Authors Note: some people have voiced dislike over having multiple people become cyborgs and the method that they become them. well...I'm sorry. This was planned from day 1 that there would be more than one cyborg.

In case I haven't said so before, or if it isn't obvious, this story was somewhat inspired by Sunshine Temple's "The Return" an excellent piece of work if you can get passed the 'Tom Clancy' feel of it. And how different the characters start acting. I highly recommend it as the author is quite gifted and skilled.

Why has Ranma's Ki weakened or become...less?

What do we scientifically know about Ki? Nothing or next to nothing. Ki is 'life force' and it is widely accepted that things like animals have ki, but plants, rocks or stone do not, as they're not conciously alive.

I used this as a springboard, seeing as Ranma was alive and had martial arts training so a lot of ki. But since she's been so heavily damaged, and a lot of her body has been replaced by machinery or 'upgraded', her ki would've sharply decreased. Machinery does not generate ki, because it is not alive. Ranma has very little ki left now, making her appear weak to anyone who can read it, and forcing her to rely on other means to fight.

Ranma wouldn't accept firearms

Really? Why not? Ranma's stance on weaponry is that it's a tool. In canon, we see Ranma resort to weaponry, train with weaponry and master weaponry. So what is a gun other than a different kind of weapon? In my opnion, Ranma would use a gun if it suited her. And it does.

Ranma's guns wouldn't work!
I have stated before that i'm not a weapons technition. i know nothing about guns and firearms and i'm trying ot make this as realistic as possible but without any real knowledge of firearms i have nothing really to go on, if someone out there who IS knowledgeable about firearms wants to help me, then i'd welcome it and cite you as a source of my knowledge.

You have lots of spelling mistakes or continuity errors

I have no pre-readers my friend. my BF was going to do it but real life has otherwise pulled him into an evil and dark place. College. Therefor I have to try and catch my own errors.

Suggested Listening Music: A shot in the dark [Within Temptation]

The Weapon

A Ranma 1/2 fanfic by

Dianna "chinangel" Machen

"Are you going to watch?" Ryouga asked nervously. He was sitting on a medical table he had become quite familiar with. Since he had made his choice the doctor had been running him through test after test. She wanted to see how he fought, how he moved, she tested his body and gave him three physicals, as well as running tests that Ryouga had no comprehension of what they were for.

But now was the day...he hadn't eaten for a week and had only water to drink to clear his system. He was scared, but he'd never tell Saotome that.

"yup. I'm kinda curious to see what it's like."

"They never showed you your surgery?"

"I was pretty messed up." she explained, "my arms were pulped and my legs were crushed. I had lotsa fucked up organs and crushed bones, so they just kinda threw lotsa stuf finside me without really measurin'. I've spent the last few weeks being fine tuned. They changed my spine-"

"Your spine?"

"yup. they were gonna use my original one, but real nerves are much slower when ya compare 'em to my new one. It synchs up much better with ARGUS and my brain."

"ARGUS?"

"this." she tapped the metal triangle on her forehead, "it's a high-powered computer. Artificial Retina Guidance Upgrade System. It gives me a whole bunch of neat things I can do with my eyes."

"oh?" he was mildly intrigued, forgetting the anxiety at having his body changed.

"Yeah, they took my eyesw out an' put new ones in, ones that can..um..." he see's lines cross her eyes, "process visual data and transmit it back ta ARGUS which then gives me combat options"

Ryouga blinked.

"okay..what the hell is that?"

"what's what?"

"Your...eyes. You sometimes stop talking and these broken lines start to run across your eyes."

the redhead blushed.

"oh umm..that's ARGUS providing me with words to explain m'self. Ya see, I aint so good at talkin',"

"You don't say." he deadpanned, but it was lost on Ranma,

"yeah. An Argus lets me say things properly. If I dunno how ta say it, then it sends me data so I can try and say it properly. "

"I see..." Ryouga looked down at his hands. They wouldn't stop shaking, even if he clenched his fists.

Ranma glanced down at them too, her eyes enhancing his clenched yet trembling hands, and leaving the image in a window while sh elooked back at his face, seeing the sweat beading on his brow and his constant swallowing.

"Ya scared..."

"OF COURSE I'M SCARED!" Ryouga bellowed back.

"I...I...I don't want to be a-a-a-"

"A freak." she provided with quiet anger.

Ryouga scowled at her.

"Hey now just a-"

"Ya think I wanted this?" she gestured to her body, to the gleaming metal arms, the metal in her face, the metallic triangle, her somehow slightly larger breasts and wider hips.

"Ya think I wanted ANY of this! I DIDN'! I HAVEN'T SEE THE SUN IN WEEKS! I HAVE BEEN STUCK DOWN HERE EVERY DAY. BEIN' CHANGED AN' 'UPGRADED' AND 'ALTERED'. THEY RUN TESTS ON ME, AN-AN' TEACH ME HOW TA SHOOT GUNS TO KILL PEOPLE!

I DIDN' WANT ANY OF THIS!"

Ryouga thought he saw something shining in her eyes, but it may be because her eyes now have a special lens over them now to protect the more fragile camera and projection system behind the lens. 'Nearly indestructible' apparantly.

She stormed out of the doctor's office, leaving Ryouga dumbfounded.

Had Ranma been...crying?

The doctor returned some time later, interrupting Ryouga's introspection.

"it's time..." she says softly.

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(Authors note: I do NOT want to hear complaining about the 'medical innacuracey' of the scene i'm about to do. I do not care if it's innaccurate. I do not care if this wouldn't work. I do not care if this isn't how YOU see cyborgs working. I'm sorry if this seems mean-spirited or aggressive or bitchy, but I'm a little tired of people picking this fic apart. it's certaintly flawed but please, just try to enjoy yourself. I'm no Sunshine Temple here. )

Ryouga stripped, trying not to imagine the pretty gold-eyed woman watching him as he did so.

Then, he slowly laid down on the cold metal table and looked up at her.

"I'm afraid."

she gave him a tight smile.

"It will be over soon."

she pulled a surgical mask up, and put a different mask over his face, until he slowly closed his eyes.

they were divided into three teams, all directed by the doctor, a red-head watching from the observation room, metal hands clenched in worry.

One team began with teh amputation of the arms and legs, sealing the wounds with strange metallic caps at the shoulder and hips, but they had to do it slowly to avoid the mass loss of blood.

Another team, team 2, had his chest cavity open and were inserting some kind of large orb into his belly.

And team 3 were working on his skull. his brain was exposed and they were bringing over some kind of artificial skull with an orange fluid inside of it. they began by attaching it over the top of the skull where the brain was exposed, then moved on to removing the back of his skull, and replaced it with another metallic piece, and lastly they surgically lifted his face off and placed the front of the skull down.

The first team on the other hand were attaching the digital nerves to the new limbs, feeding them into surprisingly-delicate looking arms and legs, and slowly shifting the new limbs ever closer to their new homes in on the caps.

Team 2 then began to attach wide, convex disks to the side of the hips, locking them to the top of the legs, then they ran a few tests on a nearby console and nodded to eachother, apparantly pleased with the result.

seemingly satisfied with their work, and with the new metallic skeleton they had finished grafting over the original skeleton, they closed the chest cavity up. Then they put some kind of wide, oval-shaped covering on his chest and began to pour a skin-coloured fluid onto him.

The Poylmer would slowly replace his original skin, making it harder, more durable without losing any of the flexibility.

However, they stopped and removed the oval covering, revaling the area of his upper chest had been otherwise unnaffected. They covered the rest of Ryouga with some kind of plastic sheet, sealing it as best as they could to his skin, leaving only the area untouched by the fluid bared.

Then, they paused surgery to dump some kind of..water? onto him! It drenched his skin, soaking in, and triggering hte curse at first, but they continued, unabbated, the body unshifting much, as the new skeletons and implants therein prevented the change.

Then the pig-furred skin began to return to its normal colour, human pink..and then the real changes began. Changes that made Ranma gape, and not even ARGUS could provide her with a reasonable explanation for why she was seeing what she did.

Apparantly pleased with the outcome, they stopped the water and removed the sheet, returning to their duties and pouring the polymer onto his chest proper.

They also began pouring the same skin-coloured polymer onto the skull while another team inserted blue eyes into the skull, and checked computers to make sure the artificial eyes were transmitting to the brain.

Of course, 3 areas on the skull were left uncovered: a metallic triangle at the top, and two metal rectangles that followed the contour of the cheekbone.

Then ryouga was turned over and they opened up the back,a nd examined the spine.

They began by gently removing the brain stem from the spinal column and then the spinal column itself.

they returned with a metallic brace instead and inserted it where the spinal columne was and properly attached the ribcage to it and fed the nerve endings into the sides, as well as pulling the delicate stem fibres down into the top of the brace. then all three teams went to work on gently revealing the nerve tissue itself from each fibre and capping it with a small yellow digital translator, a process that took two hours to complete.

But, once done, they were locked into a cup-shaped device that was then attached to the top of the spinal brace.

And then Finally...finally after hours and hours and hours of intense surgery, ryouga's new artificial spine was brought out. a simple, but highly specialized cable that was pushed into the brace, and each of the nerves was hooked into the side, making the body jerk and shift as it happened. then the top of the spine was pushed into the 'nerve cup' at the top, hooking hte spine directly into the artificial skull.

This done, a metallic scaled plate was brought over and attached over top of the spine, covering it and sealing it, where the artificial skin was then placed.

It was done.

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"Someone approaches." the elderly woman frowned, feeling the interlopers before she saw them.

It was night on the mountain, and the nerimians had gathered near a fire to take a break from digging.

"Is it Ryouga?" Akane asked hopefully from where she was huddled under Kasumi's arms and a blanket draped over them both.

"no..." she stood, so did Mousse, Shampoo and Ukyo, gripping their weapons.

A man dressed in a rather plain suit, and with a blue pin on his lapel, approached them. The pin was of a circle with an arrow pointing upwards.

"Excuse me," he said in a pleasantly confused voice. He was a typical corporate type: clean cut, dark haired and well shaven. Utterly forgettable.

"What are you doing up here?"

"we look for Shampoo Husband yes?" snapped the amazon.

"I'm sorry..Miss?" he asked.

"Xian Pu!"

"SHampoo...well excuse me Miss umm..Shampoo, but this area is off-limits. We are performing our own investigations here and you're trespassing."

"Ranma-honey may have been burried under here, and y'all aint tellin' me where I can an' can't go until I find him!"

the man smiled but it was mildly strained.

"This is a private investigation," he repeated, "And this isn't up for discussion. Please, I must ask that you leave by noon tomorrow?"

"And if we don't!" yelled Akane, feeling rebellious.

"then we won't ask so nicely."

Unconcerned with the snarling, burning, hateful glares on him, he turned to leave.

"We are aware of the Amazons business in Japan, and are content to allow you to continue unabatted...so long as they remember where not to stick their hands." and with that parting jab, he began the descent.

"Shampoo kill" whispered the enraged girl and Mousse nodded his agreement.

"No...not right now. We lack the manpower to confront then for the moment...we will have to leave...for the moment." said Cologne, drawing a whine from Shampoo.

"but you will see just how long the arm of the Amazons are," thought the old woman, "I guarantee it"

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"easy...easy does it...slowly...sloooooooowly..." Ranma's voice filled Ryouga's ears.

Ryouga's eyes opened to a spray of numbers that he understood to be his boot-up sequence, telling him that, despite a few hiccups, he had powered up nicely.

"No..don't try to talk, just..sit up" her metal arms reached down and grabbed his, making an odd sensation of feeling her metal hands through his metal hands. HIs surprisingly thin hands.

She pulled him upwards then stopped his shoulder with her palm.

"Careful. Your center-of-gravity is all fucked up now, you need to be careful...come on...baby steps."

She held his wrists, walking backwards in front of him, holding his wrists.

"Come on...come on..slowly...slowly..good..GOOD!" she beamed happily. Walking had become hard..his body acting sluggish, like he had just woken up from a long sleep.

"I know you want to see yourself. Just...just...here." she helped him slowly sit in a chair.

Ryouga took slow breaths.

"Ranma i wa..!" he gasped and grabbed his throat. THis voice..this wasn' t his voice! What happened!

"Ranma they messed up they!" looking down he froze at what he saw.

"Ryouga..." Ranma picked up a mirror.

"I'm sorry Ryouga..." she held it up for him to see.

"They made you a girl."

End Part 8

Authors Rant: MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! oh god! I wonder how many of you are pissed at me! Okay..okay..now...practical question.

the surrgery scene. What did you think of it? Bear in mind that i had to make up the cyberization surgery on my own, and really had to think very hard on it. I am still not too pleased with it, as I wanted more detail but i didn't want to confuse anyone and i dind't want the scene to drag out.

I kept going back and back adn back again to examine it and re-read it and re-edit it.

Anyways, do you want to see more of these pseudo-medical scenes that show the inner workings and the creation of a cyborg? Do you want the details on how i see their pieces fitting together and how it all works?

I would like to know!

anyways!

Read and Review and that fun stuff.