[FFML] [fanfic][UY/Ranma/SisPri] "Lonely Souls" Part 9 A Side (final draft)

[Frederick Herriot]

Got this done in time for lunch and Mike's weekly visit.  Do B Side later.

Fred

**** **** ****

	"Ooooh, my head . . . "

	"Hey, Ataru!"

	"Darling, are you alright?!"

	"Papa . . .?"

	Ataru's eyes fluttered as he found himself gazing at the deckhead of his 
cabin aboard the "Windrider."  Confusion warped through him as he wondered 
what brought him here, and then his skin paled as what happened aboard his 
ship over the last hour came back with crystal clarity.

	He then blinked as Ranma's and Seiko's heads loomed in his field of vision, 
they soon joined by Reiko's and Kaneko's.  "Guys . . . " he whispered as his 
hand reached up to feel his forehead.  "Um, Ranma . . .?"

	"Yeah?"

	"Would you pinch me again?"

	Ranma smirked as she shook her head.  "It won't work."

	He considered that, and then he nodded.  "Right . . . "

	"How do you feel?" Seiko wondered.

	"How do I feel?" Ataru echoed her before he took a deep breath.  "Well, I'm 
not sure how I actually *should* feel, Sei-chan.  That seven weeks after the 
United Nations forced us apart . . . "  His eyes fell on Ranma as a hand 
reached over to touch her cheek.  "And just a little under two weeks after I 
met someone I'm starting to fall in love with, I find out my harem fantasies 
have one hell of a basis in reality, something that happened to me when I 
was just a kid?"  His eyes focused again on his ex-fiancée.  "How on Earth 
should I feel after experiencing **that,** Sei-chan?"

	Seiko sadly smiled.  "Darling . . . "

	"You should be happy, Papa."

	Eyes locked on Reiko.  "Why should I be happy, musume-chan?" Ataru asked.

	"Because you're the Euk Hisehek," Kaneko answered for her sister.  "It's 
your destiny to be the Euk Hisehek, Papa."

	Ranma blinked as she remembered when Chyek, one of Reiko's and Kaneko's 
fellow Lost Stars of Noukiios, called Ataru by that title back in their base 
camp while the former heir of the Saotome-ryuu had been training with Negako 
in Sanctuary.  Ataru's eyebrow arched as he found himself sitting up, he 
leaning over to gaze at his children.  "And how is it you two know about 
this?"

	The twins tensed before they bowed their eyes ashamedly.  "Gomen, Papa," 
Reiko whispered.  "But we were told not to tell you."

	"Why?" Seiko asked.

	"We don't know," Kaneko answered.  "But it's obvious, isn't it?  If the 
Urusians found out about Papa's connection with the Maidens, how'd you think 
they'd react?  Especially creeps like Yethis?"  She glanced at Ranma.  "Eh?"

	Seiko and Ranma exchanged a look.  "He definitely wouldn't have liked 
that," the former mused.  "If the Maidens are as powerful as they seem, 
Yethis and his sub-creatures would have gone to war to make sure Darling 
couldn't access that power.  He could have used it to close Earth off from 
everyone, even from Oyuki-chan's people.  Yethis wouldn't have liked that at 
all."

	"Why?" Ranma asked.  "What was his big beef against Earth, Seiko?"

	"Fear."

	Eyes turned to the door, where a chestnut-haired Seishin-born woman in 
black-and-gold stood.  "Who . . .?" Ataru began before his eyes narrowed as 
he peered intently at the newcomer.  "Er, forgive me, but have we . . .?"

	"Met before?" Noa finished before she sighed.  "Yes, Ataru, we did meet in 
a park in Tomobiki several months prior to when Negako was inserted into 
your mind.  If we get the chance, we'll help you in whatever way we can to 
regain those memories you've lost because of that."  To Seiko.  "If it's 
anything, Seiko, I'm sorry that our interaction with Ataru came to reflect 
so badly on you.  And your people as a whole."  She wryly grinned.  "But I 
won't apologize for what happened to your leaders."  She then gazed on 
Ranma.  "And I must say it's a pleasure to meet you at last, Ranma.  We've 
always known Ataru has an Other, but until we learned of you, we had no idea 
who that was."

	Ranma blinked.  "But aren't you the one who . . .?"

	"Not her.  Me."

	Eyes snapped to the door of Ataru's bathroom.  There, a blonde 
Yehisrite-born defence officer with the tattoo marking her as one of the 
Pirpirsiw'r, the Most Dangerous Ones of the Royal Kingdoms, stood.  "How . . 
.?" Seiko gasped.

	"Telepathy and empathy, Seiko, can be beat if you understand the rules of 
the game," Lufy warned as she pushed herself away from the bulkhead to 
calmly walk over and sit on the bed beside Ranma.  Watching the 
watchmistress move, Ranma shuddered as she automatically reached out with 
her ki senses to take in the newcomer's measure.  The reading she got from 
Lufy sent a surge of pure fear -- yes, *fear!* -- up from her stomach to 
squeeze her heart and freeze her soul.  This woman was as different 
emotionally from Moroboshi Negako as night was from day.  But the training 
level, the knowledge, the *experience* . . .?!

	It was all the same.

	"Hello, Ranma."

	Ranma blinked as the greeting washed over her, and then her eyes widened as 
the images of a dream she had over a week before, immediately after what had 
to go down as the bloodiest day in her life, came back to her.  "You . . .!"

	An ironic eyebrow arched.  "You remember me?"

	The martial artist paused as she considered what was just asked, and then 
she shook her head.  "No.  It was a dream I had.  The night after the school 
got destroyed."  She glanced at Ataru before looking anew at Lufy.  "Why?"

	Lufy closed her eyes, a sigh escaping her.  The moment of truth had finally 
come.  "Before I explain that, let me say this."  She then bowed her head, 
tears seeping through her eyelashes to stream down her cheeks.  "I really 
wish I had the guts to admit what I did to you and Ataru all those years ago 
when we brought him to Sagussa a year after we met.  Maybe then, we might 
have gone out to bring you to our planet, too."  She gazed anew at Ranma.  
"At least, perhaps, it might have saved you from a lot of the trouble that 
hunk of stormwalker dung you called a father heaped over you.  Not to 
mention all the other things you've bumped into over the years.  Eh?"

	Ranma stared at this woman, whose actions years ago had influenced her in 
ways that made everything else she had dealt with until the day she met 
Kamekichi Tampopo -- the day that began the march that led the ex-heir of 
the Saotome-ryuu of Musabetsu Kakutou to this starship and to the side of 
the man currently sitting beside her -- seem insignificant in comparison.  
Even the Neko-ken training, even Jusenkyou with the soul-altering touch 
those pools reserved for the most foolish of those who disturbed its peace, 
even . . .!

	Insignificant.

	Totally insignificant.

	"Please tell us why," Ranma urged, squeezing Lufy's shoulder.

	The watchmistress blinked, and then she took a breath before she began.

**** **** ****
"Lonely Souls"
By Fred Herriot
pyeknu at hotmail.com OR fherriot at yahoo.com
**** **** ****
Crystal Palace in-jokes by Mike Smith, they first appearing in the story "Be 
Forever Nassur," part of the fan-fiction series "Urusei Yatsura - The Senior 
Year," created by Mike Smith and Fred Herriot.
**** **** ****
Full lyrics to "Coinleach Glas an Fhómhair" (The Green Stubble-Field of 
Autumn) may be found at any site containing lyrics by Clannad.  Just type 
the song name into the Google search engine and go from there.  "Coinleach 
Glas an Fhómhair" is a traditional song re-mastered by the members of 
Clannad (Máire Ni Bhraonáin, Ciarán Ó Bhraonáin, Pól Ó Bhraonáin, Noel Ó 
Dúgáin and Pádraig Ó Dúgáin).  The version of "Coinleach Glas an Fhómhair" I 
took inspiration from in this story is from the compilation "In a Lifetime:  
The Best of Clannad" (2003), released by BMG Music.  Translation of the 
lyrics by Larry Keith Ogle.
**** **** ****
Based on "Urusei Yatsura" and "Ranma 1/2," created by Takahashi Rumiko; and 
"Sister Princess," created by Tenhiro Naoto and Kimino Sakurako.
**** **** ****
Set in the universe of the fan-fiction series "Urusei Yatsura - The Senior 
Year," created by Mike Smith and Fred Herriot
**** **** ****

NOTE:  The writer's notes are in a separate text file.

**** **** ****

THE NINTH PART, "A" SIDE - NEW FANTASIES

	"Children, Chikage-chan?"

	The sorceress nodded.  She was meeting with Sakuya, Haruka and Karen in her 
cabin.  Glasses of Noukiite cider -- Shirayuki had found casks of the stuff 
in a storage room next to the galley -- were in their hands, an ice-filled 
pitcher of the clear liquid sitting on the nightstand.  "Emotionally, 
they're not that far evolved beyond what they gained from Ani-kun when they 
met him en masse.  I admit that they are striving to break free of what 
their contact with Ani-kun did to them.  But it is hard."

	"Is that good or bad?" Karen asked.

	"I'm not sure," Chikage answered before she sipped her drink.  "We seem to 
have met the most mature of them.  Noa-chan, the members of Eluza-chan's 
crew and some of Sylia-chan's team.  And yet, we have people like 
Ayumu-chan.  She seems to me more typical of these Sagussans."  Gazing at 
the deckhead, she added, "As Noa-chan told us, before they met Ani-kun, they 
were all finely tuned logic machines.  Living computers, as in control of 
themselves emotionally as the Vulcans on 'Star Trek.'  Then Ani-kun was 
brought to Sagussa and the inner emotional balance they possessed was 
critically upset.  And they are still very much recovering from that 
encounter."

	"As Karen-chan just asked, Chikage-chan, is it good or bad for 
Anigimi-sama?" Haruka wondered.

	"Are you jealous of their love for Ani-kun?" Chikage countered.

	The marital artist balked, and then she shook her head.  "N-no, not really! 
  I mean, if their intentions toward Anigimi-sama and Anegimi-sama are true 
and honourable, I cannot object, Chikage-chan.  But still . . . "

	"I have to admit that the idea of competing with all those girls does scare 
me," Sakuya then said, she gazing at the deckhead.  "But if they feel so 
indebted to Onii-sama, how could we object to what they might want of him?  
And they did bond Onii-sama and Onee-sama together . . . "

	"Does Lufy-san feel guilty about that, Chikage-chan?" Karen asked.

	"She does," Chikage answered.  "Profoundly.  Even if it was done in 
complete innocence, I strongly suspect that it would be seen as a crime on 
Sagussa these days to force a psi-bond on two four year-old children.  
Granted, Lufy-chan's actions did help Ani-kun and Ane-kun, especially when 
we factor in the insertion of Negako-anekun into Ani-kun's mind, not to 
mention Ranma-anekun's experience with the Neko-ken."

	"We should do our best to help Lufy-san understand that," Haruka noted.

	"I think Onii-chan and Onee-chan will understand," Karen added.

	"Can we talk to one of them?  Get their viewpoint on this?" Sakuya asked.

	As if in answer to the elder sister's question, a knock is heard at the 
door.  Chikage walked over to open in.  "Ya, Nene-chan!"

	The others turned as Pathfinder Troop Six's coxswain stepped inside.  
"Konban wa, minna-sama," she hailed with a pleasant nod.

	"Nene-san, there's no need for *that* level of formality," Karen noted.

	The rose-haired, Ellsian-born Pathfinder chuckled as she sat herself on the 
bed, Chikage relaxing beside her.  "Gomen ne, Karen-chan."  She then nodded 
thanks as Haruka poured her a cup of cider.  "Arigatou, Haruka-chan."

	"Why are you here?" Sakuya asked as the cup was handed over.

	Nene glanced at her.  "Sakuya-chan, please, I REALLY must know:  who taught 
Rinrin-chan all the things she knows about computers, mechanical engineering 
and everything else?  That girl has got major hackitude!  If she had been 
born on another planet, she would be a Visionary!"

	"'Visionary?'" Haruka asked.

	Nene blushed.  "That's what I was in my first life.  Back on Elle, I was 
Chianne du Maratok.  My hack-sign was 'Velvet Rose.'  Being called a 
'Visionary,' even these days, means that not only do you have the knowledge 
and skills to not just master your own home planet's technology, but you can 
also integrate yourself into other planets' technology just like that."  She 
snapped her fingers in emphasis before she added, "Rinrin-chan's got the 
same type of gift, minna-chan.  And there's no way that I'm going to let 
those skills go undeveloped.  So, who was her teacher?"

	"Her late step-grandfather, Professor Hatoyama Junji," Chikage answered.  
"He was the man who helped make Promised Island what it is today.  I suspect 
-- this is based on information I acquired from my own grandfather Ryuuji, 
of course -- that he may have been exposed to whatever samples of Zephyrite 
technology were brought from Jiyuu after Grandmother's investiture as a 
Righteous Gentile in their Protestant Reformist Church.  I can't confirm 
that, though.  Neither can Rinrin, I believe.  Only Brother Sunfire could."

	"You really believe she's that good, Nene-san?" Haruka wondered.

	Nene held up her cider.  "She's THAT good."  A wink.  "Think about it.  Do 
you think even your most advanced programming specialists, robotics experts 
and what-have-you could launch a project like creating Mecha-Rinrin on a 
whim?"

	The sisters exchanged looks as they considered the Sagussan's question.  
"Well, maybe in the general public, something like Mecha-Rinrin-chan would 
take years to become reality," Karen mused.  "But you have to admit, 
Nene-san, our family tends to buck a lot of those trends on the fly!"

	"Yes," Nene acknowledged.  "That's one of the things Noa's learned about 
your family since we first had Ataru come visit us.  I will grant you all 
that your grandmother kept all of your existences a deep secret, even from 
Noa.  And she dug around a lot to get the skinny on everything about your 
family.  I should know; I helped her on that end."

	"Grandmother's actions concerning us were easy to execute, especially since 
the person our existences had to be masked from the most was Ani-kun's 
mother," Chikage stated before she gazed on the Pathfinder.  "And you must 
admit, Noa-chan's actions eleven years ago did contribute to the growing 
rift between the various elements of our family."

	Nene closed her eyes.  "I'll concede that.  And I have to admit, when we 
realized what we had done, we felt as guilty as Lufy does now concerning 
what she did to Ataru and Ranma-san.  Believe me, I wish we had taken Mie up 
on her idea of sending a permanent team to Tomobiki to keep a close eye on 
Ataru.  It might have helped him a lot, especially after 
Thoughtmistress-prime Negako's essence was downloaded into his subconscious 
. . . what?!" she then demanded on seeing the sisters burst out laughing.  
"What?!"

	"Nene-san, you better NOT address Anegimi-sama as *that!*" Haruka warned.

	"Onee-sama'd hate being called *that* more than she hates being called 
'sensei!'" Sakuya added as she gripped the sides of her stomach.

	"One of those types?" Nene wondered before she took a drink.  "Gotcha."

	A knock was heard at the door.  "Enter, Rinrin!" Chikage called out.

	The door opened to reveal the teen genius in question.  "Hey, guys!  Oh, 
Ne-chan!  There you are!" Rinrin hailed as she walked inside.

	"Hey, Rin-chan!  How're things in the sail room?" Nene asked.

	"They're cool!"

	Sakuya and Haruka exchanged surprised looks.  *'Ne-chan?'  'Rin-chan?'*

	Karen moved to pour the newcomer a glass of cider as Rinrin hopped onto the 
bed beside Nene.  "Nene-chan was complimenting you on the level of technical 
skill you gained apprenticing with your grandfather," Chikage said.

	Rinrin laughed as she took her drink, a blush crossing her face.  "You've 
got the touch, Rin-chan," Nene added with a wink as she moved to clink 
glasses.  "You stick with me, I'll make damn sure that you'll know how to 
use it!"

	"Aw, Ne-chan!" Rinrin whined.

	"Don't you have laws against that sort of thing, Nene-san?" Haruka asked.

	"Oh, you mean the Non-Interference Directive?" Nene asked in turn.  On 
seeing Haruka nod, the Pathfinder sighed.  "Well, yes, we do, but look at 
the situation.  Your people have already had controlled contact with the 
Zephyrites over the last forty years.  How did the guys in the Special 
Committee on Alien Activities over in the Big Apple get their gear?  And 
you've had much more open exposure to the Urusians and some of the other 
peoples of the Galactic Federation for the last year-and-a-half.  Yes, we 
won't let our tech be spread willy-nilly all over Earth, especially when 
you've got some leaders who, in our eyes, deserve to get shot for the crap 
they unleashed on their own peoples.  But believe me, Haruka-chan, Rin-chan 
has the discipline and the fortitude she needs to understand what I can 
teach her.  AND she will certainly be made to understand what the good and 
bad effects of what I would teach her could do."

	"Ne-chan . . . " Rinrin muttered as her blush deepened.

	Silence fell as everyone took the chance to enjoy their cider.  "You aren't 
perfect when it comes to sharing what you have, Nene-chan," Chikage then 
noted as she gave the Pathfinder a knowing look.  "Aren't you?"

	Rinrin reached over to hold Nene's hand.  The other sisters blinked.  
"You're right about that, Chikage-chan," Nene then said.

	"What do you mean?" Karen asked.

	Nene lightly smiled.  "Karen-chan, who do you think built this ship?"

	"The Noukiites . . .!"  Karen stopped as her eyes widened.  "You did?"

	"I helped build her," Nene confessed.  "This ship was a prototype we built 
at our fleet yards at Sen'sha Seven.  It was constructed a year ago when we 
decided to give the Noukiites back the designs for the GEV-capable vessels 
their own scientists came up with just before their planet was conquered by 
the Urusian Imperials three centuries ago."

	"'Gee-Ee-Vee?'" Haruka asked.

	"'Galactic Escape Velocity,'" Rinrin explained.  "Over Warp 4.4 if you use 
the new 'Star Trek' speed scale.  One thousand, six hundred and forty-nine 
times the speed of light.  That's the speed you need to break free of the 
Galactic Barrier, the force field that encloses the galaxy."  A pause.  "In 
other words, if the Urusian Imperials had ever gotten their hands on that 
level of tech, even Sagussa would have been threatened.  Being 20,000 light 
years beyond the Barrier wouldn't have saved them."

	Sakuya stared at Nene.  "You guys threw your support behind the Noukiites 
against Lum's people?"  Seeing Nene nod, the elder sister demanded, "Why?!"

	"After what happened to your grandmother, how else should we have acted?"

	Silence.

	"You did that because of Obaa-chan's death?" Karen asked.

	Nene blinked confusedly.  "Karen-chan, we did that because Lum's people 
*murdered* your grandmother to ensure the Zephyrites couldn't intervene in 
case Ataru lost the First Tag Race.  Didn't you know?"  The sisters save 
Chikage shook their heads.  The sorceress had a neutral look on her face.  
Seeing that, Nene squeezed her eyes shut as she realized what her words had 
just done.  "Damn!  Open mouth, insert foot time again!  Way to go, 
Maratok!" she muttered as she slumped against the bulkhead beside Chikage's 
bed.

	"It's not your fault," Rinrin soothed as she gave Nene's hand a squeeze.

	"Obaa-sama . . . " Haruka gasped, her eyes tearing.  "She was murdered?"

	"THAT'S why Onii-chan fought with the Noukiites!" Karen exclaimed.

	"Lum had no idea that happened," Chikage warned.

	"What else did you guys do?" Sakuya asked the Pathfinder.

	"Just one other thing," Nene replied.  "We used our terraforming technology 
to give the Noukiites twelve new colony planets so they could shift their 
excess population to and relieve the stress on the food supply and 
agricultural networks on Noukiios and the older colonies.  This all happened 
in the year after Tag One, by the way."  She took a breath.  "Believe me, 
minna-chan, we had a pretty good idea of what the Noukiites might have done 
once they had the chance to do it.  Many of us hoped they would have just 
firmed up the border between them and the Urusians and put a stop to the 
colonial militia raids on the old colonies.  It was that hope that made us 
overlook the Non-Interference Directive and let us give them what we did.  
After all, making new colonies for them was a simple act of humanity in the 
long term.  And since the scientists who developed the GEV-tech before the 
Imperial Conquest destroyed it to prevent it from falling into Urusian 
hands, Noukiios DID, in the long run, help protect Sagussa.  Not to mention 
every other race in the local cluster.  So giving them back what was really 
theirs in the long run didn't bother us too much."  A pause.  "But when 
Yethis tried to push it . . . "

	"Enough was enough in their eyes," Haruka finished for the Sagussan.

	"Hai."

	"And you did this in response to Obaa-sama's murder?" Sakuya wondered.

	"Yeah."  Tears brimmed in Nene's eyes as she shrugged.  "Yeah, we hoped 
that the Noukiites would have kept things peaceful with the Urusians.  But I 
have to add that deep down, many of us -- myself included -- felt that 
bastards like Seq Yethis and the rest of that pack needed to have their 
heads handed to them.  They murdered your grandmother all because they were 
*afraid* of you people.  That's what really prompted the First Tag Race.  
Not some bullshit excuse about the Seifukusu or the Ipraedies wanting to 
conquer Earth and cut the Federation in half.  No.  The REAL reason the 
Urusians wanted to conquer your people was that they were *afraid* that when 
the time came that the people of Earth got out into the galaxy, they would 
create an interstellar republic that would put to shame EVERYTHING the 
Urusians themselves have created over the years.  If an 'Interstellar United 
Nations of Earth' ever came into being, they might have formed strong 
bridges of friendship with the Seifukusu, the Ipraedies and . . .!  Oh, 
Lyna!  Even the Noukiites!" Nene then gasped as she waved around the room 
with the hand holding her glass of cider.  "And no!  No!  No!  NO!  The 
Urusians couldn't allow THAT now, could they?!"

	Rinrin blinked as she considered that before saying, "So when they learned 
of Obaba's connections to Zephyrus . . . "

	"They cut them as quickly as they could," Nene finished.  She took a 
breath.  "And that could be blamed on us for what we did with Ataru.  Even 
then, we could sense the emotional distance between him and his mother . . . 
"

	"Don't blame yourselves for how what you did to Ani-kun affected Kinshou, 
Nene-chan," Chikage said.  "If you wish to assign blame for what happened to 
Obaa-san, look first to Kinshou and her unwillingness to accept some of the 
unique aspects of our family when she married our father.  Then add to that 
what happened to Kaeru-anikun after he died and his body disappeared . . . "

	"Your other brother's not dead, you know."

	Silence.

	"***EH?!***" the sisters, even Chikage, exclaimed as they stared at Nene.

*    *    *

	"AH-CHOO!"

	"*Master Kaeru, are you functioning properly?*"

	Kaeru blinked confusedly as he stared at his hand, it now dotted with 
expended mucus from his nose.  "Curious."

*    *    *

	"Kaeru-oniisama's ALIVE?!" Sakuya screamed.

	"Yep," Nene replied before she finished her cider.  "Did any of you ever 
wonder why Kaeru-san vanished from the hospital in Arikawa shortly after his 
accident?"  As the sisters exchanged looks, the Pathfinder continued, "It 
was because two women from the planet Nagussa had come to Earth at the time 
he fell off that cliff.  They saw the accident.  And they were moved so much 
by his suffering that when they got the chance, they took him out of the 
hospital and transported him back to their planet to heal him."

	"And Aniki's been there ever since?!" Rinrin asked.

	Nene nodded.  "Exactly.  Now I don't know all the details of what's 
happened to him since the day he got there, but I do know that he's 
currently a member of their defence force, working as an engineer on one of 
their star cruisers.  And . . . "  She held up a warning finger.

	"And?!" Sakuya prompted.

	"He's on Earth right now.  At your hostel to be exact."

	Silence.

	"WHAT?!" the sisters cried out.

	Nene smirked as she tapped her left wrist-bracelet.  "Nene to Linna."

	"Go, Nene," the coxswain's lover replied from the "Kiboo'cha."

	"Put a link through to my laptop, lover.  Then open a link from my laptop 
to the 'Haengge'cha.'  I need to talk to Yomi."

	"Right!"

	"I'll get it!" Rinrin announced as she ran out of the room.

	The teen inventor returned a moment later with the coxswain's laptop.  Nene 
opened it and tapped some controls to open a communications link to the 
nearby "Kiboo'cha."  A second later, a holographic screen appeared before 
Nene's face, it projecting an image of a certain bespectacled, 
Yehisrite-born engineer.  "Koyomi here," the construction chief engineer 
artificer called out as she recognized her caller.  "What is it, Nene?"

	"How's that virus I whipped up for you working, Yomi?"

	"Like a charm."  A knowing smile then crossed Koyomi's face.  "The Rover's 
sending us some interesting pictures from Welcome House.  I assume certain 
new friends of ours would want to see their brother in the flesh?"

	"Please."

	"Hai!"

	The image changed to show a view of Welcome House's rotunda.  Currently, 
the place was a construction zone as four semi-humanoid hover-capable robots 
worked to expand every room.  "Holy . . .!" Rinrin gasped.  "What are 
those?!"

	"Nagussan construction-maintenance robots," Nene replied.  "I'll bet that 
Kaeru-san himself built these beauties.  Now . . . "  She then tapped 
controls to call up a thermograph view.  A human-shaped heat source 
appeared, it standing in a room on the third floor.  "And there he is," Nene 
announced.

	"Hey!  What's he doing in my lab?!" Rinrin cried out.

	"Looking over Mecha-Rinrin, I think . . . ah!"

	Nene tapped controls to switch back to visual light mode.  The person in 
Rinrin's private laboratory had just moved to the window to gaze outside.  
Seeing those wondrously familiar features, the sisters gasped.

	"Onii-chan!" Karen whispered for them all.

*    *    *

	"Let me get this straight," Kaneko moved to recap.  "Your people took 
interest in the Terrans when you learned these Nagussans had come and taken 
Uncle Kaeru with them back to their planet after he supposedly 'died' . . . 
"

	"Then a year later, when I was on Triton playing hide-and-seek with 
Oyuki-chan and everyone, the Central Warp Chamber misfired, making you 
believe Oyuki-chan, Toji-chan or I had been taken to Earth by accident," 
Seiko added.

	"And after you calculated that Lum might have come to Uncle's estate in 
Sendai, you beamed down to look for her," Ataru said.

	"And that's when you stumbled onto Oyaji beating me up all because I tried 
to be friends with Ataru and Nokoko-oneechan," Ranma added.

	"And when you thought Papa and Mama were the reincarnations of two of your 
planet's gods, you bonded them," Reiko finished.

	Lufy nodded.  "That's it in a nutshell."

	Silence fell as the others in Ataru's cabin considered what had just been 
said.  Ranma then stared at the watchmistress.  "Lufy, I hate to ask you 
this, but where the hell was your logic when you bonded Ataru and me 
together?!"

	Muted laughter filled the room.  "It rather left me at the time, I'm 
afraid," Lufy replied with a light smile before she frowned.  "While I 
certainly will not shirk my responsibility when it came to what I did to 
both of you, I will say this:  When I sensed your father's feelings towards 
you, Ranma, I realized that he wasn't acting anywhere NEAR what a proper 
parent -- as I then understood the concept -- should act toward his 
offspring.  You, put frankly, were seen by Genma as his meal ticket to a 
cozy retirement.  Every wrong he unleashed on others, he would pass the 
blame onto you, make you answer for his crimes.  Everything that he could 
use to make you the perfect fighting machine, the icon of his school of 
martial arts, he would use, regardless of the cost to your body and soul."  
A pause as she reached up to wipe her cheeks.  "And the worst part about it 
was that he believed deep in his heart that he was doing the right thing for 
you.  That your best course -- No!  Excuse me!  Your ONLY course! -- in life 
was to be transformed into that living icon of martial arts Genma wanted you 
to be."  She sniffed back more tears.  "Back then, even with my total lack 
of understanding when it came to human emotions, to all the non-logical, 
non-rational elements that influence human lives, I could easily conclude 
this:  That is NO WAY for a parent to raise a child."

	"And when you heard our names?" Ataru gently prodded.

	Lufy snorted.  "I heard your names right after Genma -- who, I have to 
admit, had, by then, been so battered by both Starleaf and I, he had lost 
all sense of control over himself -- tried to use his vacuum blade attack on 
you, Ataru.  When I saw that, and then heard the names 'Ranma' and 'Ataru' 
-- which, in Sagussan phonetic structure, are quite close to 'Ram' and 
'Atar' -- well, that was the excuse I needed."  She shrugged.

	"So after you pounded him, you bonded Darling and Ranma-san," Seiko said.

	"Hai."  She gazed at Ranma.  "In that regard, I believed Ranma would, from 
that day on, have a friend . . . "  Here, she paused before she smiled.  "A 
soul-mate . . . "  She shrugged.  "That Genma could never take from him."

	"And that . . . " Noa spoke up, "Is the purest essence of Marei'cha.  The 
person whom you would trust with your immortality.  The one you care for -- 
you love -- beyond all others, for she or he is the one who is with you 
always."

	Ataru and Ranma took that in, and then they gazed on each other.  The 
latter stood, walking over to stare out the cabin windows at the passing 
star field.  "That's probably why Oyaji always kept pressing that women were 
weak."

	"Mama . . .?" Reiko whispered.

	"What do you mean?" Seiko asked.

	Ranma closed her eyes.  "He wanted to ensure I'd never take Lufy's side if 
she came back.  By making me think that all women were weak, Oyaji probably 
hoped I would hold Lufy in such contempt that we would always remain 
enemies."

	"Ranma, what are you talking about?" Noa asked.

	Ranma stared at them.  "One thing I can't ever deny about Oyaji:  For all 
his goof-ups, training disasters and mistakes, he was one of the best 
martial arts teachers around.  After all, he created the Sen-ken forms.  He 
managed to alter my mind and did it in such a way that Jijii and Hibaa-chan 
couldn't detect it.  And yet, look what happened?"  She waved to Lufy.  "He 
was beaten by a WOMAN.  Even if he didn't remember what happened the day he 
ran into Lufy, he had to have realized that a WOMAN had beaten the tar out 
of him.  A WOMAN who was clearly more skilled than HAPPOOSAI.  And perhaps, 
just perhaps, he also might have sensed what Lufy did to Ataru and me."  She 
pointed to Ataru, and then herself.  "I think that's what probably prompted 
him to play around with my head to make me focus only on martial arts.  He 
was afraid Lufy's influence would have made me turn on him.  He didn't want 
that, so . . . "

	She shrugged.  "Ranma, I'm sorry," Lufy whispered, she bowing her head.

	Ranma shook her head.  "Don't apologize.  It's not your fault that Oyaji 
never allowed himself to see the world as it really is."

	"So what do you intend to do now?" Noa asked.

	The martial artist sighed.  "Well, as I'm sure Ataru will more than agree, 
whatever happens between us is between us, right?"

	"Of course," Sagussa's Elder Mother agreed with a nod.

	"Alright.  I . . . "  She paused before looking directly at Lufy.  "I want 
something from you, Lufy.  It's not gonna be anything bad or anything like 
that.  But I need to think it through first before I ask you about it.  
Okay?"

	Lufy nodded.  "That's fair enough . . . "

	The door to the cabin flew open to reveal Karen.  "Onii-chan!"

	Ataru tensed.  "What is it, Karen-chan?!"

	She stopped beside his bed.  "You're not going to believe this, Onii-chan!  
It's about Kaeru-oniichan!  He's . . .!"

	"Alive?"

	"Ali- . . .!"  Karen stopped.  "Eh?!  How did . . .?!"  She then paused 
before she looked at Noa.  "Oh, did Noa-san tell you?!"

	"Just now," Noa replied before a giggle escaped her.

	"Who did you find this out from, Karen-chan?" Ataru asked.

	"Nene-san told us!" Karen gushed.  "But you won't believe this, Onii-chan!  
Kaeru-oniichan's on Earth right now!"

	Ataru's jaw dropped.  "He IS?!"

	Karen eagerly nodded.  "Hai!  He's at Welcome House!  He's using his 
special robots to rebuild the rotunda right now!  Nene-san's calling her 
friend Koyomi-san to contact Onii-chan so we can talk to him!  Sakuya-chan's 
getting everyone on the pilotage right now!  Come on!"

	With that, she grabbed Ataru's arm and moved to drag him out of the room.  
"Hey!  Hey!  HEY!  Leggo my hand!" Ataru yelped.

*    *    *

	"*Master Kaeru?*"

	Kaeru blinked.  "What is the matter, Unit Two?"

	"*A signal from a Sagussan civilian starship, the 'Haengge'cha.'  Its 
shipmistress wishes to speak to you.*"

	Kaeru blinked again, the surprise he felt on hearing that report quite 
evident.  "A Sagussan civilian starship?"

	"*Affirmative.  The shipmistress states that she wishes to speak to you on 
a matter of considerable importance.*"

	"Very well.  Convey the message to this unit."  The Terran-born Nagussan 
engineer indicated the Rinrin-Viewer.

	"*Compliance.*"

	The Viewer flicked on, it transmitting the image of the main bridge of a 
Sagussan starship.  Seated in the commander's chair was a brown-haired woman 
with visual viewing aides -- "glasses" as Marie addressed them -- over her 
eyes, she dressed in the work uniform of Sagussa's engineer corps.  "This is 
Engineer-second Kaeru ryi'Kouhae-Raikue of the Nagussan Defence Force Ship 
'Ganshiki,' currently at the Welcome House hostel on Oomure-jima, 
Dai-Nihon," he announced.  "Whom do I have the honour of addressing?"

	"Engineer-second, I'm Daishi'cha #40033, Chief Construction Engineer 
Artificer Koyomi of the Engineering Ministry of the Fifth Republic of 
Sagussa, Construction Engineering Department Headquarters Team," she said.  
"I'm about to relay a message to you from the Independent Solar-Sail Craft 
'Windrider.'"

	Kaeru blinked.  "Is there a reason the sentient beings on this craft wish 
to communicate with me, Chief Artificer Koyomi?"

	A smile crept across Koyomi's face.  "See for yourself . . . "

	The screen then blanked out.  "Sagussans are an illogical species," Kaeru 
then whispered before the screen flicked on again.

	"Onii-chan!"

	"Onii-chama!"

	"Ya-hoo, Anii!"

	"Hi, Onii-sama!"

	"Ah, it's Onii-tama!"

	"Aniue-sama, konban wa!"

	"Hi, Nii-sama!"

	"Aniki!"

	"Ya, Ani-kun."

	"Anigimi-sama!"

	"Ani-chama, checky!"

	"Nii-ya!"

	"Hey, Otooto!  Where've you been these last fourteen years?!"

	"Yo, Kaeru!  Lookin' good for a guy who's said to be dead!"

	"Uncle Kaeru!"

	Kaeru blinked on seeing an image of the bridge of an unknown type of ship 
projected from the Rinrin-Viewer.  "Karen," he spoke out on recognizing most 
of the people there.  "Kaho.  Mamoru.  Sakuya.  Hinako.  Marie.  Shirayuki.  
Rinrin.  Chikage.  Haruka.  Yotsuba.  Aria.  Ataru.  Ranma.  Reiko.  
Kaneko."  He smiled.  "It pleases me to see all of you are functioning 
properly."

	The people on the "Windrider" stared at him, some of the sisters blinking 
in shock.  Sakuya turned to a Sagussan dressed in the uniform of a minister 
in the Republic's government.  "Noa-chan, are they ALL like that on 
Nagussa?!"

	"I'm afraid so," Noa responded.

	"Not so different from what we were like before we met Ataru, eh, Noa?" a 
blonde Sagussan Navy watchmistress seated beside Reiko then said.

	"True!"

	Everyone took that in, and then a raven-haired woman -- one Kaeru did not 
recognize -- seated to Ataru's left turned to him.  "Darling, no matter what 
people say, you did the right thing going to Sagussa when you did."

	"I'm beginning to think you're right, Sei-chan," Ataru muttered.

	Kaeru continued to blink.

*    *    *

	"So Kaeru-san was taken to Nagussa when everyone thought he died, right?"

	"Exactly," Nene replied before she took a sip of her juice.

	The other people aboard the "Windrider" -- save for the sleeping Ayumu (she 
was in Hinako's cabin) and the still-comatose Makoto, plus Seikou Mie and 
Pony (they were in the ship's cockpit) -- had shifted themselves to the 
galley to allow Ataru and his siblings -- plus those still emotionally close 
to the Moroboshis -- the chance to converse with Kaeru in private.  "That 
must be wild," Akane mused before she took a sip of her own glass of cider.  
She then stared at Shinshi.  "Could you imagine what it might be like for 
all of us if Okaa-san came back from the dead and popped up at the front 
door of the house?"

	"The other you experienced something like that last night."

	Akane tensed, and then she relaxed.  "That's true, isn't it?"

	"It's alright, Akane-chan," Miree reached over to gently squeeze the 
newborn Terran/Avalonian's hand in sympathy.

	"So what do you think brought Kaeru-kun back to Earth?" Kawamura Himiko 
asked.  "If he's got a life on Nagussa and if he didn't know about 
Haruka-san and the other sisters until now, what would have brought him back 
to Earth?"

	"He's probably contemplating seeking out a child-mate."

	Eyes locked on Nene.  Pathfinder Troop Six's coxswain was seated with the 
other Sagussans at a nearby table.  "A wife?" Jonna asked.

	"Most likely," Nene replied.  "For some weird reason, everyone on Nagussa 
-- except Kaeru-san -- believes that they're actually very advanced 
androids, not really different from what Rin-chan envisions Mecha-Rinrin 
will be like."

	"So what are they, then?" Orin wondered.

	"In truth, they're no different from you Avalonians," Patty spoke up.  The 
chief engineer of the "Hasei'cha" -- she had been part of the team that had 
built the prototype GEV-capable solar-sail barque at the Fleet Dockyards on 
Sen'sha Seven -- had been busy running diagnostic checks in all of the 
"Windrider's" systems since she came aboard with everyone else.  "They're 
bioroids.  Each of them was grown from genetic samples taken from hominoid 
races on their side of the galaxy over the last ten thousand years."

	"Sorta like what the Eternal Voyager did when it went out to find all of 
you guys, right?" Fujikaze Nobuko, who was seated with the other replicas of 
Lum and her closest friends at a table next to Akane's, then asked.

	"Pretty much so," Catty answered.

	"If these Nagussans are actually organic, what brought Kaeru-sama to Earth 
then?" Jonna asked.

	"Does he have a lover on Nagussa?" Orin wondered.

	"I'm not too sure, but from what Noa told me about him, he might be in an 
intimate relationship with his fellow engineer on the 'Ganshiki,' a woman 
named Naromo," Catty then said.

	"So what's the problem?" Arashi Mika then asked.  "All he has to do is hop 
in the sack with Naromo and . . . "

	"They're all sterile."

	Silence.

	"What?!" Miree gasped.

	"Why?!" Akane demanded.

	"We're not sure," Catty replied with a shake of her head.  "We've tried to 
tell them that in the few times we have been in close contact with them, but 
the message has never gotten through.  As to why . . .?"  She then shrugged.

	"Well, maybe Hinako-chan or Aria-chan might be able to change that with the 
Staff or the Genesis Wand," Shinshi then mused.

	Nene nodded.  "There's an idea."

	Footsteps then heralded the arrival of several of the sisters.  
"Onii-chama's girlfriend is so pretty!" Kaho declared.

	Mamoru nodded.  "Anii's got great taste when it comes to girls!"

	"Onii-chan probably got it from living with his adopted mother and her 
girlfriend!" Karen added.

	"I agree!" Sakuya said, an envious shudder racing through her.  "Any girl 
on Earth would KILL to have looks like that!"

	"Hina can go to the big-big ship and get Bou-san to give Naromo-oneetama a 
new body so she can be Onii-tama's bride!" Hinako said as she walked over to 
sit with Jonna.  "And Hina can do that for all the people on Nagussa, too!"

	"Hinako-chan, you might need help from Aria-chan and Tsue-san if you have 
to do that for EVERYONE on Nagussa," Sakuya then warned.

	"And how is our Daimon'cha's equally-handsome twin brother these days, 
Sakuya-san?" Catty asked.

	The eldest of the sisters stopped as she considered that question, and then 
she moaned, reaching up to scratch the sides of her head.  "Ooooh, this is 
terrible!" she wailed.  "It's terrible!  I can't choose!  I just can't 
choose!"

	"Choose WHAT, Sakuya-san?!" Serizawa Mikiko gasped.

	"Which is cuter?!  Moustache and beard?!  Or moustache and goatee?!"

	Hearing that, everyone save the other sisters fell flat on their faces!  
"Aaaah!" Kaho then wailed.  "Kaho can't choose either!"

	"Hina doesn't even WANT to choose between Onii-tama and Onii-tama!"

	"I can't decide about that, either!" Karen confessed.

	"Me neither!" Mamoru added.

	Everyone else stared up at the sisters.  "No offence, you guys, but you 
sure have some WEIRD priorities!" Shinshi moaned.

	Footfalls on the ladder were then heard.  "Ah, Hinako-chan!  Konban wa!"

	"Ah, Ayumu-chan!" Hinako gushed.

	The master chief petty officer of the Sagussan Navy had an arm wrapped 
around her back.  "Got a surprise for you, Hinako-chan!"

	"Eh?!  A surprise for Hina?  Nani?!  Nani?!"

	"Ta-daa!"

	The hand came around, it holding a glowing Staff of Gihan.  "Bou-san!" 
Hinako screamed as she leapt out of her chair, running over to take hold of 
the Sagussan weapon from her new friend.  "Waaaaai!  Bou-san's all better 
now!"

	As soon as Hinako's hand touched the Staff, a shower of energy then emerged 
from the crystal to spread over the youngest sister.  Her clothes were then 
transformed into a black-and-gold Sagussan jumpsuit like the one Noa wore.  
In this case, there were five wreaths-of-laurel wrapped around the arms.  
"A-ri-ri?!"  Hinako blinked.  "Hina's clothes are different."

	"That's the uniform your brother will wear when he comes to Sagussa," Ayumu 
said.  "Since you're his sister, you have the right to wear the same 
uniform!"  She gave Hinako an appraising look.  "Looks good on you!"

	"Really?!" Hinako gushed.

	"Man, this thing sure re-charged fast!" Mamoru said as she reached over to 
feel the Staff's focusing crystal.

	***My close proximity to Ayumu allowed me to restore my reserves quicker 
than I calculated, Mamoru,*** the Staff said, its voice echoing in 
everyone's minds.  ***I assume the plan to retrieve the Genesis Wand is 
still active.***

	"Very active," Chikage announced as she descended from the upper deck, Aria 
behind her.  "Aria-chan, are you ready?"

	The young Parisian blinked as she heard her sister's question, and then her 
eyes fell on the Staff.  "Everyone wants Aria . . . " she then said as her 
eyes locked once more on Chikage, "To become a magical girl like 
Hinako-chan?"

	"Hai!" Sakuya confirmed.  "Ready to go get Tsue-san, Aria-chan?!"

	Aria considered that, and then she nodded.  "Hai!"

	"They should go escorted," Catty advised.

	"I'm going with them!" Ayumu then announced.

	"What?!" Nene shrieked.  "Ayumu, you've got no experience in field ops!"

	"No, but you have to admit, Ayumu IS the most powerful of us all, Nene."

	Eyes turned as Seikou Mie walked up from the direction of the cockpit.  To 
everyone's surprise, the once-amnesiac pilot was dressed in a 
midnight-black, form-fitting combat jumpsuit, complete with webbing holding 
a communicator, a holster with pistol, a combat knife and other field 
supplies.  "Mie-san, you want to come with Hina, Aria-chan and Ayumu-chan?!" 
Hinako asked.

	"Not just me, Hinako-chan," Mie announced before her eyes fixed on Ayumu.

	The Yizibajohei-born Navy master chief blinked as Mie's blue eyes locked on 
her own dark brown orbs.  She then nodded.  "Okay!"

	She waved her hand in the direction of the cockpit.  A flash of light 
heralded the arrival of someone who should NOT be standing on her own feet.  
"MAKOTO?!" the other Sagussans shrieked on seeing Mie's would-be bond-mate.

	"Aaaah!" Kaho screamed out.  "Makoto-san's all better!"

	"Not exactly, Kaho-chan."

	Everyone blinked.  "Mie-san . . . " Hinako whispered.

	Mie waved to Ayumu.  "Ayumu's using her probability-altering powers to 
restore Mako-vayae back to the way she was just before she took her 
Gladiator into the warp stream the 'Windrider' produced when we left the 
Slot for the Planet of Shadows.  But Ayumu's changes on reality only last as 
long as she stays awake.  The instant she falls asleep, Mako-vayae . . . "

	"I bleed to death," Makoto finished.

	Shocked horror crossed many people's faces.  "Makoto-san, go back to bed!" 
Hinako pleaded.  "We'll get Tsue-san and . . . "

	"Hinako-sama," Makoto's calm voice cut her off.  "After what I did, how in 
Lyna's name can I do that?"

	Kaho's eyes watered.  "Makoto-san . . . "

	The flightmistress pointed at Aria.  "Kaho-sama, thanks to MY stupidity, 
Aria-sama here is about to have her life turned upside-down and inside-out 
in a way she never could imagine."  Makoto took a breath.  "I know you guys 
were planning to get the Genesis Wand for her anyway.  But if I hadn't done 
what I did, you could have done it in a way that wouldn't hurt her in the 
long run."

	"Makoto . . . " Catty whispered.

	Makoto's gaze locked on the doctor.  "Don't pull medical rank on me!"

	Senior doctor and flightmistress stared at each other.  The former then 
nodded.  "You reckless fool," she whispered.

	"Makoto-san . . . "

	A hand grasped hers.  Makoto looked down to see Aria staring up at her.  
"Aria-sama, are you ready to go?" she then asked.

	The Parisian nodded.  Mie linked her arm around Makoto's as the former's 
free hand grasped Ayumu's.  Holding the Staff high, Hinako grasped Ayumu's 
free hand.  "Hai!  We're off to get Tsue-san!" the youngest sister declared.

	In a flash of blinding light, the five people vanished.

*    *    *

	"There they go!" Spea announced.

	Watching from the bridge of the "Hasei'cha," Eluza grimaced as a comet of 
energy burst from the "Windrider," it plunging at over normal transwarp 
speeds toward their distant goal.  "Good luck, everyone," the shipmistress 
whispered.

	A communications beacon sounded off.  "Eluza, this is Pony!" the 
warpsloop's second medical officer called over.  "Makoto's gone!"

	"***WHAT?!***" everyone on the bridge shrieked.

*    *    *

	"Why . . .?" Ataru hissed.

	"It's a point of honour to her, Ataru.  Please don't order her back."

	Eyes locked on Lufy.  The watchmistress' eyes were hooded, though Reiko and 
Kaneko were quick to note the tears there.

*    *    *

	"Are you alright, Nabiki-san?"

	The "Goddess of Luck" had just de-warped near the far side of the Moon.  
Shogai Dakejinzou had been warned about the cloaked Avalon bioroid factory 
and Oogi's continued existence by Negako after the hunter and her companions 
had left the Zephyrites, Nabiki's siblings and the Moroboshi family in the 
Slot.  Dakejinzou herself had just finished relaying what she knew about the 
Sagussans and their links to Ataru to Nassur and Nabiki.  The alien hunter 
had also told her guests about her own connection to Sagussa:  One of 
Dakejinzou's first friends, a Yehisrite named Gilnira, lived these days as 
Daishi'cha #99999, a maintenance engineer in Ly'sha Province.  Even more so, 
Gilnira was bond-mated to a former hunter school classmate of Nassur's, 
Tenba, who was the last "official" Daishi'cha (#100000) to be obtained by 
the Gatherer (the official designation for the ship people in the galaxy 
called the "Eternal Voyager").  Benten had joined the others sometime after 
Dakejinzou had begun her story.

	The middle Tendou daughter was shaking her head, an ironic grin crossing 
her face.  "I'll be damned," she uttered in an awed whisper.  "To believe 
that all this time, Ataru-kun's harem dreams had some basis in reality.  
Jeez!"  She then sat in her chair, throwing her head back to laugh.  "Could 
you imagine what everyone in Tomobiki would say if they heard something like 
that?!"

	"They'd damn hell do everything they could to persuade those idiots to stay 
away from Moroboshi," Benten muttered as she recalled an encounter with 
Lupica, the "crown princess of the Universe" from the planet Tofunokoibuto, 
who, some months ago, had tried to solicit Ataru's help to obtain an 
"ultimate love potion" so she could win the heart of a local tofu delivery 
boy, Rio.

	"They'd fail," Dakejinzou warned.

	Benten jolted.  "Whattaya mean, Dakejinzou?!"

	A knowing smirk crossed the alien woman's face.  "I've heard from Brother 
Sunfire about the tactics Lum's friends used to denounce Ataru-san in front 
of potential troublemakers.  Calling him the worst idiot in the universe and 
comparing him to things like rotten nattou and all that.  Do you want to 
know what the Sagussans would say in return?"

	The Fukunokami teen didn't see the sandbag falling for her head.  "What?"

	Dakejinzou smirked.  "'Why should we listen to the lies from the denizens 
of a place of fools and madmen?'"

	Benten's jaw was knocked askew.  "They'd say that?!" Nassur wondered.

	Dakejinzou nodded.  "Hai."  She then looked at Benten.  "You see, in their 
language, the sounds that form the word 'Tomobiki' in Japanese is equal to 
the word that denoted the ultimate source of evil in old Sagussan myth.  
Toghmoghbiki, the keep of the Master of Entropy, from where all evil first 
arose.  Even if they might not fully believe in that story due to the way 
they were reborn as Sagussans, none of the Daishi'cha are comfortable at the 
idea of Ataru-san still living in a place that bears a name like that."

	"Sort of like how people in Japan, Korea or China'd feel living in the 
fourth floor of an apartment building, right?" Nabiki asked.

	"Same idea," the alien hunter replied.

	Nassur shook his head.  "So if the Noukiites and the Urusians didn't go to 
war and Lum-chan remained on Earth . . . "

	"And if Alhamzi and his buddies didn't attack the school," Nabiki cut in.

	"The Sagussans would've come and blown everything people in Tomobiki 
believed in to pieces, just like that."  Dakejinzou snapped her fingers.  
"And if Lum tried to resist, she would've been smashed aside just like 
that."

	Another snap of the fingers.  Benten winced every time her adopted 
countrywoman did that.  "So when are they coming?" Nabiki asked.

	Dakejinzou sighed.  "They're already . . . "

	"Wait!"

	Everyone tensed as Nassur's eyes glowed.  "What is it?" Benten wondered.

	The Vosian's face swept around to focus on a point off the "Goddess'" 
starboard beam.  "There!" he said as he pointed at a porthole.

	"*Dakejinzou,*" the frigate's on-board computer then spoke up.

	"What is it, Ship?"

	"*Sensors indicate the presence of the independent starship 'Wanderer.'  It 
has just arrived in the system.*"

	Dakejinzou, Nassur and Benten gaped on hearing that ship's name.  "What's 
Koosei doing here?!" Benten demanded.

	"*Koosei is signalling us, Dakejinzou,*" the computer reported.

	"Pipe it through," Dakejinzou ordered.

	The view screen, it affixed under the picture of Gilnira Dakejinzou kept on 
her bridge, flicked on, revealing the image of a handsome Japanese man who 
instantly reminded Nabiki of Ono Toofuu, right down to the oval reading 
glasses he wore over his eyes.  The only differences were his clothes, which 
distantly resembled the style Ataru preferred when he had boarded the "Rose 
Emperor" to rescue his sisters and former classmates hours before.  "Hey, 
minna!  What're you guys doing over here?!" Ryooki Koosei demanded.

	"I'd ask you the same thing, friend," Dakejinzou called back.  "For a man 
who once swore he'd *never* return to Earth . . . "

	"Koosei, who's with you right now?" Nassur asked.

	"Ten's mother."  He then frowned.  "Or rather, what's left of her."

	The non-Terrans aboard the "Goddess" paled.  Nabiki kept quiet; she had 
learned about Ten's mother, a firefighter, through Marubeya Momoe.  "Koosei, 
wasn't she in Onishuto when the Noukiites blew the place up?" Benten asked.

	"No, she was lucky," Koosei replied.  "She was visiting a friend in one of 
the outlying villages near the Terrible Swamps when that damned bomb was set 
off.  Her husband wasn't so lucky; according to what she told me, he had 
been working with a civil-defence group in the centre of the city when it 
happened.  She got involved in the initial rescue attempts, but wound up 
getting herself a nice dose of radiation poisoning along the way.  The 
rescue authorities put her into cryo-suspension to keep her alive.  The 
Noukiites took over caring for her when their troops landed on Uru.  They 
managed to purge her of the poisoning.  I just negotiated for her release, 
but . . . "

	He then shrugged.  "Bad?" Nassur asked.

	Koosei closed her eyes.  "Crippled from mid-back down.  She can't fly."

	Everyone winced.  "So why are you bringing her to Earth, then?" Benten 
asked.  "Koosei, your people're already in a bad mood . . . "

	"You know that Ten-chan's still alive, don't you?"

	Heads snapped around to allow the aliens to gaze on Nabiki.  Koosei sighed. 
  "Dakejinzou, did you tell everyone everything?"

	Dakejinzou blinked before she nodded.  Outside herself, Ryooki Koosei was 
the only other non-Sagussan to have walked the decks of the Gatherer since 
Moroboshi Ataru visited Sagussa eleven years before.  "Just now."

	"Koosei, Seiko-chan told me about what happened to Ten-chan," Nassur spoke 
up.  "Do you want to try to do the same for his mom?"

	"It may be her only chance to walk again, even if she ends up losing the 
ability to fly.  Then again, from what the MiBs told me about the mood in 
Japan concerning Urusians in general, living as a Terran -- or at least as 
an Avalonian disguised as a Terran -- is the only option she'll really have 
if she chooses to remain on Earth instead of relocating elsewhere," Koosei 
advised.  He then raised a finger as a knowing smile crossed his face.  
"Then again, this'll give Jon-san the chance to be a real mother to her 
son."

	The people aboard the "Goddess" nodded.  A buzzer then sounded off on 
Dakejinzou's avionics board.  "*Dakejinzou, a Sagussan civilian starship is 
de-cloaking off the port beam,*" the computer then declared.  
"*Identification beacon marks her as the 'Konggh'cha.'*"

	Dakejinzou blinked.  "Lufy's ship?!  What's she doing here?!"

	"'Lufy?!'" Benten and Nabiki uttered in sync, they remembering Dakejinzou 
having mentioned her name when she told them about Sagussa.

	"*The 'Konggh'cha' is signalling,*" the computer then said.  "*It is Troop 
Commander Priscilla of Pathfinder Troop Six.*"

	"Dammit, Dakejinzou!  Can't you make that stupid computer of yours call me 
'Priss?!'" a growling voice then demanded over the speakers.

	Dakejinzou flicked controls to allow the image of the Pirpirsiw'r in 
question to be seen by everyone else.  "Hi, Priss!"

	"Priss, what're you doing here?!" Koosei demanded from the "Wanderer."

	Priss rolled her eyes.  "Keeping watch on Lufy's ship while she and 
everyone else are off to the wild unknown, making sure that Ataru-sama and 
his sisters don't run into Lannarkites and moron psi-hunters from Vos."  Her 
amused stare locked on Nassur for a moment before she added, "I overheard 
you guys talking about the little one's mother.  If you want, Yomi or I can 
snatch a new body for her from the factory."

	"It would be appreciated, Priss," Koosei replied before he raised a warning 
finger.  "IF I get her to agree to this, by the way!"

	"Fair enough!  I'll see you guys soon."

	The view screen blanked out.  "Well, that was nice of her," Nassur mused.

	"Can we trust them?" Benten sarcastically wondered.

	"If you behave yourself and try not to be so disrespectful of Ataru-san, 
you'll be amazed at what they'll be happy to do for you, Benten," Dakejinzou 
replied as she turned around, and then she blinked.  "Nabiki-san, you okay?"

	Nabiki, who seemed to have a lost look on her face, started on hearing the 
hunter's question.  "Eh?!  Did you say something, Shogai-san?"

	"Are you okay?" Dakejinzou asked.

	The middle Tendou daughter started.  "Oh, me?!  I'm okay!  I'm okay!"

	She laughed, turning to walk off the bridge.  "Weird girl," Benten mused.

	Nassur and Dakejinzou exchanged a knowing look.

*    *    *

	Several minutes later found the "Goddess of Luck" and the "Wanderer" were 
locked alongside the "Konggh'cha."  After meeting up with Dakejinzou and her 
passengers, Priss escorted them to the sick bay Lufy had installed in the 
cargo carrier when she took possession of the ship.  Since she was 
technically "on duty," Priss was dressed in her normal work uniform, she 
also under arms.

	"You didn't want to go with the Troop?" Dakejinzou asked as they turned a 
corner to head towards the pilotage.

	"I can wait," Priss answered.  "'Sides, the ones in the Troop who really 
wanted to see Ataru-sama were Sylvie and the other new girls.  They never 
got the chance to spend time with him when he visited; we only rescued them 
during the year after he came to visit us."

	Benten tried not to laugh.  "'Ataru-sama' . . . URK!"

	That came from Priss' elbow smashing into her jaw.  "Keep your attitude to 
yourself, little girl," the Troop's first officer snarled.

	"Benten, that really wasn't nice," Nassur added.

	Despite the throbbing in her chin from where the Sagussan had belted her, 
not to mention the dizziness in her mind from the impact shock, Benten 
growled as she rolled back on her feet.  The burning fire in her eyes 
quickly told everyone else that she was in the mood to rumble, even IF the 
woman she wanted to beat up WAS one of Yehisril's legendary Most Dangerous 
Ones!  Before she could do anything, a finger tapped the back of the head.  
Benten gurgled as unconsciousness seized her, she dropping face-first to the 
deck.  Standing by her feet was Nabiki, her patented "Why, Officer, I have 
NO idea how THAT got there!" look plastered on her face.  "H-h-How . . .?!" 
Nassur sputtered.

	Nabiki winked.  "My secret, Nassur-san."

	"Nice job," Priss acknowledged that, and then she leaned down to pick up 
Benten.  "Here, let me dump this idiot back aboard your ship, Dakejinzou.  
Then we'll take a good look at Ten's mom and see what we can do with her."

	"Be my guest," Dakejinzou replied as the Pathfinder threw Benten over her 
shoulder to carry her off.  "What WAS that girl thinking?"

	"Dake-chan, you should know by now that thinking is really not one of 
Benten's strong suits," Nassur advised her.

	"True."  Dakejinzou then stared at Nabiki.  She was quick to note the 
lost-girl look on the middle Tendou daughter's face.  Smirking at Nassur, 
the alien hunter then stepped up to place a hand on Nabiki's shoulder.  
Nabiki yelped on feeling that hand, and then she spun around to stare 
wide-eyed at Dakejinzou.  "Liked what you saw, didn't you?" the hunter asked 
with a leer.

	Nabiki awked on hearing that question, an automatic denial surging up her 
throat.  Before she could utter a sound, another hand landed on her other 
shoulder.  Nabiki went white on feeling *that* contact, and then she turned 
to find herself staring into a pair of burning chestnut eyes.  "I . . . " 
she then squeaked, surprising herself by being able to say THAT, and then 
she gulped.  "Uh . . . "  A finger landed on her lips to silence her.  
Nabiki blinked as she felt a wave of *calm* surge through her from Priss' 
fingertip, and then she slowly breathed out as the Pathfinder drew back her 
finger.

	"Better?" Priss wondered.

	"Pretty much so," Nabiki hoarsely admitted.

	A wink.  "I'm interested if you happen to be willing.  But let's look in on 
Ten's mom first, okay?"

	Nabiki's skin paled again as the Sagussan's words sank into her mind.  "Ah 
. . .!" she sputtered.  "Uh . . . o-okay . . .!"

	Priss pulled away from her, and then she waved everyone on to sickbay.  As 
they stepped inside, everyone noted that Koosei was already there.  Also 
there was Catty Ray, who had volunteered to remain with the Troop's first 
officer to keep watch over the "Konggh'cha" while the rest of their mates 
had gone to the Planet of Shadows.  The once-android replica of Catty was in 
the uniform of a Sagussan navy petty officer.  Since she was not 
Pathfinder-trained -- much less formally trained in any other specialty such 
as medicine, science or engineering -- Catty Ray didn't wear the special 
colour-coded trousers like the dark green ones Priss currently had on.  She 
was currently passing a tricorder over the prone form on one of the sick 
bay's diagnostic beds.

	"How is she, Ray?" Priss asked as everyone else gathered around the bed to 
stare at the unconscious Oni woman lying there.

	"Pretty bad," Catty Ray reported, thankful that she still retained a lot of 
her template's medical knowledge so she could help out in situations like 
this whenever Reinoevan or Naomi weren't around.  "The Noukiites seem to 
have used a lot of their more traditional medical techniques to help 
Jon-sama heal from the radiation burns.  They have helped a bit, but there 
were some unintentional side effects the healers didn't anticipate."

	"Can she walk?" Koosei quietly asked.

	Nassur and Dakejinzou stared at the expat Terran.  Nabiki took her own 
"look" with her empathy.  What she got from Koosei didn't surprise her.  The 
man was clearly divided in his heart between Ten's mother and another woman 
. . . eh?  Oyuki?  Seeing the image of the Neptunian crown princess flash 
through her mind's eye, Nabiki then sighed as she quickly picked up a surge 
of paranoia flowing through Koosei's mind which was clearly attached to 
whatever memories he had of Oyuki.  Damn, exactly like the way Toofuu had 
felt whenever he had been around Kasumi in the days before the doctor's 
walkabout!  If Koosei's feelings for Ten's mother started to blossom and 
Oyuki found out . . .?

	"I don't even think the regeneration matrix can ultimately help," Catty Ray 
said as she drew back her tricorder, and then she gazed at the expat Terran. 
  "As you will no doubt be aware, there have been times that the matrix has 
failed to fully restore every element of a person's body to the prime of 
health.  This can potentially be one of them."

	"Like what happened to Deunan, right?" Koosei asked.

	"Hai."

	"'Deunan?'" Nassur asked.

	"Squadron commander in their Warsuit Brigade, their ground-warfare mobile 
suit formation," Koosei replied.  "Her left eye's useless; she wears a patch 
so the images between her eyes don't disorientate her when she's piloting."

	"Hasn't degraded her performance," Priss added.  "Luf and I trained her to 
fight one-eyed, both in and out of those pathetic tin cans Leona's morons 
love so much."  A hint of pride shone in her eyes as she added, "She's 
good."

	"You must be one hell of a teacher, Pri-chan," Nabiki said.

	Priss blinked on hearing Nabiki call her *that.*  "'Pri-chan,' huh?!"

	Nabiki awked.  Dakejinzou and Koosei started to laugh.  Nassur politely 
covered his mouth to hide his own smirk.  Before Nabiki could try to say 
anything, Priss then winked at her.  "Suit yourself," she huskily whispered 
as she leaned up to the other girl.  "Nabiki-vayae."

	She walked out of the sickbay.  A wary look crossed Nabiki's face.  "What 
did she just call me?" she gazed at Koosei and Dakejinzou.

	"'My dearest Nabiki,'" Catty Ray translated.

	Nabiki took that in, and then she gulped.  "I'm in it deep, am I?"

	"Pretty much so," Koosei advised.

	The middle Tendou daughter moaned, "Oh, wonderful."

*    *    *

	"When will we reach this Planet of Shadows, Lufy-san?" Karen asked.

	"Three hours at present speed," Lufy reported after she made a check.

	"How soon will Hinako-chan and the others get there, Lufy-chan?" Sakuya, 
she currently in the central chair, asked.

	"Probably an hour," the watchmistress replied as she nodded to Reiko.  
Standing up to allow Ataru's daughter to take her place so the younger girl 
could pilot the "Windrider" for the next while, Lufy then stretched herself. 
  "For a Haijo-ju prototype, the Staff's got loads of capabilities.  But you 
better remember that its level of power is nowhere close to infinite.  
Neither will the Genesis Wand.  I sure hope you guys know what you're doing, 
asking Aria to become its new controller and all that."

	"Bou-san likes Hinako-chan a lot," Karen noted.  "And Bou-san was really 
sorry to have been forced to hurt Onii-chan when he went to that Phentax Two 
place to take care of that creep Oogi and his stupid followers.  Maybe 
Tsue-san will take to Aria-chan just as easily."

	"The Wand hasn't had a real controller since Head Scientist Horan scattered 
the prototype Haijo-ju across the galaxy just before the Clone Rights War," 
Lufy warned, and then she shrugged.  "Still, maybe if the Staff copies some 
of its programming into the Wand, things should be alright for Aria.  If 
not, we'll get Ayumu to go deal with it.  If not Ifurita or one of her 
girls."

	"You got girls named after the 'El Hazard' girls?!" Mamoru asked.

	"Sure," Lufy said.  "It's kinda ironic, too.  Ifurita is the chief of the 
Te'a Studies Group.  Shayla, Afura and Miz are her co-workers.  They're the 
ones who make use of Horan's Haijo-ju prototypes to help them -- and us -- 
understand the Te'a better, how we interact with what you'd all see as the 
divine influence on Existence as a whole."

	"Is EVERYTHING gotta be science-based on your planet?!" Mamoru demanded.

	Lufy shrugged.  "Mamoru, it's only been just over a decade since Ataru's 
visit helped us break out of our damned logic shells and let us finally try 
to understand what you people call 'faith.'  Give us a chance, huh?"

	Laughter filled the room.  The back door opened, revealing Nene.  "Lufy!"

	"What?"

	Nene thumbed behind her.  Lufy glanced past the Troop coxswain, her own 
meta-senses reaching out to pick up who just beamed over from the 
"Kiboo'cha."  She then turned back to Nene.  "Did Sylia approve of this?!"

	"What?" Sakuya demanded.

	"What do you think?" Nene wondered.

	The watchmistress moaned.  "Oh, damn."

*    *    *

	"You girls all ready?" Sylvie asked.

	The other new girls in Pathfinder Troop Six -- Anri, Reika and Naoko from 
Section One; Megan, Louise, Namiko and Lisa from Section Two; plus Naomi and 
Irene (the chief engineer of the "Kiboo'cha") -- stood in line of review in 
the corridor connecting the pilotage with all of the sisters' private cabins 
and Ataru's own quarters.  Sylvie, as the senior ranking member of the 
group, stood in front of them.  "Ready and willing," Megan, she positioned 
at the right of the line, answered before she lowered her voice on adding, 
"Even if we ALL're scared outta our fuckin' minds right now."

	"Do you think Ataru-sama will like us?" Namiko, a silver-haired, 
crimson-eyed, Tritonian-born woman who presently served as Section Two's 
transportation expert, asked, her voice etched with worry.  "I mean, none of 
us ever had the chance to meet him!  Do you really think he'll . . . "

	"Settle down, Nam!" Megan -- like Sylvie served in Section One, the 
flame-haired, green-eyed Pirpirsiw'r was Section Two's second-in-command 
below Asukanoevan -- ordered.  "I'm nervous about this, too.  It's like 
Sylia said:  If we're gonna make a good impression with the Daimon'cha, we 
can't fly off the handle like I'm sure we're all tempted to do.  Buck up and 
look smart, okay?!"

	Namiko braced herself.  "H-hai!"

	Silence fell as Sylvie scanned the nine others who had come with her from 
the "Kiboo'cha."  All of them were in clean duty uniforms, even Irene.  The 
"Kiboo'cha's" brown-haired, chestnut-eyed, Vosian-born chief engineer often 
preferred to wear work jumpsuits; her days were often spent deep in the 
bowels of the Troop's base ship as she constantly strove to keep it in 
fighting trim.  Save for Naomi, everyone was also under arms; pistol belts 
were wrapped around their waists.  In respect to Ataru's sisters, the 
pistols were unloaded, the energy magazines slipped into strap holders on 
the outside of the holsters, visible for all to see.  Naomi, as the Troop's 
field nurse, had a first aid bag slung over her shoulder.  "Okay," she then 
whispered on seeing that everyone looked ready.  Bracing herself, she 
ordered, "Troop, right face!"  After everyone did a sharp right turn, Sylvie 
then ordered, "Advance in line, march!"

	The girls smartly walked aft.  Sylvie halted them just before Megan was 
about to walk straight into the door leading to Ataru's cabin.  As Section 
One's petty officer/sniper walked up to knock on the door, people from the 
pilotage were watching them.  "Lufy-san, why are they here?" Karen whispered 
to Lufy.  "They look so nervous!  Didn't they get a chance to meet Onii-chan 
when he came to your planet twelve years ago?"

	"No, they didn't," Lufy replied.  "I'll explain about it later."

	"I'll love to hear THAT story," Sakuya asserted.

	Meanwhile, Sylvie was waiting at the door to Ataru's cabin, she having 
knocked on it.  The door opened to reveal Ranma, a confused look on the 
martial artist's face.  "Um . . . can I help you girls?" she asked.

	She opened the door wider to get a better look at her visitors.  THAT 
action was enough to allow the newcomers from the "Kiboo'cha" to see Ataru 
seated at his bed.  Watching the raven-haired, golden-eyed sniper of Section 
One, Ranma couldn't fail to notice Sylvie's cheeks reddening as her eyes 
focused on Ataru.  The latter caught herself before she announced with a 
VERY respectful bow, "Ataru-sama, Ranma-sama, please forgive us for 
disturbing you!"

	"PLEASE FORGIVE US FOR DISTURBING YOU!" the others chanted as they bowed.

	Ranma blinked several times, and then she stared quizzically at Ataru.  He 
returned her look with a shrug.  Ranma then turned back to Sylvie.  "Um, why 
don't you girls c'mon in and make yourselves at home?" she said.

	She waved them through the doorway.  Hearing that, the girls straightened 
themselves automatically as they marched into the cabin.  After the door 
closed behind Irene, the people standing by the door to the pilotage 
exchanged looks.  "Do you think we should stop this?" Nene wondered.

	"We don't have a right to stop this," Lufy asserted as she turned to head 
back into the pilotage.  "You know that as much as I do, Nene."

	The Troop coxswain took that in before she nodded.

*    *    *

	"What the heck . . .?"

	After hearing a bunch of people call out "Please forgive us for disturbing 
you," Akane had peeked out through the doorway of Marie's cabin.  She had 
turned to glance aft just in time to see a small line of young women, all 
dressed in Sagussan military uniforms, march into Ataru's cabin, they having 
been waved inside by Ranma.  After the redhead closed the door behind the 
pointy-eared girl with the red-coloured pants, Akane blinked several times, 
and then she started to tremble as a familiar flash of hot jealousy surged 
up from somewhere deep inside her.  Stepping out of the cabin, she braced 
herself, squaring her shoulders as she prepared to march over and . . .

	"Akane-chan, what are you doing?"

	Akane jolted to a stop on hearing that soft yet iron-hard voice.  Gulping 
as a chill warped through her, she turned to see Marie standing by the 
stairwell leading to the galley.  Hotaru was standing behind her patient, 
the nurse holding a tea tray with three cups and a kettle of Marie's 
favoured cherry tea.  Marie's arms were crossed, a displeased look on her 
face as she seemed to loom over the youngest Tendou daughter.  Akane gulped 
as Marie's stare bored into her, and then she giggled in embarrassment.  
"Oh, M-m-Marie-ch-chan, h-hi!  I w-w-was just going t-to find th-the 
washroom . . . "

	Marie sighed as she gave the bioroid a knowing look.  "Don't lie to me, 
Akane.  When you saw Sylvie-san and her friends march into Aniue-sama's 
room, you automatically fell into that damned 'Aneue-sama is being a 
pervert' attitude your other-self always let herself fall into!"

	Her words ripped through Akane like a hail of bullets.  The newborn 
Avalonian seemed to sag as her nervous look crashed into ruins, 
heart-wrenching anguish crossing her face as the strength in her legs 
vanished.  Akane dropped to her knees as heart-wracking sobs burst from her 
lungs.  Instantly, Marie's hands were at her shoulders as Akane was swept up 
into a comforting hug, the former allowing the latter to bury her face into 
the crook of Marie's neck and weep.  They remained still for a moment as 
Hotaru walked past them to place the tea tray on the nightstand in Marie's 
cabin, and then the nurse walked back out to help Marie walk Akane into the 
cabin.

*    *    *

	"Um, what's this all about, girls?"

	The newcomers of Troop Six were standing in a school circle around Ataru's 
bed.  All their heads were bowed low, none of them wanting to look him in 
the eye.  Arms grasped together nervously in front of them, as if they 
wanted to make a wish.  Their nervousness at being in Ataru's presence for 
the first time in their lives was quite plain for the Daimon'cha to see.

	For Ataru, this could be seen as truly a first.

	Save for dealing with his sisters and Ranma, most of Ataru's past 
experiences with women were not positive.  If he didn't have to deal with an 
over-domineering, lightning-charged, would-be "wife" who treated him more 
like a pet than a person; he had to deal with a zealous Shinto 
priestess/school nurse who, at times, seemed hell-bent to make his 
often-miserable days even MORE miserable.  If he didn't have to deal with a 
psycho-airhead who wanted to suck the youth out of his body to get her 
revenge on his "wife;" it was a pack of hormone-crazed classmates who were 
hell-bent and determined to protect the object of *their* wet dreams from 
the grasp of said "wife."  If he didn't have to deal with a lunatic 
space-biker babe who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with her gun and 
seemed hell-bent on the idea of forcing her idea of celebrating Setsubun on 
everyone around her; he had to deal with three galactic middle school 
would-be Yakuza who wanted to play some sick game of one-upmanship on his 
"wife" and her former classmates.  If it wasn't a certain ice princess from 
Neptune, it was his former girlfriend or a poster-child for all tomboys who 
hadn't a single clue as to what being a real woman was about.  If it wasn't 
that androphobic would-be supergirl heiress of the Mizunokooji sports 
empire, it was the Kabuki-crazed psychopathic heiress of the Mendou fortune.

	And that didn't, in the LEAST, count his late so-called "mother!"

	But this . . .

	This . . .

	THIS was truly different.

	Ten girls.

	All very beautiful.

	All young, in the prime of their health.

	And all of them seemingly willing to drop their clothes, hop into the sack 
and spread their legs for him virtually on command.

	Yes, THIS was truly different.

	What to do, what to do . . .

	"Um, Ataru-sama . . .?"

	He perked, his eyes locking on the Vosian to his far right, the one in the 
uniform of a naval engineer, petty officer's tabs on her shoulders.  Noting 
the style of her hair, Ataru quickly assumed this one had taken the name 
"Irene," after Yamazaki Linna's friend from the second "Bubblegum Crisis" 
OVA.  Noting that, his eyes flicked over to the brown-haired Yehisrite girl 
fourth over from Sylvie.  Now, she HAD to have taken the name "Reika" given 
her very strong resemblance to Chang Irene's sister from the seventh 
"Crisis" OVA, the pop singer known to the general public in that universe as 
"Vision."  She even had the same streak of green in her hair just over her 
forehead!

	Wasn't THIS ironic?

	"What is it, Irene-san?"

	Irene jolted, the surprise on her face clearly shouting out, "HE SPOKE TO 
ME?!"  She then quickly composed herself as she bowed her head in a proper 
show of respect.  "May I sit with you, sir?" she then asked in a timid 
whisper.

	Ataru looked at her, and then he glanced at Irene's mates.  It surprised 
him right away that none of them seemed to look the least bit jealous at the 
engineer's bold request.  In fact, much to Ataru's surprise, it seemed to 
him that the others were actually ENVIOUS of the fact that Irene had been 
brave enough to MAKE that request.  A quick glance at Ranma -- the martial 
artist had positioned herself by the windows of the cabin to Ataru's left -- 
revealed that she was just as surprised at Irene's request as her fellow 
Sagussans.  Noting him glancing her way, Ranma looked a question at him.  
*Do you mind?* Ataru silently asked.  She blinked, and then, after blushing 
at his show of deference to her, she shook her head.  With that, he turned 
back to Irene, patting the bed beside him.  Seeing that, Irene brightened as 
she slipped her feet out of her boots, and then she slid onto the bed to 
relax beside him.  He gazed at her, quickly sensing her relief and delight 
at being accommodated by him.  A glance to the others revealed yet again 
that there wasn't the barest hint of jealousy on any of their faces.  Well, 
best to make sure THAT particular poison flower didn't get the chance to 
bloom; his experience with Lum, Shinobu and Elle -- to say anything of 
Ranma's experiences with her own fiancées! -- had taught him that.  "All of 
you, sit down," he said, waving to the edge of the bed.  "I don't like 
people standing on ceremony because of me."

	Their faces instantly lit up on hearing that.  Without hesitation, they 
slipped off their boots and sat themselves down on the bed around him.  To 
Ataru's surprise, the newcomers seemed willing to make a space on the bed to 
his immediate left.  As to whom that space might have been set aside for, 
the answer came quickly as Sylvie looked over at Ranma.  "Ranma-sama, don't 
you want to sit with us?" she asked.

	Ranma perked.  "Why?!  You girls . . .!"

	"Ranma-sama, you ARE the Other," Anri insisted.

	Ranma blinked in shock at Anri's words, and then her gaze turned inward for 
a second before she found herself walking over to slip herself onto the bed, 
she moving in close to Ataru.  Automatically, his arm came up to wrap around 
her shoulder.  Ranma perked on sensing the warmth of his contact, and then 
she sighed as she leaned against him.  Ataru gazed at their visitors.  
Seeing the happy smiles cross the Sagussans' faces on seeing their show of 
closeness, Ataru then stared down at Ranma.

	"If I was still a guy . . . " the latter mused.

	"Then we'd have TWO Daimon'cha instead of one," Louise finished for her.

	Ataru and Ranma blink-blinked.  "'Daimon'cha?'" both asked in sync.

	"'Great first father,'" Louise translated.  Quickly noting the shock 
crossing the Terrans' faces, Section Two's demolitions expert then added, 
"It's what we ultimate would want you to be for us, Ataru-sama.  The father 
of our children.  Didn't Lufy or the Elder Mother tell you about this?"

	"Does it LOOK like it?!" Ranma demanded.

	"Wait a minute!" Ataru cut in.  "You girls mean to tell us that, atop of my 
acting as an emotional template to help all of you become more human, you 
wanted me to also act as the FATHER to all of your future children?!"

	"You don't have to worry about doing ALL of us," Megan moderated.

	"How many of you guys are there on Sagussa?!" Ranma asked.

	"One hundred-and-four thousand, nine hundred-and-fifteen," Naomi replied.  
"Including one girl that's still AWOL."

	Eyes locked on the nurse.  "A hundred-and-four thousand . . .?" Ataru 
hoarsely whispered.  "Geez!  I don't think even I've got enough stamina . . 
. "

	The Sagussans laughed.  "Oh, we know THAT, Ataru-sama!" Reika declared.

	"Although we wouldn't mind if you tried it with us," Anri coyly added.

	"Anri!" Sylvie snapped at her bond-mate.

	Anri ducked the sniper's annoyed look.  Ataru and Ranma exchanged a look, 
and then the former sat back on the bed.  "Um, well . . . ah, gee, girls . . 
. I'm flattered that you'd want me to help out, but still . . . "

	"Oh, don't worry if you think we'll just turn to you to get the genetic 
samples so we can have children, Ataru-sama," Namiko assured him.  "We've 
got our eyes on a whole host of other nice men to act as Daimon'cha for us."

	"There is Ranma-sama's male body to think about, too," Lisa added.

	"NO!" Ranma automatically asserted.  "Do NOT go there, Lisa!"

	"We'll just have to find a way to separate them, then," Naoko proposed.

	"Hey!" Ranma snapped.  "Didn't you listen to me?!"

	"Ranma-sama, are you a man or a woman?" Megan asked.

	"I'm a woman, dammit!"

	"They why should you live a life where you might risk permanent insanity if 
your curse gets unlocked again?" Megan then asked.

	Silence.

	Ranma blink-blinked.  "Say what?"

	"You're planning to adopt Lufy as your older sister, aren't you?  Like 
Ataru-sama adopted Thoughtmistress-prime Negako as his sister?"

	The redhead's jaw hit the bed.  "How did you . . .?"

	"It's your life-aura, Ranma-sama.  Your 'ki' as you call it.  Syl and I . . 
. " -- Megan waved to her sister Pirpirsiw'r -- "Can tell right off the bat 
what you've got in mind.  But before you take the plunge, there're some 
things you gotta know."  She held up a finger in warning.

	Another chorus of blinks from the former heir of the Saotome-ryuu.  "Since 
when is my adopting Lufy as my sister life-threatening?"

	"Since Lufy would insist that you'd become of our blood, Ranma-sama," 
Sylvie spoke up.  "There's no way that Lufy would allow a sister, even an 
adopted one, to live without having the ability to fully defend herself up 
to Lufy's standards.  And her standards, as I'm sure you are aware, ARE a 
lot higher than even what you're at right now, Ranma-sama."

	Ranma flustered.  Damn, was she THAT easy to read?  "Um, y-yeah, I did 
notice . . . " she then sputtered out.

	"There's never been a male Pirpirsiw'r in Yehisrite history, Ranma."

	Ranma gazed on Ataru.  "'Piiru-piiru-shiiwaru?'" she tried to stutter out 
the harsh Yehisrite syllables.

	"Literally translated, 'Most Dangerous Soldiers,'" Ataru explained.  "The 
Yehisrite version of the Nujiézú; they existed up to about four centuries 
ago.  They all have tattoos on the right cheeks like Lufy, Sylvie, Megan and 
Makoto have.  And I assume there are many more among your girls . . . "

	"Seven thousand, two hundred-and-thirteen," Sylvie provided.

	Ranma took that in.  "Same school of martial arts?"

	"It's more than just martial arts, Ranma-sama . . . "

	A sharp breath exploded from the redhead's lips.  "Sylvie, willya QUIT 
being so damned formal with me . . .!"

	"I have to, Ranma-sama.  We all do."

	"Why?!  Just because I'm bonded to Ataru?  Lufy was the one . . . "

	"We know that," Sylvie cut her off.  "But it's a lot different for us than 
it would be for the rest of the Daishi'cha, Ranma-sama."  She waved to her 
mates.  "When Ataru-sama came to Sagussa eleven years ago at the Elder 
Mother's invitation, there were EXACTLY 100,000 Daishi'cha residing there.  
None, NONE of us . . . " -- again, she indicated her mates with a wave of 
her hand -- "Were among them.  We would have been had there not been a 
terrible accident with medical nanites within mine, Anri's and Reika's 
bodies having reacted badly to the regeneration matrix that was used to 
restore us to life.  And those nanites broke out and infected almost five 
thousand other Daishi'cha before it was finally contained.  But for those 
who were infected . . . "

	"Including all of us," Megan cut in.

	"We were later sealed off in tanks filled with nanite-infested samples of 
the matrix and buried on our old home worlds," Sylvie finished before her 
eyes turned to Ataru.  "And if it wasn't for you, Ataru-sama, we all would 
still be dead to the world we were literally reborn to help create."

**    **    **

Eleven years before . . .

	The Chamber of Eternity, since it was buried deep into an isolated southern 
branch slope of Sagussa's highest peak, the Esanta'cha, seemed always to be 
a dark place even for its vast size, excellent internal lighting and airy 
nature.  Walking on a catwalk on the uppermost level away from the large 
bedroom the engineers had just built for their prospective Daimon'cha in 
anticipation of the day in the future when he would return to their world to 
live the rest of his life, Moroboshi Ataru seemed sad.

	"I really don't wanna go home, Ai-chan."

	Walking beside him, the woman who one day would take the name "Noa" tried 
to smile.  It was still difficult to move her facial muscles in such a way, 
even if she had finally come to comprehend the emotional purposes such an 
action represented.  "You should return home as soon as possible, 
Ataru-sama," she said.  "While we here on Sagussa do accept that a child, 
even one as young as you, has a right to decide his or her own destiny 
according to the knowledge he or she possesses, on Earth, it is much 
different."

	"But Mom'll start yelling again!" Ataru whined, his eyes brimming with 
tears.  "Saying to Dad that she wished she never had me!  She never says 
anything nice about me!  And she's really mean whenever I go to Uncle's 
place in Sendai and visit Nokoko-chan!  Why, Ai-chan?!"

	Noa took a breath.  "Indeed, her behaviour vis-à-vis you leaves much to be 
desired.  Perhaps Ii'iieo's suggestion about deploying a team to Tomobiki . 
. . " -- her mouth curled into a frown on her saying that -- "Is a wise 
one."

	Ataru brightened.  "Would you come to live on Earth, Ai-chan?"

	Noa blinked, and then she smiled.  "If the authorities in New York City 
will allow it . . .!  Eh?!  Ioiouieoao!  What's the matter?!"

	The woman who one day would take the name "Nene" had just run up to them.  
"Ashi'cha, there's something wrong with Eiei'ioao-o!"

	"What is it?"

	Nene shrugged helplessly.  "She just started crying and yelling twelve 
minutes ago when she was looking through files in her terminal.  The others 
in the Troop are trying to calm her, but she's . . . "  Another helpless 
shrug.

	Instantly, Ataru raced off.  "Ataru-sama, wait!" Nene screamed out.

	He ignored the Pathfinder's words.  Even if the Chamber was five kilometres 
long from end to end, reaching down almost a kilometre into the hard 
limestone rock of Tere'na Province, Ataru knew where the offices used by 
Pathfinder Troop Six were located.  In the two months he had been living on 
Sagussa, he had become very close to the six specialized warfare troopers, 
just as he had become close to the crew of the "Hasei'cha," the Elder 
Mother, her sister and a whole slew of others.  If Eiei'ioao-o -- the woman 
who would one day take on the name "Priscilla" -- was crying for some 
reason, Ataru wanted to know why and help her.  After all, she was his 
friend.

	You always helped your friends, didn't you?

	Reaching the door to the Troop's offices, he looked inside.  "Ei-chan!"

	Priss' head snapped around as her crimson gaze locked on Ataru, the painful 
sadness on her face melting into shock.  "Ataru-sama!"

	"What's wrong?!" Ataru asked before he looked left to see the other members 
of the Troop standing there.  "What's wrong with Ei-chan?"

	"Ataru-sama, you don't have to be . . .!" Eoao'oe-eoii (Sylia) insisted.

	"Commander, we agreed that we would not lie to Ataru-sama regardless of the 
reason," Aioai-eieoei (Reinoevan) cut in to remind her.

	Sylia gazed on the executive officer/sniper, and then she nodded.  Priss 
was still gazing at Ataru, though both Ui'iioe-uoai (Linna) and Uouiaioi'ii 
(Asukanoevan) had shifted themselves over to place supportive hands on the 
coxswain's shoulders.  Priss then sniffed back her tears as she stood, 
walking over to kneel in front of Ataru.  His hands reached out to hug her 
as she scooped him into her arms.  They remained in place as Priss allowed 
her empathic guards to relax, the warmth of Ataru's love and friendship 
flooding her from head to toe.  As she felt new strength flow into her heart 
from that contact, the Troop coxswain then shifted her head around so she 
could stare directly into Ataru's eyes.  They remained in place for a 
moment, and then they shared a kiss.  "I love you, Ei-chan," Ataru 
whispered.

	"And I will love you for all Eternity, Ataru-sama," Priss vowed.

	"Why are you crying?"

	Priss took a deep breath.  "I was mourning someone."

	Ataru blinked.  "Someone died?!"

	"Eiei'ioao-o, does Ataru-sama REALLY need to know . . .?!" Noa demanded.

	Priss froze the Ashi'cha with a warning gaze.  "'No lies,' remember?"

	Noa's voice caught in her throat.  "It is not one of us currently on 
Sagussa, Ataru-sama," Sylia explained.  "The person Eiei'ioao-o is referring 
to would have become one of us hadn't a terrible accident concerning both 
the warm rock bath and some very tiny machines . . . " -- the Daishi'cha had 
to be very circumspective when it came to explaining concepts like the 
regeneration matrix born from the magma of Sagurei, Sagussa's lone blood-red 
moon, to the five-year old Ataru -- " . . . ended not only her life, but the 
lives of many others."

	Ataru gazed on the Troop commander.  "When?!"

	"Way before my time, Ataru-sama," Linna provided.

	He blinked several times as he tried to wrap his mind around what Sylia 
said, and then he gazed at Priss.  "What happened to your friend, Ei-chan?" 
he asked as he wiped her cheeks clean.  "Is she still here?  Can't you visit 
her?"

	Priss shook her head.  "No.  At the time, we felt we just had no choice but 
to bury her on Yehisril, where she had been found by Henry . . . " -- that 
was Ataru's nickname for the Gatherer's central computer; it came from the 
Ly'sha word "hengh'ryi" (the one who gathers life) -- " . . . along with the 
others that had been found with Eiei'ioaoai; that was her sequential 
number."

	Ataru stared at her.  "You left her there . . . "

	"There was no other choice!"

	"WHY?!"

	"Because we didn't want those awful machines to hurt us!" Priss insisted, 
fresh tears flowing down her cheeks.  "Ataru-sama, I wanted to bury 
Eiei'ioaoai in the Forge where I could visit her."  The Forge of Tere'na was 
a fifty-kilometre wide silver dome, it forged of a kilometre-thick layer of 
carbonized neutronium, located at the southern tip of Tere'na.  It was in 
the geographic centre of the dome's enclosed space, at the end of the Clone 
Rights War that had nearly destroyed Sagussa millennia before, that Lyna's 
remains were interred.  Ever since the first of the Daishi'cha -- Ataru knew 
her as "Ai-oneechan;" she would eventually take the name "Yoakenikkou" -- 
had been brought to Sagussa, the first citizens of the Fifth Republic had 
visited Lyna's grave to pay homage to the idol singer whose tragic fate had 
led to the Clone Rights War.  Ataru's visit to the Forge two weeks before, 
in the company of Eiuoiiaoii (Lufy) and Oioai-oi'iiui (Catty), had been 
weird.  "But I couldn't.  I couldn't risk bringing her here and . . . "

	"You gotta bring her back, Ei-chan!"

	"Ataru-sama!"

	"You gotta bring her back!"

	"There may be a way to do just that."

	Eyes locked on Reinoevan.  "What do you mean?" Asukanoevan asked.

	The Troop's first officer faintly smiled.  "You weren't here at the time we 
had to deal with that particular tragedy, Uouiaioi'ii, so you wouldn't know 
about this.  But shortly after we were forced to transport those 
unfortunates back to their planets of origin, the Medical Directorate began 
to work on ways of ensuring nanites were purged from the bodies of potential 
Daishi'cha when they were exposed to the matrix."  Rei then gazed on Ataru.  
"We have a way now in which we can go rid our friends' bodies of those awful 
machines using the warm rock bath, Ataru-sama," she explained.  "It is 
possible to go retrieve them and restore them back to health."

	"Why didn't you do it before, Aioai-chan?" Ataru asked.

	An embarrassed blush crossed Rei's face.  "To be frank, we never saw the 
logic of such a choice before you made us look at it."

	The young boy then scowled.  "'Logic!'  I hate that word."

	"We're starting not to like it ourselves," Asuka noted with a wink.

	Warm laughter then filled the room.

**    **    **

	" . . . and thus, starting a month after your return to Earth, Ataru-sama, 
we were all retrieved and rejuvenated, the nanites purged from our bodies," 
Sylvie finished, she having shifted herself over so she could hold Ataru's 
hands in her own.  "A total of 4,915 Daishi'cha were nearly killed by those 
things Anri, Reika and I accidentally brought to Sagussa when we were taken 
with Priss by the Gatherer all those years ago.  All of them, Ataru-sama -- 
ALL OF THEM! -- are alive today.  Thanks to you."

	Ataru blinked several times, he again -- for what seemed the umpteenth time 
this very day alone! -- inwardly wishing that his memories hadn't been so 
devastated by the insertion of the Saikoo Jinseijitsu into his mind so that 
he could remember his visit to these girls' distant home planet.  Still, 
even if some parts of his mind found it quite hard to accept that story, the 
look on Sylvie's face confirmed it had really happened.  Licking his lips to 
put some moisture back into them, he sighed.  "Sylvie, I don't even know 
what to say."

	"I know." Sylvie smiled.  "I know.  We all do.  Please, don't be afraid of 
us.  We know what you've been going through these last few years.  Believe 
me, after everything went to Chaos after Lum came, we kicked ourselves 
around in circles trying to figure out a way to get you out of that 
situation."

	"We couldn't do it openly," Megan added.  "If we did, we could have ignited 
a war with half the galaxy.  You made it plain and clear how you felt about 
shit like that when the Urusians and the Ellsians almost came to blows over 
who'd end up going to the altar with you.  Damn it all, Ataru-sama, you KNOW 
what could've possibly happened to you if it got out that YOU were the 
Chosen One.  You KNOW what Lum could've done to you, much less that idiot 
father of hers and the rest of those kimei'aidoei fools on Uru."

	"Then there's you, Ranma-sama."  Reika's eyes fixed on Ranma.  "Yes, it was 
only just now that we learned that you were the Other.  But if we went after 
Ataru-sama at an earlier time, I know we would've come to look for you.  
Lufy would've certainly revealed what she had done to you in that 
circumstance!  How would you've felt then?  Your would-be paramours, much 
less that pathetic farce you called a family?  How would that have set with 
them, much less Ataru-sama's so-called 'friends' in Tomobiki?!"

	"Yes, it was Lufy who bonded you two," Anri spoke up.  "But that doesn't 
matter.  You are the Daimon'cha, Ataru-sama.  And you are Ataru-sama's 
Other, Ranma-sama.  No matter how it happened, it happened.  And because 
Ataru-sama is and has always been a part of us . . . "

	"So are you, Ranma-sama," Louise finished.

	Silence fell as Ataru and Ranma exchanged a look.  This went WAY beyond 
what Lufy and Noa told them about how much Ataru had come to affect the 
entire destiny of a planet recovering from a brutal five-century war that 
had cost over ten billion lives.  This was the most profound of honour-debts 
that Sylvie and her companions, not to mention the 4,905 other Daishi'cha 
who had been given a remarkable THIRD chance at life thanks to Ataru's words 
to Priss that day in the Chamber, felt for their Daimon'cha.

	And since Ranma was seen as Ataru's marei'cha, she was included in that 
honour-debt even if she personally had nothing to do with . . .

	Or did she?

	After all, hadn't Noa come back a year after Lufy had bonded Ataru and 
Ranma to bring Ataru to Sagussa so he could meet all the Daishi'cha?

	Hadn't Ranma's encounter with Ataru in Sendai really it?

	Toward giving Sylvie and her friends new life?

	New hopes . . .?

	Ranma then stood up.  "Ranma . . . " Ataru called out.

	She gave him a smile of assurance before she walked to the entertainment 
centre located in one corner of the cabin.  Leafing through the CDs, Ranma 
then grinned on picking out one greatest hits compilation from an Irish new 
age band Ataru had been introduced to by Yotsuba some weeks before.  Taking 
the case out, she loaded one of the CDs into the player, and then set the 
music to the sixth track.  "Something tells me you people'll like this 
stuff," she announced before pressing the PLAY button.  As the synthesizer 
and piano introduction to Clannad's "Coinleach Glas an Fhómhair" began to 
play, Ranma walked over, holding her hand out.  "Reika-chan, would you like 
to dance?"

	Reika blinked, and then she nodded.  "Hai!"

	As she joined the martial artist, Ataru turned to Sylvie.  "Madame?"

	Sylvie shook her head.  "Irene first."

	Ataru blinked, and then he mentally kicked himself as he glanced to his 
right at the "Kiboo'cha's" engineer.  "Irene-chan?"

	"Hai!" Irene gushed.

	They headed onto the floor, followed by Sylvie and Anri, Megan and Louise, 
and Lisa and Naoko.  The others remained on the bed as they clapped to the 
music, Namiko and Naomi's voices humming out the lovely Gaelic tune . . .

Ar chonnlaigh ghlais an Fhoghmhair
	(On the green stubble-fields of Autumn)
A stóirin gur dhearc mé uaim
	(I saw you, my sweetheart)
Ba deas do chos i mbróig
	(Nice were your feet in shoes)
'Sba ró-dheas do leagan siubhail
	(And wonderful your nimble gait)
Do ghruaidh ar dhath na rósai
	(Your hair the colour of roses)
'Sdo chúirnini bhi fighte dlúith
	(And your ringlets tightly plaited)
Monuar gan sinn 'ár bpósadh
	(Alas that we're not married)
Nó'r bórd luinge 'triall 'un siubhail
	(Or on board ship sailing away)

	As they danced, Ataru's and Ranma's eyes fell on each other . . .

	Are you doing it?

	I have no choice now.

	Yeah, you don't.

	Will you be there for me?

	I got no choice on that.

	You don't have to.

	I want to.

	You sure?

	Yeah, I'm sure.

	I love you.

	I love you, too . . .

	Watching their silent communication, the Daishi'cha could only smile.

*    *    *

	"You, Sylia dear, are a sneaky woman."

	"Do you question your own love for Ataru?"

	Eluza blinked, and then she smirked before sipping her glass of Sagussan 
brandy.  The "Hasei'cha's" commanding officer had beamed to the "Kiboo'cha" 
to confer with the commander of Troop Six minutes before.  "Of course not."

	"Don't complain about it, then."

	"Am I complaining?"

	Silence fell, and then both began to laugh.

*    *    *

	A knock was heard at the door.  "Hai, just a moment!" echoed from inside 
the old shrine, and then the door opened.  "Hai?"

	"Hello, there," the woman standing on the front porch hailed as she gave 
Chigaiko a smile.  "You must be Inu Chigaiko."

	Chigaiko blinked as her eyes took in the speaker's looks.  Save for flecks 
of grey in her brown hair, plus laugh lines and crow's feet around the eyes 
and mouth, this woman could easily be Negako's twin sister.  Her clothing 
was modern in style yet plain, a tubular-shaped duffle bag slung over one 
shoulder.  "Um, h-hai!" Chigaiko then stammered before she tensed on sensing 
someone walk up behind her.  She turned around to see Negako standing there, 
a knowing look on the ninjutsu grandmaster's face.  "Negako-san, um . . . "

	Negako guided Ataru's former classmate away from the door, and then she 
stared at the visitor.  "Naho, what did I say about Ayano?" she wondered as 
her eyes flicked to the raven-haired, tomboyish teenager standing on the 
grass.

	"She stowed away in the truck before we came down from Onogawa," Hana Naho 
replied with a chuckle.  Behind her, Inaba Ayano had the courtesy to look 
sheepish, though the flush on her cheeks clearly represented something else 
other than embarrassment.  "And since this is an important meeting between 
us and the Nujiézú, I felt it wouldn't be right to turn around and take her 
back."

	Negako gave Naho a knowing look, and then she shook her head.  "Come in."

	Chigaiko watched as the newcomers stepped inside, each taking off their 
shoes before they walked into the living room.  The four other newcomers 
were teenagers in general appearance, they dressed in neat, stylish 
clothing.  Each of them focused their eyes on Chigaiko as they walked in, 
their smiles brightening considerably as they gave her a polite bow in 
greeting.  One of them, a taller-than-average blue-eyed girl with her long 
raven hair tied in a high ponytail, move to stand beside her.  "Konban wa, 
Chigaiko-san," she greeted the expat Tomobiki native with another polite 
bow.  "I'm Misaki Shiina.  I'm very honoured to meet another of 
Negako-sama's students."

	Chigaiko blinked, and then she gazed on Negako as the others sat around the 
living room table.  She was quick to note that Ayano had positioned herself 
in a place beside where Negako normally sat.  "You're one of Negako-san's 
students?" she then asked as she turned back to Shiina.  "I didn't know 
Negako-san had any other students in the Art."

	"She does, Chigaiko-chan," Naho, who had sat directly opposite from where 
Negako would sit, spoke up.  "Do you think she spent all of the last five 
years after she was taken out of Ataru-chan's mind wandering around the 
world?"

	Chigaiko blinked.  "You know Ataru-kun?!"

	"Of course I do, Chigaiko-chan," Naho replied as Chigaiko and Shiina walked 
over to sit around the table.  "My name is Hana Naho.  I'm the daughter of 
Ataru-chan's paternal great-uncle, Hana Seinen."  She then gazed fondly on 
Negako.  "And, as I'm sure you'll no doubt have noticed by now, I'm also the 
person who provided the DNA and RNA patterns for the Zephyrites to use so 
they could create Negako-chan's body."

	Chigaiko boggled on hearing someone use the "-chan" suffix for NEGAKO of 
all people!  Seeing this, the newcomers laughed as Kimiko walked into the 
room, Ten in her arms.  "She wants Negako-sama to call her 'mother,'" Shiina 
added.

	The laughter died as the younger newcomers gazed as one at the adopted 
member of the Tendou family and the boy in her arms.  The mutual staring 
contest continued for a moment, and then Naho's eyebrow arched.  "I take it 
the factory's here," she mused as she gazed on Negako.

	"It is," Negako replied.  "Directly in orbit over Tomobiki High School."

	Chigaiko stared at the ninjutsu grandmaster for a second, and then her eyes 
focused on Shiina.  "Soo na!  You mean . . .!"

	"They're all Avalonians.  The younger ones, that is," Kimiko announced.

	Naho gazed on Kimiko her own well-trained senses locked in on the latter, 
and then her eyes widened in recognition.  "You're the Noroi no Ningyou, 
aren't you?!  How . . .?" She paused as it came to her.  "Chikage-chan was 
involved!"

	"H-hai!" Kimiko stammered as she moved over to sit by the table, allowing 
Ten to remain in her lap.  "And this is . . . "

	"Redet Jariten," Naho finished, a knowing twinkle shining in her eyes.  
"Who prefers to be called 'Ten,' especially by women.  Who can, at times, be 
as much of a shameless flirt when it comes to women -- especially young, 
beautiful ones! -- as Ataru-chan once was."  Seeing Ten's cheeks redden in 
embarrassment as that comment hit home, Naho laughed before she sobered and 
carried on, "And, by the looks of it, was so badly hurt during the recent 
conflict between his people and the Noukiites that Hinako-chan had to use 
the Staff of Gihan to obtain a new body for him shortly after his return to 
Earth . . .!  Sometime late on Tuesday morning, I believe?"

	Ten blinked.  "Ah . . .!  H-hai, N-n-Naho-obachan!"

	"Naho's ki perceptive abilities, even with her retaining a non-enhanced 
body, are almost on par with mine, Ten," Negako said.  "Understandable; I 
was the one who taught her those skills."  An amused twinkle then crossed 
her eyes.  "Then again, were it not for Naho and the girls at the Hotel 
Kiraboshi, my emergence as an independent sentient being would not have 
proceeded as easily."

	"Not that the first three years after you got yanked out of Ataru-chan's 
mind weren't rough enough," Naho added.

	Chigaiko, Kimiko and Ten looked at Naho, and then at Negako, and then back 
to Naho again.  "So why are you here, Naho-sama?" the just-adopted member of 
the Tendou family wondered.  "And how is it you met these girls?  Are they 
related to the group that came to Earth years ago seeking out your aunt to 
obtain assistance from the Zephyrites in freeing the Avalonians from 
slavery?"

	"No, but these girls and their friends up in Onogawa are as much refugees 
from that insane planet as Ikusawa Kyooko's mother and her companions," Naho 
answered.  "In effect, until six years ago -- which was the time that the 
'great awakening' that ushered in the Church of Lum among the Niphentaxians 
happened -- Ayano-chan, Shiina-chan, Mutsumi-chan and Nanase-chan, plus 
their friends, were all prostitutes in a brothel on Phentax Three.  They 
were soon 'liberated' by another Avalonian, the former companion of a doctor 
who, quite surprisingly, currently works in Tomobiki as the senior physician 
to all the Church's observers in and about their 'holy city.'  When they 
came here, they had the fortune to run into me, and then I arranged to have 
them take up residence in Onogawa, where they currently run an onsen hotel, 
the Kiraboshi."

	"Oh, that's right!" Chigaiko said.  "Ataru-kun and the others wanted to go 
up there to spend the weekend before they'd go back to Promised Island and 
start the new school term."  A rueful look then crossed her face as she 
added, "Well, that WAS the plan until a few stupid things happened that 
forced them to stay here for the time being."

	"Negako-sama, when will Ataru-sama and the others return?" Shiina asked.

	"Sometime tomorrow," Negako replied as she perked on sensing three people 
arrive at the front gate of the old shrine.  "In the meantime, our guests 
are arriving.  Mutsumi, Nanase, are you ready to meet your prospective 
husband?"

	"Hai!" Horikawa Mitsumi and her younger "sister," Nanase, chanted.

	A knock echoed from the doorway.  "I'll get it," Chigaiko announced as she 
walked over to open the door, and then she smiled on seeing the crowd from 
the Nekohanten.  "Cologne-sama, Shampoo-san, Mousse-san!  Come in, come in!"

	"Thank you, dear," Cologne replied as she pogoed her way inside, and then 
she stopped on seeing Naho.  The elder's eyes then went VERY wide on seeing 
Nagaiwakai's niece.  She then relaxed as Naho got up, the latter running 
over to sweep Cologne in an embrace.  "Child, it's been so long!" Cologne 
stated as Naho escorted her to the table.  "Where've you been all these 
years?!"

	"For the most part, hiding in plain sight," Naho replied.

*    *    *

	A cell phone rang.  "Yes?"

	"Father, it's me."

	"Is it done?"

	"Hai.  He's on his way.  I expect it to happen within the hour."

	"What do the observers say?"

	"The target's all alone.  I'll make sure everything proceeds as planned."

	"Very well, then.  Well done, child."

	"Thank you, Father."

*    *    *

	Looking up from her counter, Kamekichi Tampopo seemed to freeze for a 
moment.  "Something in the air . . . "

*    *    *

	"Hey, Nabiki!  You okay?"

	Nabiki jolted, and then she turned to find herself gazing into Priss' 
burning eyes.  Tensing as she felt that rush of hormones surge through her 
as the Sagussan's heart-melting looks registered deep within her brain, the 
middle Tendou daughter then forced herself to relax.  "Um, I was actually 
hoping to get someone to get me back to Nerima," she then stated, inwardly 
hoping that Priss couldn't detect the tremor in her voice.  "Like it or not, 
I've got some things to do before everyone else gets back . . . "

	The first officer of Pathfinder Troop Six nodded.  "That replica of your 
kid sister.  Gotcha.  Give me a moment to get changed and then let me take a 
look at Ten's mom.  We'll both beam over into Nerima right after that, 
okay?"

	Nabiki blinked before her eyes turned to gaze out the view port.  The Moon 
floated beside the "Konggh'cha;" the cargo carrier had cloaked itself 
sometime after the "Goddess of Luck" and the "Wanderer" had locked 
alongside.  "Wait . . .!  BEAM into Nerima . . .?!"

	"Relax, Nabiki-vayae!" Priss assured her with a wink.  "We'll just bounce 
the signal off the 'Haengge'cha.'  Yomi's ship is about halfway between Luna 
and Earth.  It's a piece of cake.  You stay right here and I'll be right 
back."

	With another wink, the Pirpirsiw'r raced off to her guest quarters.  Nabiki 
watched her go, and then she shook her head.  "No!  No!  No!  NO!" she 
hissed, she grabbing her hair.  "This just CAN'T be happening to me!  I'm 
not into all this stupid, lovey-dovey stuff . . .!"

	"Neither is Priss for that matter."

	Nabiki gargled, and then she spun around to see Ryooki Koosei standing 
behind her, an amused look on his face.  "Damn!" Nabiki snapped at him 
before she relaxed herself, and then she glared intently at him.  "Are you 
related to Ono Toofuu-sensei, Ryooki-san?!"

	Koosei chuckled.  "No, Tendou-san, I don't know that person.  Let's just 
say that in the decade after the Ipraedies kidnapped me, I've been through 
some nasty events.  Keeping yourself trained to take advantage of surprise 
moments isn't just something you'd use for a quick laugh."  He winked.  "At 
times, it happens to be a survival requirement."

	Nabiki paused, and then she breathed out, she nodding in understanding, "I 
see.  Ataru-kun told me about the Ipraedies when Elle kidnapped his sisters 
and his old classmates in Tomobiki.  I assume their kidnapping of you was a 
precursor to their planned invasion of Earth."

	"It was," he answered.  "But don't let that totally cloud your opinion of 
them, Tendou-san.  They're not all bad.  A little xenophobic at times, but 
that's to be expected of almost every race in the galaxy.  I've got 
Ipraedies friends.  I even had an Ipraedies girlfriend, believe it or not.  
In many ways, they're like people back on Earth.  More advanced 
technologically in comparison to us, of course, but they're still people."

	She took that in, and then she tilted her head to gaze in the direction of 
the "Konggh'cha's" sickbay.  "How is she?"

	Koosei sighed, a hand reaching up to take off his glasses so that his other 
hand could massage the bridge of his nose.  "Jon's going to wait until 
Ataru-san and his family get back before she makes a decision as to what to 
do with herself.  There're two options.  One, she gets exposed to the 
regeneration matrix the Sagussans use to bring Daishi'cha into their ranks.  
That comes with risks, though.  The matrix is quite powerful -- to call it 
'magical' wouldn't actually be too damned far off the mark, if you ask me -- 
but on rare occasions, it doesn't cure EVERYTHING."  A pause.  "And then, 
there's the second choice:  She gets an Avalonian body, just like Ten-chan 
did thanks to Ataru-san's sister Hinako.  That might be the better choice 
for her."

	"You care for her, don't you?"

	He blinked before he replaced his glasses.  "Hai, I do.  Please don't 
misunderstand me.  It's been a rough few weeks for me.  When I realized how 
bad this whole war situation was between the Urusians and the Noukiites, my 
first concern was ensuring the safety of what friends I had on Uru.  Jon and 
Ten-chan were atop that list.  I know Ten-chan has something of a bad rep in 
the eyes of the legal authorities on Earth.  Yes, he's a young boy, but he 
certainly should've known to act a lot better than I heard he did."

	"Yes, turning swallows into giant penguins was pushing it," she noted.

	He chuckled.  "I heard about that incident.  Well, hopefully now, he'll 
have something of a better life."

	"What about his mother?"

	A deep breath.  "Jon's a very good person, Tendou-san.  Yes, she's 
horrendously fanatical when it comes to firefighting.  If you knew her 
story, you'd understand why."  Stating that told Nabiki a lot more than 
Koosei would have intended, but the middle Tendou daughter kept her peace as 
he continued, "But that led Ten-chan to come to Earth.  You know what his 
powers were like back then."  Koosei glanced in the direction of the 
sickbay.  "When I was babysitting Ten-chan, I tried to do my best to make 
Jon see what she was doing to her own son.  I didn't succeed, unfortunately. 
  But hopefully now, they might have a chance to live together as a real 
family."

	A knowing look crossed Nabiki's face.  "With you as the father?"

	Koosei remained still for a moment, and then he sighed.  "I guess I deserve 
that."  A chuckle escaped him.  "You probably know of my 'relationship' with 
Oyuki-chan, Tendou-san.  Before this whole mess started, you couldn't even 
MENTION Oyuki-chan's name to me without my brain taking a drop shot into a 
black hole.  But, like it or not, wartime does make for strange 
circumstances."

	"And since she's a crown princess, heiress to her planet's throne, the 
chances of you, a commoner, actually marrying her . . . "

	"Aren't that good."

	"Geez, Nabiki!  If you ask me, Oyuki's nuts to let him out of her grasp."

	Koosei and Nabiki turned as Priss came up.  The Pathfinder had draped 
herself in a white button blouse, motorcycle riding pants and a black 
leather vest.  Nabiki was quick to note the holstered pistol on the inside 
of Priss' vest, just below the curve of her breasts.  "Looks good on you, 
Pri-chan," Nabiki then stated before her breath caught in her throat.  
*Damn!  I've GOT to stop calling her THAT!* she mentally railed.

	Priss chuckled on seeing the middle Tendou daughter's reaction, and then 
she reached over to gently grasp Nabiki's hand.  "Thank you so kindly, 
Nabiki-vayae.  So what say we give you your first experience in a 
transporter?"

	Nabiki blinked.  "Is this gonna hurt?"

	Priss stopped.  "What?!  You related to Leonard McCoy or something?!"

	Nabiki shook her head.  "Not really!"

	"Let's go, then!"

	Priss led her off.  Koosei watched them, a smirk crossing his face.  *If 
they're not bonded in a month, something's wrong with them!*

*    *    *

	The man surged through the back streets of Nerima, he taking a wide circle 
route that kept him a safe distance from the most dangerous place in the 
district, an abandoned Shinto shrine near Kasuga-chou.  The swaying 
shakiness of each of his strides would indicate to onlookers that he was 
thoroughly drunk.  On seeing his face and recognizing him, those ubiquitous 
onlookers would no doubt conclude that he had been out in one of the local 
watering holes, drowning his sorrow over the shattered dream he had once 
shared with his best friend.  Many of them would probably wonder this as 
they watched him pass through the streets:  Had the poor man already been 
told about the awful death of his youngest daughter in Hikarigaoka Park the 
previous night?

	But the thoughts of onlookers didn't concern the man at this time.

	Only the task mattered.

	The task needed to be done.

	The task HAD to be done.

	The task MUST be done.

	Nothing else mattered.

	Nothing at all.

*    *    *

	"Lyna's Soul, this so-called 'father' of hers should have been killed!"

	Hotaru pulled her fingers away from Akane's face.  The youngest Tendou 
daughter was reclining on Marie's bed, her eyes closed; Hotaru had placed 
the bioroid into a meditative trance when she began her examination.  Marie 
was sitting on the bed beside Akane, she keeping one of the latter's hands 
in her lap.  The nurse took a deep breath as she walked over to sit on the 
bed to Marie's left.  "You can't mean that!  Can you, Sensei?" Marie 
wondered as she gazed on Mie's sister, an amused look crossing her face.

	"I DO mean it!" the nurse spat.  Seeing the surprise cross Marie's face, 
Hotaru took a breath before she explained further, "Marie-sama, even in the 
days of the Fourth Republic, the proper raising of children was always seen 
as vital.  To do what that . . .!  That MAN . . . " she barked, " . . . did 
to Akane-san . . .?!"  She shook her head.  "It's so wrong!"

	"I don't think Akane-san's father will be much of a bother anymore, 
especially after what he did to Nabiki-san and Shinshi-san," Marie noted, 
and then she gave Hotaru an annoyed look.  "And PLEASE, Hotaru-sensei, will 
you STOP calling me 'Marie-sama?!'"

	Hotaru smirked.  "Then, PLEASE stop calling me 'Sensei,' Marie-chan!"

	"Okay!"

	Both girls giggled, and then Marie turned to gaze on Akane.  "Oh, 
Hotaru-chan, what do I do?" she wondered, reaching over to gently stroke the 
bioroid's cheek as she gazed into that peaceful face.  "I don't want to see 
her live like the other Akane-san, for Heaven's sake.  But . . . "

	"It scares you, doesn't it?"

	"Does it have to go THAT far?" Marie gazed on the nurse.

	Hotaru paused as she considered what should happen next, and then she 
sighed.  "Marie-chan, I know it may sound a little rushed to plunge all the 
way into a bond-mating between you and Akane.  It doesn't really have to 
happen right away, of course.  But if you ask me, given how she came into 
being, there may be no other choice in the long term if you, much less her 
family and yours, don't want to see Akane slip 'back' into the modes of 
behaviour her template demonstrated at times, especially with Ranma-sama."

	Here, the nurse paused again as she considered what else to say, and then 
she placed a hand on Marie's shoulder.  "Marie-chan, from what I understand 
of what she was like, the other Akane needed very strong emotional support 
to overcome the many pains of her life, especially when it came to what 
happened to her mother.  When you look at how her life went, she never 
really got it, not even from her family.  Now, our Akane here has those same 
needs," Hotaru continued as she indicated Akane.  "She isn't just a 
memory-copy of Tendou Akane.  She's actually a SOUL copy of the original 
Akane.  When you get down to the nitty-gritty of it, there's no real 
emotional difference between the two.  But the big PHYSICAL difference in 
this case is that Akane is now in a body that will react much more strongly 
to her emotional state than what she is personally used to.  And that means 
that she will need, really NEED, very close empathic, even telepathic, 
contact with someone who can give her the support the original Akane never 
got.  And since she won't be able to realistically get it from Ranma-sama 
now that she's bonded to your brother, she has to get it from elsewhere.  
That's where you come in."

	Marie blinked as she considered it, and then she sighed.  "What do I do?"

	"Well, you don't have to do the tamgh va ragh right away in this case," 
Hotaru noted.  Marie smirked as she quickly guessed what the Sagussan phrase 
the nurse just used might imply.  "If you jumped all the way to *that,* it 
would scare her just as much as Kunou's abuse scared the original Akane.  
Start with the simple things, Marie-chan.  Holding hands, touching her skin 
on the safe places.  Kiss her every chance you get.  Not deep-throat kisses, 
but simple pecks.  She'll warm up to that right away.  She'll sense that you 
care for her.  That you want the best for her.  And that's how a true 
relationship starts.  As for what happens afterward . . . "  Here, she 
shrugged as she gave Marie a smile.  "That's a subject that I really can't 
predict anyt