From: "Gregg Sharp" <metroanime@mindspring.com>


An Opponent, the Bet (expanded version) (dark)
metroanime@mindspring.com
http://metroanime.home.mindspring.com/
insert standard disclaimer here about not owning
characters. some scenes written specifically for
Razorclaw, Kleppe, & Rgorman who were quite vocal
in how much they hate non-jerk/powerful Ranma
variants. (1)

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

 "What's the gripe?" Toltiir looked towards
a small group of godlings, demons, and assorted beings.

 "They were looking at some of these Bet
timelines and feel that Ranma's too powerful in 'em."

 "Did you see the King Of Fighters variant
where Shampoo vanished on the way back to China,
then shows up back in Nerima, not having returned
home in failure but now capable of 'Son Goku' style
devastation?"

 "No."

 "Mode 4, Timeline 3694128. Basically she
shows up, beats him up, carries him back home to her
village, and the Nichieju decimate the Musk in the
next battle."

 "That wasn't the point anyway," Ares
pointed out. "They feel that with the Ranma of
'King of Fighters', 'Dragon's Destiny', 'Cat scratch
fever', and 'Neutral Ground' that his power level is
such that he can't possibly find a decent fight."

 "Yeah, right. I thought I heard 'em
saying that having everything duplicate is boring.
So why should they face the same opponents?"
Toltiir snorted. "You noticed that in the first, he
made a long list of enemies getting that powerful,
in all four he's drawing world-class attention and
challenges, and he's facing additional challenges
that you can't simply punch your way through?"

 "Doesn't matter. They want a jerk who
gets beaten up a lot. So MY Bet is to manipulate THIS
event over here." Ares grinned. This guy was
one of his favorites.

 "Shit," Toltiir blinked. He wasn't
one of the local gods, so the Almighty didn't
restrict his speech to the extent it would have
been if Urd had said that. "HIM?!? I thought
he was dead..."

 "They never showed the body,"
chided Ares. "He's been looking for a way
off that dying world and finally got it. All
MY little change is, is to redirect him  to
a 'weak point' in the local Reality of ANY
of the Ranmaverses. Just like so." (2)

 Toltiir blinked again. "This
isn't funny, you know. This is pretty DARK."

 Ares grinned. "That's how I like it."

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

 "<Clan Elders! I must speak
with you! It is urgent!>"

 Boh Ling looked down at the
youngster. "<What is it, Rei Ga? Why
such unseemly haste?>"

 "<An army has appeared
near the Musk Citadel.>"

 "<The Musk have new
allies? This IS grave news child.>"

 "<Great Elder, I beg
pardon but no.>" Rei Ga twisted
in pain, dropping to her knees.
<"Ah! The Musk Citadel is no more,
it has been breached and taken over
by the invaders. I saw Herb slain on
the parapets within seconds of
fighting the leader of this force, it
was as if a child faced a raging tiger.
Ahhh!>"

 <"Child? What?"> Boh
Ling looked at the other Elders, as
she could only see one tiny wound
on Rei Ga's body. Only Dusk seemed
to know what was going on, and no
one had ever seen the expression on
her face before, a two hundred year
old Elder who was as tough as they
came in these parts.

 Dusk looked both afraid
and...sorrowful.

 "<He....>" Rei Ga shuddered,
blood beginning to seep from ears, eyes,
nose, and mouth. "<He somehow knew
I was there...I never saw him...move...>"

 Rei Ga was not a wimp, but
she screamed then, screamed as her body
literally tore itself apart from the inside out,
seeming to be an explosion in slow motion.
Finally the scream ended in a brief gurgle
and the remains of what had been a pretty
fourteen year old girl sloshed to the ground.

 Dusk looked up at the others.
"<We will fight. We will lose. Send those we
might be able to spare to where Cologne and
her daughter live, quickly. We must not
waste what little time Rei Ga bought us.>"

 "<But...what?>" Boh Ling couldn't
tear her eyes away from the mess sprayed
across the floor of the audience chamber.

 "<MOVE DAMN YOU!>" Dusk
was suddenly right in front of Boh Ling,
blocking her colleague's view. "<THAT
was one of the forbidden assassin's
techniques lost now for two hundred
years, and when I learned of them I
was grateful that they had been lost.
NOW an army comes, and at least one
among them knows one of the two schools
involved. WE are dead. All we can do is
make sure that some of us, some of our
heritage, and warning makes it to Cologne!>"

 "<Dead, but?>"

 Dusk was aware of others who
were hearkening to her words and rushing
forth. She wasn't sure how much or how
many could be saved, but she'd give them
every second her life could buy them. "<Boh
Ling, I have no more time to spare with you.
I must see that the perimeter is set, our
warriors are armed, and the group leaves
immediately. If they even suspect that we
have sent some of us to safety, they will
keep hunting until all are dead. Try to act
like an amazon  for the short period of life
we have left..."

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

 The army moved slowly down
the pass to the Village. Hordes of the
black masked soldiers attacked the walls.
The amazons fought bravely and fought
well. Then one of the "lieutenants" of
the Army came forward, and shattered
the stockade walls with a single punch.

 The technique was similar to,
but quite different from the Breaking Point
that many of the amazons practiced.

 Shu Ga, sister to Rei Ga, stood
in the midst of the battle, her skill with her
twohanded sword leaving a bloody trail
around her as dozens of the soldiers died
trying to engage her in combat.

 Finally she caught a glimpse of
the leader, watching impassively as more
of his soldiers came forward to die against
her blade. Her skill with the sword was
nearly perfect, the two being one for all
purposes. The Cult Of The Muscle Sword
may have been gone, but their techniques
had been flawlessly absorbed by Shu Ga.

 At some unseen signal, Shu
Ga noticed the faceless minions fall away.
She grinned and spat away blood from
a cut she'd received to her face. She
could end this fight, here and now, and
no more of her sisters would have to die.

 She spun and leapt, the
sword twirling out as fast and as hard
as she could manage it, a perfect blow.

 Which made the man stopping
it with two fingers all the more remarkable.
A twist of his wrist and her prized blade
was snapped in half.

 Shu Ga couldn't believe it,
but wasn't wasting time, a flying kick
while he was occupied with the sword...

 The end of Shu Ga's own
sword slammed into her, cutting her
nearly in two at once. She looked up
at the huge man, wondering briefly how
somebody so damn big moved so fast.

 The man's foot came down,
squelching the warrior's body into pulp.
A flicker of disappointment seemed to
light his eyes, before they returned to
featureless slits.

 Within minutes, the bloodbath
had ended, and each of the Amazon villages
in the valley had been exterminated to the
last child within a half hour. Less than an
hour since Rei Ga had come running in with
her tale of woe.

 The soldiers lined the street as
their leader walked past. Shouting out a
name in praise.

 "Ra-oh!"

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

 "What a beautiful day, Saotome!"

 "Ah, Tendo. A peaceful  spring
day wherein many possibilities lie."

 "That's one way of putting it, I
suppose."

 Genma and Soun blinked, then
turned to the wizened figure sitting on the
steps.

 "Kasumi, would you be a dear
and gather everyone together. I have a few
questions." Cologne leaned back to enjoy
one of the few moments of peace she foresaw
in the near future.

 "Old ghoul? What are you doing
here?"

 "Hold on, Ranma. Where are Nabiki
and Happi? They are family members too, and
this concerns them as well."

 "I ain't marrying Shampoo, you got
that?"

 "Calm yourself, sonny boy. A true
martial artist should never commit to battle before
knowing what the battle is." Cologne waited a
few minutes, finally seeing the half-asleep Nabiki
stumble down the stairs in her pajamas. Cologne
brought her staff down on a paving stone,
resulting in a deep "thoom" that seemed all out
of proportion to the force used.

 Amazons began appearing. First
Shampoo, then three adults, then a large number
of children just started coming out of the dojo
and from behind things that you could have
sworn no one was hiding behind.

 "Oh how cute," Kasumi exclaimed
and promptly went to get some wet washcloths
as a number of the children looked like they hadn't
bathed recently.

 "What is this, some kinda Amazon
ambush?" Ranma oomphed slightly as Akane
jabbed him in the stomach with her elbow.

 "Baka. Some of those kids can barely
walk. Even Shampoo wouldn't bring kids to an
ambush."

 Ranma blinked and took Akane's cup of
expresso and dumped it.

 "_I_ didn't take part in the ambush at
your wedding, child. Neither did they. If you want
revenge upon Shampoo, I have a suggestion."

 "What's that?" Akane looked
suspiciously at Cologne.

 "Marry Ranma. THEN her."

 "Great Grandmama, no! That would
make Shampoo..." Shampoo's voice trailed off
as Cologne's gaze swept over her.

 "Ain't no way I'm marryin' nobody!"

 "What WOULD that make Shampoo?"
Nabiki raised an eyebrow and idly started munching
on a rice cracker.

 "The lesser partner in the marriage. Under
Akane's authority as senior wife." Cologne shrugged.
"As it is, Ranma, THINK before answering instead of
just letting your mouth go off on its own. This is more
important than you realize."

 "I SAID I ain't marrying nobody, ya got
that!"

 "Too bad." Cologne shrugged. "Well, good
luck and enjoy what little time you may have with
Akane Tendo here."

 "I KNEW it was an ambush." Ranma
directed a smirk at Akane.

 "I doubt we'll meet together in this life
again," Cologne finished. "Despite our differences
with all of you, I wish you well."

 There were a number of blinks at that.

 "Oh my, is something wrong?" Kasumi
started handing out moist hot washcloths.

 "Well, Miss Tendo, you and I have
never had any problems between us, so I'll tell
you. We're leaving Nerima."

 "YES!" Genma and Soun started
babbling excitedly about how now no obstacles
stood between the union of their two families.

 "What you see before you is the
entire population of the Chinese Amazons."

 Nabiki held up a hand and ignored
the two fathers dancing around a few feet away.
"Question from the back of the room. I thought
you had three villages?"

 "HAD." One of the fourteen year
olds stepped forward. "Is had. No more Amazons.
No more Musk. Phoenix Mountain not know.
Most likely they gone now too. All gone."

 Other than the still gushing fathers
and the Amazons, everyone had gone still at that.

 "Earthquake? Volcano? Floods?"
Ranma tried to think about what could wipe out
Herb and his people and then the other two
groups.

 "Worse," Cologne interrupted the
two still-babbling fathers by throwing a stone
lantern at them. "Shall I tell you?"

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

 "So, I understand that this makes
you all refugees and you sought out Cologne
here as an Elder. That was, what, two weeks
ago." Nabiki smirked and swept the group
with a superior look. "That doesn't explain
you being all gloom and doom about us."

 Cologne sighed. "Child. The
Amazons have supporters in a number of
places you wouldn't expect."

 "Oh?"

 "Highly placed sympathizers
or those related to the Amazons."

 "It's still a regional matter,
and doesn't explain what you were
referring to earlier." Nabiki frowned
as she realized that the two fathers
were back to loudly celebrating their
good fortune, with Akane and Ranma
yelling alternately at each other and
then at the fathers.

 A burbling scream caused
everyone's attention to be redirected
to the yard where a girl of about eight
was in the process of being turned
inside out.

 "So, trying to escape and
find allies, eh?" A lean man with a
white mohawk looked at the cringing
children, then over the crowd forming
at the steps of the house. "I THOUGHT
some mice escaped the trap. Now that
I've tracked you to your leaders, I can
prepare everything for the Fist-King's
plans."

 "Now THIS is something I
can deal with," Ranma said with a
smirk. He cracked his knuckles and
leapt out into the yard.

 "I'm a martial artist too,"
Akane growled, heading in a straight
line right behind Ranma.

 "They didn't listen to a
word I said, did they?" Cologne said,
blinking owlishly.

 Ranma stepped close to
the man, intent on wiping the punk's
grin off his face. Except that the other's
right hand, fingers extended like a blade,
dove through Ranma's guard.

 Ranma stopped when he
realized that the punk had just inserted
his hand through Ranma's chest. The
punk stepped back, pulling his hand
out, and licked blood and gore off that
hand. His eyes never left Ranma's.

 "R-Ranma?" Akane ground
to a halt after seeing the back of Ranma's
shirt explode outward, with the punk's
outstretched fingers passing through
ribs and flesh like some battering ram.

 Akane was only barely aware
of being splattered with bits of her fiance.
She stepped forward, grabbing Ranma as he
fell and feeling him slump almost bonelessly
against her.

 Akane's eyes found the punk
moving forward again, a single extended
finger heading for her face.

 Shampoo moved past on the
right, sword shooting out. The fourteen year
old girl who'd talked to them earlier moved
past on the left, hurling what looked like
crochet needles forward.

 The punk aborted his attack
and blocked the needles. The sword passed
through his neck, lodging in the bones at
the back.

 The punk still managed to move
forward, his hand brushing against the
younger girl's shoulder.

 From Ranma leaping off the
porch to the fall of the attacker, less than
a full minute had passed.

 Akane slumped to the ground,
still holding Ranma. Ranma's breath gurgled
in a manner that suggested that some of
that white tissue staining her blouse was
lung.

 Nabiki had frozen like a deer
on seeing the whirlwind of violence. Kasumi
was already on the phone to call first an
ambulance then Doctor Tofu.

 The girl who had thrown the
crochet needles was twisted on the ground,
holding her arm and quite obviously trying
not to scream. From the amount of sweat and
the degree of paleness, it was quite an effort.

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

 Kiima's wings swept down again,
struggling to maintain altitude as she left the
fiery pinpoint of light that marked the fires
that was once Phoenix Mountain.

 The destroyers had come and
her homeland was defiled. Kiima thought it
likely that no one else had survived. If they
did, they knew of only one place to go.

 There weren't that many potential
allies of Phoenix Mountain out in the world.
Kiima just hoped that she could find the one.

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

 Doctor Tofu noticed the girl
twisting on the ground, her arm muscles
still in danger of ripping themselves loose
from the tendons.

 Tofu Ono's eyes picked up the
details instantly. Ranma, dealing with a
shattered rib and punctured lung. The
remains of one exploded child. "This guy
was using Hokuto Shin Ken?"

 "I thought you might know of
it," Cologne said with a nod. "Though the
move he used against Ranma was Southern
Cross style."

 "Of course I know of it." The
doctor pushed his glasses back with a finger.
"My family practices the Ju-ken substyle of
Hokuto Shin Ken."

 "Doctor Tofu..."

 "I've done all I can for him, Akane.
We need to wait for the ambulance." Tofu
sighed. Putting Ranma to sleep and slowing
the boy's metabolism to near death to keep
him from bleeding to death might save his
life, but he wouldn't be able to fight for some
time.

 "Well, Tofu-sensei," Cologne sat
back, having already established that the
punk was alone, "I think I need to tell you
what's going on. And maybe, just maybe,
Akane and those two fools bawling over
there can listen this time."

 Cologne had two of the Amazons
detail what had happened to their village,
adding only that they had mentioned that
the Musk Citadel had likewise fallen.

 "While they were making their
way here, a...friend of the Nichieju who
works in the Japanese government relayed
an interesting report. It seems that the upper
levels of the Chinese military became quite
concerned that some group went into one
of their secret bacteriological warfare research
areas and almost stripped it completely bare.
Naturally this has caused a stir in quite a few
circles. When you put the location of that
laboratory and the time of the assault together
with the destruction of the various groups
in the Bayankala area..."

 Nabiki twitched as her earlier
questions were at last answered. This did
indeed have scope beyond a backwards
tribe out in the middle of nowhere.

===================================

hey, you want a challenge, you got it.

         Ranma (post vol 38 no less) trying
to recover from this sort of injury is a
challenge in and of itself. Of course,
AFTER getting an injury like that, he
might be less of a jerk...certainly he might
pay attention to people yelling stop.

         A kind, tender, loving Akane.
After all, with Ranma on a respirator he's
going to have trouble insulting her and
if she's got any maternal instincts these
could definitely come out.

           (No, don't go flaming me saying
that there are no such things and it's all
culturally imposed behavior patterns.)

          Why do this expansion? One, i have
repeatedly promised i'd go back on some
of the Bets that weren't taken over by others
and at least expand 'em out some. Two, i
think this timeline would be PERFECT for
the "Mirrors Multiplied" Ranma or a similarly
enhanced character to get into a long and
difficult battle. Three, i wanted to throw out
the bit about Tofu Ono, last practitioner of
Hokuto Shin Ken of HIS world.

           gee, i didn't have to go very far for a
villain that could challenge even the "King
Of Fighters" did i? Frankly he'd make a
mess of Ranma/tiger.

             for those not familiar with "Hokuto
No Ken" and its mythos, Raoh is "Ken-ou"
the Fist King and is the practitioner of a
martial arts style called Hokuto Shin Ken,
though he's picked up other tricks and
techniques in fashion similar to Ranma
through the series. Hokuto Shin Ken
works primarily through striking
accupressure points in such a way as
to kill, enslave, cripple, maim, heal, or
even augment a target. Hokuto Shin
Ken has its variant of the Chestnut
Fist, and it is typical for someone hit
by a Hokuto technique to lose their
head in a thoroughly messy fashion.
(ie the neck explodes and the head goes
flying off in a random direction.)

             Raoh is BAD, really BAD. How
bad? He used Hokuto Shin Ken to
control some people, said people firing
off nuclear missles and starting a nuclear
(and bacteriological if certain other clues
are correct) WWIII just so he wouldn't
have to put up with weak people.

             Raoh is The Villain of Hokuto No
Ken. While there were a lot of other villains,
once Raoh took the stage you knew that
they were third rate shadows of this guy.
He considers himself a god, and has chi
levels beyond anything but an DBZ warrior.
If he could close range and tag pressure points,
he'd be able to take out AMG and DBZ
characters rather rapidly.

 Personally, i would want an Eva
with a positron rifle, and would want at least
1000m of range before the fight started...

  Cologne vs Raoh? Not! You don't
get to be 300 by being an idiot, and she don't
strike me as senile. She was giving Ranma &
Company one last chance to join what's left of
the tribe, as well as give the Amazons a reason
to stick around here. Probably move really FAR
away and in as isolated an area as she can manage.

 As Keller was operating on his own
initiative, the various heroes have one major advantage.
Right now, Raoh and his forces don't know that
they're out there. All they know is Keller was out
looking for escapees.

i do try to get a little divergent, and if
this has been done before, my apologies.

======================================


(1)         on the other hand, i prefer lead characters
              that i can root for.

(2)         and if anyone in that series COULD do it,
             you know he would. Even though the failing
             ecosystem was through his own actions.

ja ne,

gregg