Ranma and The Doctor

Chapter 14

The Master of Nerima

An hour later

“Doctor...” Ranma walked up to him, “What’s going on, why won’t you let me chase him?”

“It’s too late...” The usually positive man was now down, his face having lost some of the colour he had earlier, “Whatever the Master did to the TARDIS, it’s already in full effect.” He held up the key that he used to open it, “I can’t open it, nor force it to...”

They were both inside the Tendo home, sitting with Akane and Ukyo nearby, both of whom were suffering shock of some sort.

The injuries done to Genma and Soun were much worse than imagined.

Although Genma managed to escape with deep bruises on his chest and arms, thanks to his continued practice of martial arts strengthening his muscles, Soun suffered greatly, and had a broken hip bone. Somehow even the nearby cartilage was ruined requiring an emergency operation to replace it with an artificial bone.

Nabiki and Kasumi were waiting in the hospital for him to be released from surgery, and to keep Genma company as he recovered.

Akane was still stunned as what happened, but chose to remain by Ranma’s side, since she knew that somehow, things would work out well with the redhead around.

Ukyo likewise did not trust returning to her restaurant just yet, given the brutal fight that occurred, Having already seen Happosai in the past, she knew not to mess with him.

Mind you, she was mildly vindictive in the revenge he dealt out to Genma.

“Ranma, were there any signs of this Happosai changing?” The Doctor asked, for the first time, “I mean what was he like?”

She growled, “He was a pervert, he used to chase women and steal their panties, but he was also really strong and clever when he wanted to be...” She shuddered, “I’ve never seen him fight like that, to actually want to maim or kill someone.”

“Whatever triggered his memory, it must have been recent...” The Doctor held his chin, “The only thing I can think of is that the TARDIS landed here after that distress signal...”

“Come to think of it...” Akane piped up, “Happosai did disappear a day before.” The others looked at her at this nugget of information, “He does his normal disappearing trick of going some place for a month or two, then coming back later, so I didn’t think much of it...”

“With all due respect, sugar,” Ukyo interjected, “Why did this time mean anything to all those other times then?”

Akane shuffled her feet, “I should’ve known he was up to something...”

“It’s okay Akane,” Ranma reached out and touched her hand, “None of us could have guessed this would happen...” She let go but gazed into the youngest Tendo’s face, calming her, “Tell us what you saw.”

Akane clasped her hands together in her lap, then she spoke, “He was just...” She tilted her head and looked up to the ceiling, trying to find the right words, before they came to her, “just, different... I can’t say how. He was on the roof most of the day, holding up his finger like testing which direction the wind came from. I even felt his ki grow steadily...”

“Impossible...” The Doctor shook his head, “The Master was never this gradual, he always preferred to take things to a whole new level almost immediately...”

“Why, what do you mean, Doctor?” Ranma turned to face him.

“Master is a Time Lord, like myself, with several lifespans, and regenerations too in case we die. But this Happosai person looks really old.”

“Cologne says he’s around a hundred years old, like her, but he tells us three hundred, so we never chose to ask. It didn’t seem to matter at the time.” Akane replied.

Ukyo stood up, flabbergasted, “You mean, he’s been waiting for three hundred years to get the Doctor? What kind of idiot would wait that long?”

“You saw him, Ukyo.” The Doctor answered her, “Is he the type of person you could fight and win against?”

Ranma realised something, her face lighting up, “You mean... He learned martial arts and ki, all to win in the battle against you?”

She held her fist and saw it was trembling.

“That’s certainly a possibility...” He closed his eyes, recalling two lifetimes ago, “The last time I saw him, he died inside the TARDIS, falling into the Eye of Harmony.” Reopening them, he focussed on the table in front of them, where the TARDIS key lay, “I don’t know how he is alive again, but the only thing that could be the reason would be the Time War... Maybe with Gallifrey gone, he was resurrected. I’ll never know if I don’t ask him.”

“But, isn’t that a bit much, for revenge?” Ukyo recalled how she cursed Ranma for leaving her, but even she would have to admit that now, it seemed a little too obsessive to wait such a long while.

“He was probably waiting for a good time, when I would visit Japan. He probably tuned his ki well, like a typical master of his art, and could detect the distress signal himself.” The Doctor stopped at seeing the change in the redhead beside him, “Ranma, what’s wrong?”

Her fist was pooling with blood, her nails had grown, as had her fangs again. The anger rising to boiling point, Feral Ranma didn’t care if she couldn’t see, but knew somehow there was no enemy nearby, and so was frustrated, having to sleep again.

Returning to normal, Ranma still dug into her palm.

“Anything Goes...” She whispered, “The art pops taught me, the one I’ve been training all my life for. It was all a tool for a vendetta... This isn’t for fighting fairly, this is for simply killing someone...”

She made noises with her throat, like she was choking, but she didn’t move from her spot.

“Ranchan...” Ukyo saw the anger beneath the surface.

“Ranma, it’s not all like that...” Akane tried to calm her down, “Don’t forget that you thought up your own techniques on the spot. Not to mention the ones your father made as well without Happosai nearby.”

The Doctor perked up at this, “He left? For how long?”

“We’re not sure...” Akane took up the mantle at Ranma’s absence, “Around twenty years, our fathers locked him in a cave with sake, and probably some charms to keep him in there.”

“It makes no sense...” The Doctor put on his glasses, before picking up the key again and examining it, “Alcohol doesn’t affect Time Lords, we break it down almost instantly. I can only think that they found a powerful spell to keep him away, I’ve been put under some spells or two in my lives, so they were probably lucky.” He turned the key around, peering at the groove of the Yale lock, “Now, why did he throw the Mirror in there?”

“You tell me, Doctor.”

All of them turned around to see Cologne in the garden, sitting on her cane, with Shampoo and Mousse just arriving over the wall.

“Hey, old-” Ranma caught herself, remembering how she spoke to Althaea, “Elder Cologne, could you tell us how old you are?”

Raising a thin white eyebrow at Ranma’s politeness, she tiptoed into the room, and smacked the boy-turned-girl on the head with the cane.

“Oww! What the hell was that for? I was respectful!”

“That you were, but you can’t ask a lady how old she is, it’s too personal.”

“Gees...” Ranma rubbed at the sore spot on her scalp, before seeing their faces, “So, you all know then I take it?”

Cologne nodded, “I sensed Happi’s ki coming from here, but it wasn’t perverted like before, but in full battle mode, to kill.”

“What airen do to annoy old pervert?” Shampoo asked.

The Doctor looked at them, but focussed more on Cologne, “Think of the worst possibility, and then double it.” Her eyes widened, “This person known as Happosai, is the Master, a Time Lord like myself...”

She sighed and sat by the kotatsu, Mousse and Shampoo sitting beside her, “You had best tell me everything that has happened today, so I can get up to speed.”

Ranma opened her mouth, and began to the story of arriving at the school.

Meanwhile
Tokyo Tower

“All unauthorised personnel, please vacate from the premises.”

Black clad military uniforms with red berets milled about, setting up barriers and cordoning off the area beneath the tower, whilst four teams were examining where the legs were returned into the Earth.

“UNIT North team reporting total restoration.”

A small command vehicle was nearby, with all communications going through them.

“UNIT East team reporting total restoration.”

“That’s all of them.” One soldier spoke, pulling off his headphones, “The Doctor did manage to reattach all the legs into the foundations.”

“Yes, but at what cost?” The person with a higher rank stepped outside to look at the grounds.

Despite the fight having been over for a few hours, the ground was still covered in a thick mist, and all that could be seen within was rubble. The buildings near to the tower were also destroyed, and the fissures were being flattened out by dozens of smaller UNIT teams.

“The amount of damage is unprecedented.”

“But Chief...!” The communications officer objected, but was interrupted.

“That’s enough Uramura, I won’t hear it...” The Chief looked into the mist, “I’m still unsure as to those two individuals inside there.”

“Sir!” Uramura was staring at another window, where two heat signatures began moving, “They’re waking up!”

“Okay, no risks this time.” He pulled out his radio, “This is Lieutenant Colonel Nakata to all available teams. We have movement within the Forbidden Zone from the two abnormal combatants. All teams are to converge on the Tower and commence Code Red.”

“Sir!” Uramura stood up, “Is that necessary? You saw the footage, they stopped those objects from destroying more of Tokyo.”

“Silence Captain, or I will have you court marshalled.” Nakata glared at him, and opened up the radio again, “When any of you have a clear aim,” His eyes narrowed at Uramura beginning to object, “Shoot to kill.”

Fifty soldiers, all posted around the base, held their weapons at the ready, targeting two people inside.

That moment

“Damage report, Yuko. My Contacts have shut-down for a few minutes from the impact.”

“Multiple fractures to all bones in your arms, severe contusions and lacerations on your legs. Internal bleeding, also a large bruise to your stomach resulting in acid burning harder to your organs.”

“Damn, so I’m pretty beat up then.”

Ryoga spat out some blood, as he grinned, his adrenaline getting him to his feet. He could feel his legs shaking from the pain and the unstable ground beneath him.

“What about Kuno?”

“He has similar wounds, namely his sword arm, the bones there have been shattered and no longer functions as normal.” She brought up a window with his body, “The left arm, which possesses an alternative power source, and some unknown qualities that even I cannot analyse immediately, is untouched, primarily due to the protection is affords the host.”

“I see...” He nodded, “That would explain why he’s gotten so strong. Whatever is in there is changing his body slowly to actually survive and adapt, much like this...” Ryoga raised the right arm to show the metal spines and shards which thrust out.

“Ryoga, I’m detecting multiple hostiles closing in on us.” Three more windows opened up, one with a zoomed in camera viewpoint and another two radar images, “Average humans, but all armed with rifles and long range weaponry.”

“I wonder who they are...”

‘Primitive radio communications state that they are with the Unified Intelligence Taskforce, and their current objective is two eliminate you and Kuno.” He raised his eyebrow, “You’re considered a high risk target, possibly extra-terrestrial, hence their need to remove you from this Earth.”

“Humans...” Ryoga growled, “They’re so preoccupied with protecting themselves that they even see others trying to save them.” He looked around, “Is there any way out without them seeing us?”

“No, they have closed off all possibly exits, and soon will be within visual range.”

“Well, I’m getting out of here...” He smirked and adapted the cast-off to become a drill, “Ready for a short ride?”

She smiled back at him, “After you.”

Aiming for the ground, Ryoga dug away from the approaching troops, safe from danger.

That second

“Sir!” Uramura shouted, “One of the them is moving fast!”

“Well, the others will get him, don’t worry.”

“No!” He tilted the monitor, “The heat signature has gone subterranean, and is rapidly leaving the area.”

“What?!” Nakata cursed as he knew they wouldn’t be able to catch him now that he was away from their vision. “Damn it to hell! Still, at least we’ll get the other one he’s not moving.”

The grin widened as the rifle mounted camera showed a battered image of a kendo uniform.

Several dozen metres away

“The pain...”

Kuno couldn’t move his right arm, the sword limply sticking besides his body.

“This time I truly lost to a greater power.” He thought back to the fight with Ryoga, “Only someone with untold amounts of experience can fight like he did, and win.”

He looked to his left arm and winced, “Yet, I rely on my stolen or donated abilities, ones which were not with me from birth.”

“Target in sight. Confirm termination orders?”

Kuno flicked his eyes to two soldiers that had appeared, their faces obscured by the barrels of their rifles.

“I must grow!”

Kuno grit his teeth and focussed his might onto his left arm, the four veins glowing red and pulsing brighter. He felt his wounds heal at a heightened pace, and the strength he lost during the battle to return.

“Target is active again. I say again, confirm termination?” The soldier paused as one hand went to his ear, “Roger that, continuing objective.”

The two of them held their guns tighter and placed their fingers on the trigger, only for a quick flash to startle them.

Millimetre by millimetre, their rifles split in two, the front half falling uselessly to the ground, clattering loudly.

Rising up, Kuno looked at them, his eyes burning, “Do not believe you can extinguish my life with mere bullets. I have seen things beyond your imagination, even though I am a human as you are.”

Shivering in fear, the soldiers stepped back, only to remove their pistols from behind on their utility belt.

“St-Stop!” One shouted, his wavering hand barely keeping Kuno on target, “According to the UNIT protocol Code Red, we are ordered to deliver lethal force.” He twitched, “Open fire!”

The bullets flew out from the guns, hurtling towards Kuno, and soon their ammunition had run out, however they were left looking at him in bewilderment, which promptly transformed into fear.

The sword was pointed at them, but now bore new appendages, namely the metal from the bullet that that melded to the blade, attracted to it like a magnet.

“I warned you, did I not?”

He turned around and stuck the sword into the ground, combining fire and water to create a large amount of steam, shrouding the area.

Command Vehicle

“Sir, the -”

“I can see it perfectly, thank you Captain.” The whole landscape beneath the Tower was now fogged up with steam, “The air is hot, making it harder to tell his heat signature, not to mention reducing visibility dramatically.” He slammed his fist on the console, “That bastard, even a half-dead person, managed to escape...”

Nakata closed his eyes, knowing that by the steam subsided, the boy in the kendo uniform would be gone.

“What of the Doctor, where is he now?”

Uramura was nervous, “We seem to be getting reports of a problem with his TARDIS, possibly an enemy attack -”

“Captain, you failed to answer my question.” Nakata turned and moved his face closer to the communications expert, “Where. Is. He?”

The younger man swallowed loudly, visibly sweating, “N-Nerima district, sir.” Nakata paled, “Chief, he’s in Nerima.”

“Oh no...” He looked in the general direction of Nerima, “So he’s around ‘them’. The meta-humans...” He wiped his forehead and readjusted his red beret, “Send a scout team around there, but evacuate as many people as possible. If he has made contact with ‘them’, then God help us all...”

Nakata got out of the small room and made his way to a Jeep, before speeding off to his destination.

Meanwhile

“Thanks, I don’t know what came over me.” The Doctor blew his nose into the tissue paper.

“Lucky you,” Cologne grinned, “Someone must be talking about you.”

“Never a good thing.” He replied honestly.

“So, that’s about the size of it...” Ranma ended the story, “And now the TARDIS is not working any more. We don’t know what’s happening to it.”

“The Master is going to come back then, for what we don’t know.” Cologne understood the grave implications, “He is not ready to lose whatever he wants, and he’ll get through each and every one of us for it.”

Akane noticed something, “Sorry, Elder Cologne, but why did you call Happosai that name?”

Ranma replied for her, “Because, the person we knew a Happosai, is no longer the same, and never will be. From now on, he’s the Master. Like all the others who throw away their names, we need to throw away everything we thought we knew about him.”

The room was quiet as the enormity sunk in.

“There’s nothing we can do tonight, training will not help at this late stage, and I am sure that the Master has a few tricks up his sleeve.” Cologne spoke morbidly.

“That doesn’t mean I’m going to give up!” Ranma jumped up, “I’m going to punch that old freak to the Moon, and then send him into the Sun just to get rid of him!”

Ukyo laughed, “Good sentiments, Ranma, but you really think you can beat him?”

“I’ll help too!” Akane said suddenly, “I’m not just going to sit here and watch Master ruin our lives for some prize. I want to stop him too.”

The purple haired girl saw the challenge and joined in, “Shampoo also help. Amazons no pass up chance to fight.”

Ukyo saw Mousse declare his love for Shampoo, by hugging Ranma, and after a quick kick into the pond, the duck emerged. Sighing she spoke too.

“I’ll help too, this does affect me after all, because Ranma’s trying hard.”

The Doctor meanwhile was fascinated, “Did that boy just turn into a duck?”

They all groaned and began to talk about Jusenkyo. Ranma gazing dangerously at everyone to avoid sensitive topics about her own curse.

Next day
Midday

“Oh Ryoga, you could stay in a hotel you know...” Yuko sighed as he sat in a camp-site, cooking his lunch over a small fire.

“Yeah, but then I’d probably get lost on the way to the toilet.” He wryly smiled, “Although you could guide me there, I wouldn’t feel too good about myself to need a girl to help me there.”

“But...” She floated to one side, placing her hands behind her back, “I don’t mind doing that you know.”

“I know that.” He winked, “But it’s just my preference. Besides, I’m used to living like this, and with all the Sub Storage Pockets, I can hold as much food there as necessary.”

“True...” Yuko shrugged and moved down to the ground by the fire, “So, what are you going to do now?”

“UNIT aren’t bothering me any more, since I escaped from them at the Tower.” He pointed at his eyes for effect, “I can easily tell if they’re nearby though.”

“Yes, it seems that the radio chatter isn’t focussing around you. There was mention of Kuno escaping from UNIT alive, shortly after we did.”

“Trust him to not just stay down.” Ryoga turned over the steak on the grill, “I thought he learned the difference between us and how we fight.”

“Oh really? And why are you so different then?”

Gasping, Ryoga leapt to his feet as a short man jumped off the wall to stand mere metres away from his site.

“Happosai...” He growled, “What the hell do you want?”

“Tsk tsk...” He tutted Ryoga, moving his index finger, “You got my name wrong, but that doesn’t matter for now.”

“How come I can’t detect you? Are you masking yourself with ki?” The Contact was blinking urgently, stating strange symbols and numbers, with an aura around the old man.

“Ryoga...” Yuko was startled, “This person... He’s not human, the DNA doesn’t match that of normal humans on this planet.”

“Well now, that’s quite a treat...” He seemed impressed, “An AI, fairly advanced for its time, I think my earlier assumption was right, I’d say around the era of New Earth, is that correct?”

She gasped, and brought up several windows, “How can he know that?! Analysing further...” Yuko narrowed her eyes, “You’re alien to me, I’ve never seen a race like you, two hearts? Age two hundred and ninety seven?”

“Two hundred and ninety eight to be precise, you forgot to include a year it took me to regenerate, though you couldn’t have known that.”

“Who are you?” Ryoga was now in full battle stance, the Painkiller out on his right hand, fully prepared for a fight.

Happosai flickered and hefted a punch at Ryoga’s chin, dizzying the lost boy, though not without getting a slice back in return, cutting the old man’s top.

“Bastard...” Ryoga felt his head as the world was spinning, the strike was a lot harder than he thought.

“Now, now, you’re in no position to negotiate, let alone beat me.” He grinned maliciously, “I’ve been watching you carefully, Ryoga, you have a weird sense of sleep, and it occurs randomly to you.”

He began to sweat, as he realised his arm muscles were starting to relax too much, before they just slumped to his sides, his eyelids growing heavy at the same time. Biting his bottom lip, he growled, “So what, it doesn’t affect me.”

“Oh yes it does, and any moment now you’re going to fall unconscious, which gives me plenty of time to get acquainted with your little friend there.” He indicated Yuko.

“No...” Ryoga knew he was seconds away as the darkness took hold of him, “Yuko, deactivate yourself and retreat to Sub Storage Prime. He’s after you.”

“But I...” Yuko shivered at the calculating stare by Happosai.

“Now!” Ryoga fainted to the ground, promptly snoring into the dirt.

“So, he’s gone...” Happosai smirked, “It’s better if you come quietly, to prevent serious damage to your memory banks...”

Yuko had her back to Happosai, and was stroking Ryoga’s hair, her hands feeling each individual strand thanks to her hard light mode.

“What is your designation?” Her neutral input mode tone of voice was engaged.

Sensing something different about the AI, the enemy thought he would amuse her, “Planet: Gallifrey, Race: Time Lord, Name: Master.”

“Acknowledged, species identified.” Yuko switched off her Learning Mode and turned to face the Master, her eyes ruthless, “Master, I will kill you.”

A dozen windows flashed up around her, and she grew in size to that of a petite girl, the bright sun granting her the solar power needed for this.

“LS Module engaged, Entropic Shielding operational, Offensive measures activated.”

Yuko had her right arm extended with a shield attached to it, as translucent as her, but given the Hard Light module, highly durable.

Her other arm possessed a large mini gun of sorts, and began to rotate, the buzzing sound growing.

“I see, you have a Structure Conversion Tower also, changing photons into electrons, applying mass to it for impact, a very useful item to have.”

“Target Locked.” Yuko’s eyes were orange as she stared down the Master, “Firing.”

The mini gun flared into life, sending a streams of lead towards the Master, who deftly ducked, dodged and leapt out of the way.

“Most impressive, I could enjoy this!” The Master grew his aura to gigantic proportions, but wasn’t fooling Yuko, as she still had her attention on the diminutive man, “However, there is one flaw to your strategy.”

He vanished for a second and reappeared in front of her, “You can’t move more than two metres away from Ryoga, as he’s the centre of your projector.”

Widening her eyes, she batted him away with the shield, creating another three mini guns, so that her left arm now resembled an entire armoury.

Her two eyes now started to focus, her irises rotating faster and faster until their colour turned to yellow.

“Ahh, now this could be a problem...” The Master lowered his mood, and spun out of the way of the laser beams generated from forcing out the energy from her eyes.

Unfortunately, the recharge was too long, and she didn’t manage to get a direct hit with the beams.

“Now, time to end this pathetic game.”

Master pulled out a small ballpoint pen and moving faster than her sensors could detect, ran to her, sticking it inside her neck and puncturing the Hard Light skin.

“NO! Agh!” Despite not having any pain receptors, she could detect the injury to her image from point of entry, and also at what was happening inside her, “What... are you doing?”

“Never you mind, you curious child.”

The pen glowed green like her as Yuko’s image began to degauss itself, distorting like a gelatinous balloon. Her weapons and shield were already disabled, though now her right hand showed physical signs of deterioration, parts of it cracking and fizzing openly.

“That should do...”

He removed it from her, and Yuko, with her movement impaired, crumpled to the ground, unable to lift any of her limbs, though she still focussed her eyes on him.

“What did I do?” He held up the pen, “Just ten petabytes worth of data of all you’ve analysed and seen in your travels, and maybe a few blueprints here and there. I always liked the Gravitational Beam Emitter myself, but I’m sure I can make a few modifications to the design.”

He could see her iris try to reactivate the laser, but he tutted her.

“Forget it, you’re not moving for another thirty minutes. You’ll get your mobility back, but your hand may not.” He turned around and put the pen in his top, “Until the next time we meet, little Yuko, watch your back.”

The Master vanished from sight, leaping off faster than her eyes flicked to follow him.

“Nnnn.” Yuko couldn’t move her lips, but her vocal cortex still functioned, “Nnnn-arsh-ter...”

Her eyes filled up with reticular cleaning liquid, as an emulation of what humans would experience with prolonged exposure to air, though it made no difference to her body itself.

The body behind her began to stir, “Ugh, that was a serious hit... Yuko, are you...” Ryoga spotted her slumped figure, “YUKO!”

Going to her, he cradled her head, making her face him.

“Say something! Please!”

Ryoga began to despair, his ki growing and making her image seem more real as her power converter sucked it up, even going so far as to give her skin colour and her hair a platinum blonde, the eyes remaining orange.

The paralysis still affected her, but she attempted to talk from behind her half open lips, “I’n f’nne, R’oga.”

“What the hell did he do you?” He saw in horror at the healing hole in her neck, the cracks around it sealing up, but at how her right hand was glowing and visibly broken.

“N’thin’. N’ll be f’nne in tirtee mnntes...”

“Yuko...”

Ryoga shook slowly, and shed a few tears before wiping them roughly with the back of his free hand. Lowering her gently onto the ground, he stepped back, his green ki billowing out from him.

“That bastard...” The Contact was activated, and Ryoga held out a hand as he muttered the necessary words that indicated in his eyes, “Unlock Sub Pocket Beta 1, password user override Hibiki Primary.” A portal floated above his outstretched hand, “Deliver N-Injection to opened gate.”

A familiar black syringe fell into his hand, and he clenched it tight.

“Never again...” He growled, breaking the seal on the tip of it and twisting the pump to open, “I’ll never let anyone hurt you, Yuko. While I’m alive, nothing will stop me...”

He positioned it, holding it in front of his chest, needle pointed at his chest.

“Nnnoo, R’oga...!” Yuko panicked, seeing his ki mingle dangerously with the Nano syringe.

Ignoring her, he shouted out his final cry.

“Nothing will stop me...” He repeated to himself.

He thrust the tip towards his body.

“FROM GETTING MY REVENGE!”

The needle plunged into his heart, and he forced the pump inwards, forcing the Nanos into his body, and straight into the beating organ.

Flooding his body, the Nanos squeezed into his arteries and attached themselves to his cells and capillaries. Within half a minute, every part of his body had been touched once by the Nanos.

The Contact established a link to them, and the information poured onto the screen.

“Nano Infiltration Complete. 100 percent of body linked to central hive terminal.

“Beginning analysis. Physical strength in Meta-Human level. Unknown energy readings indicate Ancient Mythical Life Energy.

“Blood Nano unit: Identified unknown ingested chemical. Positive Effects: Hyper-coagulation, platelet reinforcement. Negative Effects: Extreme narcolepsy, cataplexy, hallucinations, sleep paralysis.

“Synthesising antidote to negative effects. Time to completion: 4 months, 21 days, 43 minutes, 8 seconds.

“Hormone Nano unit: Unusual readings in anti-diuretic hormone, aldosterone and atrial natriuretic peptide. Effects unknown on body water regulation. Cannot determine suitable procedures for restoration.”

Screaming in fury and pain from the foreign material in his body, and from the Contact updating every millisecond, he looked up at the bright sky.

“SHI SHI HOKODAN!”

The pillar of light expanded outwards and upwards.

That moment

“Oh no...” Ranma stood up suddenly, being on guard as she was in front of the TARDIS.

Staring off into the distance, she and all those around her saw and felt the energy behind that ki.

“Ryoga...” Akane held her hands to her face, “What’s happened...?”

Starting forwards, Cologne nudged a pressure point to halt her, “It’s okay child, whatever he went through, he is alive. Do not risk going to see him, because the Master will be here soon.”

The entrance to the Tendo home opened, and to people walked in, both looking worse for wear.

“Nabiki! Kasumi!” Ranma rushed over to them, “How’s pops and your dad?”

Nabiki had deep black rings beneath her eyes, the lack of sleep evident in her woozy posture, “What do you care, Ranma?”

The spite in her voice caught the redhead off guard, who staggered slightly like she was blind sided.

“Huh?”

“You heard...” She swept her hand through her hair, combing out the knot that had developed from sleeping in the waiting room, “Who cares what happens, or who get injured, as long as you have your fun, isn’t that right?”

Ranma was about to reply until Akane moved up, “Nabiki, that’s not fair... Ranma didn’t cause this.”

Casting her gaze at her younger sister, Nabiki remained cutting, “Are you so sure about that?” She looked at everyone, before speaking on, “Now, I don’t know about you lot, but I’m tired, so I’m heading upstairs for a nap.”

Without waiting for a reply, she went upstairs, her footfalls a bit harder than they should be.

Kasumi came in, apparently blissful, only one lock out of place in her hair, standing straight up like an antenna.

“Nabiki is upset. Father was in a lot of pain, even under anaesthetic he was still suffering.” She smiled a bit, “Doctor Ono turned up too, I don’t know how he heard about it, but he managed to help a bit.”

Ranma sat down again, looking up at the stairs, before staring down at the floor.

“It’s okay, Ranma.” The Doctor stated, “She’s just upset.”

“It’s not just that...” She replied, “She’s right in a way...” Getting up and walking back to the TARDIS, the Doctor followed, the others had moved away to speak to Kasumi, “I do act like that...”

“Not really, you’re not callous, Ranma.”

“Ever since then...” She looked at his face, “Since I met you... I only thought about myself, about curing my curse, then about stopping some alien...” She paused and grit her teeth, “I really was having fun... Nabiki wasn’t wrong.”

“She may not have been wrong...” The Doctor laid his hand on the TARDIS, still grinding and humming away, but the blue wooden wall was still solid despite going invisible for seconds at a time, “But, even if you were having fun, it doesn’t mean you don’t still care for people you meet, or lose feelings for those you love. Perhaps, only after trying so hard to beat an enemy, you finally realise how important these emotions are to you.” He smiled at her kindly, “That’s what it means to be human.”

Ranma glanced at the Doctor, thinking deeply about his words, “I know... I know that I still like my friends, family and even people I randomly met, but maybe I get too carried away with fighting to stop and think what would happen if someone I knew died, or even got injured...”

She stopped in mid-pace, and her eyes widened, as her words triggered something.

Covering her face, she concentrated, “Wait a minute...” She was looking off into space, “The Tower...” She turned to the Doctor, “Did I die?”

He nodded slowly, “Technically, yes, your heart stopped, but I brought you back to life quickly.” He furrowed his brow, “Why?”

“The darkness...” She was sweating now, “Nothing but black, but I saw something...” She seemed both amazed and horrified, “I can’t remember anything now, but it was so vivid at the time...”

“What did you see?” The Doctor spoke, his tone serious.

“There was a girl there... Brown hair...” Ranma had an odd look on her face, “She was sad, but didn’t say anything.” She shook her head violently, “That’s all I can recall, I don’t even know what she was wearing, or what her face looked like...”

“It’s fine, Ranma...” The Doctor calmed her down, “Near-death experiences do happen to people, sometimes we see strange things.”

“It was weird, Doctor...” Ranma said one more thing before resuming guard duty, “I recognised her, even though I’ve never seen her before, but I knew who she was, in here...”

She held her hand over her heart, and clenched tight onto her top.

Ten minutes later
Elsewhere in Tokyo

“Let me see now...”

Kuno sat cross-legged, in the quiet back area near a shrine, the sword laying on the ground in front of him.

“What have I obtained in my travels?”

He looked to the weapon, glinting in the sunlight, the writing changing depending on how you looked at it.

“I received this blade of elemental power and curse abilities.” He was speaking out loud to no in particular, “However, the maximum powers I can combine are three elements presently, namely in the last battle with that ingrate.” He closed his eyes, “Using any more is currently out of my willpower range, it drains my stamina far too quickly for me to even attempt it. I would barely last two seconds, and by then I would have no strength left.”

“The second power obtained is the lightning veins...” He pulled up his sleeve, “These can enhance my physical body temporarily in any manner, be it strength, speed, or altered vision, and presumably other senses too were to have used them.” He covered the arm again, “However, this comes at a greater price, since prolonged usage results in my losing any stamina once more. Another factor which appeared today is that continued usage creates more veins, meaning that if I rely on them too much, they will soon encompass me.”

Placing his right arm over the hilt, the sword rose slightly, remaining close to him so that he was within a simple grasp of the handle.

“I have a physical limit in terms of generating more than three elements via the blade, one which I cannot surpass on my own. I also am constrained in the length of time I use the lightning veins, to prevent my body from becoming corrupted.”

He stood up, the sword jumping up too and staying close to his right hand, and he held it this time.

“I must grow... In order to do so I must create my own power, one that I dictate the rules and how to activate them, not via the strict regime of the originals.”

He looked at the sword and the left arm, and narrowed his eyes.

“In all my time with both these items, I have never once combined them, let alone allow my veined arm to hold the sword in battle. I have used powers from the sword, or the veins to boost myself independently.”

He turned the sharp tip to face a point where all four veins converged in his arm, at the joint in the elbow.

“Perhaps now, I can forge my own destiny.”

Pushing it forwards, and temporarily straining to use all five elements for that one second, he forced the curse into the veins, also activating four separate powers for himself.

Energy crackled at the connection, and Kuno felt his life diminishing fast from breaching his limits.

“I will not...” He yelled finally as it reached a crescendo, “GIVE UP!”

Collapsing to the ground, his body was covered in light as his shouts became more anguished.

Ten minutes later
Tendo home

The Doctor lifted his head and stood up, pulling out the sonic screwdriver.

“I can feel him again... His presence.” He looked to Ranma and the others, “I can feel if other Time Lords are alive. He’s probably used his ki to prevent me from detecting him.”

“Is he getting closer?” Cologne asked.

“Yes, he is. He’s not rushing though, just a sedate walk, but we can’t be too cautious, as he’s undoubtedly ready for a fight, and he’s letting me know in advance.”

Ranma steeled her expression and began to stretch her arms, feeling for the Feral within her. She knew that to rely on that power was too painful on her body, and it was not voluntary either. She could sense it was there, but she could not simply take it and use it in battle, like flicking a switch.

She growled in anger, once again losing a potential boost to herself. Ukyo heard this and adjusted her posture, her giant spatula hefted onto one shoulder, keeping her eyes alert to any movement.

Cologne was off her cane, standing still on the ground, but was producing more ki in order to fight. She was sweating slightly at he coming battle.

Shampoo and Mousse were the same as always, though the latter wore his glasses. They had not seen what happened earlier, but somehow, they both knew that this would be their hardest fight yet. Shampoo had her bonbori prepared, the metal dumbbells surprisingly light for their strength.

Mousse was still smarting from having lost the last big altercation, when he barely won against Mint, and even then it was not enough for Ranma to win. He had no qualms about Ranma losing his manhood, since it meant Shampoo could be his, but he understood that somehow, by not helping Ranma at that time, he lost Shampoo forever.

Not that he would admit it to himself out loud.

“Akane...” Ranma began, “Stay inside, and if the Master comes for you, just scream, okay?”

“Wh-what do you mean?” She was nervous. She didn’t want to help with the fight, but also didn’t want to feel useless.

“You need to protect Nabiki and Kasumi.” The redhead replied, “The Master is only interested in the TARDIS, but he may need...” She couldn’t finish.

“May need what, Ranma?”

The Doctor spoke quietly, “Collateral... Hostages, call it what you want...” He looked at them all, “For some reason, Master could’ve taken all of us out, but chose not to. This means that his goal is somewhere else, namely the TARDIS.” He looked at Akane, “I wouldn’t worry, I don’t believe he’ll come for you. As it is, he’ll need to get by everyone here to get back to the TARDIS.”

Turning to the group, the Doctor spoke a bit louder, “For now, I don’t want anyone to fight, I must speak with him first.”

“But, he nearly killed pops!” Ranma shouted, only to receive a cold stare in return.

“I know you’re all angry, but he’s the last of my kind,” His eyes grew sadder, “None of you can imagine, seeing your whole planet, all your friends, family, your childhood home, schools, all of it, just burn up, becoming a shrivelled husk...” He shut his eyes quickly, “Knowing that I was the one to do this, the only way to end the Time War, to destroy our mortal enemies, you cannot imagine.” He opened his eyes again, “That’s why I need to ask you, Master...” He turned to his right, as the small man jumped up onto the wall overlooking the pond, “How did you survive falling into the Eye of Harmony?”

The others were too shocked at his sudden appearance to do anything, and just waited to see what would happen.

“Come on Doctor... The Master of Wars, I was chosen by the Elders to be brought back, to fight. I opened the Gates of Elysium, and unleashed the Nightmare Child. And then I saw you...” His eyes narrowed, “Your glorious moment, when you sent our race, our home, to oblivion, taking out the Daleks and Skaro at the same time. I saw you protect yourself from the Temporal Vortex, as it flushed through space.” He held his hand to his head, trying not to remember those thoughts, “I was on the surface of Skaro, watching death approach, and then I used their forbidden technology...”

“What technology? What did you find?” The Doctor was curious.

“It was only meant for Daleks, but I used it on myself to escape.” He grinned widely, “Emergency Temporal Shift.”

“No!” The Doctor was horrified, “How could you, without a ship, or armour...!”

“Exactly...” The fatal tone had returned, and his anger grew, “I landed on Earth, years ago, the agony was too much to bear...” He held up a finger, “One year. One whole year of regenerating. I went through ten lives, as each couldn’t survive the Void energy. But, I’ve been waiting, planning, and ready to see you suffer!”

He thrust his hand out and a split second later Cologne flew back into the Doctor’s arms, her chest bleeding badly from the lethal ki attack.

“Sorry, Doctor...” Her coughed up more blood, “I had to block him... That was meant to kill you...” She closed her eyes, and breathed shallower.

“Great-grandmother!” Shampoo turned to the Master and shouted, “Shampoo make you pay!”

Flailing her bonbori, she only received a cruel chuckle as he parried and dodged all her attacks.

“Come now, is that the best you Amazons can do?” He punched her in the face, and she fell back, but bounced back to her feet, her nose bleeding. Spitting out the blood in her throat, she charged at him.

“How dare you do that to Shampoo!” From the side, Mousse released chains and projectiles from his sleeves as the Master, although the latter still avoided all the attacks from both of them.

“Bastard!”

The Master shifted his body, but couldn’t avoid the punches that he got in his back.

“That was a good attack, Ranma, but next time, you need to shut up and hit me!” Placing a palm against her face, a ki attack knocked her at point blank range.

“Ranchan!”

A dozen miniature spatulas rained down upon the Master, only one scuffing his top, followed by a sweeping wall of metal as the giant version cleared the air.

The Master leaned backwards enough for his head to touch the ground and sighed, bored out of his mind. He tapped the spatula, and it flew back into her face, knocking her out, her spatula landing next to her.

“Is that the best you can do?” He spoke to everyone there, “Just a few pathetic attacks and you’re spent?”

“Why are you here for the TARDIS?” The Doctor was right behind him, surprising him, the sonic screwdriver in his hand.

“Dearest of all my friends...” He mocked him, “Does it matter if I tell you? I’ve done the exposition already, all that remains is the end.”

He pulled out the ballpoint pen from earlier and clicked the button.

Everyone froze as their bodies were locked, a green forcefield attached to their very skin, clothes and hair, preventing them from even opening their mouths.

“Perhaps now, you will realise the folly for fighting me when you were all woefully unprepared.” He turned to the TARDIS, “Ahh, and so it finishes finally, my ultimate prize for my resurrection.” He jumped onto the roof of the house, arm wide.

The blue box slowly rose to the sky, as it began to crack at the seams, white light filtering out from inside it.

Ranma had her hand locked in a position over her face, having tried to get her vision back from the blast, the shield too secure to break. Feeling the hatred inside her, for how he brutally attacked Soun and Genma, and then how he coldly took out out Cologne in a sneak attack against the Doctor, how Shampoo changed after one attack and finally the way in which Ukyo fell, her face covered in blood.

Akane was still standing in fear, but the shield also applied to her, and she couldn’t move either. Her eyes moved to Ranma, and they connected.

Somehow Ranma knew she was looking at herself.

Thinking back to protecting Akane, and everyone she loved, Ranma dug down inside herself. The blinding ki flash helped her in this matter, and without vision, she was already halfway there.

Feeling the boiling anger inside of him, the pain he wanted to inflict on the Master, Ranma grit her teeth and encouraged the rage to take control.

Her fangs grew longer.

Her hair straightened and stood tall.

Her irises turned white and cat-like.

Her nails grew sharper and extended.

Her body changed shape, the muscles growing further, and the bones lengthening.

The forcefield was struggling against these changes, buckling at the edges, unused to the physical body becoming different rather than the person trying to break the field.

The TARDIS was whining incessantly now, and as if it was screaming, the doors opened, golden white light streaming outside.

The green barrier shattered around Feral Ranma and she yelled, heading for where she could see the least, the light around the TARDIS. The mind tried to locate an enemy with obvious hostility.

The Master cursed to himself as he saw Ranma head straight for him, moving back, he saw her sniff the air and adjusted accordingly in mid-air.

“Great, it’s adapted to me...”

A deep gash of red appeared on his arm as Feral Ranma screamed by, her claw drenched in red.

“ARGHH!” He cried out as he saw the cut seep through his brown top.

Feral Ranma, stopped at the edge of the building, her feet digging in to the ceramic tiles, her foot claws having ripped through her shoes.

Yowling once, she lunged at the Master again.

“Not this time, Ranma.” He pointed the ballpoint at her and clicked the button.

A green hologram of himself appeared in front, and began to take up a defensive pose.

Feral Ranma, not caring who she attacked, went straight for it, tearing through the image and ploughing past to reach the Master.

Gouging out another chunk from his leg, she flew past the hovering TARDIS and landed on the far wall of the Tendo home, as the rest of the group watched in amazement.

“Impressive, Ranma, two hits on me, and critical were I not versed in stopping blood flow.”

The Master nudged a few pressure points to stop the bleeding, Feral Ranma’s claws containing the same anti-coagulant of her donors back on New Earth.

“It’s a shame that you’re losing yourself too...” He grinned. “Look at your body, Ranma, can you remember who you are any more?”

Stopping her attack, Ranma looked down at her claws, and past the blood of her enemy, she saw her hands were turning black, her very skin.

The reflection of the pond below showed her face was becoming black around the eyes, then extending to the nose and mouth.

Even the roots of her hair were turning black, spreading upwards to the tip, her Feral appearance becoming closer to reality.

“I...” She croaked out, her voice still hoarse and cat-like, “I am...”

“Whoever you think you are...” The Master cut in, “You’re too late...”

A white projectile flew out from the TARDIS doors and crashed into the ground in front of the others.

The steam rose from the object, surrounded in coral and technology, before morphing before their very eyes.

It had become a small stone building, crumbling at the edges with cracks in the walls, an archway with a gargoyle over the tip of it looking down upon whoever walked into the doorway.

Another green barrier broke, and the Doctor walked forwards, his sonic screwdriver still glowing blue.

“No...” He was dumbfounded, “But that’s impossible...”

“I think you’ll find it is possible now, especially with that Mirror which was once part of the TARDIS...” The Master gloated, jumping to the entrance, “With Gallifrey gone, we can’t grow another one, but using your very own, I can give birth to one for myself.” He placed his hand on the door, “Welcome to my very own TARDIS, Doctor...”

The style was much like that of a crypt entrance, and it had the same effect on people, that of unease.

“Technically, your own is the mother of my one, I can’t imagine she’ll be happy at seeing it go so soon -”

“HISSSS!”

The wall of the crypt were sliced deeply, an ominous red light leaking out, as it wailed in pain.

“You...!” The Master saw Ranma, her skin and hair now completely black in her clothing, attacking his TARDIS, and then moving on to him.

“You won’t get me that easily!”

Grabbing the freshly made key from the outside lock he smiled. Diving into the doorway, he locked it behind him and opened the speakers to the outside. The gargoyle moved its head and spoke with his voice.

“You bastard... It’s broken! I can’t lock on to the time I want!” Sounds of smashing echoed out, before his voice returned, “I’m going to come back for you, Ranma, and kill you for sure!”

The crypt began to fade from sight. The gargoyles eyes mimicking the red glow from the blue police box light. The rasping however was replaced with a deep rumbling, like an earthquake reaching its peak.

“And you Doctor, you haven’t seen the last of me. Nerima is already destined to die, I have seen it starting already.” He cackled, “Ranma is the centre, and people he knows are not as they appear...” The Doctor paused, and glanced at Ranma, still attacking the doorway, “Until then, Doctor, and Ranma!”

Laughing madly, the gargoyle vanished from sight, leaving his cackle to echo in the area.

The Doctor didn’t say anything, except to activate the sonic screwdriver, releasing the others from their prison.

Shampoo and Mousse ran to Cologne who was still bleeding heavily.

“Shampoo take great-grandmother to hospital!” She looked to Ranma, still in her Feral form, and turned to her fellow countryman, “Mousse, you come too!”

“Y-Yes Shampoo!”

Leaping over the wall, they ran to save their Elder, whilst the Doctor, Ukyo and Akane were left with a difficult task.

“Ranchan, relax...” Ukyo began, her black eye throbbing from the Master’s previous attack, “He’s gone now...”

“HIIISSSl!” Feral Ranma was trying to find a target, but couldn’t find anything vaguely trying to attack her, or in an offensive stance. Ukyo flinched backwards, and tried to avoid looking at the person.

“Ranma...” Akane went closer, thinking back to the time when he was a cat, “Here, you can rest your head here...” She knelt down, and patted her lap.

Feral Ranma, still not able to see, turned her rabid mouth to the sound, and smelled something that appealed to it. Thinking this to be a viable target, she lunged.

“Ranma...?” Akane saw the white eyes blur as it lunged at her.

“No!” Nabiki yelled from the window, having been affected by the forcefield too, and wanting to see what happened outside.

Akane saw the claws get closer to her neck, and closed her eyes.

“Ranma...” A shadow appeared in front of her, “Stop this now.”

The white eyes were wider now, as the claws were embedded in someone’s chest, the life fluid running out over them. Tears began to build up in the white eyes.

The Doctor stood there, uncaring that he was losing blood, but was more worried about the girl in front of her.

“Ranma, calm down, remember yourself.” He touched her temple with his hands.

“I...” She stopped hissing and growling, “Doctor... I’m...”

“It’s okay Ranma...” He saw her eyes, hair and skin return to normal, and her body shrink to its human proportions, “I may need your help though to get me in the TARDIS...” He fainted onto her, and Ranma began to panic.

“Doctor? DOCTOR!”

Dragging him into the blue box, which had only recently landed, the door wide open, she took into the low light, and tried to find the right room. Closing the door behind her, she failed to see Akane cry into her hands, the despair finally reaching her as Ukyo came to comfort her.

Later that evening
Tendo Home

“My, Ranma has been in there a long time with the Doctor, no?” Kasumi asked.

Nabiki merely looked up at her over her portion, before finishing off her meal.

“It doesn’t surprise me in the least...” She narrowed her eyes, “The Doctor brings danger, I think you al see that now.”

“But, it wasn’t Ranchan’s fault!” Ukyo was invited there, as she felt her home wasn’t safe yet.

“Still, he brought the Doctor home yesterday, and you saw what happened then.” Her tone was deadly.

“Ranma’s not a bad person...” Akane was trying to justify what happened, “He did stop the Master from doing whatever he wanted by breaking his ship.”

“I saw you, sister, from my window.” Nabiki interrupted, “How close was Ranma?”

Akane swallowed hard, “Th-That’s not important!”

“The Doctor saved Ranma, that must mean he’s a good person.” Kasumi interjected.

“Oh, I don’t deny that at all!” Nabiki agreed, “He’s good, and probably the nicest, most intelligent person I’ve ever, or will ever, meet.” She slammed her fist on the table, upsetting the food on it, “However, he brings a lot of pain around him, and death is always near to those close to him.”

“You’re right...”

A new, tired voice joined in. Stumbling in from the outside, being held up by Ranma, he spoke wearily.

“There is generally this problem around me, I can’t stop it, because each time I arrive somewhere, there is always something going on, something or someone that needs to be stopped.” He thanked Ranma and stood up tall, “I understand how you feel, so I’ll be going now, I hope I don’t bring about any more worry to each and every one of you.”

Turning around, he went to the TARDIS and left the door ajar.

Ranma watched him go, and for once, didn’t care about getting the curse cured, let alone unlocked.

She was concerned for his well-being.

“I’m going to follow him...” She turned to the girls, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry...” She was looking at Akane, “I didn’t remember, I couldn’t hold back...”

“Ranma...” She was saddened, “Don’t go, stay here with me and we’ll be safe. I promise...” She knew it was a hard bargain to go for, and she expected the resultant reply.

“I can’t Akane...” Ranma lowered her head, “I need to help the Doctor, and he needs to help me...” She shook her head, “No, it’s more than that now...” She clenched her fist, “His enemy is my enemy, and I need to finish this...”

“Ranchan, you don’t need to do this...” Ukyo chimed in, seeing her love go before her very eyes, “The Doctor can do this alone, you can just stay here.”

“Ranma...” Kasumi spoke for them for the moment, “I know things are dangerous, but the Doctor does bring many problems. Father will be in hospital for another two weeks at least. Your own father is staying in for another few days for check-ups. You need to make your own decision on who you choose.”

Ranma was taken aback at Kasumi’s calm but harsh words, “It’s not like that, I’m not choosing one person over another!” She took a deep breath and was ready to step off the wooden floor onto the ground outside, “My choice is for things to go back the way they were, isn’t that what everyone wants?”

She started to walk as Nabiki had the final word.

“Be that as it may, the Doctor is bad news for anyone he meets, bringing with him death.” She folded her arms, “You’re no different now either, now that you’ve changed, I think today proved it once and for all.”

Ranma’s foot paused over the edge of the porch, but, biting her lip, she strode off and walked into the TARDIS, not looking back once.

Closing the door behind her, Ranma angrily walked up to the central console, where the Doctor’s face was resolute and determined.

“Where to?” She demanded.

“We can’t follow the Master’s trail.” He grinned at her, “Your Feral form managed to cripple his TARDIS when it was still a few seconds old. TARDISes need a full month before they are fully grown and stable. I don’t know what damage you inflicted on it, but whatever you did, it was enough to stop his plans.”

“I guess that’s some good news at least.” Ranma relaxed visibly, a semblance of her old self returning.

“In the meantime, we can’t do anything to follow him, nor can we stop this plan of his, without knowing any details about it.” He twisted a monitor to Ranma, “Same destination as before?”

Seeing the Gallifreyan date morph into Japanese for her, she smirked, “Sure, why not? Might be interesting to see Kuno’s ancestors.”

“Right! Here we go!”

Releasing the handbrake and slamming a button, the Time Column pulsed, and the TARDIS lurched about, and both Ranma and the Doctor smiled widely.

That moment
Somewhere in Tokyo

The shadows of the evening had covered the land by now, and everyone was trying to forget about the events from that day.

One person was fully awake, staring at the point where the TARDIS disappeared from, a curious expression on her face.

Suddenly, she stopped and a neutral, hungry expression replaced the previous. Pulling up her left arm, a series of strange wrinkles opened up, red lights filtering up to her face.

“A new development.” She spoke, her voice unlike that of her own, one filled with a lethal purpose.

“Yes, duly noted.” A male voice responded, around the age of a young adult.

A younger one joined in, a teenager, “Orders?”

A very old lady responded, her voice cracked and filtered, like through an old telephone, “Continue monitoring situation. Take no physical action until my next order.”

A chorus of acknowledgements, and the red wrinkles vanished, leaving the woman confused at what she was doing there.

Leaving quickly, she had no idea of what had transpired seconds earlier.

NEXT EPISODE

“No way in hell am I wearing that!’

“Come on, Ranma...” The Doctor sighed loudly, “You’ve not got much option really, women didn’t really wear what they wanted back then, especially not that kind of top and trousers.” He did a brief pose, “See, even I changed!”

“Liar!” She pouted, “You only put on your glasses!”

“Well...” He twirled them in his hand, “It makes me look more foreign...”

“But, a kimono?!”

---

“Stand and fight!” A group of swordsmen spoke, simultaneously, which unnerved their object of anger.

“I will not fight you.” Kuno drew his sword, “Stand down or face your doom.”

Ignoring his threat, they charged towards him.

“Let me see... Ras Tel Ma Scir, Magister... No, too difficult... Avada Kedavra... No, too lethal.” He thought briefly, “I need help with these poor innocents...”

Ducking back as the numbers grew to several dozen, Kuno smiled.

“This may do...” He held the sword up, his lightning veins glowing blue, “By the powers that be,” The sword swirled with blue energy, draining from the veins, moving like a tornado around it, “On a path to the North, deliver my missive; to where Ryoga set forth, do not be derisive.”

The swordsmen unbeknownst to the incoming attack, continued their charge without question.

---

“Target acquired.” A new window blinked up, “Twenty metres ahead and to the left.”

“Thanks Yuko...” Ryoga jogged the distance and skidded to a halt when he saw who it was.

“R-Ranma...” The redhead stopped walking, “Is that you?”

The kimono-clad girl turned slowly to stare into Ryoga’s face, no sign of recognition about her.

Grinning widely, her teeth glinting in the evening lamps, she placed her arms into her kimono, ready to fight.

‘Warning! Unknown abilities present!” Yuko yelled.

Ryoga thought these words were little comfort, as he felt the taste of blood, with Ranma now materialised an inch in front of his face.

---

Author’s Notes

About time for an enemy that the Doctor can’t defeat easily.

Mind you, I’m worried about the trio, with all their new powers, and how their bodies are reacting to them.

Still, the next chapter should be fun.

- J