounded sincere. Still she hadn't answered his question. Before he could ask, she said. “The reason we need you is rather unusual. To create a large enough tear in space to transport anything larger than a person requires an astronomical amount of energy that we could not hope to produce. We were desperately looking for a solution to this limitation when our the Main Computer locked on to your quantum signature, or at least what it could detect of it. What it discovered is that your body is not grounded in a single dimension, but exists partially in all dimensions, mostly as energy. By using that energy as a catalyst, we can make whatever size tear we need."

That was sorta cool. If the lady was being honest, then he was going to be responsible for saving… everybody. “Will I be in any danger?" Not that he cared. If it came down to his survival or that of the entire human race, he would choose the human race over himself in a heartbeat.

Dr. Peterson smiled reassuringly. “None at all. And in return for your help, ten waveriders have been allocated for your use."

"Waveriders?"

"The big metal spheres down there. Each one is a hundred feet in diameter. Three of the ten you'll be given are personnel carriers and can hold fifty people each. I'll give you a folder of information on the others and their functions when we get back to my office."

"So I get to pick a hundred and forty-nine people to take with me?" Ranma didn't like having to choose who would live and who would die. He didn't like it at all.

"One hundred and nineteen. Thirty of those going with your group will be technicians and other personnel."

Ranma asked no further questions. He followed the doctor to her office, and after receiving an inch-thick packet of papers, was escorted to a set of sleeping quarters. Once there he sat down at a desk that was built into the wall and thought about what he'd been told. He didn't understand most of what Dr. Peterson told him, but the gist of it was that he had to pick who he was going to take with him and who would be left behind to die. Ranma decided to put off making any kind of decisions until later; instead, he cracked open the sealed folder he had been given and began to read. The planet they would be going to was designated NEO and was almost the exact size of Earth. It had a very stable climate, staying nearly thirty degrees Celsius year round, due to some atmospheric thing that Ranma didn't understand. The plants that would be grown there were genetically engineered to deal with the poor mineral content of the soil. After that there was a lot of technical data and charts and graphs that Ranma didn't care about. He skipped through the report until he found his group's predetermined landing sight. Reading it, he discovered that it was one of the best ones available on the entire planet. The survey satellites had discovered large mineral deposits within the area and there was a high water table with plenty of room for crops and livestock. The landing pods, or waveriders as Dr. Peterson called them, were all grouped into bunches of ten. Three for personnel. A nano-manufactory capable of producing nearly anything as long as it had the materials to work with was one whole pod. Two contained modular vehicles that could be modified for different tasks. One would be used to store seedlings, seeds, and various livestock that would be used to start new animal populations. One was stocked with building materials, solar panels and portable fusion generators, and waste and water processors. An entire pod was dedicated to weapons and ammunition, which upset Ranma because he disliked the use of any weapon, but when he read that the planet's indigenous wild life was mostly large and dinosaur-like he changed his mind. The last was set aside for a small amount of personal belongings that each person could bring with them.

By the time Ranma finished reading, he was dead tired and he had a splitting headache. He stumbled over to a wall-mounted cot and fell asleep within minutes of lying down.

The next day, rather than complaining about being brought to wherever he was without his permission, Ranma poured all his energy into trying to decide who he would take with him. When it came down to it, Ranma didn't really know that many people and most of those he did know would be pretty useless on NEO. Of course his parents would have to go, and without a doubt the Tendos, even if they didn't really know him in this reality. That still left a lot of unfilled spaces.

It was after lunch that the answer came to him. If he could convince the Amazons to get rid of a few of their more retarded laws, they would make perfect members of his group. He couldn't take only Amazons though, but it was a start. He did have five months to decide.

"Could I get a lift to China?" Ranma asked Dr. Peterson after he had had a soldier find her for him.

"What for?" she asked in turn.

"Well, some of the people I want to take are there."

"I would need to talk to General Yashida about arranging transport, but we could probably have you there by tomorrow. Where exactly in China do you want to go?"

"Bayankala Mountains, I think. I could point it out on a map."

"Good. I'm sorry, but I'm terribly busy, so could you let me get back to work?"

"Sure."

The helicopter was still a hundred feet in the air when Ranma jumped from the open door. His descent was fast and straight right up until the final dozen or so feet when he tucked himself into a ball and flipped forward once, landing on his feet. Around Ranma there was a three-meter in diameter depression in the ground where he had instinctively cushioned his landing with chi. He looked up to the helicopter and saw one of the commandoes that had been sent along to ensure his safety leaning out the door. The poor man looked like he had had a heart attack and was working on a stroke.

Amazons were gathering outside the gates to see the spectacle. Most had never heard of helicopters, let alone seen one in person. Ranma headed for them before the helicopter landed. When he was only a couple hundred feet from the milling crowd of armed amazons, they cleared a corridor and a familiar figure hopped into view. Cologne's face didn't show any of the excitement or wonder that her younger fellows did. In fact she looked very old, just like she always did. She met Ranma halfway.

"Can I assume that we aren't being invaded by the Chinese government?" she asked him.

"Nah, I'm just here to do you all a favor."

"What kind of favor?" Cologne asked suspiciously.

Cologne looked the young man up and down, not unlike one would a cow before purchasing it. His entrance had been quite spectacular and it had demonstrated, to a certain degree, his skill as a warrior. If the boy hadn't maintained such an iron grip on his chi, Cologne might have considered having Shampoo challenge him, but no one put that much effort in to containing something unless there was a lot of it or it was very dangerous. And there were six heavily armed and armored men running up to him from the helicopter.

"It'd be best if I told you someplace private." he answered. “Trust me, please."

"Very well, but your men will have to remain behind."

He nodded and told the men to stay with the chopper. They argued at first, but it was obvious that he was in charge, and they eventually followed his instructions. Once again the human corridor opened, this time for Cologne and her guest. Her presence also kept the younger and more curious of the tribe from bothering him.

Cologne led him to a moderately sized building near the center of the village. This one, unlike the others structures in the village that were made of bamboo and had thatched, was constructed from cut stone and had a wood shingle roof. “I’m Cologne, Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku, and these women are my fellow elders." She said when they entered. The other elders were arrayed behind a curved table, and all the seats except for hers were full.

"I'm Ranma Saotome, student of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts."

As Ranma's introduction was heard, several of the elders began shouting. Ranma obviously didn't understand what they were saying, something Cologne was very glad of. Just because he practiced the same school as Happi didn't mean he should die. At least in her opinion. “Silence!" she shouted in Japanese for Ranma's benefit. They were instantly quiet. No one crossed the Matriarch when she was upset. "Ranma has come here to offer us something. I believe we should hear him out." Cologne motioned for Ranma to speak.

He began, "A few days ago, I found out that the world is going to be destroyed by a distortion in space. Since the people that are trying to save some of the human race need me to make their plan work, they're letting me bring some people with to the new planet they've found. The world is called NEO and the scientists say that humans should be able to live there very easily."

"Why are you bringing this to our attention?" asked Cologne. She was finding Ranma's story hard to believe.

"Because I want some of the amazons to go with us. It would save your culture and hopefully help to keep a Martial tradition going later on."

"How many of our people would be permitted to go?" asked one of the elders.

"Right now it would be thirty, but if the Musk and Phoenix people refuse my offer it could be up to ninety."

"They are our most hated rivals!" exclaimed another.

Ranma shrugged. "So what? They are also people and I won't deny them the opportunity to survive."

Cologne smiled in appreciation. Ranma had good character. And his calm rebuff actually managed to shut Sho Pi's mouth.

"If we agreed, and that is if we believe you, when would the decision need to be made?"

"Within the next week. Those that are going will need to be trained to use the equipment, and all of them have to get DNA tests to make sure they aren't sick or prone to cancer and stuff."

Cologne told Ranma to wait outside while she and the elders discussed his proposal.

Ranma had been napping against the wall for nearly an hour when Cologne walked out of the Council building. All the amazons who had been watching him while he slept scattered when she appeared. "So?"

"The Council and I believe you, and have chosen the thirty amazons that are to accompany you. They've been chosen for their intelligence, skill as warriors, and their family bloodline. They are our best."

"Bloodline?"

"Many amazons ancestors were great heroes or phenomenal fighters. Bloodlines are carefully monitored and crossed, to give our offspring the best traits of them all."

It sounded like animal breeding to Ranma, but they were amazons and therefore unusual. "Oh, okay. One more thing. The amazons that go can't apply the marriage laws."

Cologne quirked an eyebrow and said, “You certainly know a lot about us. Most people don't even know that we exist."

"I know a whole lot more about you than you would believe." After a few moments of uneasy silence, he admitted. “To tell you the truth, the reason I know about you guys is because I'm from another universe, that's what Dr. Peterson says. In my universe I was engaged to an Amazon."

"Any hope of reacquainting yourself with her?"

"No."

Ranma left the village shortly thereafter and once he was in the helicopter, took off for the Musk Citadel.

To be continued.

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Last revision: May 21, 2007