Title: A Legend Reborn

Author name: Trugeta

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ as well as Akira Toriyama and many others. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Note further that I don't own any of the trademarks mentioned in this story.

Also, the OCs used in this story are a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead is not intended and purely coincidental.

This story takes place after Movie 10 of Dragonball Z and at the beginning of the Ranma series. It's an AU, and reviews are welcome and appreciated.

Chapter 28: Endgame

Ranma took a deep breath of the subtropical air predominating in the area he had just arrived at and studied his surroundings more intently than before during his brief stint on Haven. Just as he'd briefly noticed upon his initial arrival, the purple sky and two suns, one red, one yellow, were what really stood out, signifying that he was still far away from his home planet and his mates. Left without constant demon attacks to fend off he had time to think and felt a pang at the thought of his mates and wondered what they were doing, but he knew all too well how counter-productive and depressing it was to hang to your gloomy thoughts and returned to the examination of his surroundings.

Hell's first escapee in eons let his eyes wander and a low whistle escaped him. "Now those huge-ass trees are an eye-catcher for sure," he muttered to himself, craning his neck until it hurt.

What made the huge brown-green trees so impressive wasn't just their height that seemed to top out at about 250 metres, but the thick trunks with a width of a metre and more. It pained him that he had cut down several of these majestic trees in his fight with Belial seemingly a life-time ago, especially as they seemed to practically radiate life, but he hadn't been able to help it. As much as he regretted cutting down the trees, he'd do just about anything to end Belial. Where wood was chopped, splinters must fall, in this case quite literally.

Looking further around Ranma noticed that the rest Haven had to offer seemed very similar to what he was used to, but he wouldn't be lulled into a false sense of security. This was a foreign world after all, and he was the only one standing between Belial, his army and Earth. It just wouldn't do to die of food poisoning because the edibles Haven offered were not compatible with his physiology, especially with him as the only one who had a good shot at killing Belial.

Creasing his brows Ranma pondered if the arch demon had told the truth before he had literally sent him to hell. But then again, could he afford to doubt his word? If Belial could open portals to hell and bring in more of his minions then he'd have to find him as fast as possible before Haven was overrun by demons.

"Only problem with that is that something seems to be blocking my senses. Can't get a lock on Belial for the life of me," Ranma muttered and took a large gulp of water.

A sudden humming sound in the air was his only warning and a fireball scorched Ranma's position. Hadn't the Saiyan reacted Super Saiyan fast the super-heated ball of fire would have assuredly damaged him. Moving from tree to tree so fast he was little more than a blur Ranma found that while he wasn't in optimal fighting condition from all the fighting he had engaged in and the lack of rest resulting thereof it was still better than anticipated. Then he caught sight of his assailant, and any doubt he might have harboured pertaining to the veracity of the Belial's claims was wiped away.

The creature that had attacked him was floating five metres in the air directly above his former position, and Ranma winced at how ugly the thing was even in comparison to some of the things he'd seen in hell. The demon's body was little more than an orange-red and black ball of a metre in diameter, and two large black eyes and a gaping maw with teeth similar to a shark's dominated its face. Its whole body was covered in spikes of at least thirty centimetres length, and it had an aura of malevolence and evil about it similar to the king of hell.

To Ranma his approach was as clear as crystal. Disappearing and reappearing behind the creature in a burst of speed too quick for the demon to follow Ranma shoved one of his signature yellow-green ki-blasts in the beast's unprotected backside with his right arm. The Saiyan then used his speed to gain enough distance and watched the demon explode, a curious croaking noise escaping it. To Ranma's immense surprise this wasn't the end of it, for when the smoke had cleared he found himself face to face with six miniature versions of the demon that weren't bigger than ten centimetres in diameter.

The mini demons spat fireballs at Ranma with high keening sounds without warning, but he quickly overcame his surprise and batted the fireballs away with his wrist-guards. The Saiyan smirked when he saw that he had managed to deflect the attacks just as he had planned, and the ricochets he had created neatly dispatched the demons in fiery explosions that left nothing behind.

His expression then turned grim. "Seems Belial told the truth. He can transport more demons to this realm, even if they're pathetically weak."

Having arrived at this conclusion Ranma floated back to the ground and quickly ate two more protein bars and gulped down some more water. That done he planned his next steps, and after coming to a decision he took to the air to find a defendable spot where he could crash.

-.-

Ranma was awoken from his slumber by a strong feeling of malevolence in the vicinity, and he didn't have to guess twice that the hell king's minions had somehow stumbled upon him in the secluded cave he had found.

Grinning widely and feeling much stronger Ranma drew Nasumi, and he'd never been gladder that Bulma had included an auto-fit feature on top of the many features Nasumi had. Bulma had argued at that time that it couldn't be foreseen if he wouldn't reach a potential third level of Super Saiyan with his rate of growth – which he had – and due to the fact that nobody knew if the potential third form wasn't much taller or smaller she had included the auto-fit feature to all of his equipment.

Nasumi automatically resized to a sword of one-and-a-half metres length just as he had wanted, but Ranma took no time to admire the head-cleaver she had turned into. Carrying all of his possessions already with him in storage space Ranma didn't have to have consideration for the cave, and with a loud yell he powered up to his full might within the basic Legendary Super Saiyan mode, blowing off the top of the mountain in the process.

Ranma floated upward enshrouded by an aura of power and idly noted that it was dawn while thinking that Goku had been right back then; attuned to the mortal realm again he could tell that he was much more powerful in his Legendary base mode, and his casual destruction of his erstwhile refuge proved it. He didn't let his guard down and rightfully so, for not ten seconds later two more humming sounds echoed through the air. Whatever it was that had teleported in didn't wait for the smoke to clear, and two streams of orange-red fire came hurtling at Ranma from both sides.

The Saotome used his speed to body-flicker to thirty metres above his previous position, and making full use of his speed he appeared behind one of the jet-black pterodactyl-like creatures. Nasumi flashed through the air in a beheading stroke guided by Ranma's right hand and met no resistance as she cut off the first demon's head, and a fountain of black blood erupted from the headless body that was sent plummeting to the ground in a downwards spiral.

His eyes glinting mercilessly Ranma evaded repeated fire-attacks from the other demon and repeatedly flickered in and out in his hunt, and the attacker, sensing that it had become prey tried everything in its power to hold itself at a distance from its former target. Its attempts were ultimately futile and doomed from the start, and not two minutes after the demon had realised that it had bitten off far more than it could chew Ranma dealt the finishing blow, cleaving the monster's body cleanly in half.

"Pitiful," Ranma muttered and floated on the spot for a few moments, "I wonder if these demons were so weak or I so strong. Feh, they were little more than cannon fodder."

Shaking his head Ranma took off in search for the hell king's abode. The Saotome really should have known better than to tempt fate like this, but it was doubtful that he would have had it any other way.

-.-

It was the fifth day of his stay on Haven, at least according to the wristwatch Bulma had integrated into his wrist guards, and Ranma was slowly but surely getting frustrated as he hadn't made any progress in his search for the king of hell. He was just flying over the ruins of a massive overgrown city after having slain a trio of over-muscled gray-skinned demons that'd been somewhat similar to the species G'Rarg, G'Rurg and G'Rerg had belonged to – even if much weaker – when something suddenly urged him to touch down.

Constant vigilance had always been high on his list but it had practically become second nature to him ever since he'd been sent to hell, so Ranma used all of his training and experience to fathom if this was his own instincts prompting him or external stimulus; he quickly arrived at the conclusion that the source was foreign but held nothing demonic to it, which limited the chances of it being a trap.

Ranma stopped and floated on the spot, and a frown appeared on his face as he debated on the pros and cons of investigating the origins of the compulsion. "What the hell," he muttered a few minutes later and slowly descended as he tracked the source, "I ain't closer to finding that fucker Belial, so it ain't like I got something better to do."

Five minutes and a flight over labyrinths of what once had to have been streets later Ranma touched down in front of a three-story house that looked just as run down as the rest of the buildings in the vicinity. Raising a yellow-green brow and silently asking himself what he was supposed to find here Ranma walked forward until he stood right in front of the house, a few centimetres away from what had once have to have been the entrance door.

Ranma made to push open the door, and in this moment a strange feeling shot through his body, and seconds later a ripple went through the house, revealing that it was in much better condition than any other housing he had seen on this world yet. Ranma's brow climbed into his hairline at the unexpected revelation, the only thought coming to him being, 'Interesting.'

The feeling, the compulsion for lack of a better word, was getting ever stronger, and Ranma, never one to tame his curiosity entered the building through the entrance door. A small corridor of about fifty centimetres width that was absolutely spartan and held in grey colours ended abruptly in front of a weird metal door with some kind of verdant translucent energy field protecting it. Ranma's senses told him that the field extended to far beyond just the door and likely encompassed a large area, and he surmised that any attempt at forcing entry would likely destroy that which the energy field protected if not the whole building or more.

Ranma still puzzled over the best approach when his senses told him to look to his immediate right. His eyes widened in surprise when he glimpsed upon something he'd have sworn hadn't been there a few moments ago. He looked closer, and the strange apparatus indeed resembled a fingerprint scanner. Ranma's right brow crawled into his hairline for the second time in under a minute, but surmising that if he was in for a cent he was in for a pound he pressed the palm of his weaker left hand against the scanner.

For a short moment nothing happened until suddenly a bright green light emanated from the apparatus, and the thought that this was evidently more than just a simple fingerprint scanner fluttered through Ranma's mind as he was subjected to what he perceived as a baring of his whole being. The young Saiyan had never felt so exposed in his life, and just when he felt like his innermost secrets and dreams were ripped from him the process stopped with the same smoothness it had begun.

"Access granted," a smooth female alto voice spoke up, and the energy field disappeared under Ranma's watchful eyes the same moment the door was replaced by an ornate and elaborate jet-black coloured archway with myriads of small and seemingly moving pictures on it.

Both yellow-green brows rose almost into the hairline for a third time in not even two minutes when a verdant glowing energy field appeared in the frame, and Ranma cautiously stepped forward mindful of traps, but when he entered the archway not even his constant vigilance could have prepared him for being suddenly whisked away by a teleport courtesy of the glowing portal.

-.-

To Ranma it seemed like no time had passed at all until his feet slammed into solid ground with an echoing thud, and the Saotome slowly let his gaze travel over his new surroundings. The first thing he noticed was that the firmament he had gotten used to on the foreign but beautiful planet that was Haven was conspicuously absent, having been replaced by a sky that was completely purple. No stellar constellations could be seen, and Ranma opted to concentrate on the things he could see.

He was standing in a slightly elevated position on some kind of square-shaped pedestal of approximately ten by ten metres with an archway identical to the one that'd brought him here in his back, and from the lack of power and warmth he knew that his only way back had been cut off, or so it seemed. Four paths in the same obsidian colour as the pedestal were branching off from his starting point and could be seen meandering into the distance.

What caught Ranma's eye was the fact that the pathways seemed to have been built right over a black abyss he couldn't see the bottom of, and without a visible support structure to boot. One wrong step would mean the end for everyone not blessed with the ability of unassisted flight, and this setup made travelling these paths a challenge in balance and dexterity.

Furthermore, should he have to fight anyone on these small pathways it meant little room for manoeuvring. "Che, got no reason to assume that whoever has brought me here will just roll over and let me pass through straight to whatever might be of importance here, so it's gonna be fights alright," Ranma muttered to himself and shrugged, "No choice but to go forward. The only question is, which forward?"

Seeing as he had no way of knowing which way would lead to whatever was hidden here Ranma opted to err in the side of caution; rather than flying in a random direction he wouldn't show his full hand and reveal that he could fly in case he needed a trump card later on. After looking in every direction and straining his senses so as to pick up on life signs Ranma shook his head in frustration. "Crud. That ain't helping either," he said and narrowed his eyes, "If nothing helps there's still the good ole process of elimination."

His decision made Ranma began to put his plan into action and marked the pathway he had chosen – incidentally the one pathway that'd indeed faced forward in relation to the archway when he'd arrived – by burning the number "1" into where the pathway began. "Worked for Hansel and Gretel, should be good enough for me," the Saiyan mused with a smirk and followed the path at a comfortable travelling speed.

Ranma briefly interrupted his jog to examine what looked like treasure chests that were standing on the path on a pedestal similar to the one he'd started out from, and his curiosity winning out he pulled the lid of the leftmost chest open. He was already in motion before the clicking and whirring sounds had readied the defensive mechanisms he knew to have activated, and some kind of launchers rising out of the ground immediately spat fireballs at him.

Ranma used his incredible speed and turned into a Dervish, deflecting attack after attack back at its source until nothing remained of the launching devices. "Well, well, well, booby-trapped, eh? Let's see what's worth so much trouble," he mused and walked over to the chest he had opened. "Gold, and all kinds of gems. Pops woulda been in heaven, but his example's taught me at least that it ain't right to take what ain't yours. Ain't so big on monetary things anyway," he shrugged and went to examine the other chest, finding similar valuables that he discarded just like the others before.

After closing the chests Ranma resumed his jog and was forced to disable several more fire-based defensive mechanisms on the way to wherever it was he was going. Not surprisingly he quickly arrived at a fork, and trusting his instincts he carried on on the right path, marking it with "1a". He followed the meandering path until he saw something glowing in the distance, and a smile crossed his face. "Jackpot," he muttered and continued to close in on the verdant portal.

A minute of running later Ranma stood in front of the glowing portal and stepped through without hesitation. The brief moment of disorientation induced by the teleport was quickly shrugged off, and Ranma had to react lightning fast as a fireball scorched the position of his re-entry. A body-flicker to the right ensured that the fire attack missed its mark by a large margin, and his eyes narrowed to slits Ranma spat out, "Too slow," before retaliating with a relatively weak ki-blast to test his opponent's defences.

Ranma studied his assailant, but other than that it was a robed figure about two metres tall in Ranma's estimation with a hood hiding his or her features and clothed completely in black no discerning features stood out. The young Saiyan's eyes widened briefly when his energy attack was blocked courtesy of a wall of fire.

"I am Tec'Ma'Tuk, stranger, the Guardian of Fire. To proceed and learn more about Haven you must prove your worth and defeat my fellow guardians and me in combat," the robed man said and burst into fire, giving him the appearance of a man-sized torch.

Ranma had memorised the layout of the location he had been teleported to, and the platform of fifty by fifty metres didn't offer much of anything in ways of cover for either of them. His eyes narrowed when the fiery being conjured balls of fire from thin air and made them float in front of him. An inclination of the alien's head to the right prompted the fireballs to fly at Ranma at high speed, but the Saotome wasn't the Legendary Super Saiyan for nothing.

Inhaling and bringing his arms in position Ranma gathered his energy and yelled, "Onyx Wave!", unleashing a devastating wall of jade energy at Tec'Ma'Tuk.

The Havenian had time to blink in surprise before his fireballs poofed into smoke courtesy of the wall of energy closing in on his position like a runaway tsunami, and acting quickly he fireflashed out of the way. Ranma, not one to be taken by surprise bodyflickered all over the platform and unleashed repeated Onyx Waves from every corner of the platform as a counter-measure, and a grin spread on his face when a flash of fire reappeared right in the middle of four Onyx Waves that were closing in from every side.

To Ranma's surprise the Havenian smiled before he was hit by the energy attacks and the young Saiyan thought he saw the man inclining his head in respect. Then he poofed into smoke much as his fireballs had done. "That was... Anticlimactic," Ranma muttered with wide eyes.

"Indeed it was," a voice echoed from all around him, making Ranma tense and switch into a defensive stance.

Tec'Ma'Tuk reappeared ten metres away, and Ranma remained on high alert despite the fact that the Havenian was back in his base form. The male humanoid then shrugged back his cowl revealing a bronze face, and a smile played on his face. "You have passed my test, stranger," he said and slicked back his green air, his smile turning embarrassed how Ranma found, "I must admit I've never been defeated so swiftly before. Who are you, stranger?"

"Saotome, Ranma Saotome. I gotta admit that defeating you was easy because of the power disparity between us," the Saotome admitted.

"I had noticed," Tec'Ma'Tuk retorted with a wry smile, his pointy ears twitching. "How did you get so strong?"

Not seeing the harm seeing as all Havenians seemed to have vanished – baring Tec'Ma'Tuk who didn't even feel alive – Ranma chose to answer truthfully. "I'm part of the defensive forces of my home world, and as such I train constantly. No offense, but you barely gave me a workout."

"I see. With things as they are you would easily be able to disable all hidden traps and defeat my brethren, so I ask you, would you be willing to fight them all at once?" Tec'Ma'Tuk queried.

"I'm never one to turn down a challenge, but I've got a question before I agree. You're not alive yet you can interact with your surroundings. So, what are you?" Ranma wanted to know.

"Noticed it, didn't you? Well, I shouldn't be surprised," Tec'Ma'Tuk chuckled and turned serious, "My brethren and I are holograms. A blend of technology and magic, the so called Technomagic, allowed for a likeness of our real selves to be created, including our abilities and personalities.

"We are only able to function here in this realm where the technomagical infrastructure is in place, and it is our honour and duty to test and judge the worth of those pure of heart who find their way to our hallowed halls."

Ranma needed a few moments to process this information and smiled. "Bulma would've kittens," he finally muttered to himself before looking back at Tec'Ma'Tuk. "How'd this work? Can you bring your fellow guardians here or do I have to round them up?"

"They can be brought here with little trouble," Tec'Ma'Tuk explained.

"Good. Do it," Ranma said and crossed his arms across his chest.

-.-

Ranma Saotome, Z-Fighter and Legendary Super Saiyan stranded on the planet known as Haven calmly stood on the platform that had been his latest battlefield and watched Tec'Ma'Tuk, a holographic reflection of the Havenian Guardian of Fire that he had defeated in combat minutes before.

The said hologram had his golden eyes closed in concentration, and when he opened them again three simultaneous flashes of light occurred. Ranma's quick intellect assessed the newcomers that had materialised to Tec'Ma'Tuk's right, and he noted that the three males unsurprisingly looked a lot like the Guardian of Fire.

"So this is the stranger who defeated you so effortlessly, Tec'Ma'Tuk," the rightmost male said and eyed Ranma appraisingly, "Greetings, stranger, I am Sha'Ku'Lah, Guardian of Wind."

"Ranma Saotome, nice to meet ya," Ranma retorted with an inclination of his head.

"I am Ras'Ta'Sas, Guardian of Earth," the Guardian to Sha'Ku'Lah's left spoke up, his serious gaze never leaving Ranma, who inclined his head again.

"And I am Zec'Tam'Ak, Guardian of Water," the guardian to Tec'Ma'Tuk's immediate right said with a nod.

"Nice to meet you all," Ranma said and inclined his head in respect before popping his knuckles, "Now that the introductions are done, are you guys ready to rumble?"

"I like this one, my brethren. He has spirit," Sha'Ku'Lah said calmly.

"That he has," Zec'Tam'Ak agreed, his evaluating gaze never leaving Ranma, "I know you have already fought and defeated Tec'Ma'Tuk, but would you mind fighting all four of us at once? It'd give us a more accurate gauge of your abilities."

"'S okay by me," Ranma replied after a moment's thought. "I'd like to find out what you guys can do."

"Very well," Sha'Ku'Lah nodded and a harsh wind picked up around his body.

Tec'Ma'Tuk and the other guardians had nodded determinedly at the same time, and the Fire Guardian's body was enveloped in flame as before. Zec'Tam'Ak's body turned to water, and Ras'Ta'Sas' body seemed to turn to stone.

Elemental attacks started to fly at Ranma at impressive speeds left, right and centre, and the fact that Sha'Ku'Lah's wind element enhanced Zec'Tam'Ak's and Tec'Ma'Tuk's fire and water attacks made them very dangerous and hard to steer clear of for ordinary fighters. The fact that Ras'Ta'Sas was pelting Ranma with rocks the size of a baseball only added to the danger, but fortunately the Saotome was anything but an ordinary fighter.

Having realised that the wind-enhanced wall of fire coming at him from the left and balls of compressed water closing in from the right, and not to forget the rocks fired at his back would test even his resilience Ranma body-flickered to behind Sha'Ku'Lah and dropped the hologram with a chop to the neck.

The remaining three guardians inched closer to each other and moved into a back-to-back-formation, all the while keeping their attacks up, forcing Ranma to take evasive action. Zec'Tam'Ak quickly turned his body to water and slithered forward as Ras'Ta'Sas and Tec'Ma'Tuk adapted their stances so that they were standing back to back while their attacks were keeping the Saotome busy. The Guardian of Water quickly scooped up their fallen brother into his arms and returned to his brethren under the cover his fellow guardians were providing.

"He's toying with us. He could've taken us all out a dozen times over by now," Ras'Ta'Sas noted as Zec'Tam'Ak dropped Sha'Ku'Lah's body in their midst.

"You're right, brother," Tec'Ma'Tuk agreed while he adapted his stance to better be able to defend and attack, "It seems he is... Enjoying the fight."

"Then I say we give him something to really enjoy," Ras'Ta'Sas grinned while he kept on switching positions with his brethren to make their attacks more unpredictable, "The Union."

"It is the only feasible option," Tec'Ma'Tuk agreed, and Zec'Tam'Ak grudgingly nodded, "He's evading our attacks with ease, and my observations indicate he's getting faster. It hasn't happened in fifteen thousand clicks, but against him this course of action is advised."

"Good," Ras'Ta'Sas said, and without preamble his body began to glow a blinding white light.

Tec'Ma'Tuk and Zec'Tam'Ak exchanged a look and nodded, stopping their attacks at the same moment, and seconds thereafter their bodies began to glow as well, obscuring the four guardians from sight.

A very puzzled Ranma Saotome who'd been having a rather boring evening as far as fights were concerned was left staring in befuddlement. His instincts told him to attack right away, but another part of him was curious if these strange happenings wouldn't result in more of a challenge for him, and this part won out. For better or worse.

-.-

A harsh wind blew through the battle grounds where the fight between one Ranma Saotome, Earthling-turned-Saiyan and Z-Fighter on one side and the four Guardians of Haven was taking place. Up until a minute ago the fight had been going very much in Ranma's favour, but the young Saiyan's decision not to act when the Guardians performed an unknown technique made the outcome seem a lot less certain.

A dazzling light exploded from the guardians' position that caused Ranma to avert his eyes, and when the flood of light had ebbed away a gasp of surprise escaped the Saotome. Where before four guardians had been downright huddled together in their combined effort to fight him, effectively only one hulking figure remained that stood hunched over. Ranma could only guess how tall this merged guardian was until he suddenly righted himself up, planting his fists into his sides.

This giant was just shy of four metres tall, Ranma noted absently as he took in the features of this Super Guardian. He still looked a lot like his individual 'pieces' with green hair, golden eyes, bronze skin and pointy ears, but the lanky physique the four guardians shared had been replaced by a much more buff built. The giant's muscles rippled before his body turned into solid rock, and Ranma wasn't surprised when the left half of the guardian's body burst into flame while the other half turned into water.

"Now we are ready," the Super Guardian said in an echoing voice after popping his knuckles in a very human-like gesture.

Ranma inclined his head. "Ready when you are," he retorted and switched into a battle ready stance.

The guardian needn't be told twice and launched fireballs from his left and ice shards from his right hand. Ranma's right brow inched up in surprise both from the fact that this Super Guardian could combine the wind and water element to form ice as well as that the speed of these attacks was unlike higher than before.

Ranma easily evaded the attacks though seeing as his speed was apparently still superior, but his grin was literally wiped off his face when a lightning fast and rock hard flaming fist punched the right side of his face hard enough to make him stagger backwards, grunting in pain.

Before the Saiyan could react the right arm followed the left's example and extended, bringing an ice-encased fist to bear on the left side of Ranma's face in a crushing blow. Ice shards and fireballs as well as rocks closed in on the reeling Saotome, but Ranma reacted quickly and body-flickered all over the place and out of range of the behemoth.

A rueful grin turned up the corners of his mouth. "Well played," he said and wiped some excess blood from his lips, "Had your attacks been just a tad faster you'd have had me in a tight spot.

"But now it's time to end this," Ranma said determinedly and floated upwards, "Our fight has shown me that I mustn't toy with opponents regardless of if I'm stronger or better, and regardless of if it is a friendly fight or not."

"You should also shorten your speeches," the Super Guardian advised, his arms consisting of fire and water already in motion before he'd begun to speak.

"Maybe," Ranma conceded and used his incredible speed to body-flicker to a position thirty metres above, a yellow-green ki-blast already forming in his hand, "But now try this one for size!"

With that Ranma flung the ball of death downward, and the energy attack he had just unleashed at the Super Guardian of Haven travelled to the ground at speeds that made his other ki attacks look lame by comparison, and a small grin spread on the Z-Fighter's face as he took comfort in the thought that his opponent would hardly be able to deflect an attack this strong.

That didn't stop the Super Guardian from trying, but the yellow-green ball of energy ploughed straight through the shields of ice and wind he erected, finally detonating with unparalleled force.

-.-

The face of one Ranma Saotome, Z-Fighter and Saiyan hardened and he braced himself shortly before the shockwave of concussive force caused by his energy attack hit him. He was pushed backwards several centimetres despite the power he expended to hold his position, and that fact told Ranma that he'd gotten stronger again.

A curious look appeared in his eyes and Ranma floated to the ground, but the smoke and debris that had been kicked up was blown away courtesy of a strong gust of wind. Ranma's eyes widened when he caught sight of the Super Guardian who was down on his left knee, looking no worse for the wear. The same could not be said about their battle field.

Where before had been a finely tiled platform was now nothing more than a giant crater with walkways meandering off in the distance. A strange blackness with seven interspersed circles glowing red with strange, moving symbols on the ground had replaced the former battle ground, and Ranma cocked a confused brow before his gaze returned to the floating Super Guardian.

Taking a chance but keeping his guard up Ranma floated to the giant's level. "What happened?" the Saotome simply asked.

A rueful sigh escaped the Guardian's lips. "Your blast exceeded the tolerances of our holographic environment. Hence the black spot with the controlling seals you see. The damage is repairing itself, but it will take... How do you say that in your language? Oh yes, a few days."

"Huh," Ranma mused intelligently.

"It has never happened before, and we do not want to risk more damage. Thus this test is officially over. Congratulations on passing, Ranma Saotome," the Guardian said and powered down to his rocky base form, extending his left hand.

Ranma grasped the preferred hand and shook it, but didn't feel an ounce of satisfaction. "Thanks," he nodded rather tonelessly.

"You should be proud of yourself," the Guardian said after retracting his hand, correctly interpreting Ranma's mood, "You managed what no one before you accomplished."

Ranma scoffed and shook his head. "Feels to me like I cheated. I blew up your holo thingy and you declare me the winner so I don't destroy more of it. Where's the victory in that?"

"You're a true warrior, Ranma Saotome," the giant retorted with a respectful smile, "Take solace in the knowledge that you would have defeated us in the end. Our logs show that you were getting stronger and faster, an intriguing phenomenon by the way, and you would have overpowered us sooner or later. Victory would have been yours."

"I could've defeated you easily had I gone Level Two," Ranma retorted and briefly ascended before powering back down, his display of power leaving the Super Guardian visibly shocked, "But I wanted a challenge and fought you in my base form because of it, and I still feel cheated out of a great battle 'cause I believe you could've given me a real challenge," he muttered unhappily, "But what's done is done. What happens now?"

The Guardian tilted his head and a brown glowing portal appeared behind Ranma. "Och'Tar'Un is waiting for you, and if we know one thing about him then that he is dying to get to know you. Fare thee well, Ranma Saotome."

Ranma paused for a moment and held out his left hand, and the Guardian grabbed it and shook it firmly. "It was nice fighting you. Maybe we'll meet again."

"Maybe," the Guardian agreed and let go of Ranma's hand.

The young Saiyan inclined his head respectfully and turned around, and with a burst of speed Ranma entered the portal, leaving the Super Guardian behind.

-.-

A mildly disorienting trip later Ranma's feet slammed into solid ground, and the first thing he did was to examine his surroundings. "Looks like a library to me," the young man muttered to himself as he took in the endless seeming rectangular room made of what looked like obsidian. The shelves surrounding him, made of wood from the giant trees as far as he could tell, were stacked with books of all kinds at least five metres high and as far as the eye could reach, and Ranma's left brow slowly inched upward.

"That would be because it is one," a soft voice spoke up from behind in an amused tone.

Ranma whirled around and switched into a defensive stance, only to find an amused looking Havenian sitting in a comfortable looking armchair adjacent to a wooden table of fifty by fifty centimetres that, like the chair seemed to be made of wood from the giant trees. The man was clothed in expensive looking dark-green robes and had an aristocratic face as far as Havenians go plus the usual features, but instead of having golden eyes this man's orbs were a solid silver.

"Och'Tar'Un," Ranma exclaimed in a soft voice, having come to the realisation who this Havenian had to be.

"Indeed, Ranma Saotome. It is an honour to finally meet you vis-à-vis, so to speak," Och'Tar'Un said with a slight chuckle, "I find it fascinating to come face to face with a warrior who is pure of heart yet determined enough to do what is necessary."

"What do you mean?" Ranma queried carefully.

"Our sensors picked up on your appearance on Haven, and we know of your efforts in your ongoing conflict with the demons," Och'Tar'Un elaborated calmly, "It was our endeavour to bring you here for a while now so that we could find out if you're worthy."

"Worthy of what?" Ranma inquired neutrally.

"Of our knowledge, experience and assistance," Och'Tar'Un elucidated and motioned to a chair identical to the one he was sitting in that had appeared out of thin air.

Ranma took Och'Tar'Un up on his offer and sat down across from the Havenian. "Go on."

"You see, the Guardians of the Elements and I, the Guardian of Wisdom, were left behind to guard the well of knowledge we Havenians had acquired in ten-thousand years of peace and prosperity when our mortal templates died," Och'Tar'Un expounded, getting a nod from Ranma, "Our creators had achieved wondrous things, dimensional engineering, interplanetary travel, a refinement of the mind arts, you name it.

"But as mortals are wont to, they wanted more. The best scientists and mages worked hand in hand for centuries on end to bring the one project to fulfilment that'd ensure them their place in the pantheon of the Kami: they planned to use a blend of magic and technology to ascend to the sphere of the Kami without dying first."

Ranma needed a few moments to process what Och'Tar'Un had said due to the enormity of the concept and involuntarily sucked air through his teeth. "They wanted to... ascend to the plane of the Kami?"

"Yes. And all evidence supports the conclusion that they succeeded," Och'Tar'Un said with a nod, "Of course, all physical evidence was erased from the databases so that the procedure could not be reproduced by anyone who might overwhelm us guardians, as unlikely as our creators deemed this scenario. But your case showcased remarkably that even the Guardians of the Elements are not invincible and that the test can be passed."

"Mmmhh," Ranma muttered thoughtfully, "But how would you keep out guys like 'em demons? Or what if some really evil overlord would stumble upon your treasures? And while we're at the q&a game, why can we even understand each other?"

"Good questions, Ranma Saotome. I will answer them in order. Our creators ensured with their Technomagic that no demon could ever even hope to find this dimension, and they also ensured that our domain was spared the total technological eradication that went along with the ascension. For those truly worthy they wanted to leave a way in place to find the entrance, and these worthy candidates then had to overcome the traps and battle the four guardians. In special cases like yours the Super Guardian, yes," Och'Tar'Un amended with a chuckle.

"Yes, you have been transported to a different dimension, a pocket dimension, to be exact," Och'Tar'Un explained upon seeing Ranma's baffled face, "We are protected by means you couldn't even begin to comprehend," he continued with a chuckle, "When you laid your hand on the door-handle you felt a pull on your mind, right?"

"Yeah," Ranma agreed, "I wondered what that was."

"That was the first phase to determine if you were worthy of being granted access to our domain," Och'Tar'Un explained, "As for safety measures, the force-field you saw for example, I mean that rippling effect you passed before you entered the 'facade' is a demon repellent layered with the compulsion to make themselves scarce. No demon, not even a Category Alpha demon has ever been able to overcome this kind of protection.

"There are several other safety features in the field. Take this one for example: only those pure of heart and in control of themselves, meaning free of external influence can even enter our domain.

"The device at the entrance scans the minds of all potential applicants that try to enter and determine a lot of factors, and our Technomagic based computer copies the languages directly from the mind of the ones who intend to venture into our domain. Many have tried and none have succeeded until this day."

Ranma nodded in understanding and smiled slightly. "Guess there's a first for everything. So, what happens now?"

"You have access to all the knowledge we have amassed in ten-thousands of years," Och'Tar'Un retorted calmly, "Knowledge that is compatible with the stage of intellectual development of your race. Mind you, were we not irresponsible fools would we hand over technology you could never hope to handle and would end up blowing up the universe over? That's not something the Havenians want to be remembered by.

"Take the hyper rift technology for example, the tiniest error in calculation would wipe out galaxies! Not to mention technologies like the quantum wormhole generator-"

Ranma's face that had remained carefully neutral showed understanding. "Science ain't my bread and butter, doc, but I got ya."

"Doc?" queried Och'Tar'Un in an amused tone.

"You talk science, geek and nerd, so you gotta be a doc of some kind," shrugged Ranma unrepentantly. "Me, I don't care 'bout science, that's Bulma's domain. I just seek ways to better be able to defend those too weak to do so themselves."

Och'Tar'Un inclined his head after a few moments, his silver eyes twinkling. "Well spoken. Now let us see what we can do to further improve your chances at success in defeating the demons," he segued and pulled out a complicated looking gadget the size of a box of cigarettes; the device made whirring and beeping noises, and Ranma raised his brows while Och'Tar'Un furrowed his in concentration.

"It is as I thought," the Havenian spoke up after several minutes, looking Ranma in the eye, "I have analysed your fights with the Guardians, and have noticed that your power level, as well as your strength and speed have risen constantly. I do not want to tinker with your genetics to further improve your body seeing as the results could be less than desirable-"

"How so?" Ranma interrupted.

"I don't think you'd fancy ending up sterile, insane or dead, do you?" the Havenian asked dryly, and added, "Thought not," at Ranma's firm headshake.

"Our sensors detected that at least one demon is able to tap into Haven's mana. So what we can do is add seals to your armour so as to negate the effects of mana attacks," Och'Tar'Un mused, "You see, mana attacks are not physical attacks by nature but easily induce a lot more damage. And once this demon taps into Haven's mana reserves more fully-"

"His attacks will be that much stronger," Ranma concluded gravely. "Great. It ain't like his poisonous claws are bad enough, nosire."

"Indeed," Och'Tar'Un confirmed, "I do not know how your improving physiology would deal with these kind of attacks, but I wouldn't take any chances if I were you."

"Couldn't agree more. I ain't above taking a gamble to make a fight more interesting, but there's too much on the line here," Ranma replied, his brows creasing.

"Then we will enhance your armour to the best of our abilities and do the same with the sword you wield," Och'Tar'Un suggested, "By using our magic on your sword we will enhance it to the point where it'll be able to take on any other magic enhanced weapon and come out on top."

"Neat," Ranma nodded impressed, "How long till you have it ready?"

"So eager to leave, and so trusting?" Och'Tar'Un retorted, a verdant brow cocked.

"Nope. It's more that I'm eager to dispatch the lead demon and return to my fiancées," Ranma replied calmly, "As for my being trusting, I only trust a select few. Meaning, I'll be with you or whoever intends to enchant my equipment from first to last no questions asked."

Och'Tar'Un chuckled. "I hadn't expected any different, to be honest. Trust is important, yes, but it is also a fickle thing and should be given with caution until it has been earned fully. I will enchant your accoutrement myself, and you can watch every step, Ranma Saotome. Is this acceptable?"

"Yes," Ranma agreed after brief contemplation, "And if you don't mind beginning right away, I have a few demons to end and two very hot women to return to."

"I remember a very astute quote from your mind from a book you read: and Kami created woman," Och'Tar'Un mused with a smile.

"Guess you got me confused with some other guy. Us warrior types don't do philosophical," Ranma retorted with a mocking grin.

"I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say you'd have gotten along famously with our warriors," Och'Tar'Un chuckled and shook his head in amusement before turning serious, "No, I don't mind beginning now. Us Havenians lived by a simple and proven motto: procrastination is the thief of time. And time is too precious a good to waste, for once gone it can never be replaced."

'Tell that to my pops,' Ranma thought dryly while he outwardly nodded. "Yeah, ain't one to put off things either. Sooner or later you gotta bite the bullet anyway."

Och'Tar'Un nodded. "Follow me into my study," he said and got out of his chair in a fluid motion.

Shrugging internally Ranma got to his feet as well and followed the Havenian hologram.

-.-

Och'Tar'Un led Ranma through a hallway lined with book-filled shelves on both sides, and the young Saiyan couldn't help but to notice that while he could read some titles on books' spines the vast majority was gibberish. 'Probably has to do with what doc mentioned, that I can only read those books appropriate to my intellect. Meh. Bet Bulma could read lots more of 'em.'

Och'Tar'Un took a sharp turn to the left and a section of the bookshelf just up and disappeared into thin air allowing the man to walk through. Ranma's body followed on autopilot, but he was immediately fully focussed upon entering the new room, going through a threat assessment automatically.

Despite the fact that the oval-shaped room held in a beige colour seemed to be an office of some kind Ranma kept his guard up, much to the amusement of Och'Tar'Un who made himself comfortable in a translucent construct that looked like an ethereal chair situated behind a huge wooden desk that dominated the centre of the circular room. "Relax and take a seat, Ranma Saotome," the Havenian said and waved his hand which caused a second ethereal chair to appear across from him, "The fighting part's already over and done with, there's nothing left to be cautious about."

Ranma shot Och'Tar'Un a queer look. "There's a saying on my homeworld: a leopard can't change its spots. Think you can guess at what I'm alluding to, eh, doc?"

"And it's perfectly understandable. Even in times of seeming peace, a true warrior can and will never truly relax," Och'Tar'Un mused with a nod, "I assure you though, there's nothing here that'd present a danger to you. On my word."

Ranma nodded and made a genuine effort to relax. "Okay, doc. I believe you."

Och'Tar'Un's face sported a pleased expression and he waved his hand around his office. "Take a look around before we begin. These pictures, for example show some of our greatest technological achievements," he explained, pointing at four carefully arranged canvas to Ranma's right.

Ranma's gaze followed Och'Tar'Un's outstretched arm and came to rest on the leftmost canvas. His eyes involuntarily widened at the sight presented to him, that being a futuristic metropolis consisting of tall skyscrapers made of some kind of organic and somehow alive looking steel.

"That's- That was Ta'Tre'Chera, our biggest underground city," Och'Tar'Un explained, his gaze wistful, "It, like all others of our cities and facilities except this one here was destroyed when the ascension commenced."

"Of course," Ranma heard himself mumble and shook his head to gather himself, his gaze wandering to the next canvas.

This one depicted a slideshow of a delegation of Havenians and varying aliens in a meeting room, and Ranma started at seeing just how divergent Kami-sama's creation really was.

"You'll need some background information to make sense of this. You see, we were explorers of space, but instead of building manned spaceships we built the technology to bring those peaceful in nature to us. Our probes scoured the galaxies always on the lookout for like-minded species," Och'Tar'Un explained.

"Didn't you ever... Run afoul of someone? I mean, encounter a species that was a wolf in sheep's clothing?" Ranma wanted to know.

"Oh yes, it happened in the beginning. One time a probe guided a Nubian to Haven, and our sensors failed to register that he was demonically possessed. I can tell you, that caused all kinds of trouble and led to the start of our war with the demons," Och'Tar'Un grimaced.

"That I can easily believe," Ranma snorted disdainfully, "Demons are nasty and persistent buggers."

"Indeed. These incidents spurred us to perfect our procedures, and we maintained loose connections to several dozen planets," Och'Tar'Un explained, "Until the time came when whole galaxies were set aflame. The Tror'Kash, a people we were on good terms with, sent a distress call at Haven Time 4005875.875, 12,775 years ago in your time.

"Our leaders at that time dispatched our strongest vessel, equipped with armoury to lay waste to dozens of planets, but when it arrived at Tror'Kash Prime nothing but an asteroid field remained of four inhabited planets. 20,756 billion people had been killed, and our recon vessel soon found out by what. As said, the vessel was state of the art, equipped with the most recent technology in shields, weapons and armouring, but it stood no chance against the pink monstrosity that tore it asunder like wet tissue paper."

"Wait a second... Pink monstrosity? Short, fat guy with an antenna on top of his head?" Ranma inquired.

"No, he was short and skinny with strange holes interspersed all over his body, wore white pants, black wrist-guards and shoes and had black, empty eyes with red pupils. But yes, he had the antenna you described. Do you know of the creature?" Och'Tar'Un asked curiously.

"Must be the one Gokan fought," Ranma mused silently to himself before returning his attention to Och'Tar'Un, "Yes, I'm fairly sure I do. Its name's Majin Buu, a monster created by a wizard named Bibidi. Its whole purpose was to destroy anything and everything, as far as we know."

"That's what we found out too," Och'Tar'Un agreed disdainfully, "Why someone would create a being for the sole purpose of destruction is a mystery to me. But should this creature attack your homeworld I feel very gloomy about its future, for it is truly formidable at destroying things."

"Too late for that, but my friends are taking care of it," Ranma interrupted.

Och'Tar'Un raised a brow but chose to continue. "If you say so. Well, it didn't take long for it to come knocking at our door, having left a trail of ruined planets and billions upon billions of dead behind, and even though we deployed all our skills our resistance was futile. Majin Buu, if this is the creature's name, overcame our planetary shield, and we were forced to prepone our contingency plan, the Ascension."

"So the Ascension was more of a last ditch effort to escape certain death?" Ranma inquired, his inflection bereft of emotion.

"Yes and no. Yes, because it gave us a chance to avoid an untimely end at the hands of a compassionless killer, no, because the plan to do so was set in stone anyway," Och'Tar'Un explained in a tone that conveyed he hadn't taken offense, "Just the date of its implementation was moved up.

"And it didn't happen without lots of sacrifices either. Many of our best warriors, the Guardians in Super form included, fell against the monster in a bid to stall for more time to see the preparations through, and through you their sacrifice might be remembered throughout time."

Ranma, whose eyes had gone wide at the mention that even the Super Guardian had lost against Majin Buu inclined his head and remained silent, uncertain of what to retort to something so ponderous. "So the Ascension went as planned, and gauging from the fact that the planet's still intact Majin Buu lost interest, eh?"

"Yes, it went as planned, as far as we know. As for Majin Buu, we just have some logs from automated sensor phalanxes before they went up in smoke with nearly all of the rest of our technology, but in short, yes," Och'Tar'Un confirmed.

"Good for us," Ranma said dryly and frowned, "We should really speed things up so that I can kill the demons' leader and move my ass back to Earth. I wanna know if my friends kicked Buu's ass."

"Earth? Is this the name of your homeworld?" Och'Tar'Un inquired, and added upon Ranma's nod, "Very simplistic, but simplicity has an elegance and beauty all its own."

"Yep," Ranma agreed and gripped the edges of his chair, "We gonna do this now?"

"Yes, it is time," Och'Tar'Un mused and held out his hands.

Two quick movements on Ranma's part produced Nasumi and all of his armour which he placed on the desk in front of Och'Tar'Un without further ado. The Havenian wore a deeply befuddled expression and muttered, "Astonishing! So fast my eyes weren't able to keep up," and shook his head as if to gather his bearings, "Alright," he then said and reached towards a drawer at knee-level, retrieving what looked like a pencil.

After closing the drawer Och'Tar'Un looked back at Ranma and chuckled. "This is a specially crafted device for applying magically charged ink. And to forestall your next logical question, several key items that were placed here are real and no holograms, but only I can get them to work. And should anyone try to tamper with my programming to get access to these items Haven would immediately be destroyed."

"A bit... Extreme. But understandable," Ranma mused with a thoughtful nod.

"Our secrets mustn't fall into the wrong hands," Och'Tar'Un said seriously and looked Ranma straight in the eyes. "I will now draw all the defensive seals that are known to work best against the demons on your platemail. I cannot describe them very well without going off on a tangent that'd keep us busy for weeks on end, but I swear on my honour that the enhancements I make to your gear will not be detrimental to you or your allies. The only ones that should find themselves a nice dank stone to hide under are the demons."

Ranma looked Och'Tar'Un in the eyes and found nothing but honesty. "I believe you," he simply replied, "But I'll be watching nonetheless," he added mock-seriously.

Och'Tar'Un shook his head in amusement and lowered his head, a look of concentration appearing on his face. The Saotome watched curiously as the Havenian began to draw figures and symbols arranged in a circle with his pen, beginning with the left shoulder-plate of his armour. The Havenian concluded his meticulously precise work for five minutes, and Ranma's brows shot up when the design began to glow red.

"This is the sign that the seal is working," Och'Tar'Un explained absently and drew a similar seal on the right shoulder blade while Ranma nodded. The Havenian continued his painstaking work and drew seals all over the armour, and when he was finished forty-five minutes later he looked up. "I'm done with your plate-mail, but was reminded of something. We have encountered and fought demons in the past as you know and have developed plating of our own to shield against their claws, fangs and poisons. As it so happens, a few are stored here. And isn't it just too convenient that they have inherent magical attributes that are far better than what your assorted items have to offer?"

"Lucky coincidence, I'm sure," Ranma muttered with a shake of his head, "But I ain't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Whatcha got for me, doc?"

"Well," Och'Tar'Un drawled and opened another drawer, "a helmet, bracers and platelegs, aside from that gloves and boots," he said, ticking off the fingers of his left hand while placing the black coloured items on the desk, "All items will resize themselves automatically to their wearer, so don't worry about your size. Oh, I can magically integrate all the parts into armour that will cover every centimetre of your body by the by."

"Oh yes, that's a must have. But all of my body?" Ranma asked aghast, "How am I gonna get it off?"

"Now that's easy," Och'Tar'Un retorted with a smile, "You just will it off. To activate the armour you just have to think 'Seal Mode on', to deactivate it 'Seal Mode off'. Simple as that. But we'll come to that once I'm done, okay?"

Ranma nodded dumbly. "Sure."

Och'Tar'Un smiled amusedly and began to inscribe the gear he had retrieved from the drawer with seals as well, displaying the same meticulous precision as before. Another half an hour later he finally looked up from his work, a satisfied smile playing on his face. "Now just the over-seal for the overall colour... There, done. Yes, this will mesh together well, like Tro'ka and So'Ki, or bread and butter in your language. To test the seal mode you have to buckle on the individual parts first, of course."

"Of course," Ranma parroted a bit steamrolled, thinking, 'If that works takin' 'em demons apart should be a whole lot easier. Heh.'

Ranma accepted the pieces of armour from Och'Tar'Un and shed his own bracers thereafter, and the Havenian turned his attention to the sword. The Saotome chuckled inwardly as the tall Havenian seemed to immediately forget his surroundings similar to another brilliant scientist he knew, and he just hoped that the results of Och'Tar'Un's work were as satisfying as Bulma's.

"Only one way to find out," Ranma muttered to himself and began to buckle on the pieces of armour, starting with the platelegs followed by boots; Ranma marvelled at how well the plating moulded to his body just like it was cohering to his feet and legs, and the feeling only intensified when he donned the platemail, bracers, gloves and helmet.

Finally done buckling on Ranma looked down at himself and found that he made for a mighty impressive sight, just like a warrior from the middle-ages. Clenching his teeth in anticipation Ranma thought loud and clear, 'Seal Mode on!'

What followed was one of the strangest sensations Ranma had ever felt, and the feeling of the armour cohering to his skin was magnified a hundredfold. For a brief moment it felt like the metal or whatever the armour was made of was flowing over his skin, but thankfully the sensation didn't last.

Ranma gingerly reached up to his face and let the fingers of his right hand wander over the skin, or at least what should have been skin, only noticing from the slight scratching noises that hand and face were armoured. "I'll be damned. Doc didn't joke when he said that it'd cover all of my body. My whole face's armoured, down to the ears! Now that's what I call armour!"

Och'Tar'Un chuckled and absently waved his right hand, causing a three metre tall standing mirror to appear to Ranma's left. "Glad you like," the Havenian said in the same distracted tone as his body language.

Ranma chuckled for a bit and turned to face the mirror. A gasp of surprise escaped the Saiyan at gazing at his mirror image. Just like he'd suspected, every centimetre of his body, nay, every millimetre - except for his eyes where the armour had formed quadratic eye-slits that were transparent like glass - was covered in midnight-black armour. Even his hair had been encased by the weird alive seeming metal, standing up in large, raven spikes.

Red circles were glowing in an unholy light where Och'Tar'Un had drawn the seals, and a dark grin spread on Ranma's face. "You've done a kick-ass job, doc. Not that I doubt ya or nothin', but you say that this armour's strong enough to stand up to all 'em demons have to offer?"

Och'Tar'Un looked up from his work and furrowed his brows. "Let me impress upon you that one cannot prepare for everything, meaning you should exhibit caution, but our past experiences with demons indicate that the answer is yes.

"Aside from protecting you from physical damage, which is the leading thought behind body armour in the first place, it provides protection from all mana-based attacks seeing as it's well, indestructible. Be it fire, ice, lightning, wind or any other kind of damage, any and all attacks will bounce off. The special metal alloy imbued with magical properties renders all poisons useless, by the by, but you won't really need it as the armour cannot be damaged or destroyed.

"The armour is self-supporting in Seal Mode, meaning it is equipped with internal stores and recycling systems for water, food, energy and air, allowing its wearer to survive lengthy periods of exposure underwater or in outer space. The original creator of your armour, this Bulma, I assume,"

"Yes," Ranma confirmed and nodded once.

"Well, she had already allowed for most of these features, but I, hmm, expanded on them.

"Armour of this type and our magic was what turned the tide in our conflicts with the demons, and they never bothered us again after our battle-mages gave them the soundest trashing they probably ever got at Haven Time 93152352.652, 19,453 years ago in your time. They lost thousands of their warriors that day and were forced to retreat to hell," Och'Tar'Un expounded with a satisfied smile.

Ranma whistled slowly. "Even more impressive, doc," he said and turned to face the Havenian, "I promise I'll turn this baby to good use."

"Of that I'm certain," Och'Tar'Un replied with a chuckle and returned his attention to the sword.

Ranma chanced one last look at his reflection and had to grin at how badass he looked. He then turned around to the Havenian, and a quickly thought 'Seal Mode off' returned the armour to its component parts.

"Now what do you have in mind with that sword?" Ranma asked with a grin.

The grin was mirrored on Och'Tar'Un's face. "Turning it into the demons worst nightmare. We Havenians still have a few bones to pick with the hellspawns due to the losses they inflicted upon us, and this is a grudge we have held. As there are no more Havenian's around to battle them this duty falls to you. I'll make you into the best demon slayer yet, and you will be the one to wipe the demonic brood off the face of Haven!"

"I like the sound of that," Ranma nodded, a gleam playing in his eyes, "And as I'm the only one standing between Earth and a demon invasion I won't forego using all the advantages I can get. And the more I kill, the less can be a threat later."

"That's the spirit," Och'Tar'Un agreed and brought the pen to bear, Ranma watching intently.

Och'Tar'Un worked diligently for over an hour nonstop, and when he looked up again a satisfied smile showed on the man's face. "Seal Array, permanent activation," the Havenian whispered almost reverently, and the whole sword was momentarily bathed in a dark red glow.

"I take it that's a good sign?" Ranma asked with his left brow cocked.

"Yes. It indicates that the seals I applied are working, and that any and all abilities it had before were preserved," Och'Tar'Un replied, the satisfied look having yet to leave his face as he handed Ranma his sword. "I can safely say that this is one of my finest works to date."

"I know asking this is kinda lame, but what can it do?" Ranma wanted to know.

"Being pragmatic is not lame, let me assure you, and shouldn't be frowned upon. I, or rather my counterpart always lived by the rule that pragmatism saves a lot of time, and those annoyed by it are simply not attuned to the same wavelength and should be politely let down," Och'Tar'Un said sagely.

"Couldn't agree more. Now, what about Nasumi?"

"Who? Ahh, the sword. Fitting name, really fitting," the Havenian muttered absently before looking a bit confused, "Where'd I left off? Oh yes, the sword!" he exclaimed with a snap of his left thumb and index finger, "You see, Nasumi has been charmed to be indestructible, although the alloys used in its forging were a very good approximation. She'll stay ever sharp and inflicts increased damage. I also managed to increase the chance that a strike will tear off limbs. Neat, eh?"

"More than neat, doc. If it works as advertised this is great," Ranma replied a bit teasingly.

"`Works as advertised´, eh?" Och'Tar'Un echoed with a mocking smile, "I see a test is in order.

"Zen'Tre'Ra, activate scenario Tu'Lach'Te Wer," the Havenian commanded.

"Affirmative," a pleasant male voice said.

Ranma's brows rose when their surroundings shimmered and were immediately replaced by an arena just like the one he had seen once in a movie, right down to the most meticulous details like small fissures in the walls of the stands and the run-down state of the lion cages. A hot wind blew sand in his face, and the Saotome bent down and grabbed a fistful in his right hand, letting the sand rain to the ground. "Even the texture feels right, absolute authentic. Incredible."

Och'Tar'Un smiled prideful. "Our holi technology, a hybrid of holo technology and magical illusions was very advanced. So much so that you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference to the 'normal' reality as you just found. But now to the test, and keep in mind, this will be a real fight against a demon with all of its powers. You can get hurt."

Ranma nodded seriously. "Gotcha, doc."

Och'Tar'Un inclined his head. "Good. Then let's get this show on the road, as you Earthlings like to say. Zen'Tre'Ra, create a demon category A alpha. Disable safety protocols, authorisation Och'Tar'Un Och'da Ev'te Qa'Tu Kl'rt Zuon Neb."

"Command codes accepted. Carrying out orders," the same computer voice said.

Not five seconds later a three-and-a-half metres tall blue-skinned demon wearing a black breast-plate appeared ten metres away from Ranma, bladed jet-black weapons held in all four of its hands. A snake-like forked black tongue shot out of the demons mouth, and it hissed in what sounded like pleasure. "A mortal to rend and tear. Your flesh will taste deliciously," the creature exclaimed and licked its chops.

Ranma snorted in disdain and gripped Nasumi firmer. "Hardly, ugly. Show me whatcha got."

The demon chose to body-flicker forward instead of answering, and Ranma turned his right shoulder just in time to prevent the creature from raking its upper right claw over the exposed skin between shoulder and upper arm while the other three hands brought the likely poisoned gigantic scimitars to bear. 'Clever beast. He went for the gaps that my unsealed armour leaves,' Ranma thought as he dodged repeated claw and sword strikes that aimed for his weak points. 'And the ugly son of a facehugger's fast!'

The next thing Ranma knew was pain as the demon spat a lightning based attack from its maw that enveloped his whole body in a flickering cocoon of lightning, and the electricity found its way into his body via the gaps, making the Saiyan stagger backwards and grunt in pain. The demon pounced upon his chance and raked his upper right claw over Ranma's left shoulder, leaving deep, bleeding gashes.

"You have lost, mortal," the demon crowed and body-flickered a few steps backwards to better gauge his work before readying himself for the finishing blow. "If you don't succumb to the poison I injected into your system I'll cut you into pieces. But then again, I'll do that anyway."

Och'Tar'Un stood calmly to the side in a spectator's box, but beneath his calm exterior he was fully prepared to cancel the test run prematurely should the situation continue to go out of hand.

Ranma had sunk to his right knee and grit his teeth as he tried to regain control of his body, but he quickly came to the conclusion that he'd have to resort to seal mode. 'Seal... Mode... ON!' he forced himself to think. A grim smile spread on his face when the buckling on took effect instantly, and he felt the strange and oddly comforting sensation of the plating covering every millimetre of him. "I have... Survived stronger... Poison, demon scum."

"Whatever you just did, it won't save you, mortal," the demon spat and let loose another lightning attack that enveloped Ranma like before. "I will enjoy gnawing the flesh from your bones."

The Saotome's quick healing abilities had made full use of the precious seconds they'd been given and had reestablished rudimentary motor control, and Ranma pushed himself to his feet despite being enveloped by crackling lightning that filled the air with the stark smell of ozone. "Who said... It was... Me who needed... Saving, ugly?" Ranma bit out, his teeth forming an annoying, cocky smirk.

The demon barred his fangs and snarled. "For that I'll make you bleed out slowly, mortal. I'll enjoy your helpless cries and pleas for mercy. Come, sing me a song of terror!" he hissed and ran forward, bringing the scimitars held in his left arms to bear in a sideward slash aimed for Ranma's torso.

The demon grinned in dark amusement and anticipation when Ranma's only action consisted of him raising his right armoured arm. It was a course of action that filled Och'Tar'Un with great pride as it meant that Ranma had chosen to show faith in his work, faith he would find out wasn't misplaced.

And then the demon's sharp blades met the plating, and a groaning noise of material being subjected to stress that far exceeded its tolerances was the only warning the demon got before his swords shattered to pieces, just leaving him with broken short swords unworthy of the name.

A brief smirk flickered over Ranma's face before he grabbed the third sword with his armoured hand, and before the stupefied demon could react Ranma had already snapped it in twain. In what seemed to be one fluid movement Ranma body-flickered behind the demon, unsheathed the forth sword from the demon's back and snapped it in two as well.

The enraged demon whirled around and managed to rake the claws of his right hands over Ranma's chest in reflex, but the hard nails didn't even leave scratches on the plating's surface. Using the close proximity the demon spat in Ranma's face and laughed darkly. "My spit eats through anything, mortal, and it'll tear through your flimsy armour like a sword cuts through a mortal. Your tinny li'l mask will melt away, then your face and finally your brain. Enjoy your last moments before experiencing a painful death, fleshbag."

Ranma calmly wiped the spit away with his armoured right hand and used his ki to quickly collect all spit molecules into one glob that he made flat in the palm of his right hand. "That's all I wanted to know," he muttered with a mean glint in his eyes, and then he used his ki to throw the glob of spit at the befuddled demon and body-flickered forward and upwards at a slightly slower pace than the spit.

Ranma managed to time everything perfectly, and having drawn Nasumi in a fluid motion the sword lashed out just as the spit hit the demon in the face, the sword stroke cleaving the creature in half from cranium to crotch. "Now that did me a world of good," he muttered to himself, a satisfied grin on his face as the bisected corpse slumped to the ground.

Och'Tar'Un strolled towards Ranma and arrived at his side just as the demon, all two halves of it turned to ash. "I'll say. Good work, Ranma. You just single-handedly beat Es'Klavas. He allegedly was hell's second strongest demon after their king, and it took a hundred battle mages to defeat him for good. He killed thousands before he was put down."

Ranma regarded the Havenian with a look of mock-surprise. "What happened to `Ranma Saotome´?"

"If you can call me doc I can call you Ranma," Och'Tar'Un retorted with a shrug, "Fair, ne?"

"Sure," Ranma retorted with a shrug of his own that conveyed he didn't care at all, "So that," he pointed at the ashy remains, "was Que'Tar's predecessor. Nasty bugger, that one."

"You don't know the half of it," Och'Tar'Un muttered darkly. "A lot of category A demons appeared on Haven after that possessed Nubian managed to activate a portal before we could cut him down, and they gave us no end of trouble despite our magic and advanced technology. As said, only after developing and commissioning armour of the type you're wearing were we able to decisively drive them off. Hard times were those."

"I can imagine. These demons are incredibly deadly weapons on two or more legs," Ranma mused with a solemn look and deactivated the armour, "They are challenging opponents and fierce fighters, and fighting them would be fun were the circumstances different, but their nature makes them too unpredictable to not kill as quickly as possible. It is a good thing they tend to rely on their strength, speed and poison, 'cause if they find out none of it is working they're so surprised you can easily finish 'em off."

"I could not agree more," Och'Tar'Un said with a solemn nod, but a slight smile crept on his face, "The reactions of the demons who fought our warrior mages outfitted with the new armour were... Amusing, according to reports. But you should never underestimate the demons, never toy with them and never believe you have beaten them until the head's been separated from the body and said head and body's been turned to ash. Thousands of good men made one or more of these mistakes and didn't live to tell of their mistakes, Ranma."

"Gotcha, doc. Now that the armour's been field tested and works as advertised," here Ranma grinned unrepentantly, "I think it's time for me to kick some demon ass and take some names."

Och'Tar'Un inclined his head. "Before you leave let me give you a piece of advice: it is said that the demon king can use corpses or bodies of the fallen for his twisted purposes by animating the said corpses. I know for a fact that there're several sites on Haven where Havenians might still be buried, so proceed with extreme caution and terminate anything the demons sent your way with extreme prejudice.

"We don't care if you destroy corpses of long dead brethren, what's important is that you survive and make a name for yourself," the Havenian said and clapped Ranma on the back.

"Thanks, doc. Say, something just popped into my mind," Ranma said thoughtfully, "Can you help me locate Belial, the leader of the demons? He seems to have holed up somewhere, and for the life of me, I can't find him."

"I wish I could help you in that regard," Och'Tar'Un mused with a pained face, "But almost all of our sensor phalanxes were destroyed, and the one that is still working can only pick up generalised data like your appearance on Haven. In other words, you exude a signal powerful enough to lock on, but if this demon has gone into hiding our chances are zero."

"Shoot. Was worth a try nonetheless," Ranma muttered with a shrug.

"Indeed. Let me wish you a successful and yielding hunt, Ranma," Och'Tar'Un said with a smile and extended his left hand. "May you do well."

Ranma took the proffered hand and shook it firmly, nodding in respect. "Thanks for everything, Och'Tar'Un. Guess I'll be seeing you again sometime, at the latest when Bulma will want to stop by."

The Havenian chuckled. "I admit to looking forward to meeting this Bulma. She sounds like a fascinating person."

Now it was Ranma's turn to chuckle. "I bet you two will get along famously," he smiled and turned serious, "How am I gonna get out of here? The same way I came in?"

Och'Tar'Un shook his head. "No, that'd take too long and would be absolutely superfluous to boot. Just step through this door," the Havenian said and pointed, and moments later the air shimmered and they were back in the office from before, Och'Tar'Un's right index finger pointing at a wooden door in the wall behind his desk that hadn't been there before, "It will transport you close to the starting point."

Ranma inclined his head once more. "As said, thank you very much, for everything. I'll repay you guys by kicking as much demon ass as I can."

"That's all we ask," Och'Tar'Un nodded with a smile. "Fare thee well, Ranma."

Ranma nodded one last time and guided his steps to the door, his boots making heavy thuds on the wooden floor. The Saotome opened the door and turned around to wave over his shoulder one last time, then he stepped into the blinding verdant light emanating from the doorframe.

-.-

Ranma blinked once as the blinding light of the teleport or whatever it was fried his optical nerves, and his instincts and senses screamed red alert a second before a giant paw descended on the position he'd occupied this very second before.

"Mmrrrrrrrrrrr," his attacker snarled, "Fast pesky mouse you are, Rrrrrrrrr."

Ranma, standing on top of a semi-destroyed three story building still had to look up to gaze upon the giant black cat demon. "You... I remember the tainted feel of your presence. You are-"

"The demon who was summoned in your Neko-Ken training, mmrrrrr," the cat demon hissed, its five metre tail waving back and forth in agitation, "I will enjoy playing and toying with you in the hunt, rrrrrrr, for you denied me the right to lay waste to your world."

"Right, huh? Dream on you failed possessor. You'll never get your dirty paws on my world," Ranma snarled back causing the demon to hiss angrily, "You know what, I'll do everyone and everything in existence a favour and be the vet that neuters you. Bad breeding stock like you shouldn't be allowed to procreate. Or better yet, I'll just kill you."

Just as the demon lunged forward with claws outstretched in primal rage Ranma activated the Seal Mode, and the demon's claws bounced off of Ranma's forearm uselessly. A smirk formed on his armoured face and Ranma savoured the look of immense surprise for a few seconds.

'Not that I had any doubts, but the armour works as advertised,' he thought to himself, his eyes lighting up with unholy glee, 'Heh, I'm gonna bury the neko-ken, and I'm gonna have fun doing it!'

A strong wind picked up around Ranma as his power pushed him off the building at a deceptively lazy pace, and then he shot forward at the meowing and hissing demon who didn't seem able to make heads or tails of this unexpected developments like quicksilver. Before the giant cat had time to gather its bearings massive punches were unloaded into its body by Ranma, and his eyes narrowed the Saiyan kept up his unrelenting offensive, ignoring the pained yowls and hisses of the demon.

Its attempts to claw and swat at him were either evaded or blocked, but when it spat at him Ranma pretended to be too slow on the evasive and let himself be hit. "Mmmmrarrararrar! This is your end, rrrrrrrrrr! My-"

"Let me take a wild guess... You're a category alpha demon and your spit eats through anything, eh?" Ranma asked in a bored tone, and the demon's gobsmacked nod caused the Saiyan to smirk darkly, "Been there, done that. Didn't get the t-shirt, but meh.

"Now watch, furry," Ranma continued and collected the spit molecules like before in his fight against the simulated category alpha demon while the cat demon watched dumbfounded, and then Ranma threw the large ball of spit at blinding speed, hitting the demon in the eyes, "As you can see, you see nothing!"

Narrowing his eyes in concentration Ranma body-flickered to behind the temporarily blinded demon and with a swift, fluid motion Nasumi bit through the cat's long tail. Body-flickering to and fro to evade the demon's mad lunges he watched impassively amidst the howls of pain and rage as the heavy tail crashed to the ground causing two derelict buildings to crumble, and with a last body-flicker he reappeared behind the cat and slapped the flat side of Nasumi forcefully into the cat's rear wound.

The demon hissed in pain and involuntarily stumbled forward, and Ranma used his speed to strike at both sides of the behemoth's ribcage, the blade biting deeply into the taut flesh. "RaaaAAAAHHH!" the demon yelled in pain and rage, bloody foam bubbling in front of its muzzle.

"You wanted to play," Ranma said with a shrug, "Not my problem you ain't likin' the game, and it sure as fuck ain't my problem if you're gettin' owned by li'l ole me, pussy-cat. You're just too weak!"

Narrowing his eyes in concentration Ranma evaded a multitude of attacks consisting of claw strikes, spit attacks and lightning attacks and used a lapse in coordination to let Nasumi bite deeply into the cat's left back of the knee. The demon tried to whirl around but its injured leg made it stumble, and Ranma pounced on this opportunity and brought Nasumi up in an upwards swing before swinging her from left to right once she was at neck-level.

The cat demon's head easily separated from the shoulders with a wet gurgling sound, the creature's appendages spasming involuntarily, and finding it safer to err on the side of caution Ranma flew upward, brought himself in position and sliced the still staggering and spasming headless body in half from neck to crotch.

Wiping away the black blood from his armoured face Ranma casually flung one of his signature ki-blasts at the remains, a satisfied smile blooming on his face when the body of that what had plagued him to no end for years went up in smoke. "Hoh damn, now that was downright... Therapeutic," he muttered to himself. "Feh, silly me forgot to neuter him. Must be getting forgetful in my old age."

Ranma then brushed some imaginary dust off his steel skin and sheathed Nasumi, a broad grin on his face. "Now that is the way to slay the sons of bitches," he muttered, "Render their claws and poison useless and they keel over like flies.

"King of hell, I'm coming for you, and our next meeting will be very different."

-.-

Fourteen days later Ranma was slowly but surely growing bored with the demons. The young Saotome had fought all kinds of demons in these last two weeks ranging from hulking muscle-bound behemoths ten metres tall to nasty little critters barely half a metre tall and everything in between.

Belial had even pitched animated corpses of the planet's former inhabitants against him like Och'Tar'Un had foreseen when the dark one seemed to have run dry of ideas, and Ranma had to admit that these corpses had been pretty damn nasty with their magical attacks. But as before, once he'd taken to the air he'd easily been able to eradicate them.

He didn't know if his winning streak was due to the fact that his physical attributes were constantly improving or because of the armour or a combination of the two, but he wouldn't complain that no one and nothing the hell king had sent against him had stood a chance.

To tell the truth, the demons he had fought just an hour ago had been very powerful and would have given the other Z-Fighters no end of trouble seeing how strong they had been, and that their bodies had practically been weapons had been troublesome for a time, but in the end all fights had been a walk in the park in the end. It had been a repeating and almost boring pattern: he'd evade or plain simply shrug off the demons' attacks, wait for an opportunity and trash them until nothing remained.

Ranma had almost toyed with the idea to stop using the armour, but the demons' increasing strength and threat-level meant he needed the protection it offered more than ever and just as much as the adaptability and strengths the form of the Legendary Super Saiyan provided. Catering to his ego that felt it needed a challenge just because his superiority was becoming boring was a mistake he wouldn't make as it could endanger everything. His mates, Earth, the universe, everything, as far as he knew.

Ranma idly chewed on a protein bar and grabbed his bottle, tipping it way back. He had his eyes shut as he gulped down swallow after swallow, chugging nearly three quarters of it, and let out a satisfied belch. "Sure are some ugly buggers, 'em demons," he muttered to himself, "That guy calling himself Que'Tar was a tough cookie, though. Wonder if he survived the wounds I gave him.

"But those tall, thin skeleton-like things with their knife launchers mounted to their wrist bones can't even take a hit. All you gotta do is deflect their attacks back at them and tap them once, and presto, all the bones your dog'll ever need. Che.

"And then these spider things, hah! What use is it if you can jump real high and have all those frickin' teeth if an energy blast from up high roasts them like a campfire a marshmallow? T'is getting really boring, and if this hell king doesn't show his ugly face fast I'm gonna blow up the planet.

"Broly supposedly survived in vacuum, so I should too. Hmm, maybe I'll really do that. Tomorrow. After I fought some more demons. If nothing else they make for good sparring partners," he mused to himself and shrugged.

-.-

Two hundred kilometres north and two kilometres below the ruins of what had once been Haven's biggest city the king of hell lounged on a throne made of black bones. The room he resided in was perfectly circular and was just about big enough with its one-hundred metres in diameter to provide enough space for the blood red portals he had formed to his domain.

It was just beyond annoying that he couldn't use any of these portals to travel to his domain in person as they weren't strong enough to allow him to travel safely, and his foul mood was only compounded by the fact that he wasn't yet strong enough to make a portal that was capable of safely transporting him to hell and wouldn't be for several weeks.

The demon king's eyes narrowed as one of his minions hurried into the cavern, the light from the unholy glowing portals, the only source of illumination, reflecting in his slitted orbs. "What News Do You Bring? Has The Apeling Been Subdued?"

"No, sire," the demon, a massive three metres tall navy-blue skinned creature of a race similar to the king retorted and ducked his head fearfully, "Regardless of whom we send, he emerges victorious. As you know, even Que'Tar, our greatest warrior after you, was defeated in minutes. No one can stop him!"

A rumbling noise escaped the king's throat and he scratched his chin thoughtfully. "This Is Unexpected. Bech'Tur, Return To Hell And Form A Task Force Of Our Strongest Warriors. Find A Way To Invade The Section Of This Poor Imitation Called Home For Infinite Losers And Locate The Section That Contains The Saiyans. Find Me Those Strong Enough To Be Of Use. Do Not Fail Me, You Know The Consequences."

Bech'Tur's nervous gaze wandered to the bloody hook attached to the black wall behind his Master that held the severed head of his predecessor Que'Tar, who had been unsuccessful in doing away with the Saiyan plaguing them, and back to his lord. "I won't, Master Belial!" he bellowed.

"Good," the king hissed and waved his right claw, "Dismissed."

Bech'Tur nodded respectfully and hurried over to the rightmost portal, his clawed feet making clicking noises on the stone floor, and without a backwards glance the demon hopped into the portal.

-.-

Belial's second in command barely stumbled as the red glowing gigantic portal that was the only entrance to hell spat him out, and he automatically squared his shoulders. A gleeful grin split his face in two and the flickering light provided by the fires of the pits was reflected in his black eyes as he took a deep breath of the sulphuric air. "How I have missed this pungent air, this smell of sulphur, fear and despair," he hissed in what amounted to pleasure and his pointy ears twitched when he picked up on the tortured screams of the damned, "And this delightful music. Alas, if only the king could return and reclaim his rightful titles, then we'd get an influx of fresh victims. But soon, soon our torturers will have a chance to grind their tools on new blood, and we will rise to old strength!"

Bech'Tur gave the gigantic portal made of humanoid bones a last longing look before purposefully turning around, his focus completely on the mission delegated to him by his master. His long stride quickly took the three metre tall demon to the district that housed the warrior caste, and Bech'Tur knew from painful experience just how bored his brethren were.

The return of their king had changed things to a degree, but the fact that he wasn't strong enough yet to descend to hell and retake his rightful titles meant that he could only bring in more of their numbers from time to time. Bech'Tur grumbled and cursed to himself, elbowing a few smaller demons out of the way, and he briefly rejoiced in their angry exclamations and muttered curses before his grumpiness returned full force.

The fact that Belial had been sealed and not killed had given hell no end of trouble as him being alive but trapped meant that his titles couldn't be passed on, and it had spawned many a discussion about modernising their procedures. But as so often, the conservative faction had come out on top in the end and things had remained unaffected. Everything had worked out though, and that was what mattered.

Bech'Tur walked down a path he was all too familiar with, past the administrative section and northward until he finally came to a bridge crossing a stream of bubbling molten lava. At the other end of the drawbridge stood two guards, Un'Sar and Vahr'Rad, and both Vree'Kors, stereotypical red-skinned, winged two-and-a-half metre tall demons armed with clubs that were two metres long and lined with vicious looking spikes, looked as grumpy and mean as ever.

"Un'Sar, fetch Gu'Ter! We have people to kill!" Bech'Tur exclaimed as he drew nearer, the battle-axe he was carrying at his belt glinting in the light of the torches that lined the rails of the bridge.

Un'Sar snarled and spat on the ground. "Who are you to command me, Bech-"

The guard didn't get to finish the sentence as Bech'Tur's right fist to the gut introduced him to a world of pain. "In case you forgot, Sergeant, I am your Captain. And with Que'Tar's death Master Belial's second in command. Remember it!"

"Que'Tar is dead?" Vahr'Rad hissed in disbelief, "Impossible!"

"He lost to a mortal, and his head now adorns Master's wall in his momentary base in the mortal realm, serving as a reminder that failure isn't tolerated," Bech'Tur retorted glowering, "And don't even think about challenging me for my position. I'd subject you to tortures you can't even dream of before killing you in the slowest possible way."

Un'Sar snorted and spat out blood. "So the great Que'Tar lost to a mortal. How... humiliating. Did the mortal kill him?"

"Que'Tar managed to escape before the Apeling could deal the finishing blow, and he appeared bloodied and battered in front of the Master, claiming that no one could stop the mortal," Bech'Tur explained with narrowed eyes, "You can imagine how the Master reacted."

Vah'Rad's and Un'Sar's eyes were without compassion. "You already said that his head ended up as decoration on Master's wall," Un'Sar said with a shrug, "So what was that about killing people? Are we finally moving out again?"

Bech'Tur stopped the other demon's with a wave of his hand. "Nothing like that, yet. We are to invade that cheap imitation Home for Infinite Losers, find us a few Saiyans that are willing to work for us and slay as many of the poor imitations posing as demons as we can."

Un'Sar and Vah'Rad looked at each other and shrugged. "Better than nothing, I suppose," Vah'Rad mused with Un'Sar agreeing, "Captain, we'll lead the way to Command. Bet they'll like that li'l change in routine."

Bech'Tur smiled a fanged grin. "Who in their right mind wouldn't?"

-.-

Sixty minutes and a few broken bones and busted egos later a group of twenty demons stood at the outskirts of hell in front of a blue glowing portal some of hell's best magic users had created with their weapons drawn and ready, every single one of them armed to the teeth. Twelve of the task force were of the Sa'Kar race like Bech'Tur, the other eight were Vree'Kors, and not one of the demons was smaller than two-and-a-half metres. All of them looked almost as impressive as Bech'Tur, the strongest of the group, and with Que'Tar's demise the second-strongest demon of all.

"As you all know, this portal leads to the upper levels of hell and to that was has become HFIL," Bech'Tur explained, disgust making his lips curl, "We have no tactical information on our enemy other than that we can expect a lot of low level demons," he concluded with distaste.

"Swordfodder," Vah'Rad grunted and fingered his massive scimitars with a mean grin.

"Most probably, yes," Bech'Tur agreed with a sneer, "Kill every single one we encounter, that'll make it easier to overtake this worthless place in the future."

"Yessir!" a chorus of nineteen voices echoed.

Bech'Tur held up his black battle axe in his right and his equally black great sword in his left claw. "For the glory of the one true Hell!" he exclaimed and stepped through the portal.

A mildly disorienting trip that didn't take more than a minute later Bech'Tur and his group were spat out of the portal, and after everyone had assembled the leader gave their surroundings a cursory examination, a derisive scoff escaping him. "This is... This is disgraceful! Where are the pits, where's the sulphur, where's the fires, where are the moans of the damned?

"Bah!" he exclaimed and spat on the ground, "The sooner we accomplish our task the sooner we allow for the Master to return to us, and the sooner we can crush this appalling place the upper hells have become! Group, set out!"

"YESSIR!" the other demons bellowed, and with their assorted weaponry drawn the armed demon force set about their invasion of the home for infinite losers.

-.-

Three hours later the rightmost portal in Belial's chamber flared to life again, and the king of hell, who had in the meantime lost another ten demons to this irritating and unbeatable seeming Saiyan, narrowed his eyes, the sharp nails of his right claw making clicking noises as he drummed them on the collarbone of a Nubian, and considering that the average Nubian was four metres tall it made for an adequate armrest for a king of hell.

Bech'Tur stepped out of the portal and shook his head with a disdainful expression. "We were successful, Master Belial. I invaded what has become this dratted home for infinite losers with nineteen of our best, and the resistance we encountered was pitiful! They didn't even give us a good fight and fled as soon as they sighted us!" he exclaimed in outrage and stopped in his tirade to stroke his chin. "Aside from one demon that looked like a diminutive male human with funny facial hair, that is. Now that one had stamina! We had to blast him over and over and finally bound him in tight chains of cold iron, but he still twitched!"

"I See," Belial rumbled and scratched his chin, "As Soon As I Reclaim My Rightful Titles I Will Also Reclaim The Upper Levels Of My Domain And Kill All Of These Weaklings, And Neither Kami-Sama Nor Lord Enma Can Do Anything About It. It Is My Realm After All.

"So, Whom Do You Bring That Can Defeat This Troublesome Apeling?" the king of hell asked curiously, his red eyes narrowed to slits.

"I told him to wait for a minute, but he should arrive any moment now-" Bech'Tur was interrupted by the portal spitting out someone who made Belial take in a sharp breath. "Another Like Him? What Is The Meaning Of This, Bech'Tur?"

Bech'Tur lowered his head respectfully and was about to explain, but the newcomer stepping forward with an air of arrogance and insanity stopped him cold. "Another one? Hardly. I'm supposed to be the only one, and soon I'll be again," the tall man said without preamble, the glint in his empty eyes speaking of hate and madness.

"And Who Are You?" Belial inquired with barred fangs, his irritation stemming from the fact that someone who was under his jurisdiction – as was signified by the flaming halo over the man's head – had the gall to be this disrespectful.

"I am Broly, and I am the Legendary Super Saiyan," the newly revealed Broly retorted and laughed insanely, "And for the chance to crush Kakarott and his lot into a pulp I'll gladly crush, kill and destroy the weak imitation of me that's giving you so much trouble."

Belial's lips curled into a cruel smirk. "You Have Got Yourself A Deal, Broly, Just As Long As You Bring That Other Saiyan Before Me. Alive. He Is Mine To Kill For Being Such An Annoyance."

"Whatever," Broly replied with a careless shrug, his eyes narrowing, "So as long as you give me my shot at Kakarott and his band of weaklings."

"Consider It Done. Me Being The Ruler Of Hell I'll Return Your Status To Alive-"

"Don't care about the details," Broly interrupted dismissively. "Just bring me to my victim so I can get done. I have a few weaklings to kill," he growled and punched the palm of his left fist with enough force to produce a sonic boom.

Belial stopped Bech'Tur's attempt to discipline Broly cold and nodded, then he waved his hand. The flaming halo hovering over Broly's head disappeared in a puff of smoke, and the king of hell hissed, "Very Well. Now Do Your Thing, Broly."

"I will. Keep your lackeys on a leash, or they'll be squashed like bugs," Broly warned.

Belial nodded curtly and concentrated, and when he waved his right hand Broly disappeared to the other Saiyan's last known position in a flash of fire, the Legendary Super Saiyan's insane laughter echoing off the walls. "We Will Keep Our Warriors Out Of The Area Lest We Needlessly Lose More Of Them, Bech'Tur. Broly Will Do The Dirty Work For Us, And Soon I'll Be Rid Of This Wretched Saiyan. I'll Shall Rule Supreme, And I Will Find Ways To Make This Broly Mine," he hissed, and his laughter was soon echoed by Bech'Tur's.

-.-

Ranma sighed and closed his eyes as he listened to the relaxing sounds the nearby bubbling creek made, still marvelling a bit that the colour of water in all bodies of water he'd seen up until now had been purple. The young man yawned and threw a stick into the campfire he'd made and glanced at his wristwatch, noting that it was five-thirty p.m. Earth time. Letting his eyes roam the surroundings he sighed again. It would have been so easy to enjoy the flora and fauna Haven had to offer had it not been for the constant demon attacks.

He had seen a lot of the planet in the last two weeks in his search of the king of hell, and while he found the absence of civilised life, especially his mates and family unwonted it made for a nonetheless pleasant change. The omnipresent ruins of destroyed cities and settlements had long since been overrun by plants signifying how perishable the so called civilised life really was. Nature had regained dominion over this planet, and the biodiversity was simply astounding.

The tree trunk he was leaning against felt more alive than any other tree he had ever seen on Earth, and the two moons orbiting the planet made for a spectacular sight. "Damn, this could be a real great vacation weren't it for those annoying demons. I could also learn so much about Haven from Och'Tar'Un, but no! And I ain't one step closer to locating that blasted king of hell," he sighed and took a large bite of his protein bar.

A by now very familiar humming sound pierced the air, and Ranma snorted. "Feh, another demon. If nothing they're persistent bugg-"

Ranma stopped himself short when his senses picked up on an energy signature that held nothing demonic to it, and the Saotome started in surprise when a man walked into the clearing where he'd made camp for the time being.

The man, who screamed Saiyan to Ranma's senses was about 1,85 m tall, had shoulder-length cobalt-blue hair that stood up in long spikes and a well-toned, muscular body that was stripped to the waist. The white pants he was wearing fluttered in the wind as he approached, and the wrist-guards seemingly made of pure gold with some kind of oval-shaped navy-blue gem as well as the other chalice-like gold jewellery he was wearing around his neck were a bit too in-your-face for Ranma's taste.

The other Saiyan's equally golden boots with matching gems made crushing sounds on the ground as he walked closer until he was roughly fifty metres away. An arrogant sneer played on his face as he regarded Ranma. "So you are the cheap rip-off who's pretending to be the Legendary Super Saiyan," he scoffed condescendingly.

"Broly," Ranma hissed angrily.

"I see you know who I am. Then you know what I'm going to do to you," he said with insanity permeating his voice and instantly transformed into his Legendary Super Saiyan form, the force of his power-up destroying everything in a radius of a kilometre.

"The same as to any other living being you encounter, you uncontrolled fool," Ranma retorted unaffectedly with fury glinting in his eyes, and he flared up his own aura.

"Just for that I'm going to prolong the torture I'm going to inflict on you," Broly retorted and grinned insanely. "Belial just said he wanted you alive, he said nothing of the sort that I can't damage you."

"You can try," Ranma replied condescendingly and cracked his knuckles, making the decision to keep his armour as his trump card to use once Broly had involuntarily led him to the hell king's homebase, "But those who make deals with the devil to get what they want have lost everything from the start. The devil don't play fair, but neither do I."

"Enough talk, weakling!" Broly exclaimed in a tone that suggested Ranma had hit a nerve.

"Says the asshole that can't stomach the truth!" Ranma yelled back with a snarl.

Savage roars echoed through the clearing and both Legendary Super Saiyans took off at the same time, both leaving deep trenches in the ground. Ranma tried to punch Broly in the face but the other Saiyan punched the fist flying at him away with ease. The other two fists met and they gripped hands and pushed against each other, each warrior vying for dominance.

Ranma quickly noticed that he was stronger than Broly by far, but a stroke of inspiration prompted the Saotome not to lead his trump. Using just enough strength so as to keep up the stalemate Ranma forced Broly nonetheless to realise that the 'cheap rip off' was seemingly a match for him.

Pretending to breathe hard Ranma pushed one last time and disengaged, prompting Broly to smirk. A blink of an eye later both warriors disappeared and only the sounds of battle could be heard but not seen. The air rippled from the force of each blow that either Saiyan connected or blocked. In the end both fighters hit the ground ten metres away from each other but as soon as their feet had touched the ground they raced toward each other again.

Ranma charged at Broly and tried to nail the other Saiyan with an uppercut, but the other Legendary warrior dodged to the left and countered with an upper cut of his own. But Ranma disappeared and punched at the back of Broly's head as he reappeared. The insane warrior disappeared as well before the blow could connect, but when he did so Ranma flickered to where Broly reappeared and brought his fist into the insane man's gut.

The blow was blocked with ease by Broly and the son of Paragus shot a swift kick to Ranma's head that only found air, and moved his left hand just in time to defend his gut against a punch of Ranma's who had reappeared in his side, then he moved his right hand just in time to block a knee from making painful acquaintance with his face.

Both warriors then punched at the other repeatedly with no one being able to gain the upper hand, and the last clash left both men with ringing ears. Broly had seemingly recovered first and charged straight at Ranma, making to punch him. But the Saotome dived out of the way and followed his evasive manoeuvre up with a fast kick that aimed for Broly's ribcage, but the older Saiyan was able to block it. Broly then did a reverse flip and thus avoided being hit by a roundhouse kick of Ranma.

Broly flickered to the side and then leapt forward at his enemy and sent a hailstorm of punches at Ranma which were constantly driving Ranma back. Broly, intent on making a statement, reached even deeper into his power reserves and his laughter rang through the clearing when his aura flared brighter than ever. Pumped up with power the seemingly stronger and faster Saiyan launched a series of punches and kicks and was able to hit Ranma hard in the face.

The Saotome impacted the ground with enough force to seemingly make the whole planet shake, but Broly, who grinned like a maniac, wasn't finished by a long shot. Without giving Ranma time to recover he fired a yellow-green energy attack at the crater which blew up everything in a half-kilometre radius.

Broly's laughter echoed through the evening air, and Ranma, who had been easily able to escape the blast and continued to body-flicker too fast for the other Saiyan to see. The Saotome chuckled inwardly when he remembered what Goku had told him about Gohan's discovery, and this knowledge now made all the difference.

Still grinning Ranma burrowed into the ground and easily made a tunnel just with his aura, and then he shot up straight at Broly like a bullet. "So you turned Skre'ka, weakling! Hah hah hah hah!" the insane Saiyan laughed and blocked everything thrown at him with ease.

Ranma pretended to get angry and let his form slip as he attacked viciously, and when he tried to aim a roundhouse-kick for Broly's chin he deliberately left himself wide open. Predictably the other Saiyan warrior blocked the kick, twisted and kicked Ranma in the side which sent him flying.

The Saotome had to suppress a grin when he felt Broly appearing above him, and then the insane Legendary Super Saiyan brought his fists down on his back in a double-fisted blow. Ranma exaggeratedly cried out in pain and immediately suppressed his ki so as to appear defeated, and when he impacted the ground Ranma quickly used a technique he had been taught in a Mongolian monastery that allowed one to fake unconsciousness.

Still aware of everything Ranma felt Broly touch down and a heavy boot crashed into his side. Using all of the control he had developed over his body in the last ten years Ranma kept himself from reacting, but he almost dropped the charade when he felt Broly's hot spit hitting his face. 'Just for that I'll make it hurt before I snap your neck, fucktard!' the Saotome thought viciously while remaining outwardly unresponsive.

"Feh, weakling. You cheap rip-off didn't even give me a real fight. Goes to show there's only one Legendary Super Saiyan! Hah hah hah hah hah!" Broly exclaimed and let his aura flare in what he probably considered a show of dominance.

Ranma mentally rolled his eyes. 'Damm, am I ever doing the universe a favour by putting this idiot out of his misery. If only he'd hurry up with his self-adulation, that stupid oaf!'

The universe seemed inclined to agree with Ranma, for suddenly the Saotome felt himself being slung over Broly's shoulder. "Belial! I'm done!" Broly exclaimed loudly.

"Very Good. I Had Not Expected Any Different From You," Belial's voice rang through the air.

Moments later the same humming sound that Ranma associated with a teleport permeated the air, and he grinned inwardly. He loved it when a plan came together.

-.-

Ranma felt himself being stretched into seemingly all directions at once until the wild ride suddenly found an abrupt end. Broly's feet slamming into the ground jostled his body, and then he felt himself being thrown to the ground.

His senses didn't tell him much other than that there were just two other presences aside from Broly, the king of hell whom he now knew to go by the name of Belial and one other demon. 'Perfect,' Ranma thought to himself, 'That couldn't have gone any better. Now to wait for the right moment.'

"What Do We Have Here," Belial hissed and his paws made clicking noises as he walked closer, "An Apeling That Finally Learned His Place."

Ranma could sense that Belial was now standing directly above him, but he still felt the right moment hadn't come. "You Did Well, Broly. You Are Now Free Of Your Obligations To Me, Unless You Want To Work For Me. For Consider, After The End Of Your Mortal Life You Will Return To My Dominion Anyway."

"I'll consider it. Now I gotta kill Kaka-"

Whatever Broly had wanted to say was drowned out by Ranma's sudden power-up that blasted everything aside from Belial away and through the circular wall followed by his subsequent activation of the Seal Mode, for Ranma had sprung to his feet so quickly while bringing out his full power as an ascended Legendary Super Saiyan that he'd been able to catch Belial's tail.

Not wasting a second Ranma reeled in the surprised demon lord with both armoured hands before he could react in any way, his monstrous strength easily overwhelming Belial's uncoordinated and feeble attempts at freeing himself, and before the demon lord could even think about a coordinated defence Ranma's armoured right hand had already gripped the massive demon's neck in an iron-clad grip to prevent it from using its mouth-based attacks. Belial clawed at him and raised his body temperature to hellish levels in a last-ditch attempt to force Ranma to let go, but the Earthborn Saiyan didn't even flinch as his armour protected him, and a grim smile turned up the corners of his mouth, lightning bolts flashing around his armoured body. "This time your poison and tricks won't help you, fucker. Enjoy."

Faster than anyone could blink Ranma had crushed Belial's paws and claws and had disabused the moaning king of hell of the notion of wanting to free himself, and then he stared into the struggling demon's fearful eyes. "Time to learn your place, shithead," he growled and the lightning bolts coursing around his body flashed brighter, and then he viciously snapped the demon's neck, "Dead at my feet."

"Master! No!" the other demon exclaimed and renewed his struggles to free himself from the tonnes of rubble the partial cave-in Ranma's power-up had brought down on him.

Ranma paid the demon no mind, and his senses told him that Broly was still busy freeing himself as well, which gave him all the time he needed to err on the side of caution. Letting the body drop to the ground in contempt he stomped his heavily armoured right foot repeatedly through Belial's chest, and to top it off Ranma fired one of his yellow-green ki-blasts at the body, eradicating it completely.

He then fired a few more over-powered energy attacks in Broly's direction to stall the other Saiyan, and having noticed that the other demon had dug himself out he drew Nasumi in a fluid motion and body-flickered forward, severing the demon's arms in two quick moves that made the creature howl in agony, black blood dripping to the ground from the stumps.

Turning to look over his shoulder Ranma fired three more ki-blasts in rapid succession at Broly who had been closing in. "I'll deal with you soon, asshole," he spat contemptuously and grinned when he saw his over-powered blasts hit their mark, sending Broly flying backwards several hundred metres into the catacombs with loud crashing sounds and turned back around to the navy-blue demon who was trying to make it to one of the portals despite the agonising pain he was obviously in.

"Oh yes, I remember," Ranma said and snapped his fingers when he recalled something, "Without that bellend Belial anchoring you ugly fuckers to this realm you all get blasted back to hell. From what the dead asshole said that hurts, eh? But I have something better in mind for you than having to wait until your power runs dry, demon. You'll be my messenger."

Ranma sheathed Nasumi and the lightning bolts surrounding his body flickering stronger for a moment he body-flickered to in front of the demon, determination and mercilessness glinting in his eyes. His armoured right hand lashed out and grabbed the taller demon by the throat, and several ki-blasts fired from his left hand kept Broly at a distance. "And here's the message I want you to deliver, demon: mess with us and we'll come down on you like you wouldn't believe. So if I ever see one of you ugly fuckers in this realm again I'll return to hell, and I will remove all of you ugly suckers from existence. Got me?"

Bech'Tur saw nothing but brutal seriousness and the will to see the threat through in the armoured face of the man that had killed his king, and he nodded his head vigorously despite the pain he was in as hope grew in his heart that he just might survive this fiasco, for arms could be regrown, a severed head whereas not. "Y- Yes, I un- understand. P-Perfectly."

"And what did you not understand?" Ranma growled and blasted Broly into and through another section of the circular wall with one of his ki-blasts. "Impatient to die again, eh? Don't worry, it'll be your turn soon, Broccoli."

That said Ranma body-flickered to in front of the left-most portal with the demon in tow, having noted that this particular portal was the one that was still glowing brightest out of all the portals. "Remember my words, demon. I'll bring down heaven and hell to protect this realm and those I cherish, so do not make me angry. You won't like me when I'm angry. Are we clear?"

Ranma smirked in satisfaction when he saw the scared demon nod his head so quickly that it should've given him whiplash, and the smirk only grew when he saw the creature's eyes widen when Broly's attacks bounced off of his armour uselessly. Strengthening his grip around the demon's neck Ranma then bodily hurled the hell fiend into the portal, and with a whoomph the creature was gone.

-.-

Hate that burned hotter than any sun flared up in Ranma as he turned around to face Broly who had dug himself out, and the Saotome thought he saw apprehension flare up in Broly's eyes for a moment before the superior smirk was back in place.

Yelling in rage Ranma flared up his aura and brought out all the power that had accumulated over the last weeks, and the disseminating black wall of power emanating from his body blew up everything in a radius of five kilometres.

Broly had flared up his own aura to protect himself from the effects of Ranma's power-up, but that he looked battered and winded showcased that the blast of pure power had affected the insane Saiyan. Ranma looked at the gigantic crater his power had created in satisfaction, and the cooling evening wind that'd finally been given admission to the catacombs below the city gently ruffled the Saotome's spiky raven hair.

"Surprised at the extent of my power, Broly?" Ranma queried with relish. "Aww, big bad Broccoli ain't the strongest 'n' toughest kid on the block any more. Boohoo."

"How?" Broly demanded only now realising that he'd been fooled and used, and that single word perfectly expressed all of the anger and frustration the Saiyan was feeling.

"You idiot should've acquainted yourself with the rules of the Afterlife when you got there, for there's something you overlooked: regardless of if you stay in your Legendary form or not, you cannot get stronger in hell when you're dead! And the measly few hours you spent here alive were nothing on the weeks I spent almost dying, battling demons and growing stronger, finally ascending to the next level," Ranma explained with a mean grin and narrowed his eyes in contempt, "Stronger than any of my friends you may be, but to me you're nothing!"

Ranma immensely enjoyed the look of surprise on Broly's face before his right hook to the chin catapulted the other Legendary Super Saiyan who hadn't even seen the blow high up into the sky. Laughing wickedly Ranma body-flickered away so fast that it looked like he had teleported, and the resolution not to toy with this dangerous enemy firmly in mind he appeared directly above Broly.

The other Saiyan had apparently sensed the extreme power-level above his head and had moved out of the way in the nick of time and tried to counter with an uppercut to Ranma's chin which the Saotome easily blocked. The energy emanating off of their subsequent blows would have been seen, felt and heard everywhere on the planet had there been someone alive, but inwardly Ranma was glad that there wasn't anything truly evolved living on Haven as it meant he needn't have to have any regrets over going all out.

"I won't need my sword or armour for you, 'cause the only thing poisonous about you is your attitude," Ranma sneered contemptuously and sheathed Nasumi after deactivating the Seal Mode. "I won't fight you with what could be seen as an unfair advantage on my side to prove who's stronger."

Broly chuckled insanely. "Fool. All the more incentive for me to end you. Your loot will make me truly invincible!"

"Die," Ranma uttered coldly, and his eyes narrowed in determination he rushed forward at dazzling speed and performed a punch-kick-roundhouse-kick-blast-punch-windmill-kick-punch-crescent-kick-combo, and Broly was way too slow to block the vicious last kick seeing as Ranma had picked up ever more speed.

It brutally drove the air from his lungs and allowed Ranma, who had yelled, "I'm gonna take you apart bit by bit," to easily land the next blow, and the Earthborn Saiyan felt great satisfaction when he brought down his fists on Broly's back in a doublefisted blow that sent the other Saiyan, who couldn't help but cry out in pain rocketing to the ground at incredible speeds in a replication of what Broly had done to Ranma when he'd supposedly defeated him.

A huge fountain of dust and debris erupted from where Broly painfully made a crater, and Ranma immediately body-flickered to the ground and kicked Broly hard in the head with a roundhouse kick that sent him slamming back into the ground. The blow sent the large man sliding fifty metres back until he came to rest against the trunk of a tree. Broly, the right side of his face swollen and dirty, snarled and sprang to his feet with rage and insanity lighting up his eyes, and he viciously gnashed his teeth and launched himself at Ranma with a defiant warcry. The blows that were exchanged right away between the Legendary Super Saiyans were so strong that the effects could be felt everywhere; trees toppled over, mountains crumbled and the clouds above were passing by ever faster.

Ranma grinned as he blocked a kick and countered with a quick combo that drove Broly back. "Now I'm gonna show you that it isn't those controlled by their base urges that take the day, but those who can overcome them!"

The song of war was thrumming in his ears louder than ever before as Ranma intensified his attacks against the snarling Broly, but despite the exhilarating feeling of fighting such a strong opponent he kept his head, letting the martial artist in him map out a tactic to permanently defeat the insane Saiyan.

Determined to end the fight as quickly as possible Ranma seeing as Broly was growing more powerful all the time as well he began to implement the strategy the tactical super-computer that was his mind in battle-mode had come up with, and that he was outclassing Broly in every aspect meant that his chances to succeed were good indeed. Ranma attacked Broly furiously in order to wear the other Saiyan down, and the intensity of his punches and kicks was such that Broly was constantly driven back.

A kick Ranma had shot at his side came in too quick for him to block, and Broly was consequently sent flying while Ranma body-flickered out of sight. Reappearing right behind the other Saiyan Ranma then kicked Broly hard in the back, sending him crashing through several trees. Not letting up he then reappeared in front of Broly and kicked the downed man hard in his right side, making him slide over the forest soil yet again.

Broly yelled in pain and rage and jumped to his feet as soon as he had regained his bearings, his right leg lashing out in an effort to trip the offending Saiyan that'd been closing in in a full-tilt run for another attack. Ranma took objection to Broly's attempt at a counter-attack and easily leapt over the leg sweep. He tried to retaliate with an obviously telegraphed throw but Broly managed to deflect it as predicted and countered with a high kick and three quick punches which brought him involuntarily within optimal striking distance.

Ranma had trouble holding back a vicious grin seeing as Broly had played right into his hands, and the young Saotome blocked everything with careless ease and then dropped to a squat and performed an upwards kick to the gut faster than Broly could see or react. The insane Legendary Super Saiyan staggered backwards with a grunt, but Ranma had already rolled out of his crouch and sped forward, connecting a powerful kick to the face with the heel of his heavy right boot.

Broly's head snapped backwards with spit and blood flying from his mouth and the large Saiyan found himself embedded in the trunk of a tree from the force of the kick, but before the enraged man could free himself he was punched so hard in the face that he was sent crashing through at least ten trees before he ended up embedded in a mountain wall. Ranma quickly followed his last attack up and sped forward like liquid lightning and reappeared behind Broly who had managed to free himself and was staggering forward a bit unsteadily.

Before the mentally unstable Saiyan could recompose himself Ranma had already brutally hammered Broly's liver and kidneys, causing him to cough up blood. Bloody foam bubbling on his lips Broly spun around to face his assailant, and Ranma easily blocked the almost clumsy retaliation aimed for his heart, his left leg blocking Broly's attempt at kicking him in the gut. A straight-forward punch met Broly's sternum, and due to the fact that Ranma's retaliation left the insane man just a tad breathless the Saotome was easily able to get in an all-finger-strike to the throat, giving Broly even more trouble breathing.

Broly attempted to bellow with rage but no sound came out because his windpipe had reflexively sealed shut, and fury colouring his face maroon Broly attempted to tackle Ranma, but the amused yet fully focussed Saotome evaded to the left and connected a crushing kick to the left side of Broly's ribcage, grabbed the man's left hand, twirled a few times and threw the other Saiyan face-first into a tree.

Ranma didn't even wince at the crushing sound of splintering wood or the tree toppling over, and his gaze cool as ice he fired a guided ki-blast after the other Saiyan that blew him into the air. The Saotome almost grinned when Broly regained control of his uncontrolled flight, and the look of intense rage on the other man's face filled him with glee.

He tensed briefly when Broly threw a yellow-green ki-blast but reacted cool as you please, his stronger ki-blast easily negating Broly's attack in a shockwave of power, light and sound. Seconds later Broly came in hot as a missile, and Ranma inwardly shook his head in contempt as he blocked and countered blow after blow. 'Idiot just won't learn. Brute force ain't nothing without finesse and tactic, 'specially when your opponent's stronger than you.'

Ranma calmly blocked Broly's attempt at a stereotypical and embarrassingly easy to read punch to the face, and when the other fighter was forced to land Ranma sped forward and kicked out at Broly's legs, and having anticipated that the other Saiyan would block the relatively weak kick he jumped to avoid a counter-kick of Broly's and spun around in the air in a windmill kick aiming to land down onto Broly with the full force of his momentum behind it.

Broly managed to evade to the side in a burst of speed that showed he was getting stronger and faster as well, but quicker than the insane man would have thought possible, Ranma had moved back towards him, and retaking the initiative he dropped down to shatter Broly's knee-caps. Broly saw where this was going and proving that he was a Saiyan he managed a short hot-step to the side, shifted his weight to his back leg and kicked out with the other leg.

The blow was blocked with infuriating ease and Ranma grinned meanly as he was easily capable of blocking all of Broly's follow-up attempts as the other Saiyan kept on attacking relentlessly. Ranma analysed the fight all the while and kept on waiting for an opportunity to critically injure his opponent, and when Broly over-extended a punch he seized his opportunity and grabbed Broly's arm at the elbow. Ranma then spun his body into Broly's in a fluid motion and gave a mighty yank when he was positioned in between his own arm and body. The result was that Broly's right arm was wrenched cleanly out of its socket with a loud, wet pop, and the other Legendary Super Saiyan grunted in agony.

The Saotome somersaulted backwards and kicked out his legs at Broly's chest and landed nimbly, and he grinned as Broly staggered backwards in apparent pain, cradling his injured arm to his body. Ranma followed up with a combo consisting of a low kick leading to a rising uppercut that lifted Broly into the air and a hard kick in the left side followed. The Saotome then appeared behind his distracted enemy, turned him around in mid-air and punched him full force in the face.

Due to the relatively low altitude Broly only made a small crater, but he had visible trouble to regain his footing, his right arm still hanging limply at his side. Ranma realised that Broly was now ripe for the finishing blow and increased the pace even more, raking Broly's defences with gun-fire and managing to bring home attack after attack.

Broly instinctively knew that he was outclassed in every aspect, but like any other Saiyan he was stubborn to a fault and would rather die than admit defeat. He launched himself at Ranma and decked the other man with a blurry of one-armed punches and kicks, followed by a roundhouse-kick-blast-combo.

Not even a single attack penetrated Ranma's defences, and when Broly was blasted backwards spitting out blood and teeth courtesy of Ranma's retaliatory roundhouse kick the son of Paragus had a desperate idea. Allowing himself to crash through yet more trees he felt himself impact and get stuck in yet another of these blastedly hard trees, but instead of attempting to free himself Broly brought out all of his power at once and released it in a focussed burst towards the planet's core.

The result was instantaneous, and laughing madly Broly yelled, "Now we shall see how you like breathing vacuum, you cheap copy!"

Ranma could only stare at Broly in shock and disbelief, but the cracking sounds he could perceive from everywhere around him indicated that the insane Saiyan had indeed done the unthinkable: he had blown up the planet.

Ranma helplessly shook his head and yelled, "You fuckin' asshole!" amidst the noise created by trees toppling over and the planetary crust creaking and groaning, but Broly just continued to laugh madly. Ranma's consternation gave way to boundless hate and anger over the loss of Och'Tar'Un and Haven in general and he'd just made the decision to kill Broly with a last over-powered attack so as to take him with him into death's embrace when suddenly, just a heartbeat later, Broly's shockwave of power reached the planet's core, and everything exploded in an orgy of super-heated fire and magma.

-.-

Ranma slowly opened his eyes that he'd instinctively closed when everything had gone to hell, cursing himself for having forgotten his armour's Seal Mode and fully expecting to see a disappointed Lord Enma. He noticed with stark surprise that he was still among the living, as a quick check of his bodily functions confirmed. Ranma's eyes grew even bigger when he noticed that his power had formed a sizeable corona saturated with lightning bolts around his body, and he could see the debris, fragments and rubble still partially glowing from the planet's explosion and instinctively knew that his power had protected him.

The teenage Saiyan even felt that he could still breathe within his field of power, something he'd never have thought possible, but he had no time to dwell on it. Hate and rage immediately bubbled up inside of him when he caught sight of an aura similar to his, and without thinking he rushed forward. Ranma could see the surprise on Broly's face shortly before his fists connected solidly with the man's gut, and once Broly had doubled over he grabbed the man's hair, brutally crushing his nose with his right knee.

Ranma couldn't hear the man's screams of pain and rage inside his bubble of power but he could see and interprete Broly's reactions easily, and pouncing on the other man's momentary pain-induced distraction he body-flickered to behind him and closed his hands around the other Legendary Super Saiyan's head, and using all of his incredible strength he twisted violently to the right before the other man could react.

He would later on swear he'd heard Broly's neck break and let go of the man's head, and the vista of the insane Saiyan's lifeless body slowly drifting away from him in the vacuum of space, his life-preserving aura having guttered out, was forever imprinted on his memory. 'Who's the one and only now, huh?' Ranma thought with disdain.

Nodding to himself in satisfaction Ranma readied an Onyx Wave and let it lose, obliterating Broly's body in seconds. 'Glad this is over. The only problem I have is that I forgot to ask Lord Enma for Earth's coordinates, and searching for her will likely take too long. Hmm, getting a cab 'round here might be a tad difficult... Ahh, I know! GOKU!!! I NEED EMERGENCY PICKUP AND FAST!!!'

-.-

In the Afterlife King Kai's mouth was hanging open in shock. Attracted by Ranma's power-up he had witnessed the events on Haven unfold ever since the shield surrounding Haven had dropped, and the North Kai doubted he'd ever been more gobsmacked in his life – or death – but the shock was quickly replaced by boundless joy. "Blimey, I can't bloody believe it. He... He killed Belial, the king of all hells that'd only ever been rumoured to exist! And he killed Broly! He fuckin' killed Broly, all by himself!" the catfish God exclaimed in joy and slapped his hands over his mouth, "Sorry!" he yelled skywards. "And he even got his hands on honest to Kami-sama Havenian armour! That young man is a miracle worker! Unbelievable!

"Hmm, Goku can't hear him, so I'll have to relay the signal, and mention that Ranma's wearing armour and isn't looking like his normal cheerful self," the North Kai muttered to himself, and his antennae began to vibrate, "There, that should do the trick. Am I ever glad that the magical barrier around Haven disappeared, or we'd have a real problem. Just too sad this lovely planet's gone, but it's probably better for all involved.

"Heh, now to organise a massive party," he muttered to himself, a scheming grin on his face. "It's not every day that the likes of Belial, Majin Buu and Broly are defeated for good after all..."

-.-

On Earth Goku, who'd been celebrating their victory over Majin Buu with the other male Saiyans in a large bathtub standing just behind the Son family home jerked up his head. Narrowing his eyes in concentration, behaviour that greatly confused Gohan, Gotenks and Vegeta, Goku suddenly got to his feet, water dripping off of his naked body. "Ranma," he said absently and before anyone could speak up he jumped out of the tub, grabbed his clothes and donned them despite his body still being wet, but a flare of his aura took care of that. Looking down at himself he nodded satisfied and took a deep breath, and without another word he was gone.

Gotenks looked at Gohan in confusion. "Did he just say Ranma?"

"He sure did. Seems bro's okay, I wonder though if he'll appreciate seeing dad looking like a wet poodle," Gohan mused thoughtfully.

"Kakarott will be Kakarott," Vegeta commented with a shrug. "He could care less how he looks or how he is perceived by others."

"True, dad will always be dad, you either ignore his peculiarities or you go mad," Gohan agreed with a grin. "I say let's enjoy our bath, then have a massive barbecue and then we'll swap stories when Ranma's back. Wonder if his story's as interesting as ours."

"You betcha, nii-san," Gotenks retorted, "Ranma don't do boring."

-.-

Ranma, still floating in the blackness of space had already activated the Seal Mode and had almost decided to test the limits of his armour and powers and to take a gamble in trying to find the next best inhabitable planet from whence he could search for Earth when suddenly the strangest phenomenon occurred. 'I could swear that's Goku. But why's his hair all flat? Nah, I'm probably hallucinating. Must be space dementia or some such shit Bulma spoke of.'

When he felt himself hurriedly grabbed in the left arm Ranma began to doubt that this Goku was a hallucination, and at the latest when he felt himself being whisked away courtesy of Goku's instant transmission only one question remained, 'What the hell was Goku just doing that he's looking like that?'

-.-

A duo of Saiyans reappeared on the Son family premises, more precisely directly in the large bathtub standing behind the house. Goku immediately let go of Ranma's arm and seemingly teleported out of his clothes, threw the same-self clothes over the edge of the tub uncaring where they landed and sank into the warm water with a sigh, leaving the taller Saiyan standing knee-high in the hot water. The Son Saiyan's comment of, "Nice armour. Hope it doesn't get rusty," didn't help Ranma's irritation any.

The Saotome's disgruntled expression was apparently cause for much amusement amongst the other Saiyans, and Ranma quickly joined the others in their laughter after his stern glare failed to produce results.

Ranma scratched the back of his head with a chuckle and powered down into his legendary form's base mode which went unnoticed due to his armour, fact that was just fine as he had couldn't be bothered to explain his ascended form now when he needed r&r the most. "So you guys were just taking a bath. And here I thought you and Chi-Chi were... You know, Goku, and I'd interrupted or something."

"Oh no, nothing like that," Goku chuckled embarrassedly and mirrored Ranma's gesture.

"Like the world would need more Kakabrats," Vegeta muttered quietly in disdain and crossed his arms across his chest.

Just from the gleam in Goku's eyes Ranma knew that the older Saiyan would take Vegeta's comment as incentive, and making the snap-decision to get the strange conversation back on track he asked, "So where's your halo, Goku? And didcha get to finish off Majin Buu?"

"I was wished back, Ranma, and this time I chose to stay," Goku said softly, "And we did finish off Majin Buu. He was incredibly strong and almost impossible to beat, but in the end we came through."

"Great to hear that," Ranma nodded with a grin. "And I sure as hell wanna hear all the details later."

"Roger that," Goku retorted with a mock-salute and sunk into the water to shoulder-level.

"Some info in advance, it looked really bleak several times and Buu even managed to destroy Earth, but as dad said, we won in the end," Gohan said with a smile. "And what were you up to?"

Ranma casually lent against the side of the tub. "Oh, I fought a lot of demons in hell, battled my way through to Lord Enma, got back to Haven, found me some help that made me this armour, killed more demons, killed Belial the king of all hells and killed Broly who'd agreed to work for him in exchange for getting another shot at you guys," Ranma reiterated calmly. "So, this and that, you could say."

Quiet disbelief was the most common emotion displayed amongst the other Saiyans with Vegeta recovering first. "You killed Broly?" he demanded.

"With my own two hands and nothing else, and I enjoyed every second of it," Ranma hissed with barred teeth, "I can safely say I've never hated anyone as much as Broly. He was like a mad dog that needed to be put down, and I happened to be up to the task. I showed the asshole that there can be only one and snapped his neck like a dry twig, and then I destroyed his body."

Vegeta nodded in grim satisfaction. "Well done," he muttered, closed his eyes and relaxed into the tub, a pleased smile turning up the corners of his mouth ever so slightly.

"My pleasure," Ranma retorted with an inclination of his head.

"Whoa. I've fought Broly first hand before and know how incredibly powerful he is, so fighting and killing him all by yourself is amazing!" Gohan exclaimed with a grin, "Congrats, bro! I'd give your back a firm slap, but you see, my bits rather like where they are."

"Ugh," Ranma muttered with a roll of his eyes, "I so didn't need to hear that."

"Not my fault they do," Gohan shrugged and grinned unrepentantly, Ranma mirroring the grin after shaking his head in amusement.

"So what happened to this demon I left you with on that planet I picked? Was that Belial, and was he really king of all hells?" Goku wanted to know.

Ranma could tell that even Vegeta was listening in even though he pretended not to, and a small smile almost escaped him at how stoic the Saiyan Prince always was. 'Damn, I've missed the guys,' he thought and said out loud, "That four metre tall red-skinned dinosaur reject you left me stranded with was indeed Belial, and yup, he was king of all hells. I'll explain later what that means and how that's interconnected with HFIL and all that, but all you guys need to know for now is that he really gave me a run for my money.

"The ugly fucker had some fearsome attacks, was fast, strong and tough, but the worst about him was his poison. Almost killed me, it did. But I survived, fought and killed demons in hell, returned to Haven, found allys, got myself this cool armour and kicked Belial's ugly ass to kingdom come."

"Damn, you're really cool, Ranma-niisan! And you look even stronger up close," a young Saiyan Ranma didn't recognise spoke up. "And that... Armour's just cool! Do they have that in my size too?"

"Good genes for looking cool and strong," Ranma retorted with a grin, "But who are you?" he asked the smallest Saiyan of the group, "You resemble Trunks, but you also look a lot like Goten."

"Must be 'cause I'm Gotenks," the said half-Saiyan said and wiped his nose, "I'm the fusion of Goten and Trunks, just as Gogeta, the one to beat Buu, is the fusion of Goku and Vegeta. Fusion makes you real strong," he added with a grin and powered up to Super Saiyan Three like it was nothing.

"Don't brag, brat," Vegeta muttered with closed eyes, "Remember, there're others who can go Super Saiyan Three."

"Hah! Now that's an empty threat, old man!" Gotenks retorted flippantly and ignored the furrowing of Vegeta's brows, "You don't even last a minute in Super 3 form! You old men are so outta shape and just can't compete with the one and only awesome Gotenks!"

Vegeta's eyes opened and flashed teal. "You asked for it, brat," he growled and looked at Goku, "Kakarott, this greenie spawn of a fusion of our brats needs a lesson in respecting his betters. As much as it pains me to ask this, you up to the task?"

Goku looked as incredulous as the rest, but then a wide grin spread on his face. "Sure!" he exclaimed and got up, Vegeta mirroring him.

Ranma watched in astonishment as both older Saiyans performed a ridiculous looking choreography that ended with a flash of light, and where before there had been two Saiyans only one remained. The newly formed Gogeta popped his joints and smirked arrogantly, powering up into Super Saiyan Three mode. "You brought this on yourself, brat," he said calmly and waved his right hand, his energy blowing Gotenks high up into the sky.

What followed could only be described as a slapstick battle with ridiculous looking but powerful attacks, and Ranma watched in mild disbelief. "Are they always like that?"

Gohan snorted and lowered his head to look at Ranma. "Fused beings tend to exhibit more playful and arrogant behaviour than the 'parts' they consist of. Gogeta toyed around with Buu a lot before finishing him off, and I was ready to rip out my hairs more than once. But there's no denying that the fusion technique creates powerful warriors."

Ranma resisted the urge to show his might as an ascended Legendary Super Saiyan and nodded calmly, resolving himself to learn more about this fusion business later, just muttering, "True. Ouch," he winced, "that looked like it'll smart," he commented and body-flickered to the right, making space for the missile Gotenks had been turned into.

The said fusion of Trunks and Goten fell into the tub with a gigantic splash, and Gogeta appeared in front of him, hoisting him up by the hair. "Learned your lesson yet, brat?"

"That old men are a treacherous bunch who use unfair techniques? Yeah," Gotenks sulked but powered down nonetheless.

"The lesson you should have learned is that experience, tactical thinking and power beat youth and power any day," Gogeta retorted mildly while returning back to his base form and released Gotenks who landed on his butt with a splash wearing a disgruntled expression.

"Yeah, yeah, pops, whatever," the young Saiyan muttered, "one day I'm gonna hand ya your ass, you just wait."

"That day won't come soon, brat," Gogeta retorted and ruffled Gotenks hair, much to his son's annoyance.

"Now that you guys got that outta your system," Ranma spoke up in an amused tone, "let's get back to whatcha asked, Gotenks. This armour's Havenian battle armour custom made for me," he continued and deactivated the Seal Mode leaving him just clad in his armour parts and partially wet long black pants, and then he placed the individual parts on the ground outside the bathtub, "And don't even try to buckle it on, Gotenks, it's keyed in on me. Even I don't know what would happen, but I assure you it won't be pleasant."

"Shoot," Gotenks retorted with a shrug and slicked back his hair. "Was worth a shot anyway."

Ranma nodded in agreement. "I'd have done the same."

"Ranma, is there a way to procure more armour of that kind for of our forces?" Gogeta wanted to know.

"The guy who made the armour for me was blown up with Haven. That's the name of the planet Goku teleported me to," Ranma explained, "But with the Dragonballs and Goku's Instant Transmission... Yes, I'd say I'd be able to convince Och'Tar'Un," he mused, causing hopeful and elated looks to appear on the other Saiyans' faces.

"Seems you got quite some stories to tell, bro," Gohan commented with a chuckle.

Ranma grinned. "You don't know the half of it, bro," he chuckled, and with a mental what the hell he rid himself of his clothes, coincidentally just as Bulma and Chi-Chi walked into the backyard.

The tall Saiyan palmed his face and calmly sat down in the bathtub without allowing himself to blush, and just banged the back of his head against the edge of the bathtub when he heard Chi-Chi mutter, "Ranma sure has nothing to be ashamed of," and Bulma adding, "Wait until I tell Kasumi-chan and Nabiki-chan just how well hung their horse really is. They'll ride him raw!"

Ranma calmly continued to bang his head against the edge of the bathtub amidst the chuckles of the other Saiyans, muttering "D'oh," over and over.

-.-

An hour later all of the extended community of the Z-Fighters had been rounded up, and though outwardly calm Ranma was experiencing an extreme case of the butterflies as he stood in front of the Son house in his Saiyan base form. The feeling only got stronger when he saw the Capsule Corp shuttle ferrying his mates and family draw closer, and when it landed Ranma felt his pulse quicken.

His fellow Z-Fighters were giving him privacy and were tending to the barbecue, a gesture Ranma highly appreciated, and he was glad that he could show what he genuinely felt. The look of longing on his face grew stronger, and a look of happiness bloomed on his face when the shuttle-door opened, revealing Kasumi.

The oldest Tendo daughter was wearing a black silk dress that hugged her every shapely curve and left her shoulders bare, and the soft smile that spoke of immense inner strength made Ranma's eyes sparkle in happiness. Nabiki followed her sister on the heel, and she entranced Ranma with her sensual gait that was only enhanced by the red cocktail dress she was wearing.

Without conscious decision Ranma had body-flickered to in front of the girls he loved and wrapped one arm around each young woman. "I missed you," he simply said and carefully pressed the girls against his body, dropping a strong yet emotion-laden kiss first on Kasumi's mouth and then on Nabiki's.

"We missed you too, Ranma-kun," Kasumi answered for both Nabiki and her, the middle sister adding, "We were so worried when no one knew where you had disappeared to, and no one could tell us with Majin Buu's rampage."

"I know," Ranma muttered softly, and a tear made its way down his cheek, "I was so angry at myself when I learned that Buu had killed you, killed you! If only I'd found and killed Belial sooner-"

"Bollocks, Ranma-kun," Kasumi retorted firmly, her tone of voice leaving no room for objection, "Ifs and whats help no one. You did what you had to do when you engaged that demon... Belial you said was his name?"

"Yeah, he was the king of all hells. That idiot wizard Babidi had freed him from the prison some light wizard had trapped him in at the cost of his life 4,000 something years ago on some god-forsaken planet without knowing what he'd picked up," Ranma answered with a scoff, "And that fucker Belial bided his time until he found it was time to strike. His attack caught us by surprise and Belial managed to subdue us, but Goku and I had faked unconsciousness and tackled the demon in a coordinated strike. I engaged the demon and Goku teleported us to a remote planet. Was just my damn luck that Goku had picked a magical planet, meaning Belial could easily open portals to hell tapping into the planet's mana.

"Luckily I'd just ascended to my final and most powerful form, which is why I was more than a match for him and his demons as he soon learned. In the end I killed him and another Saiyan like me he'd hired to kill me," the Saotome explained.

"Someone must've cursed you with a variant of the 'may you live in interesting times curse', hon," Nabiki mused with twinkling eyes, "But I'd really like to see what this 'final and most powerful form' looks like."

"Me too," Kasumi agreed.

"Che, don't I know that I'm cursed, Nabs," Ranma retorted with a sigh, but then a grin appeared on his face, "But you know, when life gives you lemons make lemonade. And I'd say I've damn well made the best of it.

"So you want to see the Legendary Super Saiyan up close, eh?"

"If that's what it's called," Nabiki said with a shrug, but the hungry look in her eyes belied her calmness.

Ranma smiled at the reactions of his mates and beckoned them to take a few steps back, and then he slowly transformed into the only Legendary Super Saiyan alive. The smile still on his face he enjoyed the intrigued and hungry looks on Kasumi's and Nabiki's faces, and he could hear the astounded exclamations of his parents, Akane and Soun who had kept themselves in the background so as not to disturb the reunion of lovers. But now they couldn't stop themselves any longer, and Ranma easily understood.

His teary-eyed mother barrelled into him and his fiancées automatically made way, soft smiles on their faces. "Oh Ranma, I'm so glad to have you back! I thought I'd lost you when you didn't appear in the Afterlife with all the others, and no one knew where you were!" she exclaimed and was a bit surprised when she was barely able to hug her son's mid-section.

Ranma smiled down at his mother. "I missed you too, mom. You as well, Akane, and even you, pops. It was hard on me that I didn't know what was going on back on Earth while I fought the demons," he admitted, "And I was angry at myself for having run off to fight Belial and his hordes while Buu killed all of you off. But I've since had an attitude adjustment courtesy of my lovely fiancées here who convinced me that I couldn't have known and that killing the king of all hells ain't nothing to sneeze at."

"Y- You killed the king of all hells?" Soun queried in astonishment.

"Mmmh," Ranma replied with a nod, "Broke his neck, caved in his chest and finished him off with an energy attack that destroyed his body. I'd be very surprised had he somehow survived. And then I gave his second in command, at least I believe he was, the scare of his lifetime and the firm warning to never try invading us again or I'd do worse. Privately I'd say they'll listen, for that number two looked like he needed a change of drawers," he concluded with a mean grin.

"My son is so strong!" Nodoka exclaimed in joy, her eyes sparkling; Kasumi and Nabiki easily agreed seeing as they snuggled up closer to their fiancé.

"That he is, No-chan," Genma agreed amidst the smiles of the females and Soun patting Ranma on the back, "He has surpassed anything anyone could ever have hoped for."

Ranma turned around to his father and shot him a queer look. "What do ya want, pops?" he asked suspiciously.

"Hey, can't a father congratulate his son on his successes?" Genma asked innocently.

"Any other father, yeah, you? Hardly," Ranma retorted with a grin, making Genma pout. "But regardless, why don't we adjourn and join the barbecue? I'm a tad hungry," he said with a sheepish smile.

Nabiki and Kasumi took one of Ranma's arms each and looped under, snuggling even more into their fiancé with smiles on their faces. "Don't ever change, Ranma-kun," Kasumi whispered.

"Except into your birthday suit, hon. I've heard wondrous things," Nabiki sensually whispered in Ranma's ear.

"Well spoken, sister mine," Kasumi said and discreetly fluttered her lashes, "Maybe we'll find a moment to ourselves to see how... fitting the heresay is."

Ranma had to summon all of his willpower to keep a straight face so as not to show how much that idea appealed to him. "Who knows, maybe we'll get a chance to find out if what you heard is accurate," he whispered back. "How about we grab ourselves some food now and I tell you all about my battles with the demons?"

Kasumi looked at her sister, her expression amused. "Boys will be boys," she mused with a smile.

"And Ranma will be Ranma, and we wouldn't have it any other way," Nabiki added with a matching smile and pinched their fiancé's bum.

Ranma just smiled and led his fiancées to the backyard and towards the party with his arms around each shapely young woman. He was feeling content for the first time in over two weeks, and the smile on his face was completely genuine and relaxed. All was good.

-.-

In the territory of the upper hells known as HFIL a dead and tightly bound Grandmaster of the Anything Goes continued to scream obscenities to the not-heavens. His cold iron chains were creaking as he threw himself against his bonds with valiant but futile effort. "How could he have done this to his beloved Grandmaster? How could he have forgotten me?"

Up on Earth a brief chill ran down one Ranma Saotome's spine, but he quickly shrugged it off in favour of concentrating on the naked visions of beauty lying to his left in their king-sized bed. A lustful grin spread on his lips and Ranma lent down, signifying that several hours of tedious and sweaty but oh so fulfilling activities were about to begin.

All was perfect.

Epilogue

A slight breeze wafted along one of the private beaches owned by the Briefs family, but it was nary sufficient to counter the unusually warm temperatures this 25th May had to offer. The sun bore down mercilessly from a clear blue sky, making the ocean the only place to find much needed reprieve. It came as no surprise that next to all members of the Saotome, Tendo, Son and Briefs clans were playing in or near the water.

Ranma and his wives, reclining in their comfy sunloungers shaded by large sun shades had a careful eye on their children, the twins Tideo and Hitomi and Hinata. The former two were six years old and the children of Ranma and Kasumi, the six year old Hinata was the – as of now, seeing as their second child wasn't due for half a year yet – only child of Nabiki and Ranma. All three had inherited their father's raven hair and blue eyes as well as the usual Saiyan attributes, the strength, speed, stamina, tail and a tremendous appetite, to name a few.

Each child was invariably larger than their peers and sharp as a tack, and together with Goten and his little five year old sister Gin, Pan (Gohan's and Videl's daughter), Trunks and Bra (Vegeta's and Bulma's daughter) those three caused a lot of trouble. Hinata, Hitomi and Tideo had also inherited their father's incredible prowess in the fighting arts and his dedication to better himself. The daughters of Ranma were – alongside Pan and Bra – the first ever female Super Saiyans, fact that especially their fathers were insanely proud of.

Gohan and Videl were expecting their second child in early August and were all for further expanding their little family, and Ranma knew that they were not the only ones.

The legendary Super Saiyan leant back, a content smile playing on his face as he watched his children play. All obligations had been fulfilled, he was a proud father of three wonderful children (which had made his mother incredibly happy) and inarguably Earth' strongest warrior. He had friends and comrades he was willing to die and kill for, and he'd do his utmost to ensure the peace and prosperity – which was cyclically interrupted by some megalomaniac or the other – would last.

Elder Cologne of the Amazons had appeared on his doorstep a few days after his return to Earth, flanked by the whole council of Elders. Ranma smiled in fond remembrance. A few of the old bats had tried to treat him – and incidentally Vegeta, who had been present for one of their sparring sessions – like they were wont to treating any 'mere male' (and that despite the warnings they had to have received from Cologne). It had not ended well. For the Elders, that is.

Ranma's ascended Legendary form had literally put the fear of God into the old bats' cold hearts, and after listenings to his account of what he had done to Mousse after the human-turned-Icejin had betrayed all of humanity and the not so veiled threat that he wouldn't lose any sleep over doing the same to them the council had quickly come to the conclusion that any further pursuit of Ranma would be tantamount to suicide. That, and a few not so subtle threats that their precious tribe would cease to exist shouldn't they desist had helped.

Ranma had even made his peace with his old friend Ukyo Kuonji. He, or rather she had sought him out a few weeks after he had returned from Haven claiming that he had ruined her life, but between Nabiki, Kasumi and him things had been sorted out rather quickly. Ukyo and he had quickly become best of friends who trained together regularly, and the chef (who had become the sister Ranma'd never had) babysat his three kids regularly. Several problems of the fiancee kind – without exception caused by a certain part-time panda who had long since learned the error of his ways – had reared their ugly head, but had been swiftly dealt with.

The young Saotome's smile briefly grew. He had come a long way ever since that fateful day when he had fallen into the cursed spring at Jusenkyo seven years ago, and it seemed that the spirits of Jusenkyo had indeed been right, fate had had plans for him.

Plans that involved him and his fellow Saiyans founding a new bloodline of Earthborn Saiyans, Saiyans who did not share in the brutal and aggressive ways of their ancestors and who would give their all to protect those who couldn't do so themselves.

The future looked bright for Earth's Saiyans and their spouses, and even the Kami could settle back as the planet was in the best of hands.

Fin.

Final Notes: four and a half years and thirty chapters... who'd have thought? Certainly not me. And so much has happened in this space of time, both good and bad. My two sons and my nephew have been born, we had two miscarriages to mourn and a lot of other things I rather not mention right now have happened. But writing (this story and the others) has always helped.

Writing... heh, I still remember when I had this li'l idea during a train ride home from work, back when it was little more than a hazy half-cocked plot-bunny. Well, I like to think that this little plot bunny has gone far, and I have a lot of people to thank for it.

Wes, Jon, Matt and Brian for being my betas and the guys I could bounce off ideas whenever inspiration struck, the diverse forums I partook in before family life forced me to retire (who knows, maybe I'll return one day) and my own yahoo group.

You guys at ffn. I'd have never got this far without all yas, with this story, and as an author.

It's been a long and fun ride.

A great New Year, all yas.

Sincerely,

Trugeta