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Son Ranma
Written By: Tellemicus Sundance
Co-Authored by: Fiori75
#15: The Rampaging Cabbage, Part 2

Nappa charged Raditz, who met him head on and the two start brawling. After just a few exchanges of punches and kicks, Nappa quickly became thankful that his previous fight hadn't been so long. Especially since Ryoga was the kind of fighter that he had trouble with. He was almost as strong as himself, but he fought with learned technique and style to compliment his strength. It was a vicious combination that Nappa always had trouble against in the past. The only real reason he managed win against the boy was because of the other fighters getting in his way, breaking up the rhythm of the fight, and him using Ryoga's emotions over Akane's death to his advantage. If he'd fought the boy alone, who knows what would've happened?

Nappa winced as he blocked a kick aimed low. The blow itself didn't hurt, but it pulled on things that were already sore. 'Dammit! Raditz's fighting style has completely changed! He's not just a brawler anymore! He fights like—like the kid! Wait, did the kid teach him?! But I thought the kid trained under him? The hell's wrong with this planet?!' In a blue of motion, Nappa quickly ducked under a surprise energy blast launched almost pointblank. He'd almost expected a punch, only for Raditz to open his fist and unleash a powerful blast. 'Questions for later. Survive now!'

Raditz smirked. Nappa was on the backfoot and they both knew it. "What's wrong, Nappa? I thought you were gonna put me in my place!"

He couldn't resist quipping with a dangerous smirk on his face. Ryoga had insisted on this type of fighting style. Always get into your opponent's head. And what do you know? It was working. Until now, Nappa had been on the backfoot, defending rather impressive despite his growing exhaustion. But now, with that small provocation, he was suddenly on the attacking and seeing red.

"YOU THINK YOU'RE SO MUCH BETTER JUST BECAUSE YOU SPENT A YEAR ON THIS BACKWATER PLANET?!" Nappa roared, spittle flying from his mouth. Nappa launched a series of fast and furious punches that were powerful enough to send air pressure shockwaves everywhere. But not a single blow landed as Raditz expertly weaved between each of the big Saiyan's large swings. "YOU'RE JUST A LOW-CLASS FLUKE WHO SURVIVED BY CHANCE! I'M A HIGH-CLASS! THE ROYAL CARETAKER OF THE PRINCE! YOU DON'T DESERVE THIS STRENGTH!"

Raditz's smirk grew into an outright grin as he stepped inward towards swinging Nappa and buried his fist in the big brute's gut. "I thank you for the compliment, Nappa. You have no idea how long I've waited to hear you say those words."

"Arrggghh, whhhaaaat?" Nappa groaned in pain as he fumbled back a few steps.

"Thank you for acknowledging my strength," Raditz said in a soft, almost humble voice as he nodded in respect.

"You're…welcome…?" Nappa said with a look of clear confusion on his face.

Raditz's smile did not fade from his face as he nodded and cupped his hands together. A bright ball of ki formed between as he stated, "Now, die."

Off to the side, Vegeta had been watching the whole fight with a growing frown upon his face. Thought he didn't care one lick about Nappa's life, it was still somewhat surprising and disappointing to see him losing so badly to someone who had just a short while ago been such a weakling. Though, he supposed there was something. Raditz did have something of an interesting lineage. He was the son of Bardock, one of the very few low-class who'd risen to the high-class before Planet Vegeta's destruction. Perhaps Raditz could possibly do the same. So, he supposed he could forgive Nappa of this loss, especially since he'd been fighting for quite a while now.

At that thought, he glanced quickly over towards where the woman was still healing the unconscious Ryoga. Already every single wound from the battle was gone. The boy was merely sleeping now. Quietly, Vegeta touched his scouter and read the sleeping boy's power level. '5,600, eh? He really is a Saiyan,' Vegeta thought with a flat look crossing his face. 'Which must mean that the others who claimed to be Saiyans truly are, despite their lack of tails.' This confirmation made his realize that his earlier suspicions about there being a potential Saiyan colony here must be true. He wondered how long they'd been here. 'Thoughts for later. But that healing… Just how extensive is it? It certainly has healed him but just how fighting fit is he? If he can return to battle, that type of healing is priceless. If I can learn for myself… I need to see it in action again.'

And it was this thought that propelled his next move.

Seeing Raditz launching his Single Sunday attack, Vegeta bolted forward and slid to a halt in front of Nappa before anyone noticed his movement. With just a casual flick of his wrist, he sent the beam attack careening off past the horizon. Once the distant explosion had dissipated, Vegeta smirked as he said, "Congratulations, you really have improved, Midclass Raditz. Still, it's not enough to beat me."

Raditz couldn't help grinding his teeth in fury at Vegeta's casual insult. But he knew better than to try and provoke him. He was still much stronger than Raditz.

The remaining Dragon Team all recoiled in surprise at Vegeta's show of strength to varying degrees. It was one thing to know that the short one was so much stronger than all of them. But was another thing to see their best fighter's attack get stopped so easily. Vegeta's uniform isn't even scratched!

"Oh shiiiiit," Krillin gasped out in barely suppressed panic. "Guys, I don't think we're gonna win this."

"What gave you that idea?" Piccolo snapped.

"Arguing amongst ourselves won't do anything about it. We're just going to have to hold out." Cologne barked out.

"Hold out for what?" Vegeta asked, a condescending smirk crossing his face. "Your best fighters are only a third of my strength and you think there's something on this planet that can give you hope? What is it?" Clicking his scouter on, Vegeta started scanning for any more powers than the ones that were presently in front of him. Seeing the scattered high powers, he began saying, "It can't be any of those individuals, they don't even break 300. Hm…It definitely can't be that puny 200 that's approaching us right now. It can't be that cluster of 100s over there. They barely scratch 20,000 altogether. It can't be the amassing army of insects in that direction. There's not even a single real fighter amongst them and their primitive weapons just tickle us. So, who? Who is it that's giving you all hope? Tell me, so I can take it away."

"My husband and brother-in-law! That's who, you little shrimp!" Chichi barked out challengingly.

"Oh? And, where are they? I don't see anyone with a power level that could challenge us."

"They're not here yet," Cologne stated bluntly, like it was an obvious fact of life.

"Yeah!" Kouma cheered, grinning over at the arrogant prince with a knowing look in his eye. "Once they get back from the Otherworld, they'll – !" But before he could finish, Hayato covered his brother's mouth hurriedly.

"Other…world…?" Vegeta said, thinking carefully about the implications he'd just heard. Because he lacked certain important information, he came to the most logical conclusion available. "So, you have fighters training off-world? Clever. It would certainly be a way to hide from my scouter's range. How long until they're back?"

The Dragon Team share a conspiratorial look among themselves before Piccolo looked over and said, "We don't know just yet. But hopefully fairly soon."

"Fairly soon? That's not good enough! I want a time limit!"

"They'll be here in two hours!" Kouma yelled, scrambling for an answer.

"Two hours? I can wait that long," Vegeta said, nodding in easy acceptance. "In fact, let's make it three hours. But, in return, she—" he points at Ukyo. "—has to heal Nappa!"

"She's still busy with Ryoga," Chichi pointed out as she stepped forward fearlessly. "I'll do it!"

Vegeta blinked and stared at Chichi with surprise but steps aside as she approaches. Krillin, Piccolo, and Raditz all glance at one another in worry, knowing that Nappa will likely be stronger once the fighting resumes as a result. They wondered if that was Vegeta's intention all along. But since they couldn't really do anything about it, Piccolo turned to Ukyo after she finishes healing the still-unconscious Ryoga. He sent an idly glance towards Raditz as he said, "You. Heal Raditz."

"Me?! Why me?!" Ukyo snapped, glaring at the Namekian heatedly.

"Because the other woman is busy," Piccolo pointed out, uncaring about the young mother's anger or roiling emotions.

"No! No! I won't do it!"

"Are you stupid?! If the three hours pass and Goku and Ranma are still not here, he's our best chance!"

"He killed my husband!" Ukyo declared angrily. "He can die first for all I care!"

"Dammit! This is more important than that!"

"It's fine, Piccolo," Raditz grunted out as he stepped back and to the side of the group. "I'm not even that badly injured. Besides, Ryoga is stronger than me now. He's our best bet now."

"Two of you would be better than one," Piccolo pointed out.

"Why?" Raditz challenged. "So we can trip over each other as Vegeta beats us to death?"

"Wow," Krillin couldn't help piping up. "You Saiyans really are bad at group tactics."

Before Raditz could retort with the instant riposte he already had on the tip of his tongue, a loud shout drew the group's attention to something more immediate.

"I'M BORED! Entertain me." It was Kouma, standing mere meters in front of the two Saiyans with his arms crossed.

The Dragon Team all turned in shock, surprise, and dawning horror. Ukyo was as white as a sheet as she and Shampoo wound up tighter than a compressed spring at seeing their four-year-old baby boy standing fearlessly in front of their enemies.

Cologne had a surprised quirk of her brow as she took in the scene with a quiet utter of "Genma, you damn fool." This is the sad remains of what came of mixing her genes with that of Saotome…and it may have been a bit of the Saiyan nature too.

Despite her glowing hands hovering over Nappa, Chichi was looking up at Vegeta with a pinched look of concentration that could almost be called a glare. She was already bunching her muscles in preparation for springing to Kouma's aid.

Gohan looked at Hayato. Hayato looked at Gohan. An entire silent conversation passed between the two that amounted to little more than questions and accusations of the nature of: 'WHY WEREN'T YOU KEEPING AN EYE ON HIM?!' 'WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'WHY WASN'T I KEEPING AN EYE ON HIM?' WHY WEREN'T YOU?!'

Krillin just spun and stared with a horrified look on his face, already envisioning Vegeta blasting the kid to dust. Mousse, on the other hand, stared at the child of Saotome and Shampoo. He had to forcefully repress the desire to smile in anticipatory glee. That brat was a representation of his love's relationship with the hated Saotome! He was a blight on his angel. If he were to die at the hands of an enemy, and who everyone agreed was an enemy; he'd be blameless. And he'd be there to comfort his angel, unlike that fool was off only the gods knew where.

Piccolo just crouched slightly, already preparing to follow Raditz in a rush forward to save the kid's life. Meanwhile, Raditz just looked over at the Scrapper with a thoughtful look. Intellectually, he knew the boy was not of his blood. He and Alpha were that Ranma guy's kid, and Gohan was Kakarot's. Both of them considered him family. And through that bond to Gohan, they'd taken to occasionally calling him 'uncle'. He'd punished them both when that'd happened, but it didn't stop him from developing a liking to the name. It would…pain him to see Scrapper die like this.

But where the Dragon Team was all recoiling in horror or preparing for a fight, Nappa and Vegeta both just stared at Kouma with surprised expressions. Neither of them made a move for a long moment after the boy's shouted demand, too surprised at the audacity of this child. But after that moment had passed, Vegeta started chuckling. As if that were the trigger, Nappa also started chuckling himself. As the pair's laughter started to build and deepen, Chichi started looking between the pair in confusion. In short order, both Saiyans were howling in full belly laughs.

Seeing the two's reaction, Raditz frowned and started walking forward. He had a feeling he knew where this was going. On the bright side, at least the boy had entertained him. Still, he silently put himself between Kouma and them.

"HAHAHAHahahaha! This whelp is definitely a Saiyan!" Nappa gasped out, wiping a stray tear from his eye as his laughter finally started to die down, alongside Vegeta.

"Woman!" Vegeta barked to Chichi. "How old is the boy?"

"First of all, my name is Chichi!" the young mother snapped, causing the older Saiyan to blink. "And second, he's four. Why?"

"Kid has spirit," Nappa groaned out with a note of approvement in his voice.

"Tell me, Raditz, is this whelp your nephew?" Vegeta asked with a deceivingly jovial grin on his face.

"Close enough," Raditz admitted, keeping a wary eye on the duo.

"Really?" Vegeta said, with a quirked eyebrow. "He doesn't look much like you, unlike that brat over there." He nodded beckoningly towards Gohan. "I assume that's your brother's whelp, Kakarot. So, who's whelps are these? Do you have another brother?"

"In spirit, maybe," Raditz answered.

"Oh, so, Kakarot found someone to bond with," Vegeta stated knowingly as a dark grin spread across his face. "You used to have a brother like that too, right? Before you got him killed."

Raditz couldn't help gritting his teeth once again at the mention of Turles, his childhood best friend. "Scrapper, here, is my student."

"Oh?" Vegeta said with a grin on his face. "Hasn't earned the right to be called by his name, huh? You are going old traditional Saiyan rearing school, aren't you? That does make him your nephew then. You should've taught him better manners than to make demands of the Prince then."

"You are on the one who's saying we have to wait for three hours! So, you have to entertain me until then!" Kouma shoots back.

Raditz wraps his tail over Kouma's mouth to shut him up. "Quiet, Scrapper!"

Vegeta raises his brows in surprise at Raditz's action of exposing his tail to a vulnerable position. "…One wound."

Raditz looks up in confusion.

"I'll let the whelp walk away from this with one wound. And you'll step aside for it, if you want the brat's life spared, that is."

"Ah, Vegeta, relax," Nappa said in a surprisingly calm and consolatory tone as he shot the kid an almost playful grin. "The kid's a kid. He doesn't know any better."

"And how will he learn, Nappa, if he doesn't see there are any consequences to his actions?"

"Raditz can take the wound for his nephew and we'll continue to wait," Nappa offered with a casual shrug.

Raditz couldn't help shooting the big Saiyan a look of slight surprise at Nappa's agreeable mood. 'Maybe he's just feeling generous because of the presence of true Saiyan whelps? The first ones we've seen in decades?' Quickly putting that thought out of mind, Raditz refocused his attention on Vegeta and nodded in agreement with Nappa's offer.

"Fine then." Vegeta promptly shot a thin but powerful finger beam through Raditz's right shoulder. Vegeta was wearing smirk the whole time as it happened. He did this because it'd likely give him another chance to observe the healing. And, honestly, because it amused him to see Raditz sputter and gasp in agony.

Raditz, ignoring the pain, picked up Kouma by the back of his gi with his left hand and walked back to the group. Though he moved steadily and kept his back straight, it was obvious to everyone that he was in a lot of pain as his shoulder bled profusely down his torso and arm. Despite his obvious pain, Raditz silently handed Kouma off to Shampoo and took a seat on a nearby boulder, looking off to the side.

Ukyo just stared at him for a moment before she moved forward and started healing his wounds. Raditz raises a brow in confusion and questioning. Ukyo just grunts out. "You saved my son. Thank you. But this doesn't make us even though."

Raditz nods in understanding.

Snake Way

Off in the vast expanses of the Otherworld, the two Saiyan brothers were flying at high speeds. Goku spared just a passing glance down at the palace below. The same palace that he smelt such delicious scents emanating from last time. And if not for the urgent sitation they were in, he probably would've been tempted to stop and eat again. But with a dark glare from Ranma and the knowledge of what's happening, Goku forced down his hunger and continued flying on.

"We'll grab some senzus on the way," Ranma offered, also feeling a bit hungry.

Southern Wastelands, Earth

After an hour and a half later when Ryoga finally woke up. Things were pleasantly quiet when he awoke.

"Did we win?" he asked groggily as he pushed himself up into a seated position.

"Not yet, my friend," Shampoo stated bluntly as she helped pull him to his feet. Following her heated glare to the side, Ryoga spotted the two Saiyans. Nappa looked surprisingly undamaged from what he knew should've been a savage beating form himself.

"What happened?!" Ryoga demanded in a building fury.

"We beat Nappa," Shampoo answered calmly.

"THEN WHY IS HE STILL ALIVE?!" Ryoga snarled furiously.

Shampoo gripped his arm tightly. "Because the other one wants him to be. And, well, you can sense him as well as I can."

"Grrr!" Ryoga growled. Even through his fury, Ryoga's senses hadn't abandoned him. He could sense the overwhelming power from the short one and knew that if he wanted something, none of the others could stop him from taking it. Not even Ryoga himself. "Dammit! So then, why are we still alive?"

"We're waiting for the Sons to get back," Piccolo stated.

"Goku and Ranma?" Ryoga guessed.

"That's right," Piccolo nodded. "We managed to negotiate three hours out of them."

Off to the side, Nappa saw that Ryoga had finally gotten to his feet and awake again. Reaching up, he started to tap his scouter. But Vegeta spoke up before he could touch it. "Don't bother, Nappa. I've already confirmed his power level. It's grown since your beating."

"How much, Vegeta?"

"5,600," Vegeta answered blandly. "Stronger even than Raditz." He was purposely trying to get a rise out of the other Saiyan. So, he was surprised when the older Saiyan easily shrugged off the barb and took it in silence. Even in a type of admiration towards his comrade. Still, with the thought of power levels once again on his mind, Vegeta tapped his scouter towards Nappa. '5,500? That's it? The woman must not have properly healed Nappa if that's all he grew by.' "Nappa, are you tired?"

"Nah, I'm fighting fit again," Nappa replied easily.

"Are you sure?" Vegeta pressed lightly.

"Positive," Nappa acknowledged. "If anything, I'm getting kinda bored."

'Hm… Maybe he wasn't as badly beaten as the no-name midclass?' Vegeta pondered to himself. Nappa did have years of experience on him. He was confident that could've bridged the gap. Still, Raditz came next on the check. '5,400?!' Vegeta was honestly surprised. He hadn't thought that the low-class had been that badly injured! Hm… Maybe it was something to do with the method of the healing itself. But…no, something was eluding him. Why wasn't Raditz still using his scouter? It could've been damaged during his time here, but he surely would've taken enough care of it to not let it get destroyed. And yet, he still seemed to have been aware that they had been coming. All of them had. 'Yet more questions for later,' Vegeta grumbled tiredly. 'Just how many more would this planet evoke?' And now the no-name midclass was whispering with the nameless young mother with the distinctive mane of Saiyan hair about 'feeling him'. How could they be feeling him? 'Psychics, Namekians, Saiyan colonies. Nappa was right. This place is insane. Thankfully, there's no magic so far!'

Saiyans typically didn't like magic. Psychics seemed to play to their own rules to keep their power. But it was at least similar to how a Saiyan grew their own power. Such to the point that, at certain points, it all depended on just how strong they all were. So, a Saiyan with enough power could overwhelm a psychic's ability to control them. Magic, however, didn't obey any of those rules. It just did what it wanted.

Finally having grown bored, Nappa stood to his feet, stretched a bit, and called out, "Hey, runt!"

"Yes, Mr. Nappa?" Gohan answered reflexively as the rest of the Dragon Team looked towards the big Saiyan.

"No, not you! Him!" Nappa grunted as he pointed towards Kouma. "You still bored?"

"Hey! I'm Scrapper, not Runt!" Kouma shot back, somewhat aggressively.

"Yeah, Gohan's Runt!" Hayato joined in.

"Oh, and who are you, kid?" Nappa asked with a quirked brow.

Standing up with his chest out and his arms resting proudly on his waist, Hayato proudly declared, "I'm the Alpha!"

Hayato easily ignored Cologne as she sighed heavily while rubbing her brow, "Definitely his father's son."

"Oh? So that supposed to mean you're the best, huh?" Nappa quired challengingly.

"Yup! I'm the best!" Hayato declared.

"Even when, er, Runt and Scrapper are stronger than you?" Nappa questioned with a knowing grin on his face.

"Yup! I always beat 'em when we fight!" Hayato boasted, happily ignoring his brother and cousin's scowling and blushing expressions.

"Oh my god," Ryoga couldn't uttering in a slight daze. "He really is a mini-Ranma. Ukyo! You were supposed to prevent this!"

"Don't blame me!" Ukyo cried out. "You are apparently spent a year with him, you bastard!"

Shampoo let out a long, low sigh. "And we're very grateful that you did. We trust you a lot more than those two." Leaning over, Shampoo muttered quietly into Ukyo's ear, "Although, Raditz is starting to win me over."

Ukyo shot Shampoo a slight glare at that. "Even if he did kill Ranma?"

"Even if," Shampoo confirmed.

"Well then, Scrapper," Nappa called out with an amused grin. "Are you still bored too?"

Kouma visibly perked up. A sight made all the more obvious by his tail taking on an almost question-mark like shape behind him. Nappa didn't even need to wait for him to respond, knowing he already had the kid's attention. He'd almost forgotten how expressive Saiyan body could be. "So, kid, did you have anything in mind? But it can't be fighting. Don't want to accidentally kill you."

"Why do I have to come up with the game?" Kouma whined.

"Hey, you're the one who asked me to entertain you," Nappa pointed out. "So, what did you wanna do?"

Before any further words could shared, a loud and bestial roar erupted from the young boy's stomach. It was a roar that was soon echoed by his cousin and brother. With a brief pause, all eyes turned to the boys. Before anyone could say anything, an answering call was made from the stomachs of Shampoo, Cologne, and Ryoga. And as their stomachs made noises of hunger and want, three more stomachs joined the echoing call as Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz's bellies made known their own hunger and want.

There was another silence as the humans and Namekian took in the scene. The three boys were holding their bellies in almost pain as Hayato quietly said, "I'm hungry."

Cologne and Shampoo were both blushing in embarrassment. Shampoo's was made worse by Ukyo's silent teasing as the various mothers all tried to ignore the pleading eyes of their children. Ryoga, Raditz, Nappa, and Vegeta all chose to look in a random direction as they tried to not look at anyone else in the eye and pretend they weren't hungry as well.

"This is a Saiyan thing, huh?" Mousse asked not-so-quiet voice.

"You know, I thought it might've just been Goku," Krillin answered. "But I guess this really is a Saiyan thing."

"Why are you looking at me? I didn't bring any food!" Chichi quietly scolded Gohan before turning a slight glare over to the rest of her family. "Damn Son family stomachs…or should I say Saiyan stomachs?" She said that last part as she shot a glare towards Raditz and Ryoga.

"That's what we'll do!" Nappa cried out happily and drawing everyone's attention. "A hunting contest! The rules are simple! 10 minutes to hunt. Winner is the one with the most food! Loser has to surrender the biggest piece of food to the winner!"

"Nappa, what is this idiocy?" Vegeta barked with a slight glare to his face.

"We're all hungry, Vegeta. Even you!" Nappa pointed out.

"That's beside the point!" Vegeta snapped. "We have the Namekian's arms. We can eat those!"

"Oh, so you want those measly little arms to be all only meat we have on this planet?" Nappa asked challengingly, blatantly ignoring Piccolo's groan and the looks of disgust from the rest of the Dragon Team.

"I didn't say that!" Vegeta barked back.

"Hey! Can I play too?" Hayato cried, his eyes sparkling with anticipation and hunger.

"Hehehehe!" Nappa chuckled. "Why not? Another challenger makes it more fun! And that just means that I'll get two giant pieces of meat when I win!"

"Then it's a bet!" Kouma shouted out as he leapt up as Hayato kicked a large dust cloud directly at Nappa immediately after the Saiyan finished speaking.

"OOH! Those sneaky little brats!" Nappa cursed loudly as he grinned through dirty teeth. "! I LIKE them!" With that declaration, he shot off in the opposite direction.

As they flew off, everyone else looked about and tried to take stock of the situation. The game was a hunting contest. So that meant that food was incoming and it would best to prepare. Raditz and Ryoga work to work digging a large depression for a firepit large enough to fit a bonfire-sized blaze. It was the best way to cook the dinosaur they were already expecting one of the boys to bring back. Shampoo had caroled Piccolo into helping gather firewood they'd need from the nearby forest they could sense off in the distance. Chichi and Ukyo were rummaging through their pockets for the capsules they had brought with them. Surely, they must include some cooking supplies more sophisticated than a fire and spit. Otherwise, they'd need to forage for spices…and probably wild vegetables, knowing their boys.

"Mousse!" Cologne barked angrily. "Help Krillin make and set up some tables!"

"Why do I have to do it?" Mousse immediately whined.

"You wanna just stand around doing nothing?"

"Maybe I do, you old bat!"

"Okay, no food for Mousse," Cologne said cheerfully.

At first, Mousse just ignored her remark. But when he saw the others all nod in agreement with proclamation, he grunted, "Wait, what?!"

"You don't help, you don't eat," Cologne said bluntly.

"I killed one of the Saibamen!"

"Yes, and that is all you did," Cologne said agreeably.

"But what about the other brat?" Mousse demanded. "He's not doing anything!"

Krillin looked from the crude table he'd just carved from a nearby boulder. "Wait, where is Gohan?"

Chichi's head snapped up at this unexpected question. With a quick look around camp, she realized the question was a good one. Gohan was nowhere in sight. Thankfully, before she could begin panicking, Cologne spoke up, "He left while they were all still talking." Then, to herself, Cologne muttered out, "He's not even of Saotome blood and yet that influence… Or perhaps, is it the influence of Anything Goes?"

As the ten minutes were nearing their end, Nappa was starting to fly back towards the group. Slung over one shoulder he had a makeshift rope from which dangled the meat he had found. Among that list of dead animals were a lion, a tiger, a bear, and oh my so many lizards! He had at least five of them dangling from his back and another five hanging from his front. And these weren't just any lizards either. They were really dinosaurs. Not that Nappa cared. They were large and scaley, thus they were lizards. He might even have to learn their names someday since some had pretty good meat on them.

But as he was flying back, he saw the best thing ever. He saw the biggest lizard he'd ever seen before! It had a long and narrow neck and tail, but it's torso was simply massive. Easily as big as an Oozaru! He had to have it. It would easily win him this entire game! 'And so much meat!' he thought as a line of drool ran down his face. It was the work of mere moments to kill it and hoist it up. But due to its great size and weight he had to carry it himself.

It was with a series of almost musical thumps and bumps that Nappa came to a landing back among the group. As he discarded the rope from his shoulder, he looked around, "So, where're the brats?"

A shadow passed by overhead as he asked the question. Everyone looked upwards to see Hayato and Gohan returning. Hanging from Gohan's shoulder was a bulging makeshift bag of large leaves. When he dropped the leaf bag, it split open to reveal large amounts of vegetables and fruit. On the other hand, Hayato dropped his dead T-Rex with a large pout on his face when he saw the considerably larger pile of dead animals behind Nappa.

"How'd you find all those?" Hayato demanded angrily.

"Simple," Nappa replied with a triumphant grin on his face. "I fly faster, so I can go farther afield."

"No fair!" Hayato whined childishly, a visible pout on his face.

"Well then, where's the last brat?" Nappa asked cockily. "Scrapper, right?"

Just as he finished, another shadow passed over him. But this one was different. It was massive. Everyone looked skywards again and all of them, even Vegeta, gaped at the sight that befell them. It was a building.

It took them all a few moments to really process this. But when they did, they also started to notice that it wasn't just a random floating building. It was getting closer and closer to them. It was at this point that one of them noticed the distinctive color of the person who was holding it aloft. After just a moment of clumsy jostling, Kouma finally dropped the building to the ground a slight distance away form the group. Once done, he turned and shot the visibly gawking group a triumphant grin. "I win!"

Despite having had a few moments to process what she was seeing, Ukyo was having trouble believing what her eyes were telling her. But what made it even worse was when she recognized the logo over the door. She knew that logo. She had bought supplies from a similar supercenter for the pitstop. And such was it that she found herself verbalizing her disbelief while staring at the superstore. "No! NO! NO! Kouma, did you steal a Blue LionSupercenter?!"

Ukyo watched as Ranma's son glanced between herself, the building, Nappa's large pile, and then back at herself. "…Nooooooooooo?"

Ukyo felt a vein on her forehead start to throb. It was a vein that hadn't throbbed in years. Not since they left Nerima. It throbbed like a painful reminder. She just barely managed to hold back her anger as she pointed directly at the blue lion logo and demanded, "Then what is that?!"

It was almost impressive that he was that committed to lie, given the situation. Especially when a person stumbled out of the front door with a pale expression and sweating in fright before he fell to his knees and started to kiss the ground before muttering to himself, "Oh god. Is it over? Is it over?"

"And that?!" Ukyo snapped, now pointing at the man. "What is that?!"

Under Ukyo's darkening, Kouma sheepishly shrugged, "Uh…Okay, MAYBE I…stole a Blue Lion…"

At this point, Cologne had walked up to the pair and placed her hand on the young woman's shoulder in a pitying gesture. "The Saotome Influence is strong in him."

"Strong?! I think he actually SURPASSED Genma!" Ukyo cried out.

"THAT'S CHEATING!" Nappa yells pointing at the building while glaring accusingly at Kouma.

Kouma just smiles. "Anything goes when it comes to filling your belly!"

"Kouma! Put it back! Right now!" Ukyo yells, trying to distract the boy from Nappa.

However, before Ukyo could build up steam, Shampoo's pleading voice halted her momentum as her wife started tugging insistently on her sleeve. "Wait, Ukyo! Think about it!" So distracted by her wife's begging and eager eyes, Ukyo didn't even notice when Kouma wandered off.

"Shampoo! Not you too!" Ukyo groaned in despair. Frantically, she tried to appeal to her wife's sense of morals. "We shouldn't encourage them to steal!"

Unfortunately, appealing to a hungry Saiyan's sense of morality was futile as asking fish not to swim. "Yeah, it's clearly not a good idea. But the food's right there!" She accented her point with a cute stomp on the ground.

"Shampoo! Stealing is wrong! CHICHI, help me out here!" Ukyo begged, hoping that the only other wife of a Saiyan present would be fellow voice of reason.

But when she turned her gaze to Chichi, her hopeful gaze vanished. As the woman stood guiltily stood in front of a large grill setup that was, while big, still too small for any of the bigger game that the Saiyans had already brought in. And to make matter worse, it was clear that she'd dragged it from the supercenter herself. Chichi looked up from where she was setting up the grill to Ukyo, then back down at the grill, then back at Ukyo. Taking a brief pause to look among the various Saiyans and their company, all of whom were watching the scene with varying amounts of interest and humor, she looked back at Ukyo. "Well, the food is right there. You know how difficult it is to cook for a, well, family of Saiyans."

"ARGH! Ranma was right! You are like Nabiki!"

Chichi couldn't turning her nose up slightly at that statement. "I don't know whether to be insulted or complimented by that."

"Take it as a compliment," Ryoga spoke up from where he was standing off to the side. "I'm dating her sister and she's trying to get me into prize-fighting."

"Ohhh!" Chichi purred as the thought of potentially getting Goku or Ranma into such activities. With a brief eye, she glanced over at the man who was also apparently her brother-in-law. Actually, maybe she should use him in it instead since he had no active employment records. "This 'Nabiki' sounds like a smart lady!"

With a loud groan of defeat, Ukyo literally threw her arms into the air as she bemoaned, "I give up!"

Meanwhile, a few employees start poking their heads out as the manager stumbles out while muttering prayers to Kami, "Thank you, Kami. We're still alive! Okay, everyone start coming out." It was only then that he started looking at his surroundings muttering, "Wait…" First he notices the Earth's Special Forces, then the corpses, and then the Saiyans. "I take it back: SCREW YOU, KAMI!"

The Dragon Team could only really watch, looking between the employees and the Saiyans and worrying about what they'll do to them. But Vegeta ignored the glances as he looks over at Kouma and says, "I hope you know that those don't count towards your food limit because I'm not eating those."

"OH GOD, THEY'RE GONNA EAT US!" the manager shrieked, running off into the distance while screaming out. "Trip the women and children! Save yourselves first!" A flood of thirty employees and a few shoppers race off after the manager in a blind panic.

Once the tide of humanity had fled the battlefield, all eyes turn back to Kouma and Nappa who were still in the process of arguing who won the bet. "I said a 'hunting contest'! That means hunting your food down!"

"Then you should've said that whoever had the highest kill count! You just said the most food!"

"Cheeky little brat!"

"Salty baldie!"

"Cheating runt!"

"I'm Scrapper! Gohan's Runt!"

"So, you admit you cheated then?!"

"No, you're just too scared to admit you lost to a kid!"

"I'm not scared of anything!"

Kouma paused for a moment before softly asking, "…Does that mean I win?"

"ARGH!" He throws the Apatosaurus at Kouma in frustration.

Kouma easily catches the large dinosaur and holds it over his head triumphantly. "Yay! I won!"

Shortly afterwards, the Dragon Team and the Saiyans began to start making their lunch. With the two Saiyans, it was a very basic affair and something they'd done countless times on missions elsewhere, using their ki to roast the meat. But even over the smell of such, Vegeta and Nappa were easily able to pick up the scents of the Dragon Team's lunch drifting over on the wind into their noses. Those magnificent and mouth-watering smells quickly caused both of them to look up in jealous yearning as the sight of Cologne, Ukyo, Shampoo, and Chichi all bustling around the area as they prepared everything.

"Vegeta, I'm starting to like this place," Nappa said quietly.

Vegeta inhaled the delicious scents deeply once again, savoring the smell before looking down in disappointment at his own roast wolf. "Make a note, Nappa. We're not destroying this planet."

"Don't need to tell me twice," he answered simply. "I want some of that food."

"You did kill several of their allies." Even among Saiyans, there was a certain small amount of etiquette to be observed during mealtimes.

"Ahhh, don't remind me!"

After several minutes of eating, the scouters start beeping. Nappa and Vegeta turn their attentions to the Dragon Team's table and lock their eyes on the new reading that their scouters detected. Even though their organic eyes couldn't see anything, their scouters were quite clear that there was something there. This was confirmed when they saw some food mysteriously vanishing into thin air.

"We can see you, you know!" Vegeta barked out aggressively.

The assembled Dragon Team all looks up in confusion, some of them with bugling cheeks. But Vegeta and Nappa ignore them as they continue focusing on the one spot. After a pause, the food starts disappearing again. Growing impatient and annoyed that he was being ignored, Vegeta fires off a small ki blast in that area. A figure with arms laden with food and a dumpling disappearing into his gullet suddenly materializes as it's frantically dodging the blast.

Once the smoke and dust settles, everyone stares at the bald old man who's appeared as four voices ring out, "GENMA?!"

Saotome Genma swallowed his mouthful and raises one hand in greeting, "Yo."

"I wanna say I'm surprised," Cologne deadpans. "But considering your master, I'm not."

Genma reflexively shivers as he looks sharply over at the young Cologne and doesn't recognize her. "How do you know the master?"

"Happy and I have history," Cologne deadpans again.

In a surprising burst of intelligence, Genma puts two and two together and stares at her incredulously. "Old Ghoul?! What happened to you?!"

Cologne brings her hands together and then spreads them as she drones out, "Maaaggiiccccc."

"Bullshit!" Genma cried out.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the group, the two invading Saiyans both did a sizable spit-take at the word. They now gave their full attention to the new arrival.

"Says the man who can turn into a panda," Cologne shot back as she splashed Genma with cold water to emphasize the point and to shut him up.

Nappa gags on his food as Vegeta spits out his second mouthful in as many seconds. They both stare in incomprehension at the transformation that just happened, even double-checking their scouters. Interestingly, they saw that were was no increase in power that occurred.

"What a useless transformation," Vegeta muttered.

"Yeah, and it didn't look willing, Vegeta."

Genma holds a sign up towards Cologne that says, 'Dirty pool.'

"Deal with it, old fool."

The sign flips around, 'You're still older than me!'

"Yes, but now I'm young and beautiful. And you're starting to get wrinkly."

Sign flips 'Bitch!'

Krillin speaks as he stares at the panda and the sign and asks, "Wait, how did that even—?"

Ukyo held up her hand to the small man as she quietly said, "Ignore the panda, it only encourages him."

"But who is he? Why is he here? Why is he a panda?!" Krillin asked in relentless confusion as his voice rose.

"He's Son-in-Law's sperm donor, unfortunately," Cologne answered.

"Oh, so, he's Ranma's dad," Krillin said a sudden calmness…which died a few seconds later. "Wait, Ranma's dad?! …Okay, but that still doesn't answer why he's a panda!"

"Because he's a fat and lazy fool who doesn't listen to warnings," Ukyo answered mysteriously.

'Stop indulging that fantasy and pay attention to me!' sign flips 'Where is my son?!'

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!" Shampoo and Ukyo shout as they shoot to their feet and prepare to attack. "AFTER EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT CALL HIM YOUR SON!"

"Treating him like your meal ticket!"

"Using him as collateral for your debts!"

"Throwing him into a pit of cats!"

"Mind-raping him!"

"After everything you've done, you really think you're his father?!"

'And who are YOU to say that?!'

"WE'RE HIS WIVES!"

'NEVER! I WILL NOT allow that!' The panda that the fat man had become was now growling quite loudly to accentuate his signs. 'Ranma WILL marry Akane!' flip 'The honor pledge WILL be fulfilled!'

Ryoga was quickly starting to get pissed but just managed to keep his cool. "Did you ever ask either of them if that's what they want?"

'Stay out of this, boy!' Flip. 'This has NOTHING to do with you!'

"Considering that Akane's dead and Ranma's not here, I think I'm pretty qualified to speak for either of them."

Genma actually stumbled back in shock. 'What?'

Ryoga points to several burial mounds that the dead Dragon Team were laid to rest. "She's dead. She can't be marrying anyone. And even if she wasn't, do you think it's a good idea to ask that when her boyfriend's present?"

Genma had just frozen up as his mind started racing. After just a few moments, he curled up into a pitiful ball of depression. To his credit, the most important thought that was circling through his mind at that moment was 'What am I gonna tell Soun?' Any satisfaction the Nerimans felt over breaking Genma was negated over the constant reminder that a lot of their friends were dead now, and that the enemy was still present.

Hayato walks up to Genma, gazing up at him curiously as he asks, "Why are you a panda?"

Genma stared down at the boy, blinking in surprise. If not for the spiky hair, he would've been an almost perfect replica version of his son at that age. He tried to say "Ranma?" on instinct but had forgotten that he was still a panda. So, what came out of his mouth were just unintelligible growls. Nonetheless, Hayato just continued to stare up at him in fearless confusion, which only further reinforced the image of his son in Genma's mind. Almost hesitantly, he held up his sign, 'Who are you?'

Hayato looked at the sign blankly for a moment before he says, "I can't read kanji yet."

"He's asking who you are, Alpha," Piccolo translated.

"My name's Son Hayato," the boy answered simply before cocking his head questioningly. "What did obaasan mean when she called you 'Daddy's sperm donor'?"

The sign flips over with the words now in Romanji. 'What do you mean 'Daddy'?' In his other paw a new sign pops up. 'Who's your father?'

"My dad's the best martial artist ever!"

"Quiet, Hayato!" Ukyo cried out, having finally noticed where her son was. "Don't tell him who your Daddy is!"

Genma looked up at Ukyo and Shampoo, who'd already claimed to be Ranma's wives. Then he looked down at the young boy who resembled a young Ranma. And then he looked over at the blue-haired boy who also looked strongly like Ranma. An epiphany struck him like a lightning bolt. 'I'm a grandfather?' Genma the panda then flops forward, unconscious from shock.

"Heheheh," Nappa chuckled softly. "This is almost as amusing as watching the Ginyu Force work, Vegeta."

"Shut up, Nappa," Vegeta barked. "If what we've learned here is true, they've got magic." Vegeta made a note to start speaking low, lest the enemy in front of them catch onto their weariness. "We can beat the fighters. But if they decide to turn that magic against us, we have next to no defense."

Unnoticed by Vegeta, Piccolo's large ears quirked ever so slightly.

Snake Way

When they were almost to the beginning of Snake Way, Ranma suddenly froze as a terrible shiver ran up his spine.

Something terrible had just happened and his life would never be the same again. He didn't know how or why, but he just knew it was Genma's fault somehow.

(Tellemicus's Note) Okay, honestly, how many of you saw THAT coming?! Not too many I hope! Heheheheheheh, me and Fiori75 had a LOT of fun writing up this chapter! We've had this on reserve for months and I can't express just how ECSTATIC I am about finally having it posted! I hope you all enjoyed it as much we did thinking it up. I'd laughed more thinking up this chapter than I have in a while!

(Fiori75's Note) Hey, I said a 'family reunion'. I didn't specific which family members would be reuniting with which! You all should've realized that Cologne was cursing his name enough. Speak and he shall appear! …No, Happosai will not be appearing in this fic any further, despite being spoken of. We've got a new devil to deal with and his name is GENMA! If we pull this off correctly, even Soun will be cursing his name soon enough. But soon…soon the main characters shall arrive!

So, read, review, and tell us what you liked and didn't like about this! It was an attempt to capture some of that Ranma-slapstick vibe. If that happened to come across by way of DBZA, that was totally intentional and we're not going to apologize! When the pieces fit, you just gotta put them together.

And to answer the question of several people, Akane got as strong as she is due to motivation. Not just Tien's motivation towards the Saiyans, Akane's more motivated for the long-term ramifications. She knows exactly what comes after the Saiyans, namely Namek and Freeza destroying Namek. So, she trains just that tiny bit harder. In essence, she subjected herself to COLOGNE'S training and not Kami's, which is far more brutal. But, having survived that, had much better returns.