Title: A Legend reborn

Author name: Trugeta

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ as well as Akira Toriyama and many others. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Note further that I don't own any of the trademarks mentioned in this story.

This story takes place after Movie 10 of Dragonball Z and at the beginning of the Ranma series. It's an AU, and reviews are welcome and appreciated.

Chapter 14: Insights and an evil awakening

A very quiet and introspective Ryo-chan was seated on the sofa in Dende's rooms, quietly munching away on the food Mr. Popo had brought. Videl had gone outside to watch the Z-Fighters spar, and Ranma had joined them too. The three Tendo sisters, who'd remained behind, watched the boy-turned-Saiyan-girl; but she was utterly oblivious to their glances and completely lost in the world of her own thoughts.

Ryo-chan was sitting crosslegged and tried to look at her interactions with Ranma from an objective angle; she was valiantly trying to refute what the girls and Ranma had claimed, but she was not very successful.

'It all began with the bread feud. Stupid bread, getting into something akin to a blood feud because of a stupid loaf of bread… how idiotic! I mean, sure, I went ballistic cause Ranma always snatched my bread from me, but was it really my bread? He caught it before I could, snatched it from mid-air. Thus it wasn't mine until I'd secured it, and that's what Ranma always managed to do, before me. Was I jealous because he was more successful at it than I? To be honest, yes. And he must have known, cause didn't he share it with me? So bread as a reason is really out.' she thought between bites.

"Ryoga," interjected Nabiki, raising her from her thoughts, "why don't you change back to your birthform if you hate your cursed form so much? You've stayed in it quite long, haven't you?" she asked slyly.

"Yes," Kasumi added, "I'm sure it wouldn't be any trouble to ask Dende-sama for some hot water, Ryo-chan."

"How… how do you know that hot water is needed?" Ryo-chan asked confused. "Oh yes, I forgot. Ranma is cursed too, isn't he? That's the only explanation why he managed to beat me."

"No," Akane said, confusing Ryo-chan, "Ranma is not cursed. He apparently did something very special at Jusenkyo and received a new body as his permanent form. Ranma's father however is cursed."

"Yes, Ranma's one-hundred percent Saiyan, and what a stud he is!" Nabiki said with a leer.

"Oh my, how true!" Kasumi.

"Nabiki! Kasumi!" Akane exclaimed shocked. Ryo-chan on her part looked quite green. "Eeugh!"

"You would say the same had you seen him in the furo." Kasumi and Nabiki exclaimed at the same time, only to look at each other. "You too?" they asked the other, only to receive the same dreamy grin.

"Back on track," Akane interjected, hoping to get her sisters away from such perverted thoughts, "why don't we change you back, Ryoga?"

"…" Ryo-chan muttered.

"What was that? I didn't get that." Nabiki said, smelling a juicy story here.

"I said it's impossible at the moment." the Saiyan girl muttered embarrassedly.

"Why?" all three Tendo girls asked in stereo.

"Female stuff." Ryo-chan muttered with a blush that would have made every ripe tomato jealous.

"I see." the Tendo sisters said, nodding knowingly. "And I guess that's all Ranma's fault too, eh?" Nabiki added.

Silence was the only answer, followed by a sigh. "Yes. Dunno. Maybe. I have to think about that. And I'm still hungry."

Nabiki nodded, then looked at her sisters. "How about we leave her to her own devices and watch Ranma spar? I could do with another glimpse at those gorgeous muscles!"

"Oh my, that's a grand idea, Nabiki." Kasumi agreed with a feint blush.

Akane shook her head. Had the world gone crazy or were her sisters really turning into perverts? She followed them with a dejected sigh, intent on playing chaperone should it be needed. And gauging from the looks on her sisters' faces the necessity couldn't be ruled out...

-.-

When the three sisters stepped outside at least two of them were disappointed; for instead of seeing muscles of steel in action they saw Dende and Piccolo standing around a Ranma who was seated on the ground in a lotus position, eyes closed and seemingly completely relaxed; the Nameks whereas had looks of intense concentration on their faces. It took Nabiki only a second to understand what was going on. "Ah, they're performing that aura-scan Dende and Piccolo spoke of. I hope they can help Ranma, and once they're done they'll most assuredly spar." she said hopefully.

"You're most certainly right, Nabiki. Kami and Piccolo will surely be able to help Ranma, and once they're done they'll do battle to measure up like males are wont to do." Kasumi said with a smile.

Nabiki nodded, before her eyes lit up. "They're opening their eyes. That must mean that they've commenced the scan. Let's walk over, shall we?" she said with a smile.

The girls just arrived in time to hear Dende speak. "You're indeed suffering from the Chinese curse, Ranma, although we have no idea how you ended up with it. It's a variant that noticeably attracts chaos, but it's not life-threatening. We could leave it in place to follow what Vegeta had in mind or we could probably remove it, but that's solely up to you." the young god said. “All things considered, it might be that you’ll still be left with a level of chaos attraction, seeing that the curse was with you for a long time. But as said, its up to you.”

"What exactly did you have in mind, Vegeta?" Ranma asked respectfully.

The Saiyan Prince noticed the tone of voice and registered it with satisfaction. "To leave the affliction in place so that you'll attract challenging opponents, brat. You need every spar, every fight and every battle to learn what it means to be a Saiyan. Tell me the truth, haven't you already felt it? How your blood calls for battle and victory over the most challenging of opponents? How you want to defeat them and sew fear in their hearts?" he asked with an intent stare.

Ranma didn't flinch in the slightest. "Yes." was his simple answer. "I've always liked to fight and win, and always have I wanted to be the best. This want has increased in leaps and bounds, so I agree. We'll leave it in place until that time where it becomes too threatening."

Vegeta nodded, satisfied. This was a warrior after his taste, someone who might indeed deserve the honour to be called a true Saiyan warrior; not a Saiyan warrior like those bizarre caricatures they had forced to become under Friezas' rule, but a Saiyan warrior of old after which he, the Saiyan Prince had patterned himself once Frieza had finally been dead.

Nabiki and Kasumi however didn't like the plan one bit. "All good and well, but what about the property damage that is going to result from those fights Ranma will attract? Ranma is living with us, and the challengers are likely to destroy at least some of our property. Who pays the bills for the repairs to the dojo and the house? I hate to admit it, but our budget is very tight, not lest due to the fact that we've to feed a Saiyan and his ever hungry father."

"Let the food be my worry, Nabiki Tendo." Dende said and worked his powers. "Done." he said after a few seconds. "I enchanted your fridge to replenish itself." he said with a smile.

Ranma and Genma looked at him in awe. "That's possible?" they asked in unison, their eyes shining.

The kami of Earth nodded. "Yes, the spell is quite simple. Your fridge will never run out of food from now on. Alcoholic beverages like sake are not included, as they were deemed detrimental for a persons' health when the spell was created."

Ranma looked at Genma with fake-pity. "Too bad, oyaji."

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, boy." grumbled Genma.

“Sure will, pops. But consider,” Ranma said, becoming serious,” it’s for your best. If you had access to unlimited amounts of sake you’d only do something stupid, and I’d have to beat you up. Well, even more so than usually.”

“Eheh heh, if you put it that way, boy…” Genma said, sweating.

Vegeta scoffed. "I will talk to the onna about a solution in regards of damage to your house." he added. "I remember the hissy-fits the onna threw because of the damages to our house with fondness, and I know for a fact that she came up with something. She tried to explain it to me, but her technobabble is beneath a Saiyan Prince."

"You mean it's too high up for you, Vegeta." Gohan teased.

"Respect your Prince, brat!" Vegeta growled.

"Give me something to respect, then." Gohan countered with a smirk, much to the surprise of many and the secret glee of Vegeta; finally the brat behaved like a Saiyan!

"What was that?" Vegeta asked, powering up into SSJ.

"You heard me!" Gohan countered powering up himself.

"Heh, a free for all!" Ranma stated with a smirk, following suit.

Soon everyone aside from the girls and Dende were engaged in a brawl.

"Are they always like this?" Nabiki asked Videl.

The other girl grinned. "Yup. You'll get used to it after some time. Saiyans only care for food, battle, and sex. The latter I've yet to confirm." she said with a smirk.

Akane watched how Nabiki and Kasumi got that dreamy look again, and ever so slowly the youngest Tendo girl was asking herself if girls could be perverts too.

Nabiki whereas was still unsatisfied with Vegetas’ plan, and regardless of what the intimidating man thought about it, she’d voice her opinion. She walked over towards where the Saiyans were fighting and yelled “STOP!” effectively bringing the sparring to an end; unsurprisingly, Vegeta glared at her. Gohan and Ranma looked both curious.

“Ranma,” the Tendo girl said as she walked up to him, “while it’s all well and nice that the property damage and food aspects are covered, that doesn’t serve to minimise the danger to us. What good does having all property damage covered if the whole house got blown up during a fight, possibly with us,” she pointed at her sisters, “inside?”

Seeing that Ranma became very thoughtful Kasumi decided to add her two cents. “Ranma, Dende-sama said that this curse draws chaos, meaning challengers to you, thus it could also draw a super-powered villain right to school when you’re attending. What would stop this person from endangering and killing innocents to get to you? Regardless of how strong you are, you can’t protect everyone. Shouldn’t you therefore strive to minimise the dangers to others within the scope of your abilities?”

“One moment here, onna,” Vegeta growled, “the brat needs all the challenges he can get, and leaving the curse in place ensures that most efficiently.” he concluded, crossing his arms across his chest.

The middle Tendo daughter glared at him. “It’s a martial artists’ duty to protect the weak and innocent, isn’t it a warriors’ duty to ensure that said weak and innocent aren’t endangered through ones actions or inactions? I can’t believe that Ranma would want to even be indirectly responsible for harming innocents, isn’t it so?” she asked with a look at him.

Ranma nodded his head, deep in thought. “She’s got a point there, Vegeta. I got so excited about facing strong opponents that I completely forgot about the others that would affect. No, I could never forgive myself if something happened to Kasumi or Nabiki, or anyone else. Even if you don’t agree with it,” he said, looking Vegeta in the eyes, “its better to have the affliction removed. I can still get stronger through serious training.” he concluded, cracking a smile.

Vegeta scoffed, but seemed to accept it. “It’s your decision, brat.”

“And he made the right one.” Akane said defiantly, beating her sisters to the punch. “That’s why he’s my sensei, because he doesn’t what’s easy but what’s right. Even if he occasionally needs someone,” she looked at her sisters, “to remind him.”

“Well said, sis.” Nabiki said with a nod and a smile, and Kasumi mirrored her younger sister.

Nodding at the Tendo sisters with a grin that conveyed his thankfulness Ranma turned his attention towards Dende. “Dende-sama, I believe we have a curse to remove. And after that we’ll continue that fight…”

-.-

A few minutes later…

Inside Dende's house, seated on a comfy sofa, Ryo-chan was engrossed in her silent contemplations. 'Well, bread is out. That leaves his attitude towards me. He always taunted and insulted me. But aren't the girls right? I've seen Genma, and I remember how he treated Ranma. It's really a small miracle that he can interact with people at all, considering how he's been trained to throw insults! Today he didn't insult me at all, so it must be true what the girls said. He must have realised what his father did to him. No, I can't fault Ranma for acting like he did back then. Given how Genma raised him everyone else would have acted the same way.'

'Okay, next is the duel. Isn't it true? I set the time and date for the duel, I chose the place, and I did not leave until a few minutes prior, knowing full well that my lousy sense of direction might make me lost. He waited for three days even though the duel had already been forfeited after two hours, and he would have waited even longer had his father not knocked him out to drag him to China.'

She sighed. 'And what did brilliant me do? I overheard his classmates gossiping that he had left to China and followed his trail. That ultimately landed me at Jusenkyo. The place where I got cursed. But not because of Ranma, I see that now. This nice girl, Kasumi, is right. I wanted the fight so badly to determine who the stronger one is, and I lost my perspective completely. I literally became obsessed with my revenge. So many years wasted … years without my family… damn, I'm a moron!' she thought.

Then a thought crossed her mind. 'But were those years really wasted? I mean, I got a whole lot stronger, better and tougher. I even got that cursed form that turns me into a monster of a powerhouse! Kay, I turn into a girl, but hey, there're fates worse, and to be honest, I've gotten used to it. The stupid boys that hit on me I grind into powder, and there're things worse than that period stuff. No, those years weren't wasted, for they've bettered me without me realising it. But where does it lead me?'

"Wherever you want to, Ryoga Hibiki." a voice said.

Ryo-chan looked up from her contemplations. "Oh. Hi. Sorry, didn't catch your name. Was too… preoccupied." she said with an embarrassed blush.

Dende smiled in understanding. "I'm Dende, Kami of the Earth. Nice to meet you."

Her eyes bugged out. "Err, you too. You… you're really Kami? No joke?"

The green guardian of Earth smiled, letting some of his power come to the fore, which, although they had been somewhat taxed by the partially successful removal of the curse, were still formidable. "No joke. But back to you. It is solely up to you to decide where you want to go from here, Ryoga. You can decide to accept the things that go wrong in your life and for which you're responsible as your faults and not Ranma's; or you choose to follow your old path. But you've now seen that blaming another is not an acceptable way to deal with problems, haven't you?"

"Yes," Ryo-chan agreed, "blaming my problems on Ranma doesn't help solving them. It's just a way to vent my anger because something in my life has gone wrong. I see that now. And I know that I have to grow above this anger, but how do I do that?" she asked with a sigh.

Dende smiled his empathic smile once again. "By finding out where this anger comes from. What are you really angry about? I know it's not Ranma, for in my opinion he has always only been some kind of buffer for you, someone who could hold his own against you until you had vented all of your anger. What is the real source of your anger? Is it your new form?"

Ryo-chan looked deeply introspective and contemplated this question for a good five minutes. Finally she looked up again when she figured to have the beginnings of an answer. "No, I don’t think so. I mean, sure, it was a shock to be turned into a female, but the powers… they more than made up for it. And as long as I can fight…” she trailed off. “That reminds me… maybe you can answer my question, Kami-sama.”

“I’ll try to if I can.” Dende smiled.

“Ever since I got this body I didn’t really care in which form I was. At first I thought it was because of all this abilities this form gave me, but that wouldn’t explain why I liked this form as much as my birthform. I mean, I was born a guy, shouldn’t I prefer my male form?” Ryo-chan asked.

Dende looked thoughtful for a moment. “If you had been turned into a human female that would be true. Yet you became a Saiyan female, and that makes all the difference. I myself don’t know as much as Vegeta about it, but I think I can explain it all the same. Ryoga, Saiyans are driven by the desire to fight, to grow stronger and to overcome challenges. In the past that included destroying everything that stood in their path, but gladly that has changed. But I digress. A Saiyan simply doesn’t care about the form he is in, as long as he or she is a Saiyan and can fight. Had Ranma been turned into a female Saiyan he wouldn’t care either, as long as the cursed form offered him the chance to fight and grow stronger.”

“I’d never have guessed…” Ryo-chan muttered.

The little Kami smiled. “Getting used to the cursed form is also made easy by the Saiyan brain structure. As said, I’m no expert like Vegeta, but the brain of a Saiyan is sufficiently different from that of a human. Saiyans excel in areas concerning reflexive thinking, fighting and tactics, physical response, accurate pictographic memory, target memory, and strategic planning. Due to the fact that you are a martial artist anyway and thus tuned to fighting it was easy for you to get used to your female Saiyan body and accept the curse.”

“Which is a good thing,” the little green god continued, “seeing as there are no cures for Jusenkyo curses. Believe me, I know. Fighting the curse would only have resulted in wasting your energies, Ryoga Hibiki.”

“I guess.” Ryo-chan said with a nod. “Thank you.”

Dende smiled. “Glad to be of help. If you want additional information, either talk to Vegeta or his wife, Bulma. I know for a fact that she has a compendium on Saiyans based on her examinations; I’m sure it would be helpful. But now to the matter at hand, what is it that makes you so angry?”

Ryo-chan sighed. “I think it might be my family curse. I don't know if Ranma has described it in detail, but this family curse causes all members of my family to get lost at each and every opportunity. We open the door to the bedroom and end up in a completely different place. As ways of compensation," here she snorted, "we seem to have the ability to appear everywhere on the globe. That's also how I landed in Jusenkyo. That stupid curse makes me so angry!"

"I see." Dende said. "It's the feeling of uncertainty, isn't it? Not knowing if you'll walk into your bedroom or the next best airport around the globe, for example. I understand how that would frustrate just about anyone. Then there's also that you probably haven't seen your family in a long time." he said in an empathic tone of voice.

"Yes!" Ryo-chan growled. "I don't even know if mom and dad are still alive! Maybe I've a sister or a brother or both, and I don't even know! When I finally reached Nerima I found the house deserted, and I have no idea where my folks are. I hate that stupid curse!"

"Good. We can agree that Ranma isn't the source of your anger, but your family curse. If you allow the question, how were you able to follow Ranma so well despite the curse?" Dende asked.

Ryo-chan blushed. "That's because of my cursed form. When I'm like this I have a perfect sense of direction; but I still was so angry, because it had become normal for me; being angry I mean. Can you as Kami do anything about this curse? I don't mind being female, not anymore, but I'd like to have the same sense of direction in my birthform. Would that be possible?" she asked hopefully.

"I can't answer that right now. The magic from your Jusenkyo curse interferes with my reading, thus we'll have to wait until you can change back." Dende answered.

"Thank you, Dende-sama. That's at least something." Ryo-chan said truly thankful. "But what about Ranma?" she asked more to herself.

"You'll have to critically reflect upon the whole situation, Ryoga. Is Ranma nothing more than a punching bag to vent your anger at? Or is he more, a friend, perhaps? Those are questions which can only be answered by you and nobody else." Dende, said, getting up. "Excuse me, but I have business to attend to. Ranma and Vegeta managed to crack some of their ribs, respectively." he said with a smile.

Ryo-chan nodded. "Thank you once again, Dende-sama. You've really helped me."

"You're welcome." Dende said and left the room, leaving a silent Ryo-chan behind.

Still having unanswered questions before her Ryo-chan asked herself what Dende had brought up. 'Is Ranma really nothing more than a punching bag? Or is he more? A friend, perhaps, as Dende-sama suggested? Kami advised me to reflect upon the complete situation. Well, fact is that Ranma really shared his bread with me; I can't deny it. He also led me to and fro school, helped me to find my way within the school building and sparred with me. That could mean that he cared about me as a friend. And how did I repay him? With trying to kill him. Damn, I'm really, really a moron.'

Ryo-chan got to her feet with a hurting head, deciding that breathing in some fresh air would help.

-.-

Once outside she saw that Dende had both his hands above the right side of Ranma's ribcage, and a golden glow was surrounding them. Even as Ryo-chan asked herself what the heck was going on the feint expression of suppressed pain left Ranma's face, and she had her answer. 'Dende can somehow heal injuries! Damn, this gives the phrase 'healing hands' a whole new meaning. Cool!' she thought.

Dende looked over to her and grinned, which meant that he had somehow heard her thoughts. Smiling back she decided to remain in the background to watch. A "Ryoga, why don't you come over?" from the green god made her plans null and void, however.

With extreme hesitance in her posture she walked over, not sure what to expect of Ranma's friends. Her vista fell on the sparring Gohan and Vegeta, who'd obviously been healed prior to Ranma. Seeing the power they exuded really impressed her, and after today that power was also hers. Maybe Fate had really smiled down upon her instead of literally cursing her; she now knew for sure that it had not been Ranma's fault, but that of the crazy Chinese girls.

Ranma just turned his head her way when she looked back up again, and a small smile graced his face that reminded her that he'd always been the happy-go-lucky and forgiving type; but in his case that was no weakness, as she'd once more been reminded of, for Ranma fought fiercely for what he believed in should the need arise. That brought her to the conclusion that he'd indeed been a friend to her when he'd been a full-time he, for hadn't he always helped her back then when it had been needed?

The truths had been hammered home by the girls. They'd both been stupid boys back then, but to hold a grudge for such a long time and for so stupid reasons was totally unbecoming. What was worse, it had seriously corrupted her Art! She'd really have hazarded the consequences if some of the students at school would have been injured and maybe killed, and that had shown her a side of herself she'd never wanted to shed light onto. However, it was a side she'd have to face, and that was the reason why she needed some time to herself. To think things further through. But first an apology was due.

All this had gone through Ryo-chan's mind in a fraction of a second, and when she reached Ranma she'd sorted her thoughts. Coming to a halt in front of him her facial expression turned serious. "Ranma, I've come to see that I've done you wrong. I was at fault cause I missed the fight, and I… apologise. For that… and the other things." she said, and everyone could see how hard it had been for her to utter these words.

Ranma looked at her for a moment, then he nodded. "Apology accepted. If you accept mine." he said with a sheepish grin. "Hey, I was as much a moron as you." he replied, but his facial expression also conveyed the unspoken message that she'd be in deep shit should she try to blame her problems on him ever again.

Received and understood, conveyed her facial expression in return. Then a cocky smirk graced her face. "That doesn't change the fact that I want a final showdown with you to see who the better fighter is." she said. “Next time I’ll make you look lame.”

Vegeta, who'd been in hearing range, blocked a vicious kick to the ribs (Gohan had obviously made it into a sport to try and injure Vegeta in the same spot again), somersaulted backwards and landed in front of Ryo-chan. "Onna, you will get your opportunity faster than you think. You will take up training with us once you're right in the head; the potential of a SSJ will not go to waste. So speaks the Prince of all Saiyans!"

Ryo-chan looked at Ranma. "What's up with that guy? And what's a Saiyan anyway? The guide at Jusenkyo blabbered some about it, but he didn't make sense to me."

Ranma shrugged, and both he and Ryo-chan ignored Vegeta's indignant "WHAT!". "Dunno either, buddy, the guide only knew that 'Saiyans' are a supposedly extinct warrior race. Aside from that I dunno more than you."

"WHAT!" Vegeta exclaimed again, "You want to tell me that you have no idea of what you are? Well, half of the time anyway in your case, onna." the Saiyan Prince said snidely.

"Nope." Ranma said, while Ryo-chan glared. This Saiyan Prince was slowly getting on her nerves with his attitude.

"What's that with the holier-than-thou attitude, vegetable-head?" she asked with a growl, turning SSJ from anger.

"What… was… that?" Vegeta asked back, flaring his SSJ-aura.

However, before things could escalate Gohan butted in and powered up to his maximum as a SSJ2. "That's enough already!" he growled, and his tone bore no resistance. "Vegeta, they have no knowledge of the Saiyan race, so change that. Then we're going to plan the training, and it will include her if she wants so. Period." he said, crossing his arms in a very Vegeta-like posture.

The Prince of all Saiyans growled annoyed, but seeing that Gohan was the stronger Saiyan he saw the logic in agreeing with his sentiment. The brat was now even stronger than he'd been when he'd killed Cell, and Vegeta knew that Gohan could trounce him in the blink of an eye if he wanted. "Fine, brat. Brats," he said, looking at Ranma and Ryo-chan, "I'll now give you the condensed version of the history of the Saiyan race, so that you at least know what you are. So listen up, and listen good."

That said Vegeta explained the history of the Saiyans from as far as it had been recorded to that fateful day when Frieza had caused the destruction of Vegeta-sei, the fates of the few survivors, the general abilities of a Saiyan including life-span, customs, traditions and the rest he deemed important. When he'd ended the audience was impressed; Kasumi and Nabiki on their parts had been very interested in the physical capabilities as well as in the lifespan (which might pose a problem) and the mating concept.

Now Ranma's reactions during the battles he'd fought made more sense, at least if what both sisters suspected was true. 'He considers me his girlfriend!' both Kasumi and Nabiki thought independently from the other, and smiles graced both womens' faces.

Ranma and Ryo-chan on their parts had now a deeper understanding of the urges they were driven by, and both clearly appreciated the fact of being (part-)Saiyans. However, Ryo-chan would also have to train her human half, which could become a liability. Due to that the boy-turned-Saiyan-girl would be included in the training schedule as soon as she had dealt with her issues, which suited the others quite well. Four Saiyans meant a better balance, and Vegeta made the comment that he'd set up a training site in Nerima as fast as possible. With Bulma's money that was not a problem at any rate.

Videl on her part made the suggestion to include the three Tendo sisters in the training as well, and Gohan approved of this and expanded upon the suggestion; Videl's own training had come along nicely, and thus it could be left to her to teach the girls what she'd learned, while Ranma trained with the other Saiyans. The pigtailed Saiyan had however reserved a certain amount of time per day to train the girls in the Saotome style, and seeing that school ended at 3 p.m. for all of them this was commonly accepted.

In the end the training schedule was split into training at the Tendo dojo in which Ranma, the Tendo girls and Ryo-chan would partake, and training at the GR at the Briefs until a suitable training site in Nerima could be purchased, equipped and be used. Some moaning and bitching ensued about the loss in free time, but it was ultimately recognised that those who lived with Saiyans needed to be able to hold their own at least long enough until help arrived. This was especially true for those living with one Ranma Saotome...

-.-

Deep space, Orion galaxy, Cluster PE 404-AX, Solar system Er'gon

"I am surrounded by incompetents! Imbeciles!" a tiny creature, which oddly looked like a cross of a sheep and a toad, exclaimed.

Had it had not been for his magical abilities which made him very dangerous he would have been deemed unimportant, yes, even a complete waste of space. But said magical powers gave the wizard known as Badidi, son of Bibidi, enormous might; his spells had enslaved many in exchange for power, but even his spells couldn't fix a malfunctioning warpdrive.

"You there!" the tiny wizard yelled, and a member of the bridge-crew, the navigator, to be exact, feared for his life.

"Yes, sir!" he squeaked.

"How long until we can continue our flight to this... this Sol-system or whatever it's called?"

"Sir, the chief-engineer reported that we need Caldium, Dilithium and Duranium. We had an incident in engineering during your absence, Master Babidi. Our warp-core has been severely damaged by an intense wave of energy called a 'cosmic string' while you were resting, Master. To make matter worse, the crystals that allow warp-speeds have been completely disintegrated when it bypassed our shields, and the backup crystals shared that fate. The chief engineer says we need to find new ones, as well as material to repair the warpcore." the fearful navigator reported.

"I could have guessed that myself, imbecile!" Babidi growled, magic springing forth from his hands.

"Master Babidi," a demonic voice interjected, "may I advise to let this worm live? He's our last navigator, and without someone competent at the helm it would take even longer to reach Earth."

"Yes, yes, Dabura," Babidi said, the magic winking out of existence, "you're right. Navigator," he bellowed, "where can we find those crystals and that other stuff we need?"

"Sir, our Science officer has control over the sensors. He can answer that."

"Aha. You," Babidi bellowed, scaring the science officer shitless, "what do you have to report? Success, I hope for you."

The goon sweated and began to click buttons frantically while mentally cursing the navigator. He could well do without being blown to bits, turned to stone or ending up as Jarkon´s dinner. "Sir, I've detected all that we need on a planet 0.1 lightyears away. At full impulse we'll need one hour."

"Very well. Set a course to the coordinates you'll receive, navigator. If you were wrong your death shall be painful beyond imagination..."

-.-

Sol System, Earth, Japan, Tokyo, Nerima Ward

Piccolo had teleported Ranma, the three Tendo sisters and Ryo-chan to the Tendo dojo. Genma had been returned to the Dojo earlier, as he had requested that he needed time to meditate.

Ranma thanked Piccolo for the lift, and the tall Namek nodded gruffly before disappearing. "Damn," Ranma muttered, "some more times and I might catch on to how he does that."

He'd just said that when Soun Tendo came bursting out of the door. His eyes were instantly on the stranger girl. "WAAAAH! Ranma is cheating on my daughters with a girl that has a tail! WAAAAH!"

"DADDY!" Nabiki and Kasumi exclaimed in unison, looking disbelieving. How did he arrive at such ridiculous conclusions?

Ranma on his part had no want or need to put up with such childish behaviour. "Are you crazy? She battled me not one hour ago, and we just made peace. Do you often jump to conclusions without knowing jack, Mr. Tendo? If so I'd advise to wait until you know all the facts and reserve your judgement for that time."

"Yeah!" agreed Ryo-chan, "To think that Ranma and me... eeeughh!"

Soun was confused. "You're not cheating on my precious daughters?" he asked incredulous.

"No." Ranma said, crossing his arms over his massive chest; that had the consequence that lustful stares ensued on Kasumis' and Nabikis' parts. Akane and Ryo-chan saw that and shared a look of disgust.

"Dad, this," Nabiki began, "is a curse victim. She's actually a boy cursed to turn into a Saiyan girl. And incidentally Ryoga is also an old... 'acquaintance' of Ranma. So don't worry about the agreement."

"Agreement?" Ryo-chan questioned.

Ranma gave Nabiki a look, and she nodded. "If you'll follow me... this is best discussed inside."

A minute later everyone was comfortably seated around the living room table, and Nabiki began to explain the Tendo-Saotome-agreement and how Ranma had changed the verbal 'contract'. Ryo-chan was impressed. "Wow, Ranma, you managed to turn something that'd have forced you and the girls into something probably neither you or them wanted into something that preserved the freedom of choice for all of you. Not bad." she commented grudgingly.

"Yeah." Ranma agreed. "Akane and me have already decided that we wouldn't make a good couple, and that wouldn't have been possible had the old men had a saying in the matter."

"WHAT!" Soun exclaimed, proving Ranmas point, "Whatever is wrong with my baby-daughter?" he bellowed, using his demon-head.

Ranma looked bored and fired a ki-blast that easily disrupted the ki-manifestation; which had the effect that it startled Soun into silence, effectively stopping his tirade. "Nothing. We just agree that we wouldn't be happy in marriage. Akane has decided that she'd rather be a friend, and I concur."

"It's true, dad. I don't want to marry, not for a long time and not until I've solved my problems. There's no chance that Ranma and I will marry, because we both don't want to. He's my sensei and he'll hopefully become a good friend, but that's all." Akane added.

"Father, you must learn not to live your dreams through others. Akane has her own life, and she won't be forced into something she doesn't want. Neither will Ranma by his father or you. We simply won't allow it, and the contract assures that. You've waited for the joining of the schools for so long, a few more years won't hurt; isn't it worth it if it could ensure that the schools would be joined?" Kasumi asked.

"I... I suppose you're right, daughter. But... but it's so important to me that the Tendo legacy lives on. We're an old and proud family, and this Dojo as well as our school must be continued. You understand me, don't you?" Soun asked.

The Tendo patriarch saw indeed understanding in the teens´ eyes, and hope flared when Soun saw the looks his two oldest gave Ranma. Would it really be so bad if not Akane joined the schools with Ranma, but either Nabiki or Kasumi? And would it be so bad to wait, if patience ultimately ensured the realisation of his dreams. The simple answer was no.

"VILE CUR!" a voice suddenly boomed, and Kuno forced his entry into the house, "HOW DARETH THOU TO SPREAD THESE VILE RUMOURS ABOUT MY HEROIC PERSONA! HAVE AT..."

That was the moment when Kuno noticed Ryo-chan, who had a look of utter confusion on her face; which gave her a very cute look. "Who art thou, raven-haired goddess, to bless my dreary day with your beauty? But halt..."

Kuno wanted to give his usual introduction, but Ranma had grown bored already. "Cut the crap, Kuno. Everyone knows your prefs by now. No need to pretend you like girls." he stated in a snide tone of voice.

"But the mighty Blue Thunder doth likest girls!" he exclaimed and made to glomp Ryo-chan.

The boy-turned-Saiyan-girl didn't possess the same yell-and-bash-reflexes normal women possessed, and thus she was verily surprised to find a strange boy fondling her assets. However, even boy-turned-girls absolutely hate to be fondled without permission, thus the reaction of the fondled girl was predictable.

A deep intake of breath later, which was taken as a sign of approval by Kuno, the cry "PERVERT!" rang through the room and Ryo-chan catapulted the delusional kendoist through the roof.

Huffing and puffing the neo-girl tried to get a grip on herself. "That perverted jerk, touching me like that! Now I'll have to scrub myself for a month! YUCK!" she grumbled.

"If you want to you can help with his punishment." said Ranma with a smirk, and upon her questioning look the pigtailed Saiyan and the girls explained the situation, while Soun went to get himself some sake to 'further contemplate the situation'. What insights he'd gain from the bottom of sake bottles was anyone's guess; but at least Soun did seem more open-minded than before.

In the end, after the plan had been explained, Ryo-chan was more than inclined to help, and as she'd been convinced to go to school with them it was more than likely that a certain delusional kendoist would become a punching bag for yet another person...

-.-

Deep space, Orion galaxy, Cluster PE 404-AX, Solar system Er'gon, 11th planet, designation unknown

"Master Babidi, our readings have been accurate. We're picking up massive amounts of Caldium, Dilithium and Duranium. The Dilithium seems to be of low quality, however." the science-officer reported. "The planet where we picked up the readings seems to be uninhabited, but we've detected an energy source that might be of interest. Interesting is also that the whole planet is covered in ruins, Master; only one major structure is still intact."

"What are you waiting for! Give orders to prepare my shuttle, imbecile!" Babidi bellowed as he walked towards the turbolift. "O'onglo, you're in command during our absence. If there's one, only one scratch on my ship upon my return..." the wizard trailed off threateningly.

"O... of course not, Master Babidi. E... everything will be to your satisfaction."

"I do hope so. For you." the tiny wizard stated, and stepped into the turbolift, followed by Dabura and the science officer.

-.-

Fifteen uneventful and downright boring minutes later the shuttle had landed on the nameless planet, which was a bit larger than Babidis homeworld; it was a class M world, but surely not the ideal choice of vacation at any rate. The whole planet was covered in jungle, and it was unbearably hot, how the members of the expedition noticed once they'd left the shuttle. The only ones unaffected were Babidi (due to his magic) and Dabura (who absolutely relished the temperatures).

Soon the automated mining equipment had been deployed and was fulfilling its task, which left the eighteen members of the away team with the opportunity to explore. Especially the wizard Babidi always welcomed the opportunity to search for ways to improve his magical powers and knowledge further, and who knew, this planet had once been inhabited how the ruins proved, maybe whoever had lived on this world had left some tomes or scrolls?

Leading the troop the wizard soon arrived at something that looked vaguely like a temple, and he could feel the power that permeated the area. Whatever it was that was buried here, it was very powerful! This was a power that had to be his, one way or another. "Dabura, if you would." Babidi commanded, pointing at the blocked entrance.

The demon-king nodded and plowed his fist straight through the thick layers of stone, creating a sizeable hole. Dusting himself off he bowed. "Master, allow me to enter first to exclude any risks to your safety."

"Very well. You may do so." Babidi allowed.

Dabura walked forward and immediately fired energy-blasts that evaporated the traps he'd seen with his demon-vision; several of the traps exploded with force, making it clear to everyone just how dead they'd have been should they've entered the temple brazenly. "The passage is now safe, Master. I advise that you stay behind me so that I can protect you better. Whoever secured this structure knew what they were doing." the demon-king commented.

Babidi nodded and floated behind at a safe distance, remaining in the middle of his men as they entered the very heart of the eerie temple.

-.-

During their progress Dabura disabled several more traps, each deadlier than the last. Which led Babidi to believe that something very valuable had to be hidden within these ancient walls. The scans the science-officer had made had proven that temple was ancient, at least over 200,000 years give or take, and the fact alone that it was still standing conveyed that the civilisation that had once existed here had to have been very advanced. Proof for this was also the fact, that the science officer couldn't even say which material had been used in the construction of the structure; and that had not been from lack of trying.

Babidi had been tempted to blow the head of his science officer up, but Dabura had confirmed that it had not been his fault. The material was unknown to them, but obviously very durable, as the lack of decay proved. Fact which raised Babidis' hopes that something valuable indeed was waiting for them.

They finally reached what seemed to be the centre of the temple, but entry was only possible after Dabura had eliminated the massive security systems, read, traps. Lastly he had to use brute force to create an entryway, and once he deemed it safe his master entered the room that had been protected so well. The only question was, had it been so tightly secured to serve as a place of last refuge, or had it been created to contain something and keep others away? Gauging from the destruction on the planets' surface both possibilities were equally likely.

The circular room Babidi entered immediately lit up upon his entry, the light originating from unseen sources. The wizard looked around appreciatively; he could feel it, magic had been worked here, and lots of it. Despite the eons that had gone by, the air was still heavy with magic, and to reach such saturation heavy banishing spells had to have been used. The remnants of the original spells seemed to originate from an oddly shaped stone, which had been embedded in the flooring. The stone itself formed a pentagram and was black as the night; however, it seemed to pulse with a red light at the same time. Babidi concentrated on the stone, utterly fascinated, and used all of his magical senses to 'feel' it.

Dabura was doing the same, as he felt an odd compulsion to free whatever it was that was incarcerated within the stone. Master and servant arrived at the conclusion at the same time. "A ritual." Babidi muttered, and the demon king nodded in agreement.

"Yes, Master. One of your loyal men has to sacrifice himself for you."

Mutterings ensued among the sixteen 'loyal men', but they were silenced by a wave of magic from Babidi. "Choose one amongst you or I will do it and choose three. Oh, and today is your lucky day, science officer. You don't need to partake."

"Thank you, most merciful master!" the relieved man grovelled.

"Yes, yes," Babidi waved his hand impatiently, "get to the choosing already."

Fifteen potentially damned souls looked at each other, and immediately decided upon O'ongla, who was liked least; the poor sod threw hateful glares at his comrades as he was pushed forward. Babidi smirked evilly. "My most faithful servant, you, who you have chosen a painful death," O'ongla gulped here, "well, die already. Dabura."

Dabura nodded and smirked. Babidi used his magic to push O'ongla forward and tied him in place. The demon king then used his sword and gutted the man, spilling his blood all over the stone. Said stone began to pulse in a lighter shade of red, and Babidi rejoiced. "Its working!" he exclaimed, as O'ongla sank to the ground, dying, "The threads of magic are weakening!"

The wizard had just uttered these words when the whole temple began to vibrate. O'ongla was sucked into the stone in a flash of bloodred light. The lights that illuminated the room flickered and dimmed all of a sudden, and demonic laughter seemed to reverberate from nowhere and everywhere. Nervous mutterings ensued among the foot-soldiers, and this time Babidi couldn't fault them. Whatever they'd awoken, it sure knew how to make an appearance...

"FINALLY... FREE! AFTER ALL THIS TIME..." a distinctly demonic voice uttered, sending shivers down the spines of everyone but Babidi and Dabura.

The demon-king feared nothing, and Babidi came prepared; he'd already readied the spells he'd used to enslave Dabura, and since then he'd only expanded on them; he'd also acquired one special scroll for a special case, and he was pretty sure that he'd be able to enslave just about each and every demon in existence with a combination of his spells and the scroll. The catch was that he had only one shot at it. Which meant that the others would have to distract whatever they'd just freed. But he was not worried, seeing as he'd brought enough canon-fodder.

Then what they'd freed stepped into view. The demon, and it was very obviously one, was over nine foot tall, very muscular built with arms which had two foot long black spikes protruding from the elbows and legs as thick as tree trunks; it had scaly red-black skin that looked like armour, clawed hands and feet and a massive spiky tail that would have made a Tyrannosaurus Rex proud. In short, it looked scary as all hell. Suddenly the demon lashed out, and each arm had caught a struggling and screaming goon. "TASTY." the demon rumbled as he devoured Babidis' men.

The momentary distraction of the beast as it fed gave Babidi the time he needed; the tiny wizard activated the scroll and added his spells to it, focussing all of his magic on the total subjugation of the demon. The monstrosity growled and trashed around violently as it was hit by the powerful wave of magic, sending fireballs in all directions. The soldiers tried to take cover and most of them made it behind the shields Babidi and Dabura had erected, but a few ended up torched.

The mental battle continued meanwhile and Babidi was getting the upper hand ever so slowly, thanks to the scroll. Pouring all of his might into the attack the wizard managed to penetrate the demons defences and ended up in his black soul. From there it was easy to leave his mark that would bind the demon to do his bidding forever. Cackling maniacally Babidi withdrew his mental probes and surveyed his new servant. "Who are you, servant?"

"I AM N'ASTIR, MASTER." the demon answered.

This answer shocked Dabura spitless, and the loss of countenance wasn't lost on Babidi. "What, Dabura?"

"Master, I remember legends about a demon lord called N'Astir. 200,000 years ago it was he who ruled the underworld with an iron fist, together with his brothers, until usurpers managed to take the throne. We had no knowledge what had become of him, and it will be most interesting to come to know. Being the demon-king I know all about him and his abilities, and he will be a most valuable asset to you." Dabura explained.

"Hmm, a demon lord you say..." Babidi said and began to cackle. "This is most excellent. He'll surely be most helpful in eliminating any resistance we might be facing in our quest to recover Buu. Everyone, return to the shuttle!"

A chorus of "Yes, master Babidi." ensued.

"MASTER, MAY I FINISH THE BARBEQUE FIRST? THEYRE QUIET TASTY." N'Astir said, pointing at the remains of Babidis' soldiers.

"Yes, yes, N'Astir. Go ahead. We'll be waiting outside."

"VERY WELL, MASTER BABIDI. FINALLY SOMETHING DECENT TO EAT." N'Astir said and began munching away.

This caused several of the soldiers to lose their lunch, and they made to get away as fast as possible to escape the gruesome sight, a cackling Babidi trailing behind with an equally amused Dabura.

-.-

Babidi and his men didn't have to wait long for N'Astir. The behemoth looked even more frightening in broad daylight, and Babidi congratulated himself to this fine catch. N'Astir looked very powerful, and if he was only half as strong as he looked they could take on the Supreme Kai, his sworn enemy, every time they wanted to. With Dabura in his ranks he'd been strong, but with N'Astir he was invincible!

"Ready the shuttle and retrieve the mining equipment!" Babidi commanded; his men hurried to carry out the orders immediately, and little later they were ready for take off.

Soon the away team had returned to the ship, and once back on deck, flanked by Dabura and N'Astir, who had difficulties moving around freely due to his height, Babidi proved his temper once again. "How long will the repairs take?" he bellowed, scaring the chief engineer to near death.

"T... two days, sir." he squeaked.

"You have one. Should you fail you'll end up as N'Astirs' dinner." he said, and the demon lord made it a show to pick his teeth with a collarbone, which caused frightened stares all around.

"Helm, how long will it take to reach Earth at maximum speed?"

"One year, sir." reported the fearful crew member.

"You have half a year. Or else." Babidi threatened.

"But sir, that's impossible! One year is the absolute minimum it'll take! Anything else would kill us all, Master! The harmonic build-up from the low quality crystals would rip the ship apart if we were to fly faster than warp 5.5! Please, Master, I don't want to obey orders that would endanger you." the navigator begged.

Magic began to circle around Babidis' fingers, and N'Astir showed two rows of sharp, black teeth any velociraptor would’ve envied. It was Dabura who saved the man. "Master, he's our last navigator, Jarkon ate all the others. And he has a point. I'm sure you remember what the science officer said about the crystals. They are faulty, according to engineering. Flying faster would indeed endanger you, Master."

"Damn! Damn! Damn! I so wanted to make his head explode! No fair!" Babidi pouted. "Okay," he then said after he'd recovered from his outburst, "set course for Earth at maximum safe speed. Engage. And enable that cloaking thingie, damn it!"

Helm and tactical obeyed, and the ship filled with evil and dangerous individuals was on its way. ETA at Earth: one year and counting...

to be continued…

Thanks for reading. Also, thanks to everyone for helping me out with suggestions, comments, ideas and c&c in general. Special thanks go to the people at Shinjis board for making this better than it was.

Many thanks to those of you who were kind enough to leave reviews for the last chapter:

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