Private Bet #10 Chapter III: Opening Moves....
by Shade 

previous parts can be found at;
http://members.xoom.com/Ranma_Tenchi/main.html

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and affiliates are the 
property of Rumiko Takahashi, Rifts and 
Phase World are owned by Palladium. Other 
references belong to their respective owners.

~~~~~~~~~
Part 1a: The roll of the dice.....
~~~~~~~~~

Tsunami, Goddess of the Planet Jurai and the 
most powerful battleship in her Universe rested 
inside the safety of quantum space, hidden from 
the prying eyes that coveted her.  Her connection 
with Princess Sasami provided the powerful entity 
with all the outside information she needed without 
the need to reveal her presence. Lately Tsunami�s 
thoughts had been troubled, there was discord forming 
between her chosen champion and the current ruler of Jurai.
Although Tenchi bore no ill will toward the Emporer, the 
same could be said of Azusa. Despite his wive�s best efforts
he seemed bound and determined to make the Masaki boy�s life
a living hell. Steps needed to be taken to put a stop to that.

This newest complication might make things even more difficult.
Now was the worst time for interdimensional meddling to occur. 
But who was responsible for it? It was unlikely Tokemi would try such
a risky gambit, her sister preferred to use her pawns much more 
calculatingly despite her role as a Goddess of Chaos. Washu could 
possibly attempt to summon one of her old allies but so far it seemed 
that the scientist remained unaware of her divine origin although she too
had selected her champion......

Champion......

Could this be....Tokemi�s chosen one?!!

If so, then this situation was more serious 
then any of them realized!

Tenchi wasn�t ready yet. Even the formidable powers of 
the girls would not be enough,  not against Tokemi�s champion 
if indeed as the Goddess feared it was. It made chillingly perfect sense to
dispatch both of their Chosen before they could master their powers.
Something so logical that Tokemi would do it in a moment.

They would need help. A warning in Sasami�s dreams should 
be enough to alert the household while she arranged 
a few things elsewhere. 

Tsunami set her plan into action at once.

~~~~~~~~~
In the vast emptiness of deep space Minagi�s spaceship Hinase
patrolled in search of evildoers to steal from. Following in her 
sister Ryoko�s footsteps the cheerful swordswoman had chosen
the life of a space pirate, though she only only preyed on 
bad people. Minagi was a good friend of the Masaki Household,
her physical features were identical to Ryoko except for two old
sword scars, one on each cheek given to her by her father Yakage.
But her personality was more like Mihoshi�s, lighthearted and carefree.

A beeping from the main console caught her eye.

�Hmm?� 

{We�re near the Sol System!? I haven�t visited them 
for the longest time!}

�Hinase!�

�You called, Minagi?�

�Set course for Earth!�

�Yes ma�am!�

A faint reflection on the viewing screen 
that might have been a beautiful woman with 
turquoise hair smiled and vanished.
~~~~~~~~~

Nagi was not happy.
And for once it wasn�t Ryoko�s fault.
Well actually in a way it was partially Ryoko�s fault, 
if only she didn�t have that damn....

�Ciao!�

�For the last time NO!!!�

�Ciao!!!�

�Absolutely not!!! You don�t know where she�s been! 
You�ll probably catch a disease from that furball!�

�CIAO!!!� 

�How about a carrot instead?�

�Ciao!! Ciao!!!�

�You�re turning down a carrot!? Are you feeling alright?!�

�Ciao!! Ciiiaaaaooo!!!!�

�Stop that!�

The ship�s caterwauling continued unabated.
Nagi tried to harden her heart to Ken-ohki�s 
pleading, if she went to Earth she�d have to 
go after Ryoko again. Not that she�d ever 
admit it but in her hearts of hearts the bounty hunter
had developed a grudging respect for the one person 
who had ever escaped her time after time. An unoffical 
truce had finally developed between them, As long as Ryoko 
didn�t leave the Sol System Nagi left her alone with
that boy of hers. Part of the reason behind that 
was the current problem, their cabbit partners were in love 
with each other. If either owner killed or seriously wounded the other
the consquences could be....bad. Best to put as much space between
her and Ryoko as possible to avoid any unnecessary temptation.

�Ciiiiiiiaaaaaaaoooooo!!!�

But she couldn�t go like this. Day in and day out, the endless 
begging and wailing......

�All right!!! You win! We�ll go visit your girlfriend already!! 
Just...Stop that racket!!!�

�CIAO!�

Tsunami nodded her head as she faded away from
the top of the rapidly departing vessel. Sometimes a 
little push in the right direction was all that was needed.

Black Bishop takes White Rook.
~~~~~~~

Rei was not in a good mood. A visible dark aura of doom and 
destruction seemed to hang over her bent head.

Nervously Makoto and Ami snuck occasional 
worried glances at their friend. The recent nightly patrols 
had been hard on all of them. For weeks they�d been
keeping an eye on the city,  but aside from the rare mugger
or burgler their efforts had come up with zilch so far. 
There hadn�t even been any of the youma attacks that usually 
preluded the entrance of a new supervillain. Tempers were 
wearing thin from having to be at a constant state of readiness
even though they now only had two or three of the Senshi 
patrolling a night, Inners and Outers included. But Setsuna 
insisted that they keep on their guard, so they continued 
remaining on alert despite their mounting doubts about the accuracy of
her warning. Surely if whatever it was was so dangerous they would 
have seen some sign of it by now?

�Waaah! I can�t believe it! I actually woke up on time today!�

A pair of familar blonde meatballs bobbed into view as Usagi joined 
her friends with lunch in one hand and her schoolbag in the other. 

The part time Shinto priestess merely growled in reply.

�What�s with Rei?� Usagi asked, puzzled by this 
odd behavior, normally her friend was more vocal then that.
She missed the frantic waving and desperate shaking of heads as 
the others tried to warn her. Too late....

�I DIDN�T GET ANY SLEEP LAST NIGHT OKAY!!!�

Flames billowed forth from the Giant Demon Head Attack.

�WAAAAAHH!! She�s scary!!!� 

The others didn�t think any less of their leader for her panicked reaction
to Rei�s explosion. She DID look scary at the moment. Besides if they 
made any noise she might notice THEM instead of focusing on Usagi.
Okay, so it wasn�t a particularly noble choice. But they still weren�t about 
to try and interrupt her unless Rei tried something drastic.
~~~~~~~~

Rei Hino was normally a quiet, demure, peaceful maiden.
And anyone else that dared say otherwise quickly learned 
the error of their ways. She didn�t have a Black Belt in 
Karate for nothing!

But the visions that sometimes came to her, the ones that had more 
often then not had proven right and aided her and the other Senshi in their
battles against Evil had been particularly bad the past night after she�d
finished her patrol. 

No sooner had she closed her eyes to get some rest then her mind was 
bombarded with scattered random images that didn�t make any 
sense to her at all.The surreal vividness of the few psychic 
fragments she�d received were so clear that even now she could remember 
practically every detail of the visions.

{Endless shades of darkness, Light shining within lying hidden 
within sight, Green flames so cold they chill the soul, A dusky goddess 
draped in shadows, a single small beacon of hope burning brightly, 
and a man......}

The figure that stood on the path between the candle and the night.....
Rei hadn�t been able to get a good look at his face, her impression
was of someone young and well formed, a warrior�s body. But there 
had been such an air of sadness around him, a heart bleeding away 
drop by drop. One single tear he had shed, the silver droplet bright as 
the full moon.......

The same sequence had repeated over and over again throughout the 
night and into the earliest hours of morning.

By the time Rei had to get ready for school she was a wreck, the drain on 
her internal strength and sheer physical exhaustion leaving her with a serious
case of industrial strength Crankiness. 
~~~~~~~~~~

�GET BACK HERE MEATBALL HEAD!!!� 

�No way! Baggy Eyes are contagious!! Bieee!!!�

The Japanese Red Eye was presented.

�Grrrrr!!!�

A chase ensued between the two. 

With large sweatdrops behind their heads the other three
girls watched as their dear (but rather embarrassing at times like this)
friends vanished in a trail of dust.

�Ah....Should we try and stop them?�

Ami asked Minako and Makoto hesitatingly.

�Are you out of your mind!?�

They looked at her as if she�d grown a third eye and 
said they should join a convent. Not even Makoto, the 
strongest out of all the Senshi got in the Hino girl�s 
way when she was in one of her *moods*. 

�I guess that is a silly question.�

White Queen moves to block Black Pawn.
~~~~~~~~~
-Masaki Household

�Minagi!!�

A delighted Sasami enveloped the cyan-haired space pirate
with a enthusiastic hug. 

�You�re just in time for breakfast!�

�That�s great! Your meals are the best in the Universe, Sasami!�

�Ah, Welcome back Minagi.�

>From the open door in the stairway a familar crab haired 
figure stepped out.

�Miss Washu!�

�Ahem...that�s Little Washu.�

�AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!�

The loud male scream coming from upstairs indicated that 
Tenchi was now up, the explosion that came a split second later 
also meant that Aykea was now awake and not pleased to see how 
Lord Tenchi had been roused from his slumber.

The rest of the household was already digging in, they were 
getting used to it by now. Mihoshi waved hello to Minagi before 
getting another helping of pickles. Kiyone blinked and sweatdropped,
just what she needed to deal with, another Ryoko. Noboyuki smiled 
as he saw that another one of the pretty space ladies had returned,
maybe his son would finally choose one of them! An unlikely event
but still,  he kept hoping anyway. Washu sat herself down and dug into 
Sasami�s heavenly cooking, she amused herself by calculating the exact
moment when things should reach critical mass......

Right about.....now.

�Yaaaahh!!!� The heir apparent to the royal 
house of Jurai came flying down to make a spectacular 
crash landing at the base of the stairway followed by a 
few stray chips of wood that had once been the 
door to his room.

{I am such a Genius!}

�Good morning Tenchi! Breakfast is ready!�

�Morning Sasami.� Tenchi pried himself out of the floor 
and and then did a quick double take as he saw Ryoko
smiling in front of him.

Wait a second.....

�Oh! Minagi! You startled me for a second, I 
thought you were...�

Shouting from above interrupted him.

�Now you Royal Pain In the Butt, prepare to pay!!!� 

�Begone Demon Woman!�

Blaster fire and electrical forcefields clashed and 
resulted in yet another devaluation of property values.

Tenchi winced. Bad enough that they were fighting yet again, 
but why did they have to do it in the house!?

�Nice to see you again Tenchi. I just popped by for 
a little visit. Is that all right?�

�Sure, feel free to stay as long as you like.�

At least Minagi didn�t blow the house up......at least not since 
she�d tried to kill Ryoko and Tenchi. But almost everyone tried 
that at least once so he didn�t hold it against her.

{Mmmm...the fish seems especially tasty this morning.}

Tenchi realized that he was starving, being the unintended 
victim of multiple acts of random violence was hungry work.
He�d have to eat fast if he wanted to get to school on time.

�That�s the spirit my boy! You can never have too many 
pretty ladies around, why when I was your age...�

�Dad!!� 

�Mihoshi, can you take me to the market to pick up some 
chicken for tonight�s dinner?�

�Sure!� The eternally cheerful detective giggled,
of all the adults there only she and Noboyuki had 
a driver�s license. Since the architect had to work that 
left Mihoshi in charge of ground transportation.

A fact that gave her partner Kiyone the chills every 
time she thought about it. It flew in the face of all 
reason that the ditz of all people had managed to acquire
the one thing that she�d failed to pass the exam for. 

�I think I�ll go with you.� 

{...Just in case.}

�Yay!�

Black Knight takes White Bishop. 
~~~~~~~

Ranma Saotome awoke at the crack of dawn.

A glance to his right revealed that Genma 
would probably be sleeping for a while. The 
old man looked rather charred, apparently 
instead of doing the smart thing and letting go after 
the mazor had zapped him the first time Pops had
instead tried to smash the lock open.

Unfortunately the case�s built in defenses had reacted 
a bit more severely to that......

Well.....Genma was still breathing so it looked like no 
permanent damage had been done.

{At least I�ll have some privacy this morning.} 
Ranma mused as he quietly slipped out of the guest room
and headed to the Dojo to unpack without interruption.

He had a feeling that he was going to need every minute of it.
~~~~~~~~~

Retina and palm scans passed.

With a small hiss of escaping air the pressure seals opened.

His time in space had taught him to appreciate the 
advantages of high tech, especially when it came to 
keeping his personal belongings in one piece through 
even the roughest of conditions. This particular model of 
luggage was from Bushido Industries and cost a small 
fortune with the advanced security upgrades package.

Credits well spent since the cargo inside was 
priceless by any standards.

[It�s about time you got me out of that stuffy case!]

�Sorry!�

With the greatest of care Ranma removed Ishtar from
the fine white silk that covered the shining instrument of 
Light. As always the sheer unearthly beauty of the 
Greatest Rune Weapon�s lines took his breath away,
the Spulgorth were sadistic alien bastards but he had to 
admit that their preference in fine craftsmanship was 
unmatched. Only the foulest beings could take such a 
work of art and pervert it into such a damnable prison
for a living soul. 

He made a few practice swings, Ishtar seemed to fit 
his hand as if she were made for him. The only time Ranma
had felt something similar to this sense of rightness was when 
he summoned his Cosmic Weapon. It was a mystery that he�d
just accepted as being real enough. Besides, what did 
he have to complain about?

[Yes!] 

Pure unadultrated sensation filled the 
trapped psyche with sweet bliss.

Physical contact took the psychic bond between 
weapon and wielder to a whole new level.

While they could communicate with each other 
up to three miles apart, aside from advice and information
there was not much else that Ishtar could do when she was 
seperated from him.

But once Ranma had her in hand the two became as one.
As long as he held Ishtar the Goddess�s formidable 
defenses protected him and gave him access to some 
badly needed special abilities that helped balance out the 
Cosmoknight�s formidable fighting strength. In a sense 
Ishtar became a second set of eyes and ears that watched 
Ranma�s back. She felt what he felt, knew what he knew, 
and in return for this gift the imprisoned soul was able to get a taste, 
no matter how brief, of feeling. 

There was no greater reward for one doomed to 
exist in a eternal limbo.

When she had existed free of the captivity that now chained her the 
dusky divinity had been a patron of nature and healing, under her 
tutelage Ranma had discovered a new joy in creating life instead of 
destroying it. Though her powers were bound within the cursed core 
of the metaland crystal cage that held her entrapped like a fly in 
amber,  he could still carry on her work and did so willingly. 

Though Ranma didn�t use use her as often 
as she wanted him to, the weapon didn�t begrudge 
him for it.

She knew and understood his reasons, Rune Weapons 
were the most coveted magical artifacts in existance.
Wars had been fought and Empires crumbled over the 
possession of these legendary indestructible tools of 
power. Probably the one thing that was most responsible 
for the weapons� notoriety was the whispered ability of the
most powerful and corrupt blades. Soul Drinking, the weapon 
literally tearing out the helpless spirit of the victim and devouring
it, destroying them forever. The slightest scratch from such a 
Rune Weapon could prove lethal, all that was needed was a 
single drop of blood to be spilt and it would all be over.

Fortunately that was not one of Ishtar�s properties, such an 
abomination was completely against her nature. That hadn�t 
stopped the fools from across the Megaverse who�d tried to steal
her from Ranma though. But once bonded, only death could 
severe the link forged between them. No one else could use her,
not even those pure of heart, Ishtar was his alone. And woe to 
the one who tried to do otherwise!

�How do you feel?�

[Heavenly.] She gave a warm mental purr of contentment.

[By the way.....why the sudden change? Not that I�m complaining 
mind you.....but I thought the reason you kept me in there with the rest of
your gear was to keep the presence of so much supernatural energy to a
minimum?]

�Well, I sure as heck don�t want Pops to finding you and 
if those presences you detected are unfriendly it would be better 
to have you close by. Especially if they�re Psychic, I hate getting 
hit by Bio Manipulation. It�s a real pain, no pun intended.�

[I�m hurt, here I thought you missed little ol� me....]

�Well.....that too. But I can�t just carry a ancient glowing rune-covered 
weapon around in plain sight, you�ll have to stay in the sub-dimensional
pocket.�

[Hmph!]

{Look, I�m sorry. It�s the best I can do right now 
until I can think of something better.}

[You owe me another one Saotome.]

*Sigh* 

{Add it to my tab.}

[Don�t worry...I will.]

*Gulp* 
That did not bode well for him.

A brief distortion passed the air and Ranma�s hands 
were empty once more.

{Now for the rest of the stuff}

A small branch with five buds that 
radiated vitality was the next thing he
pulled out. 

Beside it was a small fortune in gems, during his last stop 
to Phase World Ranma had purchased a quantity of flawless
diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies, and pearls. Since Universal 
Credits had no value back home he�d needed something that 
he could trade for local money, it helped that the stuff was 
practically dirt cheap in an age where the rare precious metals 
and gemstones were either common or easily synthesized.
Even Ranma was unaware of the true value of his little stash,
the pile of glittering stones lying in the case were valuable 
enough to make Saotome one of the richest men on the planet.
He made a mental note to see a jeweler and get some of the smaller
gems appraised. 

{I think this is going to come in handy soon enough.}

Pocketing a few of the priceless jewels Ranma continued to 
rummage through several years worth of accumulated stuff
both magical and not. By the time Kasumi awoke and started 
to get the kitchen ready for breakfast his luggage was secured 
once more and the young martial artist had begun his morning 
katas.

(To be continued)

*$*$*$*$*

Readers and listeners praise my books;
You swear they're worse then beginner's.
Who cares? I always plan my dinners
To please the diners, not the cooks.

-Martial

Some of Murphy's Military laws:

If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid.

There is no such thing as a perfect plan.

It's not the one with your name on it; it's the one addressed "to whom it may
concern" you've got to think about.

-Mad Dog's Pallidium Humor Files

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