Insertion

 Part 45

 Dark Earth

+++++++++++++++

 "What is this?" said Carrot as he stood on the rooftop overlooking the
remains of Tokyo.

 "What do we do?" asked Ranma in horror. "What happened to us?"

 "Hild sent us back to Earth," said Carrot calmly. "I'm gonna have to
explain some things to you about Hellspawn."

 "You know about this?" said Ranma in surprise.

 "Yes, and it isn't good," said Carrot calmly. "We're a high level demon
in training, sort of."

 Ranma didn't say anything in response to that. He merely stared down at
the remains of the city in silence.

 "Basically, if what I know is true, we have a limited amount of power
available to us. When we use it up, we go to the final test. If we
survive, we become a leader of hell's army."

 "We..."

 "We can't waste our power, we don't know what we're facing here," said
Carrot as he interrupted Ranma and continued. "The first thing we need to
do, is find out our situation. We need to see if we have any allies left
first, then we can plan an attack from there."

 "So? Where do we go?" muttered Ranma numbly.

 "Nerima would be a good bet. We may be able to find out what happened to
everyone there, if nothing else."

 "Right, if we can get to Akane and the others..." started Ranma.

 "Akane and the others are probably dead," said Carrot.

 "What?!" gasped Ranma in shock.

 "Our evil self would have gotten rid of our friends first, to make sure
that they didn't get in the way," said Carrot calmly. "Some of them may
have managed to escape, but don't count on it."

 Ranma was once again speechless.

 "We know there are still people left, that's something," said Carrot. 

 "So, we should go to Nerima then," muttered Ranma quietly.

 "That's right, we should get moving. The sooner we can fight that
bastard the better. He's probably made a few friends as well," said
Carrot calmly.

 "What do you mean?" growled Ranma.

 "The planet is still here, so we didn't destroy it. It looks to me more
like we took over," said Carrot with an unusual calm in his voice.

 "Took over?" muttered Ranma in confusion.

 "That's right," said Carrot. He turned their gaze towards a tall
building in the middle of the city. It was the only place that didn't
look destroyed. A large red banner hung from the side, with the emblem of
a black dragon curling into an infinity sign.

 "Let's go get him!" snarled Ranma hatefully.

 "No," said Carrot as he stopped them.

 "What?" gasped Ranma in confusion.

 "We don't know anything about our new power, our power levels, or our
enemy. He's had twenty years of training to fall back on. Plus he's
probably fought our old friends, meaning he'll be stronger than we were.
First we have to find out about our limitations, and our weaknesses."

 Ranma growled, but stopped. "You're right."

 "We may be able to find some friends as well," said Carrot. "We aren't
sure who survived, if anyone did."

 "What are we waiting for then?" said Ranma as he turned towards Nerima.
He paused as he sensed something behind him. "Who?"

 "Well, what have we here?" said an amused sounding voice.

 They slowly turned to stare at the newcomer. "Who the hell are you?" He
stepped back as Carrot recognized the figure standing before them. "Ryu
Kumon."

 Ryu was a man in his thirties, dressed in a black shirt and camouflage
pants. He had a white bandanna tied across his forehead and a long scar
ran down the side of his face. "You've heard of me?"

 "Hmmm, maybe I have?" replied Ranma as he pretended to think about it.

 "Well, I've not seen you around before. Who are you?" said the man with
an amused sounding chuckle.

 "I am called...Spawn," replied Ranma with a small shrug.

 "Well, that's interesting. I was never expecting to see another super
hero around. Ranma did away with most of them years ago."

 Spawn narrowed his eyes at this and chuckled. "I'm no hero."

 Ryu smirked at this. "Oh? You certainly look the part."

 "Appearances can be deceiving," he replied calmly.

 "No matter, I'll just get rid of you either way," said Ryu calmly.

 "Oh? Planning to kill me are you?" said Spawn as he spread his feet
apart.

 "Those are my orders," said the man with a shrug. "You understand."

 "Who would order... Oh my. You work for Ranma Saotome don't you?" said
Spawn as he seemed to realize what was going on. He didn't appear to be
very surprised by this though.

 "That's right," said the man as he grinned back at the thing for a
moment.

 "It doesn't matter, you can't kill me," said Spawn as he relaxed his
stance.

"Why not?" asked Ryu.

 "I won't say just yet," replied the thing. "Funny thing about running
into you. I was just looking for someone who could tell me a little bit
about this place."

 "I'm not going to allow you to let you live long enough to ask anything
anyway," said Ryu as he moved into a fighting stance.

 "That's okay. I was planning on torturing you to find out anyway," said
Spawn.

 Ryu backed away as the heavy looking chains around the thing's waist
seemed to come to life, snaking through the air around its body. The cape
fluttered in a non-existent wind behind it and it crossed its arms in
front of its chest.

 "Take this! Demon God Assault..." the man's attack was cut short as his
opponent vanished from in front of him suddenly. A sharp burning pain in
the back of his neck suddenly cut off his breathing and he found himself
dangling off the side of the building.

 "What? This is..." he gasped as he struggled in the iron grip of the
newcomer.

 "First, I have to make sure you can't just land when I drop you," said
Spawn as he lashed out with his foot twice. 

 Ryu screamed in pain as he felt his shins snap like twigs from behind.

 "Now. Is there any resistance? Anyone who opposes Ranma Saotome?" asked
the thing almost cheerfully.

 "What? No one with enough strength to matter!" replied the boy angrily.
He was able to breathe again at least.

 "Where?" asked the thing coldly.

 "If we knew that, we'd have destroyed them already!" growled Ryu through
the pain.

 "Ranma has allies. Who are they?" asked Spawn.

 "Everyone knows that!" snarled Ryu.

 "I've been away for a while, humor me," said the thing as he shook him a
little and got the desired response.

 Ryu screamed in terror and clutched the thing's arm. "The Youma Lords!"
he gasped.

 "Oh?" said Spawn. "Is that all?"

 "I've told you everything! Let me go!" cried the man desperately.

 "Tell me one more thing, and I'll release you," said Ranma calmly.

 "What?" growled the man angrily.

 "Is that where I can find Ranma Saotome?" Spawn nodded towards the
tower.

 "Yes!" gasped Ryu in frustration. "Now pull me back!"

 "I said I'd release you, I never said anything about pulling you back
onto the roof," said Spawn calmly.

 "What?!" cried Ryu right before Ranma let him go and calmly watched him
plummet to the ground below.

 "Why did we do that?" muttered Ranma in horror.

 "Because he lied to us," said Carrot calmly. "Ranma has more allies than
the Youma Lords."

 "What?" muttered Ranma in shock.

 "I can feel the presence of some familiar dark power," said Carrot with
a hint of anger in his voice.

 "You can feel it?" said Ranma dumbly.

 "You can't?" asked Carrot.

 "No...I..."

 "Wait a minute!" gasped Carrot in horror. "We'd be together, but
different! That's what she said!"

 "Huh?" muttered Ranma in confusion. He gasped when his costume seemed to
melt away from his body, pulling off of his torso. It turned to look at
him for a moment, completely empty on the inside. 

 "Shit," said the costume as it frowned at him somehow.

 They merged together once again and jumped off of the rooftop into the
street. "Still alive?" he commented as he saw Ryu dragging himself out of
a crater a few yards away.

 "What do you want?" said the man as he looked up at the intimidating
figure painfully.

 Ranma smirked beneath his mask and winked at the boy while wagging his
finger at him. "Now that...is a secret." With that, he vanished into the
shadows leaving Ryu alone.

++++++++++

 Nerima Ward. There was hardly anything left of the place. Little more
than the shells of buildings remained behind, with a few shops and homes
having only partial roofs. 

 Standing in the middle of a familiar road, Ranma glanced around and
frowned. "Tofu's place," he said as he nodded towards the remains of the
clinic. "Let's go."

 "Why are we going in here?" asked Ranma in confusion. 

 "Curiosity," replied Carrot as their eyes adjusted to the darkness
easily. "There's someone in here."
 
 Ranma was about to say something when Carrot intervened. "Let me. Hello,
you'd best just come out. I'd rather not have to dig you out of this
mess."

 A scraggly looking older man stepped out from his hiding place behind a
medicine cabinet. "Who are you?" He wore an old brown dogi, and a pair of
glasses. He was a tired looking man, who's long ponytail was starting to
gray. Tofu, the man still lived there.

 "The others as well," said Carrot coldly as he forced his eyes to glow
green for a moment.

 Tofu rushed forward, screaming a battle cry in anger. 

 The attack was stopped easily by the intimidating thing as it grabbed
him by both wrists with a swipe of his hand held him in the air. Ranma
was now about seven feet tall, and it was easily done. "Calm down."

 Tofu growled under his breath and struggled for a moment, kicking the
thing with his feet.

 "I'm not going to hurt you, or anyone in here. At least, not yet," said
Carrot calmly.

 Tofu paused. "What do you mean 'yet'?"

 "I don't particularly care about you," said Ranma as he glanced around
the darkened room and noticed a few figures were hiding in the edge of
the shadows, watching the battle in silent horror. "I can also see quite
well in the dark, none of you fools are hiding from me."

 There was a collective gasp from within the shadows and Ranma threw the
doctor aside. "Behave yourself for a moment, and I may help you."

 "Help me?" stammered the doctor. He narrowed his eyes and stood up.
"What can you do to help me?"

 "I can heal those wounded people you're trying so hard to protect
Doctor. Particularly, the one who is about to die."

 Tofu stepped back and frowned. "Stay away from them."

 Ranma ignored him and walked into the shadows, a growing green light
forming in his palm. "Hello my friend," he said as he shoved aside the
cowering man and child who had moved in front of the dying woman
protectively. 

 She screamed in agony as he placed his hands on her, the wounds that
were hidden by the shadows closing quickly as they glowed with a green
light. "Hurts, don't it?" he asked her jokingly as he moved away.

 Tofu rushed him from behind, grabbing his arm and trying to force it up
and away from her. The healing was completed though and Ranma turned to
face the man, ignoring his attack casually. "If you're quite finished
Tofu, I'll get to why I've come here."

 The doctor backed away, frowning at him. "Who are you? What are you?"

 "Heh. It's a secret," replied Ranma calmly. "In any case, you've been
here for a while now. I'd wager a little over twenty years."

 Finally showing a bit of spine, several of the people in the shadows
rushed out, attacking the newcomer with anything they could get their
hands on. Crutches, scalpels, even bedpans. The attack wasn't even
avoided, the thing's cape reached out and subdued them by growing and
splitting into strips to grab their limbs and necks. 

 "I saved that woman's life, you owe me a little civility at least," said
Ranma calmly as he looked at them.

 "Let them go!" cried Tofu in anger.

 "I'm not hurting them," replied Ranma calmly. "I'll release them when I
leave. I'd rather not have to do this more than once."

 "What do you want here?" growled Tofu as he backed away.

 "Information," said Ranma calmly as he eyed the man cautiously. "Would
you mind not moving any closer to that tray of needles doctor. You'll
find they aren't very effective against me anyway."

 Tofu frowned and finally sat down on a worn looking chair. "Who are
you?"

 "I am called Spawn. My mission here is a secret," said Ranma as he
looked down at the man and refused to sit down when offered a seat
opposite the doctor.

 "I can't give you any information, whatever it is you want to know, I
can't help you," said the man as he shook his head slowly from side to
side and seemed to calm down a bit. The people in the thing's cape had
stopped struggling and were starting to calm as they realized that it
wasn't causing them any pain, it was just holding them.

 "You don't know what I want," said Ranma calmly.

 "You're here to take on Ranma Saotome, that's obvious; either that or
you're working for him. Either way, there's nothing I would know that
would be of any use to you. I'm just a doctor, taking care of what's left
of humanity in this burnt out place. That's probably why he hasn't
bothered us."

 "You call this not bothering you?" said Ranma in amusement as he looked
around.

 "After the attack from the sky that caused all this, they left us alone
for the most part. Killing those strong enough to oppose them, and anyone
who tried to rebuild anything. As long as we left things as they were,
and simply lived quietly, they didn't bother us. We're even allowed to
farm. Not that it does us any good, weather is too unpredictable, and the
ground is scorched. Fallout also hurts the weather, not as bad as a
Nuclear attack would have been, but still enough to keep us from growing
much of anything."

 "Attack from the sky?" said Ranma in confusion.

 "What?" muttered Tofu dumbly as he looked at the thing for a moment. "If
you're going to mock us, just get out now!"

 Ranma raised his arm, and a dozen six-inch spikes shot from his costume
along the forearm. "I can do this with any part of my clothing."

 Tofu caught the implied threat and settled back into his seat again.

 Ranma sighed and crossed his arms after retracting the spikes. "I've
been elsewhere for the last twenty years or so. I missed out on a lot
apparently."

 Tofu looked up at him and frowned. "Elsewhere?"

 "None of your business. Tell me what happened."

 "Around twenty years ago, Ranma Saotome was the head of a large security
corporation. His activity during that time is largely unknown, even
today. One day, he just went nuts. He killed most of his partners and
employees. A few tried to fight him off; he was too strong though.
Eventually, he killed or beat them all."

 "Some of these people are still alive?" asked Ranma calmly.

 Tofu looked up at him and frowned.

 "I won't ask who they are Tofu, I'm not an idiot, and I know you
wouldn't tell me even if I did," said the thing calmly.

 "Yes, a few of them survived," said the doctor calmly. 

 "Continue," said Ranma icily.

 "Right," grumbled the doctor in irritation. "As I was saying. They
basically took over the planet, him and those monsters of his. He picked
up a few allies here and there. Most of them are dead now too. He killed
them when they got a little too ambitious."

 "Interesting," said Ranma as he nodded at this. "Who works for him now?"

 "No one really knows who they are," said Tofu. "If you see them, you've
done something to piss them off. You don't live long enough to tell
anyone what you've learned. There are rumors...that one of them used to
be one of the Sailor Senshi. No one knows for sure."

 "That seems, doubtful," said Ranma as he narrowed his eyes a little.

 "Yeah, well..." Tofu sighed and hung his head. "He's a busy man. Doesn't
bother with the likes of us these days. Once they used the starships to
destroy the military and most of the population, they just ignored us."

 "Starships?" said Ranma with a frown on his face.

 "Yeah. They have an armada of ships in orbit. No one knows where they
came from. Some people think he's some sort of alien, and had all this
planned. Others think they were built here in secret. No one knows for
sure."

 "That...hmmm..." Ranma looked thoughtful and motioned for the man to
continue.
 
 "After that, they never used them again," said Tofu. "No one is sure
why. Most likely because they're so strong that they don't need them
anymore. Once the bulk of us were gone, it was just a matter of keeping
population at a controllable level. Not very difficult with things the
way they are."

 "Most interesting," said Ranma as he nodded. "Do you know how many he
has with him? High ranking officials or whatever."

 "I wouldn't call them officials," said Tofu calmly. "They ignore us,
like I said. Occasionally, one will come out and wipe out a martial
artist or two, or some sort of uprising. That's rare though, there's not
really anything to rebel against. They don't oppress us, just ignore us."

 "Well, someone lives in that tower. They have to eat something," said
Ranma calmly as he looked over his shoulder.

 "There aren't many of them in there. Occasionally, a ship will land
there. We think it's a supply ship, possibly going to another place on
the planet to get food, or bringing supplies from another planet. No one
really knows. It could be worse in other countries. We have no means of
communicating with anyone. I'd imagine no one does."

 "Anyone tried to sail to somewhere else?" asked Ranma as he narrowed his
eyes at the man in a sort of thoughtful manner.

 "Of course. They are never heard from again in most cases," said Tofu
with a small shrug. "We think that's one of the things they won't let us
do."

 "There are no laws?" said Ranma in a slightly surprised tone.

 "We're sort of village commune. Less than a thousand people in any given
area. More than that, and they get nervous and people start dying."

 "Total control then," said Ranma with a small sigh. "That's got to be
difficult to keep up."

 "Not particularly. Many women are sterile now, we think it's from a mild
sort of radiation from the blasts they used to destroy the cities. Those
that do have children don't have many. There's not enough food to sustain
us otherwise."

 "Humanity has been pushed back a few thousand years," said Ranma with a
small shrug. 

 "That's a simple way of putting it, yes," said Tofu.

 "What of those who once lived here?" said Ranma suddenly.

 "Huh?" muttered the doctor in confusion.

 "I was once a resident of this place," said Ranma calmly. "That is all I
will say. I am curious as to...who did not survive."

 Tofu frowned as the thing's face fell. He could see it even with the
mask covering his features.

 "Who?" asked the man calmly.

 "The Tendo family, the Kuno family, Masaki family, Saotome family..."
Ranma looked up at the man and noticed a scowl on his face.

 "Oh. I see," said Ranma with a small chuckle in answer to the glare.
"Those are some of the ones who you speak of, who may have survived. I
won't press you then."

 Tofu looked surprised at this announcement. 

 "I've learned all I need too," said Ranma as he walked by the man and
put his hand on his shoulder as he passed. "Take care of yourself
Doctor."

 "Right," muttered Tofu in confusion. After the thing left he turned to
look at the way it had gone. "Who was that? How did he know who I was?
What is he? There was no...no life in him..."

 Ranma appeared behind him again, melting from the shadows. "It's a
secret," he replied as he melted back into the darkness.

 Tofu was lying on his back clutching at his chest as he gasped in
surprised shock.

++++++++++

 Ranma frowned to himself as he walked along the shattered sidewalk.
Beside him was the shattered remains of the Tendo Dojo. It was simply
gone.

 "This really sucks," said Ranma.

 "You're tellin me?" said Carrot in retort. "Look, he's up to something."

 "Huh?" said Ranma dumbly.

 "Our other self, he's up to something big. This population control,
it's...too much. It's only a short-term solution. Even he wouldn't be
able to keep it up long. Not unless he swept the entire planet every few
years and killed everyone. Even then, he couldn't find every place people
could hide."

 "I think I get it. He can't...right?" said Ranma as he seemed to
understand.

 "That's right, there's just no way to do it. Especially if he's ignoring
what's going on like Tofu said."

 "So? What's that mean?" grumbled Ranma irritably.

 "I don't know," said Carrot in frustration. "Come on. We've got to train
ourselves, and learn all we can."

++++++++++

 "Kumon. What a state you're in," said the blonde woman who sat on the
throne and smirked at the pathetic man who was crawling across the ground
in front of her painfully.

 "Help me! Damn it! Don't just look at me!" snapped the man.

 "Why should I?" she snorted in disgust. "You failed, and it was a rather
pathetic failure at that."

 "Something beat him," said a low voice with a slightly angry edge to it.
"Baka. You had better have a good explanation for this."

 "Oh. Hello darling," said the blonde woman as she turned to face Ranma
Saotome. He was standing in the doorway, wearing a black kung fu outfit.
It was simple and comfortable looking, but fit his body loosely. A long
four-foot ponytail hung down his back, and his face was only that of a
twenty five-year-old man.

 "Kumon, explain yourself," said Ranma calmly as he strolled across the
hallway and sat down next to the woman. 

 "We should kill him, just for being so pathetic," said the woman with a
rough sounding snort.

 "Tochi, shut up," said Ranma in annoyance.

 "Of course," said the woman with a small frown on her face.

 "It was some sort of idiot in a costume," growled Ryu as he looked up at
the man and grit his teeth. "Broke both my legs and dropped me off the
side of a building."

 "Who was he?" asked Ranma.

 "I don't know, I've never seen him before," said Ryu as he looked aside
in disgust. "He was very strong."

 "Strong huh?" muttered Ranma to himself. "Well, it shouldn't pose too
much of a problem."

 "Right," growled Ryu angrily.

 "I'll send out Hotaru," said Ranma with a shrug. 

 "You failed," said Tochi as she looked down at the man with an angry
snarl. "Beaten by some costumed buffoon!"

 "Calm down," said Ranma as he glared at her again. "He was obviously in
over his head."

 Ryu frowned at this, but said nothing. He hung his head and touched the
floor with his forehead. It was disgusting to him, they simply tossed him
into the room on his belly after he'd returned and left him there. He
couldn't stand or kneel in his condition.

 "We have no use for such weakness," argued Tochi coldly.

 "Ha! He's still useful," said Ranma. "Weak compared to this newcomer or
not. There aren't many humans as strong as he is, he can still be used to
keep them in line."

 "I won't fail you again," said Ryu in anger. 

 "I know you won't," said Ranma with a small shrug. "If you run into this
man again, you are to escape and find help. Don't try to do it alone
again."

 The man merely nodded and Ranma motioned for the armored guards standing
off to the side to take him away. "Get him fixed up, then kick him out.
He's got work to do."

 "Why did you let him live?" said Tochi as she looked at him in
confusion.

 "I'm not so stupid as to weaken my own forces. Ryu won't fail on
purpose, and he's not dumb enough to try and stab me in the back."

 "I sometimes wonder if Beryl really was your mother," said Tochi with a
small snort.

 "Heh," said Ranma as he stared forward and waited.

 "What do you want? I'm busy," said Hotaru as she strolled into the room
and glared at the pair hatefully. She was a beautiful looking woman with
short cut black hair that ended just above her shoulders. Her lithe form
was clothed in a black leather fuku and the Silence Glave was resting
lazily in her right hand.

 "Ah. Konichiwa! Hotaru-chan," said Ranma as he stood up and smiled at
her warmly.

 "Don't call me that! I've told you about that," said the woman icily.

 "Oh, very well. Nine-chan then," corrected Ranma.

 "What is it?" she snapped, not bothering to correct him. She knew it
would be futile anyway.

 "We have a problem, someone new has shown up. I want them dealt with,"
said Ranma as he walked up next to her and forcefully grabbed her hand
and walked her over to the large window that took up most of the east
wall.

 "Send some of those Amazon women then," said the angry looking woman as
she snatched her hand back after they had reached the place. "I'm busy."

 His hand snapped out and grabbed a handful of her hair, he pulled back
forcefully and she grunted in pain. "Don't forget who is in charge here."

 "Yes. Not you," she replied calmly as she stared him in the eyes.

 "Oh, all right. I don't feel like trying to bully you into it anyway,"
said Ranma with a shrug. "You're still going though. This is something
that should be taken care of right away."

 "Why not send that brat of yours then?" said Hotaru angrily.

 "Because, you're stronger," he replied calmly. "I want this to be out of
our hair."

 "The brat should be enough," said Hotaru as she turned away.

 "Let me get this straight, you want me to send the weakest of my most
powerful soldiers, then move up to the stronger ones like some sort of
step system?"

 "That's right!" snapped Hotaru. "I'm tired of dealing with every Yahoo
that comes along and irritates us by getting a little to strong for
comfort!"

 "No," said Ranma calmly. "You'll go and deal with it, and you'll do it
now. Otanoshimi kudasai." He slapped her rear and pointed towards the
door.

 Hotaru narrowed her eyes at him. "Fine."

 "Think of it as stress relief," said Ranma cheerfully as he waved at
her. She stormed out of the room in a huff and left the pair alone.

 "She seems angry," commented Tochi casually.

 "She fights better that way," replied Ranma with a small shrug. "Kinda
pathetic really, all that training I did when she was little was wasted
on that dumb bitch."

 "Still, she is useful," said the blonde casually as she played with her
hair for a moment and shrugged.

 "That she is," agreed Ranma.

 "Sir!" said one of the guards who walked into the room. 

 "Nani?" grumbled Ranma with a small frown on his face.

 "We found an intruder on the first floor," said the guard as he saluted
the man.

 "Oh?" 
 
 "Yes sir. This man," said the guard as two more men brought in a young
man with brown hair and striking blue eyes. He had a scar running across
the bridge of his nose and was staring at him hatefully.

 "What was he doing in here?" asked Ranma as he arched his eyebrow.

 "We aren't sure, his friends are being interrogated as we speak," said
the guard.

 "Friends?" said Ranma as he looked at the guard again.

 "Yes sir. There were three of them, a young woman, a little boy, and
this one."

 "Why bother only bringing one of them to me?" asked Ranma.

 "This one seemed particularly interested in speaking with you," said the
guard calmly as he stepped aside.

 Ranma walked over to where the prisoner was being held and looked down
at him. "Yes? What is it that you want? You know you're going to spend
the rest of your rather short life in a very small cell now."

 "Bastard! I'll kill you!" snarled the boy as he struggled in the guard's
grip for a moment. After he couldn't escape, he spit at the man and
growled when he moved aside to avoid being hit calmly. 

"Oro? Whatever for?" asked Ranma in mock confusion.

 "You! You killed my mother, my sister, and my fiancee!" growled the boy
hatefully. "I'll have my revenge! Just you wait!"

 Ranma looked up at the guard and sighed. "Kill his friends, right now.
All of them."

 The boy looked at him in horror. "Wha?"

 Ranma pulled a gun from behind his back and promptly blew his brains
out. "Shimatta! These angst ridden hero types certainly are annoying." He
looked up at the guard and frowned. "Are his friends dead yet?"

 "Yessir!" he replied nervously as he gave a salute as he pulled his
radio away from his ear. 

 "Excellent. Make sure, if they aren't, call me before you try to
apprehend them," said Ranma as he turned back towards his throne calmly. 

 "You're to nervous," said Tochi as she stood up and began to rub on his
shoulders.

 "It's better to err on the side of caution," said Ranma calmly.

 The woman bent down and kissed him deeply. "This is why he trusts you
with these things I suppose."

 Ranma merely nodded, a smirk forming on his face. "Perhaps Kuno will
enjoy going out for a hunt himself. I've got a bad feeling about this
one."

 "You worry too much, I'll help you forget all about this," said the
woman as she smiled at him. It was inhuman, almost splitting her face in
half with rows of jagged teeth.

 Ranma sighed. "Only if you wipe that stupid grin off of your face. I
told you about doing that to me, it kills the mood."

 "It's my true form," she said with a small playful pout.

 "I only care about how you look now," snorted Ranma as he grabbed her by
her waist and grinned at her. "Beauty is only skin deep, and you're damn
ugly that way."

++++++++++

 "Well, what have we here?" Ranma arched his eyebrow as he moved into the
shadows on the outskirts of Nerima. 

 Three familiar looking women stood in the middle of the street. They
were poised as guards. He melted away into the darkness completely,
passing by them unnoticed. "They're too young..." said Ranma to himself
as he moved closer.

 One of them turned her head and frowned. "Halt!"

 Her companions moved in unison, scanning the area.

 "What is it?" asked one of them.

 "I thought I saw someone," muttered the girl as she turned back to
guarding again.

 "You did," said Ranma as he looked down on them from the top of a nearby
rooftop.

 The trio gasped and stepped away from him in shock. "Who are you?"
challenged the one who had seen him.

 "Oh my. Spotting me is quite impressive my dear," said the thing that
stared back at them. "I do believe those are the uniforms of the Senshi.
You're not the Senshi I remember though."

 The girls backed away from him defensively.

 One of them staggered forward again, challenging him. "I asked you a
question!"

 "I don't feel like answering it," he replied with a shrug. "Now. You're
too high spirited to be the young Ami of my memories. Her chest was a lot
smaller too..."

 The girl got an enraged and embarrassed flush on her face. "What?"

 "What do you want here?" she growled.

 "Nothing really, I'm just passing through," said Ranma casually, he
leaned back so that he was lying along the top of the roof. "Maybe."

 "What's that supposed to mean?" snapped the blonde who moved up beside
her companion. 

 "Oh! Another one! You must be Minako's child, how quaint!" said the
thing as it sat up in a rather contemplative pose. "And you, you must be
dear Makoto's loving daughter!"

 The quiet girl stepped ahead of her friends. "You knew my mother?" There
was a sort of hope there.

 "Didn't make it did she? That's too bad," said Ranma as he frowned at
her.

 "What? How dare you!" snapped the girl as electric energy crackled
around her.

 "Temper!" chided Ranma playfully as he wagged his finger at her. A green
curve of light formed along the path of his finger in the air. "You don't
want to wake everyone up do you?"

 "Who is this guy?" said the new Mercury.

 "I suppose you should call me something," said the thing playfully.
"Spawn seems fitting. I might hang around a bit, seeing as you've managed
to catch my attention."

 "He's a real jerk!" snapped Jupiter as she glared at him.

 "What's going on here?" said a new voice.

 The trio of girls spun around to look at the thirty something woman who
stood in the middle of the street.

 "Hmm?" muttered Ranma as he turned to see a very familiar figure glaring
up at him. "Usagi? But...that's stupid! Why wouldn't he..."

 "Who are you?" she demanded as she stepped out of the shadows and into
clearer view.

 Ranma felt a shudder run down his spine at what he saw. He suppressed it
and kept a somewhat amused looking smirk on his face that was visible
through the mask. "You must be Usagi, or should I say, Sailor Moon." The
woman turned her head towards him, two dead sockets staring back at him
from where her eyes used to be. She had a worn looking cane in her hand
as well.

 "Don't you dare call her that! You monster!" snapped the new Venus
hotly.

 "Oh? Well I apologize then, I didn't know it was a soft spot," said
Ranma with a small shrug.

 "Who is this?" asked Usagi.

 "He says his name is Spawn. He knows our parent's names," said Mercury
as she walked up to the woman's side.

 "He seems familiar," said Usagi as she continued to stare off into
space.

 "Would you mind looking in another direction. That's very unsettling,"
said Ranma calmly as he jumped down to the street. He kept his distance
though, opting to stay close to the shadows.

 "I'm sure," replied the woman as she followed him with her face and
frowned. "What do you want?"

 "I suppose I could just tell you, but it would be more fun to wait and
watch for a while," said Ranma as he began to move into the shadows.
"Don't worry, you'll be seeing me around."

 "That sounds like a reason to worry to me," said Usagi coldly. She moved
towards him fearlessly, with a grace that was very disturbing to him.

 "Not the klutz you used to be I see," he commented.

 "Hiding in the shadows from me is useless," she said with her frown
deepening.

 "I'm not hiding, the shadows just feel better for me," he replied
calmly. "Besides, your friends are a bit nervous. I wouldn't want them
attacking a poor traveler for no reason."

 "I see," said Usagi as she turned her head in the direction of the girls
for a moment. "Calm down, all of you."

 The trio reluctantly complied and hung back, waiting and ready.

 "Now. Who are you? I don't remember anyone named Spawn. You seem
familiar though, and you know me."

 "Who I am? Well, that's been asked a lot today. I'm kind of tired of
answering it," said Ranma with a small chuckle.

 "Tell me who you are, and perhaps we can offer you a bed, and some
food," said Usagi with her face growing lighter.

 "Many thanks good lady, but I don't belong with you," he replied. "I
prefer keeping my own bed thanks."

 "As you wish," she said as she turned away from him. "I'll have to ask
you to pick someplace outside of this village though. We don't know you."

 "I'd planned on it anyway, people are annoying. You're as kind as ever,
even if you do have the motive of keeping an eye on me in your offer.
It's really your most irritating trait, makes it hard to dislike you."

 Usagi paused and seemed to look at him again, as impossible as that was.

 "Before I leave, I have a question for you," said Ranma from the
shadows.

 "What is it?" muttered Usagi absently.

 "Why aren't you dead? You're a rather nasty threat to him," said the
thing. She could almost hear his smirk. "Those girls as well. Leaving
senshi around is rather stupid, especially after he went to all this
trouble."

 Usagi faced him again. This time her face was a mask of barely contained
rage. "Don't ever ask that of me again. Demon!"

 "Heh. Closer than you think!" said Ranma as his presence faded away, his
entire being melting into the shadows completely.

 "No way!" muttered Venus.

 "That was an interesting trick," said Mercury.

 "Is he the enemy?" asked Jupiter nervously.

 Usagi smiled slightly at the memories that question brought back.
"Perhaps, perhaps not. Maybe he can tell us."

 Ranma chuckled as he appeared on the other side of them, from a
different set of shadows. "I thought as much. You've developed the
ability to sense the presence of others. Most impressive for a brain dead
klutz."

 "I'm impressed that you hung around to find out," countered Usagi. Her
face was serious once again. "You still haven't answered my question."

 "Now that...is a secret," replied Ranma as he vanished again, this time
for good.

 "Man, he is a jerk," growled Jupiter.

 "Remain on guard, call for help if he returns again," said Usagi as she
started walking back into the village again.

++++++++++++

 "What's with you?" asked Ranma as they rested in the branches of a tree
near the edge of the village. "You're acting all weird today."

 "I'm making the best of our situation," said Carrot calmly. "It's fun to
watch them react to me saying that."

 "Why don't we just get their help?" asked Ranma in frustration. "That
was Usagi! Those girls were Senshi!"

 "We don't know how useful they might be," said Carrot. "I'd rather hang
around and observe things for a while. There's no hurry."

 "What about that energy thing?" grumbled Ranma.

 "We only have to worry about that if we end up fighting. I plan to avoid
that as much as possible. Remember our real target," said Carrot coldly.
"Whatever happens, he's our objective in the end. Any minions he might
have gotten are just a bonus."

 "Hotaru, she's coming isn't she?" said Ranma as he frowned and looked up
at the sky for a moment.

 "Yeah. That bitch Mistress Nine has her," confirmed Carrot. "We'll have
to ask her about that when she gets here."

 "Yeah," grumbled Ranma in irritation. "D'ya think he'll recognize us?"

 "Probably, he'll think it's still all four of us most likely," said
Carrot as the looked at the stars through the branches above them. "We
should use that to our advantage, but facing him now would be a bad idea.
It's better if he doesn't know who we are right away. If he sees us,
he'll most likely put it together pretty quickly."

 "So, we avoid him for now?" said Ranma in disgust.

 "Yup. That'd be the best way to do this," agreed Carrot.

 "I hate it when we have to sneak around!" snapped Ranma.

 "Yeah I know. You like facing your problems and all that crap right?"

 "Damn right! Why can't we just..."

 "Barge in and get ourselves killed?" said Carrot.

 "Well...no, but..."

 "I'd like to have some idea about what it is we're facing," said Carrot.

 "Yeah. I get it, I guess," grumbled Ranma. "Get offa me."

 "Huh?" muttered Carrot as he complied. "What is it?"

 Ranma decked him and sent him spiraling to the ground. The costume
landed in a clump of cloth and remained there for a moment. "Man, that
felt so damn good."

 "Ouch! You asshole!" snapped Carrot as he sat up and looked up at him.
Ranma laughed out loud, he looked ridiculous, like some sort of
two-dimensional man sitting on the ground.

 "Yeah! Well live with it ya jerk! I'm lettin you off easy!" snapped
Ranma.

 "Die!" cried Carrot as he jumped up and attacked Ranma, slapping him
silly and sending him down to the ground as well. It was difficult to
make a good fist as thin as he was.

 "Hey!" snapped Ranma.

 "Come on punk!" growled Carrot as he jumped down and landed on top of
the undead thing below him, covering him like a canvas.

 Ranma grunted in pain as he felt hundreds of blows all around him,
punching his body everywhere. "Damn you!" he cried as he punched up and
managed to knock the wind out of the attacking costume.

 They fell to the ground roughly, Ranma struggling with the cloth as the
battle raged on.

++++++++++++

 Several hours later...

 "Are you done yet?" gasped Ranma as he looked at the limp costume lying
across his belly and slapping at him weakly. 

 "Yeah. I hope you learned your lesson from that ass whooping I gave
you!" snarled Carrot.

 "Hey! I kicked your ass!" snapped Ranma angrily. He would have attacked,
but found himself unable to move.

 Carrot reared back once more, and decked him with a particularly hard
slap across his face. 

 "Right, we'll call it a draw then," said Ranma.

 Carrot slumped down on top of him again, unable to move. "Right. Damn
you're ugly."

 "How come I'm tired?" grumbled Ranma. "I thought dead things didn't get
tired."

 "How the hell should I know. All I know about this is stuff I read out
of some comic book. Your guess is as good as mine."

 "Oh," said Ranma numbly as he passed out.

 Carrot followed right after him, giving a small laugh. "I win..."

+++++++++++++++

 TBC...

 Evil Ranma is using Gratuitous Japanese on purpose. I'm trying to keep
it kind of light, so that it doesn't detract too much from the story.
Here's a list of definitions for those who are curious.

 Nani = What?

 Baka = Dummy, idiot.

 Shimatta = Damn it!

 Otanoshimi kudasai! = Have a good time!
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