1/2: Ranma of Grayskull Crossover: Masters of the Universe By: Dani Yanega yanega@mindspring.com (please respond to this e-mail address) Chapter Four Happosai begins to laugh hysterically, and doesn't notice the throng of people barreling down on him, until they start beating him. The only ones not participating are Mousse, Kuno and Cologne. Cologne is out of it, only because she still feels the effects of the 'soul drain' technique. Nodoka slowly rises clutching the katana her son has given her to her chest, her eyes red from tears. She draws the sword and heads for Happosai with rage and hate overflowing from her. Genma reaches her before she can dissect the diminutive martial artist into many pieces. "He isn't worth it No-chan, we'll find Ranma and bring him home. Then he can fulfill the pledge and unite the schools of Anything Goes." He is doing pretty good until he mentions making her son fulfill a broken promise. She wrenches free from Genma's grasp and pushes him away from her, he falls onto the ground the air being knocked from his lungs. He stares up at his wife and cringes as the tip of the sword is at his throat. She then turns and glares at the assembled audience. Her anger flashing in her ice blue eyes. "_When_ I retrieve my son, if I ever see any of you near him I will _kill_ you!" With that she turns and storms out of the schoolyard her new katana clutched tightly to her chest, while her tears stream again, down her face. The throng of martial artists staring at her back as she leaves. Their faces registering shock and anger. Genma lays on the ground his eyes wide with fear. He then turns to the others and sees the myriad of emotions playing across their faces. His attention is drawn to the groan of his master under the pile of fighters a wicked smile crossing his face. /*\*/*\ Ranma-chan floats freely in a small cylindrical tunnel of glittery rainbow light. She closes her eyes against a bright flash of color when it explodes like a flash bulb in front of her eyes. She tries to turn over to see where she is headed but can not. Ranma looks around her and sees more flashes of light, she feels the hot thick liquid she is floating in cling to her causing the little glittery things in the tunnel cling to her. Then her eyes widen she is floating in hot wet liquid, she slowly reaches down and feels she still has breasts, she reaches lower looking for that which she was born with and finds it gone. She screams only to take in a mouth full of the hot liquid, and glittery sparkles. She turns her head and begins to gag trying to spit it out some of which she swallows. It is at this time she realizes that not only is the liquid hot but she is immersed in it. Human nature takes over and she begins to panic. She then feels the Neko inside her trying to push her panic farther trying to weave his spell to allow him to control their shared body. She closes her eyes forcing much of the gooey liquid from them. She begins to meditate calming herself; she finds she is not going to drown and relaxes even more. The Neko slinks back into their merged souls to await another turn at control. Suddenly a silent scream tries to pass her lips, at the pain of a bolt of rainbow lightening strikes her. Her screams silenced by the thick glittery liquid that fills her mouth. She tries to see where it is coming from but can not, when she is hit by another. While she floats onward the lightening picks up in duration and intensity, and the number of bolts striking her at once. Ranma-chan grits her teeth to hold back the screams she is not going to let the old freak beat her when she gets out of this torture chamber she will get her revenge then. Rainbow lightening arcs all over Ranma-chan's body as she floats down the cylinder shaped tunnel of rainbow light. When she reaches the end of the tunnel her body is completely hidden from view by the lightening. She bursts through the end of the vortex tunnel and into a room where two men and three woman stand around a table covered in maps. They turn to see her land roughly on her side the sticky liquid making a puddle on the floor. Ranma-chan slowly rolls over onto her hands and knees rainbow lightening still coursing around her body. She reaches a hand to her head, while shaking it slowly. The others in the room watch her with suspicion and curiosity, for she should not have been able to enter here, when they her speak but don't understand what it is she is saying. "I am gonna kill that old freak for this!" Ranma-chan growls through clenched teeth. /*\*/*\ Nodoka enters her home her tears long since dried, she is cried out she has no more left, but she dearly wishes she did. She takes the katana Ranma has given her, it is all she has left and when she gets her son back she will never let him out of her sight again, until he is old and gray and on his death bed. Nodoka sat on the sofa and finally her tears begin to flow. She hears a knocking at the door and slowly gets up to answer it. /*\*/*\ Nabiki gets home and goes to her room to check her goods as this is the last she will get from Ranma now that Happosai magically sent him away she can ask a much hirer price for it. She puts the tape into her Walkman and the video into the VCR and starts both. She then pulls out the photos she had developed at the one-hour photo shop. A Cheshire cat's grin, crossing her face. Her scream can be heard for blocks around as she throws her tape recorder and the photos against the wall. "RANMA I'M GOING TO GET YOU FOR THIS!" As she storms out of her room and then the front door a faint blue aura glowing around her. /*\*/*\ Akane is asleep in her room, dried tears on her cheeks. She tosses fitfully as she replays in her dreams what happen to Ranma. She sees him announce the end to all engagements then everything blurs and Ranma is female and being pulled into a vortex. Happosai throwing his chi bombs and laughing like the lunatic he is. Her nightmare is cut short by the scream of Nabiki as she curses Ranma. Akane jolts awake, she looks around her room slightly confused. Then she realizes she was only dreaming. Akane gets out of her bed and opening the door to her room sees Nabiki storm past. Akane gawks in disbelief when she sees Nabiki glows blue as she heads downstairs. Akane hears the front door slam, then waits a few minutes before she goes to Nabiki's room to see what Ranma has done now. Akane pokes her head into Nabiki's room and sees photos and a broken Walkman on the floor near a wall. She steps into the room and goes to pick up one of the pictures. She holds the picture ready to look at it when a static noise catches her attention. She turns to see Nabiki's TV going she notices that there is a video and it is playing but all she can see is a yellow light and only hears static for sound. She turns the photo over and sees the same yellow light and nothing else. A smile crosses her lips as she realizes Ranma has finally found a way to keep Nabiki from making any money off him. Akane takes the video and the photos back to her room. Although she can't see Ranma she knows the golden yellow light is him, and she finds it gives her comfort to have them in her possession. /*\*/*\ Happosai is not having as much fun as he thought he might. He lost all of Ranma's rivals and fiancées over an hour ago. It was too easy to lose them, they are not as challenging as Ranma was, but at least now he can collect his little darlings without interference. He pulls out a huge sack and jumping from rooftop to rooftop he heads off in search of his little darlings. /*\*/*\ An hour later finds Happosai sitting on the Tendo's dojo roof, where Ranma would always sit, his sack laying empty next to him. The smoke from his pipe surrounds him with gray blue tendrils. Happosai stares at the setting sun a sad smile on his face. [I should be happy, with Ranma gone there is no one here to stop me! No one here to challenge me, no one to make my life interesting. With him went the chaos that followed him. I wonder if I can get him back.] Happosai stands ready to leap away then he stops and sits back down. This is what he wanted revenge on Ranma. To get him out of his way, so he has uncontested access to all the lovely ladies in Nerima and their little darlings. Happosai's shoulders slump slightly; when he stands he picks up his bag and disappears into the night. [Might as well enjoy myself while the boy's gone!] He thinks while he fades into the early evening shadows. /*\*/*\ Several hours later a small figure enters the Tendo home carrying a bag overflowing with ladies undergarments. Happosai takes his new darlings to his room and dumps the bag. He begins to sort the items into piles. His movements are automatic, and he gains no delight from the objects like he use too. [What is wrong with me? Ranma is out of the way he can never interfere with me and my little darlings! I think I just need some time to get use to his being gone. Yeah that's what it is, once I have some time to get use to it and that I don't have to worry, things will be fine.] Happi tries to convince himself. After he finishes sorting his precious collection he crawls into the middle of one of the larger piles, to be surrounded on all sides by his silky darlings. Happosai closes his eyes and drifts off to dreams of floating on a sea of women's underwear. He smiles in his sleep as a buxom redhead in a braid runs past him with nothing on but a silky black teddy. He begins to drool as he takes off after her. "SWEETO!" He shouts as he runs behind her. /*\*/*\ Nodoka wakes early, her eyes still red a puffy from crying herself to sleep the night before. Nodoka dresses in a red kimono, with white lotus blossom appliqués. She brushes out her long hair, but instead of putting it up she braids it like her son wears. She slowly goes downstairs, her tears still dried on her face. She goes to the kitchen and makes herself some tea and toast. Then she goes to the living room. She stops when she sees it is still on her coffee table. When she came home yesterday after Happosai sent her son away. She received a special delivery package. When she opened the letter that came with it all she could do was cry. She headed to her room and cried herself to sleep. She sits on the sofa staring at the box and the letter that is laying on top of it she wants to cry again but her teats have dried up for the moment. She reaches out putting her tea on the coffee table, and then she reverently picks up the letter that came with the package. She holds it loosely not wanting to read it again, yet needing to see her sons words. Mom; When you get this I will have left Nerima for good. I am sorry mom that, I have disappointed you. I know a 'Man above Men' would have stayed and toughed it out, but mom I am so tired of all the crap that gets laid at my feet. If the trouble was something I caused I would happily fix it. My life is full of trouble mom all of it pop's doing. I have fiancées coming outta my ears, financial debts he racked up from his stealing, and who knows what else. I just can't take it any longer. I am engaged to a girl who hates me and abuses me because I WON'T fight back, she knows this and takes advantage of it. Pop also engaged me to my best friend, but she wants more then I can give, mom. Finally because of his gluttonous ways I am now a prize for the Amazons to try and claim. I don't want to even think about Kodachi Kuno, she is crazy. I am tired of always fighting for my life because others can not take responsibility for their own problems. I tired of being treated like everyone's personal property. Look what happen to your home because Nabiki told my wanna be fiancées that you had an engagement ring there. Oh before I forget you might want to have the house checked for listening devices I am sure Nabiki bugged the place during rebuilding. Trust me on this mom and have it done. I love you mom and the hardest part of this is leaving you again, but I can't live under the threat of seppuku. I feel there is a purpose for me and running a dojo is not it. My skill and power is meant for something more. The one good thing I learned from pop was that a martial artist is to protect the innocent. I believe that, mom with all my heart and soul, and my destiny is not in Japan. My life in Nerima has been to constantly rescue Akane from something crazy, but if I am not there then her life will be more normal. Mom enclosed in the box is a laptop; I bought them on my last training trip. If you can love me as I am and except me no matter how I live my life please let me know. I don't want to be without you anymore mom and I want you as a part of my new life, BUT only if you can not accept me on my terms. There an email address listed for me and I set one up for you. It is your choice mom; I wait anxiously for your email. Love your son Ranma Her tears flowing again Nodoka folds the letter and puts it in the pocket of her kimono. She then opens the box and finds a top of the line laptop. She takes it to her desk and begins to set it up. Once she has it up and running she checks for an email to tell her where her son is. She sighs heavily when there is none. She goes back to throw the box away, when she lifts it there is a *thunk* she looks in the box and sees a small jewelry box. With a shaky hand Nodoka reaches in and picks up a small box. All that is attached to it is a card with her name and a 'happy birthday'. Nodoka begins to cry even harder her son remembered her birthday was next week. She sits back down on the sofa holding the box to her chest. When she gets her tears under control so she can see she opens the box and gasps with shock. She reaches in and takes hold of a thirty- six inch gold braided chain of yellow, pink and white gold. She lifts the chain from the box pulling it completely out, hanging from the end of the chain is an antique locket. The locket's lid is a hand carved white lotus blossom made of a soft yellowed ivory. She opens the locket and inside is a picture she remembers taking. It is of herself and Ranma the day of the failed wedding. In the lid of locket is a beautiful star sapphire. Nodoka marvels at how much the gem reminds her of her child's eyes. She closes the locket with a soft snap then places it round her neck. She holds it cupped in her hands, staring at it as the tears fall. Nodoka sighs deeply, she then stands letting the pendant fall to just above her waist. She slowly heads for the telephone. She makes a few inquiries, then hangs up the telephone. She begins to straighten up her home while she waits for her visitors.