Chapter Two

By Michael Fetter

"So, how did you guys make it out here for so long?" Bri asked between sips of tea that the eldest Tendou had been passing out. The girl was quite a cook even with such limited supplies.

"What?" Ranma asked with a small grin. "You need another demonstration on how fast we can take a pack of trained mercs out?"

"Don’t get too cocky, Ranma." Nabiki chided him with a little show of support from an irate Deunan. "I can take you out just as quickly."

Ranma was about to snort in disbelief, but stopped as he felt Nabiki’s hand crawl across his leg and rest on his inner thigh. "Uh, heh, uh . . . I mean, uhm . . ."

Bri shook his head; Deunan could be just like the young couple, but it didn’t mean he knew of a good way to deal with it. "I mean, how you survived, not to mention the house, during all the heavy weapons attacks that must have gone on?"

Akane took over the answering to get her mind off of what her older sister was doing. Ranma is such a pervert! How dare he do that at the table, and guests are present no less! "Hey, we’re martial artists after all. We have our ways."

Ryouga coughed, but said nothing. Akane glared in his direction for a bit before turning her head and ignoring the ‘lost boy’ all together.

Dr. Ono Toufuu, the ever ready and intelligent man, came to Briareos’ rescue before any of the other powerful martial artists could put in their two cents. "A few of the people here are very strong in the Art. After studying and practicing for so long they were able to recognize their inner power, we call ki."

"We can go over this after we are certain of who you are. None of you have proven to my satisfaction that you are who you say you are." Cologne stated firmly. She gave the Nerima group a look of authority to be sure they didn’t discuss anything more on this topic. The ESWAT team frowned, but some nodded understanding. Trust, especially in the Badlands, was earned. Too bad many of the Nerima group didn’t see it that way.

"Aw, give it a rest, Old Ghoul." Nabiki had dropped her hold on Ranma’s leg to finish dinner so he could think again. "We trust you though you’ve never given us much reason to."

Despite herself, Cologne found she was smiling and chuckling softly, images of the past when she helped her great granddaughter to get Ranma slipped past her inner eye. "Touche, son-in-law."

"You ever gonna give that up? We don’t even know if there is an Amazon tribe anymore."

Cologne took a deep breath and pondered the fates of her sister Amazons. "The Amazons are not dependent on numbers, but the spirit." She remarked introspectively.

"Excuse me." Morton interrupted the Nerima groups thoughts. "Has anything happened to your numbers recently?"

A blank look crossed Ranma’s face. "Huh?"

Toufuu coughed politely to get Morton’s attention. "We are all in good health, believe it or not."

"Why do you ask?" Nabiki asked.

Hitomi cut in finally; this was her job after all. "Oh! I almost forgot. We were sent in to pick you all up, but we had some priority on three of you, two men and a woman."

"What for?" Nabiki’s hand dropped to the screw driver at her hip. She could use it as a weapon if need be.

"Well, they displayed the largest amount of power and seemed to be the strongest of your group." Akane smiled, assuming Hitomi must be referring to her. "We have identified to of the people as being Ranma and Ryouga, but the third seems to be absent." The liason was a little taken aback by the young girl’s sudden flare of power and scowl obviously directed at her.

"Oh yeah! That busty little redhead! Man, was she a piece of art or what! She seeing anybody?" Magus grinned, much like Ranma had seen Happosai do when he came across a girl’s locker room.

Morton looked despairingly at his friend. "I think you better give it up, man. Unless you really want to piss off that girl of yours back home."

The smile never faded as Magus regarded the speaker. "What’s wrong? Never heard of a manag-a-tua?"

Tempers flared. Well, the Nerima group and many of those in ESWAT were upset at Magus’ rude behavior. It was only Ranma who really flared in anger, a bright blue that crackled with gold lightening. With his right hand, Ranma put together a small gathering of energy and watched the insulting man sweat bullets.

"Uhm . . . sister of yours?" Magus choked out. The burning light remained in Ranma’s eyes as he nodded once. "Uh, I’m sorry?"

Ranma’s feral grin made some of ESWAT cringe. "You will be." The ki blast was launched directly into Magus’s chest, sending the middle-aged man hurtling into the far wall and hitting it with dull thud. Magus’s unconscious body would have fallen to the ground if he hadn’t been imbedded within the wood.

Nabiki snorted once and tugged on Ranma’s shirt to make him sit down. Magus had it coming for talking so rudely about her boyfriend/girlfriend, but it’s always good to press your dominance with your partner. "You’re lucky that we won’t be staying here long or I would make you fix that hole, Ranma." She scowled slightly.

Ranma blushed a bit. He was still angry, but knew he had gone a bit too far.

For Magus, this would be the fastest he ever learned to change his attitude.

Ono Toufuu met with Cologne outside in the Tendou yard. He followed her there after the evening meal because he could sense that something was troubling her. Cologne wasn’t balancing on her cane as she normally would, but leaning against it, looking a bit more as her age dictated.

"As Nabiki would say, ‘Yen for your thoughts’?" Years of practicing medicine had driven into Toufuu the need for a good tension breaker when starting a conversation. From what he could tell of the Matriarch’s stance, this was going to be a very emotional discussion indeed.

"You need not worry yourself with my thoughts, Ono-sensei. There are many other things for you to worry about."

Toufuu nodded and stood next to the withered old woman and placed a friendly hand on her shoulder. "Yes, but none of them are in need of my attention and if I don’t do something I may get bored."

Cologne chuckled, something like the old sinister laugh she used to give Ranma in their fights. "I appreciate the concern, doctor. I was thinking of my great granddaughter. We never did find her body and I still hold out hope that she is out there somewhere. If I leave and Shampoo finds her way back, how will I ever know?"

"I haven’t given up hope myself, Elder." Toufuu looked out onto the carnage of the surrounding area and had to hide the dubious nature of his assurance. "Shampoo was quite talented and if there was a way to survive, she would have found it. No matter what her fate, however, we must do what is best for ourselves. It is our duty to save those we can and pray for those we have lost." Patting the Matriarch on the shoulder, he started to head back into the house. "Keep your hope alive, but do not forget about the people around you."

They had very little to pack for this trip. Hitomi said they would be given something to start off with depending on what they decide to do in Olympus. Deunan told them that most people surviving the trials of Badside usually ended up in the police.

Nabiki had dreams of working on the new systems that the ESWAT team had arrived in. She learned about a boy named Yosho that had also come from Badside and was Hitomi’s boyfriend. If someone else could do it then so could she.

Ranma had no idea what he would do. For some reason, people were looking for him and Ryouga specifically. Finding out why should be his first mission. Sometimes the most dangerous enemy is the one at your side. Nabiki taught him that.

"So what are you going to do, Ranma-kun?" Nabiki had found her way into Ranma’s room again and was draping herself across his bed cot.

The evening sun was shining through the window and outlining Ranma’s body. He seemed tense, worried about what they were about to do. "I don’t know. It seems like someone’s got somethin planned for me already, y’know?"

"It’s not the curse. None of those ESWAT knew anything about it." She reviewed some of the things they could want him for.

Ranma nodded. He already knew it wasn’t the curse since they kept asking him about his ‘sister’. He was lucky to avoid all the chances people had to douse him with water. Ranma wasn’t upset or even embarrassed about his curse, but he didn’t trust these ESWAT types yet. "No, it’s got somethin to do with Ryouga and my fights we have. I just don’t know what they want to know. I’m not lookin forward to bein some sorta test subject."

Smirking, Nabiki stood up and drew Ranma over to the cot and lied him down on his back before getting on top. "Don’t worry Ranma." She smiled seductively, looking at him through half-lidded eyes, rubbing up against his body. "They’ll have to go through me to get to you."

Blushing, Ranma squirmed a bit under Nabiki’s weight a little uncomfortably, but the motion just stimulated her more. "I . . I feel better already." He grinned stupidly then leaned forward for a kiss.

The door locked and shades drawn, Nabiki made sure that no one would see either of them for the rest of the night. As intimate as they were and open about their feelings, they would not go too far with their relationship. Badside was no place to have a kid. There were no available contraceptives so things like that would just have to wait.

It was no secret to Ranma that Nabiki was hoping that Olympus would be the safe haven she had read about.

"How long is this trip going to last?" Akane asked as she boarded the APD helicopter behind Kasumi. Ryouga had a string tied around his wrist and leading to her hand so she could keep an eye on the boy. Thankfully, none of the ESWAT had asked any questions. People that could pull mallets out of nowhere and flatten people with a single swing were given quite a deal of leniency in their actions.

Being that the welcome wagon was Hitomi’s department, she answered the question. "It’ll be about four hours flight time and then a day of quarantine. After that, I’ll pick you all up for a guided tour of the city. There will be people who want to meet with you and probably help you get started with your new lives. Most people stay with me for the first few weeks. I’ve got plenty of room and there is always something going on."

"Great." Ranma mumbled is he entered the helicopter behind Ryouga.

Nabiki laughed and patted her boyfriend on the shoulder. "You know what they say, Ranma. The more things change . . ."

". . . the more cold water they bring."

Hitomi pulled up a blank for Ranma’s reaction to the old cliché. The Nerimites each had a good laugh at that so she guessed it was a private joke. With everyone loaded into the chopper, Hitomi pulled herself in and closed the doors so they could depart.

Down below, a few scavengers witnessed the takeoff and fired some low grade ammunition at the steel skin hull. Of course, no one even noticed since it took real powerful, fifty millimeter rounds, to even dent the armor.

The group was segregated from the ESWAT team except for Hitomi who answered the groups question and told magnificent stories about the things Aegis is planning.

About four hours into the flight, they began their descent and Hitomi began pointing out all the great structures of downtown Olympus where they were heading. Only Nabiki had any idea of the significance of the modern buildings but even her knowledge couldn’t come up with a basis for asking a question. Appleseed was going to teach her so much about modern technology. She couldn’t wait!

"Oh, how wonderful, Toufuu!" Kasumi smiled at her fiancee. "Now you can start up your clinic again! What wonderful new techniques they must have too."

Toufuu inclined his head at the idea. He would like to be a doctor again, though having his own practice may be a distant goal. He wondered if in this new world there was any need for someone of his talents in ancient medical techniques. Perhaps once word gets out about the curses he would become the expert in their study. Ryouga and or Ranma would definitely cooperate with the studies if he were there.

"We’ll see." He smiled fondly at Kasumi. She was a sight to behold. Through martial artist attack, dealing with her family, and surviving a war Kasumi had never lost her innocent beauty. Hopefully, in this new world they were entering, things would be better for them both.

"Quarentine." Ranma muttered again. After they had landed, doctors took them to a remote hospital so they could be checked for disease and the sort. It was reasonable, but then they had been told to remain in the hospital for a day so the tests could be analyzed. Ranma didn’t like hospitals or shots, and he definitely didn’t like just sitting around doing nothing.

"Will you shut up about it already." Akane snapped. After the tests, the doctors hadn’t held Ryouga’s hand to guide him back to the group. By all expectations, they all thought the ‘lost boy’ to be somewhere in the Arctic. Akane held the hope that he would not leave the island because of his curse.

Nabiki was leaning against Ranma’s chest, sitting between his legs. She didn’t like being held against her will anymore than Ranma or Akane, but there was nothing to be done about it. Her mind was running around with images of the machines Appleseed had created and how they might work. It would be a real treat for her to finally get a close up look at some of the new microcircuitry.

Making little circles along Ranma’s thigh, Nabiki watched another floating car pass by. "Did I tell you Hitomi is going to introduce me to her boyfriend Yosho?"

"No. What of it?" Ranma asked. He wasn’t jealous, but the first thing out of her mouth being the name of a boy did make him . . . curious.

"He’s supposed to be a technician. Hitomi thinks I could work with him to learn about all these new systems." Her hand swept across their view of the city to explain. "Who knows? If I work at it, maybe I can even design some of these new machines."

"Sounds boring to me." Akane stated. "I don’t see what you find so fascinating about designing machines."

"Nab-chan did build those generators for us when the power was cut off." He reminded Akane. "And let’s not forget it was the thing she built that gave us warning to ESWAT’s arrival."

Akane rested her head against one hand, glaring at her sister sitting between Ranma’s legs. Every day that passed she was regretting ever giving Ranma up so easily. Sure he was a jerk, but they had a history together, a longer one than Nabiki. But in all that time, she had never gotten as close to Ranma as her sister had. It was depressing the hell out of her. "I know." She muttered, staring across the courtyard. "I’m just bored."

"You ain’t the only one."

They remained silent for a few moments, waiting for something to happen to alleviate the boredom.

"Hey, Ranma-kun." Nabiki leaned in against his chest to look up at his face. "You think of what to do about your curse yet?"

"Not really."

"Maybe you should just tell them." Akane suggested. "Hitomi says ESWAT is planning another trip back to Nerima to pick ‘her’ up."

He’d been trying to work the problem out since before they left Nerima. If he told them, Ranma would likely be taken to some doctors office and studied. He’d likely die a guinea pig and then they would just start pulling him apart. That didn’t sound to pleasant. Of course, they couldn’t study what they couldn’t catch. Ranma could show Hitomi’s people his curse and fight them off.

Those were two ideas, but Ranma’d rather not be put under the looking glass at all. But how long could he avoid being hit with water? If Ryouga were here, Ranma could splash the ‘lost boy’ and set him out to the wolves and watch what happened.

"I’m working on it." He muttered, resting his chin against Nabiki’s head while curling his arms around the girl’s shoulders.

"Well hurry it up." Nabiki moved her head aside, annoyed by the pointy chin. "You’re nice like this, but sometimes I like the soft side."

Ranma blushed.

Snorting, Akane stood up to walk around the area again. Ranma was such a pervert.

"Well?"

"The blood samples we retrieved are astounding."

A lab somewhere within Aegis. Athena watched as one of the doctors was looking through a microscope and jotting down some notes. "The two boys are quite amazing specimens. Their blood work are some of the most amazing changes I’ve witnessed in the human gene pool. Others in the group are displaying similar traits, but Ranma and Ryouga are much further along."

"What are you babbling about?" Athena made a little annoyed gesture, flicking a strand of her curling red hair out of her face.

"Simply, the cells are stronger. They are capable of repairing themselves even after being removed from a steady supply of nutrients. We’ve also run across a strange anomaly that we have yet to classify." Here the doctor turned to a monitor sitting across the desk from them. It depicted a red blood cell.

"Watch as we add a solution to stain the cell."

Athena studied the image and waited as a drop of bluish liquid washed over the cells. "What happened? That isn’t the same cell."

"That’s what we thought as well." The doctor looked very excited about this point and pulled out a clipboard. "After some checking we found the cell was a relation to Ranma, but he has no family."

"Then what?"

"We tested the blood sample further and found that Ranma’s entire DNA structure is altered depending on water temperature. He is a natural polymorph."

Athena checked over the results on the clipboard. According to this, only one other shared Ranma’s strange trait, Ryouga. Was it coincidence that the trait was found in the most powerful boys in the group? Reading a little further, Athena came across an analysis of the altered cell. "So Ranma is a woman?"

"Not exactly. According to our results, Ranma is a boy and a girl, changing when a certain water temperature threshold is reached."

"And Ryouga?" Athena inquired, reading further.

"We’re still unsure about the other subject. His DNA pattern is more difficult to make out. We don’t think it is human."

Nodding, Athena returned the clipboard and headed for the door. "Start making separate files for Ranma’s better half before you record the findings. I want as few people to know about this as possible. Send copies of your results to my office when you are finished."

"Yes, ma’am."

"Finally!" Ranma flopped onto the large bed, large for him, folding his hands behind his head.

After quarantine, Hitomi picked them up and took them to dinner. In Olympus, they were to be treated like royalty or something, Ranma discovered. Accounts had been made out to each of them with a good sum of money to spend. An entire building was reserved just for them. When Cologne asked why they were being treated so well, Hitomi just smiled and shrugged her shoulders. Someone just thinks you deserve it, Hitomi guessed and drank another glass full of wine.

The room Ranma had chosen was three times as large as his old one and much more furnished, meaning in addition to a bed and desk there was a lamp. A closet in the West wall, opposite the large balcony, had a built in dresser and mirror. The bathroom was down the hall and the kitchen downstairs, that was all he needed to know.

"Not a bad choice, but I would have liked it if you asked my opinion." Nabiki mused, opening the sliding glass door to the balcony.

Glancing in her direction, Ranma watched as the city’s twinkling lights highlighted Nabiki’s profile for him. "Huh? Whatcha mean?"

"I suppose we’ll be moving out sometime anyway to live on our own." She smiled back at him over her shoulder, the wind picking up her shoulder length hair. It used to be short and professional, but after . . . She didn’t want to think about it. There were other things she wanted to think about.

"I. We. I . . . thought you’d be taking your own room." He stammered.

"Is that why you took the small one?" Ranma nodded. Shaking her head in disbelief, Nabiki started disrobing as she advanced upon the bed, jacket landing on the floor. Imagine after all this time and Ranma was still so oblivious to a woman’s advances. "What am I going to do with you Ranma-kun?" Nabiki purred, shoes and socks gone.

Ranma swallowed as he watched Nabiki crawl across the bed, removing her jeans then throwing them onto the pile her jacket and socks were already in. "W-What?"

Straddling his waist, Nabiki took her shirt in hand and pulled it over her head. Now clad in only some cotton underwear, she leaned in to grab his muscular body and kiss him passionately. "We’ll think of something."

"B-But Nabs, we don’t have any . . uh, protection." Ranma squeaked as he felt the ties around his slacks loosen and Nabiki’s nimble fingers slide underneath.

"Good." Things between herself and Ranma had been going really well. Long ago she had wanted to take things a step further, but Ranma had insisted that the war made it a bad idea. "Look at where we are, Ranma."

"What do you mean?" He could tell very well where they were, Nabiki’s hands were making that point pleasantly apparent.

Releasing her grip, Nabiki turned to Ranma’s shirt and started unbuttoning it. "Olympus. We’re safe now." She kissed him, removing the shirt at the same time. "No wars." His pants were gone. "And no more excuses." Her bra was flung through the air.

"This time Ranma," she kissed him again, letting her tongue roam the insides of his mouth. "I’m going to make you mine."

She had to choose the room across from them, didn’t she?

Akane looked sadly up at her blank ceiling. It started out as usual, heavy breathing, some whispering, but now there was a rhythmic pounding. The new age building was near silent so it was unlikely that anyone else in the house could hear, but Akane could feel the subtle vibrations through the floorboards.

For some reason, she wanted to cry just then and bury herself in sleep.

"The analysis of the subjects has been completed."

Data cords for each of the elder council members was plugged into the central unit for the night’s discussion. It took a minute to finish uploading the data relevant to the Zeus project.

"Interesting."

Others of the group nodded in agreement as the information rolled through neural processors attached to lower part of the cerebellum. Artificial nerve highways running across the brain gave each elder the ability to run through volumes of data in seconds.

Over the central unit of their debate hall, 3D imaging of particular strands illustrated altered and added sequences that the subjects contained.

"Most of the group is moving ahead as we had hoped, but the three main targets still contain the genetic advantage. Do we know how this step came about?"

A man bearing several lens motors installed over his right eye worked over a hard copy with background information. "The parents were unfortunately lost so if the step occurred gradually we could not test it. However, the significant difference and relatively unappreciable change due to greater environmental interaction has some believe the step was occurred in one."

A larger man with long flowing white hair and a beard draped over most of his body, floated closer to the display on his anti-mag easy chair. "Are you suggesting that we have the proverbial chicken before the egg?"

The first man nodded. "The doctors suggest a few months observation should result in increased diversity within the cells."

"How is that possible?"

"We aren’t entirely certain." The fourth man, who had brought the cd took a seat, lying across several large cushions. "Perhaps we should procure an experimental subject and observe-"

"That is a little hasty." Third interjected. Directing his next comment to Seven, he backed up the argument. "You’ll recall Athena’s experiment involving pressured revolts. We could be forcing the same issue if we attempt joinings of this nature."

Most of the group nodded at the point. They were attempting to save humanity, not destroy it. Their next move with the group should be very discreet

"Hitomi should be able to provide us with any information concerning present relationships amongst them. And if we find viable conditions, I’m sure they would not be opposed to regular check-ups for health concerns."

"Yes." Five agreed. "Guia has suggested just as much. Optimum pairings based on genetic yield have the main targets involved in most cases. Secondaries, including Cologne, Akane Tendou, and Toufuu Ono also pull some positive yield."

"Who should we concentrate on for now?"

Three switched images upon the display to depict two pairings. "Our best chance in primaries would involve these two, a Ranma Saotome and the young woman."

"Do we have a name?"

Shaking his head, the redhead’s image enlarged. "Blood samples have been taken, but we can not find her with passive scans of Olympus. The secondaries would gain high results if we can cross them with a primary. In other situations, Guia would suggest these two."

"Isn’t she a bit old? I doubt we could convince the humans to seek beauty that far below the surface."

Three nodded and let the images of Cologne and Toufuu fade. "I believe a cloning should work effectively. In such a case only a blood sample would be required."

"Could we not do the same for the primaries?" Four questioned.

"No. For some reason a cloning test has already proven impossible. The cell regenerative properties of the primaries is highly resistant to such tampering. Natural reproduction is the only possibility at this stage."

"We should continue research until cloning amongst the primaries can be obtained. Until then, call Hitomi and start setting project Zeus in motion."

Ranma was in Heaven, or a very good earthly representation. It had less to do with the beautiful city they were walking through and more to do with the woman dragging him along by the hand. What they had shared together was just . . . it was more than he thought possible. Sure, the sex had been great. After years of suppression, he and Nabiki were able to keep it up most of the night and part of the morning. They were too invigorated to feel tired.

They stopped in front of a large window displaying expensive designs in diamond cutting. Nabiki had been keeping up the conversation going over some of the smaller details they were going to need for their lives. It started during breakfast and flowed through the morning, carrying the lovers into the shopping district.

"Oh, wow." Nabiki’s eyes fairly sparkled as bright as the diamonds in front of her. Someone had mentioned that the diamonds themselves were inexpensive due to artificial creation. The price tag attached to those rings reflected the cut and artistry rather than the stone. With a wave of the hand, Nabiki remarked that she wasn’t interested in the material or cost so long as it sparkled.

Apparently, very expensive diamonds sparkled quite a lot.

Without letting go of Ranma’s hand, Nabiki leaned in closer to inspect the rings and make some comments to their affect on her. Ranma was listening carefully, she hoped.

For his part, Ranma was looking into the window and appreciating the beauty of what he saw, the reflection. Nabiki was wearing a pair of her brief shorts and tank top. Her hair was washed and pulled back into a ponytail, giving her back some of her ruthless business woman demeanor Ranma remembered from before the war. The look was spoiled, however, by Nabiki’s broad smile and light step through their walk. No one was complaining, especially the passing pedestrians.

"Ranma, did you hear what I said?"

During the war, Ranma had been frantic to be certain everyone was safe and sound. If someone heard a noise or felt sick in the slightest, he was there to be certain everything would be okay. An enemy was dealt with quickly and efficiently. There was no time for fanfare when people’s lives were at stake.

It was this place, though, in the first few days that Ranma had begun to truly relax. On any other night, his mind would be focused to pick up any disturbance in the area. It drove Nabiki crazy sometimes, but it had to be done.

"Ranma!"

"Huh?! What? Oh . . ." He blushed, looking at Nabiki’s slightly red and accusing glare. "Sorry. What were you sayin?"

Shaking her head, Nabiki continued to stroll along, dragging Ranma by the arm. "Forget it. It’s not that important right now."

Unlike her sister, Nabiki could think before she spoke. She knew of how Ranma worried about everyone. This was likely the first time in a while that he wasn’t thinking of what might happen today.

Taking a sidelong glance at Ranma’s slight frown she wondered if maybe he was worried about himself. It made sense.

In Nerima it was more likely for Nabiki and her family to be hurt than it was Ranma. Now here they were in Olympus, a place where many things couldn’t be settled with your fists. Ranma was the easy target in this section of the world. Nabiki understood that like no other considering the way she ‘handled’ the pigtailed boy from her youth.

"Have you figured out what you are going to do yet?"

Frowning deeper, Ranma stared straight ahead. "Not much I can do, Nab-chan. This ain’t like high school or nothin. I can’t just ask around or listen to the rumors. This place is nice, but we ain’t got no one we can really trust just yet."

They strolled another block or so, barely seeing the windows any longer. Crowds were beginning to thin out as they came upon a fountain at one end of the shopping center. It was a large park like they used to have in Nerima. A number of evergreens were planted throughout the area for shade along with a handful of various flora.

"Nabs." Ranma stopped in front of the water fountain to look into the blue water. "You’ve got experience with this sorta thing. Could you find out what they want with me?"

She wanted to help, but they were just too new here. Nabiki didn’t have the connections she used to and gathering the information Ranma wanted would take time. More than he likely had. "Sorry, Ranma-kun, but I barely know how Aegis runs this place. They’ve got a system of checks and balances like the American democracy, but there are a lot more elements on Olympus."

Nodding grimly, Ranma looked about the area for a clue. "I just need someone I can talk to and trust around here."

Nabiki smiled. Ranma wasn’t the brightest bulb in the package but he was learning. "Well, I see someone that might fill that bill."

"Huh?" he followed Nabiki’s gaze to a young woman in an old style, tan, police uniform. Her shorts were cut along the sides to make them breathe better and the shirt was tight, buttoned down the front and tucked. The book in front of her hid the face, but the scars along her arms and the tied back dirty blond hair made it easy to tell who she was. "Are you sure?"

Nabiki nodded.

Relaxing in the warm sun on a clear, quiet afternoon, Deunan had little trouble focusing on the book in her hands. It wasn’t big compared to some of the other scientific journals she’d seen in the library, but it was one of the most noteworthy. Darwin’s Evolution of the Species was a very progressive piece of work for the time it was written in. Some of his theories were incorrect, but he hadn’t had the advantage of modern technology at his disposal.

She was reading through a section over-viewing the migration patterns of certain birds on the Galapolis Islands when a shadow crossed her view.

"Hey, bub, you’re blocking my sun."

"Huh? Oh, sorry." The voice was familiar, but Deunan couldn’t place it off hand. She looked away from the page to see a couple of yesterday’s extractions standing before her. The first, a young man with stormy blue eyes, shifted slightly to get out of her light. Deunan could see him holding hands with the clever young technician who had done repairs to Bri’s system.

"Uhm, Ryoma and Akiki, right?"

Raising an eyebrow, Nabiki tried to figure out if Deunan was really stupid or making fun of them. She settled for the first for the time being. "It’s Ranma and Nabiki actually, Dumman."

Deunan frowned. "Deunan."

"Right."

Sticking a finger in the book to hold her spot, she sat up to give the couple her full attention. "Something I can do for you?"

"Yeah." Ranma jumped in before Nabiki could speak. "I was wonderin if you knew why I’m here-Oof!"

Pulling her elbow back from Ranma’s ribs, Nabiki smiled and sat down on the grass beside Deunan. "What are you reading?"

"Uh, it’s a scientific journal by Charle’s Darwin from back in the late 1800’s, Evolution of the Species, heard of it?" Deunan looked at Ranma funny then turned to studying the young woman at her side. Nabiki had that sharp, penetrating look she’d seen in Chief of State, Athena.

Plucking the book from Deunan’s hands, Nabiki thumbed through a few of its pages, holding the page Deunan was working on. "We had an abridged overview of his work in Biology class back in high school. Any particular reason for taking it up now?"

Shrugging, Deunan folded the page and set the book down. "Living in Olympus seems to require a PhD if you want to carry on a conversation sometimes. Then again," she let her eyes look over a confused Ranma for a second. "it might have something to do with recent events."

"I see." Smirking, Nabiki stared Ranma straight in the eye. "Wondering how closely related we are to the ape."

Ranma blinked. "Huh?"

Deunan and Nabiki broke out in small giggles, glancing occasionally at the nervous martial artist and laughing a little harder.

A few minutes later, when they finished, Ranma scanned the area. "So where’s the walking scrap heap?"

Deunan scowled. "His name is Briareos Hecatonchires and he’s a cyborg you backwaters, pig farmer."

"You know about Ryouga?" Ranma questioned.

"What?"

"Nothing." Waving her hand to dismiss Ranma’s question, Nabiki tried to get back on track. Ranma was a great martial artist, but his social abilities were tactless. "It’s a private joke. So what do you mean by cyborg?"

"I thought you understood back in Badside." Deunan deadpanned.

Not letting the comment get to her, Nabiki put on a tight smile. "I thought I did too, but he doesn’t look a lot like anyone else around here." As if on cue, an example of one of the stranger looking people strolled by. He was tall and lean, but it was the metallic eyepiece and radio receiver built into the side of his head that drew most of the attention.

Nabiki followed the man’s walk down the stone path for a moment. The people around here just didn’t move right. It might have something to do with all the martial artists she had been living with. For some reason, when Nabiki watched these people it looked more like ice skating. They didn’t quite glide as Ranma or Ryouga would, but the effect was not lost on her.

"Oh, there are others like Bri around, but not a lot. He used to be just like us, then he got shot. After a while and a few dozen operations later . . . well, there he is."

Nabiki nodded. "So those people walking around aren’t cyborgs?"

"Sort of." Deunan frowned. Explaining clones and bioroids wasn’t very easy, especially for her. As she understood it, bioroids were really just specialized clones. But the clones, though they may look alike occasionally, each started from a slightly altered gene. They hoped to stave off any rapid fall-off by switching some alleles around.

"Briareos could probably explain it better."

"So where is he?" Ranma asked again. Nabiki seemed more interested in talking about other things than his problem. He would be upset, but then he’d seen her do this type of thing with others. It was like a fight; this was Nabiki’s way of getting past her opponent’s defenses.

Snorting, Deunan turned away from Ranma completely. "What? You think I need to be around him all the time?"

"Here’s your ice cream, Deunan." Briareos offered, holding out a large armor plated hand with a chocolate ice cream cone.

Deunan only hung her head as the mood was broken. She heard Nabiki stifle a chuckle, but Ranma had no compulsion to hide anything.

"Hahaha! Yeah Deunan. Moth to the flame I’d say."

Deunan growled, took her ice cream and started licking. She tried to imagine that eating the ice cream was making her look intimidating. It didn’t pan out that way in her mind. "So what are you really here for, Nabiki?"

Behind them, Ranma and Briareos were beginning a small conversation on the combat abilities of the cyborgs and bioroids around the island. More than once, the word ‘landmate’ was brought up in the discussion.

Nabiki tried to block out Ranma’s smug remarks and arrogance in displaying his ki ability. "We’re a little worried about why Aegis wanted to get their hands on Ranma and Ryouga."

"And the girl too." Deunan added. They were being sent back as soon as central could find evidence of her whereabouts. Until then they were on stand-by, sort of like vacation with four hours of live-fire exercise.

"Of course. So we were hoping to get some answers without the run around."

"Did you try Hitomi?" Deunan ventured.

Nabiki shook her head. The woman was a tool if little else. Hitome, a nice girl to be sure, reminded Nabiki more of a carrier pigeon for all the information she could give them. "I’d rather hear it first hand."

Deunan nodded sagely. "Probably for the best. I had a little dealing with a girl in Aegis. She could probably give you some real answers."

"Who?"

"Chief of State Athena’s assistant, Nike."

It was a very nice house. Just like the one they lived in back in Badside, except for the connected dojo.

Toufuu and Kasumi had gotten the downstairs master bedroom, understandably. They were such a perfect couple. Toufuu was smart, kind, and attentive to his fiancee’s needs. They wanted to get married as soon as everything had settled down. The marriage would have happened sooner, but finding a priest in Badside was like asking for a cure to Ranma’s curse.

Olympus changed a lot of things for them. Food was a little easier to come by, as well as clothing, toiletries, and ministers.

So having a wonderful relationship and the chance at a wonderful life, why was I stuck with having to go to the market with Kasumi?

"That certainly was an odd choice of clothing for you, Akane-chan." Kasumi commented again as they made their way down the market area. Venders were out in full force, displaying everything from apples to mangos, which Akane was fairly certain, weren’t in season.

"I suppose, but they feel nice." Tugging again at the shirt’s collar, Akane smiled to appease her sister. The shirt was the closest she could find to Ranma’s old Chinese style. There were too many ties and it fit a little tight, but the shirt made her feel a little better. The slacks, on the other hand, were hot, especially on a clear day like today.

Smiling pleasantly, Kasumi continued to guide her sister through the various food stands, purchasing certain things and then piling them into Akane’s handcart.

Some of the people stared at her intently, possibly looking for the glint of metal to show of some bioroid enhancement. Akane paid them no mind except to wonder if anyone practiced the Art. The people of Olympus seemed to move with a certain grace that almost spoke of some training.

Thinking of martial arts soon had Akane picturing Ranma in her mind once again. She had slept a wink last night with the knowledge of what was occurring in the other room. Akane would have complained about it, but she didn’t want either to know she had been paying so close attention to the near silent rumble.

As much as she hated him, Akane wanted to be with Ranma right now. If not for her sisters she would have been with him. They might have started up the relationship they when they were younger, yelling and fighting. It would have been horrible, and made her really angry, but she didn’t want to think of Ranma in any other way. Her Ranma.

"Is something wrong, Akane? You’ve been quiet all morning." Kasumi noted while placing cartons of juice onto Akane’s load.

Wordlessly shaking her head, Akane just motioned for Kasumi to lead on.

"I’m sure Ryouga will be alright. He’s quite a strong young man."

Akane blinked. "What?"

"You were thinking about him weren’t you? I only assumed since this would have been your first chance to marry him." They stepped into a dairy store. The refrigerators hummed with energy, a slight frost developing over their metallic covering.

"Marry him?" Why would she want to do that? Akane tried to recall what Ryouga looked like and while it wasn’t difficult she could get the same vibrant image that she could for Ranma.

"The two of you were always talking about it with Ranma back in our old home." Kasumi spoke innocently enough, always expecting the best of people.

Akane shifted the weight in her hands uncomfortably. There had been times at the dojo when she would try to make Ranma angry. Deciding to marry Ryouga had done that quite nicely for a while. Ranma’s face would scrunch up in anger and he would claim to not care. But less than five minutes later he and Ryouga would be fighting in the backyard. She was sure why she had done it, but it made her feel better.

"Yeah . . well, there’s plenty of time to think about marriage, Kasumi." Akane remarked, though, truthfully, she was a bit worried that perhaps Ranma and Nabiki were thinking along the same lines as her sister. They could be out there right now getting rings!

Pushing the foreboding images of Nabiki in a white gown, Akane tried concentrating on the parcels in her hands. Ranma wouldn’t marry Nabiki anyway. Nabiki was a manipulative, money-grubbing, lazy brat. That wasn’t what Ranma was looking for. Ranma wanted an independent, willful, and loving wife, who was proficient in the Art. Akane was certain of it.

Grimacing slightly, Akane shifted the weight in her hands again as the metal handles began to bite into her palms.

"If you say so, Aka-oh my!"

Akane looked up quickly to see what had startled her sister. Kasumi had led her back to the counter to pay for everything, but only stood staring.

The woman behind the counter was fairly tall, long brown hair, a full figure, with a cute face to top it off.

Akane had a strange sense of déjà vu after seeing this person. Her sister obviously felt the same way.

"Is something the matter miss?" The woman behind the counter asked.

Kasumi removed the hand from her mouth and tried to smile politely. "No, everything is fine, thank you."

Puzzled, but deciding the occurrence to be inconsequential, the cashier passed Kasumi’s debit card through a scanner and handed it back. "Thank you and have a nice day."

Nodding, Kasumi dragged Akane out of the store before her staring gained too much attention. "Did she remind you of anyone Akane."

"Yeah I’ll say she did." Akane blinked and looked back into the store. The cashier was out of view, but the memory she had brought up was still fresh in mind. "She could have been Ukyou’s sister for all I know."

End Chapter Two

* * *

And there it is. The hardest part about writing this story is attempting to create dialogue that mimics the style used in the Appleseed graphic novel.

In the next chapter we will meet up with Ryouga, learn more about Ukyou and Shampoo’s fate, and get into the thick of things with Ranma’s ‘little problem’.

Ja ne.