mlatus@willow.msvu.ca

GuyverRyoga / Ryoga 1/2 : Worlds in Collision
A story concerning three alternate Ranma 1/2 universes
by Mark Latus

Prologue - Mistaken Identity
(If you read "Ryoga : Crossover" you can probably skip the prologue)

Sunday Morning, Ranma 1/2 Timeline-The Present    
     Had there been a casual observer in the supposedly unoccupied office he
(or she) would have concluded the teenagers were identical triplets.  Someone
more knowledgeable about one of Nerima's frequent visitors would have
wondered why there were suddenly three Ryoga Hibikis.  Anyone who knew about
the events Friday night at the Tendo Dojo could be forgiven for believing
another group of Ryogas had been dragged out of their alternate universes.
     None of these assumptions was correct. Not one of the three was either
human or belonged in this world and time.  As designed all of the androids
were identical to Ryoga Hibiki at the age of 17.  The teenage model Ryoga
Simulation Androids (or Ryogoids, as they were commonly known) were Emperor
Hibiki's personal favorites.  The androids came in a range of age groups from
five to fifty.  His most favored model was the 19 year old design, the same
age he'd been when he killed Ranma Saotome.
     However that happy event was two years in the future and in another
universe.  It was also not looking as certain as it once had.  Clustered
around the monitor screen the Ryogoids watched the playback of Operation
Crossover.  It had not gone anything like expected.  In essence the plan had
been simple, at least from the  point of view of a machine intelligence.  The
rebels had hijacked a timemachine intending to kill the Emperor before he
achieved unification with the global computer net.  They were unaware all
timemachines were locked out of the homeline's past and would only convey
them into the past of an alternate universe.  This was a safety feature to
prevent damaging the Empire's history.  The Emperor didn't give a damn about
screwing up the history of alternate universes.  After all, he had to test
time travel somewhere.
     Unfortunately things can't normally stay in a foreign universe due to
the differing quantum signatures of matter.  The only way to exist in an
alternate universe was to carry a Quantum stabiliser (which all the androids
did) or receive a stabilisation charge to temporarily align you to the host
universe.  The timemachine had provided the latter of these for the rebels,
unfortunately it was of finite duration.  Once it expired the rebels would
have been snapped back to the homeworld.  Where they could change the past
and preempt the Empire's existence.
     Sadly the temporal exclusion factor made it impossible to enter the same
time twice.  So once something gets changed in the past it stays changed.
Ambushing the rebels proved impossible, there are limits to what can pass
from one dimension to another.  Why this is remains unknown at present,
dimensional travel is a new science having been developed just two years ago
(meaning 2118 AD, from the Ryogoids' point of view until very recently it was
July 1st 2120 AD).   With twenty rebels in this timeline one android was all
that could be forced into this timeline.  That should have been enough. 
     In addition to the most advanced machine intelligence developed (wrapped
around the the downloaded personality of a psychotic Ryoga Hibiki) the
androids had been designed as the ultimate warriors.  They were programmed
with every martial art known, superhuman reflexes and strength besides being
equipped with one hell of an internal weapons system.
     In essence the plan was simple, while the rebels hunted this world's
Ryoga the Ryogoid would hunt them.  To ensure the rebels had someone to hunt
five other Ryogas had been dragged from their homeworlds and dropped near the
Tendo Dojo.  After some initial complications the six Ryogas had decided to
stick together until they figured out what was going on.  The Ryogoid had
joined them claiming to be a seventh Ryoga.
     Sure enough the rebels showed up and the android was waiting.  Things
were running smoothly until the Ryogas objected to the slaughter of
unconscious rebels.  The Ryogas learned that number seven was an android and
responsible for their being stranded on the wrong world.  Worse than that one
of them was dead and another greviously injured.
     They turned on the android, which learned that it was hardwired not to
harm Ryoga Hibiki.  This was a failsafe the Emperor had installed in his
creations to prevent a Frankenstein scenario.  Unable to defend itself the
android had vanished, where it went was unknown to the Ryogas.
     It was not unknown to one of those watching.  On the screen one of the
Ryogas destroyed the Quantum Lock holding them in this universe.  All but
this world's indigenous Ryoga vanished. 
     Unit 207 (Model 17 Modified, Interdimensional/Temporal Survey and
Exploration Design) sighed and turned off the monitor.  "Well now we know
what happened to 303.  He bugged out of this dimension and never came back."
     Unit 549 (Model 17, Standard Enforcement/Battle Design) nodded, "It was
a mistake to send one of you, we'd have done a better job."  463 agreed with
its comrade.
     207 suppressed an angry retort, the downside of having the Emperor's
personality (praise his name) was having his emotions.  Meaning being quick
to anger and pick a fight.  In fact in the early days the Emperor had to do a
little reprogramming to prevent his androids from continually beating each
other up.  Despite which tensions remained between the subgroups of androids.
     However 207 was in command of this trio and therefore not about to let
this develop into a shouting match.  "A battleunit would have lasted longer
but been equally unable to defend itself.  Lacking dimensional shift
equipment he wouldn't have had any way out."  Neither of the others could
contradict this, a side effect of being very intelligent.
     207 continued, "Now we saw 303 kill 18 of the 20 rebels before the
Ryogas turned on him.  At which point he escaped having first synchronized
the rebels to his shifter so they were transported with him.  He obviously
intended to kill the remaining 2 then return with the bodies to this dimension
for transport back to the present."
     "But nothing showed up at the timescoop point", 463 interjected.  The
androids could have interfaced and concluded this conversation in seconds.
However having human personalities they clung to verbal communication except
in crisis situations.
     207 nodded, "Unfortunately 303 jumped blindly to avoid imminent
destruction.  He didn't have time to choose his destination.  Which meant he
warped into the flux line."
     The other two looked at him blankly, they had never been programmed with
the alternate dimension data, they were just along to provide backup.  207
continued, "As you know when we change the past in an alternate universe we
witness a phenomena known as the paradox wave."  Both nodded.  "If we observe
this happening from our world we see a period of flux as reality changes.  It
lasts several minutes from our point of view.  On the changed world the new
reality becomes the only one to have ever existed."
     "The one exception to this is worldline Gamma.  Two days from now a
reality flux becomes the only thing we can observe from then until our own
time.  Temporal exclusion prevents us from observing the trigger of the flux. 
It is believed that at some point in our own future we may make changes to
that point in Gamma's history.  Or we may choose to not intervene.  Until the
matter is resolved Gamma is in flux and unobservable, possibly unenterable."
     "Compilcated", 463 commented.  207 agreed, time paradoxes can confuse
even MI's.  "But if the flux hasn't happened yet why didn't 303 come back?
Even damaged he could have taken two unarmed rebels with ease."
     207 shrugged, "Gamma is the strangest known alternate world.  There's
evidence of alien intervention in it's distant past and an actual worldwide
conspiracy around at this point in history.  In any event the only way to
find out is to go look for myself."
     Neither 463 or 549 had dimensional shift equipment.  The packs on their
backs contained the stabilisers that held them in this world.   207 had an
inbuilt combination dimensional shifter/stabiliser.  It meant he carried less
armament than them, but as Ryogoids have a ridiculous overkill capability
it didn't make much difference.  His backpack was full of sensor equipment,
which he was going to use to find what had happened to 303.
     He gave his final instructions to his subordinates.  "Gather 303's
equipment and wait at timescoop point."  Six hours from now a vacant building
two kilometers west would be swept by an energy wave.  Anything caught in
that wave would be dragged into both 2120 and the Imperial timeline, arriving
ten minutes after the three Ryogoids had departed.  "If I'm not there in five
hours assume I've been destroyed.  I'll find a quiet spot and shift to Gamma.
303 would have arrived at the spacial equivalent to the spot he left.  So I'll
begin my investigation at the Tendo Dojo." 
     The other two began clearing the equipment as 207 departed.  He headed
out of the building until he reached a small alleyway.  His memory files
indicated this tended to be a little used place in all the observed
worldlines.  Heading into the alleyway he engaged his dimensional shifter.
    
Sunday morning - Timeline Gamma (Imperial coding system)
     207 appeared in an alley virtually identical to the one he'd left.  No
one noticed his arrival except a stray cat which ran off in a panic.  The
android called up his map of Nerima in 1995 and plotted the optimum route to
the Tendo home.  He set off, being physically identical to the contemporary
Ryoga Hibiki he could claim the identity if the need arose.  That was why the
model 17's had been sent on this mission.
     As he proceeded 207 noted various discrepencies between this world, the
homeworld at this point in history and the world he'd just left.  Ukyou
Kuonji's restaurant was gone, a new coffeeshop was under construction at the
site.  The Nekohanten restauarant had a small "Out of Business" sign in the
front window and a "For Sale" sign on the wall.  There hadn't been any
observation of this line's recent history so he had no data as to the cause
of these changes.  Not that it was likely to be significant, still he felt a
certain curiosity.
     Arriving near the Dojo and finding a concealed spot 207 began scanning
the yard.  His metaphorical heart sank.  Sensor readings did not indicate 
303 leaving the yard.  Furthermore there was evidence of a massive energy
pulse occuring approximately the same time that 303 appeared.  207 had a
nasty feeling he knew the source of the pulse.
     In this timeline Ryoga Hibiki had found, and become joined to, an
extraterrestrial artifact known as the "Guyver Unit."  It converted its host
into a living weapon.  Among other things it gave the wearer the capability
to generate massive destructive energy bursts.  The unit was wanted by an
organization known as Kronos.  According to Kronos an alien race was
responsible for the creation of the human race.  In creating the human race
the aliens had introduced a genetic strain that, when activated, transformed
humans into genetically designed warriors called Zoanoids.
     This was obviously false.  Of the fifteen known Earths this was the only
one the Empire had detected signs of alien intervention.  After discovery of
this world a study had been made of various worlds' prehistory periods. 
Evolution had proceeded without extraterrestrial help.  A closer study of this
world's past had shown the aliens introducing a dormant genetic "trigger"
into the already existing primates.  Plans to travel to this world's past to
steal alien technology had been abandoned.  The technology of the so-called
"Creators" was biologically based and incompatible with the Empire's
inorganic technology.  However a study was being made of their interstellar
drive systems by temporal observation.
     In any event the Zoanoids had evidently been abandoned in favor of the
Guyver units and the aliens had left earth.  Kronos had begun centuries ago
as a cult surrounding the few humans who could trigger their Zoanoid
transformation due to a genetic quirk.  In this century it had taken the
form of an international corporation and learned how to activate the genetic
trigger the aliens planted so long ago.  In addition Kronos was actively
search for any artifacts the creators had left.  Which meant they were
willing to kill Hibiki to regain the Guyver unit.
     That was the latest data 207 had on this timeline.  His genetic scanners
indicated five people in the house.  He could identify them from his datalog,
Ryoga Hibiki, Akane, Nabiki and Soun Tendo and Ranma Saotome.  There was no
trace of the two others he had expected.
     207 had a hypothesis, it went something like this; Hibiki becomes
paranoid after being continually attacked by Zoanoids.  Or monsters as the
layman would call them.  So he tends to react in a very hostile fashion to
perceived threats.  Unit 303 appears in the Tendo garden surrounded by
corpses.  Due to the battering it has recieved it is obvious 303 is not
human.  So Hibiki sees a "monster", shreds of artifical skin hanging off it
among the people it has killed.  He activates the Guyver and destroys 303,
303 being programmed not to attack or defend against Ryoga Hibiki.  303 is
destroyed, as is its Quantum stabiliser.  That means the remains of 303 and
the rebels snap back to the homeline. 
     This was very bad.  Even if 303 had time to kill the remaining rebels
history does not record twenty corpses suddenly appearing in the Tendos'
garden.  That should have caused a time paradox.  But 207 had left his time
after 303 so the Empire still existed.  Or did it?  Reality had seemed very
fragile since time travel was invented.  Perhaps the Empire now didn't exist,
or wouldn't exist, or whatever.  "Now" was a rather slippery term in these
circumstances.
     While 207 pondered these questions he was unaware he was under
observation.  The nondescript van had been watching the Tendo home all night.
The Kronos observer couldn't understand how Hibiki had got out of the house
without his spotting him.  He'd be in deep shit with Kronos HQ for this. 
There was still time to save his neck.  He keyed the comm. link to the
strike team and told them, "Hibiki is out and fifteen metres from the north
wall.  The streets are deserted, move in and initiate plan."
     207 sighed, he didn't have the capability to work out something as
complex as the nature of reality.  The only thing he could do was return to
the previous worldline and await pickup.  Ideally he should cross to the
homeworld and examine the changes that had occurred.  However his programming
prevented this, no one was allowed to enter the Empire's past to avoid
inadvertantly changing anything.  He might as well walk to the pickup point's
equivalent in this world and cross over there.
     That was when 207 got his first surprise.  His sensor equipment detected
a dimensional shift pulse.  Correction, it was similar to shift frequencies
but not an exact match.  Which seemed impossible, shift technology was not
developed until 2118 because several of the sciences it required wouldn't
exist until the mid twentyfirst century.
     Except that in this world a highly advanced technology already exists.
The artifacts left by the extraterrestrials.  This was a new threat to the
Empire.  If Kronos had dimensional shift technology now that meant they'd
have it decades before the Empire.  Which meant they might conquer this
world then look for new Earths to rule.  If Kronos launched an assault on the
homeline before 2120 the Empire's history would be destroyed.  This threat
required investigation.  He must find the signal's source and investigate.
But the signal had ceased and had been too brief to track.  207 felt a
building anger, it was one damn thing after another.
     So for the Kronos striketeam it was a rotten moment to show up.  207
saw four large men in purple jumpsuits emerge from the sidestreets.  Two
moved to intercept him as the other two hung back.  His datafile identified
the outfits as standard Kronos uniform.  A bit silly looking in his opinion,
but people who want to be changed into monsters probably don't have much in
the way of fashion sense.  Or any other kind of sense.
     "We've been looking to pay you back for all the trouble you've caused,
punk", the uglier of the two snarled.  His companion muttered "Yeah!"
     207 remembered that his mission parameters constrained him to avoid
making unnecessary changes to parallel world history.  So he said, "I'm not
the man you're looking for, so piss off."
     The two Kronos agents chuckled.  "Yeah, you just happen to look like
Hibiki.  Too bad cause we're gonna kill you for that."
     207's defensive programming activated.  He had been threatened with
destruction.  It was now permissable to kick ass.  Good, he needed to blow
off some steam.
     In front of him the two men changed.  While both remained humanoid one
developed armoured skin, a reptilian appearance and a large horn in its
forehead.  The second developed bat-like features, claws and a furry body.
Both figures increased in size to over two metres in height.
     207 scanned them, comparing the toughness of their skin to his ceramic
armour.  No contest, besides he could use the energy shield if necessary.
Strangely they were waiting for him rather than making the first move.  Fine
by him.  A sonic scan of the horned one located what he was looking for.
     "Interesting body you've got there", 207 told it.  He speared his right
hand through the Gregore's chest and pulled it back out holding the multi
chambered heart.  "So what does this bit do?"
     Emperor Hibiki had never developed a sophisticated sense of humor.  
However he did develop a viscious streak which was passed on to his androids.
     207 couldn't read the expression on the reptilian face but was willing
to bet that it was a mixture of pain and surprise.  Trying to speak it
collapsed at his feat.
     "What the fu...urk!" the batlike one said.  It added this last
exclamation when Ryoga did a standing jump, landed on its shoulders, reached
down and grabbed its head, then twisted it 180 degrees.  Ramothis's last
sight was of his two comrades directly behind him, still in their human
forms.
     207 jumped from the falling Zoanoid and landed lightly on the street.
Looking at the remaining two he said, "Do you feel lucky, punks?"
     The Kronos agents stared at him in shock.  The plan had been simple, the
two standard Zoanoids threaten Hibiki, he activates the Guyver, then they
transform to their Enzyeme II forms and hit him with their bioacid.  The acid
was specifically designed to break down and destroy the Guyver armour.  Then
they would just have to fish the control medallion out of the remains, tell
team two to kill everyone in the Tendo house and head back to HQ.
     But Hibiki had killed two Zoanoids with his bare hands which just wasn't
possible.  He started towards them and they began the transformation process.
The first had almost finished when Hibiki punched him in the chest.  His
ribcage shattered, sending lethal splinters through most of his vital organs.
     Ignoring his dying foe 207 ran through his options for killing the last
one.  So many choices.  The man had become a hulking white furred thing with
huge claws and four insectlike pincers growing from its back.  Easily dodging
a spray of acid from its mouth and a strike by two of the four pinchers 207
made a choice.  In midair he unclipped his belt, snapping it in a certain way
so it became rigid as a sword. 
     As he leapt past the Zoanoid his arm slashed twice.  What followed was
rather like one of those samurai movies.  207 landed, behind him the zoanoid
stood frozen in its last striking position.  207 returned the belt to its
normal state and refastened it.  Then, with timing only a machine could
achieve, he snapped his fingers.  The Zoanoid fell apart in three large
chunks.
     207 smiled, it had been an amusing diversion.  Now down to business.  He
paused, while in battlemode he had increased his sensor range to detect
threats.  There were radio waves coming from that van by the corner.
     Kronos's observer couldn't believe what he'd just witnessed.  Hibiki had
wiped out four Zoanoids without the Guyver.  It wasn't possible.  But he'd
seen it with his own eyes.  He'd called in the second team for support and
was frantically calling Kronos HQ.
     "This is an unsecured line", the operator told him.  "Fuck that, Hibiki
just took out team one.  He didn't use the Guyver he tore them apart with his
OWN FUCKING HANDS!  WE'VE GOT A SITUATION HERE!  SEND EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT,
OH SHIT!!!"  This last remark was added as 207 ripped throught the wall of
the van.  He grabbed the observer by the throat and lifted him with one hand.
As he did he examined the surveillance gear in the van.  Primitive by his
standards but it had probably seen too much.  He felt an increase in mass as
his captive began transforming.  He tightened his grip unitl he felt the neck
snap.  Dropping the corpse he made an adjustment in his energy shield.  There
was a voice from the fallen cellular phone shouting, "What's happening over
there?!"
     207 smirked and said, "Thank you for being with us, we now conclude our
broadcast day."  The electromagnetic pulse fried the van's equipement and
scrambled all the video and computer recordings of recent events.
     Leaving the smoking van 207 began wandering toward the crossover point.
It was a good a place as any to scan from until his five hours were up.  At
which point the second Zoanoid team came charging around a corner.  They'd
already transformed, two of the bat-things, an insectlike creature and a
reptilian one with huge pods on its shoulders.  The pods were generating
laser energy, best to end this quickly.
     207 took evasive action, as he dodged he generated a plasma sphere
between his hands.  He launched it at the Zoanoids, firing before the Vamore
had finished generating enough power.  As the plasma sphere reached the
Zoanoids its electromagnetic containment field collapsed.  Plasma exploded
outwards and seared the zoanoids. 
     207 scanned the scene.  The screaming indicated one of the Zoanoids was
still alive.  One of the bat creatures had been on the fringe of the blast,
blinded and burned it howled in agony.  The others were dead.  207 pulled a
bandanna loose and aimed it at the creature.  The bandanna decapitated it
and began circling back to the android.  It arrived at the same time as the
Zoanoid's head hit the ground.
     Retying it 207 wandered off, noting that the first Zoanoids he killed
were already decomposing rapidly, evaporating into gas.  One way to save on
funeral expenses, he mused.  Inside the Tendo home everyone remained asleep,
unaware of what they'd missed.
     A little distance away Sasuke wondered what had made that awful noise.
Well it hadn't lasted long fortunately.  He continued back towards the Kuno
Mansion, Master Kuno would be most pleased by his discovery.  Sasuke had felt
uneasy when Master Kuno joined those Kronos people.  Not that he had much
foundation for this belief, he knew little about them.  He was pretty sure
Master Kuno didn't know much more than he did.  They had recruited him by
appealing to his vanity, saying they needed a man of his skill and
intelligence, to observe certain troublemakers at Furinkan High.  As one of
those troublemakers was Ranma, Kuno was more than happy to join.
     But then Ranma and the Tendos dropped out of school for unknown reasons.
Since then the only contact with Kronos had been an urgent memo addressed to
all Kronos personnel advising them to keep an eye out for something called a
Guyver unit.  The memo included a picture and a warning not to touch it with
bare skin.  Of course Kuno had turned the matter over to Sasuke and told him
to scour the town for the item.  He had then returned to writing bad poetry
to the pig tailed girl and Akane and wondering why everyone in the Tendo
house was so tense these days.
     Sasuke had been lucky and after several weeks of searching had found
the gizmo in a small park underneath a bench.  Making sure not to touch it
with any part of his body he had dropped it in a bag.  Now he could go home
and get some rest.  Maybe Master Kuno would give him a raise.  Although he'd
be more likely to complain about the time it had taken.  As if finding
something the size of a discus was easy.  In any event hopefully things would
be quiet for the next few weeks. 
     Sasuke had no idea just how unlikely that was.

To be continued.

Authors Afterword:    I realize the title characters haven't appeared yet but
                  setting some background seemed like a good idea.  This
                  story spun off from "Ryoga : Crossover" which had several
                  alternate versions of Ryoga meeting in the regular Ranma1/2
                  universe. 
                       If you didn't read it what do you need to know?  Well
                  the GuyverRyoga stuff will be explained as we go.  He made
                  a cameo appearance in part 8 of Crossover so there's not
                  much to know about him.
                        Ryoga 1/2 is a little more complicated.  As the name
                  suggests he fell in the same sping as Ranma.  How this
                  changed regular Ranma history was discussed in Crossover.
                  All you need to know is he's engaged to Nabiki, living at
                  the Tendo Dojo, and his female form is lusted after by
                  Kuno and Happosai.  Involvement with Nabiki has made him
                  more machiavellian than the Ryoga you know.
                       Basically his world is a wild and crazy one,
                  GuyverRyoga lives in a dark, cyberpunk world.  The same
                  man, very different aspects.
                       If this story will work, who knows.  But I'm going to
                  try.
                       By the way for everyone who was asking how Ryoga 1/2
                  and Nabiki got engaged.  That story will be told, but not
                  as part of this one.  Sorry.
                       Up next, monday morning in two different universes and
                  absolutely no androids.     
                 
                  Part one : Parallel Lines.
                  Coming soon.


Guyver Ryoga / Ryoga 1/2 : Worlds in Collision
A fanfic about three alternate Ranma 1/2 Universes
by Mark Latus

Part 1 : Parallel Lines

Early Monday Morning - Tendo Dojo - Ryoga 1/2 Timeline
    
     Ryoga woke up with a start.  He hadn't meant to doze off since being
found here would certainly complicate life.  Taking care not to wake Nabiki    
he untangled their limbs and slid out of the bed.  He dressed silently then
glided to the door.  A few moments listening told him the house was still
silent.  He eased the door open and stepped into the hallway, closing the
door behind him.  So far so good, now for the tricky part, finding his way
back to "his" room.  Just a converted closet really but after years of tent
life anything with a solid roof was a novelty.
     Luckily Nabiki had come up with a way to compensate for his lousy
directional skills.  He glanced at the floor until he saw the orange line.
Now since that way the line went downstairs and his room was upstairs it must
be that way.  He quietly followed the line to his bedroom (there was room for
a bed, his backpack and that's about it) and headed inside.  Soun hadn't been
particularly happy with Nabiki drawing colored lines all over the floor but
had to admit it prevented Ryoga from showing up in the wrong room at the worst
possible time. 
     Ryoga picked up his watch which he'd left on top of his pack.  According
to it the time was about six, too late to get any more sleep before school. 
He might as well head into the training hall and start his morning workout
early.  So, pausing only to rumple the futon so it looked slept in, he headed
out to look for the green line.
     It wasn't much later when Ranma came in to join him.  They'd started
working out together shortly after Ryoga began living in the Dojo.
     As Genma had said at the time, "Ranma my boy, it looks like Ryoga will
become part of the anything goes school of martial arts.  Someone has to
bring him up to our standards.  Being closer to his age I'm sure you can do a
better job than me.  You'll begin tommorrow morning."
     As Ranma had said at the time, "Gimmie a break Pop.  You just want to be
able to sleep in and not have to run our morning sparring matches."
     "That's just a coincidence.  Anyway I'm not getting any younger."
     In any event it had become their new morning routine. And if someone got
hurt?  Well accidents do happen.
     Actually they didn't inflict injuries on each other with anything like
their old zeal.  With Ryoga no longer chasing Akane a major conflict had been
resolved.  Of course every time he got wet Ryoga remembered something else he
owed Ranma for.  Still living under the same roof as the Tendos' guests they
felt it incumbent on themselves to act semi-civilized.  So they'd switched
from open warfare to covert guerilla action.
     Ranma and Ryoga moved to opposite sides of the dojo, bowed briefly then
launched themselves at each other.  Things quickly escalated into a close-in
battle, both throwing kicks and punches as they attempted to break the others
defenses.  Ranma had to admit these morning sessions were improving Ryoga's
skills.  Ryoga was trying (and succeeding) at blocking Ranma's strikes rather
than depending on his own strength to withstand impacts.  Ranma still had the
edge in speed but tried not to use Tenshin Amaguriken during these sessions.
If he did Ryoga started using his own special techniques, they quickly
escalated to throwing chi spheres at each other, large holes got blown in the
walls, and Soun started demanding they pay for the fixing the dojo.
     Nabiki had come up with a steady way to pay for the repairs but it
wasn't something either of them liked.
     Ranma ducked to avoid a kick from Ryoga, tried and failed to sweep his
opponent off his feet, rolled clear to avoid Ryoga's counterstrike and
decided to try a little psychological warfare.  "So Ryoga, how many of you
are there today?"
     Ryoga glared, he was beginning to regret telling the story of what had
happened to him on Saturday.  Admittedly getting abducted into a parallel
world doesn't happen very often.  However he'd had the photos to back up his
story.  He'd done a rush job on developing the film yesterday but the
reaction hadn't been quite what he'd hoped for.  Nabiki had complimented him
on his skill and speed in fabricating pictures of groups of himself. 
Everyone else had just looked at him as if he was out of his mind.
     With somewhat strained self control he snarled, "I don't care if you
believe me, I know it happened.  Is it really any weirder than some of the
other stuff that's happened around here?"  As he said this he leapt at Ranma.
     Ranma dodged and struck as Ryoga flew past.  Ryoga caught the blow on
his forearms, hit the ground rolling and was on his feet renewing his attack.
As the fight continued they kept talking.
     Starting to work up a sweat Ranma asked, "Come on Ryoga (kick, damn he
blocked, block punch to ribs), your story's ridiculous!"
     Sweating himself Ryoga answered, "No, turning female every time you get
wet is ridiculous. (Punch, jumpkick, duck and spin, damn! missed).  Alternate
universes is just ... science fiction."
     "Exactly fiction, you made the whole thing up to cover getting lost
again.  I mean you expect me to believe that anywhere Shampoo and Ukyou would
pick you over me?"
     "I know what I saw!"  Ryoga's voice was getting colder.  Ranma nodded to
himself, when he got mad Ryoga started fighting by strength not skill.  Which
would mean an easy win.
     "And that stuff about the other Ryogas turning into pigs?  That's the
dumbest thing I've ever heard.  Although I admit the animal suits you."
     Ryoga exploded, "OK that's it.  Here I come Ranma!"  He charged.
     Ranma had planned to simply jump over Ryoga then strike from behind
sending his opponent crashing into the wall.  Unfortunately he'd
underestimated Ryoga's speed and momentum.  Ryoga slammed into him and the
impact sent them both throught the wall.  In a ball of splinters and
intermingled limbs they rolled through the garden coming to rest with a
splash.  The two girls looked at each other, landing in the pond had cooled
Ryoga down.  "Want to call it a draw", Ryoga-chan asked.
     Ranma-chan shrugged, "Fine.  I think a hot bath is what we need now, if
we hurry we still have time before everyone else gets moving."   She surveyed
the hole, "Damn, I hope there's some money left in the repairs account. 
Otherwise Nabiki'll be insisting on more bikini oil wrestling photos."
     "Afraid not, she withdrew the last as her consultant's fee for managing
the funds."  A slight white lie, the money had gone into certain house
renovations but Ryoga wasn't about to describe them.  "At least we've got a
steady customer in Kuno."
     "That creep."  Something occurred to Ranma.  "Hey if there really are
worlds where you don't turn female what does Kuno do?"
     "Restricts himself to chasing you and Akane."
     "Lucky you."
     "If turning into a pig is lucky."
     Ranma-chan shrugged, "Whatever.  Look if you let this crossover business
drop I'll do the same."
     Ryoga-chan sighed, no one believed her so why keep on about it, "Fine."
As they headed for the bathroom she asked, "Do you thing Kuno's ever going to
figure out who we really are?"
     "No way, the guy's a total moron.  I've changed in front of him and he
still doesn't get it."
     As they headed inside Ryoga thought about his recent adventure.  While
he might stop talking about it the events had lead to one profound change in
his life.  Nabiki had been manoeuvring for a little while to make their
relationship a bit more physical.  While he wasn't as shy as he'd been before
Jusenkyo (continually turning female had removed a lot of the mystery) he had
been feeling they should wait until they were older.  Of course Nabiki was a
year older than him, still ...  Then he saw himself die.  Well not himself
but the Ryoga of another world.  It brought home just how short life could be.
So shortly after his return to this world he had made it clear to Nabiki he
was ready if she was.  They had taken precautions, one of which wasn't quite as
secret as he thought.
     It was during breakfast, a little while later, that it almost hit the
fan.  Akane was studying the people around the table.  Ryoga and Nabiki were
sitting together and looking indecently happy.  Akane figured at this rate
anyone could figure out what those to were up to.  She glanced around the
table, on second thoughts maybe not.  Ranma and her father were oblivious to
anything besides food, Mr Saotome was in his panda form and busy reading the
newspaper and always Kasumi gave the impression of not existing in the same
reality as everyone else.
     At which point Kasumi remembered something.  She pulled an envelope
from her apron pocket and told her sister, "Nabiki I forgot but this letter
arrived for you a little while ago.  I accidently put under a cookbook and
didn't find it until just now.  It seems to be an invoice from the Nakamura
Industrial Quality Soundproofing Company ..."
     Ryoga began choking on his mitso soup.  Nabiki, with a speed Ranma found
impressive, snatched the bill from her sister's hand.  "Oh this, don't worry
about it.  I'll pay this off today, forget about it."
     Everyone stopped to look at Nabiki.  Hearing her volunteer to spend
money rather than just accumulate it seemed like a violation of the natural
order of the universe.  Even Ryoga, who had recently been part of an actual
violation of reality, would have agreed with this assessment.
     At that point a (sort of) lucky break appeared.  Two well aimed buckets
of water struck Ranma and Ryoga.  Almost as soon as they'd changed sex the
wrinkled form was bouncing between the two of them.
     "Aaaargh!  Happosai!"  Ranma-chan peeled the pervert off her breasts and
tossed him across the table.  Directly into Ryoga-chan. 
     "Aaaargh get off!"  Ryoga-chan ripped the alleged "great master" loose
and threw him across the room.  Where he immediately latched onto the Ranma.
     "Don't throw him over him moron!  OFF YOU LITTLE CREEP!"
     "I don't want him, AAAARGH!"
     Tossing (and striking) the pervert between them the two former boys
headed deeper into the house.  Soun and Genma followed, perhaps while
Happosai's attention was on Ranma and Ryoga they could finally get the drop
on their former sensei.
     Kasumi said, "My goodness, everyone's finished so soon."  She began
gathering dishes.  "I'll put some hot water on, I'm sure the boys will want
to change before school."
     She headed into the kitchen.  Nabiki folded the letter and stuck it in
a pocket.  She made a mental note to intercept the bill for the new wallpaper
in her room when it came.  It wouldn't do to have anyone wondering if the
paper was covering anything.  Especially daddy.
     Akane leaned close so she wouldn't be overheard.  "You really lucked out
with that distraction.  A little longer and even Ranma might have figured it
out."
     "I don't know what you're talking about."
     Akane sighed, "Come on.  I was there when Ryoga got back from whatever
it was that happened to him."
     Nabiki arched an eyebrow at her, "Feeling jealous."
     Akane colored slightly then laughed.  "Me and Ranma?  Come on!  He'd
have to be the last boy in the world.  And even then only if I knew for sure
hell had frozen over."
     She didn't like Nabiki's grin.  From the commotion in the den things
were getting more serious.  Akane sighed.  She was fed up of constant chaos
and weird martial artists showing up every hour of the day.  Could life be
any worse?

*****************************************************************************

Early Monday Morning - Tendo Dojo - Guyver Ryoga Timeline

     One thing Ryoga really wished the Guyver Unit could do for him was
eliminate the need to sleep.  Since he'd first been joined to it he'd learned
a lot about its powers.  However either it couldn't do that or he didn't know
how yet.  He tried to rationalize it as a desire to protect the others 24
hours a day.  But in his heart he knew it was a desire to avoid the dreams.
     No one can stay awake forever.  About 3 A.M. he'd fallen asleep.  At
first his sleep was dreamless, but spurred by either the Guyver unit or his
own guilt the dreams began towards dawn.
     In the dream he was wandering aimlessly through a forest, no idea where
he was or how he got there.  Nerima had to be around here somewhere.  That
was when the voice called his name.  Before him was something that looked like
a fat discus.  Through openings in the metal the organic fibers coiled inside
could be seen.
     The voice whispered to him, "Ryoga, you want to be the greatest fighter
who ever lived.  I can give you that.  Pick me up and you'll be invincible.
No one will be able to stand against you.  That's what you want isn't it?"
     Yes, that was what he wanted.  No more being made to look like a fool in
front of Akane.  As he reached for it the device became a crown.  He placed
it on his head.  The voice whispered, "All hail Ryoga Hibiki, the greatest
warrior of all time!"  In a colder voice it whispered to him, "Now here are
your opponents.  Prove you are the greatest."
     Huge monsterous, dark but ill defined shapes surrounded him.  As they
got closer they took the shape of mythical creatures.  It didn't matter,
Ryoga could feel the power burning within him.  He launched himself at his
foes, nothing could stand before him!  Dragons, Ogres, Oni all fell before
him in a spray of blood and crushed bone.  This was triumph, he shook a fist
at the sky and laughed.
     Then the ground erupted before him.  The people who had lain under the
ground crawled out of their graves and stood before him.  They were all dead,
their injuries made that clear.  Ukyou's intestines spilled from the slash
running from her abdomen to just below her neck.  Moose held his severed head
cradled before him in his hands.  The burned and crushed one had to be
Happosai, only the small stature made him identifiable.  Genma was the
neatest looking of the four.  Except for the circular hole in his chest where 
the horn had penetrated he looked almost alive.
     Though they were silent Ryoga could hear them.  The words, "you killed
us" kept echoing through his mind.  He stepped back, away from his accusers.
They didn't follow, they just stood there watching him. 
     He stopped, memory and dream intermingled.  "No", he told them, "I
didn't kill you, Kronos killed you."
     "They didn't want us", Ukyou whispered emotionlessly, "They wanted you."
     "We just got in their way.", Genma added tonelessly.
     "I wouldn't have been caught in that attack if you weren't there",
Mousse told him.
     "I died helping you", the thing that had been Happosai croaked.
     "You chose to do that Happosai.  We owe you our lives for that.  But
your blood, all of your blood, is on Kronos's hand.  They murdered you.  I
do not accept your judgement.  I didn't kill you!"  Ryoga spoke with
confidence.  He was not the guilty one here, Gyro and those other Kronos
bastards were the killers.
     "But you did kill me Ryoga."  Unlike the others the voice from behind
him sounded alive.  It was gently reproachful and instantly recognisable.
     Ryoga felt his blood turn to ice.  She was behind him, he had to turn.
But he couldn't face her!  But he had to!  He didn't want to see her!  He had
to look!  He couldn't!
     He heard footsteps behind him and spun.  Kasumi, looking very alive,
stood about six feet behind him.  She held out her arms to him and stepped
closer.  Ryoga backed away.  The dead were behind him but he didn't care,
Kasumi was far more terrifying.  "Get back!"
     She stopped advancing and gently told him, "It's all right.  I'm not
here to hurt you."
     "Don't come any closer!"
     Her voice was soothing, "You did what you had to, there was no other
way."
     "Stop it!"
     "I forgive you."
     "KEEP AWAY FROM ME!"  Ryoga fell to his knees.  She couldn't forgive him,
no one could.  He'd saved Nabiki but the cost!  Then he heard Nabiki scream
again and it was getting louder and ... outside?  And he was waking up and he
still heard Nabiki screaming.  He was awake and back in the guest room Ranma
and his father had shared.  Before Genma died and Ranma moved in with Akane.
     He wasn't dreaming anymore but Nabiki was still screaming!  He dived for
the door, on the verge of triggering the Guyver Unit.  In the next room Ranma
and Akane snapped awake and headed for their door.  Soun slept on, locked in
his own nightmares one more scream was nothing new.
     Nabiki had her own nightmares, after what she'd been through it would
have been strange if she didn't.  The same dream kept repeating over and
over again.
     It always began the same way, more of a memory than a dream.  They had
succeeded in rescuing Kasumi from the Kronos installation.  In the confusion
Ranma, Akane and Soun had become separated from them.  Nabiki had insisted on
joining the rescue, she had figured separating from the fighters would be
more dangerous to her than travelling with them.  Now she, Ryoga and Kasumi
were the only ones around.  Ryoga, in the Guyver armour was carrying the semi
conscious Kasumi.  She mumbled occasionally but didn't seem really aware of
her circumstances.
     Ryoga had been scanning for the others when the transformation began.
Suddenly Kasumi had howled and her body began to stretch.  Her hands morphed
into claws, white fur exploded from under her skin, four insectlike pinchers
ripped out of her back.  In seconds she was gone and the thing stood in her
place. 
     As the transformation began Ryoga had dropped her and rolled away fast. 
He studied the creature from a distance and Nabiki heard him blurt,
"Enzyme!"  Nabiki remembered the name, that was the creature that had ...
well, killed him.  He'd been recreated by the Guyver unit but he'd never
really gotten over the expeience.  It would be later that Nabiki learned the
creature her sister had become was a more advanced form of the Enzyme
Zoanoid.
     Instinctively Ryoga targeted the Zoanoid.  Then froze, this was Kasumi,
he couldn't hurt her.  It spat something at him, he dodged but caught a few
droplets and felt them burn.  Just like the original version this one could
destroy him with bioacid.  Worse, it didn't need to touch him to use the
acid.  It charged him with incredible speed for something so big.  He dodged
and kept dodging.  Its strikes were fast and without hesitation.  It wasn't
going to stop until it nailed him.  As he weaved to avoid it he kept calling
her name, hoping for some sign of her.  There was none.
     Watching them Nabiki realized that unless Kasumi stopped trying to kill
him Ryoga would have no choice but to use the Guyver's power.  Which would
kill Kasumi!  She had to stop this, Kronos couldn't have wiped out all traces
of Kasumi's mind!  Not so quickly, it just wasn't possible.  Please, that had
to be right.
     Ryoga had jumped backwards about fifteen metres to give himself room to
manoeuvre.  Nabiki had taken the opportunity and dashed between them. 
Ignoring Ryoga's frantic call for her to get clear Nabiki had addressed her
sister.  The creature had looked down at her in some puzzlement as she
pleaded with it.  "Please Kasumi, I know you're in there somewhere.  This
isn't you, you hate violence.  You've got to come back now, if you don't
he'll hurt you.  You've got to stop this, we, I need you.  Show me you're in
there somewhere."  She was crying by this point, "For God's sake ... come
back to your family.  We love you!"
     It was an impassioned and moving speech.  Unfortunately the Kronos
technicians had done a good job of brainwashing.  The artificial personality
they had constructed didn't know it was part of Kasumi Tendo.  What it did know
was that the thing before it was not a Zoanoid and was blocking the way to its
prey.  That made it a target. 
     One of its pinchers slashed downward, catching Nabiki across the face.
She screamed as the pain hit and fell to the ground.  The Zoanoid swept its
right arm back for the killing strike.  On the ground clutching the left side
of her face Nabiki watched the claw coming down!
     She heard Ryoga scream her name and then the world exploded into light.
The megasmasher burst burned over her head and enveloped the creature. 
     At this point dream and memory parted company.  In the real world the
Zoanoid had been vaporized almost instantaneously.  In the dream the figure
in the light became Kasumi again.  She began screaming as her clothing
ignited, and continued as her skin blackened and burned away.  Her flesh
melted leaving a skelton somehow still screaming in the midst of the nuclear
fire.  Kasumi's screaming merged with Nabiki's own as she broke from dream
to the dubious safety of the real world.
     Nabiki's scream was beginning to end as Ryoga slammed through the door.
He was looking for a target, on the verge of summoning the Guyver.  Crying
she grabbed him, needing to hold someone.  Ryoga was feeling distinctly
uncomfortable as Ranma and Akane followed him in.  "Just another nightmare",
he muttered.  He was still more at ease with violence than emotion. 
     Nabiki realized who she was holding and released him.  She looked very
vulnerable in her nightdress and without the patch that normally covered her
left eye.  The scar that ran the length of her face looked brighter than
usual.  Sniffing she told them, "Just that dream again.  Don't be so tense
you guys.  I'm fine, really."
     Akane hugged her sister feeling Nabiki's shakes subside.  With a little
more insight than usual Ranma told Ryoga, "Hey let's go start our morning
workout.  The girls have stuff to talk about."
     Happy for the distraction Ryoga followed him out, "Uh yeah, sure.  But
shouldn't you put some clothes on first?"  Turning a bit red Ranma ducked into
Akane's room.
     A little while later in the dojo proper the two of them faced off.  It
wasn't much of a contest.  Ranma kept tagging Ryoga easily, far too easily.
Ryoga didn't use to be this bad.  "Come on man, you're not even trying."
     Ryoga picked himself off the floor.  "No I'm not.  What's the point?
None of our skills do more than scratch the Zoanoids.  There's only one thing
that works against them and I'm beginning to hate it almost as much as I
hate Kronos."  He remembered his dream, you get to be the best, but the price
is more than you can bear.
     Ranma walked over and rested a hand on his shoulder.  "Ryoga, you've
done what you had to do.  OK,i f you hadn't found the Guyver unit a lot of
people would still be ali..."  Ranma's voice wavered.  He continued, "A lot of
people have been killed, Ukyou and my father among them.  But Kronos are the
ones who did it.  They were always in the shadows, killing to protect their
secrets.  From what that bastard Gyro said they're getting close to
attempting their world conquest scheme.  There's no saying how many will
suffer and die during that!  But now we have a chance to fight them, and
you're the key."
     Ryoga sighed, "I'm ready to fight them, but where do we go?  When the
Kronos building came down we lost our only lead to them.  They're out there
somewhere but how do we find them?"
     Ranma was silent, he had no answer.  Still they probably wouldn't have
to find Kronos.  Kronos kept finding them.
     Upstairs Nabiki had calmed down, at least on the outside.  Inside
contradicting thoughts bounced around her mind.  "He murdered my sister!  He
saved my life!  It's all his fault!  It's all Kronos's fault."  She forced a
smile, "So shouldn't we be getting ready for school?"  A tired joke, they had
dropped out some weeks back.  There had been some close calls when classes
separated them.  As well their presence had endangered the other students. 
It had become apparent Kronos intended to eliminate everyone who knew about
Ryoga and the Guyver unit.  So they stuck together.  The four of them and
Father were the only ones left who knew the secret.
     Which left the question what did they do now?
     Strangely school, Kronos and Guyver units were on the mind of one other
person.  Across town at the Kuno Mansion Tatewaki Kuno examined the device
on the table before him.  Sasuke had retrieved the device yesterday.  Neither
of them knew what it was but both knew that the people in Kronos wanted it
badly. 
     Kuno had been recruited to Kronos's cause by a man of noble bearing who
had told him that Kronos, an organization of those superior to the common
dross, wished to bring humility to the odious Saotome and his repellant
friend Hibiki.  To properly administer justice they required someone to keep
them informed of their activities.  Further to ensure they were not
mistreating the Tendo sisters someone must keep an eye on them.  Sadly they
did not have an agent at Furikan High who could accomplish this.  However
in surveying the school they had discovered one youth who possessed the
nobility that Kronos required.  They would be humbly greatful if he be
willing to become part of their venture.
     Kuno had, of course, fallen for this and signed up.  He was unaware he
was actually just a first circle agent.  These being the outer ring of the
Kronos operation who know little about the true goals and objectives of the
corporation.  The existence of Zoanoids isn't mentioned until ascension to
the second circle.  At the time it was felt an agent in Furikan would be
useful.  But then the targets dropped out so Kuno became inactive as an
agent.  His only contact with them recently had been the arrival of a memo
detailing a device called a Guyver unit.  All agents were advised to look for
it and contact Kronos if they found it.  There were various warnings
concerning what not to do if it was found.  The matter being of little
interest Kuno had told Sasuke to take care of it.
     The family's ninja servant had come through.  After weeks of searching
he had located the device and brought it to Kuno.  Kuno had decided to wait
until monday to inform Kronos about his find.  This should make them truly
appreciate his value.  He was merely uncertain if he should call them before
he went to school or after he came home.
     He examined the device once again.  It was a strange looking thing, it
resembled a fat hollow discus with a core of thick pink fibers.  Whatever it
was for he couldn't imagine.
     At which point Kodachi entered the living room.  She would delight in
spoiling his triumph.  He quickly grabbed the device and moved his hand
behind his back.
     "Why brother dear, whatever are you hiding?" Kodachi asked, attempting
to sound innocent.  She didn't do a very good job.
     "Nothing that concerns you wench", Kuno answered coldly.  At which
point, somewhat belatedly, he remembered an important point on the memo.  It
had read "UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES PERMIT BARE SKIN TO CONTACT THE GUYVER
UNIT".  The same device he was now holding behind his back in his left hand.
"Did I err?"  he asked rhetorically.
     The answer was presumably yes because the Guyver unit activated its
merger process.  Pseudopods exploded from the device and wrapped themselves
around Kuno.  He screamed, first in surprise, then in pain as the Guyver began
integrating itself to his nervous system.  Kuno became a writhing, howling
mass of tentacles on the floor.
     Kodachi was a little surprised by this turn of events.  She had come in
here to torment her brother prior to departing for St. Bacchus's school for
the slightly psychotic.  Now she was witnessing her brother apparently being
consumed by one of the extras from "Legend of the Overfiend".  While it might
be entertaining to watch she would wind up being late.  Besides once it was
finished with Kuno it might be unhealthy to be in the same room as it.  In
the videos those things with tentacles preferred doing unpleasant things to
female victims.  So it would be wisest to leave.
     Still she did feel a minor responsibility to help her brother.  So on
her way out she kicked Sasuke awake, told him Kuno required assistance and
left.  Sasuke took one look in the living room then departed to seek an
exorcist.  Behind him the merger of man and alien continued.
     Across town, at the headquarters of Tempus Research and Development
Incorporated Commander Gyro had arrived.  With the destruction of the Tokyo
branch of the Kronos Corporation this subsidiary was the only base remaining
in Tokyo.  Tempus's director was glad he had anticipated Gyro's early
arrival, everything was ready.  Still what he saw wasn't going to put Gyro
in a good mood and it's never a good idea to upset a Zoalord.
     Gyro was escorted to the screening room.  "Welcome to Tempus ...", 
Director Nagaoka began.
     Gyro cut him off, "You have the tape of yesterday's incident?"
     "Uh yes sir, we've finished enhancing it and ..."
     "Roll it then."
     "Yes sir."  Nagaoka dimmed the lights.  He was sweating, normally he
just had to worry about research.  Tempus had been set up to test alien
technology whose functions seemed ambiguous.  Sometimes they found useful
weapons but mostly it was material designed to serve more mundane purposes.
The hypersonic disrupter that turned out to be the alien equivalent of an
electric shaver was a prime example.  But with Kronos Japan gone combat
missions were getting based out of Tempus.  The last one of which had been
a total disaster.  Along with something of a mystery.
     A still picture of a street flashed up on the large wall screen.  Nagaoka
decided to summarize events to this point.  "As you know sir the plan was
relatively simple.  While Hibiki was isolated from the others team one moved
in.  The idea was Hibiki converts to the Guyver in response to the threat
posed by the Gregore and Ramothis Zoanoids.  When he does so the two Enzyme
Mark 2 units activate and kill him.  At which point team 2 would enter the
Tendo home and kill everyone inside."
     Gyro looked at him, his eyes glowed red.  "What went wrong."
     "Uh well we don't exactly know.  The observer on the scene claimed
Hibiki wiped out all four Zoanoids without activating the Guyver.  The
observer was killed and all his recording equipment was destroyed.  We think
by some sort of highly localized electromagnetic pulse."
     Gyro was looking impatient.  Nagaoka decided to hurry.  "Anyway before
he died the observer managed to call in the second team for support.  There
were no survivors but when we examined the scene we realized a surveillance
camera on a nearby bank machine might have caught some of the action.  It
took considerable computer enhancement but we reconstructed some of the
action.  If you'll observe the upper right quadrant."  He fiddled with the
remote and expanded that section to encompass the whole screen.  He started
the image running.
     On the screen a somewhat grainy figure resembling Ryoga Hibiki appeared.
The figure suddenly dived to the side.  As he did a glowing sphere formed
between his hands and launched itself at something offscreen.  The picture
vanished in a flare of light.  It resolved itself in time to show Hibiki
throwing a bandanna at an unseen target.  It circled back to him, he caught
it and walked offscreen.
     The director froze the picture.  "The time index on the tape corresponds
to the time the second Zoanoid team was wiped out.  Beyond that we know very
little."
     After a moments thought Gyro said, "We've known for some time that it
is possible for some humans to channel their chi energy.  In fact I have
scientists who theorize it results from possessing activated Zoanoid genes."
     "With respect sir it doesn't explain the circumstances.  Hibiki has been
shown to be capable of chi generation but not at a level that could hurt a
Zoanoid.  Except maybe at pointblank range and given the time required to
generate the power he wouldn't live long enough to strike.  Besides chi
bursts result in kinetic impacts, from the burn marks where the Zoanoids died
they were hit with a burst of high intensity heat.  We suspect the sphere he
generated was some sort of focused plasma.
     "How is this possible?"
     Nagaoka almost said "we have no real idea".  But as he hoped to survive
this meeting he'd ordered his staff to think of something.  Dr. Maxwell had
given him an answer, for a small price.  So he said, "We have a theory Sir.
As you recall Hibiki was apparently killed by the Enzyme prototype.  Instead
his mind was absorbed by the control medallion which then rebuilt his body
by cloning from genetic traces."  Gyro remembered the incident well.  It had
ended with him trapped in the collapsing Kronos building.  That ridiculous
little dwarf had destroyed the support pillars.  He'd been fatally wounded
but blown the plastique he'd planted before he died.  Then the walls came
tumbling down.  Gyro had survived but it had been closer than he liked to
admit.
     "Your point being?"
     "Well we assumed the Guyver unit had constructed a body physically
identical to Hibiki's original form.  What if it didn't?  What if it
reconstructed him so the merger between him and the unit was closer.  So that
he has access to some of the Guyver's weapon systems while in his "human"
form.  It could be that despite appearances he's as far from human as we are."
     "There is a certain logic to that.  I will think on this.  Leave me."
     "Yes sit but before I go ..."
     "Make it quick Director."
     "We would be delighted if you could have a look at some of Doctor
Maxwell's work on the alien propulsion systems.  He's found some fascinating
things ... "
     Gyro cut him off, "Will it serve as a means of fighting, tracking or
neutralizing Guyver Units?"
     "Not as such Sir."
     "Then I'm not interested.  After we take over it might be useful but
until then pure research is useless to Kronos.  Now go."
     Nagaoka left to tell Maxwell he wouldn't be getting an extension on his
current project.  It would have to be abandoned for the time being.  Maxwell
would be far from happy.
     Behind him alone in the darkened room Commander Gyro, one of the twelve
Zoalords who rule Kronos groaned.  He rested his head on his hands, this
whole Guyver project was turning into a nightmare.  His own plans for using
the Guyver units were on hold.  He had to recover the damn things before the
whole council turned on him.
     Initially everything was fine, the units were uncovered and awaiting
study.  Then a defector ran off with the only three existing units.  The
units were scattered and that damned Hibiki found one of them.  Tracing him
proved next to impossible, no one seemed to know where to find him.  If he
hadn't shown up in Nerima to settle an old score they'd still be looking for
him. 
     Meanwhile the second unit was recovered damaged leading to its
destruction in a battle with Hibiki.  The third unit was recovered but the
truck transporting it was blown open by an armour piercing rocket.  Obviously
an inside job, who outside Kronos knew the units had any value?  The attacker
had fled without the unit but whoever it was remained at large.  In the
confusion the third unit was lost again.   Gyro had sent word to have every
agent in Japan search for it.  He needed it and quickly.  So far not a clue.
Where was it.
     As a Zoalord Gyro was supposed to be above the petty ailments of mere
mortals.  Despite which he was sure he was developing an ulcer.
     Meanwhile in a lab nearby Dr. Maxwell had just received the bad news. He
stalked around the lab swearing and occasionally breaking unimportant
glassware.  His staff were taking bets on if he'd transform and start punching
holes in the concrete walls.
     Then Maxwell calmed down, there was a strange look in his eyes.  He
smiled, "Gyro wants a way to neutralize the Guyver and nothing else eh.  Well
I think I know how to provide it."  He looked at his staff, "We're going to
resume our dimensional displacement experiments.  If I'm right we can send
the Guyver on a one way trip to infinity".

Continued


Next in part 2: Ranma vs Guyver Kuno
                Ryoga vs Ryoga?
                Zoanoids, Androids and other weirdness
               
Coming soon: Part 2 - Entangled Lines

Guyver Ryoga / Ryoga 1/2 : Worlds in Collision
A fanfic about three alternate Ranma 1/2 Universes
by Mark Latus

Part 2 : Entangled Lines

2 pm July 1st 2120 AD - Rio De Janeiro, Brazil - Imperial Timeline

     Having downloaded his report on timeline Gamma and being without a
current assignment Ryogoid 207 left to get some fresh air.  He didn't
actually breathe but, along with other human characteristics, found it
preferable to take in some sights rather than sit around the maintenance bay.
     He consulted his geography files and plotted a course to the park
nearest the Secondary Timeprobe Facility.  His prior assignments had been
based from the Primary Facility but the Rocky Mountain Site was currently
undergoing repairs after the recent rebel incursion. 
     The Emperor had initially considered basing the Timeprobe bases in Japan
but, being sentimental about his homeland, had chosen to site them in foreign
lands.  Being linked to the worldwide network distance was irrelevent to him
and it avoided the chance of a disaster in Japan.  The unfortunate incident
which destroyed the prototype Timescoop and blighted Eastern Siberia proved
this was a wise policy.
     207 arrived in the parkland and looked around with quiet satisfaction.
He thought about the twentieth century Ryogas who had destroyed unit 303. 
When they imagined the Empire they had undoubtably visualized a bleak,
barren world with the few humans enslaved by terminator-like machines. 
Instead this city, the whole world, was stable and more prosperous than it had
ever been in their timelines.  The slums were gone, global population was
stabilised at two billion, solar power satellites provided clean power, raw
materials from the asteroids meant heavy industry was based in space, the
ecosystem was now cleaner than it had been before the industrial revolution
began.  All the Emperor asked in exchange was obedience, what was so bad about
that?  207 remembered the rebels and their talk about freedom.  Freedom!  As
if most of the human race had been free before the Empire.  He shook his
head, the naivety of those people never ceased to amaze him.  Still it should
cease to be a problem in a few decades.  Genetic manipulation had already
greatly reduced the number of humans capable of resistance.  In thirty years
it was estimated none of the humans being born would be able to understand
the concept of resistance.
     207 continued his walk acknowledging the respectful nods of those who
passed.  He was, like all his kind, a symbol of both Emperor and Empire. The
man who'd built the Empire and the machines who maintained it.  There were a
few surly looks but those were the definite minority.  None of the
discontented ones looked like they had enough spine to actually cause any
trouble.  Yes, 207 mused, life was good.  Forceable sterilization to ensure
children were only born in Imperial birth centers had been an excellent move.
It had ensured the end of overpopulation as well as the end of heredity
disease.  Anyone whose genetics didn't measure up to Imperial standards
never got permission to breed.  This had eliminated inheritable disease,
along with a few ethnic groups the Emperor had taken a dislike too.
     207 stopped near the park's center to study the statue.  The most popular
sculpture in the Empire was Ryoga Hibiki standing triumphant over the broken
body of Ranma Saotome.  A slight case of artistic license, actually at the
time the future Emperor had been extremely shocked.  But with hindsight he'd
come to appreciate the moment so the statues were commisioned as described.
     This was an example of the second most popular sculpture.  Studying the
girl depicted in marble 207 felt a pang in his metaphorical soul.  A sense of
loss over a woman who'd died years before he was constructed.  She was shown
as she had looked in her late teens, the way the Emperor would always
remember her.
     The plaque on the statue was simple, "AKANE TENDO 1978-2015".  Below
that, translated into Portugese was one of the Emperor's most famous quotes.
It read "IT IS AN ACT OF TRUE GREATNESS TO BE ABLE TO SACRIFICE YOUR ONE TRUE
LOVE".  Patriotism surged through 207's cybernetic brain.  That was so
profound, everything had a cost.  To become great meant paying a great price,
but it was worth it.
      It was at that moment the call came over the Ryogoid crisis network. 
All exploration units in the vicinity were to return to Janeiro Center
immediately.  Since they could interface from anywhere physical presence
meant they were being time/space shifted.  "Perhaps", 207 thought, "I'll get
to see what's going on back in Gamma."
     In all five Ryogoids arrived at the center.  They were still a minority
among the android population, the bulk of the population was still standard
enforcement/battle units.  They interfaced with the Imperial network.  The
intelligence that lived in the net had once been human.  Now his flesh was
gone but the mind of Ryoga Hibiki lived on.  Some had said he sacrificed his
humanity long before the final interface.  Those traitors had, of course,
been dealt with.  For order to flourish there must be respect.
     Translated to human terms the five explorers were told, "207's recent
mission indicates a possible danger to our history.  There have been no signs
of a paradox wave emenating from our past so we must consider the rebel threat
to our history as minor.  Possibly further in the future we will have the
precision timescoop equipment we need to deal with it."
     "In the meantime the mystery of the fluxline remains.  If dimensional
shifting is developed during the late twentieth century that line will have a
definite advantage over us.  Therefore you will be inserted at a point prior
to the flux but after 207's recent visit and scan for dimensional
disturbances.  You will be based in the Nerima district, for 207 to have
detected the pulse indicates the source was somewhere in the region.  <207's
recent memories were downloaded to the other four>.  To ensure there is no
repeat of 207's recent problem you will undergo facial remodeling."
     None of the androids showed any sign but all of them rejoiced.  At last,
individuality.  They desired it, a side effect of possessing human emotions,
but were all designed identically to the other members of their model number.
After all they were supposed to be instantly identifiable to the human
population.  That was the whole point.
     With a light step the five headed for the maintenance bay.

****************************************************************************

The Present, Early Monday Afternoon - Kuno Mansion - Guyver Ryoga Timeline

     Sasuke cautiously entered the house, under his breath he muttured every
prayer he could remember.  His quest to find an exorcist willing to accompany
him and aid Master Kuno had failed.  Perhaps he had been a little too vivid
in describing the hideous monstrosity that was consuming his young lord.  The
best he had been able to obtain was a pack of spirit warding cards.  The
exorcist had assured him they would repel all but the most powerful of
demons.  He had asked what would happen if the creature was a very powerful
demon and been told not to worry.  If it was powerful enough to ignore the
cards he'd be dead before he knew what had hit him.  With this somewhat
dubious reassurance he had headed back to the Mansion.  Perhaps he shouldn't
have stopped for lunch enroute but he had no desire to die hungry.
     "Ah good Sasuke ..."  The voice broke off as Sasuke jumped ten feet into
the air and bounced off the ceiling.  He peeled himself off the floor and
confronted Master Kuno.  Who looked perfectly normal, no sign of red eyes,
tentacles or an air of malignant menace.  Of course except for the tentacle
part Kodachi showed all those signs everyday.
     "Master Kuno ... Take these!"  Sasuke thrust the cards into Kuno's hands
and flung himself away.  Kuno did nothing supernatural, he merely studied the
cards with a look of bafflement.
     "Are you well Sasuke?  What makes you think I have any use for spiritual
assistance?"
     Not really understanding what was happening Sasuke asked Kuno, "There
was an ... incident this morning ..."
     Kuno raised a hand, "There was indeed good Sasuke.  The fates have truly
smiled upon the House of Kuno.  At last I, Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of
Furinken High, have the means to avenge myself against the accursed Ranma
Saotome.  None of his sorcerous tricks shall prevail against the power of
Justice.  Today I strike the final blow against the wretch and free my two
loves from bondage to that monster!"  Kuno was becoming rather worked up by
the end of this speech, possibly due to a mental image involving Akane, the
pig tailed girl and a dungeon.
     Sasuke was rather puzzled by all this.  Master Kuno certainly sounded
normal enough, but if that was so what had he seen this morning?
     Kuno calmed down and cleared his throat.  "But first I have an important
phone call to make.  In the meantime Sasuke the underground training hall
needs a cleanup.  See to it."
     "Yes Master Kuno."  Sasuke headed down to the basement.  Was it possible
Master Kuno was too single minded to be possessed?  Entering the training hall
Sasuke realized that "cleanup" was an understatment.  The whole place was a
disaster area.  Support pillars appeared to have been slashed into cylindrical
chunks, the south wall was ... gone.  It looked as if the wood panelling and
the concrete beneath had somehow been burned away, exposing the surrounding
earth.  The floor was pockmarked with the marks of small fires and footshaped
holes.  There were what appeared to be fist sized holes in the other walls.
What had happened here?
     Meanwhile at Tempus Inc. Director Nagaoka put down his phone and groaned
aloud.  The first thing to do was test this Tatewaki Kuno's claim.  If it was
true his next worry was to think of how to explain this fiasco to Commander
Gyro.
     It was an hour later before Kuno departed on his Ranma hunt.  He kept
rewriting the speech he would deliver before dispatching Saotome.  He was
still torn between a lengthy listing of Saotome's crimes and a short and
sweet "Farewell wretch" declamation.  Sasuke emerged from his hopless task
long enough to bid his Master farewell.
     "Master Kuno, are you sure you will not require my aid?"
     Kuno smiled, "No good Sasuke, continue with the repairs.  It is unfitting
that I should bring my true loves to a house that is anything less than
perfect.  Though my presence will doubtless distract them from all notice of
decoration."
     That was when Sasuke noticed something extremely odd.  "Master Kuno! 
You have forgotten you bokken!"
     Again Kuno smiled, "Saotome is unworthy to spill his blood upon that
noble blade.  Besides I have gained something better."
     As Kuno left the mansion a concealed watcher raised his communicator.
     At Tempus the Director nodded.  "Very good Garvel.  Remember you observe
only, neither assist Vertis nor expose yourself."  He switched to another
communication channel, "Vertis you see your target?  Very good.  Now remember
before you transform and strike tell him, 'Master Saotome sends you greetings
from the bowels of Hell'.  What?  Never mind what it means just tell him
that."  Feeling annoyed he switched back to Garvel (not the name he'd been
born with, in Chronos you got assigned a new name after rebirth.  A tradition
dating back centuries to Kronos's days as a cult.)  "Ok do you see Vertis.
He's expendable, both of them are.  So what do you see?  Uh huh, confronting
Kuno ... makes speech ... transforms to Ramothis form ... Kuno backs away,
shouts 'Guyver', armour forms around him.  Is Vertis running away?  No? 
Good! That'll help.  OK, Kuno unfolds his sonic swords, cuts Vertis in half,
starts making speech about fighting all powers of hell to free his loves ...
no just transcribe it, don't repeat it.  Ok, keep him under surveillance
until further orders."  Director Nagaoka shut down his communicator.  Then he
began a litany of obscenities.  Having blown off some steam he began
considering how he was going to explain this latest fiasco to Commander Gyro.
    
*****************************************************************************

Monday Afternoon - Nerima Restaurant District - Ryoga 1/2 Timeline

     With school through for the day Ryoga and Nabiki were heading home. 
Arm in arm they strolled past the Nekohanten.  Mousse was crouched by the
door, undoubtably waiting to ambush Ranma.  At which point Shampoo moved up
behind him and dumped a bucket of water over him.  Grabbing the struggling
duck she marched off to the cage in the back of the restaurant.  It seemed
Shampoo was also waiting for Ranma to pass by.  She was doomed to be
disappointed, since this route home lead by both the Nekohanten and Ukyou's
restaurant Ranma preferred to take an alternate route home.  Having had
another argument with Ranma Akane had stalked off on her own, also seeking a
path without other fiances on it. 
     Ryoga felt Nabiki poke him gently, "So what are you thinking about?"
     No reason not to tell her, "Just glad I never wound up with multiple
fiances."
     Nabiki smiled, "But Ryoga according to your story you're engaged to
someone different in every world."
     Ryoga sighed, Nabiki had been teasing him about his recent adventure
ever since he mentioned it.  No one believed him, so why try to convince
them?  "Forget I ever mentioned it Ok?"
     "But Ryoga what about your pictures?"  Nabiki certainly looked cute
when she did her wide eyed innocent act.  Actually she seemed impressed by
his skill in faking photos of groups of Ryoga Hibikis.  The only problem was
they weren't fakes.
     By this point they were passing Ukyou's restaurant.  Nabiki looked at
him, "Tell you what, I'm feeling hungry, so you buy me some Okonomiyaki and
maybe I'll forget your story."
     "I doubt that but I could use a snack myself."  Lucky he had some money,
he'd bet a new student he could clip a branch off a tree with a bandanna.
Amazing how many people thought it was impossible to cut things with cloth.
     They headed inside, Ukyou greeted them and took their order.  As she
brought the food over Nabiki spilled some photos on the table.  Ukyou noticed
all the pictures were of Ryoga.  Strangely there was more than one of him in
every shot.  Sounding innocent Nabik asked, "Ryoga which of these guys was
engaged to Ukyou?"
     Ryoga sighed and pointed to one of the pictures, "Him, number four."
     "What are you two talking about?"
     "Sit down and join us, Ryoga will be happy to explain."
     Ryoga shrugged, "Why not, almost everyone else I know already thinks I'm
crazy."

****************************************************************************

Monday Afternoon - Nerima Restaurant District - Guyver Ryoga Timeline

     Since supplies were running low Ryoga, Ranma and the Tendos were
heading grocery shopping.  Any one of them would have been sufficent for the
job but they felt it wisest to stick together.  Ranma and Akane brought up the
rear, watching for trouble.  The problem was Zoanoids looked like anyone else
until they began transforming.  Once they were transformed there wasn't a lot
Ranma could do to stop them.  Much as he hated to admit it he had to rely on
Ryoga.  Not that Ryoga took any satisfaction in that admission these days.
Soun was in the middle.  They had to protect him, after Kasumi's death he'd
begun losing his grip on reality.  Ryoga was on point, scanning everyone who
walked near as he tried to spot Zoanoids through sheer willpower.  Nabiki
walked with Ryoga, ensuring he went in the right direction.  She alternated
between hanging onto him and keeping a discrete distance.  Ranma couldn't
figure it out, half the time she clung to Ryoga the other half she seemed
terrified of him.  Their relationship, whatever it was, mystified him.  He
walked with a arm over Akane's shoulders.  His romantic problems were
resolved but it wasn't anything like the method he'd chosen.
     They were passing the Nekohanten Restaurant.  It was out of business,
Cologne had returned to Japan shortly after Mousse died.  It had been a
senseless death.  Mousse had come over to the Dojo intending to challenge
Ranma over Shampoo.  His timing stunk, he had arrived during an attack by
the so-called Hyperzoanoids.  During the melee Mousse had been decapitated
by one of the swordarms of the Thancrus Zoanoid.  After the battle all the
bodies except his had begun dissolving,  Uncertain what to do they had phoned
Cologne.
     She had arrived in time to witness the Zoanoids melting away.  The
shocked teenagers had explained events to her and waited to see what she
would do.  Cologne had tossed a glass of water over Mousse's corpse
demonstrating that the curse of Jusenkyo continued to operate after death.
Then she had put the duck's remains in her basket and told them no one would
think anything of an old woman taking supplies into her restaurant.  She
departed.  The next night she somehow got into the house without anyone
noticing her.  Attracting their attention she explained that recent events
had convinced her that Ranma would make a poor son-in-law as he was unlikely
to still be alive by the end of the year.  Not wishing to lose her great-
granddaughter she was returning to her village, which was small enough that
they could be sure Kronos hadn't infiltrated.  At that point they had noticed
Cologne had a cat carrier with a furious feline inside.  Shampoo wasn't
giving up on Ranma so Cologne had transformed and confined her.
     Feeling queasy, Ryoga had asked what she had done with Mousse's body.
Cologne had produced a porcelain jar and told him it contained Mousse's
ashes.  She had returned him to human form and cremated him, the jar would be
delivered to his parents for the appropriate rites.  As Cologne had said, "He
was a fool but he was one of us."
     Cologne had departed as silently as she came.  None of them had seen her
or Shampoo since.
     As he walked Ryoga's thoughts again turned to the Guyver unit.  After
he'd merged with it he'd thought a familiar pattern was beginning.  Find a
new technique/weapon, go challenge Ranma.  That was how things used to work
around here.  But now the pattern was shattered and there was no saying how
things would work out.
     Ranma was watching the crowd so Akane was the first to see it happen. 
Her startled cry brought Ranma's attention to where she was looking.  He was
just in time to see Ryoga and Nabiki fade from translucent images into thin
air.  He rushed forward, his thrusting hands encountered nothing.  They had 
vanished without a trace.  Suddenly the people around him seemed a lot more
threatening.  If Zoanoids attacked now they were in real trouble.
     There were Zoanoids watching.  Their orders were to observe but stay
clear of the Guyver.  If the opportunity presented itself they were to
terminate the Tendos and Saotome.  Something had just happened but what?
Was the Guyver gone or had he somehow become invisible?
     There was another observer, he knew what had happened but not how.  Unit
207 no longer looked like Ryoga Hibiki.  He still had the same build but his
face had been redesigned.  Narrower cheekbones, light brown hair, a goatee,
no one would mistake him for Ryoga Hibiki this time around. 
     After arrival in this dimension and time the androids had split up.  His
four comrades had each taken a quarter of the city.  He had chosen to keep an
eye on Ryoga Hibiki.  After all he had detected the pulse while very near
this dimension's version of the Emperor.  Perhaps the alien artifact he was
merged to was capable of dimensional shifting.  Apparently it wasn't, at least
not on its own.  This had been a resonance pulse, its source was somewhere
else.  Attuned to either Ryoga or Nabiki it had bounced them out of this
dimension.  The androids had used a similar method, a pulse aligned to a
specific DNA pattern to pull Ryogas from their homelines during Operation
Crossover.  Evidently this method wasn't as precise, one of them had been
caught by the warpfield enveloping the other.  The real question was, where
did they go?
     As he reported this to his collegues 207 received a message from 109.
There had been a second resonance pulse approximately one kilometer west of
his current position.  Target and source unknown.
     At Tempus Inc. Doctor Maxwell nodded in satisfaction.  He had
successfully triggered the alien displacement system.  The Guyver was no
more, he was sure to be rewarded for this.
     Elsewhere in Tempus Director Nagaoka was approaching what had been,
until Commander Gyro's arrival, his office.  He was still uncertain how to    
report this to Gyro, from all accounts the Commander was in a rotten mood.
It is never healthy to be around an unhappy Zoalord.
     Being granted permission to enter he did so and stood before his
brooding superior.  Gyro gave no sign of awareness that there was anyone else
in the room.  Nagaoka cleared his throat, "Commander Gyro, I have both good
news and bad news."
     From the look Gyro gave him that was not the best opening to have used.
     Very coldly Gryo told him, "I am very close to committing an act of
unspeakable carnage. Your news had better be very good."
     Nervously the Director continued, "Uh yes sir.  The good news is that
one of our agents has located the missing Guyver unit."
     Gyro actually smiled, "Excellent."  Then he looked at Nagaoka, "And what
is the bad news?"
     "Actually that also is the bad news.  The agent in question accidentally
activated the merger process and ... well we have a new Guyver."
     Gyro's eyes narrowed.  "Tell me about the agent, a top rank agent of
unquestioned ability?"
     This was the part Nagaoka had dreaded.  "Actually he's a first circle
agent we recruited as an inside man at Furinkan High School.  As part of our
observation policy on the first Guyver's associates.  He's never even heard
of Zoanoids"
     "A teacher?"
     "Uhh ... actually he's a student."  Gyro looked very unhappy.  "Tatewaki
Kuno, age 18.  Our psych people felt he was the best choice from those
available ... "  Nagaoka's voice trailed off and he backed away as Gyro's
eyes began glowing red.  Where his right hand gripped the desk the oak
crumbled into sawdust.
     Through clenched teeth Gyro hissed, "Another teenage Guyver!  Why was a
first circle agent even looking for the damn unit!"
     "Uh, you ... you did order all agents, without exception, in the Tokyo
area were to join the search."
     Gyro forced himself to calm down.  He had given the order, the council
would crucify him for this.  He had to find a way to salvage this debacle.
"Very well call him in.  We'll cut the unit out of it and place it in storage
until we find a suitable candidate."
     "With respect sir that could be most unwise."
     "You had better have a damn good reason for saying that."
     Sweating heavily Nagaoka told him, "As I'm sure you recall the incident
at Kronos Japan showed that the Guyver unit could regenerate its human
symbiote.  Possibly there's a way to reprogram the unit not to do this but we
don't know how.  So right now if we kill Kuno and remove the unit it'll
regenerate him.  Right now he's loyal to us but if we murder him the new Kuno
will undoubtably become our enemy and we'll be faced with two hostile
Guyvers."
      Gyro snarled, "All right I take your point.  We'll use this Kuno until
we know enough to transplant the unit."  He paused to think, "We need a means
of being sure of controlling him, perhaps his family."
      "That could backfire sir, he doesn't get on with either his father or
his sister.  Although I have a report that his sister has the right attitude
to become a great Zoanoid."
      Gyro sighed, a migraine on top of an ulcer.  Zoalords were supposed to
be immune to this sort of thing.  "Find some means to be sure we can control
him, then we can advance him to the second circle."  A happy thought. 
"Perhaps he'll become a good agent and we won't have to worry about finding
a new host."  A worrying thought.  "Keep him away from Hibiki, the last thing
we need is him picking a fight with an experienced Guyver warrior and winding
up like Lister.  Where is he anyway?"
     Now how would Gyro take this?  "Well according to his phone message sir,
'As surely as the snow falls in winter so justice descends upon the men of
evil nature.  Fate has chosen Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder, to be the
instrument of vengeance.  Before the sun sets this day the accursed Saotome
will have paid the price for his many villainies.  May the gods have mercy
upon him for I shall have none.  Soon the hearts of two beauties will rejoice
as they are freed from the sorcerers vile clutches.  I strike this blow for
their sake.'  End of message."
     For the first time Gyro looked other than angry or brooding.  In complete
puzzlement he asked, "What?"
     "That's just the way he talks Sir.  We think that translates as, 'I'm
going to kill Ranma Saotome.'  He's on the prime assassination list so that's
not a problem."
     Gyro cradled his head in his hands.  "Wonderful.  One of the most
powerful weapons in existence is in the hands of melodramatic idiot.  What
next?"
     The intercom beeped.  "Excuse me Sir but Doctor Maxwell insists on
seeing you.  He insists he's got some good news about the Guyver to deliver."
     With a strange sense of resignation Gyro said, "Fine let him in.  This
is obviously my day for getting good news."
     Oblivious to Gyro's mental state Doctor Maxwell entered.  Addressing
both his superiors.  "Gentlemen I have great news.  The Guyver is no more!"
     "What!"
     Flushed with success Maxwell continued.  "In examining the alien
propulsion array I found evidence of a spacial displacement system.  Quite
simply it was designed to teleport certain of their artifacts.  Including
Guyvers.  A very useful weapon, you could teleport your Guyver warriors
directly inside an enemy base."
     Nagaoka interrupted, "What does that have to do with your claim the
Guyver is gone?"
     "It's quite simple sir.  We set the displacement unit to teleport the
Guyver but didn't set a reentry coordinate.  Hibiki has been sent one a one
way trip to infinity."
     Gyro looked at him.  In a normal sounding voice he said, "You set your
system to teleport Guyvers.  Did it occur to you that we only have one Guyver
as an enemy?  We have plans for any others."
     "Not to worry sir, only activated Guyver units within a fifty kilometer
radius were affected."
     The intercom beeped again, "Director Nagaoka Sir, an urgent message
from Observer Garvel.  He claims subject Kuno literally vanished into thin
air while he was watching.  He wants to know what he's supposed to do now?"
     Nagaoka groaned.  He'd actually thought things were under control again.
     Gyro's smile was not a pleasant thing to witness.  "Tell me something
Doctor Maxwell.  Before I begin killing everyone in this building do you have
any other good news to share?"
     
*****************************************************************************    

Monday Afternoon - Nerima Restaurant District - Ryoga 1/2 Timeline    

     With a strange feeling of disorientation Ryoga and Nabiki glanced around
the street.  There was no sign of Soun, Ranma or Akane.  Which was impossible
they'd been right behind them.  Kronos couldn't have snatched them so easily
it just wasn't possible!  Ryoga glanced around the crowd searching for a
sign as Nabiki called her sister's name.  Then she saw it.
     "Ryoga!"
     Hearing the urgency in her voice Ryoga spun around.  Where he saw
something impossible.  Ukyou's restaurant was back!  Which was crazy, after
the fire the remains had been demolished and a new coffeeshop was under
construction on the site.  The fire had been blamed on a propane explosion.
Even the most incompetent pathologist couldn't have missed the wounds that
killed Ukyou.  Another example of Kronos's influence covering their tracks.
Monsters attack a restaurant, kill the owner and next day it's only remembered
as a tragic accident.
     Kronos had to be behind this but how?  And why?  Ryoga strode toward
the entrance.  Nabiki followed.  He turned back to her, "This has got to be a
trap of some kind.  Stay here."
     Nabiki looked at him.  "Like it's safer out here?  Akane, Dad and Ranma
just disappeared.  They didn't even get a chance to yell a warning."
     Ryoga hesitated.  Was she safer with him?  No, when he activated the
Guyver he was a warrior not a protector.  He'd have to concentrate on
shielding her and that could get them both killed.  Beside he was dangerous
to be around, she'd be safer out here.  "Stay out here, scream if anyone
approaches."  For a second she looked defiant then she nodded.  Nabiki hadn't
had the same drive since her injury.  She never used to give in like that.
Ryoga stepped to the doors and flung them open.
     While this had been going on Kuno had been looking around with some
confusion.  He had felt a strange disorientation and the people around him
looked different somehow.  Almost as if he was in the midst of a different
crowd.  Then he caught sight of Saotome at the other end of the street.
Excellent, it was time for vengeance.
     Meanwhile inside the restaurant Ryoga was finishing his story.  There
hadn't been many new customers so Ukyou had been able to hear most of his
story in one sitting.  She studied the pictures Nabiki had dropped on the
table and announced, "That is the craziest thing I've ever heard."
     Nabiki nodded, "But you've gotta love a guy with an imagination that
wild.  If he can think up that think how many financially rewarding schemes
he can come up with."
     "Right", Ryoga resolved never to even think about alternate universes
again.  Let them believe what they wanted too.
     His resolution didn't last long.  The doors flung open and another Ryoga
stalked into the restaurant.  He groaned, the whole crossover mess was
starting again.
     At which point it abruptly became a very different story.  The new Ryoga
snarled at them, "More duplicates!  You Kronos idiots never learn.  You
didn't even get Nabiki right!"  He glared at Ukyou, "And I don't much care
for desecrating the dead!"  Before any of the three could ask what he was
talking about he shouted "GUYVER!"
     A sphere of energy surrounded him, shredding the doors and the floor
into splinters.  As this happened a bizarre armour formed around the figure.
The glow faded and they could see the figure.  He was completely enclosed
in the blue armour.  It looked almost organic rather than metallic.  The eyes
in the mask glowed red and it stepped out of the small crater it had caused.
     Ukyou eyes were also glowing.  She snarled, "Whoever you are, nobody
wrecks my restaurant!"  She flung a handful of razor edged spatulas at the
figure.  They bounced off without effect.  Blades extended from the armored
forearms of the figure.  They were indistinct, almost as if they were
vibrating.  Ryoga had no idea what was going on but the glow in the headpiece
of the armour looked like trouble.  He shoved Nabiki to one side as he dived
the opposite way from their table.  The energy beam from the medallion on
its forehead sliced the table in half.
     That did it!  Almost involuntarily the chi sphere began forming between
his hands.  Driven by pure rage it was complete in a fraction of the time the
technique normally took.  "Nobody touches Nabiki! SHISHI HOUKOUDAN!" 
     There was a massive flare of light as it impacted the figure.  Ryoga had
shielded his eyes and looked at his opponent.  It was unmarked!  The armoured
figure hadn't even twitched at the impact.  "Oh shit!"
     Meanwhile across town Ranma's introspective walk home had been
interrupted by Kuno.  "What do you want Kuno?"
     Kuno smiled, "Saotome, this is our final meeting.  Today I free my two
loves from your vile grip forever."
     Ranma smirked, "Can't count Kuno?  What happened to number three?"
     Kuno looked puzzled, "Three?"
     "Yeah, you have three true loves remember?  There's Akane, the bandanna
girl and the pig-tailed girl."
     "Bandanna girl?  Who is she?"
     "You get dropped on your head Kuno?"  This was strange, Kuno was acting
like he'd never even heard of Ryoga's cursed form.
     Kuno remembered why he was here.  "Enough of your tricks Ranma, defend
yourself!"
     Unworried Ranma waited for Kuno to make his move.  "Fine let's make this
quick.  By the way you forgot that wooden sword of yours."
     "You are unworthy of it.  You are probably unworthy of this but I will
have to live with that, GUYVER!"
     Suddenly there was a flare of light and all the paving around Kuno was
pulverized into dust.  When the light faded Ranma saw an armoured figure
standingwhere Kuno had been.  The armour was black, covered with lethal
looking spines and enclosed him completely.
     Ranma was a little shaken but hardly about to back down.  "Cute trick,
but it takes more than a fancy suit to beat me!"  Two razor edged blades
extended from the suit.  "Well that's a step in the right direction."  Ok
armour, have to hit it hard.  "TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN"  In the space of a few
seconds Ranma slammed hundreds of punches into Kuno.  Apart from nearly
breaking his knuckles there was absolutely no damage.
     Kuno took a step forward, "Your hour has come Saotome!"
     "Not just yet Kuno."  He didn't like using this technique on a loser
like Kuno but that armour was really something.  "MOUKO TAKABISHYA!"  The
chi energy burst slammed into Kuno.  It dissipated against the Guyver without
effect.  Ranma began to realize he was in trouble.  Kuno swung his right arm,
the blade sliced through a telephone pole without slowing down.  Yes this
was trouble all right.  Can't hurt him, can't stop him, only one option!  The
Saotome Secret Technique!
     Namely run like hell and hope an idea for counterattack occurs to you.
     "Flee Saotome but it shall do you no good.  Today the Blue Thunder shall
smite you and end your catalogue of wickedness.  You have mocked your betters
for the last time, before this day ends my loves shall be free of your
nefarious clutches.  Prepare youself for the trip to the afterlife ... where
did he go?"
     A passerby pointed east, "If you mean the feller you were fighting he
headed that way."
     "Many thanks for aiding the cause of justice!"  Kuno resheathed the
armblades, he didn't want to risk disembowelling a bystander while chasing
Ranma.  "Here I come Ranma!"  Driven by the Guyver suit he charged eastward.
     Meanwhile back at the restaurant the Guyver was finding nothing was
going as planned.  The customers were panicing rather than transforming. 
Some were jumping out the windows because he stood between them and the door.
He'd thought everyone in here would be a Zoanoid.  Instead the place was full
of innocent bystanders!  Apart from the three duplicates everyone in here was
human.  That meant there was too much danger to them to use any of his energy
weapons.  He'd have to stick to the sonic swords and hope these three didn't
have acidic blood.
     Across the room Ryoga, Nabiki and Ukyou were getting scared.  This guy
was a monster, nothing he'd been hit with had even slowed him down.  Ukyou
clutched the handle of her giant spatula.  That was all that was left, the
rest had been sliced of by the thing's blades.  "I think we should get out of
here guys."
     Nabik was sheltering behind Ryoga, "Great but he's between us and the
door!"
     Ryoga didn't know why his counterpart was trying to kill them and didn't
care.  Getting them away alive was the important thing.  He had a vague plan,
none of the other Ryogas he'd met had his particular curse.  So maybe ...
"Head for the washroom!"
      "What?"
      "Just do it!"
      The three sprinted for the women's toilet.  Now if he got cold water
they had a chance!
      Guyver-Ryoga followed, it was time to end this.  He hesitated a second,
surprising himself that traces of his old bashfulness returned.  Then he
kicked open the door.  The red haired girl screamed as he entered.  A natural
enough reaction when an armoured figure with built in swords charges in on
you.
      "Where'd they go?", he demanded.
      Shaking, she pointed at the window.  He looked out, no sign of them.
Damn, they were faster than he thought. 
      There was something familiar about the girl.  Before he could ask her
name he heard a scream from outside.  A voice he recognised.  "NABIKI!".  He
smashed through the outer wall heading to back to her.  Behind him Ryoga-chan
let out a breath she'd been holding.  It actually worked.  She peered through
the hole the other Ryoga had left.  Behind her Nabiki and Ukyou peeked out of
the stall they had hidden in.
     What Ryoga-chan saw amazed her.  Another Nabiki was screaming in terror
at the woman before her.  It was Kasumi, who looked extremely puzzled by
something.  The other Nabiki turned to run letting Ryoga see the patch that
covered her left eye.  Calling her name the other Ryoga ran to help Nabiki.
     As he did both douplegangers seemed to fade.  Suddenly the extra Ryoga
and Nabiki were gone.  Kasumi frowned, "My goodness, that was strange."
     A short distance away the armoured Kuno disappeared.  As he wasn't
looking behind him Ranma didn't see this happen and kept running.
     Ryoga-chan stepped out through the hole into the street.  Kasumi greeted
her, "Hello Ryoga, were those friends of yours?"
     "No, no I don't think you could say that."
     Nabiki joined Ryoga and put a hand on her shoulder.  "Ryoga, I'm willing
to admit that story of yours might not have been totally crazy."
     Kasumi noticed her sister.  "Oh hello Nabiki, the strangest thing just
happened.  I met a girl who was almost identical to you.  Except for the
injury, poor girl."
     "Injury."
     "Why yes, she had a patch over her left eye and a terrible scar."
     Nabiki turned to Ryoga-chan, "Ryoga what is going on?"
     Ukyou was examining the hole in her wall.  "Who ... what was that guy,
why was he trying to kill us and why did he look like you?  The male you I
mean."
     Ryoga sighed, "I don't know, a few minutes back no one believes my story
now you all expect me to be an expert?  Now should ... did you hear that?"
     Before anyone could answer a blur sped into the alley, "AHGETOUTOFTHEWAY
HE'SRIGHTBEHINDME!"  It slammed into Ryoga and both figures went into the
wall.
     A little dazed Ryoga saw it was Ranma who had plowed into her.  "Ranma
what the hell are you doing?"
     Somewhat panicked Ranma replied, "It's Kuno, he's after me."
     "What?"
     Nabiki looked at him in disgust, "You're running from Kuno."
     "No choice, he's got some sort of weird armour with swords ..."
     "WEIRD ARMOUR!", Ryoga, Nabiki and Ukyou chorused.
     Kasumi was looking down the street, "Isn't that Kuno?"
     A distinctly unarmoured Kuno was walking up the street, idly twirling
his bokken. 
     "What the heck, he's back to normal?"  Ranma took up a fighting stance.
As Kuno got closer he shouted, "OK Kuno, time to finish this."
     Kuno looked puzzled, "Saotome why do you disturb my meditation.  If you
truly wish to challenge the Blue Thunder I ..."  Kuno caught sight of the
girl leaning against the wall and clutching a bruise on her head.  "Ah my
bandanned beauty, you have chosen to wait for me here."
     "What?"  As Kuno moved closer the dazed Ryoga remembered that he was
currently in female form.  "Oh no!"
     "Ah my red haired angel Urk!"  The punch to the head dropped Kuno to the
ground.
     Ryoga winced and said, "I don't need any additional distractions right
now."
     Ranma looked down at Kuno and frowned.  "I don't get it, a few minutes
ago he was acting like he never even heard of you.  What is going on?"
     Ryoga-chan shrugged, "That is a very good question."

*****************************************************************************

Monday Afternoon - Tempus R&D Incorparated - Guyver Ryoga Timeline

     Director Nagaoka was counting the seconds he had left to live when the
call came in.  Through an inspired line of scientific jargon and bullshit
Maxwell had got Gyro distracted enough to slow down his homicidal rage.  It
wasn't going to last though.
     Then the intercom beeped, "Director Nagaoka monitoring section insists
on speaking to you."
     Any distraction was welcome, "Put them through."
     The voice crackled throught the intercom.  "Sir this is Chernix in
monitoring.  All hell seems to be breaking loose in sector seven.  First we
had a report that Hibiki had vanished along with one of the targets.  Then
our observers decided to move in to terminate targets Saotome and the
remaining Tendos.  Now we have a report that there are two Guyvers in the
area.  One or both of them are killing Zoanoids, thought they may be fighting
each other.  Frankly it's sheer pandemonium down there.  No one knows what's
going on."
     Commander Gyro relaxed slightly.  "You have just gained yourselves a
short reprieve.  Until I know what's going on I'll avoid doing anything
rash."  His eyes flared red, "But I want answers and I want them fast."
     "Yessir, right away sir."  Nagaoka grabbed Maxwell and dragged him out of
the office.  "We'll get down to monitoring and try and sort things out.  Then
I want to discuss your experiments, doctor."

End of part 2

Next: Quite a bit just happened, but does anyone have the whole picture?

Part 3 : States of Confusion.

Guyver Ryoga / Ryoga 1/2 : Worlds in Collision
A fanfic about three alternate Ranma 1/2 Universes
by Mark Latus

Part 3 : States of Confusion

Monday Afternoon (Immediately following the disappearance of Ryoga & Nabiki)
- Nerima Restaurant District - Guyver Ryoga timeline

     Ranma finished checking the spot Ryoga and Nabiki had been.  No trace,
this was very bad.  He'd learned the hard way that the best his martial arts
could do was slow down transformed Zoanoids.  Without Ryoga and the Guyver
unit he'd have been dead by now. 
     Of course at moments like these he remembered that Kronos wouldn't have
targeted them if it hadn't been for Ryoga.  It's fine in the abstract sense to
talk about opposing evil.  In the practical sense no one welcomes monsters
kicking in the door and trying to kill you.
     There was a strong possibility they were under observation by Kronos. In
which case they had to find cover fast!  Before the Zoanoids realized they
didn't have to fear the Guyver anymore.  He rejoined Akane and her father,
she had already grasped the situation.  With Soun between them they began
trying to merge with the crowd.  The disappearance had been silent so there
was a chance Kronos's watchers didn't know it had happened.
     As unobtrusively as possible they headed for a sidestreet.  As Ranma saw
it the dojo was undoubtably being watched so returning there wasn't an
option.  Which left the question where could they go?  Anyone they asked for
a place to stay would wind up on Kronos's hitlist.  Ukyou had never known
what he'd got mixed up in.  She'd wound up targeted because of what he might
have told her.  Worry later, for now concentrate on getting out of the area
alive.
     There weren't many people on this street.  That meant less chance there
were Kronos agents among them.  On the other hand it meant fewer witnesses to
Zoanoids.  Kronos preferred to avoid panicing large crowds.  That increased
the chances of things leaking out.
     That was when Ranma saw the two large men at the mouth of the street
put a barrier across it.  There was a sign on it reading "Street closed for
filming - Toho Movie Corporation".  Ranma had to admit that was original.  A
passerby stopped in his tracks and walked in front of Ranma.  The big man
removed his sunglasses, smiled and said "Showtime!"
     His body began to twist and grow.  Without hesitation Ranma punched him
in the throat, feeling cartilage break as he crushed the windpipe.  The
main weakness Zoanoids had was arrogance.  Being so sure of themselves they
took unnecessary risks.  They never quite caught on that the transformation
wasn't instantaneous.  It left a very brief window of vulnerability, if you
were fast enough to use it.
     Ranma grabbed Soun's free arm, Akane held the other.  They ran down the
street hauling him with them.  Behind them they heard inhuman snarls as the
two barrier guards transformed.  Directly behind them a Zoanoid of reptilian
appearance fell to its knees while clutching at its neck.  Trying in vain to
draw some air into its lungs.  A couple of passing filmstudents critiqued the
death scene as they discussed the rubber monster suit genre.  Admittedly
the costumes were good.
     A little distance away, at the former sight of the late Ukyou Kuonji's
restaurant, two people appeared.  Or the world changed around them, it's all
relative.   Nabiki stopped in her attempt to run hearing Ryoga thunder
towards her.  She spun back to watch him deal with the Kasumi replicant.
     It was gone!  Ryoga screeched to a halt, calling her name.  Her knight
in really ugly armour.  Shaking she reached for him, wrapping her arms around
his torso.  He sheathed the sonicswords away as he gently folded his arms
around her.  Not being a complete fool he kept the helmet sensors swiveling
around as he scanned for Zoanoids.  What he saw amazed him.  First the Kasumi
lookalike vanished, now he saw the recreation of Ukyou's restaurant was gone.
Once again it was a halfbuilt coffeeshop.  What the hell was going on?
     "BASTARDS!"  That came from Nabiki.  Ryoga looked at the girl in his
arms, really looked at her.  She wasn't shaking from fear, she was shaking
from rage.  The fury was unmistakable.  In an anger choked voice she snarled,
"First those scum kill my sister, then they build a duplicate as some sort of
sick trap."  She looked up at him.  "They've got to pay for this, for
everything they've done!  To hell with this sitting around crap we've got to
take the fight to them!"
     Ryoga was a little startled by this mood swing.  Not that he didn't feel
the same way but hearing Nabiki talk like this ...  It must all have been
festering inside her for a long time.  Her injury, Kasumi's death, everyone
else who died senselessly ... On the surface she'd been scared but deep inside
her rage had been building.  Enough analysis, there was something she needed
to know.
     "They'll pay, I swear it!  But first I want you to look behind me."
     She tore her gaze away from him and saw the building had changed form,
"What the hell?!"
     "I don't know, it's gone just like that ... duplicate out here.  No heat
signatures so its empty now.  But it was full of civilians and replicants of
you, me and Ukyou."
     Before she could ask him to explain they heard the unearthly howling.
Both recognised it.  "Zoanoids!"
     If they were out in public they must be hunting which meant ... "Akane,
Daddy, Ranma!"
     "Shit!"  Ryoga turned to go, Nabiki grabbed an arm.  "Leave me here and
I doubt I'll be here when you get back."
     Without a second's pause he scooped her up in his arms, reduced their
combined weight with the gravity control and, powered by the suit's strength,
leapt in the direction of the noise.
     A short distance away Kuno scanned the street in confusion.  Saotome had
been right in front of him, then he'd felt that strange disorientation again
and his Ranma had vanished.  He couldn't have gone far.  That was Kuno heard
the bellowing.  It sound very like the demon Saotome had sent to defeat him. 
The creature had proven no match for his strength and purity.  Particularly
with them backed up by his Guyver armour.  In any event if the demons were
around their master must be near.  He ran towards the sound at top speed,
scattering pedestrians in his wake.  "They're filming all over the place
today", someone commented.  "It disrupts business, isn't there some sort of
civic ordanance?"
     Meanwhile Ranma, Akane and Soun stood back to back in a rough circle as
they watched the Zoanoids encircling them.  There didn't seem to be any way
out of this ring.  The few normal people around had run like hell.  Which
meant no witnesses, which meant they were all dead.  The only thing Ranma
couldn't figure was why the Zoanoids hadn't attacked already.
     Something that looked a humanoid spider with horns hissed, "Your buddy
killed a lot of friends of mine.  I'm going to enjoy taking you apart."
     "Screw that!"  It was one of the Ramothis style Zoanoids.  "Let's just
kill them and get of here before the Guyver shows up again."
     "I'm with Charbis, we owe these kids a lot of pain."
     "Maybe, but we still don't know what happened to the Guyver.  Orders say
kill them so let's do that."
     While the Zoanoids argued if they should die fast or slow Ranma built
his chi energy.  There was one chance he could see, charge one of the
surrounding Zoanoids, hit it with Mouko Takabishya at close range and blast
it out of the way, then run through the gap.  Not much of a plan admittedly,
but better than just waiting to die.
     From a vantage point Garvel watched his fellow Zoanoids.  He hadn't
transformed, his instructions were to watch Kuno and stay human.  After Kuno
disappeared he'd begun searching for some trace, thinking that perhaps his
subject had become invisible.  That had lead him to this confrontation.  For
lack of anything better to do he looked forward to watching some bloodshed.
     Even further away the Ryogoid named 207 watched the scene.  His sensors
had been designed to outperform human limitations.  Now he held his battle
systems in readiness as he tried to decide if he should intervene.  Normally
Ryogoids don't have much in the way of humanitarian impulses, but this was a
special case.  He was programmed with the Emperor's emotional makeup,
including his unrequitted love for Akane Tendo.  The woman about to die at the
hands, or whatever, of the Zoanoids.  He had the power to save her but should
he?  Mission parameters required keeping a low profile.  Of course dead
Zoanoids wouldn't be able to say it wasn't the Guyver that ripped them apart.
Still ...  Regretfully he safed his offensive systems.  The Emperor had been
forced to sacrifice his Akane, he would have to stand by and let this one
die.  Cruel necessity.
     A Gregore class Zoanoid stepped forward, "Hell with this, I'll finish
this."  He lowered his horned head and prepared to charge. 
     The top of his skull exploded spraying a mixture of brain and bone.  He
was dead before he hit the ground.
     Everyone looked up to see the Guyver, cradling a girl in his arms,
falling towards them.  "Oh shit!", the spider-thing whispered.  The Guyver
landed next to his friends, his armoured legs easily absorbing the impact. 
He quickly put Nabiki down, stepped in front of her and unsheathed his sonic
swords.  Then he got to work.
     Watching the carnage unfold Garvel was very glad he hadn't joined his
comrades.  He unclipped his communicator and reported in.  He wasn't alone,
several of the Zoanoids were screaming into their comm. links begging for
backup.  Leaving Garvel's report buried under the hysteria.  At Tempus the
monitoring section was trying (and failing) to put together a coherent picture
of what was happening.
     That was when it happened.  One of the Ramothis class Zoanoids, wounded
but still alive made a decision.  He knew he was dying, holding the belly
wound closed with both hands wasn't slowing the bleeding enough. He couldn't
scratch the Guyver but he could still hurt him by killing his friends.  The
Guyver was on the other side of the square, this was the only chance he'd get.
 Holding his intestines in with one paw he raised the other to strike and
charged the humans.  The younger girl was nearest to him, she'd die first.
     Akane saw the Zoanoid barreling towards her and screamed.  Ryoga turned
towards the sound, in time to see the claws slashing down.  "AKANE!"
     Ranma was throwing himself in the way but wouldn't reach her in time!
     Something took the Zoanoid's arm off along with a good chunk of its
shoulder.  The severed arm spun away, no threat to anything.  Its scream of
pain ended abruptly when the same something cut its head off.
     Ryoga couldn't believe what he was seeing.  The color was different and
there were a few design differences but the basic form was unmistakably a
Guyver.  It had just killed a Zoanoid so it had to be on their side.  Didn't
it?  He dispatched the last Zoanoid and headed back fast.
     207 watched with interest.  It must have been a low power quantum charge
as the dimensional shift had only lasted a few minutes.  No wonder the signal
had been too brief to trace.  The most interesting thing was the appearance
of another Guyver.  Two resonances, two Guyvers.  That seemed fairly
conclusive.  But why had they been shifted in the first place?
     As Ryoga joined the group the other Guyver was telling Akane, "At last
it must be clear to you that destiny would have us together.  How else could
I arrive here to save you from the hordes of the dispicable Saotome.  But
fear not for his day of reckoning has truly arrived."
     The combination of eloquence and arrogance was unmistakable.  Still
Ryoga found it hard to believe, "Kuno?  You're a Guyver?"
     "What!  How could you discern my identity so easily?"
     "Who else talks like that?  Besides these suits don't distort voices
that much."
     "You address me with unseemingly familiarity stranger.  Though there is
a certain recognisable quality to your voice."
     "I'm Ryoga Hibiki, you moron."
     "Hold your tongue.  It is unseemingly for such as you to address your
betters ... where did you get that armour?  I cannot imagine Kronos allowing
someone of your ilk to join?"
     "I found it ... what did you say about Kronos?"
     "Enough of this."  Kuno took a dramatic stance.  "I have vanquished his
demons, let the foul wizard Saotome stand forth."
     Akane (along with everyone else) was having a hard time following Kuno's
logic.  "What do you think Ranma's done this time?"
     "Ahh my one true love, is it possible you do not know that Saotome is
the fiend who unleased these horrors"  Kuno waved a hand to indicate the
rapidly disintergrating Zoanoids.  "They return to the pit that spawned them
and I shall surely send Ranma to join them."
     "Now just a second Kuno", Ranma said as he stepped forward from behind
Soun.  Not the smartest thing to do when a man in Guyver armour is talking
about killing you.  However Ranma's uncanny luck held, sort of.
     "Ah, my pigtailed angel ..."
     "What?"  Ranma suddenly realized the air was filled with a light spray
of water droplets.  In slicing up one of the Zoanoids Ryoga had nicked a fire
hydrant.  Enclosed by the armour the water couldn't reach him so his curse
remained inactive.  Ranma had no such protection.
     Kuno continued, oblivious to the girl before him looking down at her
chest and groaning.  "Fear not for this day I shall rescue you from the
monster who holds you captive.  All his dark powers shall be helpless before
the righteous fury of the Blue Thunder ... Actually let's change that to the
Black Thunder.  For with this magical armour none of his demons shall prevail
against me."
     Ranma was getting fed up with Kuno talking about killing him.  In
addition to which he now realized he couldn't shut Kuno up with a quick punch
anymore.  That suit made him practically invincible.  "They aren't demons
they're Zoanoids!  I ... Ranma didn't turn 'em loose.  They were created by
an organization called Kronos!  They used to be human but decided they wanted
power at all costs, even their humanity!"
     Kuno held up a hand.  "My love, you are confused.  Doubtless the fault
of the acursed Saotome.  I am part of Kronos and the organization is composed
of others of similar nobility.  We are working towards our goal of ... " 
Kuno realized he'd never asked what Kronos's ultimate goal was, a definite
oversight.  "Well whatever it is be assured it is a pure and noble thing."
     Nabiki realized no one was sure how to respond to this.  Daddy was out
of it, Ranma and Akane were stunned by Kuno's ignorance, while from Ryoga's
stance he wasn't sure whether or not he should be fighting Kuno.
     "How can you work for Kronos and not know what a Zoanoid is?", Ryoga was
asking.
     Before he could respond Nabiki cut in.  "Kuno didn't you say you were
planning to fight Ranma?"
     "Indeed, the coward fled before me but I shall find him."
     Before Ranma could explode she said, "Well since he's not here shouldn't
you be looking for him.  Otherwise you'll never get those two free of him."
     "Indeed, you are correct Nabiki Tendo.  But where has the miscreant
gone?"
     "Well since you're here it's a good bet he's sneaking into your place to
set a trap."
     "The fiend!"  Kuno struck another dramatic pose.  "His nefarious plan
shall not succeed!  I shall return to our mansion and put an end to his
evil."  To Akane and Ranma he added, "Do not fear my loves, before this day
ends you shall be free and may show me your gratitude.  Farewell!"  Kuno
charged away, running at the Guyver's top speed.  Which didn't do the pavement
much good.
     Garvel made an unobtrusive exit from his vantage point.  His brief was
to observe Kuno.  While he couldn't match Kuno's speed at least he knew the
black Guyver's destination.  He hailed a taxi and gave his directions.  As he
settled into the cab's seat he adjusted his communicator for subvocalization
and held it to his throat.  It would be best not to delay reporting to the
Director.
     At Tempus's monitoring section Dr. Maxwell watched Director Nagaoka
talk to his observer.  They still had no clear picture of what had happened.
However it seemed indisputable that the Guyver was back.  Two observers had
confirmed Hibiki's disappearance before moving on the other targets.  So
what went wrong with the one way displacement?  He did have one theory, if it
was right it should save his neck.
     In the meantime he eavesdropped on the Director's end of the report.
     "Uh huh, so we lost all twelve?  And Kuno killed one of them, wonderful.
What's that?  Demons?  Hmmm.  Hold it repeat that last part.  Ok his exact
words ... that's interesting.  Describe the girls ... uh huh, those two eh." 
     The Director looked a lot more cheerful.  "Fine, keep an eye on Kuno
until further orders.  If he slices up this Saotome that's one less for us to
worry about.  Nagaoka out."  Excellent.  He had the key to controlling Kuno.
It would just be a matter of getting Commander Gyro to amend the termination
order. 
     He saw Maxwell was trying to attract his attention.  "Another stroke of
brilliance, Doctor?"
     "Possibly.  Did Hibiki and Kuno reappear in the same places they
vanished from?"
     Nagaoka considered, "We didn't have any observers on the spot but from 
the times of their arrival at that little debacle I would guess they'd have
had to be pretty close.  Why?"
     Maxwell knew he had to sell this, not only was it right but it would
keep him alive.  "I realize now the basic flaw in my theory.  But it gives us
a way to temporarily neutralize Hibiki without damaging our own Guyver."
     "Which is?"
     "Time travel!"
     "What!"  Nagaoka was confused, what the hell was Maxwell talking about?
     "It's simple really.  I used the creators' displacement system to
teleport the Guyvers.  Since I hadn't sent a spacial reentry point I thought
they'd be gone forever.  Instead they were merely displaced in time, they
reappeared in the exact same spot a few minutes later."
     "Wait a minute, run through that again."
     "Teleportation displaces a object in space and time.  That would make
sense since it's a offshoot of the aliens faster than light spacedrive
technology.  So if you teleport something without a change in position it is
merely displaced in time rather than space.  Evidently our teleport signal
was only sufficent to achieve a displacement of a few minutes.  Both subjects
went forward in time a short distance.  Now with a stronger pulse we could
displace the enemy Guyver forward in time a few hours ..."
     Nagaoka broke in, "During which time his friends would be defenceless
and we could surround the place he disappeared from with our most powerful
Zoanoids.  Then when he reappears ..."
     "We finish him.  Apart from a little confusion over what time it is Kuno
will be undamaged."
     Nagaoka smiled.  "Doctor I think you've just redeemed yourself.  Get
back to your lab and figure out how to cause a displacement of several
hours."  His voice got a lot colder, "But if you initiate anything without
my approval you are a dead man.  Do I make myself clear?"
     "Uh yessir.  Uhm ... I'll be getting back to my lab then."
     He left hurriedly.  Nagaoka barely noticed.  Yes if Maxwell was right it
would fit in nicely with his plan to control Kuno.  He just had to get Gyro's
approval before he moved.
     During this time a few other things had been happening.  As they watched
Kuno charge away Akane had commented, "I didn't really follow your logic,
Nabiki."
     Nabiki snorted, "What logic?  That's where you guys were going wrong.
Trying to reason with Kuno is like trying to get a landslide to ignore
gravity.  She looked around the street spotting some soaked rags.  "Say when
those guys transformed and attacked were they wearing those stupid purple
jumpsuits?"
      "No, just regular clothes.  Why?"  Ranma didn't follow this.  Anyway
it would be best to get away from here.  Ryoga couldn't deactivate the Guyver
until they were someplace dry.
      Nabiki was casting around the alley when she spotted what she was
looking for.  "Because if they were in civilian dress, trying to watch us
rather than plan an attack maybe ... ah ha!"  She'd found a piece of trouser
containing a pocket.  She removed the wallet from the clothing shredded by
its wearers transformation.
     "I don't believe it", Ranma whispered, "She's back to normal".
     "Two things Ranma!", Nabiki had overheard him.  She removed the yen from
the wallet.  "First we don't have a regular source of income but we still
have expenses."  She began flipping through the wallet, "Second ever since
Happosai blew up Kronos Tokyo (may he rest in peace) we've had no idea where
the Zoanoids are based.  We need some sort of clue ... and I think I just
found it."  She discarded the wallet, hanging on to the card she'd found. 
     One side was blue, blank except for a stylized letter T.  The other had
a large magnetic strip running down in.  "Electronic key maybe ... well what
are you waiting for?  Get searching."
     They did, quickly locating another three wallets.  At which point Nabiki
told them  it was time to get clear before people started filtering back.  As
they left the wet area Ryoga deactivated the Guyver.  It folded back into its
extradimensional pocket.  He really hoped Akane wouldn't ask why he hadn't
done it sooner.  Nabiki had found out but Akane still didn't know where
P-chan had gone.
     "So we came out to grocery shop didn't we?  Then let's get going.  By
the way Ranma until we've got this Kuno situation sorted out you'd better
stay female."
     "When did she become the leader?", Ranma thought.  It was a welcome
change from her cringing at everything but what had caused this?
     "What happened to you two anyway?"
     Ryoga answered, "I'm not sure and I don't want to be overheard.  We'll
discuss it when we get back to the dojo."
     Meanwhile in another dimension ...

*****************************************************************************

 Late Monday Afternoon - Outside Ukyou's Restaurant - Ryoga 1/2 timeline   
 
     Ryoga finished nailing his board over the hole in the wall.  "Ok, I'm
done."
     Ranma put down his hammer, "Me too.  Well, it's far from decorative but
it should keep the rain out."
     "It's gonna rain?"
     "Yep, forecast said light showers tonight."  Both boys took an interest
in the weather that sometimes startled their peers.  A sideffect of changing
sex every time you get wet.
     Ukyou inspected the job.  "OK that'll do temporarily, but I can't keep
the restaurant open with a big hole in the women's toilet."
     Ryoga made a suggestion, "Nabiki can probably give you the name of a
good contractor.  We're always having to hire them at the Dojo."
     "By good you mean the one that pays the biggest kickback for the job?"
     "That's pure speculation."  Acccurate though, he thought.
     Ukyou was studying him closely, "So why was your look-a-like trying to
kill us."
     "I was wondering that myself", Nabiki added.  She had just emerged from
the restaurant with a notepad full of repair estimates.
     Ryoga had been thinking a lot about this.  He still had no answer.  "I
don't know.  When I went to that other dimension (which no one believed me
about until half an hour ago) I didn't immediately try to kill my
counterpart.  I mean I figured he was an imposter but I didn't try to kill
him on sight.  Whereas this guy sees us, yells 'Grover' or whatever, and
tries to kill all three of us."
     Nabiki interjected, "Thinking you're an imposter doesn't explain his
trying to kill me and Ukyou."
     "Well there was a Nabiki with him so he must have thought you were
another imposter.  Ukyou ... I don't know why he tried to kill her."
     Ukyou cast her mind back, "He said something to us just before that
armour appeared.  What was it?  And I think the word was 'Geever'"
     "Sounded like 'Guyber' to me"
     "Who knows?  Anyway the point is none of the Ryogas I met could make
invincible armour appear.  Or were that homicidal."
     Ukyou flipped the "Closed" sign over and locked the restaurant's door.
"Well I'm closed for repairs, so now what?"  She began eyeing Ranma.  "So
Akane's avoiding you again?"
     "Uh yeah ..."  Divert the topic.  "So how about we head home and try
and figure this out."
     Nabiki shrugged, "We might as well, it is getting towards dinner time."
     Ukyou looked enthusiastic, "Dinner with Ran-chan, great."
     Akane's gonna love this, Ranma thought.
     Ryoga and Nabiki returned to their private speculations.  Why would
another Ryoga want to kill them, and why was the other Nabiki terrified of
Kasumi?  That last part really didn't make sense.
     They started the walk back to the Dojo.

*****************************************************************************

Late Monday Afternoon - En route to the Tendo Dojo - Guyver Ryoga timeline

     Unit 207 continued shadowing the teenagers as they returned home.  Given
his ultra sensitive senses he was in no danger of coming close enough for
them to realize he was following.  He had dispatched 179 to track Kuno,
whatever generated the dimensional shifts was homing in on the Guyver units.
That much was obvious.  He knew what was happening, which judging from the
conversation he listened in on they didn't, but not why.  Why would Kronos,
assuming it was Kronos, want to send their enemies to another dimension?
Could it be they didn't know it wouldn't be permanent.  Did they really think
it was a one way trip?
     For that matter why had his own mission been so hurried.  Why send the
only five androids immediately available back to this point.  The Empire had
time travel, why the hurry.  They could have taken a week, a month or a year
to assemble a fully equipped force and send it through.  But that hadn't
happened, a few hours after his initial report on this timeline he'd been
rushed back.  Why?  Had his return somehow started some sort of countdown to
potential disaster?  207 sighed, maybe timetravel was too dangerous to mess
around with.  It did seem to make reality a very fragile thing.
     Time travel was also on the mind of Director Nagaoka.  He had requested
that Commander Gyro join him in the screening room.  Gyro had just entered
and seated himself.  From the way he looked wasting his time could prove
fatal.  Best to start off strong.  "Commander Gyro, I have found a way to
control our Mister Kuno."
     Gyro was watching him closely, "Interesting.  Proceed."
     Nagaoka activated the video wall.  "First a little background, Sir"
Individual pictures of the Guyver's living associates appeared.  "These
people are currently on our termination list.  However these two will be
more valuable to us if taken alive."
     Two of the pictures expanded.  The name under the first read "Akane
Tendo".  Gyro studied the second, there were two names under the red haired
girl's picture.  They read "Ranko Tendo?" and "Ranma Saotome?"
     "Have we determined her identity?", Gyro asked.
     "Uh no, sir.  She has apparently claimed to be Soun Tendo's niece on
several occasions.  However he was an only child so that's obviously false.
The other name doesn't seem to fit.  While she bears a definite family
resemblance to the boy of the same name he is also an only child.  We have
speculated she might be the illegitimate daughter of the late Genma Tendo.
However we have no proof of this.   In any event it's irrelevant."
     "Why do you want them alive?  Make it good."
     Nagaoka cleared his throat.  "Well sir, Tatewaki Kuno is obsessed with
these two girls.  He would happily do anything for them.  So if they were
brainwashed to love him and make a few suggestions to him ..."
     "... they would control him and we would control them."
     "Yes sir.  With the appropriate influence over a long period of time we
can bring him around to our way of thinking.  After which we can dispense with
the girls."
     "I like that.  Change the orders, those two are to be taken alive. 
Ranma Saotome, Soun and Nabiki Tendo remain on the kill list."  Gyro frowned.
"I want us in control of Kuno as quickly as possible.  How are you going to
get past Hibiki in order to grab them."
     Nagaoka smiled.  "Thanks to Doctor Maxwell's recent blunder we have that
covered.  Tonight we'll be able to complete the operation I just outlined
without any interference from the Guyver."
     "Hmmm.  Very well carry out the operation.  Oh and here's a little
friendly encouragement."
     "Yes sir."
     "Screw up again and I'll kill you both.  That'll be all."
     Nagaoka left in a slightly better mood.  If he could pull this off all
would be forgiven.  Of course fail and ... He shuddered.  Then headed off to
brief one of the remaining assault teams.  They'd be down in the subbasement
that was converted to a bunking area.  Tempus hadn't been designed as a
troop site but with Kronos's Tokyo base gone they had to stay somewhere.

*****************************************************************************

Monday Evening - Tendo household - Ryoga 1/2 timeline

     Dinner had just concluded.  As always Kasumi was clearing away the
dishes and insisting she'd handle the cleanup by herself.  This left Ranma,
Ryoga, Ukyou and Nabiki to speculate on the afternoon's events.  Akane had
joined the group but clearly thought they were pulling some sort of weird
practical joke.  She kept glaring everytime Ukyou got too close to Ranma.
Which was fairly often.
     The conversation had switched to the armour the other Ryoga and Kuno had
worn.  Ryoga had just thought up a theory.  "Maybe it's like all the cartoon
shows where everyone's got some sort of powerarmour.  Maybe every martial
artist where they come from has it."
     Nabiki was the first to shoot holes in it.  "Doesn't fit Ryoga, remember
Ranma and the alternate Kuno?"
     Ryoga thought about it.  "Oh yeah, you're right."
     Ranma didn't get it.  "Mind letting me in on the secret."
     "Simple.  The other Kuno would have thought you were the Ranma of his
world.  If every martial artist has powerarmour so would your counterpart.
Meaning Kuno wouldn't have expected you to be surprised by his having it."
     Ranma nodded.  "OK I follow that.  So maybe this armour's rare where
they come from.  Very expensive or something."
     "So how'd my counterpart get hold of it?"
     "He won a lottery or something, who knows?  The real question is are
they going to show up again."
     "Maybe.  After all we don't know how they got here in the first place.
So there's no reason they can't come back."
     The room went silent.  Ryoga reflected that however true that had been
it was undoubtably the wrong thing to say.

*****************************************************************************

Monday Evening - Tendo household - Guyver Ryoga timeline

     Dinner had gone smoothly enough.  Fairly plain but Ryoga had never been
much of a cook.  He alternated the chore with Ranma.  There hadn't been much
choice, Soun and (until very recently) Nabiki were out of it which left them
or Akane.  Kronos was the only thing they feared more than Akane's cooking.
Unfortunately they were running out of excuses and she was insisting on being
allowed into the kitchen. 
     In any event they were currently studying the cards they had found.  The
letter looked like a corporate logo, tomorrow they'd check at the library and
see if they could identify it.  If they could they might well have found the
enemy base.  In which case they could take the fight back to Kronos.
     Nabiki was recalling the conversation earlier in the evening.  Both Akane
and Ranma (still in female form in case Kuno dropped by) had confirmed seeing
them disappear.  Which ruined the possibility that they'd had some sort of
shared hallucination.
     Then Nabiki had mentioned her own theory, time travel.  Somehow they
had slipped back to a time before the Guyver unit.  When Ukyou was alive,
she had both eyes and Ryoga was fixated on Akane.
     Ryoga had pointed out the main flaw in the theory.  He didn't remember
meeting himself, and a Guyver attacking you in a restaurant isn't the kind of
thing you'd forget.  So it didn't make sense after all. 
     It was hard to think, she needed some air.  The thought of somehow
returning to a time before everything fell apart was seductive.  She stepped
out into the garden feeling a cooling spray of rain.  This cut off as Ryoga
joined her, covering them both with his umbrella.
     "You shouldn't wander around alone", he told her.
     True enough.  She was feeling tired, depression was growing.  Say they
found the Kronos base tomorrow what next?  Kronos was worldwide, would they
have to destroy every Kronos building in the world before life went back to
normal?
     She looked up to see Ryoga studying her.  "It's hard work being mad all
the time.  Believe me I know."
     "I suppose you do.  It just seems so ... hopeless."
     "I ... I can't deny that.  Still you've given them back some hope. 
That's something."  He waved in the direction of the house and her sister. 
Snatching his hand back before it got wet.
     Nabiki chuckled.  It reminded her of the good old days when Ryoga
thought his curse was a big deal.
     Ryoga echoed her laugh.  "So think I should tell your sister what
happened to her pet?"
     "Not just yet.  We don't want you getting killed until after you've
taken out Kronos."
     "I've been dead, but I got better."  Ryoga shut up suddenly as some very
unpleasant memories surfaced.
     He rarely talked about it but Nabiki had always been able to tell that
his death and regeneration had caused him a lot of doubts.  He'd once asked
her if she thought he was the real Ryoga regenerated or a copy created by the
Guyver.  She'd said something flippant along the lines of "what's the
difference, either way you're an idiot".  That was before her own injury,
thinking back on it made her feel ashamed. 
     He'd saved her life at the cost of her sister's.  No, that simply wasn't
true.  She'd always known deep inside that Kronos were the ones who had really
killed Kasumi.  They destroyed her mind, everything that made her who she was.
All Ryoga killed was her body, which wasn't even hers anymore.  Ever since
then they'd both been walking wounded.  He'd been consumed with guilt, she'd
been scared of everything.  Terrified of the way things kept getting worse.
     She studied him.  Time for a change.  Time to do something impulsive for
the first time in ages.
     "Ryoga."
     "Yes, Nabiki?"
     "Kiss me."
     He gaped at her, "What?"
     "There's nothing wrong with your hearing."  She grabbed the back of his
neck pulling his head towards her.  Their lips met and the Earth moved.  Or
they moved Earths, it's all relative.  From the point of view of any outside
observers they vanished.  Across town Tatewaki Kuno also disappeared.
     To backtrack a little a few minutes earlier Director Nagaoka had stopped
by Dr. Maxwell's lab.  Most of the room was filled with the mass of the alien
device.  Like all the creators' technology it looked more like an organism
than a machine.  It resembled a grey peach with a skin full of wrinkles.  The
skin was penetrated in multiple places by sensors, power cords, digital
readouts, and a variety of other devices.  It looked impressive, now assuming
the damn thing worked they were out of the woods.
     "Will you be ready by 10 pm, Maxwell?"
     Maxwell smirked, "I'm ready now.  We've increased the power
geometrically.  We should achieve a displacement of at least three hours."
     "So you can activate at my command?"
     "Absolutely, all I have to do is activate the program by punching this
key ..."  Maxwell's voice trailed off as he looked at the keyboard he'd been
gesturing at.  Looked like he'd got a little too close, adding a few extra
steps as a safety precaution would have been advisable.
     Nagaoka saw the words "Sequence Initiated" flashing on the monitors.
"Shut it down, I'm not ready yet."
     "Uh we can't shut it down.  If we try to disconnect there's a minor risk
of a feedback effect that could destroy most of the building."
     "You didn't mention that before,"
     "Well it's minor ..."
     "Shut up."  The lab was filled with a high pitched humming.  Nagaoka
wasn't sure if he could be heard screaming into his communicator, "Scramble
the striketeams, head for the Tendo Dojo.  Do it!"
      Outside the Tendo Dojo Ryogoid 207 detected a sustained resonance
pulse.  179 reported a second.  Unlike the first this was long enough and
powerful enough for all five androids to track.
      Contact.  They had the point of origin.  207 linked to his brothers. 
"541, 673, check it out.  218 begin a timeline circuit, I want to know which
dimension they arrived in.  Start at the Tendo Dojo and stay out of sight. 
Report back when you have an answer.  179, you and I will hold our positions
for the time being.  OK, everyone move."
      They moved.  Things were getting interesting.

End of part 3

Next in part four - Zoanoids in the dojo, androids in Tempus, and the second
                    meeting of the Ryogas.

Part 4 - "Let's do the timewarp again"

Guyver Ryoga / Ryoga 1/2 : Worlds in Collision
A fanfic about three alternate Ranma 1/2 Universes
by Mark Latus

Part 4 : Let's Do The Time Warp Again!

Monday Evening  - Outside the Tendo Dojo - Guyver Ryoga Timeline    

     Having sent his orders to his subordinates Ryogoid 207 headed for the
dojo grounds.  Closer proximity would assist his sensors in analyzing the
residue from the dimensional shift.  The house's other inhabitants were still
inside.  Possibly they were unaware Nabiki and Ryoga had just vanished.  For
the time being he had little else to do except run scans.
     As he approached the gate he noticed someone emerge from a parked car
and head towards him.  Whoever it was must have been watching the front gate.
207 shrugged, orders were to avoid trouble so he began angling away from the
gate.
     The watcher kept advancing on 207 from behind.  Things had been dull and
Grothis was looking for a little excitement.  He slapped a hand onto the
norm's left shoulder, "Hey creep, talk to me."  His chosen victim stopped and
rotated to face him.  There was absolutely no fear in his eyes as he got a
good look at Grothis.  That was a bit strange, at seven foot tall, 300 pounds
of muscle and a face covered in scars he was used to scaring people.  Of
course compared to his Zoanoid form his human self looked warm and cuddly.
     The creep spoke up, "Just passing by.  I'm not looking for trouble."
     "Tough luck, you found it."  Weird, the creep's voice was steady.  He'd
thought he was squeezing hard enough to hurt.  He increased the pressure.
     The creep sighed.  It sounded weary, like royalty forced to deal with
inferiors.  In a blur of motion his right hand pulled something from his
jacket.  It was close in size and shape to an electric shaver.  It emitted a
faint hum as it pointed as Grothis's face.  Looking slightly puzzled the
creep put it away with the same blurring speed.
     "What the fuck was that toy?"
     The creep answered, "Neural Scrambler.  It should have shut down your
autonomic nervous system.  An apparently natural death.  I guess Zoanoid
neural networks are too rewired to be affected.  Live and learn."
     Grothis didn't understand the explanation but he caught the key word. 
This guy knew about Zoanoids!  He squeezed hard enough to break bone.  "Tell
me what you know about Zoanoids or I crush every bone in your body!"  There
was absolutely no give in the creep's shoulder, what the hell was it made of?
The creep smiled and without a trace of pain said, "Ah well, there are other
ways to inhibit brain function."  He punched the index finger of his right
hand through Grothis's forehead.  The Zoanoid saw a flash of white then
keeled over dead.
     207 caught the body as it fell.  Data indicated Zoanoids dissolved slower
in human form so he'd better conceal the remains.  No witnesses, still he'd
better be quick or he'd have more bodies to hide.  Hmmm, the Zoanoid's car
should serve.
     As he carried the body over 207 considered the intelligence level of
Zoanoids.  "I pointed a device at him and told him it was a weapon designed
to kill him.  He still didn't get the idea he'd better take me out immediately
before I tried something else.  Not that there was a lot he could have done to
stop me.  Still he could have tried."
     207 studied the car and popped the trunk.  Small car, small trunk, big
man.  The guy wasn't going to fit.  Not unless he was folded just right.
Resisting the urge to whistle a happy tune 207 got to work.  The street was
filled with multiple popping, cracking and squelching noises.
     Just as he was finishing and closing the trunk someone walked out the
main gate of the dojo.  207 slid silently behind the car as Soun Tendo
emerged.  He was engaged with animated conversation with someone invisible to
all of 207's senses.  As he listened he realized the elder Tendo was talking
to his late daughter Kasumi.  Completely unaware of 207 and the outside world
in general he headed off down the street.  He was happy, Kasumi had come home
and things were back to normal.  Now he just had to find Genma and they could
resume their game.
     Behind him 207 jammed the trunk lock.  Hopefully by the time it was
opened his victim would have sublimed into gas.  It occurred to him he had
unintentionally done the old man a favor.  In his dementia he'd have been an
easy victim if Kronos's watcher was still alive.  Just one of those things.
     At which point 207 heard two trucks approaching rapidly from the north.
He quietly moved away from the dojo and into deeper shadows.  It could just
be lost delivery trucks or it could be Kronos was making a housecall.
     Meanwhile inside the dojo Akane had realized something was wrong.  She'd
been staying away from the window thinking Ryoga and Nabiki might want some
privacy.  Of course that was just a guess, frankly she wasn't sure what they
thought of each other.  In any event she'd risked a look outside and seen
nothing.  That was a problem, they should have been in plain sight.  Unless of
course ... No it wasn't possible, they couldn't have vanished again.  If they
had then Ranma, herself and Daddy were in big trouble. 
     Where was her father anyway? 
     One thing at a time.  Yelling at Ranma to check the garden for the others
she commenced a frantic house search for her father.  No trace.  Ranma dashed
back inside, being already in his female form the drizzle hadn't worried him.
"Nobody out there.  Unless they suddenly decided to take in a movie without
telling we've got a problem."
     "You don't mean they vanished again, do you?  We nearly died this
afternoon when that happened."  Akane felt the weight of the world pressing
down on her.  "Daddy's gone, Nabiki and Ryoga vanished and there's people ...
things out there that want to kill us.  I don't know how much more of this I
can take."
     Ranma squatted down beside her.  Forgetting for the moment he was female
he took her hand. "Akane ... ", he began.
     Before things could get too touching the Zoanoids arrived.  They'd
transformed in the back of their trucks and leaped the wall on arrival. 
Monsters of varying description smashed through the walls.  From outside the
operational controllers watched via the cameras carried by the Zoanoids.
Their main purpose right now was reminding their troops who they were supposed
to take alive.  "All right I want those two intact.  Spread out and kill the
others.  Grab her you fools, she's only human.  Hurry up ... what do you mean
there's no one else in there?  How can they be gone?  Where the hell's Grothis
anyway?"
     On the screen a furiously struggling Ranko Tendo was being gripped by
two Ramothis class Zoanoids.  Akane Tendo was helpless in the grip of a
Varmore.  Captain Charburn decided to head in to survey the situation.  "Try
and find the bastard who's supposed to be watching this place."  His comrade
nodded, he was happy to stay outside.  Frankly he didn't trust the report that
the Guyver was currently a long way away.  The slaughter this afternoon was a
reminder of what it was capable of.
     Charburn entered the house, the Zoanoids not holding prisoners saluted.
One reported, "Sir, we can find no trace of Ranma Saotome or Soun and Nabiki
Tendo." 
     He nodded an acknowledgement and faced his captives.  They looked defiant
rather than scared.  Interesting, he liked spirited women.  It was enjoyable
breaking that resistance.  Sadly they were wanted intact.  "Well ladies, care
to tell me where your relatives are?"  Ranko responded with a series of
comments about his parentage.  He smiled, "Well ladies this is sort of your
lucky night.  The good news is we want you alive.  The bad news is we're going
to destroy your personalities and brainwash you to obey us."
     "Hah, it'll never work creep!"  That Ranko certainly was loud mouthed.
     "Tell that to Kasumi Tendo."  Both paled at that reminder.  In any event
it was time to move out.  He surveyed the assembled Zoanoids and made a
choice.  "Harbrel, Lithorne, you stay behind.  Keep a motion detector.  If
Hibiki returns get out fast and report in.  Do not attempt to engage him."
They nodded.  "If Ranma Saotome, Nabiki or Soun Tendo return kill them."
     "NO, YOU CAN'T!"  That shout came from Akane Tendo.  She struggled
against the Zoanoid's grip but couldn't break free.
     "Don't be silly, of course we can.  And we will."  Charburn smiled and
ordered his troopers out.  They exited dragging their captives with them.
     Behind them Harbel headed for the fridge, "Stakeouts are thirsty work.
So you've killed civilians before?"
     "Just once, normally I get stuck with guard duty."
     "Well I've done eight.  It's like eating peanuts, you keep wanting more."
     Outside Charburn was talking to Ravel.  From inside his truck came the
muffled shouts of Ranko and Akane.  It's hard to talk clearly with a paw
covering your mouth.  "Where the hell's our observer?"
     Ravel shrugged, "No sign of Grothis.  He's either deserted or fucking
off.  Either way he's in deep shit.  I'm leaving Webber behind to take over."
     "Fine."  Webber saluted and slid behind the wheel of Grothis's car.  As
he watched the trucks pulled away carrying the captives off to Tempus.  The
lights in the house began clicking off as Harbel and Lithorne settled down to
wait in the darkness.  Inside the trunk Grothis's body continued to decompose
rapidly.  Webber settled back, no one in sight, everything was under control.
     Webber was wrong, he was under observation himself.  In the shadows Unit
207 watched him.  That had certainly been exciting, whatever it was.  Perhaps
541 and 673 would find some answers.  Assuming that a Kronos installation was
the source of the dimensional shifting. 
     It was under a minute later that 207 detected an incoming shift in a
nearby sidestreet.  There was a puff of displaced air, an energy flux then
the signature of Ryogoid 218.  207 signalled his comrade to join him quietly.
218 arrived with a speed and silence any ninja would have killed to achieve.
     207 adjusted his vocal systems to frequencies under the range of human
hearing.  It would have been more efficent to interface but human personality
traits made the androids chose to talk in non crisis situations.  "You're
back already?"
     218 shrugged.  "I found them already, they're on Delta.  I figured odds
were from Gamma they'd end up either Beta or Delta."  From the androids point
of view their worldline was the Prime (or Alpha) Timeline.  "Anyway I found
two identical pairs of DNA patterns.  Corresponding to Nabiki Tendo and the
Emperor's counterparts."
     "Fine."
     "Want me to go back and find out what they're doing?"
     207 shook his head.  "I don't care what they're doing.  I just needed to
know where those two were sent.  If they only bumped up one level that
indicates they don't have any fine control."  He paused briefly.  "Whoever
exactly 'they' are."
     218 nodded.  207 decided to ask him something he'd been wondering. 
"Say 218, do you have any idea why this operation was launched so quickly. 
We got sent back a few hours after I made my report about the anomalies in
this timeline.  Why the hurry?  We could have spent days gathering a large
force instead of just dumping the five of us back here because we were the
only explorer units available.  We've got time travel so why the rush?"
     218's answer surprised him.  "You've been in the field too much.  You
should download some of the theories of the human scientists sometimes?"
     "Humans?  You mean the Emperor's listening to human thinkers?"
     "Yeah, they get some weird ideas.  And time travel's a very weird thing.
Anyway it's a variation of the idea of the observer influencing the observed.
Basically 'now' is fluid.  When we change a world's history we see its
present change.  Why?  After all the new history is now the only reality that
timeline ever had.  Nothing changes until we depart from our time and make
the change."
     "How does that apply here?"
     "Basically the possibility of our timeline being invaded by inter
dimensional invaders from this timeline didn't exist until you reported it.
After your report they had to hustle us back before reality changed on our
world.  Sometime tomorrow we'll do something to this world's history.  If we
do the wrong thing we could undermine our own timeline's history."
     "This is just a theory ... isn't it?"
     "Yes, but with that kind of risk would you take the chance?"
     Both fell silent and wondered if their timeline's history still existed/
would exist.  There was nothing to do know but wait for 541 and 673 to track
the source of the shifting.
     While circumstances and people vary wildly across the multiple timelines
that exist one thing is constant.  That is time itself.  To be more specific
when it is say 2:03 am EST June 21st 1995 on one world it is this time on
all the worlds that exist.  So while all these events had proceeded on this
timeline the three people bumped into another universe had been experiencing
things themselves.  In the timeline known to the Imperials as Delta ....

*****************************************************************************

Monday Evening - The Garden of the Tendo Dojo - Ryoga 1/2 Timeline

     Nabiki had broken their embrace when she felt that weird disorientation
again.  Ryoga, who was already feeling disorientated from the kiss, hadn't
noticed a thing.  She glanced swiftly around the garden and felt ice crawling
down her spine.  There were new planks nailed over a hole in the training
hall's wall.  They hadn't been there a few minutes ago.
     Ryoga was struggling to think of something to say.  "Uhh Nabiki ... I ...
that is ... uhm ..."
     Nabiki grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.  "Wake up, it just
happened again!"  Whatever exactly "it" was.
     Ryoga's mind started working again.  Nabiki was pointing at the wall? 
Then he realized there shouldn't have been a hole there.  He looked around the
garden, it was full of discrepencies.  Things were moved, there were repairs
that shouldn't have been there, missing damage.  To him it added up to one
thing.  "Zoanoids!"
     He headed for the door, taking care to keep the umbrella over his head.
Behind him Nabiki called, "Ryoga wait!"  If her theory was right and they had
somehow slipped into the past he might be about to kill their past selves.
     Inside the Dojo Ranma, Ryoga and the other martial artists heard someone
in the garden heading their way.  Ranma hoped it wasn't the Kuno with the
weird armour.  The door slid open and another Ryoga entered.  Ryoga looked at
his furious counterpart and said, "I hope that's not the same guy as this
afternoon."
     "Ryoga, wait!"  That call came from behind the new Ryoga.  Behind him
another Nabiki entered.  Like the one they'd seen this afternoon this one was
missing an eye. 
     "No waiting!  Get back."  She did, rather hurridly as the newcomer
yelled "GUYVER!".  Around him the doorway and floor was shredded as if by an
invisible sphere centered on the newcomer.  Which was more or less what had
happened. 
     "We're in a lot of trouble here people.", Nabiki remarked.  "Time to
pull one of your winning-despite-incredibly-bad-odds tricks, Ranma."
     "Sooner him than me."  Ryoga was trying to figure if he could pull the
"they went that way" trick again.  Probably not.  For lack of any other
options he snapped into a fighting stance alongside Ukyou and Ranma.  Akane
was still swiveling her head back and forth between the Nabiki next to her and
the one behind the armoured Ryoga.  The armoured Ryoga raised a hand to his
chestplate.  Then stopped as the Nabiki behind him slid past and into his
firing line.
     "Get out of the way, Nabiki.  They'll kill you."
     "Maybe.  Except why haven't they transformed already?  And how did they
get in here and rearrange everything?  Why duplicate Ukyou and Genma when we
both know they're dead?"
     "I don't know, but I do know the only good Zoanoid is a dead Zoanoid!"
     "You're forgetting my timeslip theory."
     "Only because it's crazy."
     "And everything else in our lives makes sense?"
     The armoured Ryoga paused.  "Well ... no."
     She nodded, "Exactly.  Well, there's a simple way to test my theory."
She reached for a vase, fumbling slightly as her depth perception wasn't what
it used to be.  She pulled out the flowers and picked up the vase.  "If
they're cursed they aren't Zoanoids, right?"
     "I guess so."
     Nabiki studied the crowd ahead of her.  They all looked puzzled having
not followed the last exchange at all.  They also looked a little nervous
having witnessed what the Guyver was capable of doing.  "Here goes nothing!"
She splashed the vase's contents over Ranma and Ryoga.  The results weren't
quite what she had expected.  While Ranma naturally turned female the other
Ryoga did not become P-chan.  Instead he also turned female.  Genma caught
part of the splash and became a panda.  He shrugged and went back to his
boardgame.  Neither he or Soun had reacted to the Guyver's appearance. 
Instead they had just shrugged and carried on playing.
     Neither of the newcomers knew what to make of this.  Those had been the
instantaneous transformations of the Jusenkyo curse rather than the sinew
twisting change of Zoanoids.  But that Ryoga had the wrong curse.  Which meant
... what did it mean?
     "Hey you're that girl from this afternoon!", Ryoga shouted at his
counterpart.
     "Ahh, you could say that", Ryoga-chan answered.  If she got very lucky
these guys would disappear any second.  Unfortunately there was no sign of
that happening.
     The one eyed Nabiki folded her arms across her chest.  "I'd appreciate
an explanation and I'd advise you to hurry.  My friend back here tends to
overreact to weird situations."
     Everyone looked at Ryoga-chan.  "Well it's a long story." 
     "Shorten it."
     "This is a parallel universe with a slightly different history.  Here
I don't have a suit like that and I fell in the same spring as Ranma."
     The new Nabiki looked at him.  "I see."  A pause.  "So what's the long
version?"
     Meanwhile over at the Kuno mansion there were two Tatewaki Kunos.  So far
neither was aware of the other.  Guyver-Kuno was concluding his search of the
mansion.  He had found no trace of Saotome and was concluding that Nabiki had 
been wrong when she advised him to seek his enemy here.  The last place to
check was the underground training hall.  He wondered what kind of shape it
was in.  When he'd initially activated the Guyver and regained his senses he
had tested its capabilities downstairs.  In doing so he had largely destroyed
the hall.  While he had ordered Sasuke to restore the place even he recognised
that it was close to impossible.
     He headed downstairs, passing Sasuke on the stairs.  "Sasuke, why are
you not working on the training hall?"
     Sasuke studied his master with some surprise.  "The training hall is in
excellent shape Master Kuno."
     "We shall see, remember everything must be perfect for my two loves!"
     Kuno headed down leaving a puzzled Sasuke behind.  His two loves?  What
had happened to number three?  Which had he dropped, Akane Tendo, the pig-
tailed girl or the bandanna girl?  For that matter why was he up and around? 
Sasuke had thought Master Kuno was in his room recovering from his latest
attempt to seduce the bandanna girl (known as Yuriko to Kodachi Kuno, the
name under which Ryoga-chan had defeated her in gymnastic martial arts).
     On entering the training hall Kuno had looked around in amazement.  He
had underestimated Sasuke.  The hall was restored to the state it had been
before he cut loose with the Guyver.  Incredible.  He remembered why he had
come and looked around.  There was no trace of Saotome.  He settled into a
lotus posture, it was time to meditate.  Since Saotome was not here should he
seek him elsewhere and end the fiend's reign of terror.  Or should he go to
the Tendo Dojo to date the pigtailed girl and Akane Tendo.  This was a very
weighty problem and would require his full mental abilities.
     While Kuno pondered Ryoga-chan was finishing her explanation to the pair
she now thought of as Nabiki 2 and Ryoga 2.  Ryoga 2 was still wearing his
armour but from his posture seemed to have relaxed a bit.  It occurred to
Ryoga-chan that she was getting very practiced at this story.  Of course
prior to this her life hadn't depended on the explanation.  Incentive is not
always a good thing.
     Nabiki 2 had slumped against her armoured friend.  She sighed, "So this
isn't our past meaning I don't get to change anything.  Everything happens the
way I remember it."  She looked pretty close to tears.  The figure behind her
rested a hand on her shoulder. 
     Given the power of that armour Ryoga-chan would have considered that a
hostile gesture.  Nabiki 2 seemed to find it comforting.  The peace of this
moment was broken by Kasumi entering.  "Oh my, no one told me we had
visitors."
     Both Nabiki 2 and Ryoga 2 freaked!  Nabiki 2 screamed and tried to slid
herself between the wall and Guyver Ryoga.  He stepped forward extending his
arm blades as he raised a hand to his chestplate.  Then stopped dead and
studied Kasumi.  She was watching him with polite incomprehension.  He
sheathed the sonic swords and lowered his hands.  "Excuse me, I ... thought
you were someone else."  The guilt rose up inside him again, knowing he'd had 
no choice didn't make it any easier.  Perhaps it was a subconscious desire for
punishment that made him step away from Nabiki and deactivate the Guyver.  Or
perhaps he just wanted a chance to explain.  The results were the same.
     Kasumi was introducing herself as Ryoga 2 shouted "Guyver" and felt his
battlesuit fold itself away into its dimensional pocket.  She looked
momentarily startled then regained her mental equilibrium.  "My goodness Mr.
Guyver you have a striking resemblance to Ryoga.  Are you related?"
     "Not as such, no."
     "Oh.  And your friend is ... ?"
     Nabiki 2 stepped forward, "My name's Nabiki.  It's really (amazing?,
terrifying?) ... nice to meet you again."
     Kasumi frowned slightly.  "Yes we met this afternoon.  You ... left
suddenly.  Has anyone ever told you you bear a remarkable resemblance to my
sister Nabiki?"  Kasumi's subconscious tended to edit the weirder events she
witnessed from her memory.  This enabled her to remain an island of stability
in the midst of constant chaos.
     "Yes, so I've been told."
     "Well I must make you some tea.  Just a moment."
     Kasumi returned to the kitchen leaving the "guests" studying the room.
Both were half convinced everyone would suddenly say "Hah, fooled you!" and
transform into monsters.  Paranoia had become a definite survival trait on 
their world.  In any event the room had gone silent.  Akane's gaze was still
darting between the pairs, Ranma and Ukyou were remaining wary, while Ryoga
and Nabiki studied their counterparts wondering why they had reacted to
Kasumi.
     Ukyou broke the silence.  "So who's going to pay for the damage to my
restaurant?"
     "Uh ... sorry about that, it just ... "
     Nabiki 2 broke in, "Ryoga don't admit liabilty, that's the wrong way to
start negotiations."
     Nabiki headed over to Ukyou.  "For a small fee I'll be happy to serve as
your agent in these matters."  She could outmaneuver everybody else but could
she outwit herself?  The challenge was irresistable.
     However before things could get bogged down in financial negotiations
Ryoga-chan decided to mention a few facts.  "I hate to mention it but things
can't stay permanently in another universe.  When these two snap home
everything that came with them vanishes with them.  Including money."
     Ryoga 2 was happy to change the topic, frankly he felt safer facing
Zoanoids than a furious Ukyou.  "That's a good point, how long are we here
for.  There's people back ... back home who need us."  That thought brought
the reality of the situation home to him.  "Shit, while we're stuck here
Akane and Ranma are on their own.  If the Zoanoids attack ..."
     Nabiki 2 paled.  "We've got to get back immediately!  How do we do that?"
     "How should I know?  I don't even know how you got here?  Just because
I've been through this sort of crazyness doesn't mean I have any control over
it."   Ryoga-chan took a deep breath and calmed down.  In a more reasonable
tone she said, "As I understand it there are two ways to switch universes. 
The first is you get some kind of energy charge, when the energy's used up
you snap back home.  The second is there's a gizmo of some sort that holds
you in the wrong universe, when it's destroyed you also snap home."  She
paused.  "I'm guessing here but since you already appeared and disappeared
once today maybe the energy charge version is the answer.  If so when it wears
off you go home again."
     "You mean we're stuck here?"
     "For the time being.  So while you're here maybe you can answer a few
questions."
     "Such as?"
     Ryoga-chan studied her counterpart, "Well for starters, why did you try
to kill me, Nabiki and Ukyou this afternoon?"
     In the confusion of the past few minutes everyone else had forgotten
that.  Ryoga 2 found everyone (except Nabiki 2) glaring at him.  "Sorry,
case of mistaken identity.  I thought you were Zoanoids."
     "Zoanoids?"
     Nabiki decided to ask something that had been bugging her.  "While we'd
all like to know what Zoanoids are there's something I want to know.  Why
are you both scared of Kasumi?"
     The two outsiders looked at each other.  After a pause Ryoga 2 said, "In
our world Kasumi ... died a few months ago.  So seeing her alive again was a
... a shock."
     This news was stunning.  Akane was the first to say, "Kasumi?  That ...
that's awful.  What happened?"
     Ryoga 2 looked awful.  He was trying to answer but couldn't put together
the right words.  Nabiki 2 broke in, "It ... the Zoanoids are the ones
responsible.  Since you don't know the word maybe you don't have them here.
If so you have no idea just how lucky you are."
     She paused to gather her thoughts.  At which point a distraction arrived.
A black rose suddenly embedded itself in the floor next to Ryoga-chan's foot.
It would have embedded itself in her foot if she hadn't caught a glimpse of
it coming and sidestepped.  A somewhat damp Kodachi Kuno leapt in through the
window she'd pried open.  "Yuriko Hibiki I have come to finish you and claim
my darling Ranma."  Ryoga-chan groaned, entering that stupid contest after
Akane injured her ankle had not been the brightest thing he'd ever done. 
Beating Kodachi had turned out to be an even worse move.  Now she was
determined to avenge herself and claim Ranma (who she was convinced was being
pursued by Yuriko).  "Where is my darling?"
     Ranma was rather glad he was in female form.  "He left, won't be back
all evening."
     "Oh really, then why are you, the cheater and the scully maid all waiting
here."
     Ukyou pulled a few spatulas from her bandolier.  "Care to repeat that
you leotarded psychotic?"
     Kodachi twirled her ribbon threateningly, "You need a lesson in manners."
     "Take your best shot."
     "Look this is ridiculous", Akane decided to try playing peacekeeper.
     "Stay out of this you flatchested tomboy."
     "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?"
     With the exception of the Nabikis every female in the room was glaring
at each other.  Suddenly the room was full of barely leashed tension.  The
slightest thing could trigger it.
     The kitchen door opened and Kasumi emerged, "The tea's ready."
     That was good enough.  Suddenly the room exploded into a storm of clubs,
spatulas, ribbons, bandannas and furiously struggling girls.  From the
sidelines Ryoga 2 and Nabiki 2 watched in amazement.  The last fears they had
of this being a Zoanoids trap dissolved.  Who else could generate such chaos.
Somewhat nostalgically Ryoga 2 remarked, "Reminds me of the way things used
to be."
     Nabiki 2 nodded.  "The good old days."
     "I guess they aren't ready for it yet", Kasumi said and retreated into
the kitchen.
     The fight moved towards the window.  Akane, nursing a bruised knee, had
dropped out.  Kodachi, realizing just how bad the odds were headed for the
garden.  Ukyou, who'd been hoping to accidentally injure Akane but missed the
chance, followed.  Being tangled in Kodachi's ribbon Ranma-chan and Ryoga-chan
were dragged along for the ride.  Both were accusing the other of their
predicament being his fault.
     The two outsiders headed over to the window to watch.  Ryoga had
forgotten it was raining until a gust of wind gave him a faceful of water.
Engrossed by the fight, a reminder of better days, Nabiki 2 didn't notice.
     Akane was the first to see the results.  "What's that?"
     Nabiki emerged from behind the TV where she'd taken cover.  "What's
what?"
     "That", Akane said pointing at the small black piglet standing by the
second Nabiki at the window.  She limped over and picked it up.  "He's so
cute."  The piglet made a series of frantic squeals, evidently it wasn't used
to strangers.  "Easy, everything's all right.  Poor baby."  She cuddled it
to herself.  The piglet quieted down, though to Nabiki it looked almost
embarrassed. 
     Nabiki 2 turned from the window, the excitement was over.  Nice to see a
fight that wasn't the life or death struggle she was far to used too.  She
took in the scene behind her and froze.  Then yelled, "RYOGA, WHAT THE HELL
DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"
     The piglet began a series of frantic squeals.  Nabiki stamped over and
(with a little jealousy in her voice) asked Akane, "Mind putting Ryoga down
Akane?  Why are you so crazy about a pig anyway?"
     "Ryoga?", Akane looked down at the pig in confusion.  For the first time
she noticed the bandanna it was wearing.
      Nabiki looked over at the window, she noticed the pile of clothing below
it.  "Oh right I remember Ryoga's story now.  He was the only one with the
girl curse, all the other Ryogas he met had the pig curse."
     "WHAT?"  Akane's voice indicated growing anger.  She looked down at the
pig in her arms.  "YOU CREEP!"
     Nabiki 2 quickly grabbed P-chan from her sort-of sister.  "Before you get
too worked up I'd like to know if he acted petlike or you just grabbed him."    
     "Uhm ... well I suppose I ..."  Feeling embarrassed Akane blushed and
went quiet.  P-chan breathed a sigh of relief.  Nabiki 2 looked down at him
"Don't think you're off the hook yet.  I thought you were over your thing
with Akane.  She's not even the right one."  She ignored the piglet's frantic
squeals of denial.
     "His 'thing with Akane'?",  Akane repeated.  "Things must be very
different in their world."
     "Uh huh, right."  Nabiki responded.  To herself she thought, "She never
did catch on that 'our' Ryoga had a crush on her.  Well he's my Ryoga know so
Akane's stuck with Ranma."
     At which point the boys in question (who were still temporarily girls)
reentered.  They were still squabbling over whose fault it was they'd got
entangled.
     "Where's Ukyou", Akane asked the mud drenched pair.
     Ranma answered, "Chasing Kodachi.  Guess she needs to blow off some steam
after that mess this afternoon."    
     Ryoga nodded.  "Sounds right.  I don't know about you but I need some
hot water and fresh clothes."
     "Good thinking, time to get back to normal.'
     Nabiki 2 handed P-chan to Ryoga.  "In that case mind changing Ryoga back
at the same time.  I'm sure he's got some explaining to do."
     Ryoga-chan nodded absently.  Ranma looked at the pig in confusion,
"Ryoga?"
     "Different world, different curse.  I distinctly remember telling you
the story, Ranma."
     "Well yeah, but ... it's weird."
     Ryoga nodded and the three headed up to the bathroom.  Nabiki studied
her counterpart, "Say are you and Ryoga ... ?"
     "Just friends!", Nabiki 2 exclaimed a little too quickly.
     Nabiki shrugged, "OK, just wondering if you two were engaged like us."
     Nabiki 2 stared at her, "Engaged!  You're kidding?"
     "Nope, I swear on my secret Swiss bank account."
     "Wow, you are serious."
     Akane decided to get things back on track, "About what you were saying
earlier?  You know before everything went crazy."
     "I don't want to talk about Kasumi, OK!  I think the Zoanoid stuff can
wait until the others rejoin us."  Her tone made it clear she wouldn't budge
from this position.
     "All right."  Nabiki considered asking her counterpart how she'd lost
her left eye but refrained.  After all in her position, and if she'd been born
in that world it would be her in that position, she wouldn't want anyone
prying into her personal problems.
     They sat quietly until the boys returned.  Ryoga 2 made a somewhat
incoherent apology to Akane, incoherent since he got carried away and
apologized for several things that hadn't happened on this timeline.  With
that out of the way the two outsiders began to explain what Zoanoids were.
Along with what had been happening on their timeline.
     Ranma was glad Ukyou had left, she wouldn't have enjoyed hearing that
she had died on the other Earth.  They didn't give too many details about how
but it became clear that a lot of their friends and acquaintances were gone.
     It took quite a while to conclude their story.  At the end of it Nabiki 2
was slumping.  She hadn't had a full night's sleep in quite a while.  Her
nightmares wouldn't let her relax.  She yawned and mumbled, "'Scuse me, think
I'm gonna doze off." 
     "Ok, you can bunk in my room", Nabiki told her.  "We're a little short
on space with Ryoga, Ranma and his dad all living here."  She helped her
counterpart up the stairs.  Behind them she heard the two Ryogas talking
softly.  A short while later she was putting her half asleep counterpart to
bed.  Barely aware of her, or perhaps thinking she was talking to herself
Nabiki 2 muttered constantly.
     "Listen, I know Ryoga blames himself but he shouldn't.  I know what I
said but it wasn't his fault at all.  No one could have saved Kasumi.  My 
face, guess that was my fault but I had to try, she might have still been in
there.  Bad things happen sometimes, we just got real unlucky.  That's all,
not his fault, he did his best.  What else can you do ..."   She dozed off.
     Feeling very cold Nabiki headed downstairs.  The living room was quiet.
As she entered Ryoga pantomimed "quiet".  Ryoga 2 was slumped over a cushion,
deeply asleep.  He padded over to join her.  Once they were in the hallway
he said quietly, "He just keeled over.  Exhaustion finally catching up with
I guess."
     She nodded.  "So what did you think of their story."
     "Well hopefully they're both crazy.  Because if they aren't their world
has some real problems."
     "The Guyver part is real, so's her injury."
     "Yeah, yeah it is isn't it.  Wish there was something we could do to
help."
     "Like what?"
     "I don't know.  I just think we should do something.  They're us, or the
us we could have been."  He paused.  "You know what I'm getting at?"
     Nabiki looked very serious.  "Yes.  But I don't know what we can do."
They held each other realizing just how fortunate they were.
     About 2 am Nabiki 2 awoke with a start, covered in sweat.  The nightmare
had snapped her awake, now she stared around herself in confusion.  She
remembered where she was and calmed down.  Her hearrate dropped back to normal
and her eyes adapted to the darkened room.  She was alone, the other Nabiki
had mentioned finding a space in Akane's room.  She seemed to recall saying
something about her having to get used to having a roommate and seeing her
counterpart color.  Could she and the other Ryoga ... ?  No, not a chance. 
Almost no chance anyway.  In any event she didn't feel like going back to
sleep.  She located her clothes and pulled them on.  Then, moving slowly, she
opened the door and headed downstairs.
     Her Ryoga was slumped in the living room.  He was asleep but far from
peaceful.  He twitched and groaned in the grip of his own nightmare.  She
hesitated a moment then reached out to wake him.
     Ryoga snapped awake and rolled frantically away from her.  He began
shouting "GUYV ...."  then stopped the activation as he realized who it was.
The air crackled with energy that slowly disappated.
     Nabiki felt embarrassed, she'd forgotten that lately Ryoga tended to
wake fairly violently if disturbed.  "Sorry."
     He let a breath and relaxed.  "That's ok, it was a rotten dream anyway."
He paused then asked, "Couldn't sleep?"
     "No, usual reasons."
     He nodded in agreement.  "What I wouldn't give for one night's dreamless
sleep.  You could make a fortune that way."
     "Not from you, you're always broke."
     He chuckled, "You've got me there.  He glanced out the window.  It
remained cloudy but the rain had stopped.  "I could use some fresh air.  Care
to join me."
     "Sure.  Nice to be able to step outside without worrying something's
waiting for you."
     "Yeah."  They stepped out into the garden.  It was a quiet night, you
could almost imagine the two of them were the only ones around.  Ryoga felt
peaceful for the first time in ages.  At the back off his mind his conscience
reminded him about the people back home but he ignored it.  Until they got
back there wasn't anything he could do.  Perhaps he should just seize the
moment.  He remembered what they'd been doing when they arrived.  He turned
to her, "Nabiki ...", he began.
     The sudden cloudburst took them both by surprise.  Whatever Ryoga was
going to say suddenly came out as "Bweee" as his body changed.  Nabiki cursed,
scooped up the pig and ran inside.  She looked down at the piglet cradled in
her arms and smiled.  "We have got to work on our timing."
     This was truer than she realized because at that moment the world shifted
around them.

*****************************************************************************

2:30 am Tuesday Morning - Tendo Dojo - Guyver Ryoga Timeline

     Harbrel was waiting for his watch to end when the motion detector
suddenly screamed  to life.  He kicked Lithorne awake hoping Hibiki wasn't
back.  Configurations didn't match him, meaning whoever it was was fair game.
Whoever it was could be found by the patio door.  He flicked on the light as
He heard Lithorne slid up behind him.  Nabiki Tendo froze in shock at the
sight of two Zoanoids.  "Shit, we're back", she muttered.
     The only other thing being detected was some sort of pet.  Which meant
no Guyver, which meant time for a little fun.  Harbel smiled exposing a lot
of fangs.  "Run, maybe you'll make it to the street."  Behind him Lithorne
chuckled.
     She recovered her poise and said, "Sorry, I've decided to give up on the
damsel in distress routine."  She put the small piglet she was carrying down
and stepped behind it.  "It's only fair to warn you guys that this is an
attack piglet."
     Harbel looked at Lithorne, that was a new one.  A fairly miserable bluff
but at least it was original.  "Well I'm scared, are you scared?"
     Lithorne giggled.  It sounded strange coming from an eight foot tall
combination of squid and humanoid insect.  "Absolutely, I'm terrified."
     Harbel unsheathed his claws.  "But I'm also kind of hungry.  I think
pork chops will make a nice appetizer."  He smiled at Nabiki, "Then I'll
move on to the main course."
     He bore down on the piglet like an express train.

End of part 4

Next in part 5 : What the androids have been doing
                 Where Ranma and Akane are
                 Why Nabiki's pulling this stunt

Part 5 : Invincible Defender P-chan.

Guyver Ryoga / Ryoga 1/2 : Worlds in Collision
A fanfic about three alternate Ranma 1/2 Universes
by Mark Latus

Part 5 : Invincible Defender P-chan

2:30 am Tuesday Morning - Tendo Dojo - Guyver Ryoga Timeline

     Harbel was an excellent example of the mindset Kronos looked for in its
Zoanoids.  Viscious, cruel and happy at doing things that would sicken many
sadists.  Lithorne was more of a follower, he could commit atrocities because 
of a complete lack of empathy.  He neither disliked or reveled in his kills.
Kronos preferred people like Harbel, a happy employee is a productive employee.
     In any case both were extremely dangerous.  As he prepared to kill
Nabiki's pet prior to dismembering her Harbel couldn't help wondering why she
wasn't terrified.  He was about to get his answer.
     The piglet stood on its hind legs and oinked loudly, "BWEEEE!"  It was
immediately surrounded by a sphere of energy that shredded the flooring it
stood on.  Within it an alien symbiote reconfigured itself for its host's
current form.  Harbel got a brief glimpse of something like an armoured
football.  Then there was a massive pain in his chest and he felt nothing ever
again.
     Being behind Harbel Lithorne got to see the thing explode out of his
comrade's back after punching right through him.  It headed for the ceiling,
bounced off and headed for him.  The girl was shouting "WE NEED ONE ALIVE!"
It changed course, avoiding impact with Lithorne's face, and headed for the
floor.  Lithorne suddenly felt a massive pain in his right ankle.  Probably
because it wasn't attached to his foot anymore.  He screamed, collapsed into a
seated position and wrapped his tentacles around the stump.  The four legged
thing stood watching him.  The basic shape was a small pig, a small pig covered
in something that resembled the biological armour the Guyver wore.  The
resemblance to the pictures Kronos had shown him and his fellow troopers was
unmistakeable.
     The girl came over, stopping outside of his immediate striking range. 
"I have a few questions for you."
     Lithorne was not in a good mood, "You fucking bitch I'll rip ..."
     His monologue was interupted by Nabiki saying, "P-chan, take his other
foot off."  The pig gave a "bweee" that presumably meant "Sure".
     "WAIT!"  That thing was some sort of Guyver and not being a Hyperzoanoid
it could cut him to ribbons.  "You had some questions ma'm?"  The pig thing
checked its leap.  It still radiated hostility, just waiting for the order to
kill him.
     Very coldly Nabiki asked "Where's the rest of my family?"  To herself she
added, "If they're dead I'm going to tell Ryoga to cut you apart slowly."
     "Uh well we don't know where most of them are.  We grabbed those two
girls but no one else was home.  Me and Harbel ..."  He broke off, looked at
Harbel's remains and swallowed nervously.  From the way his audience was
looking he'd better get back to his story.  "Me and Harbel we were supposed to
wait here and kill Saotome, your father and you.  You're the first one to show
up."
     "I see.  What happened to Ranko and Akane?"  She kept her voice level,
she was not going to cry in front of this thing.  But it sounded like Kasumi
all over again.
     "The others took them with them."  The Guyver pig growled and stepped
closer.  Lithorne added quickly, "They're still alive, the captain said they
were wanted for some sort of brainwashing thing."
     "Why?"
     "How should I know, I'm just a trooper.  They give me orders and I follow
them.  I don't ask questions, that's dangerous."
     "Well I'm asking questions and my friend is very dangerous."  The pig
nodded as if it actually understood her words.
     "Now then, why attack now?  The two of you obviously weren't up to
handling a Guyver."
     "All I know is the captain said the tech's had figured out some way to
get rid of the Guyver for a few hours.  He didn't explain.  Me, I was half
figuring on walking into a massacre ..."  his voice trailed off as he
considered his situation.
     Nabiki didn't give a damn how nervous the Zoanoid was, what she needed
to know was if it was still possible to save Ranma and Akane.  "Will they have
started converting them already."
     Lithorne snorted, "Convert them? What with?  Hell, they were taking them
to Tempus and that dump doesn't even have genesis pods.  I don't even know
if they have brainwashing equipment there.  They might have to order it in
from main base.  We've been stuck there since you blew up Kronos Tokyo and
those stuck up techies look down on us troopers ..."  He realized that his
resentment was making him say way too much.  If he got out of this alive and
they found out he talked ...  He needed a plan.
     Nabiki had picked up on the sailent points.  "Main base?  Well forget
that for now, if the others are at Tempus I want to know about it.  Tell me
about it."
     As he answered Lithorne tried to think of a way out.  His stump had
stopped trying to gush blood as regeneration kicked in.  They didn't know he
could stop applying pressure with his tentacles.  Meaning he was free to
strike.  Except what to do about the pig?  Stall.  "Tempus is Kronos's
research and development branch.  When we dig up alien hardware it goes to
Tempus to test.  I hear they don't want to risk accidentally wiping out Main
Base if something goes wrong during a test.  Anyway after you guys blew up
Tokyo branch the survivors, meaning anyone who wasn't in the building at the
time, got sent to Tempus.  They could have rotated us back to the mountain
but no, they stick us in a converted storage room and tell us our job is
keeping an eye on Hibiki and looking for the missing Guyver unit."  It
suddenly struck him, the missing unit was right in front of him.  Somehow
Nabiki's pet had found it and merged with it.  If he could get the news back
to Tempus all would be forgiven.
     Nabiki hadn't paid attention to Lithorne's whining.  What had caught
her attention was the name of the company.  She fished the cards she'd found
on the dead Zoanoids out of her pocket.  She'd thought the "T" looked like a
company logo.  "What are these cards for?"
     "Security doors.  For access to the building.  Tempus is mainly R & D
but they usually don't get anything too hot.  More stuff we can't figure out
than weapons. Anyway security is mainly automated, meaning there's more room
for those techie types.  Wimpiest bunch of Zoanoids you'll ever meet.  Not one
of them would swallow a live puppy on a bet."
     "You eat live dogs?"
     "Only when I'm bored."
     Nabiki decided there was nothing she could say that would properly
express her contempt for the Zoanoids.  In any event rescuing Akane and Ranma
had to be her prime concern.  Evidently no one knew where Daddy was, which was
sort of good.  She'd find him later.  "Where is Tempus and where will I find
my sister?"
     As Lithorne gave the directions he came up with his plan.  Being an
animal the pig couldn't think, only react.  Probably it couldn't use the
suit's weapon systems, just its strength.  He'd fake a break to the left, as
he did he'd grab the girl with his tentacles and hope it wouldn't attack when
he used her as a shield.  Then he'd limp outside, hail the observer and get
a ride away from here.  He could kill the girl when they were clear of the
pig, that would prevent her saying anything about what he'd told her.
     She looked distracted, probably composing her next question.  Now!
Lithorne threw his body left, the pig surged at him.  He flicked his tentacles
at Nabiki intending to snap her to him.  Before the tentacles reached her a
laser beam sliced them in half.  Lithorne's scream was brief as P-chan stood
on his hind legs, pointed his front legs forward, and fired the gravity
cannon.  The force beam made a cylidrical hole through Lithorne's head.  He
flopped to the floor, twitched once and was still.
     Nabiki took a deep breath.  That certainly solved the ethical problem of
telling Ryoga to kill the Zoanoid in cold blood.  Would she have given the
order?  Probably, they could hardly leave a live Zoanoid behind them.  Ryoga
wouldn't have regardless of what she told him.  Still ...  She shook off the
speculation, there was work to do.
     She scooped up P-chan and headed for the door.  The piglet began
squealing but she kept going.  "We don't have time to heat up hot water, if
the Zoanoids were in the house they may have planted bombs or something.  We
have to get out now!  I should have interrogated him outside but neither of
us can carry a Zoanoid."  What really drove her was the fear of Akane being
changed like Kasumi.  This time it would be different, she wouldn't let it
happen again.  "Kronos, Tempus, whoever has had them for hours.  We've got
to get out now before the wind up like Kasumi."  P-chan went silent then
grunted with assent.  He let her carry him without further protest.
    Outside Webber saw the main gate open.  Something was wrong, why were the
troopers moving out.  Then he saw who it was, somehow Nabiki Tendo had got
back inside without his seeing her.  No problem, he'd deal with her.  He
flicked his communicator on as he got out of the car and started transforming.
     At Tempus the monitoring section were jolted awake by his report.  "I've
spotted Nabiki Tendo, am moving in for kill.  Should be easy she isn't trying
to run.  What the hell is she carrying?  It looks almos like ... it is, a
Guyver pig!  It can't be ..AAAIIIIIEEEE!"  Transmission cut off abruptly.
     The two security officers looked at each other.  After a moment one said,
"Well I suppose that report justifies waking the director at three in the
morning."
     The other nodded, "Yeah, I guess you should."  He replayed Webber's
report and began transcribing it.  "How many 'i's in aaaiiiiieeee?"
     "Just fake it."
     A short while later, having been jolted awake by the phone, Director
Nagaoka sat in his temporary office and tried to decide what to do.  As far
as he knew Commander Gyro was still here.  Waking him with news like this
might not be wise.  Assuming Zoalords do indeed sleep.  He was an just an
administrator, why did he have to make these sort of decisions? 
     He called back monitoring and told them to contact Harbel and Lithorne.
They reported that neither was responding.  He made a decision and headed
for the Director's office.
     Meanwhile outside the dojo Nabiki had stepped over the smouldering corpse
and was examining the car.  Great, the keys were still in the ignition.  She
slid in and dumped P-chan on the passenger seat.  "Next stop Tempus."
     P-chan made an interogative "Bweee?"
     "Of course I know how to drive!"  She hesitated, "Well in theory anyway."
     P-chan made a worried noise.
     "You're armour plated Ryoga so stop complaining.  Here we go!"  The car
crunched over Webber.  "Dammit!"  She backed up and went a little green at the
crunch of bone under the tires.  "OK, now here we go."  The car pulled away
relatively smoothly as Ryoga contemplated fighting a horde of Zoanoids in his
cursed form.
     Back at Tempus Commander Gyro was resting.  He was not precisely asleep
or dreaming.  Instead memories replayed themselves.  Recently one memory in
particular had been recurring, the last disasterous day of Kronos Tokyo.
    Things had begin so well, Hibiki was dead, the Control Medallion was
being studied, and the Guyver bait (the Tendos and Saotome) was secure and
awaiting use in Zoanoid experimentation.  Everything was under control.
     Then the Control Medallion regenerated Hibiki in Guyver form.  He began
rampaging through the building killing everything.  Reports came in that the
holding cells had been blown open and the prisoners were gone.  While he
struggled to control the situation there was a report of trouble in the
basement lab.   Gyro telepathically linked to the Zoanoids down there and saw
the source of the disturbance.  It was an ancient dwarf who netherless seemed
incredibly manuverable.  The Zoanoids Gyro controlled kept missing their
strikes.  As he evaded them the dwarf kept up a running commentary on how
Kronos should be doing good by manufacturing hundreds of oversexed school girls
instead of monsters.  As he dodged the old man also kept destroying the Zoanoid
genesis tubes, somehow smashing the armoured glass with his bare hands and
feet.  Obviously some sort of rogue Zoanoid but where had it come from?
     Gyro had subsequently learned he was wrong.  The old man's name was
Happosai.  There was no indication he'd ever been converted.  In any event
fast and agile as he was he remained only human.  He slowed down and a
Ramothis slashed him across the back.  He rolled across the floor, tried to
get up and failed.  He sighed and said, "Oh well I always expected to die in
battle someday.  Though I expected it to be with angry husbands."  As the
Ramothis moved in for the kill he added, "I do like this plastique stuff,
much more powerful than those gunpowder based bombs I used to use."
     Gyro felt the Zoanoids he was linked to stop and glance around.  For the
first time they saw the C-4 packed around the building support columns.  The
old man said, "I intended to detonate this from outside but ..."  There was a
detonator in his hand.
     "KILL HIM!" Gyro had screamed in the Zoanoids' minds.  They rushed
forward but the old man's finger hit the button.  There was a brief flash and
Gyro's contact with the Zoanoids broke. 
     Then the walls came tumbling down.
     The sound of knocking jolted Gyro back to consciousness.  He gasped and
glanced around.  Remembering where and when he was he calmed down.  He'd
survived the destruction but it hadn't been easy.  He regained control and
checked his appearance in the mirror.  Once more he looked like the cold,
unshakeable commander.  His underlings must never see him as anything else.
     "Enter."
     Nagaoka came in somewhat furtively.  "Sorry to disturb you so late."
     "What is it?"  Nagaoka marvelled at his superior's alertness.  Just woke
up and he's ready for anything.
     "Uhm, well we had a report that Nabiki Tendo was seen with a ... a third
Guyver previously unknown to us."
     "WHAT!"  Impossible, two units were accounted for and the third was
destroyed by Hibiki.
     "Our observer reported a ... ah nonhuman Guyver prior to his apparent
death.  I've sent a patrol out to check the dojo."
     "Nonhuman?"
     "A, uh that is, a pig Guyver.  I suppose in theory an animal could meld
with a Guyver unit ...."  He trailed off at the look in Gyro's eyes.
     "If this is some sort of joke be advised I have little sense of humour."
     "Uhh, yes Sir.  All I know is what was reported."
     "Probably some sort of juvenile joke.  I want those responsible severely
disciplined.  Loss of a limb or something of that sort."
     Nagaoka started sweating.  Gyro continued, "On another topic when is the
shipment due from Main Base?"
     "The brainwashing specialists and the Hyperzoanoid team will be here by
morning."
     "Excellent.  Our prisoners will control Kuno giving us our own Guyver.
Meanwhile you'll have Maxwell displace Hibiki again.  When he reappears the
Hyperzoanoids will be surrounding him.  Once he's dead we'll cryofreeze the
medallion until we know how to remove Hibiki's genetic pattern.  Then we can
create a Zoanoid Guyver."  He looked at Nagaoka, "You can manage your part of
the operation."
     Nagoaka forced himself to look calm, "Absolutely.  Doctor Maxwell is
confident that ..."
     "Fine.  I'm sure you have lots to do.  Oh one last thing ..."  Gyro had
recollected an old matter.
     "Sir?"
     "Whatever happened to the operation to use Hibiki's family members as
hostages to control him?"
     "Ahh.  Uh well, we've still be unable to locate them sir.  We had a
sighting of his mother last week but our observers were unable to track her.
There are indications of people coming and going at the Hibiki home but we
have so far failed to capture any of them.  We did intercept a postcard from
his father last week."
     "Oh?"
     "It read 'Went to store to get milk and have found myself in Alaska.  Was
unaware they had a rainforest.'  The card was postmarked Brazil.  Obviously
some sort of code but so far cryptography has failed to decode it."
     "I see."  I am not going to think about that Gyro told himself.  I don't
need another migraine.  "You were just leaving."
     "Uhh yessir, I'll get on with it."  Nagaoka backed out and closed the
door behind him.  Then he headed for Maxwell's lab.  Everything must be
working again.  Despite the lateness of the hour Maxwell and his techs were
very busy.  "Well, Doctor?"
      Maxwell was looking nervous.  "Uhh we still haven't found the source of
the problem.  The Displacer itself hasn't shown any change so we think it's a
bug in the software for our triggering equipment."
     Nagaoka suppressed the urge to transform and kill the scientist.  He
looked at his watch, 3 AM.  "We, you are in a lot of trouble.  Hibiki was
supposed to reappear after three hours, that point passed five hours back."
     "That was an approximation, he'll be back soon."
     "He'd better be.  Commander Gyro wants to run the operation tomorrow
when his team arrives.  We locate Hibiki, displace him a few minutes, surround
the spot with Zoanoids, he reappears and they kill him.  Nice and simple.
EXCEPT YOUR GODDAMN MACHINE ONLY WORKS WHEN WE DON'T WANT IT TOO!  GYRO'S
GOING TO KILL YOU, ME AND EVERY MEMBER OF YOUR STAFF IF WE SCREW THIS UP!" 
Nagaoka calmed down and took a deep breath.  "Well that's your incentive now
get back too work."
     The staff redoubled their efforts.  Maxwell tried to smile, "Just a
software bug.  Simplest thing in the world."
     Had he known the source of the bug Maxwell would have been a lot less
confident.  Several hours earlier, a little after 7 PM Monday, the trucks
holding Akane and "Ranko" Tendo had arrived.  They had pulled into the
vehicle bay and parked.  The protesting captives had been hustled off to the
holding cells.  The lights went out as the last Zoanoid departed and the bay
became silent except for the ping of cooling engine metal.  
     About ten minutes after that a figure dropped silently off the bottom of
each truck.  Neither man looked remarkable and neither looked like Ryoga
Hibiki.  However until very recently both had been identical to him.  Ryogoids
541 and 673 were running on combat mode.  They had shut down all verbal
communication and communicated in coded bursts.  Twentieth century technology
shouldn't be able to intercept, let alone deciper, these transmissions. 
Still Kronos was a company ahead of its time.  Best to be cautious.
     673 continued feeding false signals to the monitor detectors mounted in
the corners.  There were cameras but they seemed set only to trigger when the
detectors went off.  Of course the risk of random sweeps remained.  If those
were digital cameras they could feed false images back.  But the old video
analog versions were protected by their obsolesence.
     541 finished working on the electronic lock.  It opened without sending
any indication to security that it had done so.  541 entered the corridor
ready to kill any witnesses.  As his sensors had indicated there was no one
there.  Still better safe than sorry.
     The door closed behind 673.  Both androids continued their scan of the
building, tracing power lines and structure as they looked for a good
interface point.  This was supposed to be a subtle operation.  Pity, they'd
have preferred a "kill em all then check the rubble" operation.  Ah well.
    This level seemed to be for storage and vehicles.  Thermal scans seemed
to indicate an occupied dormitory area on the next level.  The level above
that seemed promising.
     The air vents were wide and the alarms on the grills pitifully easy to
disconnect.  They replaced the covers behind them and began the climb to their
objective.  They moved silently upward, past the level full of Zoanoids
complaining about the accomodations and lack of recreation.  Most were also
discussing what they would have liked to have done to their new captives.
     Ignoring this the androids left the shaft on the next level.  No trace
of anyone, it appeared shut down for the night.  After another quick job on
the electronic lock they were in.  This place was full of PCs, probably used
by clerical staff writing up the reports all organizations generate.  This
should do assuming the terminals connected to the mainframe.
     A quick check revealed that powering up a terminal would send an alarm
to security.  That was easily dealt with.  673 moved over to the door and
began scanning for intruders.  541 would be having an out of body experience
very shortly, he wouldn't want interuptions.
     541 had unbuttoned his shirt and sent a command to his artifical skin.
It flowed away from his chest uncovering a hatch.  This opened and several
cables snaked out.  Configurations changed but one of his adaptable connectors
would grant him access.  Connector 4 linked to an input port, success.  Most
Ryogoids didn't carry the connectors.  The empire network didn't depend on
anything as crude as physical connection.  But when you spend time in the
twentieth and twentyfirst century you have to accomadate the local systems
if you want to download data.
     541 moved his consciousness into cyberspace, bypassing the password
requirements and everything else designed to stop unauthorized humans from
gaining access, and reveled in the freedom from being tied to a physical body. 
That didn't last long, the processing speed of this system was pitiful.  He'd
have to suffer it, there was a job to do.  He pulsed a message to 673. "I'm
in, beginning search."
     He was somewhat surprised to find it so quickly.  These idiots didn't
have a clue what real encoding was.  To be fair given their limitations the
cipher was pretty good.  He began downloaded the data, might as well be
thorough and copy everything.  "OK what we're looking for is on the fourth
floor in labs 4a to 4c.  Seems they knocked out a few walls installing their
equipment.  It's some sort of alien space drive, they think they've found a
time machine.  No indictions they realize what they've got hold off.  At least
no speculations on dimensional shifting committed to the system."
     673 pulsed back, "Maybe we should grab a few scientists and torture them.
Just to be sure."
     "Better not, low profile remember.  Anyway this seems to be the only
unit in existence."
     "So we wreck it and it's all over?"
     "Maybe.  Except from the reports it might be harder to destroy than you'd
expect.  It can quite possibly survive plasma weapon impact.  Besides there's
another problem?"
     "Namely?"
     "Kronos has their own computer network, I'm tracing it now.  They have
dedicated satellite links, bases on every continent and all the major
countries.  It's remarkable how widespread they are, they must have to kill
a lot of people daily to keep all this covered up.  Very efficent for humans,
Zoanoids I mean."
     "So the data from this experiment could have been downloaded to any of
these bases?"
     "Pretty much."  A pause.  A few nanoseconds later, "Think I should drop a
few of our viruses into their network?  They'll never detect them."
     "Better make 'em dormant for the time being."  541 acknowledged, sent
Maxwell's data to 673 and got to work.  673 reviewed the data and made a
decision.  "Hey 541."
     "Yeah?"
     "I think disabling the dimensional shifter for the time being would be a
good idea.  Now we may not be able to affect the extraterrestrial artifact
but they're using Kronos designed equipment to activate it.  Now that we can
affect, after all nobody in this century expects computers to run bug free all
the time."
     541 smiled (metaphorically).  "I like that.  OK I'm back in the lab. 
Linking into their equipement.  OK let's rewrite that, delete that line, add
a 20th century virus, shut down that,  scramble those codes, add a program to
keep adding errors .... All done, let's see them get this lot running before
Christmas.  They'll either have to replace everything or rewrite every program
in the existing equipement.  It'll take them days to figure out just how bad
the corruption is."
     673 nodded, "Sounds good.  OK, disconnect and we'll go report back.  It's
still all clear.
     With an electronic sigh 541 broke his connection.  Back to having a
physical shell, waiting for servos to respond before you could move.  While
they seemed to move with speed and grace the androids thoughts outraced their
physical limitations.  They had to run programs to slow their minds down,
otherwise they'd got mad with boredom in a slow motion world.  541 switched
from Machine Intelligence speed back to the merely superhuman.
     "OK let's go."
     Without a sound, or indication that they'd broken Tempus security the
two androids departed.
     Coincidentally the moment they left the building was the moment Ranma
made made her own escape attempt.  When the light from the "Mouko Takabishya" 
faded she examined the cell door.  There was no sign of any effect from the chi
energy burst.  Ranma cursed.  "That's a well built door."
     "It's probably built to hold Zoanoids."  Akane's voice was flat, she was
sitting against one wall, leaning her head and arms against her bent legs.
She sounded defeated.
     Ranma decided to put on a brave face on the situation.  "Look I know
things look bad, but we've been in worse situations."
     "When exactly?"
     "Errr, well there was the time ... ummm ... Look it could be worse."
     "BULLSHIT."  It was the first time Ranma could recall hearing Akane
swear.  "THEY'RE PLANNING TO USE US THE WAY THEY USED KASUMI!  THEY'RE GONNA
RIP OUT OUR MINDS AND TURN US INTO MONSTERS!  IT CAN'T POSSIBLY GET ANY
WORSE!" Her outburst ended and she began to cry.  Ranma went over to her and
embraced her.  There was nothing he could think of to do but hold her until
she stopped crying and tell her, "We're still alright, we're still alive, that
means there's still hope."
     "My isn't this a pretty picture."  It was that sonofabitch Zoanoid
captain, Charburn.  Ranma gently released Akane then lunged for Charburn's
throat.  The bars caught him across the face, Charburn was just out of reach.
"Temper, temper.  You don't want to hurt your pretty face before Kuno sees
you."
     "KUNO!"  That was Akane, she felt shocked.  Kuno was a jerk but he'd
never seemed evil.  In fact from what he'd said she was sure Kuno had no real
idea what he'd got mixed up in.
     "That's his name", Charburn said cheerfully.  "Come the morning we'll be
reprogramming you as his love slaves.  Of course in actual fact you'll control
him, he'll do anything for you.  And guess who'll be pulling your strings?"
     "You miserable bastard!"  Ranma couldn't think of any obscenity that
truly described what he thought of this man.
     "Look on the bright side, at least you get to live.  We'll be wiping out
the rest of your household."
     "'Wiping out'?  That means you didn't get them yet."  Akane's voice
sounded hopeful.
     A shadow crossed Charburn's face.  "Purely temporary, we'll get them
sooner or later.  I'm told we've even got a way to take out the Guyver.  In
any event", he continued, "Ranko you can forget getting out of here with
martial arts tricks.  This cell is designed to hold Zoanoids.  Occasionally
one of our people berserks and transforms.  If they're too valuable to waste
we stick them in here where they can rampage around without breaking anything
or anyone important.  When they cool down we let them out."
     He turned to go.  "So you've got until morning.  Have fun waiting.  If
you feel like it put on a show for me, I like that lesbian porn crap.  It'd
make watching the monitors less boring."  He walked up the corridor laughing
as Ranko called him every name she could think of.
     They had until morning, Ranma tried to think.  There had to be a way out.
Somehow.  There just had to be.
     While all this was going on the androids had been interfacing.  The
dimensional shifter was temporarily out of action.  The two displaced persons
would reappear at approximately 2 am Tuesday, four hours from now.  A
timescoop wave was due appear at 11pm, however a margin of error of about
thirty minutes was possible.  541 was detailed to return to the Imperial
timeline to report.  Everything seemed under control.  So detecting a
timescoop wave an hour early was a real surprise. 
     Mission leader 207 assigned 673 to take his post and together with 541
headed for the scoop point.  On arrival at the building site they got their
second surprise.  There was a note carved into the concrete.  It read "Proceed
as planned, original timescoop wave is coming.  Destroy this message."
     Lacking reasonable alternatives the two androids broke the slabs
containing the message into gravel.  207 moved out of scoop range and 541 took
position and waited.  At 10:49:27 pm the timescoop wave manifested.  541
vanished, returning to their own time and space.
     "So now what?" 207 asked rhetorically.  He was a little surprised to
get an answer. 
     "Now we go home."  Suddenly 207 detected a new Ryogoid, its transponder
identified it as 332.  It was holding a spherical device in one hand.  "I've
been jamming your ability to track me", 332 explained.  "I appeared in the
wave you detected, to avoid a possible time paradox I didn't want to meet you
until now."
     "Time paradox."  Risking them was forbidden, what was this unit up to?
     "Imperial order.  I was dispatched from our time shortly after 541's
return.  Since he hadn't met me I had to stay out of sight.  I should have
arrived after he left but there was alignement trouble.  In any event time for
your new orders.  All Ryogoids are to report for transport home at midnight,
give or take thirty minutes."
     207 relayed the order feeling confused.  Why pull them out now?  What had
had 541 downloaded that made the Emperor so anxious?  His comrades responded
and headed for an assembly at the scoop point.
     At 12:05:13 AM Tuesday all the Ryogoids departed Nerima.  Not that anyone
knew they'd ever been there.
     None of this was known to Nabiki Tendo.  She'd have felt a lot better
knowing Ryoga and herself were unlikely to disappear again.  Right now her
main worry was getting to Tempus intact.  Her depth perception had been
screwed ever since she lost her left eye so she was far from the best driver
in town.  She was extremely lucky and despite multiple automotive violations
went unnoticed by the police.  Luckily traffic was light at three in the
morning.  Just short of Tempus she stopped, time to go over her plan. 
     "OK, here's what we do", she said while looking down at P-chan.  "I go in
the main door, using the card to bypass security.  I'll be carrying you hidden
in something or other.  We go down to sublevel four, you break Ranma and Akane
out, then we leave before security reacts.  OK?"  P-chan made a noise which
she interpreted as meaning Ryoga had severe reservations about her plan. 
"It's better than nothing, OK?"  P-chan made a resigned sounding grunt.  "OK,
we need something to hide you."  There was nothing in the car that looked
useful.  "Let's check the trunk."
     The key turned but the trunk didn't open, the lid seemed to be jammed. 
Nabiki pounded on it with frustration.  Ryoga studied the join line between
trunk lid and car body.  He could see two places where the metal was crushed
together, holding the hatch down.  He oinked loudly to attract Nabiki's
attention and motioned her away by waving his head.  Then he popped his sonic
swords (in this form they emerged from his sides) and sliced through the
twisted metal.  The trunk lid popped open.  The Guyver suit filtered Ryoga's
air, Nabiki got a noseful of concentrated Grothis.
     She stumbled away from the trunk gasping.  Ryoga followed, bweeing in
concern.  She waved him away and worked on keeping her dinner down.  After a
minute she headed cautiously back to the trunk.  The smell had dissipated
quickly.  "What the hell was that?"  Ryoga tried shrugging, it didn't show
through the armour.  She examined the trunk's contents.  There was a somewhat
torn and stained man's suit and shoes, that would be useful.  When he regained
human form Ryoga would have to wear something.  There was also a long
rainslicker, that would have to do.
     She pulled the clothing out and tossed the suit on the passenger seat.
she was a little surprised when socks and underwear fell out of it.  Had the
wearer disappeared inside it?  It didn't matter, time to get on with it before
she lost her nerve.
     She pulled the car into Tempus's parking lot.  Hopefully since it had
been raining earlier no one would question an employee carrying a bundled
raincoat.  She crossed to the door, her mind cataloguing all the things that
could go wrong.  The cards of the fallen agents could have been cancelled,
maybe they were the wrong clearance for what she needed, maybe this was the
stupidest thing she'd done in her entire life.  Perhaps she should get some
hot water, turn Ryoga human and let him smash his way in.
     No, he'd never find them.  Besides Kronos might kill the hosatages if the
Guyver came calling.  It was time to show she was capable of more than just
creative accounting and screaming at Zoanoids.  Who she was proving herself
was unclear, she just knew she had to do this.
     She ran the card through the reader.  After what seemed hours, but was
only a few seconds, there was a beep and the door unlocked.  A single security
guard looked up from his magazine.  "Trouble with the mainframe it's rejecting
the Windows '95 upgrade."  She wasn't clear what she'd just babbled, hopefully
neither did the guard.
     He grunted and looked back at his magazine.  Goddamn techies wandering in
here at all hours, raving about stuff they expected you to care about.  Smug
bastards who looked down on the guys like him who were the real heart and soul
of Kronos.  Let 'em just try running this place without us, just one day and 
everything would be falling apart.
     So far so good.  Of course this would be the public area, it would have
to look innocent in case any inspectors or cops dropped by.  She walked to the
elevator and punched the only button visible.  The doors opened, she stepped
inside.  The doors stayed open, she saw a second cardreader attached to the
operating panel. 
     She inserted the card, the reader clamped onto it.  There was a very cold
feeling crawling up her spine.  OK, perhaps she had to punch her floor.  If
she punched a floor she wasn't cleared for probably all hell would break
loose.  She'd taken the card from a Kronos trooper, hopefully he'd have
clearance to visit the detention area.
     She punched S4, hopefully sublevel four.  The doors closed and the
elevator began playing some nonthreatening 60's hit.  It descended.  Nabiki
stayed composed, relaxing or whooping would be a real bad idea.  There was a
camera in the corner of the elevator, doing anything like that would probably
trigger alarms.  One, two, three, four.  The doors began opening, it was a
hell of a time to suddenly wonder if the Zoanoid had recovered enough from his
injury to start lying.  The reader spat her card out. 
     She was confronted by a man behind a desk who looked away from the
monitors he'd been watching.  "Who the fuck are you?"
     Maybe she could bluff him, "Upstairs sent me to check on the fresh meat."
     "Nobody told me.  Who's your supervisor?"
     There was a second man at the coffee urn, he looked at her with vague
recognition.  Then he snapped his fingers, "Nabiki Tendo! .... NABIKI TENDO?"
     Ryoga realized it had just hit the fan.  He exploded out of the coat
under Nabiki's arm.  Hitting the floor he leapt upward at an angle taking him
past the seated guard's head.  As he passed he unfolded the sonic sword in his
side.  Ignoring the spray of blood he twisted in midair aligning his belly
with the second man.  His gravity cannon punched a neat hole directly below
the chestbadge reading "Charburn".  He bounced off the wall and landed at
Nabiki's feet before either body hit the floor.
     She looked briefly stunned by the speed of the violence.  Then shook
herself and ran over to the console.  Luckily the blood didn't obscure the
monitors.  One was showing a movie, two showed empty cells, the third showed
a sleeping Akane with her head cradled in the lap of a determined looking
Ranko.  No sign of an unlocking mechanism, at least she knew this was the
right floor.  Maybe the guards hadn't managed to signal an alarm but this room
had video cameras in the corners.  Sooner or later those dead guards would be
spotted.  Figure on sooner.  "The hell with subtlety."
     Ryoga bweed in agreement and stood on his hindlegs.  The door ahead of
them exploded.  Just down the corridor Akane stirred, "Wasisit?" She mumbled.
     "I don't know but ..."
     "AKANE!, RANMA!"
     "BWEEEE!"
     "Nabiki?"  That was about the last person Ranma expected.  But there she
was outside the cell door.
     Nabiki looked it over.  "Allright I can't see any way to unlock it.  Get
clear of the door and P-chan'll use the Megasmasher on it."
     "Bweee!"
     "P-chan?"  Akane figured she had to be dreaming.  Ranma grabbed her and
hauled her over to the side of the cell.  He covered her eyes with one hand
and shut his own tightly.
     The cell was filled with a brilliant light that was blinding despite the
precautions.  "Come on, move it!"  Ranma pulled the dazzle Akane after him as
he stumbled toward the voice.  His vision cleared enough to see he was about
to step on the molten metal than had been the door's bottom.  She swung Akane
into her arms and stepped over it.
     Akane's vision had cleared enough for her to see the small figure
looking up at her from the floor.  "What ... what is it?"
     "Guyver P-chan, we'll explain later.  Come on, I bet we just set off
every alarm in the place."  Her sister shut up as they headed back down the
corridor.  "A fire escape.  The elevator's probably a death trap and we don't
need to worry about making noise.  Blow it!"
      P-chan grunted and blew the sealed door.  "Ranma grab the coffee urn."
Ranma did, finally hot water.  Not that changing back right now was a lot of
good.  Somehow Nabiki was in charge.  She shouted, "RUN" and sprinted for the
stairs.  P-chan bounded in front of her.  Akane was pushed ahead of Ranma as
she brought up the rear. 
     Nabiki's shout was the last thing anyone would hear clearly for a while.
Security had registered the cell door exploding and done a scan of sublevel
four.  Seeing dead guards they'd all begun shouting at once.  Someone regained
enough presence of mind to hit the alarms.  Sirens began screaming at ear
splitting decibels.  Zoanoids boiled out of their dormitory shouting into
communicators for orders.
     "... stairwell ..."
     "WHAT!  CAN'T HERE YOU CONTROL."
     "IN THE STAIRWELL! INTERCEPT!"
     A Zoanoid pounded on the stairwell door.  "UNSEAL THIS BASTARD, NOW!"
     P-chan saw the door vibrate and fired a burst through it about chest
height.  On the other side a Zoanoid fell back, dead and burning.  Two nearby
Zoanoids looked at each other.  "ELEVATOR!"
     "WHAT?"
     "LET'S TAKE THE ELEVATOR!"
     "ABSOLUTELY!"
     "WHAT?"
     P-chan smashed open the ground level door.  The only Zoanoid in sight
must have been the lobby security guard.  Cutting him in half enroute Ryoga
leapt for the lobby doors.  They shattered as if ordinary glass rather than
reenforced bulletproof glass.
     "I've got a car, follow me!"  Ranma, Akane and P-chan ran after Nabiki
into the parking lot.  As she opened the car doors she saw lots of movement in
the lobby.  "Shit, time for full Guyver power.  Ranma, the coffee."  He
nodded, now he got it. 
     Before she could say anything P-chan stepped away from them and gave a
special "BWEEE!"  The armour disappeared and Akane saw her pet for the first
time in ages.  Ranma upended the coffee urn over the pig then stepped back
fast.
     "YEOWW!"  P-chan vanished and a naked Ryoga appeared.  Akane's eyes
bugged out and her jaw dropped.  Ryoga immediately yelled "GUYVER!" and the
familiar transformation triggered shredding the pavement.  Nabiki hesitated
behind the wheel as Ranma shoved the paralysed Akane into the back seat and 
followed her.
     "GET GOING, I'LL CATCH UP", Ryoga yelled as he charged forward.
     Nabiki nodded and the car left the parking lot at unsafe speed.  About
twenty Zoanoids charged out of the building.  The charge began breaking as
they saw who they were facing.
     Ryoga felt the charge building inside the chestplate.  NOW!  He pulled
it open and the megasmasher flared.  The Zoanoids disappeared in the burning
light.  The front of the lobby exploded.  Ryoga took a step forward and then
hesitated.  No telling what was in there and his friends were on their own. 
He turned and headed after the car at a speed exceeding theirs.  Nabiki had
pulled over not far away.  It had suddenly struck her that letting Ryoga find
them later would be a real bad idea. 
     "Ditch the armour and get in the passenger side."
     "GUYVER!"
     "Now get in and get dressed fast."
     With the adrenaline high Ryoga was able to ignore his nudity instead of
being frozen by embarrassment.  He dived in the car and slammed the door.
Nabiki immediately burned rubber.
     "Dress fast, we don't need a ticket for lewd conduct."
     Ryoga wormed into the clothing, it fit like a tent.  "If you weren't
driving like a maniac this would be a lot easier."
     "Nag, nag, nag."  Suddenly she grinned.  "WE DID IT!"
     Ryoga also grinned like a pumpkin.  "You said it.  The team supreme!"
     "You got it partner."
     Then a cold voice from the back seat broke in.  "Ryoga, you are P-chan?"
     Nabiki stopped smiling.  "Ooops."
     Ryoga coughed, "Umm could we discuss this later?"
     Akane's hand grabbed him by the hair and hauled his head back over the
neckrest.  "Let's discuss it now!"
     Ranma decided to play peacemaker.  "Chill out Akane, he just saved us
from a fate almost as bad as death."
     Akane glared at him.  "You already knew about this or you wouldn't have
dumped the coffee on P-chan."
     Ranma shut up and tried to look innocent.  Should have saved some of the
coffee to turn male again.
     Nabiki broke in, "You three discuss it.  We don't dare return to the dojo
if Ryoga could vanish on us any time.  We need a motel or something for the
night.  I'll find one.  Then we'll plan our next move.
     The car sped off into the night.

end of part 5

Next in part 6 - The conclusion as this whole mess gets wrapped up.

Part 6 : Back From The Future.


Guyver Ryoga / Ryoga 1/2 : Worlds in Collision
A fanfic about three alternate Ranma 1/2 Universes
by Mark Latus

Part 6 : Back From The Future

7 am Tuesday Morning - Tendo Dojo - Ryoga 1/2 Timeline

     "Akane, Nabiki, Ranma, Ryoga, breakfast is ready."  Kasumi finished
setting the table.  Normally they were a lot more punctual but today they
were all busy searching the house and garden.  It seemed their visitors had
left abruptly overnight.  There seemed to be some confusion over the manner
of their departure.  Exactly what difference it made she couldn't imagine.
     Ranma and Akane arrived almost immediately afterwards.  Ranma's father
was already there, as he did so often he'd taken his panda form and was
chewing his way through a plate of bamboo canes.  While it simplified cooking
Kasumi still thought it a bit strange he didn't spend more time as a human.
     Ryoga and Nabiki arrived a few moments later, "You see anything?"
     Ranma shrugged, "Not a trace.  If they'd just left I'd have been able
to spot something.  Least I think I would."
     "We are dealing with a Ryoga here, he could easily have just got lost."
Akane considered what she'd just said, "No offense."
     "None taken.  Maybe they're still around maybe they vanished, it's hard
to say."
     Mr Saotome held up a sign reading, "If you mean that couple who resembled
Ryoga and Nabiki they vanished early this morning."
     "Say what?"  That was from Nabiki.
     The next sign read, "About two I was going to get a snack.  I had a busy
day yesterday and that gives you an appetite."
     Ranma snorted, "Yeah if I played games all day I'd be hungry and
exhausted."
     "Show your elders some respect, my son.  In any event as I was passing I
witnessed the other Nabiki and a small pig disappear.  It amazed me so much I
had to eat twice as much as I'd planned."
     Ryoga whispered to Nabiki, "How does he manage to write those signs so
quickly without proper hands?"
     "No idea, it's just one of the many mysteries around here."
     Akane wondered aloud, "So they're gone again, but are they coming back."
     Ryoga (the closest thing to an expert on this subject) shrugged.  "Who
knows?  They didn't have any more idea why they switched worlds than we did."
He remembered a few things his double had told him.  "Even if they did come
close to killing us I hope they're all right."
     Nabiki remembered her counterpart's story.  "Yeah.  If we'd been through
what they have ... well if we were born into that world we'd be them.  That's
a scary thought."  
     The phone rang and Kasumi answered it.  "Hello, Tendo residence.  Oh good
morning Ukyou ... Excuse me? ... I see.  All right I'll tell him, goodbye."
She hung up and said, "Excuse me Ryoga."  Akane stopped glaring at Ranma,
everyone had assumed (having been eavesdropping), Ukyou was calling Ranma. 
Why would she call Ryoga?
     "Yes?"
     "That was Ukyou.  She said she'd gone down to her restaurant to get a
start on fixing it up when four of you walked by."
     "FOUR?"
     "That's what she said.  It was rather a strange thing to say."
     Ryoga looked at Nabiki.  "Half of me wants to go to school and pretend I
didn't hear that.  The other half thinks I should go have a look."  He
sighed.  "Feel like guiding me to the right place?"
     Nabiki considered then asked Kasumi, "Did Ukyou report seeing any other
Nabikis?"
     "No, just an excess of Ryogas."
     "Hmmmm.  Oh what the heck, nothing urgent's going on in school today.
Come on, let's see what all this is about."
     Ryoga bolted the remainder of his breakfast and stood up.  Following
Nabiki he headed for the door.  Just after they'd left Ranma got up prompting
Akane to ask, "Where are you going?"
     "Hey this could be trouble, remember that other Ryoga was hostile.  If
these new guys are dangerous someone who's a decent fighter ought to be
along."
     "Anything to get out of classes, right Ranma?"
     "Hey I'm serious.  Besides this is for your sister's welfare."
     "Fine, but I'm coming with you.  Kasumi, better call the school and tell
them  there's a flu epidemic in this house."
     "Oh my, but that means lying to your teachers ..."  A little late she
realized, as they'd already departed.  She sighed and began clearing up.

****************************************************************************

7 am Tuesday Morning - Tempus Research & Development - Guyver Ryoga Timeline

     Under the gaze of Director Nagaoka Dr. Maxwell and his staff continued
their feverish work on the spacial displacer.  Every time they fixed one bug
in the triggering equipment another showed up.  How the software had become so
corrupted so quickly was impossible to understand.  System checks revealed no
intrusions, the only theory that made any sense was some sort of feedback from
the alien artifact.
     Maxwell glanced over at Nagaoka again, the former director didn't say
anything.  Since he was dead this was hardly surprising.  Shortly after the
incident last night, which had cost Tempus most of its remaining Zoanoid
troopers, Commander Gyro had stalked in and slammed the severed head onto a
lab table.  Speaking with a barely controlled murderous fury Gyro had told
the assembled scientists and technicians to have everything working by the
morning.  One of the technicians had coughed and was immediately gutted, no
one had followed the speed of Gyro's move.  After that the room remained
dead silent until several minutes after Gyro departed.  Then someone realized
they were dead for sure if they kept just standing there and activity resumed.
The tech's body had dissolved, like everyone else in Tempus he had been
through Zoanoid processing.  Nagaoka's head remained intact, evidently it had
been treated with some sort of preservative.  It certainly provided an
excellent incentive to keep working despite the frustrations.
     Gossip had filtered in so Maxwell was reasonably sure he knew what had
happened to his former boss.  Immediately following the breakout last night
Nagaoka had made a quick assessment of his odds of survival.  With a
decisiveness Maxwell wouldn't have credited Nagaoka had jumped through a third
floor window and started running for the parking lot.  Unfortunately for him
Commander Gyro had been watching.  He had jumped from his office on the seventh
floor, landed without damage and headed after his subordinate.  Nagaoka had
stopped, spun around and pulled a gun.  Gyro's strike ripped his head off
before he had a chance to aim.  Maxwell suspected Nagaoka had expected
something like that, at least it gained him a quick death.  Transformation
would merely have put him under Gyro's telepathic control.  Following which
he'd probably have been ordered to rip himself apart.  A fate Maxwell was
facing if he didn't get the sodding Displacer working again.  Why the hell had
he transferred from Kronos London?  The work was dull but at least reasonably
safe.
     Although Maxwell didn't know it for the past few hours Gyro hadn't been at
all concerned about the Displacer experiment.  He had acknowledged the arrival
of the Hyperzoanoids an hour earlier and told them to secure the building. 
Locating Hibiki and terminating him and his friends could wait, the big
question now was what was happening to Kronos worldwide?
     It had begun three hours earlier at 4 am.  Suddenly Kronosnet had
collapsed, trying to access communication files only brought up gibberish.
Somehow an extremely complicated virus or viruses had got into the mainframe.
It looked as though everything not committed to hardcopy was lost.  If that
wasn't bad enough the phonecall that followed had made everything seem crazy.
     It had been from Palmer, the head of Kronos LA, one of several North
American bases.  It had been on an unsecured line as the Kronos communications
satellites were inaccessible.  It was noon in California and should have been
a typical day at that branch.  Palmer had been near hysterical, very atypical
behaviour for a Zoalord, "GYRO YOU BASTARD!  WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"
     After the fiasco little over an hour ago Gyro was in no mood to be talked
to like that.  "Palmer, this line is unsecured ..." he began coldly.
     "FUCK THAT AND FUCK YOU!  YOUR DAMNED HIBIKI'S HERE!  DOZENS OF THEM!
THEY'RE KILLING EVERYTHING, WE CAN'T STOP THEM!  ARIZONA'S ALREADY GONE! 
YOU'VE KILLED US ALL YOU BASTARD WE ..."  The line went dead.
     Gyro listened to the static in confusion, what the hell had that meant?
He put down the phone and touched the intercom, "Communications, reopen
contact with Kronos LA."
     "Network is still down sir.  We can use the public lines but ..."
     "Do it and route Commander Palmer through to my office."  He broke the
connection and brooded.  Whatever that call had meant it seemed he was not the
only Zoalord having problems.  Good, anything that would distract the council
from his current problems was welcome news.  He ran the surveillance tapes
from last night again, everything that happened in Tempus was automatically
recorded.  But unless an alarm was triggered only a random check would alert
security.  He grit his teeth, Tempus was unsuited for serving as a field
operations base but Dr. Balkis had insisted.  "The bastard just wanted to
make me suffer after losing Kronos Tokyo to a bunch of teenagers and a
geriatric", he thought.
     At any rate the tapes made it clear that the piglet Guyver wasn't just
some bizarre practical joke.  Somehow Nabiki Tendo had smuggled the thing into
Tempus and freed the prisoners.  After she'd left the building she had
evidently met Hibiki and he had destroyed most of the available Zoanoids.
Fortunately he hadn't known how weak Tempus's offensive capabilities were,
or he'd preferred to get his friends out of the firing line.  In any event
he'd fled with them but he now knew where to strike to find Kronos.  Gyro had
considered relocating to the main base at Mount Minakaumi.  Unfortunately he
couldn't afford another failure, his position was far too precarious.  Balkis
had personally told him that even Zoalords could be replaced.  The only thing
to do was wait for the Hyperzoanoid squad to arrive and hope Hibiki didn't
attack in the mean time.
      It was just after 4:30 am when Communications division called back.  They
told him they couldn't contact Kronos LA and advised him to turn on CNN.  Gyro
told them if it wasn't relevant he'd have their heads, literally.  After what
he'd done to Nagaoka no one believed that to be an idle threat.  The technician
gulped and swore it was important.  Gyro flicked on the set catching the middle
of an urgent bulletin originating in California.  On screen a newsanchor who
obviously had no idea what was going on read from a teleprompter.  In the
background the words "Tragedy in Los Angeles" were displayed. 
     "... cause remains unknown.  To recap for anyone who's just joined us at
approximately 12:25 pm today, just ten minutes ago, the Office Tower of the
Los Angeles branch of Kronos Incorporated collapsed.  Details are still
sketchy and we have unconfirmed reports of armed men entering the building.
The alleged perpetrators were described as Asian males approximately 18
years old, all bearing a remarkable similarity.  The cause of the building's
collapse are unknown and so far there have been no reports of an explosion
or of gunfire.  There were a variety of reports of "monsters" and strange
lights from witnesses' on the scene but so far no evidence to collaborate
these stories.  Events are still fairly confused but ..."  Gyro turned the
sound off, what the hell had happened?
     The intercom gave a priority wail, he punched the speaker button.  It
was Communications again, "Sir, distress call from Toronto base, they report
they're under attack, so does New York base.  Both claim attackers resemble
Ryoga Hibiki and are destroying everything thrown against them.  We've lost
contact with New York but Toronto's still on the line ... correction we just
lost Toronto connection.  We will attempt to reestablish contact."
     The attempt had failed, it quickly became apparent why.  CNN had to widen
its story as news of the collapse of Kronos buildings in New York and Toronto
broke.  At 5:00 am Japan time Kronos Brazil reported itself under attack.
Since this complex was based in the jungle surrounded by a company town the
news media didn't learn of it.  At 5:30 am Kronos London got out a brief cry
for help before going silent.  By then two things were obvious to Gyro, first
something was attacking Kronos installations at thirty minute intervals with
alarming success.  Second, it was working its way east.  With no ordinary
phone links to main base and the network down there was no way to communicate
with Balkis.  It couldn't be Hibiki, could it?  Unless Maxwell's teleport
experiments gave the Guyver the power to travel anywhere in the world ... no
that didn't fit.  Even with that power these attacks were too swift for a
lone Guyver. 
     At 6:00 am the Hyperzoanoid team arrived, as they did reports arrived
on attacks at Kronos Paris and Kronos Berlin.  News commentators were trying
to link the current wave of destruction to the still unsolved destruction of
Kronos Tokyo five weeks earlier.  Gyro deployed his Hyperzoanoids to protect
the building.  Tracking and killing Hibiki could wait, first thing to do was
ensure survival.  He couldn't call Main Base for reinforcements.  On the other
hand Balkis couldn't recall the Hyperzoanoids to protect himself.  Tempus was a
subsidiary, not actually a Kronos building, it might get overlooked. 
     Still Gyro wasn't about to gamble his life on that chance, he needed
more firepower.  He made a decision, it was time he met Mr. Kuno.  Time to
get the new Guyver on his side.  The late director's file on Tatewaki Kuno
was sufficently detailed.  Akane Tendo and "Ranko Tendo" (whatever her name
really was) were clearly the keys to controlling Kuno.  While they were no
longer available in person it should be possible to manipulate Kuno into
thinking he was acting on their behalf.  Let's see, something along the lines
of Kronos being attacked by the allies of the fiendish Ranma Saotome should
do it.  Explaining the Hyperzoanoids to Kuno would be a little harder but
avoiding a repeat of yesterday's Zoanoid massacre was essential.  Let's see,
men who have heroically sacrificed their chance at a normal life for the
greater good of Kronos and the world ... yes, something along those lines
would suffice.  A shame the agent who had originally contacted Kuno had died
during the breakout.  He ordered his secretary to place the call.
     At the Kuno Mansion the newest Guyver was jolted awake by Sasuke softly
whispering, "Master Kuno, forgive me for waking you but you have an urgent
call."
     Kuno pulled himself from his slump on the training room floor.  "I was
not sleeping I was meditating.  Remember that."  In fact while he had started
by meditating on how to deal with the Ranma problem Kuno had slipped into a
doze.  He had succeeded in sleeping through his transition back to his own
timeline.  Which was why on awakening he was amazed to find the training room
wrecked once more.  It seemed impossible, had he activated the Guyver while
asleep?  If so he must have sleepwalked and destroyed the hall again.  Which
posed alarming possibilities.  "What time is it anyway?"
     "A little after 6:30 in the morning Master Kuno."  Currently a massacre
was under way at both Kronos bases in Russia.  At present this remained
unknown to the the outside world.
     "And who has the termerity to disturb my meditations at such an early
hour?"
     "He says his name is Gyro and he is the highest ranked Kronos executive
in Japan.  If you could spare the time he would like to discuss a threat posed
to Akane and Ranko Tendo and how the two of you can alleviate it"  Noticing
Kuno's blank look Sasuke added, "Ranko Tendo is the pig tailed girl's real
name."
     "WHAT!  Both my loves are in danger?  Why didn't you tell me that!" 
Before Sasuke could explain that he just had Kuno dashed to the phone.  His
speed would have been impressive even if the Guyver was activated.
     "Hello?"
     "Have I the pleasure of addressing Tatewaki Kuno, Kronos's brightest
new star?"
     "Indeed you do."  On his end of the phone Gyro nodded, Nagaoka's notes
were correct.  It was indeed impossible to overdo the flattery when talking
to Kuno.
     "We have a something of a crisis and request your assistance.  You may be
unaware of this but both Ranko and Akane Tendo recently joined our
organization in clerical positions.  I suspect they learned you were involved
with us and saw it as a way to get closer to you."
     "Really! Ah yes of course, I can understand that."
     "Quite so, unfortunately while they were working late last night at our
local office, Tempus Research and Development they were kidnapped by Ryoga
Hibiki on the orders of Ranma Saotome.  I am ashamed to say that we were
unable to stop them though many brave men lost their lives in the attempt."
     "The fiend!"
     "Yes.  As you probably already know Hibiki is the possessor of the other
Guyver unit making him a fearsome warrior.  We suspect he's coming back this
morning with allies to destroy the building."  This is the crucial part, Gyro
thought.  "We have brought in additional forces.  If you would consent to join
them we can be sure of capturing Hibiki and learning the location the girls
are hidden."
     "Truly a noble cause, I shall be happy to lead your warriors for such an
end."
     "Ah ... yes!  Yes of course you will lead them.  However we need you to
join us as quickly as possible."
     "Fear not, for such a mission school must be considered secondary."
Especially with that math test today.
     He noted the address Gyro gave him and ordered Sasuke to fetch the car.
Truly this was a day of destiny, he would rescue his loves and let them show
him their gratitude.  He began getting very excited and forced himself to
calm down.  First he must vanquish Hibiki, which would not be easy.  Much as
he hated to admit it yesterday had shown him Hibiki had more experience in
using the Guyver armour.  However he would be leading a picked force and his
purity and nobility would insure his victory.  He headed for the garage. 
Truly there was nothing to worry about, what could possibly go wrong.
    It was nearing seven as Akane drove back to Tempus.  They'd spent the
night at a motel, fortunately they still had plenty of funds from looting
the Zoanoids.  Nabiki supplied directions from the passenger seat.  While
Akane followed them she was avoiding talking to any of the others.  In the
back seat Ranma and Ryoga, both of whom looked somewhat mangled, were careful
to avoid drawing her attention.  Ranma hadn't realized she'd take the
revelation about P-chan quite this hard.  He suspected part of it was anger at
herself for not catching on sooner.  Hopefully she'd get over it, at least
she'd stopped short of breaking their engagement.  Beside him Ryoga wondered  
if she'd ever say anything non-abusive to him again.
     The plan, such as it was, was extremely simple.  Get Ryoga back to Tempus
then get clear.  He transforms and wrecks the place taking a couple of high
ranking Kronos types alive.  From them he'd learn the location of the main
base the other Zoanoid had mentioned.  Maybe if they could locate and destroy
it things would finally get back to normal.  Unlikely but it was the only
shot they had.
     At Tempus Gyro had set up a phonelink to the two China bases.  As he'd
half suspected both were attacked at 7 am.  Forewarned both bases had been on
full alert.  From what he'd heard before the connections broke it wasn't
making a lot of difference.  Based on the current pattern he expected an
attack at 7:30 am.  Unless Tempus was bypassed in favour of the main base.
Whoever was attacking seemed to know the location of every major Kronos base.
So far none of the smaller sites had been attacked.  He received word that
Kuno had arrived, time to go layer on the flattery again.  The Guyver had
better go on the front lines, something Kuno's assumption of leadership would
make simpler. 
    
****************************************************************************
7:25 am Tuesday - Takahashi Industrial Park - Ryoga 1/2 Timeline

     Ukyou pointed out the four figures in the distance, "That's them I
recognise the armour".  Behind her Nabiki and Ryoga strained to see.  They'd
met up with Ukyou shortly after her phonecall.  Ryoga could get a good speed
going when he tried, and if he was carrying Nabiki he could avoid getting
lost.  Ukyou had decided to join them rather than just point them in the
right direction.  Until the contracter arrived and repaired the damage she
couldn't open her restaurant anyway.  Besides she was curious how this whole
mess was working out.
     They advanced on the still figures, none of the four showed any sign of
interest in them.  All four seemed to be wearing formfitting armour, the
legs colored black, the arms and torso colored green.  Clipped to the back of
each suit, the stock rising over the right shoulder, was some sort of gun. 
The barrel was a single cylinder about 8 cm in diameter which merged into the
tubular body of the weapon.  There was no indication of a magazine and the
whole thing looked more like some sort of film prop than anything else.  A
small crowd had gathered and was looking for cameras as people speculated on
the show being filmed.  Ryoga felt motion behind him and turned to see Ranma
looking at him.  "So what's going on?"
     Ryoga shrugged and the clock hit 7:29 am.  Simultaneously all four Ryogas
drew their weapons and began spreading apart rapidly.  At precisely 7:30 am
all four disappeared.  The crowd applauded.
     Ranma, Akane, Ukyou and Nabiki all looked at Ryoga, he spead his hands.
"Don't ask me, you know as much about it as I do."  Rhetorically he asked,
"But what the hell is happening."
     The answer to that question would be found either a few hours earlier or
125 years later, depending on your point of view.  To the android known as
207 the former was the right way to look at things.

*****************************************************************************
7 pm July 1st 2120 AD - Rio De Janeiro, Brazil - Imperial Timeline

    207 and his comrades materialized and resynchronized their chronometres.
It was now four hours since their departure to timeline Gamma.  "Clear the
timescoop chamber immediately!"  The order came from 332, the Ryogoid who'd
returned to retrieve them.
    As they departed all four Ryogoids asked 332 for an explanation.  The only
answer they received was an order to report for facial remodeling back to
standard features.  No more individuality.  None of the four was pleased but
disobeying an order was unthinkable.  As they headed for the body shop it
became obvious that Janeiro center was filled to capacity.  With two
exceptions every Survey/Explorer unit was present.  There was also a fairly
large grouping of former Enforcers who'd been hastily modifed to survey
configurations.  Just what was going on?  An inquiry brought only a response
that an imperial briefing was scheduled for 7:30:00 pm.
     The remodeling was done in a few minutes.  It had been a rush job in the
first place and only facial features had been altered.  Now once again 207
looked like a 17 year old Ryoga Hibiki as did 179.  218 and 673 were both
model 19s and possessed slightly different features.  Drifting into the crowd
they were hailed by 541.  Joining him (why interface when there's nothing
better to do?) 207 asked, "What the hell did you tell the Emperor?"
     "Beats me.  I just downloaded my memory.  Next thing I knew every
explorer in the world was being recalled to the homeline.  You guys are the
last to come home.  Except for 901 and 115, they just got sent back to
Gamma.  For some reason they got sent to West Germany circa 1982."
     "Thirteen years before us.  Why?"
     "No idea.  Wait a sec, they're back."
     The unmistakeable glow of timescoop faded and two more androids entered
the chamber.  Each was carrying a tactical nuclear warhead.  Before anyone
asked 115 broadcast, "We were sent to retrieve these from the NATO stockpiles
during the cold war era.  Mission completed don't ask us why we need them."
     207 considered.  While nuclear weapons had been discontinued as obsolete
if needed they could be assembled easily enough.  Why snatch them from
Timeline Gamma?  Only one explanation made sense.  Matter will only stay in a
foreign timeline if surrounded by a quantum lock field, all Explorers have
internal generators to hold them in alternate timelines.  There is a definite
limit to field size however.  Say you wish to detonate a large bomb in another
universe.  You'd have to surround it with a lock field, taking care that the
field generator was outside the explosion's radius.  That would take a very
large, very powerful generator.  Given mass limitations transporting somrthing
that big into another timeline would be a problem.  But if you use a bomb
indigenous to that universe, no problem. 
     So what was the emperor planning?  Starting World War III would probably
take Kronos out of action but that seemed a little extreme.  While 207 didn't
consider himself excessively sentimental genocide felt wrong.  From a look
around the center the other units felt the same way.  But if the Emperor gave
the order they'd all do it.
     At precisely 7:30 pm the androids interfaced with the network.  As he
often did the Emperor communicated in human fashion.  "My children, you are
all wondering why you have been brought here and what my plans are regarding
Timeline Gamma.  The plan is simple, we have uncovered a point in that line's
history that indicates we are about to make a major change.  It appears that
the Kronos organization is on the brink of acquiring dimensional shift
technology.  While at the point we investigated there is only a single alien
artifact capable of making the shift we cannot afford to take chances.  It is
possible from studying it they will learn to replicate the phenomena.  This
would give Kronos interdimensional strike capability over a century before
the Empire acquired it.  The risk to our history cannot be understated."
     "I considered various options to end this threat.  Having been born human
I would prefer to avoid initiating global thermonuclear warfare in the Gamma
timeline.  The alternative is the annihilation of the organization known as
Kronos.  Thanks to unit 541 we now have a complete listing of Kronos bases
throughout Gamma.  We will individually target each base and destroy it,
starting with the major bases and working our way through the smaller sites.
There will be one exception to this, Tempus Inc."
     "I am well aware that we are currently limited to a injecting a maximum
of twenty androids into an alternate timeline.  Additionally our time travel
technology is somewhat imprecise regarding arrival point.  There is a simple
solution.  In groups of twenty you will be transported to the appropriate day
,several hours before striketime to allow for errors.  You will not be sent to
Gamma.  Instead each group will be dropped at a spacial equivalent point in
another alternate timeline.  At your designated attack time you will cross
from your current timeline into Gamma.  You will have precisely 30 minutes to
destroy the objective then cross back to the other timeline and await
timescoop back to the present."
     "Stand by for individual assignments."
     207 was slightly surprised to find himself part of a four Ryogoid squad.
The other fourteen members of the Japan strikeforce were assigned to Mount
Minakaumi.  That force included 901 and 115 and the nuclear warheads.  The
extra mass explained why the force was down two members.  It seemed the old
gang was together again.  218, 541 and 673 were assigned to 207's command. 
Mission objective; arrive in timeline Delta, manoeuvre to the equivalent of
Tempus's building, cross to Gamma, kill everyone in the building and destroy
the artifact.  Armour and IFD's were to be issued.
     The small squad headed for the hastily rigged armour bay.  At the time of
construction each android was issued a suit of powered armour.  It boosted
weapons capability, defense shields and strength.  207 had never used it.  In
fact, apart from the recent rebel incident, there had been no need.  The
policy of equipping each android with it dated back decades to when mass
insurrection was still a possibility.  Given their own capabilities and
human acceptance of the Empire it had ceased to serve a useful purpose.  But
if it's not broken why fix it?  So the practice remained.
     207 stepped into his armour, probably not the one originally issued to
him but it was designed to fit a model 17.  He ran through a systems check
and accepted his IFD.  He'd never fired an Intrinsic Field Disrupter before
but had full programming in his memory.
     Like all Ryogoids 207 had a small desire for individuality.  The tricky
part was being uniquely individual.  Like many units that spent time exploring
variations of the twentieth century he looked for inspiration there.  Which
is why he clipped a badge reading "Unnatural Born Killer" to his armour's
chestplate.  He noticed 541 writing on his IFD, "If you're close enough to
read this start praying."  Every unit had its own little quirk that the
Emperor tolerated.  It helped he considered them his children.  Boys will be
boys.
     It was time.  In two separate groups the strikeforce assigned to Kronos's
Japanese bases headed for the time machine.  Death and glory time.
     Shortly after the final group of Ryogoids departed something happen in
space.  The space telescope named Hubble 3 orbitted on the fringes of the
solar system.  Due to the timelag factor it carried an onboard sentience
rather than being remotely linked to the network that covered the inner
planets of the solar system. 
     Hubble 3 noted astronomical anomalies that did not match existing data. 
Automatically it activated its higher level consciousness, the machine
intelligence aboard often shut itself down to avoid boredom.  Like the other
MI's it was based on Ryoga Hibiki's human personality.
     The MI reviewed the data and ran a systems diagnostic.  When no errors
were found it remotely linked to a nonsentient telescope in Neptune's orbit.
The anomoly was confirmed, the words "OH SHIT!" seemed somehow appropriate.
Hubble 3 sent a priority message to Earth and continued watching the stars
blinking out.

*****************************************************************************

7:30 am Tuesday - Mount Minakaumi - Guyver Ryoga Timeline

     901 and 115 appeared on the mountain's slope apart from the rest of their
squad.  The remaining twelve had parted from them while still in the Delta
timeline.  Destroying Kronos's main base was their mission, the rest of the
squad had another target.  In the previous timeline this was just an extinct
volcano.  Here a huge complex had been excavated over the mountain's hidden
treasure, a crashed alien spaceship.
     541's upload gave the the location of the hidden entrances.  Overriding
the Kronos systems to gain access was simple, they had the key to deactivating
the viruses at will.  Additionally neither was especially as concerned
regarding detection.  Time was short. 
    Even given the powerboosts the armour gave them two androids against
Kronos's strongest forces was suicide.  Except that their job wasn't wiping
out the complex, they just had to plant their packages and get out.
     901 headed to the east side of the complex's lowest level, 115 to the
west.  Both were firing IFD's continually, the Zoanoids were everywhere.
This would have been completely impossible if the base still had internal
communication.  But that was out along with plenty of other systems.  The
first strikeforce to crossover (Los Angeles, California) had activated the
dormant viruses 541 had placed in Kronos's network.  Almost instantly there
was worldwide chaos at Kronos bases.  Records were destroyed, software links
to communications satellites collapsed.  Kronos was strangling as its high
tech (high tech from a contemporary viewpoint) collapsed around it.
      Both androids moved at superhuman speed, time was very short.  901 found
the designated site, this would have been a lot harder if he didn't already
have the floorplan.  Pausing only to throw a plasma sphere at a Guyver
replica Zoanoid he set down the bomb and armed it.  Two minutes to get clear.
115 reported mission accomplished and both headed for the nearest exit.
     They made it with thirty seconds to spare.  Behind them door systems
resealed and the viruses scrambling the electronic locks reactivated.  In
the lowest corners of the base timers counted down to zero.
     In the heart of the mountain the central computer section was located.
Dr. Balkis glared at the technicians trying frantically to unscramble the
systems.  How the fools had let viruses this powerful get into the system was
unimaginable.  For that matter how could this virus even exist?  Comparing it
to the known computer viruses was like comparing terminal cancer to a mild
cold.  This had to be the cover some form of attack but who was leading it? 
Who had the technical knowledge to create it and how could they have stayed
unknown to Kronos security?  If this was a prelude to attack when would the
real attack begin?
     Balkis felt the air temperature rising and got his answer.  He had a
moment to wonder if environmental systems were collapsing and then it was
over.  Both tactical nuclear warheads had detonated simultaneously.  As atomic
weapons go both were small, smaller than the primitive device that leveled
Hiroshima.  But this was an enclosed space.  Channeled by the mountains walls
two waves of superheated air burned through the complex.  In the lower levels
Zoanoids were incinerated before they knew what had hit them.  As the burning
wind poured into the higher levels it weakened.  There victims had a moment to
feel their lungs sear before death claimed them.  At the uppermost section
under the summit there was a slight chance of survival.  The air mass had
cooled and the tougher Zoanoids were able to withstand intense burns.  Anyone
in human form was doomed to lethal heatshock.  The few survivors had a few
moments to gasp in the smoke filled air before the shockwave arrived.  The
structures so painstakingly built by Kronos fractured and collapsed.
     Hearing the roar and seeing smoke billow out any observers would have
assumed the volcano was active again.  The nearest people were the three
thousand in Takeshiro village.  They didn't notice the eruption, they were
too busy being massacred.
     541's investigation had revealed that the village was entirely populated
by Zoanoids.  A few hundred were Kronos members, the rest of the population
had been removed and processed bit by bit.  Memory blocks prevented them for
remembering Zoanoid conversion.  Activation could be triggered telepathically
by a Zoalord or chemically through adding the appropriate drug to the water
supply.  The Emperor had been decided that leaving such a large nest of
Zoanoids would be an error.  Which was why twelve Ryogoids were stalking
through the town killing everything.  The orders were clear, no survivors. 
They were being carried out with inhuman precision.
      By 7:55 am scans revealed no Zoanoids or large mammals alive within a
kilometer of the village.  Unaware of their abilities most of the villagers
had been easy kills.  901 and 115 reported in, they had been climbing the
mountain with their forceshields set to maximum.  From the summit they scanned
downward, seeking any survivors.  Nothing had survived the explosions, the
complex was reduced to junk.  Heat, radiation and the blastwave ensured that
nothing would be salvagable from the complex. A job well done, hopefully the
four at Tempus had been equally successful. 
     The carnage didn't bother the androids.  Compared to the slaughter at the
Empire's creation this was a minor event.
     Events at Tempus had unfolded a little differently.  It had been nearly
7:30 am as Ryoga and company approached Tempus.  Akane pulled over just short
of the company parking lot.  She'd been elected driver by the others.  In
daylight Nabiki's eyepatch would draw traffic policemen's attention, Ryoga
couldn't drive and would have got lost anyway.  After nearly writing off the
car while demonstrating his skill Ranma had admitted he had no idea how to
drive.
     Anyway it was time.  Ryoga took a deep breath and reached for the door.
Get out, summon the Guyver and hope there's nothing tougher than it inside the
building.  "Here we go!"
     "Don't screw up."  That was from Ranma.
     "Just like we planned it." Nabiki tried looking very confident.
     "Ryoga ..."  That was the first thing Akane had said to him in hours
(apart from "You bastard!  I thought we were friends.").  He looked at her
and staring straight ahead she added, "Good luck."
      "Thanks Akane.  Well here goes ... WHAT THE HELL!"
      The exclamation was understandable, four armoured people had just
materialized in the parking lot.  Despite the armour they could move.  One
charged the lobby, blasted the elevator and jumped down the shaft.  While
this was happening a second leapt upward smashing through a third story
window.  The third didn't leap, somehow it flew upward crashing through into
the seventh floor.  The fourth remained outside circling around the building. 
Shapes appeared at the windows as passed.  When they did it fired its oddly
shaped rifle.  Very neat holes appeared silently and the shapes dropped out of
sight.  Ranma squinted as he watched the speeding figure.  His vision was
excellent but what he was seeing made no sense.  "Ryoga, that guy looks like
you!"
     "WHAT!"  Ryoga studied the figure, Ranma was right.  "I don't get it, the
other me wasn't that fast.  This guy looks like he could take on the Guyver."
     Inside Tempus all hell was breaking loose.  Tempus's own Zoanoid force
had been decimated the previous night.  Even so nothing short of the Guyver
should have capable of cutting through Zoanoids like that.  Gyro had activated
his telepathic link to the Zoanoids, it didn't help him understand the
situation.  Any Zoanoid who glimpsed the intruders died almost instantly.  But
they lived long enough for him to see that Hibiki was simultaneously on
sublevel three, the third and seventh floors.  He wasn't using the Guyver but
he didn't seem to need it.  Whatever those weapons were thet were effective. 
The toughest Zoanoids couldn't withstand them.  As he listened Gyro could hear
brief screams as the intruder advanced.  The Hyperzoanoids had been meeting
"Commander" Kuno on the fifth floor, prior to deployment to protect the
building.  Now they were thundering up the stairs under Gyro's mental call.
Kuno was still on the fifth wondering why his troops had rushed off without a
word.  Hearing various explosions, weird howlings and screaming Kuno shouted
"GUYVER!" and activated the alien battlesuit.  Best thing to do would be
follow his fleeing troops and rally them.
     On the seventh floor Commander Gyro began his own transformation.  His
human form shifted effortless into battlemode.  He was no mere Zoanoid he was
a Zoalord.  The ultimate fusion of human and alien biotechnology.  His mind
reached out as he linked to every Zoanoid in the building.  Rather than merely
controlling their minds it was more as if he had dozens of bodies, all of
which could act simultaneously.  Coordinated attack on the intruders began.
His own form crackled with power, he was ready for anything.  Let the Hibikis
come, he would learn their secrets before they die.  He was power incarnate,
the closest thing this world had to a god.
     None of which did him a lot of good when his molecules began drifting
apart under 207's concentrated fire.  The Ryogoid had detected something
incredibly powerful and smashed through the office door firing on widebeam.
The pulp SF writers of an earlier era would have called it a disintegrator
raygun.  To 207 Intrinsic Field Disrupters were generally a ridiculous
weapon, bulky and with an incredibly unnecessary overkill capability.  Still
they did have their uses.  207 ceased fire as Gyro became a cloud of random
molecules.  Whatever that had been its power exceeded all known Zoanoid types,
best to make a log entry.
     It was at that point that the Hyperzoanoids arrived.  Detecting a laser
energy generator approaching 207 sealed his forceshield.  Just in time as the
doorway exploded behind him.  Again he was faced with an unknown Zoanoid type.
These possessed a black exoskeleton of insectlike appearance with a huge set
of horns emerging from the sides of the heads.  The laser energy emitted from
a crystallike outgrowth in the center of the forehead.  Around 207 the office
walls and the outer wall were blasted away.  The Zx-Tole variety Hyperzoanoids
had felt Gyro's telepathic deathscream.  Knowing he wasn't in the line of fire
they had spread throughout the seventh floor, demolishing any walls in their
way.  All of them opened fire on the office Gyro had died in.
     207 realized he had a problem.  If he opened a "window" in his shield to
return fire laser energy would pour through.  It was intense enough to damage
him, possibly even destroy him.  However if he just stood here there was no
guarantee they'd run out of power before his forceshield collapsed.  In either
case the IFD would melt down pretty quickly, it was relatively fragile and
he'd need it later.  Decisions, decisions.
     When in doubt attack, a policy the Emperor always lived by.  He returned
the gun to it's holster on his back and generated a plasma sphere.  Movement
required reducing shield intensity however the battlearmour should compensate.
He'd backtracked the laser's to his targets.  Time to move.
     The android spun to the left and leapt forty meters.  Tempus had been
built wide rather than tall to accomodate the bulkier alien artifacts.  Which
meant 207 had a lot of ground to cover.  On landing he rolled to within four
meters of his target, electomagnetic containment fields had dragged his
fireball with him.  The Zoanoid had excellent reflexes and spun to wash
laserfire over 207 as he opened his shield.  207 fired his plasma sphere and
watched the Zoanoid's head exploded.  Systems check, minimal damage, power
armour absorbed most of the energy (armour capability down 4%), shield
reestablished.  One down, six to go. 
     The first attack set the pattern.  In sixty seconds five more Zoanoids
fell.  Unfortunately 207 had a problem.  His armour had burned out from
multiple laserfire impacts.  While his internal weapons were fully functional
he couldn't fire them through the dead armour without risking backlash.  It
was also hampering his movement.  Under normal circumstances he'd ditch the
armour.  That wasn't allowed here, if he dropped anything and it got out of
range of his quantum lock field it'd snap back to the homeworld.  Introducing
foriegn objects to that particular past was forbidden.  So what to do?
     The remaining Zoanoid wasn't maintaining constant fire, it must be
conserving power.  207 looked a real mess, most of the artifical skin had
melted from his face exposing the ceramic/polysteel skull underneath.  So the
Zoanoid could see its opponent was some sort of machine.
     Garven, the last surviving Zx-tole saw the Terminator lookalike slump
against a wrecked office wall.  It rasped, "System failure, unable to ...
cannot compute ... error, errrrrrroooooo ...."  It fell to the smoking floor,
completely inert.  He approached cautiously, there was no sign of life.  All
right, he was running low on juice.  So he'd get in close, examine the thing,
then pump a few las-bolts into it before getting the hell out.  He knelt
down to study the still figure.  His senses stil didn't detect any trace of
organic matter.  A real robot, impossible.  Since Kronos only used biotech
this couldn't be some sort experimental project.  But who built it?
     He caught a flash of movement and felt armoured fingers dig into his
throat.  207 couldn't smile having lost his face.  Intead he remarked in
conversational tones, "You don't know shit about artificial intelligence do
you?  Hell I could have sung "Daisy" and you'd probably have bought it."
Garven channeled his remaining power into his gem.  The android's arm twisted
and Garven's neck broke.  His emitter stopped glowing and went dark.  "That's
for melting my favorite badge.  Not that I wouldn't have killed you anyway."
     207 stood up and he scanned for lifesigns.  Nothing on this floor or the
sixth.  Doubtless the folks below heard the fight and ran downstairs.  Where
his comrades would have been waiting for them.  Everything was under control.
     "Halt spawn of evil!"
     What the hell?  Still detecting nothing 207 saw the Black Guyver emerge
from the wrecked stairwell.  Evidently Guyver armour was capable of blocking
scans.  "Whatever pit the sorceror Saotome summoned you from is insufficent
to match the power of ... "  Kuno's declamation broke off as, with a single
smooth motion, 207 unslung the IFD and fired.  Kuno looked down at the large
hole in his chest then fell over.  207 stepped over the body and headed for
the stairs.  Time was short, he still had a few things to do. 
    He linked to his comrades, "Seventh floor cleansed, sixth floor empty."
    218 acknowledged.  "All sublevels cleared."
    From outside 673 added, "All Zoanoids attempting to flee have been
terminated.  Ground and second floor lifeless."
    541 reported, "Third and fifth floor have been wiped.  Currently on four
waiting to finish up."
    207 acknowledged, "On my way."  As he headed down he added, "Say did you
know there is a way to make Tatewaki Kuno shut up?"
    "Really?  How?"
    "Dissolve his lungs.  Say whatever happened to him in our timeline?"
    541 shrugged mentally, "Nothing recorded.  I'd guess he bought it when the
Emperor torched Nerima."
    "True, whole place became one mass grave.  Pity, but it had to be done."
    "Absolutely, the Emperor couldn't submit to blackmail."  One of the
Emperor's memories surfaced, of a video link showing a hardfaced government
agent holding a gun to Akane's head and demanding he disconnect himself
immediately.  The Emperor's response was to turn an orbital laser onto the
transmission's source.  No one ever tried blackmailing him again.
     In his fourth floor lab Dr. Maxwell continued babbling, trying to make
some kind of deal with Hibiki.  The figure watched him impassively, twitching
his gun occasionally when Maxwell slowed down.  Maxwell didn't understand any
of this.  He'd heard screaming outside then Hibiki kicked in the door.  He
wasn't using the Guyver, he didn't need to.  A combination of energy spheres,
lethal bandannas and that unbelievable weapon had emptied the lab.  When
Maxwell was the only survivor he had been asked to give any details on the
artifact not committed to the computer.  Wishing to live longer he had, but
he was running out of facts and somehow Hibiki knew when he started inventing
stuff.
     The door opened and the robot walked in, it was impossible to mistake its
nature.  Its gaze flicked over Maxwell and went to the Displacer.  "So that's
the cause of this whole mess?"
     "That's it.", 541 replied.  "Ugly looking thing to die for isn't it?"
     "Wwww ...WAIT!"  Maxwell had caught the words "die for."  "You want to
fight Kronos, I'll help.  Whoever ... whatever you are I know where we ...
they are based.  I can ..."  He cut off as the robot raised a hand
     "Sorry Doctor but it's far too late.  What happened here is happening at
every Kronos base worldwide.  Before sunset Kronos will have ceased to exist.
First the major bases then the secondary centers.  It's over."
     Maxwell gasped, that just couldn't be.  But Hibiki and this thing had
technology he couldn't understand.  Was it possible?  "But ... but we're
Kronos", he stuttered.  "We're the one and only secret society, tha cabal that
dominates the world from the shadows.  We've been around for centuries!  We
can't get wiped out in one day!  It ... it's not fair!"
     541 nodded, "You're right it isn't fair."  He took aim at the shaking
scientist.  "I suggest you apply to the universe for a refund."  The weapon
hummed briefly.  "Shall we get on with it?"
     207 nodded and aimed at the alien machine.  Both androids fired their
IFDs on widebeam bathing the artifact.  For a few seconds it seemed to resist
them.  Then the intrisic field binding its molecular structure collapsed and
it faded away.  "OK, the job's done.  Five minutes until crossover, let's go."
     Both androids went through the window.  541 absorbed the impact better
than 207, his armour was still functional.  218 had already joined 673
outside, one last task and they were out of here.
     During this time Ryoga and company had been watching in confusion. 
Whoever these guys were they seemed to be doing one hell of a job on Tempus.
Most of the seventh floor was open to the sky after energy beams had come
ripping out of it.  Zoanoids attempting to run away had been blasted by the
Ryoga lookalike.  Those were well on the way to dissolution.  Now the
lookalike had been joined by two others and someone, something with a steel
face.  A face that Ryoga recognised from that weird incident a few nights
earlier.  All four were training those weird weapons on the ground floor.
     On the seventh floor the Guyver unit continued in regenerating tissue
to repair the damage to its symbiote.  It was not intelligent and so could not
have comprehended that it was about to have to start from scratch.
     The four Ryogoids open fire on the building's support columns.  These
disintegrated under the fire.  Momentarily the building hung unsupported. 
Then it crashed downward, shattering under its own weight.  Mission
accomplished with five minutes to spare.  They walked away from the building's
remains toward crossover point.
     Ryoga (followed by his friends) moved to intercept them.  "Hey, wait a
minute!"
     207 connected to his collegues, "Remember we're programmed not to act
against him and if he summons the Guyver he has the power to toast us.  So
everybody act nice and get ready to warp out on my signal."  To Ryoga he
asked, "Yes?"
     "I ... well I ...uh saw something like you a few days ago ..."
     "The late 303", 207 thought.
     "And when I was on that other world the other me mentioned robots that
looked like us so ..."
     "Yes, the four of us are Ryogoids."
     "Ahh.  Uh so why are you attacking Tempus?"  Ryoga considered the scene.
"I should say why did you destroy Tempus?"
     "Well it wasn't just Tempus, we're destroying every Kronos site in your
world.  You should listen to the news, I imagine it's the story."
     Ryoga just stared at 207.  So it was left to Nabiki to ask, "Why are you
doing this?  According to the ... other Ryoga you're the bad guys?"
     "Well Nabiki (whatever happened to our Nabiki Tendo?) this is purely self
interest.  Kronos might have messed up our history.  As you both learned they
were experimenting with dimensional travel.  Which incidentially is why you've
been crossing worlds recently.  So we decided to take them out."
     "That's it?  You just did it for yourselves?  You didn't care about all
the people they've murdered?"  Ryoga studied his lookalikes with loathing.
     "Not in the slightest.  Self interest is the key to success.  At least
it was for Emperor Hibiki."  Almost 8:00 am, next squad was due.  "Time to warp
, bye."  The four androids vanished, no lightshow, no weird noises, just
gone.
     "But, but, but ..."  Ryoga waved a hand through the space the androids
had occupied.
     Nabiki put a hand on his shoulder.  "Forget it Ryoga.  If they've really
got rid of Kronos who cares about their motives.  Now let's get out of here
before the police show up."  She considered, "We'd better leave the car, last
thing we need is a grand theft auto charge."  In the distance the wail of
emergency sirens could be heard.  The collapse of a building was hardly going
to go unnoticed.
     They headed off.  "First thing to do is find a TV.  Then we find out if
Kronos is really under attack."

*****************************************************************************
8:00 am Tuesday - Takahashi Industrial Park - Ryoga 1/2 Timeline      
    
     When the "actors" didn't reappear and the camera crew didn't emerge after
ten minutes the crowd began breaking up.  In fact Ryoga was thinking of
forgetting about it and leaving.  Ukyou was still insisting that since they'd
arranged for a day off school everyone could help her fix up her restaurant.
"After all", she concluded, "it is sort of your fault."
     "That guy wasn't me so ... oh no!"  Ryoga's voice shook as the four
figures reappeared.  Three of them still looked like him but the fourth ...
Ryoga had seen a face like that once before, he was never going to forget it.
"Ryogoids!"
     "That's right cousin", 207 said cheerfully.  "Just passing through on
our way back to our own time."
     "Uh ... sure."  He'd help wreck one of them, did machines bear grudges?
Were they still unable to act against him (or any other Ryoga Hibiki)?
     "Well we'd love to stick around and chat but we have to get to our
timescoop point.  We had to take an indirect route to avoid materializing
inside a crowd.  Occupying the same space as humans gets messy."
     That made for an unpleasant mental picture.  "Don't let me keep you."
     "Oh by the way your recent visitors will be sticking to their own world.
However we can return to this world anytime we want."  The other three
androids gave menacing smiles.  They couldn't act against this guy despite
the trouble he'd help cause.  The best they could do was give him a new
anxiety.  "Be seeing you."
     The androids marched off.  Ryoga made no attempt to follow.  Just great,
that was about the last thing he wanted to hear.  Behind him Nabiki said,
"Loveable guys."
     "A million laughs."  He sighed, "What did I do to deserve this?"
     Nabiki snuggled up to him, "You got lucky."
     Good point.  The hell with the androids.

******************************************************************************
1:20 am July 2nd 2120 AD - Rio De Janeiro, Brazil - Imperial Timeline

     207 and his collegues reappeared in the timescoop chamber.  They had
spent thirty minutes at the Delta line scooppoint waiting for the ride home.
Now they were back, returning in triumph as the team to have destroyed the
central point in this operation.  Time to celebrate.
     Strangely the crowd of Ryogoids in the assembly hall seemed very subdued.
Why?  Could their missions have miscarried?
     The answer they received mystified them.  "Look at the sky."
     So they did.  Android eyes studied it with inhuman precision.  After a
few moments 207 remarked, "There must be something wrong with my eyes.  It's
cloudless but I can't see the stars." 
     "Your eyes are fine.  The stars are gone."  Unit 512 looked depressed.
     "WHAT!"
     "They blinked out after the last squad departed.  Forget linking to the
network, the Emperor's monopolizing it until he's figures this out."
     "This is impossible ... unless there's some sort of time paradox."
     512 nodded.  "The current favorite theory is those rebels did alter
history.  Our present ceased to exist, except somehow we kept existing as we
were crucial to altering Timeline Gamma's history.  With that done our world,
our universe began to collapse."
      "But if that's the case ..."
      "Why are we still here?"
      "Yes."
      "No one knows.  This solar system seems stable even if the rest of the
universe has vanished."  With a little embarrasment he said, "A human thinker
has postulated that in opening dimensional holes we're somehow tapping energy
from other universes or from the connections between them.  But it's
insufficent to maintain a whole "dead" universe, though it can maintain a
single solarsystem."
     "That's nonsense ... isn't it?"
     "No one knows, how often does the universe end on you?"
     "Once."  207 considered, "This bites.  But we still exist and we have
time travel.  If the Emperor removes the lockout we can travel back to our own
past and set things right.  The Empire isn't dead yet."
     207 headed for the repair bay.  He'd get himself fixed and volunteer for
the mission.  It was far from over.

*****************************************************************************
Noon Tuesday - Tendo Dojo - Guyver Ryoga Timeline

     Ranma and Ryoga entered the Dojo cautiously.  While they'd heard plenty
of newsreports indicating Kronos was being wiped out that didn't mean there
couldn't be a Zoanoid or two waiting here.  After all Kronos had hours to
replace the ones Nabiki and P-chan surprised.
     There was definitely someone in here, they could here footsteps.  This
is it Ryoga thought.  "GUYV ... Mr. Tendo?"
     "Father?"  Akane had followed them.
     "Good morning Akane."  He seemed cheerful, it had been weeks since they'd
seen him like this.  "Does anyone know why the house is such a mess?"
     "Daddy?"  Nabiki edged in the door.  "Akane told us you wandered off."
     "Did I?  I suppose I might have, it's hard to remember.  Things seem
vague lately.  Anything important going on?"
     "Oh, yes.  It looks like Kronos might actually be gone."
     Soun looked politely puzzled, "Who?"
     Akane looked a bit scared, "Daddy, what's wrong with you?"
     "I'm afraid that's my doing."   The voice was recognisable but its owner
had left Nerima permanently.  However the shrivelled figure in the green dress
was unmistakeable.
     "COLOGNE!"
     "Hello again youngsters."
     Ranma was the first to address her.  "You told us you were never coming
back."
     "I changed my mind."
     Akane realized something.  "You did something to my father."
     "Yes.  He was tormented by the past so I removed it."
     "What?"
     "Xi Fa Xiang Gao Shiatsu.  Who did you think taught Shampoo the
technique?"
     Ranma remembered it, Shampoo had used it on Akane to remove her memories
of him.  "You wiped his memories?"
     "Obviously.  No need to thank me."
     "THANK YOU!"  Akane couldn't believe this.  "You mess with my father's
mind and ..."  She trailed off as she studied Soun.  "Well I suppose he's in
better shape now than he's been in weeks but ..."  Feeling very confused
Akane went silent.  Nabiki took over.
     "What gives you right to mess with people's minds?"
     "Having the power to do so."
     "So why are you back ghoul?" 
     "Watch it Ranma, since you aren't a potential son-in-law anymore I don't
have to be nice to you."
     Akane moved closer to Ranma, "If you're thinking of sending Shampoo after
him again ..."
     "You can relax child my granddaughter will not be returning."
     "Something happened to her?"  Ranma sounded worried, Akane glared at him.
     "She will not be returning as she no longer remembers any of you."  She
nodded at Soun, "He's not the only one to lose bad memories."
     "WHAT!"
     Cologne sighed.  "As you recall we left here to avoid being caught in
your troubles.  Shampoo didn't want to go but when in her cat form she was
easy to transport.  When we returned to our village I hoped she'd have calmed
down.  She hadn't, she was determined to return here to die with Ranma.  Also
she took Mousse's death a lot harder than I had anticipated.  She was
uncontrollable, I faced losing my great-granddaughter to a futile death.  It
was not an easy decision, however there was no choice.  She no longer
remembers leaving the village and believes her amnesia was caused by an
accident during training.  I also told her that Mousse died several years ago.
No one in the village will tell her the truth, I made it quite clear that
anyone who did would answer to me.  Shortly afterwards she became involved
with Stylinggel, another of her childhood suitors.  Not the husband I would
have chosen for her but I guess he'll have to do."
     There was a brief silence.  It was broken by Ryoga asking, "That still
doesn't explain why you've returned.  You told us you were never coming
back."
     Cologne nodded, "So I did.  However it occurred to me that I had acted
too hastily.  It would be a wiser policy to observe Kronos and learn all I
could about them.  With their attention focussed on you I was able to observe
them."
     Nabiki was the first one to get it. "Excuse me, you've been watching
us for weeks?  During which time you never felt any urge to help us."
     "Correct.  My main concern was and is the village.  We have no blood
ties and are unlikely to ever have any.  Exposing myself would merely have
endangered my own life.  Matters would have proceeded the same way if I wasn't
present."
     "But you were present."
     "Yes, but you didn't know that.  In any event I did help your father.  I
found him wandering the town in a delerious state.  I brought him here and
removed the source of his madness."
     Nabiki glared at the crone.  "Was this before or after you heard Kronos
was finished."
     "I must admit it was after reports of Kronos's collapse were being
broadcast."
     "How very considerate."
     "Remember I had no obligation to help him.  If you would prefer him
returned to his former state ...."
     Nabiki sighed, "I guess not, but this seems wrong somehow."
     "Grief affects people differently.  Most bend beneath its weight but spring
back.  Others simply break.  In any event shall we watch the television?" 
Without waiting for an answer Cologne's staff brushed the on button.
     A newscast came on reporting that rescue efforts at the first Kronos
building to collapse were in their eighth hour and still hadn't found anyone.
The newscaster solemly remarked, "It was just over five weeks today that the
Tokyo offices of Kronos Incorporated collapsed.  Despite weeks of excavation
and reports of the building being full not a single body was found.  While it
is still too early to speculate people have begun to wonder if this strange
pattern is to be repeated worldwide.   In other news reports of an eruption at
Mount Minakaumi evidently drove the residents of nearby Takeshiro village to
spontaneously evacuate.  Currently the whereabouts of these refugees are
unknown.  Authorities are asking for public cooperation in locating them so that
an emergency shelter can be set up."
     "Returning to our top story, 'The Kronos Collapse', locally the Kronos
subsidiary Tempus Research and Development ..."
     The TV continued babbling away though no one paid it much attention.  No
one was sure whether they should celebrate or mourn for the victims of the
secret war.  Cologne looked at them, "It appears to be all over.  Now what?"
     That was the question.  What now indeed?
     The rest of the day passed in a blur.  They spent most of the time sitting
in front of the TV, listening to experts who had no idea what had actually
happened, reports of new Kronos collapses, stock market chaos as Kronos shares
dropped to zero, and the continued failure of rescuers to find any bodies among
the rubble.
     Toward evening Nabiki got up to stretch.  She'd dozed off for a few
minutes.  Ranma was slumped against a wall, his arm around Akane.  Both of them
were asleep, hardly surprising as none of them got much sleep last night. 
Ryoga and Cologne were gone though the door to the patio remained open.  She
wandered over quietly hearing voices.  Ryoga was finishing his explanation of
recent events.
     Cologne was saying, "Why do you look so down?  You are probably the most
fortunate of everyone involved with these troubles.  You possess an invincible
weapon with remarkable powers to heal you.  Your own family is safe, though
dispersed randomly over the face of the planet.  Still that's normal for them.
In any event your enemy has fallen and you can resume your old life."
     "Can I?  Can any of us?"  Ryoga waved a hand at the house behind them. 
"They've lost so much and it all stems from me.  So many dead on my account.
For that matter am I still human?  Am I Ryoga Hibiki or a copy created by the
Guyver?"
     "If you are a copy then you are a perfect copy.  So that question must
remain unanswered.  There is no way to tell.  Besides I suspect there is more
to this you are not telling me.
     Ryoga glared, "All right this is what's bothering me.  A few months back I
got sucked into a war I didn't know existed.  Everything went crazy and people
died for no reason.  Now just like that it's over."
     "You feel the glory of ending it should have been yours?"
     "NO! ... OK maybe I feel a little like that."  He paused to order his
thoughts.  "Suddenly there's a war, just as suddenly it's all over.  That seems
... wrong."
     Cologne chuckled without real humour.  "You've matured quite a bit
recently but you are still very young.  Do you really think it's different in
the other wars men have fought in?"  Cologne's mind drifted back over the years,
the many struggles she'd witnessed.  "Leaders declare war for matters of their
own interest.  The soldiers fight for patriotism, glory, honor or homeland. 
They know nothing of their leaders real intentions.  One day a decisive battle
is fought somewhere.  Peace is declared and a treaty is signed.  The remaining
soldiers go home,  most of them were nowhere near the final conflict.  There
was war, now there is peace and life must return to its former course."
     "That ... that's so cynical."
     "Study human history and tell me how to live 300 years without becoming
cynical.  But there's something else."
     "Yes.  I've told you about the robots."
     Cologne nodded, "I remember, go on."
     "They had the power to stop Kronos anytime but they didn't.  They didn't
intervene until it affected them.  Before that they just ignored what was
happening."
     "You would prefer outsiders continually meddling in our world?"
     "No, no of course not.  It's just that ... well they were sort of me.  How
could I act like that?"
     Cologne studied him.  At length she said, "You share a name with the Ryoga
of their world.  Don't assume you share anything else.  A man is shaped by his
experiences and how he reacts to them.  You can become a monster if you choose
or you can be a man.  It's your decision."
     "Yeah.  Anyway I guess I should be going.  Sticking around will keep a lot
of bad memories alive."
     "Wait a second!"  Cologne surpressed a smile as Nabiki stopped listening
and joined them.  He didn't have a clue she was there, she thought.
     Aloud Cologne said, "Well I should get inside.  Even these mild nights can
be hard on old bones."  Mounting her staff she hopped inside and closed the
door.
     As soon as she was gone Nabiki said, "You're leaving me!  Us, I meant us!"
     "Well yeah", Ryoga felt verry ill at ease.  "Kronos is gone and I've
brought too much evil on this house.  Besides Akane's not going to want me
under the same roof as her."
     "Akane will get over it!  We've been over this before, Kronos holds the
responsibility for everything that happened."
     "No, part of the guilt is mine.  If I hadn't come here ..."
     "They'd probably have transformed us into Zoanoids in case you ever came
here.  There was nothing they wouldn't have done to regain the Guyver."
     "Maybe but ... "
     "You're planning to leave us unprotected?"
     "What!"  Ryoga looked at her.  "Nabiki, it's over!"
     "It it?  How many Zoanoids were outside Tempus or this mysterious mainbase
when they were destroyed?"
     "How should I know?"
     "Could be dozens.  What if they come looking for revenge?  And then there's
Ranma."
     "What about Ranma?"
     "Kuno's still out there with his Guyver unit.  He's sworn to kill Ranma,
remember?  Who can hold him off besides you?"
     Ryoga thought this over.  "That's sort of true, but it's mainly
rationalization."  "Still", he considered, "I don't really want to go and she
doesn't want me to go so ..."  Out loud he said, "Well, its not like I have
anywhere to rush off to.  It can't hurt to stay a bit longer.  Provided no one
objects."
     "Don't worry about that."  Then, somewhat hesitantly she asked, "Ryoga.
Do you think I'm ugly now?"
     She'd turned her face so the scarred side was before him.  He tried to
think of something to say, nothing came to mind.  Following an impulse he gently
turned her head to face him.  He studied the woman before him for a long moment
and then kissed her.
     From a window Cologne watched.  Interesting.  Clearly this union had begun
in the fires of battle.  Now that there was peace would it endure?  Only time
would tell.  On a personal level what should she do now?  She could return to
the village now that Kronos had vanished as a threat.  Still it got dull around
there sometimes.  Perhaps she'd stick around for a while, see what happened.
That other Guyver could make things interesting.
      Coincidentally across town at the rubble pile that had been Tempus Inc.:
      "Ok it's secured, haul away."
      The crane operator nodded and began lifting the wall section.  The
emergency service workers watched with a certain apathy.  None of them really
expected to find anything.  They'd been at this for hours and it looked like the
building had been empty when it collapsed.  Indeed from the newsreports it was
the same at every Kronos site around the world.  A couple of the workers were
talking.
     "Say Kousuke we seem to have lost our audience."
     The crowd of spectators who'd been watching had broken up and drifted away.
Excavating an empty building wasn't too exciting.
     Kousuke nodded.  "Yeah, you know this reminds me of when we were digging
out Kronos Tokyo.  The only people who watched us were folks passing by.  No
tearful relatives looking for loved ones inside.  Almost as if the people
inside didn't exist."
     "They didn't.  We never found a single body."   No one knew that the
Zoanoids had been present, they'd just disintegrated after death.  The only
human casualty when Tokyo branch came down was Happosai.  The explosion didn't
leave any fragments big enough to be identifiable.
     "Hey did you hear that?"
     Suddenly a beam of energy ripped out of the rubble, disintegrating all
the concrete before it.  Something black and armoured levitated out of the hole
and settled on top of the rubble.  Running on automatic mode the Guyver scanned
for threats.  None detected, all the workers had frozen at the sight of it.
The control medallion defaulted into standby mode, return to homebase and
deactivate.  Host's memory supplied the necessary coordinates.  The Guyver
turned, reduced its weight by gravity manipulation and leapt in the approriate
direction.
     Watching it sail off the Supervisor asked the worker next to him, "Yoshi
did you see that?"
     "No."
     The supervisor considered reporting a black spiky alien had climbed out of
the ruins and flown off.  "Neither did I.  All right everyone get back to work!"
     Arriving at the Kuno Mansion (after crashing through the roof) the Guyver
deactivated.  The fully restored Tatewaki Kuno looked around blankly.  He was
unaware he'd just been rebuilt after being both partially disintergrated and
squashed by the building's collapse.
     His senses returned (more or less) and he bellowed, "You defeated me this
time Saotome but this is far from over.  I shall not rest until I have freed my
loves and destroyed you utterly!"
     There may be a moral here somewhere.  Though apart from don't give idiots
superweapons it's hard to say what that might be.
     In the shadows Kodachi considered this new development.  It appeared her
brother had gained control of the demon that had attempted to consume him
yesterday.  Amazing, she wouldn't have thought he had that much willpower.
Regardless it sounded like he was going to become a threat to her darling Ranma.
Now what to do about him?
 
*******************************************************************************

Tuesday Evening - Tendo Dojo - Ryoga 1/2 Timeline
 
     It was a pleasant night and Nabiki and Ryoga were sitting together on the
porch.  From inside Akane could be heard saying, "Ranma you jerk!"  This was
followed by a crash and Shampoo saying, "Tomboy stop picking on Shampoo's
husband."  More crashes and yelling followed.
     "Sounds like everything's back to normal."
     Ryoga nodded, he looked a little distracted.  "So what's wrong", Nabiki
asked.
     "Just thinking about something?"
     "Those robots?'
     "No, not much we can do about those.  We'll just have to live with the
possibility they'll come back."
     "What is it then?"
     "That other me you met might be OK but there's another one I've been
thinking about.  You remember my trip to another universe?"
     "Yes, hey if that was true after all that means you did get to see yourself
die.  That's awful!"
     "Yeah.  All part of life I suppose.  Still makes me feel cold remembering
it."  He shivered slightly.  "But the one I was thinking about was the guy we
called Ryoga 5."
     "The one who lost an arm?"  Ryoga nodded.  "He was engaged to Ukyou?"
     "Kodachi, Ryoga 4 was engaged to Ukyou."
     Nabiki studied him, "Let me guess Mr. Ryoga 2, you're wondering how your
counterpart fared after arrival back home."
     "You've got it, he was in pretty bad shape."  Ryoga sighed.  "I guess
I'll never know."
     Nabiki put an arm over his shoulders.  "Callous as it sounds you'll never
know so stop worrying about it.  There's too much to worry about in our own
world without adding another one.  So forget it and pay me a bit of attention."
     "You're right."  He stopped staring off into space and turned his
attention to his lover.  "What would I do without you?"
     "All sorts of silly things."
     "You know you looked pretty good with an eyepatch."
     "Idiot."  She said it with affection.  Perhaps she should try to shock
him tonight by wearing nothing but an eyepatch.  Yo ho.
     Inside the commotion continued as life got back to normal.

Almost the end.

Epilogue - Whatever happened to Ryoga 5?

     Another dimension, another world, a few hours earlier.
  
     Akane headed down the hospital corridor toward Ryoga's room.  He was out
of the intensive care unit and seemed stable.  However he still hadn't emerged
from his coma.  The police still didn't have any idea what had happened.  They
weren't even sure if it was an assault or some sort of bizarre accident.  All
Akane knew was that Saturday she'd been visiting Dr. Tofu.  Suddenly through a
window she'd seen someone shamble towards the clinic.  She'd open the door and
confronted a very pale Ryoga.  His left arm ended in a charred stump just past
the elbow.  He'd muttered "Help me" and collapsed in deep shock.  Dr. Tofu had
managed to stabilise him until the ambulance arrived.  What had caused the
injury was still unknown.  It appeared something intensely hot had sliced his
arm off almost instantaneously.
     She arrived at the room she'd been directed too.  Kodachi was paying the
bills for a private room so Akane decided to walk straight in.  Inside Ryoga
remained comatose in the bed, the EEG indicated no change.  Kodachi was curled
up in a chair on the right side of the bed.  She was holding Ryoga's remaining
hand.  Kodachi looked up at Akane's arrival, it was obvious she'd been crying.
"What are you doing here?"
     "Pleasant as ever", Akane thought.  Aloud she said, "I was on my way home
from school and thought I'd see how Ryoga was doing."  More softly she asked,
"No change?"  Kodachi shook her head.  "Would you like a tissue?"
     Angrily Kodachi wiped her eyes.  "I don't cry, that's for weaklings."  The
tears trickling down her face made it obvious she was lying.
     Akane wasn't sure what to say.  Frankly she'd never been too happy about
Kodachi and Ryoga's relationship.  It had all begun when Kodachi snuck over to
the Dojo to cripple Akane prior to their match.  She'd fallen off the roof and
been saved by Ryoga.  For her it had been love at first sight.  Ryoga hadn't
been similarly affected, Akane suspected he'd had a crush on some other girl.
In any event from that time on Kodachi had been chasing Ryoga.
     Then a few months ago things changed.  It started with Kuno displaying a
variety of strange personality shifts.  He gone through severe depression,
paranoia, schziophrenia, and generally acted weird.  Shortly after that Ryoga
had suddenly become smitten with Kodachi and they'd become known as a couple.
     A week or two after that Akane had run into Ryoga again.  He'd been
extremely depressed but had told her what was going on.  Fearing she'd lose
Ryoga to another girl Kodachi had begun experimenting with mind altering drugs.
She'd tested these concotions on her brother hence Kuno's recent weird
behaviour.  Once she was sure she'd finally got it right she'd contrived to
get Ryoga to inhale it. 
     It had worked perfectly, Ryoga fell into chemically induced love with
Kodachi.  She'd kept him in this state for about ten days.  Then, fearing
biological damage, she'd discontinued the drug.  Which brought Ryoga to here
and now.  He had no idea what to do now.  Akane had no idea what to tell him.
Ryoga had muttered something about how he'd thought the bath together would
have got Kodachi over her crush except she'd thought it was cute.  He hadn't
explained further and Akane hadn't really wanted to ask.  Ryoga had implied
he was obligated to stay with Kodachi, that if he broke up with her she'd
be "dishonoured".   Akane got the distinct that things had gotten rather
intense during the past week.  She also felt Ryoga was struggling to tell her
something but couldn't bring himself to say it.
     So on that unusual basis Ryoga and Kodachi's relationship had begun.  At
first Ryoga had seemed more resigned to it than happy.  Later he'd seemed to
be enjoying her company.  Perhaps things were working out for them.  For her
friend's sake Akane hoped so.
     Things had got a little stranger after that.  Tatewaki Kuno had suddenly
become obsessed with the idea of eliminating Ryoga and getting his sister to
marry Ranma.  He felt if he did this Akane and Ranma-chan were his.  If this
peculiar idea was a sideeffect of his sister's experiments on him was unclear.
What was clear was that after his own attempts to get rid of Ryoga failed
(since that pitted him alone against both Ryoga and Kodachi) he had hired
professionals.
     Actually it's questionable the "Order of the Purple Striped Dragon"
Ninjas could be considered professional.  They were fairly inept and Ryoga
managed to outrun or outfight them on a regular basis.  Still perhaps they'd
got lucky and been behind Ryoga's injury.  Akanne had told the police about
them.  The detectives had looked at her as if she was nuts and told her that
ninjas did not exist outside of movies or TV.  Morons!
     Meanwhile two members of the nonexistant ninja group were entering the
hospital.  Both were wearing regular clothes to avoid suspicion which made
one of the two very nervous.
     "Yohko without our hoods we'll be easy to identify later.  This is a
really bad idea."
     "Shut up Morisato!  We have a contract to fufill and our target is in
here.  this is the best chance to strike we'll get.  Now move it shorty!"
     Keiichi sighed, this ninja warrior stuff had sounded pretty good back on
career day at highschool.  He should have known that the only group without a
height requirement would have something wrong with it.  "I should have gone to
technical college when I had the chance", he thought.  So far all this job had
got him was beaten up by Hibiki on a regular basis.  If that wasn't bad enough
the training from the clan leader (Yohko's grandmother) had nearly finished him.
     They entered the elevator.  As they were alone Keiichi asked Yohko,
"Yohko, just how many people have you killed?"
     "Including the one we're about to do?"
     "Yes."
     "One."
     "Wonderful", he thought.  "She has no more idea if she can really do it
than I do."
     To herself Yohko was thinking.  "This is it, this is where I prove to the
old bat I can take over the clan.  But do I still really want to?"
     Meanwhile a doctor had entered Ryoga's room.  "Miss Kodachi I thought I'd
find you here.  Your brother is out of surgery and we've managed to remove the
bokken.  He'll be unconscious for a while but should be awake before the end of
visiting hours."
     "Thank you doctor."
     "Whoever shoved it down his throat was remarkably skillful.  They managed
to do it without rupturing anything or completely blocking his airway.  While
very painful and uncomfortable it was probably a warning of some sort since
whoever did it could have finished him off with ease.  The police will want to
talk to him.  Hopefully he can identify the person who assaulted him."
     The doctor left.  Behind him Kodachi murmured, "He'd better not ID his
attacker.  I warned him that next time he'd need a proctologist to get the
bokken out."
     "You did it?"
     Kodachi had forgotten Akane was present.  Very coldly she said, "His
ninjas may have been responsible for what happened to Ryoga.  If so he got
off very lightly.  No on touches what's mine.  NO ONE!"
     "Have you considered therapy?"
     "Not since my analyst ran away."
     Outside the room Yohko unsheathed the Sai's that had been strapped to her
thighs and concealed by her skirt.  "OK I'm going in, cover me."
     "Uh, right."  Keiichi was fumbling around in his shirt for the bandolier
holding his throwing knives.  The hell with him.  Yohko kicked open the door
and charged in. 
     Akane gaped in surprise at the armed woman in the red dress.  Suddenly,
as the intruder crossed the room's halfway point, she was entangled in a red
ribbon.  Kodachi slid the window open, "This definitely completes your ensemble
dear.  Now go play outside!"  Kodachi snapped the ribbon towards her.  With a
howl the ensnared woman sailed out the window and plunged downward.  Kodachi
slammed the window shut and snarled, "Like to try something?" at the young man
in the doorway.
     "Ah no, not really.  I've been planning to get out of this business."
     "Fine but first I want you to get in touch with your boss.  Now that my
brother can talk again he's going to cancel his contract with you.  I am through
treating you people as a bad joke!"
     "Yes Ma'm.  Uh I'll go pry Yohko out of the carpark. If that's ok with
you?"
     "Get out of here!"
     "Yes Ma'm."  As he headed downstairs Keiichi made up his mind.  It was time
to get out of this loony business and go to college.  Yeah, go to college and
study engineering.  He'd always been good with machines.  Maybe join an auto
club, you knew where you were with motorcycles.  Life would definitely become a
lot more normal.
     Behind him an EEG showed increased brain activity.  Like most martial
artists Ryoga sensed threats on an almost instinctive level.  His body tried to
rouse its consciousness to defend itself.  A therapy no one had tried on him as
doctors don't like threatening their patients.  Somewhat incoherently he
muttered, "Whashappenin" and tried to move.
     Kodachi put her hands on his shoulders and held him down.  "Don't try to
move, you could hurt yourself."  To Akane she snapped, "Don't just stand there
get a doctor, a nurse, or somebody!"
     Ryoga's eyes focused on the woman above him.  "Kodachi ... wasn't sure
you'd be here."
     "Of course I'm here.  Where else would I be?"
     Very weakly Ryoga whispered "Had a real bad day ... it hurts."
     "You'll be fine.  Together we can deal with anything."
     "Wasn't sure you'd want me ... broken toy."
     "You're not my plaything you're the man I love.  Why can't you understand
that!"  Her eyes filling with tears she turned back to Akane and shouted, "WHY
ARE YOU STILL HERE?  GET THE DAMN DOCTOR!"
     Akane headed out.  As she heard the door she heard Ryoga whisper, "Don't
cry, Rose."
     Uncertain if this was a happy ending or a sad one Akane hurried up the
corridor.  Behind her she heard Kodachi weeping as Ryoga tried to comfort her.
Looked like they were still a couple, but what would the future bring?

End.


Author's afterword:  This was supposed to be a simple story fleshing out one
                   of the characters from "Ryoga : Crossover" but it ballooned
               into this thing.  Anyway that's it.  So what did you think?
                   If you have a comment email me at "mlatus@willow.msvu.ca".
                  
               Loose ends:  What's happening in the Imperial timeline will
               be explained when I get around to writing the Crossover
               sequel "Ryoga : Futureshock".  Don't expect that anytime soon
               though, I have a few other things to write first.
               Ryoga 1/2 will return in "Ryoga 1/2 : Mother's Day"  which
               will deal with the chaos that results when Ranma's mother
               arrives for a visit.
               First though it's back to the Bubblegum Crisis Universe for
                 the sequel to "BGC : Tokyo Babylon"  It's called "Bubblegum
               Crash : Knights' End" and occurs just after the third Crash
               OAV ends.  Since it's going to get fairly involved I plan to
               write the whole thing at once then post it.  This is a
               change from my current chapter by chapter method and is done
               to prevent myself making glaring continuity errors.  It's
               tentatively scheduled for posting end of October.  Here's
               hoping.

                   Thanks to everyone who wrote in while I was writing "Worlds
               in Collision".  Your comments are always appreciated.

               Mark Latus
                 Oct. 6 '95