Private Bet #10 Chapter III
by Shade

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.

Constructive C&C is always welcome. 
 
If you want previous parts and the other Private Bets 
go here -> http://members.xoom.com/Ranma_Tenchi/main.html 

~~~~~~~~
1d: Here We Go!
~~~~~~~~
-Alliance Space <BGM: Return of the Jedi: The Rebellion attack>

Like a small sea of shining jewels the largest armada of 
Rebel ships gathered in a decade amassed at the edges of the 
Ristmoth system. Hidden from Imperial sensors by the 
gas and dust of the nearby asteroid belt, the final preparations
for their attack were underway.

"All wings reporting in."

>From the command ship a pleasant neutral female voice
went about the task of getting the various task forces organized.

"Red group standing by."

"Green group standing by."

"Gold group standing by."

The various strike craft and bomber squadrons
sounded off as they moved into position. They, along with 
the faster escort vessels would spearhead the first strike. 
Their job was to engage the security perimeter defenses 
while the more heavily armed capital ships took out the orbital 
battle-stations and ground defenses. At the very rear of the armada 
were the troop carriers and heavy transports, accompanied by a smaller 
rear guard taskforce and the fleet's medical ships. 

"Alliance Corvette 119 assume point with Destroyer forces 4 and 9."

"Understood HopeBringer. We're moving into place now."

The Untamed Stallion's sleek lines seemed to radiate the predatory 
nature of the ship itself as it's four engines powered up to maneuver 
the small (in comparison to the assorted cruisers, dreadnoughts, and carriers)
but deadly craft around its larger neighbors until it finally reached the very
edge of the gathering. Two flights of twelve destroyers joined it, as well as
their accompanying fighter patrols.  

"All ships are in position Admiral."

"Prepare to make the jump into Hyperspace."
~~~~~~~

"I keep expecting someone to say 'Lock S-foils into attack position'."

"Don't give them any ideas!"

~~~~~~~

As the stars streaked into lines, the entire Alliance fleet made the 
transition to faster-then-light speed. In the space of a few seconds the 
area that they had occupied was cold and silent once more.

A few moments later, the first lights of battle lit up the 
early morning skies above the third planet of the system�..
~~~~~~
-Furinkan High

Nabiki Tendo didn't care much for Tatewaki Kuno, but he was 
rich and the bills needed to be paid. So it was with some reluctance 
(and a substantial reduction in the weight of his wallet) that she finally 
dragged him into their class, the upperclassman still paralyzed by the 
nerve strike Ranma had delivered earlier that morning.

She did get a fair bit of amusement from the look in his eyes at having to
be dragged into class by the female he despised most. The word scratched 
into his prized weapon was worth a small laugh too, though she had 
to make sure that Kuno didn't see it. As long as he remained her biggest
source of income she had to display at least the pretense of discretion around
him.

The raspy whisper was barely audible as locked vocal cords 
finally unfroze.

"�.�..damn�you�.foul�sorcerer�."

"Looks like whatever he did to you is finally wearing off, Kuno baby."

Nabiki's voice dripped with sympathy, or rather a severe lack of it. He had it
coming for having every eligible boy in school chasing after Akane and leaving
her out in the cold and without a date for every weekend of the school
semester.

"��.I�.despise�you�.."

"I am *so* glad to hear that."

Liquid magma would have frozen at that frosty tone. Unfortunately for all 
Humanity, stupidity is a natural insulator. 

~~~~~~
-Juuban District T-minus 15 minutes

Two girls ran headfirst into each other.

*Crash*

"Ooof!"

"Ouch!"

Royalty met divinity, and the Imp of Discord started to 
belt out the first notes of the 1812 Overture. Oh yeah,
the watching youma became interested in this second 
girl's strong life energy too.

"Sorry about that!"

"No, It's my fault. I should have watched where I was going."

"My name's Sasami. What's your name?"

"I'm Skuld, Goddess Second Class Limited��Oops! You 
didn't hear that from me!!!" 

If Urd learned about this she would never hear the end it!
But something about this girl reminded her of Belldandy,
it had simply felt wrong to try and hide anything from her.

Sasami laughed at the look of sheer panic on the 
other girl's strangely marked face. 

For some strange reason she was reminded of Washu.
That subtle aura of scientific mayhem was unmistakable.

"You're silly."

~~~~~~~~

They were obviously too young to be the Senshi, but 
such an opportunity couldn't be passed up. 

"Wait for my signal."

Swiftly and silently the forces of darkness moved into an entrapment 
configuration, there would be no escape for the princess this time.

Jedi�te and Malach�te exchanged a look, despise each other they 
might but both knew that they had no choice but to work together.

The alternative wasn't even worth thinking about�..
~~~~~~~~
-Furinkan High

"E equals mc squared." 
"42."
"Boron."
"Charles Dickens, Mary Shelly, Sir Francis Bacon�. "

Mr. Yoshida didn't like disturbances in his average boring dead-end job,
his idea of excitement was springing a pop quiz on the class on
subjects that he'd never taught them. He was also one of the few 
instructors that had disapproved of the daily morning brawls for Akane.
The uproar that had caused by this new student hadn't exactly pleased him
Either. For the past hour he'd attempted to demonstrate his superior intellect
by throwing questions that were more appropriate for collage graduates then
simple high school students. So far his efforts had proven in vain.
 
A fine sheen of sweat had started to build on the increasingly annoyed
teacher's brow.

Finally the balding man started to pull out the big guns, 
there was no way that this wise guy could possibly 
answer a question that had stumped the most brilliant
scientific minds on Earth!

"GUT, which was resolved by the discovery of the anti-graviton
and harmonics of electromagnetic particle waves. The principle
equation was the basis of all contra-gravity theory and led to 
faster-then-light drive development."

Mr. Yoshida's jaw smacked painfully onto his desk. He shot an evil 
glance at the Saotome boy's slumped head. Bad enough that he was a 
bloody know it all, but literally answering the questions in his sleep was 
going too far!

"Please keep your flights of fancy out of school Saotome. 
Making things up will only get you into trouble. In fact for 
not paying attention go stand out in the hall."

"Sensei?"

"GET OUT!!!"

{"I thought that this was supposed to be a History class?"}
Yuka whispered to Sayuri, disappointed by the loss of the 
view she had been getting from her seat behind Ranma. 

"Everyone else turn to page 576 of your text and get ready for a pop quiz!"

The entire room groaned in dismay and more then one of the girls 
there gave serious thought to breaking a few rules in order to get out 
of class and joining the cute new student in detention.
The veins throbbing violently on the instructor's 
forehead and the slightly bloodshot maniacal look 
in his eyes was enough to discourage them however. 
Yoshida-san was going to make it his personal quest 
in life to utterly crush, humiliate, and otherwise 
make his new student's life completely miserable. 
~~~~~~

Holding the two heavy water filled metal buckets with 
his pinkies, Ranma yawned and tried to keep in mind that
nothing exciting happening was supposed to be a *good* thing.

If this was what Furinkan was normally like he decided that
he should sleep in class more often. He could survive lasers,
bombs, bullets, even magical girl speeches, but he had yet to 
find a defense against plain old boredom. The whole point of going 
back to school had been to start learning how to live in this planet�s 
society without commiting too many gaffs that would reveal him for 
what he was. So far the results hadn't been very promising. 
Ranma wasn't sure who was wackier here, the students or the teachers.

And it was only his first day attending this place.

Maybe it wasn't too late for a transfer.
~~~~~~~~~

There are some Universal constants that hold true no 
matter how much the fabric of reality is reshaped and 
rewritten.

For example; Akane Tendo will never be able to cook, Ryoga 
Hibiki will always lack a sense of direction, and Tatewaki 
Kuno�

"WHAT?!! FIANCE?!!!"

"Well actually Kuno, he�"

"I WILL NOT ALLOW SUCH A TRAVESTY!
SAOTOME YOU FIEND!!!"

{...managed to squirm out of it for the moment 
and he�s just a guest of the family now. Not that 
you�d bother to listen once you set your mind on 
something. Honestly, you and Akane deserve each other.
Everything goes in one ear and out the other.}

The bored voice of educational authority interrupted 
the dramatic speech in mid-rant, much to the relief of
those few students with a sense of good taste.

"Go wait out in the hall Kuno."

Grabbing two buckets, the *former* greatest fighter of 
Furinkan High ran out to rescue his beloved fierce flower.
After ducking into a nearby empty locker for a moment, the 
sound of a shirt being ripped in two came from behind the door.

�Never fear Akane! Kendo Champion Man is here!!�

Out popped Tatewaki in his traditional samurai fighting garb
with one addition, a big red cape. Recently he�d been exposed 
to a 24 hour marathon of poorly translated gaijin television 
programs by his father and there had been some lasting results....
~~~~~~~~
Juuban, T-minus 14 minutes

Sasami's pink eyes widened in horror as she looked up 
and saw the dark forms descending behind Skuld.

Her scream rang out loud and clear as a bell in the quiet district. 

A second scream joined her a moment later when the girl with 
strange markings on her face turned around.

The youma thought that they had found easy prey, but though young,
 Skuld was a Norse goddess descended from Heaven�s finest warriors
and fighting ran in her blood. Once she got over her initial panic the
monsters found out firsthand that their chosen victim wasn�t quite as easy a
target as they�d thought she�d be. 

"Bampei! Attack sequence #35 anti-monster mode! And make it quick!"

The little robot beeped an acknowledgement even as Skuld pulled 
out her Bug Masher Mark II and brandished the dreaded atomic 
mallet. The faithful machine hopped up to defend its creator, a double 
rocket punch took care the first wave. The Gaki�s forms were partially 
insubstantial , a protection against normal physical damage and some energies
but useless against divine craftsmanship. Concussion grenades fired from two
launchers that popped out of the robot�s shoulders, scattering the evil
creatures in every direction.

Meanwhile the spunky patron of the future had not been idle as
her invention�s program ran its course.

*TWHACK**CRACK**SMACK*

It is a well known fact that a mallet in a woman�s hands is the most 
dangerous weapon on Earth. When that woman happens to be a 
Goddess, heaven help the poor fool who has incurred her wrath.

A lifetime of squashing bugs had given Skuld a strength that went 
beyond mere appearence as well as refined her technique over the 
millenia. 

Metall�a�s forces never knew what hit them.
~~~~~~~~

�Wow! You did it! You beat them!!�

Sasami was impressed and it showed, if Kiyone and 
Mihoshi could see this she bet they�d be amazed too.

�Hah! That�ll teach......them?! Hey! You�re not supposed 
to get back up!!�

Both girls paled a little as the fell creatures arose once more, 
seemingly unscathed by the blows they had taken just moments earlier.

�BAMPEI!!!�

They could only watch helplessly as the dark swarm congregated
on the more dangerous of the opposition. Ruthlessly the creatures attacked
through the blasts and explosions to rend and tear at the metallic skin of
their enemy. The valiant creation was pulled down by sheer numbers, 
fighting to the end.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Juuban, T-minus 10 minutes

After such a long strained expectant wait, the first actual 
attack came as a kind of relief to the Senshi. Those that could
transformed and headed toward the disturbance immediately.

Those that couldn�t were stuck in detention and trying their best 
to come up with a excuse to leave. It was going to take them awhile 
to catch up to the others and the shift schedule had already left the
Sailor Senshi at barely two thirds strength. The first girls to 
arrive were going to find themselves badly outnumbered. Worse for them,
the generals sent to Earth were expecting that and intended to take full
advantage of this oppertunity.
~~~~~~~

As the living nightmares closed in on the two 
frightened girls reinforcements finally arrived.

�Shabon Spray!�

A cold blue white fog filled the street, concealing 
everything from sight.  Using it as cover Skuld and Sasami 
managed to put some distance between themselves and their
pursuers.

Jedi�te smiled maliciously, his revenge was finally at hand.
Of all the Sailor Senshi, he hated Mercury, Mars, and that 
blasted Sailor Moon the most. It was all their fault that he�d 
been imprisoned in the horror of eternal sleep. 

�Not this time my pretty. Today marks the beginning of my 
vengence and the end of you and your pathetic friends.�

Malach�te was of a similar mind as a giant bolt of green lightning 
and a yellow laser beam heralded the appearence of Sailor Jupiter
and Sailor Venus. His palms crackled with dark energies that paled 
next to the black fire burning within his breast. 

�Take them down!�

The youmas rushed out to fullfill his order. In the span of a few 
heartbeats the three Senshi on the scene found themselves 
badly outnumbered and fighting for their very lives. No 
matter how many times they blasted, fried, or froze the 
horde it would only slow them down, after a few moments 
to bioregenerate the monsters entered the fray once more.
Even the appearence of Sailor Saturn a few minutes later failed 
to turn the tide, there were just too many of them. 

Saturn was hampered by the fact that they were in a commercial
district and didn�t dare risk using her destructive powers, the 
possibilty of civilian casualties was simply too high. Metall�a 
had planned her attack well, while the sailorsuited warriors were
crippled by their morals her minions had no such qualms.

As long as they got their targets it didn�t matter who else got 
hurt in the process.

A third Pawn fell to the Black Knight.
~~~~~~~

Sasami was starting to regret leaving the galaxy police 
officers behind while she did some more shopping on her own.

{I wish Kiyone and Mihoshi were here right now!}

She hadn�t felt this frightened since Kagato had nearly trapped 
her and Tsunami. Except this time there was no Tenchi to save her.

The Sailor Senshi were doing their best and even Skuld was 
getting into the thick of things with her mallet but even she could 
see what the likely outcome would be.  The wraiths were too many 
and too hard to destroy, and they weren�t fighting fair at all.

�Someone please help us!!�
~~~~~~~~
-Furinkan High

A burning pain suddenly enveloped one of 
the bucket carrying digits. 

�Yeouch!!�

Ranma yelped in pain as he spilled the water all over the floor.
Clutching his hand protectively, he looked to see that the ornate 
silver ring he wore was glowing slightly, that could only mean one thing...

Sticking his head out a nearby window the young Knight started to 
look around, searching for any sign of the threat that he was being 
warned of.

{Now how am I going to find it? Give me a sign or something.}

A blue geyser of flame exploded high into the sky from a 
city district not too far away, followed by the faint sound of 
multiple explosions and the scream of emergency vehicle
sirens.

{Call me crazy, but I think that�s where I need to go.}

Reflexively he leaped up to avoid the bucket full of dirty 
mop water hurled at him by the upperclassman charging 
toward him with a full head of steam.

�What�s your problem now Kuno?�

Ranma asked distractedly as he tried to think of 
a plausible excuse to leave the campus without 
raising suspicion. From what he�d seen so far, he
might not even have to.

�NEVER! NEVER, Ranma Saotome!! I will never accept 
your engagement...�

�Hey! Now just wait a second here!! I ain�t engaged to nobody!!�

�...to fair Akane!!!�

{Arrrggghhh!!! Why me?!}

*ZHOOP*

�WHAT!?� 
�Engagement?!�
�NO!!! She�s stolen another one!!�
�I thought she was you know, *nudge nudge*, 
*wink wink*.�

The crowd�s mood was starting to turn ugly.
There was only so much they were willing to 
put up with, having both the most popular girl in 
school and now the most eligable boy both rendered 
unavailable was simply going too far.

�Wait!! It�s not true!! Our parents decided!! Who�d 
want to marry a pevert like him anyway!!�

Ranma would have been tempted to ask Akane where 
she had come up with that pervert crack if it hadn�t 
been for the insistant spiritual tug he was getting from 
the little trinket he was wearing. He started running 
toward the nearest available exit with a swordswinging 
caped nutcase following close behind.

The mob of students with Akane at their head followed 
a few seconds later. The marathon passed the pool side of the 
building and made a left toward the side that faced the soccer field.

�Stand your ground coward!�

�I don�t have time for this Kuno! And for the record I�m 
not engaged to any of the Tendos!!�

�Liar! Relinquish your hold on Akane!!�

Ranma leaped out the nearest open window without 
another word. He was severely tempted to demonstrate 
his control of multidimensional profanity but managed to resist. 

�You think to escape me?! I follow!!�

�HEY! This is the THIRD FLOOR!!�

The speaker�s jaw dropped a moment later as he saw the new 
student make a three point landing by one of the large oaks 
next to the school building.

Kuno wasn�t as fortunate, in his haste he had 
jumped out a little too far.

*Crack*
~~~~~~~
-Elsewhere

There was a brief moment of respectful silence among
the men of the gathering, several of the heroes doffed 
their hats and muttered a few ancient prayers as they 
averted their eyes.

�Well, I think I�m emotionally scarred for life now.�

The Bard squeeked in a high pitched voice.
His legs, like the others, were crossed tightly
in instinctive reflex.

�Knock on wood anyone?�

The groans at that horrible pun nearly drowned 
out the whimpers from the more sensitive members 
of the audience.
~~~~~~~
-Furinkan

Slowly, ever so slowly Tatewaki slid from where he�d 
landed, clutching himself where he�d had the misfortune to 
encounter a very large and very, very solid branch.

Ranma was already long gone much to the disappointment 
of the students who�d been expecting a entertaining fight.

Nabiki was not amused when she heard about this.
~~~~~~~
Tokyo, T-minus 5 minutes

Even as he moved across the roofs of the city at a pace
that would give most cheetahs a heartattack Ranma was 
hoping for a fight. He was just itching for something to 
work off the frustrations of his first day at school.

But first there were certain formalities that needed to be followed.

In a suitably dramatic voice Ranma initiated 
his transformation into the forces of evil�s 
worst nightmare.

�Cosmic Armor up!�

A bright flash of white surrounded him as 
Ranma�s assumed his true form. 

The energies involved in the transformation did not go 
unnoticed, even with the ring�s jamming in place that much 
power being released all at once was impossible to fully conceal.

Especially from the greatest scientific genius in the Universe,
the Guardian of Time, and a Goddess First Class Unlimited.
~~~~~~~

�Aaaa!!!�

�Setsuna!! Haven�t you ever heard of a thing called privacy?!�

�You can indulge in your love play later, get your uniforms on 
and get ready to move out. I�ve finally gotten a trace on the Invader.�
~~~~~~~

Somehow the media had found a news crew brave 
enough (or stupid enough) to televise the battle 
between the famous Sailor Senshi and the horrible 
monsters tearing up a good sized portion of prime 
real estate.

So it was that every household in Japan with a 
television on got a special live televised coverage 
of the battle and some of the events that would follow it. 

In fact a tape of this scene would eventually be rebroadcast 
on an international scale, something Ranma would not find out 
until much later unfortunately.
~~~~~~~~
Juuban, T-minus 1 minute

Sailor Jupiter clutched her bruised ribs with her good arm 
as she stumbled back from the line of fire. A dazzling Love and 
Beauty Shock bought them all enough time to catch their breaths, 
but things looked grim. The little girl with strange markings and 
the big hammer had been clipped by a blow that would have caved 
in her skull had it connected fully. As it was she was barely 
conscious and had been dragged back to relative safety by the
cute little blue haired girl.

Venus was limping slightly and her normally cheerful blue eyes 
showed signs of strain and exhaustion. Mercury�s uniform had 
become a two piece set and the ugly bruises to her shoulders and 
midriff would take a while to heal even with the accelerated recovery 
provided by their Senshi transformations. Saturn had fared the best 
out of all of them despite the fact that main concentration 
of attacks had gone to her. With the Silence Glaive and 
her Silence Wall to protect her from their blows she had 
actually managed to destroy a number of quick healing monsters.
But for every one that fell, half a dozen were ready to take its place.

The sheer amount of special attacks that all the Senshi had 
been using had taken its toll, they could all feel themselves 
getting weaker with every second of fighting that passed.
It was only a matter of time now, then the two Generals 
waiting patiently behind their minions would move in for the kill.

Even though things looked hopeless the Sailor Senshi fought on, 
they wouldn�t give their enemies the satisfaction of just giving up
and being slaughtered like sheep in butcher�s shop.
~~~~~~~
T-minus 20 seconds

Disaster struck. 

One of the larger youma broke 
through their desperate last stand
to go after the two girls that the Senshi 
had been doing their best to protect.

Only Sailor Saturn had stood in the seven foot 
hulk�s way and she had been swatted backwards 
to trip over Skuld�s semiconscious form.
~~~~~~~~~
T-minus 15 seconds

Her glaive skittered off to the side with a metallic 
clang of finality. There was no way she could possibly 
reach it in time. With a sort of morbid fascination Saturn 
watched the inky black clawed limb raise for the death blow.
Then a small form got between her and the monster and 
spread its arms out in defiance.
~~~~~~~~~~
T-minus 12 seconds

 It took all of Sasami�s courage to not 
run away screaming from the horror she 
faced, but she couldn�t just let the girl who 
had been fighting to protect her and the others
be killed. The youma didn�t even hesitate, her death
simply meant that the amount of life energy 
they would rip from her body would double 
and three kills instead of only two.

The grotesque appendage reached its peak and 
then descended.

Sasami, Skuld and Sailor Saturn shut their
 eyes as they braced for the final blow.

It came impossibly silent, impossibly fast.

Someone screamed.
~~~~~~~~
T-minus 10 seconds

A gust of heated air rushed up against her
trembling form. Slowly, unable to believe 
that she was still alive, Sasami opened her eyes.

The monster that had been in front of her 
was gone, only a large smouldering crater where 
it had been standing just moments earlier remained. 

�How?�

The Warrior of Silence asked softly, relief at not 
having to die again left her limbs as weak as wet 
spagetti.

�Urd, is that you?�

Skuld�s head ached even as she tried to find any sign 
of her older sister.

�WHO DID THAT?!�

Malach�te and Jedi�te both yelled out in shocked fury
as their eyes finally recovered from the blinding prismatic 
light that had just come out of nowhere. 

As if in common accord everyone (as well as the only 
working camera there) turned toward the direction
that the mysterious beam had come from.
~~~~~~~
<BGM: Iczelion Opening Instrumental>

�5�

The Senshi�s eyes widened as they looked up. This 
definitely wasn�t Tuxedo Kamen! Sasami let out a 
cheer as she beheld the awesome figure standing on
the building above.

�4�

The youma instinctively knew that this newcomer 
was an enemy, a very dangerous enemy. Fear swept
through them and even affected the hardened Generals
as they beheld the terrifying apparition. More then mere 
physical appearence, this newcomer radiated an aura 
power that made the hair at the back of Malach�te�s
neck stand out on end.

�3�

-Masaki Household

�Oh no! Sasami!! Miss Washu do something!!
My sister is in danger!!!�

�Come on Ryo-ohki! Let�s go!!�

�Right behind you sis!�

�Hold it!�

�Miss Washu?!�

�Look!�

�What in Tsunami�s name is that?!�

�It looks like....my soon-to-be new guinea pig!�

�2�

-A familar temple

�Skuld?!�

�What�s she doing all the way over in Juuban?�

�And what in Heaven�s name is THAT?!�

�1�

The Calvary had arrived.

And as the Knight moved into place, 
it came within striking distance of the Dark King.

Check.
~~~~~~~~

For that pure undiluted spine-tingling atmosphere of excitement, 
nothing beat the classics. And when you have a semi powerful 
nearly cosmically talented demi-human musician in charge of the 
gosh darn biggest speaker system ever set up in the past several 
thousand years with a full case of movie and anime music CDs at 
his disposal....well.....

"Popcorn?"

"No thanks."

The giant widescreen 3-D viewer had been a nice touch too. 
Craning one's head to look down into a small pool for hours on end 
only benefited one's chiropractor. So now the couple hundred or so 
entities that had been watching and making side wagers on the events 
taking place were now all comfortably seated and ready for the 
mayhem to resume.

(To be continued)

*$*$*$*$*$*

(1) Don't ask, just don't ask *Shudder*

Author's note: I'm back and the story files made the trip safely, so prepare
for more of the Private Bets coming soon! Thanks go to 
Gregg Sharp for his incredible writing which continues to inspire me whenever
I find myself stuck in a slump. 

-Shade

Holy Knight of Mihoshi 
Ranger of the Crossover Fiancees 
Bearer of the Ridiculous Giant Sight Gag Pen 

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