Complete Control
Part 6
by Sean Gaffney

All characters are (C) 1999 Rumiko Takahashi, Kitty, Viz, etc., though I 
doubt that their creators would have them doing _this_.

This fanfic is rated NC-17.  This is also the part where is starts to get a 
bit darker.  (Yes, darker than it has been).  Call it mf, ff, nc, mc.

Special note to Ukyou fans:  I do not hate her.  Honest.  But for what the 
story needs, and the point at which she enters said story, she was the best 
character for the role.  I apologize if this upsets you. ^_^;;

Special note to Tarou fans:  stop reading, and don't read any future parts.  
It'll be best in the long run.


     It was clear from the moment Akane laid eyes on Ranma that he was not in 
good shape.  His arms were bare, and she could see numerous puncture marks on 
them.  His eyes seemed bloodshot, and the pupils were unfocused.  He was a 
complete wreck.
     None of this mattered to Akane, who felt energy fill her body for the 
first time in days.  A warm glow surrounded her heart as she took a deep 
breath.
     "Ranma!" she repeated.  This time he turned to see her.
     Her initial relief over, she could now worry.  They hadn't been treating 
him well here.  He looked horrid, and barely seemed to recognize her.  She 
turned to Cologne, planning to take her to task for what she had done.
     Unfortunately, the shock of Ranma's escape had worn off by that time, and 
four strong women appeared by his side, grabbing his arms and attempting to 
drag him back into the building.  Ranma looked at them and struggled briefly, 
before stopping and concentrating suddenly.  The four women fell to their 
knees, clutching their heads and crying out.
     Ranma strode from the house as quickly as possible, and grabbed Akane's 
arm.  She gasped as she felt his mind within her.  It was quite painful, 
mostly because Ranma was not entirely lucid.  She was experiencing much of 
Ranma's suffering, first-hand.  Tears fell from her eyes.
     He took Akane up in his arms and began to stride for the edge of the 
village, when suddenly Cologne placed himself in his path.
     "Son, if you intend to leave, you will have to get through me."
     Ranma cocked his head towards the Amazons lying on the ground.  When he 
spoke, his voice was raw and cracked.  "They'll die in about five minutes if 
you don't get them medical attention.  And can you really trust that a fight 
with me will take less than that?"
     Cologne's expression flickered.  She began to call out when Ranma added, 
"Anyone else you call over here will get the same treatment.  I'll get to them 
before they can do anything.  Let... me... go."
     Cologne's eyes narrowed, and for a moment it looked as though she might 
try to fight him anyway.  Then she spun on her stick and headed towards the 
four girls, who now seemed to be unconscious.  Ranma wasted no time, quickly 
running towards the forest, running a zig-zag as soon as he hit the trees, 
trying to be as unpredictable as possible.
     Akane noticed little of this; she was still caught up within Ranma's 
memories and controls.  He had been captured, and they'd tried to do something 
to his mind, something involving... shampoo?  She wept some more as she felt 
it attack his memories, trying to cleanse his mind of all thoughts.  The girl 
who had captured him managed to get him back to the village, mostly by dint of 
constantly knocking him out, but on arrival he had to be bound hand and foot 
to prevent him attempting anything.
     Akane was starting to whimper.  Ranma's memories hurt her, cutting into 
her mind like an open sore.  Seeing him like this was wrong.  She should have 
been there.  She should have done something.
     They had drugged him, injecting him with various things.  Some of them 
had odd effects on his mental powers, making him hallucinate wildly.  This 
kept up for two days, until he set the door ablaze with his mind just before 
the Amazon doctor entered.  She ran off yelling something about pyrokinetics, 
and the injections stopped.  He remained bound, though, and the hallucinations 
were still there.
     Akane began to shake as Ranma's memories continued to race through her 
mind.  She was vaguely aware of him setting her down, but she couldn't stop.  
They were hurting him, why wasn't she there, why couldn't she stop it?  She 
wasn't even cognizant that they were memories anymore.  All she knew was Ranma 
was feeling pain.
     She was on the ground now, her face lying on something wet.  Water was 
pressed to her face, and she drank it gratefully.  She looked up, finally able 
to focus, and saw Ranma looking down at her.  She drank his gaze deep, 
drowning in his eyes that she never thought she'd see again.  He still wasn't 
focusing, still seemed to be under the influence of whatever it was those 
monsters had given him.  But it was all right, they were safe now.  They were 
far away, and no one dared go after Ranma.  He'd take care of her.
     She smiled, and began to take off her clothes.  She knew how to take care 
of him, knew what he needed.  He needed to feel loved again.  She needed that 
too.  She wanted him inside her, taking her body and her mind.  She wanted to 
be able not to worry anymore, not to have to make decisions that hurt her 
friends.
     Not to think.
     She hated thinking.  She didn't want to do it anymore.
     So instead she finished disrobing and stood before Ranma, who was looking 
at her with some of the old fire back in his eyes.  She didn't wait, however, 
and quickly removed his pants and boxers, revealing his hard manhood beneath.  
The sight of it took her breath away.  She'd taken it for granted before Ranma 
had been captured, but she wouldn't do that anymore.  She knelt down and began 
to caress his length, while at the same time bringing her mouth towards his 
balls, kissing them lightly.
     Ranma began to moan softly.  "Akane," she heard him mutter.  She grinned 
and moved her mouth up towards the head of his penis, kissing it as well 
before taking it into her mouth.  Her hands cupped his sack as she began to 
move her head up and down, her tongue playing around Ranma's penis.  She 
wasn't trying to make things last.  She wanted to bring him to climax, wanted 
him to explode into her mouth.
     He did so a few moments later.  Despite her best efforts, she started to 
choke and ended up spitting most of it out.  Embarrassed, she carefully licked 
the rest from his rod.  *I guess I still need practice at this,* she mused.  
And then she was in his arms again, and he was laying her gently down in the 
moist ground.  They were by a river, she realized.  And then he took off his 
shirt, and rose above her, his member regaining its hardness.
     She was crying again, but this time from happiness.  Everything would be 
all right.  Ranma would take care of her.  He'd take care of the others.  
They'd go home, and everything would go back to normal.
     Ranma was entering her now, entering her body, entering her mind.  He was 
taking possession of her once more.  She cried out with pleasure, feeling so 
happy, so full of Ranma.  She'd do anything for him.  And then she wasn't 
thinking anything else at all, except for the pleasure.

***

     From her vantage point about fifty yards away, Kodachi had watched events 
with a sort of dazed helplessness, a feeling of falling but not knowing where 
the bottom was.
     It occurred to her that the reason was that she didn't expect them to 
find Ranma.  She had assumed this entire journey would be a colossal waste of 
time, and after a decent interval of searching, they would return to Nerima, 
the Tendou girl would drift out of their lives, and she and her brother could 
be happy again.
     Well, she could be happy again, in any case.
     And yet here he was, alive.  Alive and apparently even more insane than 
he had been when she first encountered him.  He had thrown four women to the 
ground in agony, talked to the matriarch for a few seconds (though Kodachi was 
unable to hear what they said), and then taken Akane and run off.  Amazingly, 
the matriarch made no attempts to go after them.  Presumably Ranma had done 
something to the girls.  The tribe would be more important.
     Kodachi had come across legends about the Tribe of the Joketsuzoku when 
researching some of her more exotic poisons.  A fiercely matriarchal tribe, 
every single resource she could find (and there weren't a lot) said the same 
thing:  don't fight them, don't let them fight you, and for God's sake don't 
insult their matriarch.
     When Kodachi had found out who she was speaking to when they brought 
Nabiki in, she nearly had a heart attack.  She quickly altered her tone, 
something even the others had noticed, but though she may be antisocial or 
any of the other phrases Kasumi's books used, she was no fool.
     Not being a fool, she was also looking for ways to escape from here when 
she saw the matriarch spin around from where she had been examining the four 
fallen women and head towards them.  Unfortunately, they were in the middle of 
the village, and the entire population seemed to have their weapons out by 
now.  Plus Kasumi was here, and she wasn't a fighter, and the other Tendou 
girl was still unconscious and needed medical attention.
     And most of all, she simply didn't dare move.  The old woman had some 
quality that made Kodachi want to gibber quietly to herself.  She at least 
possessed the strength not to do so as the woman walked up and glared at her.
     "We seem to have discovered your real reason for coming to the village," 
the matriarch said in an acid tone.
     Kodachi licked her lips, trying to get her mouth to move.  "We were 
looking for Ranma, and thought that he was in this village.  However, Nabiki's 
injuries are genuine."
     "It is very difficult to imitate broken bones."
     Kodachi winced.  "My apologies again, elder."
     Cologne waved a hand.  "Spare me.  I presume that Ranma has influenced 
you all in some way."
     Kasumi spoke up for the first time.  "Ranma is not this evil person you 
seem to think he is!  He is not someone who deserves to be chained up in a 
buil--"
     Kodachi pulled her backwards, serving to stop her chatter.  "Yes, we are.  
I like to think I am less influenced than the others, but of course that may 
just be what he wants me to think.  The Tendous are the worst, however.  All 
of them are totally devoted to Ranma."
     Cologne's eyes narrowed even more than normal.  "And you are not?"
     Kodachi shrugged.  "If I never saw Ranma again, or if he was killed, I 
would survive.  I would have to deal with what he had done to me, but it can 
be argued that what he did was less... no, never mind, you can't argue that.  
In any case, even with my brother comforting her, I doubt any of the Tendous 
could survive Ranma's departure at this point.  Especially the youngest."
     For a moment there was no response, and Kodachi began to get nervous 
again.  But then Cologne smiled, and nodded.
     "Good enough.  Can't expect you all to be back to normal... or what 
passes for it.  Be aware that if I find you've been lying to me..."
     "I am NOT lying," Kodachi bristled.
     "So," Cologne grinned.  "You *can* talk back to a matriarch.
     Realizing she'd just been tested, Kodachi gave a weak smile.
     Cologne jumped from the end of her staff to the ground, and indicated 
that the two girls should sit.  "A little late now.  The boy is gone, and his 
girl with him.  From the way he was looking at her, I imagine she was his 
first, am I correct?"
     Kodachi nodded.
     Kasumi chimed in again.  "Um... will those girls be all right?"
     For a moment Cologne's face darkened, as if chastising herself.  "Yes.  
The boy was bluffing me, he hadn't done anything permanent.  I knew he was, of 
course, but as with all good bluffs I couldn't take the chance.  He'd already 
learned pyrokinetics thanks to our healer's idiocy, who knew what else he 
could have picked up?"
     "You're being quite forward with us," Kodachi mused, then started, 
realizing she'd said that out loud.  Her controls were probably slipping 
again.  She wrapped her arms around her chest, pulling on each other.
     If the woman noticed Kodachi's behaviour, she gave no sign.  "Believe it 
or not, girl, I'm not the villain here.  Shampoo may have had it in her mind 
that she was getting a husband, but she was deceived.  We were here to remove 
that boy from society before he destroyed any lives."
     "Oh, well thank you!  You arrived in the nick of time!" Kodachi spat.
     Cologne got up and waved a hand.  "We should continue this at another 
time.  I'll ask someone to get you two some food and drink.  You can sleep 
with your friend if you like, but I will post a guard.  Not for you, but in 
case the boy comes back.  There's no telling what frame of mind he might be 
in, and I don't want him risking your friend's life in some foolish effort to 
'free' you all."
     Kodachi looked at the ground.  Obviously the woman was tired of 
attempting to pump them for information.  Fine, Kodachi didn't feel like 
talking to her anymore either.  She curled up tighter, drawing her knees up to 
her chest.
     For a few moments, she just sat there, staring at the ground.  Finally 
she felt Kasumi lifting her up, and allowed herself to be manhandled into the 
hospital building.
     Inside, Nabiki lay unconscious on her bed, staring at the ceiling.  The 
futility of their situation was pressing deeper and deeper into her mind.
     "Dammit," she screamed, knocking the contents of a table to the floor.  
"Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!"
     "Kodachi!" she heard Kasumi yelp.  "What's the matter?"
     "What's the MATTER?" Kodachi croaked.  "Why, whatever could be the 
matter?!  Everything's so perfect!  I don't know what I'm thinking!  It's so 
fucking great to be alive..."
     Now she was crying again.  She hated crying now.  It used to be a 
release, now it was simply predictable.  Kasumi reached out to touch her 
shoulder, and Kodachi spun around and slapped her.
     "Don't TOUCH me!!!" she screamed.
     She ran to the next room.  Kasumi didn't follow.  It was dark, but that 
was alright.  It matched her mood exactly.  lashing out blindly into unknown 
territories.

***

     She had found a bed, and managed to fall asleep for a short time.  
Unfortunately, her fitful rest was broken by a cry.  it was the sort of cry 
that is very loud, but the person making it thinks they're whispering.  It was 
a cry from a very drunk woman, and Kodachi shuddered at the thought.
     "Kodaaaaaaaachi?  Are you here?  They wouldn've let you go, would they?"
     Kodachi curled up on the bed, trying not to be seen.  If she didn't 
breathe, and didn't move, eventually Kasumi would have to go away...
     "Theeeere you are!  Sleeping.  Aw, you're soooooo cute when you're 
sleeping!  Like a l'il angel!  Why can't you be like that when you're awake?"
     Kodachi sat up.  "Please shut up," she said curtly.
     Kasumi sat down beside Kodachi, leaning into the other girl.  Her breath 
smelled of equal parts onions and rancid fruit, and almost made Kodachi pass 
out.
    "You missed it!  They brought us all sorts of food!  And they made me 
drink this punch!  I think it had some alcohol in it, though, cause they had 
trouble walking out of here."
     Kodachi favored her with a look.  "But *you're* all right, of course."
     Kasumi giggled.  "No, no, I'm drunk too.  I think I am.  I've never been 
drunk before, but I think I am.  I had trouble finding you, and you keep 
moving, and I don't think you are, are you?"
     "No."
     "No, right, which means I think that I'm drunk.  Am I?"
     "Yes."
     "Oh, *good*.  I've always wanted to be drunk.  I wonder if I'll be sick 
later."
     "If God is merciful, yes."
     "What?"
     "Nothing."
     Kodachi tried to think.  Her brain was still muzzy from sleep.  She 
seemed to be back to normal after her episode, but there was no guarantee how 
long that would last.
     Suddenly she froze.  There was something on her shoulder.  Something 
soft, and vaguely moist.  She turned her head as slowly as she could.
     Kasumi was kissing her shoulder.  Her neck.  Kissing her neck.
     "Kasumi, please stop or I will not be responsible for what I do," Kodachi 
forced herself to say calmly.
     Kasumi's voice was in her ear, breathy and seductive.  "When I saw you 
making love to Tatewaki, I was jealous.  You have such a nice body... and 
muscular... and developed..."
     Kodachi turned to yell at Kasumi, and received a kiss on the lips.
     She got up, swiveled Kasumi around, and belted her across the jaw.  The 
young woman dropped like a ton of bricks onto the bed, where after a few 
moments she began to snore.
     Kodachi was panting lightly, staring at the bed.  She didn't move for at 
least ten minutes.
     Then she ripped the blanket from under Kasumi (who barely broke stride in 
her snoring), and went to a nearby closet.  Climbing inside, she locked the 
door and sat down.
     She spent the rest of the night staring at the door, thinking about soft 
lips against her neck.

***

     Cologne maneuvered her way into the room, trying to decide where to begin 
her questioning.  She needed more information from these girls, and was going 
to get it today even if she had to use threats.  This was for the safety of 
her people.
     The eldest girl was lying asleep on her back on one of the cots.  She had 
been plied with liquor last night, in an effort to loosen her tongue, but her 
tolerance was obviously incredibly low, as she had become incoherent after 
only one or two glasses.  Cologne came up to her and whacked her on the head 
with her staff.  No need to show any obvious sympathy.
     The girl woke, and whimpered like a whipped dog.  "Aaaigigh..."
     "Awake now?  Good.  Can you answer my questions?"
     The girl seemed to be trying to focus on Cologne, without much success.  
"Bleargh?"
     *Perhaps I hit her too hard,* Cologne thought.  "Never mind.  Where's 
your companion?"
     The girl grunted again in reply, but her head seemed to veer towards the 
closet in the corner.  Cologne nodded and moved over there.
     She was unsurprised.  The dark-haired woman had been extremely 
schizophrenic the previous evening, veering from a reasonable if emotional 
young woman to an arrogant and repressed basket case.  Spending the evening in 
the closet fit right in with her profile.
     Cologne pounded on the door, ignoring the whimper from behind her.  "Are 
you awake?"
     The door opened.  The other girl was in there, looking for all the world 
like she hadn't slept a wink.  Her eyes were bloodshot, and her mouth was 
twisted in a scowl.
     "Yes?"
     Cologne glared.  "Don't try and give me attitude, girl.  I don't take to 
it from outsiders.  Do you feel that you can answer some of the questions I 
have now?"
     The girl considered the question for several moments, her lips moving 
silently.  After a few moments, she spoke.  "No, I don't think so.  Try again 
when I'm not being kept awake all night trying to avoid being seduced by drunk 
sluts in love with my brother."
     Cologne sighed.  This was proving very difficult.  "If I cannot rouse 
your injured friend, I will be back."
     "Fine, fine.  I apologize, it's been a bad day.  Week.  Year.  Life..."
     Cologne went back into the other room.  The third woman was still lying 
on the bed, but she appeared to be both awake and coherent.  Cologne decided 
to risk a conversation.
     "Nabiki?" she queried, remembering the name the others had given her.
     "Yes?"
     My name is Cologne, I am the elder of this tribe.  Are *you* able to 
answer some of my questions?"
     The girl made an effort to turn, but was held down by the straps.  "If 
you can answer some of mine.  Where am I?"
     "In the village that your sister was looking for."  Cologne decided that 
of the three, this one would be the easiest to deal with.
     "OK...now why am I strapped to a bed?"
     "You were brought to us with a broken arm and a high fever.  We were 
informed that you'd received the broken arm by hurling yourself off a cliff.  
We felt it was best for your own safety to strap you down."
     Nabiki visibly paled at that.  "All right.  I don't seem to have any 
memory of last night, in that case."
     Cologne nodded.  "It's not unknown, with these types of fevers.  You'll 
be staying here for a few days, but I believe the fever has broken.  Are you 
currently suicidal?"
     "NO!"  That seemed fairly definite.
     Cologne removed the straps, and the young woman relaxed.  "Thank you."
     "Don't sit up.  You're still very weak, and you lost quite a bit of blood 
last night."
     "Are the others all right?"
     "Your younger sister is somewhere in the forest, with the man you were 
searching for.  I have various people checking on them.  The other two women 
are in the next room, though neither of them is fit to hold a decent 
conversation.  Your men are outside the village, where they will remain."
     Nabiki sighed.  "OK, I guess I'm done.  Ready to grill me?"
     Cologne sat on the table next to Nabiki's bed, managing to make herself 
look majestic even there.  "You are not prisoners here, girl, even though we 
would certainly be within our right to capture you.  As long as you do not 
harm this village, no harm will come to you."
     Nabiki seemed to consider this.  "What about Ranma?  You said he wasn't 
here?  What if he comes back?"
     Cologne frowned.  "Too many questions, girl.  My turn."
     Nabiki lay back, obviously annoyed but too wary and unsure to do anything 
about it.  "All right, shoot."
     "Tell me how this situation came about.  Relationships, events, emotions.  
Tell me as much as possible, I don't want to ask too many questions.  When 
you've finished, we'll discuss your future."
     Nabiki stared.  "What happened to my recovering from a fever and suicide 
attempt?"
     Cologne snorted.  "You're recovering, and showing more coherence than 
your companions.  Start."
     The young girl sighed, and massaged her temples.
     "I guess this all goes back to when my father made a promise with Ranma's 
father, after Ranma was born..."

***

     Kodachi remained where she was after the Elder left, desperately trying 
to pull herself together.  She had managed to sleep some, after a fashion, but 
the closet was not the most comfortable place in the world.  Now she had an 
incredibly stiff neck, her mouth tasted like she'd had one too many poisons 
the night before, and she was just as tired and lonely as she was earlier.
     Still, she had to look on the bright side.  Her prayers last night had 
been answered.
     "Aaah...eeeeh...owowow...Aaaaahhh..."
     Kasumi lay half-on, half-off of the cot, her face pressing into the 
concrete floor.  Her eyes lay half-open, tears leazking out her eyes.  She had 
a hand cluctched to her temple, and the other at her stomach.  She looked like 
hell.
     It was beautiful.
     Kodachi smiled as she bent down low next to Kasumi.  "Are you feeling 
ill?" she whispered.
     Kasumi let out a small cry of pain in response.
     "Well, perhaps we should get you to the bathroom, then."
     Kodachi grabbed Kasumi and yanked her to her feet in one smooth motion.  
"Up we go!" she shouted in her ear.  Kasumi screamed, then put her hand to her 
mouth.  Kodachi grabbed the back of her head and threw it back.  "No you 
don't, not till we hit a toilet.  C'mon, march."
     Kodachi frogmarched Kasumi towards the small bathroom, taking exquisite 
delight in her suffering.  Kasumi actually seemed to be falling unconscious 
from pain.
     She arrived and threw the other woman at the toilet.  Kasumi hit it 
awkwardly, grabbed for the lid like a starving woman, and began to vomit.
     Kodachi stayed there for a few minutes until she was finished, then 
flushed the toilet.  Kasumi groaned, and lay back against the wall, her eyes 
bloodshot.
     "Now, perhaps the next time you decide to get drunk to see what it's 
like, you'll have a better idea of the full experience.  It's neither fun nor 
cute.  Don't do it again."
     Kasumi was beginning to stop looking ill and start looking angry.  "What 
brought this on?"
     Kodachi turned away, trying to arrange herself in the mirror so that she 
looked vaguely human.  "Let's just say I don't appreciate being seduced by 
drunken sluts when I'm trying to sleep."
     She turned back to see Kasumi white as a sheet.  It disconcerted her.  
"What?"
     "I...I did, didn't I?  Oh God, Kodachi, I'm so sorry!"  She looked up 
with tears in her eyes once more.  "Please believe me, I would never try to do 
that to you!  I'll never drink again!  Oh God!"
     When she had researched the Tendou family a year or two ago, after her 
brother had started to obsess on Akane, one of the notes she had scribbled to 
herself had been ~Probably has those puppy-dog eyes that make you do 
anything~.  She now saw that she had been 100 percent correct.  Just looking 
at her made Kodachi feel guilty.
     She waved a hand and walked back into the bunkroom.  "Don't worry about 
it.  We'll just pretend last night never happened.  God knows I want to -- 
hhhph!!"
     It had come upon her suddenly.  Dizziness, nausea, and stomach spasms.  
She fell to the ground in agony.  She hadn't felt like this since her first 
night back in the Kunou mansion, after Ranma had raped her.
     There was a voice, screaming in her ear.  "Kodachi!"
     Her mother, praising her.  Her father, ignoring her.  Her brother, 
mocking her.
     Her mother, yelling at her.  Her father, playing with her.  Her brother, 
making love to her.
     "Kodachi!"
     *SMACK*
     Kodachi looked up.  She was on the ground.  With Kasumi on top of her.  
Kasumi had just slapped her.
     Another attack.  They weren't stopping.  In fact, they were getting 
worse.  
     Kodachi got up and practically threw herself across the room.  She lay 
huddled in a corner, staring at Kasumi's shocked features.  She started to 
shake, but it was a good shake.  Shake meant that she had some control left, 
it was just failing.
     Failing badly.
     Kasumi got up.  "Should I get someone?" she asked softly.
     Kodachi shook her head quickly.  "Just leave me alone for a while.  I 
need to... I'll be fine if I can get some time to myself."
     Kasumi nodded, and started to leave.
     "Thank you," Kodachi found herself saying.
     "...what?"
     "Thank you... for snapping me out of that.  I appreciate it."
     Kasumi nodded quickly and left the room, closing the door behind her.
     Kodachi let out the breath she'd been holding, and closed her eyes.
     *Damn you, Ranma...*

***

     It had taken a while, especially since Kasumi and Kodachi appeared to be 
having some sort of fight in the room next door, but Nabiki had managed to 
tell the old woman everything that had happened to them.  She'd initially 
tried to keep some things secret, but the crone seemed to know exactly when 
Nabiki was prevaricating, and demanded the whole truth.
     She drank a glass of water now, having talked herself hoarse.  She was 
also exhausted, but refused to sleep until Cologne told her what was going to 
happen.
     The old woman sighed, looking for a moment as old as she said she was.  
"You must understand, Tendou-san, that you and your party are not my concern.  
My concern is for the tribe, and my granddaughter, who will one day lead them.  
When Ranma first came to our village, he had no control over his powers.  I 
taught him as best I could various focal techniques, which helped him regain 
control of his own mind.  Unfortunately my granddaughter's foolishness led to 
his running away before any action could be taken.
     "I knew what some of the legends of the Jusenkyo pools, and realized how 
dangerous the boy would be in the outside world.  In addition, my 
granddaughter had become smitten with him, and was demanding the right to find 
him and claim him as her husband.  I could have refused her; the Amazon Laws 
are not as rigid as everyone believes.  But she is the best warrior of her 
generation, and the only one who stood a chance of capturing him unawares.  As 
you know, she succeeded.
     "I thank the ancestors that I gave her the formula to keep him 
unconscious until her return.  I love my granddaughter as my own child, 
Tendou-san, and had he altered her mind then nowhere on Earth would have been 
safe.  It was bad enough as it turned out; he had already claimed several 
victims, in the six of you.  His power was now beyond anyone's ability to 
control but his own.  We tested it several ways, none of which were pleasant."
     "You tortured him," Nabiki interrupted.
     Cologne nodded.  "Yes, we did.  He was a threat to our village, and we do 
not take kindly to them."
     There was a long pause.  "So now what?" Nabiki asked.  "Ranma and Akane 
have fled, and when your tribesmen tried to attack him he did something to put 
them down pretty quick.  Are you prepared to risk so many to kill him?"
     The Elder shook her head.  "You and your friends will stay here until you 
have recovered, and then you will be allowed to leave.  Go find Ranma, and go 
back to Japan.  Keep in mind that we will try to kill him if he returns.  But 
should he avoid us, we will bear him the same courtesy."
     Nabiki felt her body relax a little, relieved that there wouldn't be any 
vendetta.  "Um... Elder..."
     "Yes?"
     Nabiki bit her lip.  "We're probably going to go to the Jusenkyo Pools on 
our way back.  Is there anything there that might be able to help us?  
Something to give us control of our minds again?  Ranma wants that just as 
much as we do."
     Cologne pondered the question for a few minutes.  "I don't know of 
anything that can help you except for Ranma.  And you already know the way he 
can do that.  I do warn you, however, to go nowhere near any other pool.  With 
pools that alter the mind, Jusenkyo can be... dangerous."
     Nabiki was having difficulty keeping her eyes open, and Cologne got back 
onto her staff.  "Sleep, child.  The fever should have run its course in three 
days time, then you and your friends may leave."
     Falling asleep, Nabiki briefly jolted when she had a quick mental image 
of running through a forest, getting smacked by bushes and branches.  She 
shuddered, and fell back onto the bed.
     *When I get better, I'm going to have to apologize to a lot of people,* 
she mused before dropping off.

***