Ranma woke up sweating. Someone screaming at him, crying out for help. The dream had come again. He clambered out of bed and wandered down to the bathroom. He was only half-awake, but he needed to get clean. Wash away...something. The feeling of wrongness that pervaded him at that moment. Thus, he was unaware of the sounds of bathing coming from inside the bathing chamber. Having stripped down, he opened the bathing room door right as Akane stepped out the bathtub. They both froze for a few seconds, staring at each other. Ranma cringed instinctively and tried to cover himself with his towel. Akane blushed and grabbed her towel also. "I...uh...I didn't mean to...umm...err..." Ranma's mind began running through all the objects Akane could use to hit him with. Akane sighed. "I'm sorry, Ranma. I forgot to put the occupied sign on the door." She efficiently tied the towel around herself. "The bath is nice and hot, just like you like it." She walked past Ranma, paused, leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Enjoy your bath. Want to go to the park with me later today?" Ranma blinked, wondering if he was still asleep and dreaming. "I...uh...okay..." Maybe she's still, um, tired from the trip or something, he thought. She smiled and swept out of the room. "I'll go make you some breakfast. I think Kasumi is still asleep." Ranma turned and watched her go. Kasumi is still asleep...wait, Dad hasn't attacked me yet today either... maybe I am in the wrong universe. Ranma was half right.... ************ Parallel Lives #2: Book One: For Remembrance Lost A Soul Divided A Wheel of Time / Ranma 1 / 2 crossover, by John Biles Other chapters available at http://www.thekeep.org/~wombat/PL/ ************ Autumn was coming. The revenge of the Whitecloaks seemed likely to be delayed by the coming snows. The little community of Castle Mist, as Tyr had dubbed it, was as ready for the coming season as it could manage. Game was abundant in the mountains, and fruit-bearing plants were surprisingly common if you had people who knew how to look for them, like Tyr and Abelard. The arrival of the two mountainmen had been a godsend for the little community of renegades. Indeed, the community had grown since the day they had declared their leader, Kaneda, to be the Lord Dragon. The mountains had held many who had fled the tyranny of the self titled, 'Children of the Light'. The community had grown to a hundred strong, mostly men, though a few women had made the trek into the mountains, following rumors of a place of safety from the Whitecloaks. The most important of the women of the camp was a young girl named Alyssa. She was one of the women who had been unable to face the test to gain accepted status at the White Tower. The Tower had expelled her, as it did all who were bade three times to take the test and found themselves unready for it in heart or mind. Still, she had a knack for healing, and she had found ready employment in many places as a healer, learning many herbal cures she used to disguise her abilities from those who disliked channelers. Finally, she had had to flee a group of Whitecloaks and found herself at Castle Mist, little more than a collection of ramshackle houses on a small plateau in the heart of the Mountains of Mist. Her presence was much welcomed. Those who gathered here were very appreciative of her healing skills, and she brought good cheer in abundance to an often gloomy place. Indeed, she was one of the few who could brighten the visage of their often gloomy leader, Kaneda, a mysterious man without a past. He appeared to be hardly older than sixteen or seventeen, though no one among the camp believed he could possibly be that young. The only soldier among them, an old veteran named Alain, had watched the young man practice, and he believed Kaneda would be ready for the rank of swordmaster soon, if not already. In addition to that, Kaneda practiced unarmed combat styles the like of which they had never seen. Indeed, he preferred to fight unarmed, saying only that his father had taught him that way. Much to the surprise of everyone, one of his first deeds upon their arrival at what was to become Castle Mist, was to start training everyone in these styles. Men AND women. This had shocked some among the group, but if the Lord Dragon commanded... then the Lord Dragon would get what he wanted. Right now, he was drilling his five best students, while everyone else was attending to other duties. Alain and Tyr were the two males. Alain was old, but determined to learn, long on strength and endurance, short on speed. Tyr was a young prospector and perhaps the best of all five of the students. Mai was the daughter of a mountain man, meek but tough, with a knowledge of the mountains that was often spotty at the worst possible times, but also very useful. Alya was an unfortunate wise woman who had been accused untruthfully of channeling by the Whitecloaks because her cures were a little too successful. Finally, Celice was a tanner from Amadicia who had angered the Whitecloaks in some way she would not discuss. She was the best of the female students. She was taller than many of the men, and probably stronger too. Tyr occasionally muttered about wondering if she had Trolloc in her ancestry, which got him slapped around a lot. While Alain directed some of the less skilled students, Kaneda was drilling the other four in a complex kata. The motions relaxed him, letting him forget where he was and who they believed him to be, to simply lose himself in memories of home, of his training under his father. He pushed his students harder than his father ever had, but then Kaneda's father hadn't been expecting to fight an army in the spring, either. A cool breeze evaporated the sweat from their brows as Kaneda called a break for lunch. Several of the women had prepared the usual soup. It was a simple meal, but given the relative scarcity of foodstuffs, it was the best they could do. Alyssa approached Kaneda. "Have you considered what I discussed with you, my lord Dragon?" He sighed. "Please, just call me Kaneda. Do you think it is possible? I mean...I don't exactly know what I'm doing..." She had approached him the previous night. Every evening, he tried to work with the Power, to learn more of what he could do with it, to gain more control. Without a teacher, he knew he risked destroying himself, but he knew he would need the power to protect his people. "Well, obviously, I don't know exactly what I'm doing either with this...but I can't see why it would be ...that hard. Linking with women is easy. The hard part is going to be that we can't see each other's flows." Kaneda nodded. There had to be some trick to let me see her flows, but I don't know it, and anyone who could teach me is long dead. If only I could change back to normal...then this would be easy...But she couldn't. While he had grown used to his cursed form since the disastrous day he acquired it, he hadn't wanted to grow THIS used to it. *********************************** Akane's life had changed forever on a pleasant spring day. Well, pleasant for her, not so pleasant for Ranma. "Are you sure I have to stay female until we fix this, Dr. Tofu?" Dr. Tofu nodded. "Yes. Until we can banish that lust demon that has possessed you, you have to stay female so it can't control you." Happousai groveled at Ranma's feet. "I'm so sorry, boy, for everything I've done. It was all I could do to keep the demon from totally controlling me..." "Why can't we just use the Saint Point? That's what drove it out of Happousai," Ranma said. "Because it will just possess someone else. You can function as a living prison because of your curse. Any other male would be mastered by it in seconds and become almost unstoppable. Only Happousai's years of discipline allowed him to maintain some vestiges of control." Dr. Tofu pulled out a book titled, "The Little Big Book of Demons". "Kinseius is a very powerful demon of lust. He can only be banished by the Rite of Seven Bindings, which is found in the Book of Eibon. Until we can get a copy of that book, we can't drive him off the material plane." Ranma said, "So where do I find the book?" "Well, I'm trying to get it through an interlibrary loan. It's very rare. We might have to go to Peking to see their copy if that doesn't work out." "How long is that gonna take?" At that point, Ryouga entered the room, crashing through the wall. For a moment, everyone froze. Rain started to drift in through the wall. It was at that point that Ranma realized Ryouga was dripping wet...and still male. He was carrying several jugs of water. He tossed one of them towards Ranma. "This is for you, Saotome," he said, then collapsed from exhaustion. For a moment, everyone watched as it tumbled end over end towards Ranma. He froze. He knew he should flee it, it must be something bad...but if it was man water...and it went to waste...he couldn't risk it, demon or no demon... Akane knew better. While it might just be ordinary water, she couldn't let Ranma get more messed up by it. She hurled herself forward and upward to catch it. For a moment, she held it, then it shattered against her. The change was a horrifying experience. Her whole body spasmed and reshaped itself in the space of a few seconds. A mix of pain, pleasure, and utter confusion rippled through her mind as she fell to the ground, no longer a she, but a he...She had joined the legion of the Jyusenko cursed. The first thing he did was scream. *********************************** Kaneda shook his head. Best not to dwell on the past...for all intents and purposes, Tendo Akane was dead. All I have left of my past is my hair color, eye color and my memories...He sighed. "Are you all right, my lor...Kaneda? Do you have a headache or something?" "Just an unhappy memory surfacing." "Would you rather I come back later?" She sounded quite worried. "No, I'm fine. Well, are we going to try this, then?" Kaneda did his best to calm his visage. Alyssa rose. "Let us begin." A look of calm swept across her face, a sign that she had embraced the source. Kaneda sighed and grabbed the source, beating it into submission in a second. It came easily to him now, too easily. "Weave a flow of spirit and extend it towards...this point." A faint glowing sphere of light appeared in the air, floating about halfway between them. Kaneda drew power from the source and tried to form what he hoped was a flow of spirit. He could tell the difference between flows of the five powers, but wasn't quite sure which was which. A lot of his channeling was more intuitive than consciously designed. The flow moved forward to the point of light. He waited for something to happen. Suddenly, there was a yank on the flow. He started. Nothing like that had ever happened before. It contorted itself, grappling with something invisible, reshaping into something...a pipe. It ran towards Alyssa and touched her, forming a conduit connecting them. He could feel power flow through it, though he couldn't see it. He could sense the power, alien, yet strangely inviting, just out of sight. "I think it worked," she said. "You seem to be leading...Try drawing power from me and the Source." "To do what?" Alyssa blinked, clearly not having thought of anything to actually DO if it worked. "Umm...Try moving a really big rock or something?" Flows of air and earth rushed towards some nearby boulders at Kaneda's command. They danced across the ground in a whirling pattern like a huge pinball machine. Kaneda smiled. Now for something bigger. The rocks whirred off and joined more rocks, forming themselves into a wall near one of the paths up to the plateau. Fire moved in and rocks fused together, forming a wall. It was so easy with the extra power. He smiled. "Very good, my lord...Kaneda." Alyssa said. "Aww, it was nothing," he said modestly and released the flows. The wall fell down, intact but toppled. "AAARGH!" "I think you forgot to sink it into the ground some or build supports. It's sort of top heavy too," said Alman, who had once been a stone mason. "Can you try again? I can show you how it needs to be set up." They went back to work. Castle Mist would have walls.... ******************************** Ranma sat down at the breakfast table. Kasumi was there eating, but no one else was there. "Where is everyone?" "I think you, me, and Akane are the only people who've gotten up," Kasumi said. "Probably worn out from the trip they went on to get you back. So how was the other world?" "Different..." "Were you able to get rid of those bracelets?" Kasumi poured Ranma some tea. He started eating. She blinked. He was eating slowly and carefully. Ranma NEVER ate slowly and carefully unless he thought he was going to be poisoned. "Are you okay, Ranma?" "It feels kinda weird to be able to be a guy again. Well, to be able to safely be a guy again. I had to live as a girl for nine months... It was really weird. I'm not acting weird, am I?" Kasumi decided not to bring Ranma's good manners to his attention. "You seem subdued." "I guess maybe I'm kinda tired too." Akane swept into the room, dressed in her yellow sundress with hat. She sat down by Ranma, smiling at him. He smiled back nervously. "Hi, sis. Hi, Ranma-kun. Mmmm. Breakfast looks good as always!" She started eating. Ranma resumed eating. Kasumi noted that they were both exhibiting far more manners than usual. Again, she decided this wasn't worth bringing to their attention, as it might stop them from acting that way."Would you like some tea, Akane?" "Yes, please. Ranma and I are going to take a walk after breakfast, if you don't mind, Kasumi." "Why would I mind?" Kasumi began wondering if something had happened to everyone on their trip. "Well, I thought you might want help in the kitchen or something." "No, no, go right ahead. Perhaps I should go see if Father will be getting up..." Kasumi rose to check on Mr. Tendo. ***************************** Ranma finally managed to relax. Akane was acting kinda weird, but hey, it was a pleasant kind of weird. Maybe we're just starting to get along. She's probably trying to be nice since she hasn't seen me for nine months. She hasn't changed much while I've been gone...well, physically. Then again, maybe she just calmed down while I was gone. "What's today's date, Akane?" "March 8, 1996." Akane said, bending over to smell a nearby flower in a flowerbox in someone's front lawn. Ranma blinked. That was only a week or so after he left..."I've only been gone...a week?" Akane cocked her head slightly and stared into nowhere for a second. "Umm, you left around February 27 or so...Nine, ten days?" Nine or ten DAYS? But I've been gone nine or ten months! "Umm...I...uh..." To Ranma's suprise, Akane leaned over and hugged him. "I've missed you a lot, Ranma-kun." "I've...uh, missed you too." His arms twitched in the air for a few seconds, then he nervously wrapped his arms around her. They hugged for a few moments. It felt good to Ranma. Then the thunder started. The world went grey. Another thunderstorm was about to hit. As Ranma broke the embrace, the rain came down. The change hit him. He'd almost forgotten what it felt like. Electricity rushed through him and he twitched slightly, feeling himself reshape. At least I won't look as silly in my clothing as Akane is gonna look in that sundress after she changes...It was at this point, he realized Akane hadn't changed. She stared down at herself. "Oh my, my curse seems to have gone away..." For a moment, Ranma wondered if it was raining girl- drown water or something. The approaching figure removed that possibility. It was Ukyou, who was quite clearly male. Ranma smiled for a moment. At least something is like I remember it...She looks about like she did when that happened to her... ********************************** It had been last fall. Ranma's birthday to be precise. The usual brawl was in progress in the dojo. Nabiki and Kasumi were watching Shampoo, Akane, Ukyou, Ranma, Ryouga, and Mousse throw down for reasons that were never fully explained. Perhaps one of the participants understood. Kasumi and Nabiki weren't even sure if it was guys vs. Girls, fiancees vs fiancees, or what, given that Shampoo was the only person who hadn't tried to hit Ranma at least once. Currently, Akane was fighting Mousse, Shampoo was fighting Ukyou, and Ranma and Ryouga were throwing down as usual. Nabiki popped a fresh tape in the camcorder and sipped some of the tea Kasumi had made for everyone. As Shampoo elbow- smashed Ukyou in the chin, Akemi walked in from the courtyard. "Hi! I finished Ranma's birthday present!" "I'm sure Ranma will be very appreciative when he's done fighting," Kasumi said. "Would you like some tea?" "Sure!" She sat down. "Hikaru-kun should be here in a little while." At this point, Akane got tangled up in a web of chains from Mousse. Ryouga tripped over the chains and crashed into Ryouga, who got knocked into Ranma. Ranma staggered backwards and knocked Ukyou down onto Shampoo, who correctly executed a throw and rolled on her back, tossing Ukyou over her, through the wall and out into the pond in the courtyard. Akemi got big eyes. "Uh oh..." Nabiki turned to Akemi. "What do you mean... uh oh?" A great scream drew everyone's attention and they all rushed out into the courtyard, brawl forgotten. Ukyou stood in the Tendo pond...turned into a guy. Akemi said, "Aahh! Don't use up the enchantment! I don't know if it will work more than once!" Nabiki started to laugh. "Well, you liked to dress as a boy, Ukyou. I guess your clothing will fit better now." Ukyou glared at Nabiki. "Let's see if it will work more than once." She grabbed a handful of water and tossed it at Nabiki, who realized what was happening too late to dodge. Instant guy. Ukyou turned and looked at Shampoo with an evil grin. She lowered her hands to grab the water, but by the time she looked up, Ranma, Ryouga, and Mousse were closing in on her. She got bowled over as they dived into the pond. A girl, a pig, and a duck surfaced. Akemi said, "Drat. The spell wore off. Only works once every hundred years too..." Akane yelled from inside the dojo. "Will SOMEONE please get these CHAINS OFF ME!!!!" *********************************** Ukyou stared at Akane. "Hey, she didn't change." Ranma nodded. "I guess it must have worn off." Akane smiled. "No more being a boy! That makes me very happy." "Pardon me if I don't celebrate," Ukyou said, sighing. "Oh well, I was coming to see if you wanted to do something today, Ranchan..." "Let's go see a movie!" Akane said. "I feel like celebrating." "All three of us?" Ranma asked. "Sure! Shampoo and Mousse might want to come too...and Ryouga if we can find him." Ukyou and Ranma looked at each other. Something odd was going on. ********************************** A few days of work and Castle Mist was a lot more of a real castle. It wouldn't survive a sustained siege, but any army wanting to besiege it would have a hard time, given the terrain. Some things had become clear to Alyssa and Kaneda from their experiments. Kaneda had to lead the meld. They didn't know why...it just was that way. The amount of power they could wield was greater than either of them separately, but less than the sum of their power added together. At the end of a long session of work, Kaneda sat down, tired. "I wish we had more channelers." "If wishes were fish, the fishermen would be rich," Mai said. "Now if you could figure out how to cook with the Power..." They both laughed. I can't cook without the Power... I'd probably create a monster if I tried to do it with the power, he thought. "I don't think I'll be trying that any time soon. I've never been a very good cook." "Well, the Lord Dragon does not need to cook," Alyssa said. Kaneda winced. If I hear the word Dragon one more time... Tyr approached. "Interesting news, my lord Dragon." Kaneda sighed. "What is it?" "Rumors that some Prophet has seized control of Ghealdan in the name of the Dragon who proclaimed himself in Tear. He defeated an army sent against himself by the King. The King is no more..." Kaneda sighed. As long as he doesn't send an army after ME, he can do whatever he wants... ************************************ Ranma sat nervously in the dark of the movie theatre. Ukyou was latched onto one arm, Akane onto the other. Ukyou was still a guy and Ranma was still a girl, but Akane didn't seem to care. At least it's dark so no one can see, he thought. He sensed a presence behind him, then felt a tap on his head. It was Shampoo. "Shampoo come to date with Ranma!" She vaulted over the seats into Ranma's lap. Ranma winced. Well, here goes this quiet evening. Ukyou said, "SHAMPOO!!!!" The brawl was soon in progress. It lasted several minutes before Ranma realized Akane wasn't participating, even after Mousse arrived and pitched in. In fact, Akane was cowering under the seats, three rows down. He quietly withdrew from the fight. No one even noticed. "Yo, Akane, you okay?" "Save me, Ranma!" She was on the verge of tears. "They're going to try and hurt me, I can tell!" Ranma almost fainted. Okay...Something is wrong. ********************************** Dr. Tofu was closing up shop as Ranma arrived. "Got a minute, doc?" Ranma asked. "Sure. What's the problem? More fighting injuries?" Dr. Tofu continued sweeping up. "Can you think of anything that would make a woman suddenly get all ultra-feminine and be afraid of getting beaten up by people she used to not be afraid of?" Dr. Tofu stared at Ranma for a moment. "Having more trouble with Akane?" "I don't wanna do that to Akane! Someone already has!" Ranma sounded a little scared himself. Dr. Tofu blinked. "Hmm. Any other symptoms?" "Uh...I can't think of anything else weird..." "Well, why don't you bring her here so I can examine her? Well, bring her tomorrow. I need to eat dinner and get some rest." Ranma turned to go, then paused. "Umm...what am I supposed to tell her to get her to come here?" "Tell her I said she ought to come in for a checkup." That sounds lame, Dr. Tofu thought. Can't think of a better excuse. "Hmm. Why don't I just drop by this evening or some time tomorrow?" "Yeah, that'd work." Ranma was sufficiently distracted to forget what that would likely entail... ******************************* Weeks had passed. Kaneda and Alyssa were getting fairly good at linking without too much fumbling around, and together, they had been able to do a lot of work towards making Castle Mist more livable, though Kaneda still longed for the long lost luxury of indoor plumbing. That, however, simply wasn't available. Not with Kaneda's feeble understanding of how it worked, anyway. Kaneda slowly turned the crank to raise the bucket from one of Castle Mist's wells to get some water and daydreamed of faucets. Nice, white, gleaming faucets. All you had to do was turn them and water magically appeared. It all seemed like a dream of a far away place, something out of a faery story, but it was all real. It has to be real, Kaneda thought. No way I could have imagined it all...Could I? He shook his head. There were moments when he could believe that he'd always lived in this world. That he'd grown up in Tanchico or Tear or Illian. He called the image of his sisters to mind. Kasumi with her gentle face, sweet voice, and soft hands. Nabiki with the twinkle of a deal in her eyes, a camera in her hands, persuasive words upon her lips. Her father, Soun, with his moustache, his robes, and his tears. Her mother...hardly more than a faint memory even before her trip here. Only her eyes remain, shining, and her smile. He brought other images to mind. His friends, Sayuri and Yuka. He had known them since they all were little. Other friends, relatives, enemies. Finally, the people who had shattered his life in so many ways. A man..or a panda? Mr. Saotome, his father's oldest friend. And then, the one who had truly turned his life upside down. The hair came first, as he had met her. Red hair drawn back in a pony-tail. A figure that had made him jealous. Muscular arms and legs, clad in Chinese clothing. Blue-grey eyes. A woman who wore no makeup. That should have clued me in, he thought, then stifled the thought. I often wear...wore no makeup either. The image called her to mind as he had last seen her, at the strange rune-carved stone near Tanchico. Clad in a green silk dress that clung to her frame, her hair flowing freely, not bound in the braid as usually, a gold ring on one hand. So beautiful, he thought, then stifled the thought. Why am I thinking of him this way, he wondered, then was startled out of his reverie by a voice. "Who is this, my lord Dragon?" It was Mai. His eyes snapped open. He realized he was holding the Source. He hastily let go of it and the image dissolved. It had been Ranko...Ranma as he remember her at their last parting. "My f...My fiancee. She...went to the tower for training." How could I explain this... She nodded. "Well, perhaps when the Tower eventually comes to serve you, you'll see her again, my Lord Dragon. They probably won't let her out of the building for years unless you come to her. Has to memorize all the rules and cook and clean for the older sisters no doubt. The usual round of apprentice stuff." Kaneda started to laugh. "I think she'd die if they tried to make her do that." "She...she's very beautiful, my Lord Dragon." Kaneda finally got his water from the well. "A lot of people thought that." "But she preferred you?" "Our parents arranged it all. We didn't have much choice." "So she was beautiful, but cruel?" Kaneda sat down and drank his water. "That about sums it up." "But you wish she was here anyway." Mai's voice was soft as she said that. Kaneda spoke very quietly. "Yes." ******************************* Dinner was quiet, which was unusual. Nabiki, Soun, and Genma all looked rather tired despite sleeping until noon. Kasumi and Akane seemed quite perky on the other hand, and were discussing sewing techniques. Ranma simply ate in silence, trying to figure out if Akane had been kidnapped and replaced by a poorly done double. After finishing off his soup, he asked, "What's in this soup, Kasumi? It's really good." "I have absolutely no idea, Ranma." Kasumi said. Ranma blinked. "You what?" "Akane made it. What's in the soup, Akane?" Ranma blinked. "Akane made it?" "While you were out wandering around," Akane said. "Why'd you need to go out, anyway?" "I...uh...just needed some fresh air." I am in the wrong universe. If Rod Serling walks in...I'll scream. ****************************** Ranma sat on the rooftop, staring out across the city. It was raining again, so he was a she, as he so often was. She heard movement behind her and turned to look. It was Ukyou. "Hiya, Ranchan." "Hiya, Ucchan." Ranma got up and walked over to him. She was still getting used to the idea of Ukyou being cursed. It was easier to accept than his own curse, in some ways. He'd thought of Ukyou as a guy for so long, it was easy to see him that way. Maybe too easy. She stuck out her tongue. "You look good in a wet t-shirt." What frightened her a little was that she meant that. Ukyou did look good with the boy's uniform, fitting for once, plastered against her by the rain. "Not as good as you." Ukyou leered for a second, then stuck out his tongue out at Ranma for a few seconds, then moved a little closer. Ranma had a sinking feeling she knew where this was going. She ought to back off, but she didn't want to. Not with her emotions. Or maybe her body. Or both, or some combination. She wanted to kiss him. To forget all her problems and just be caught up in strong arms that could take her away from all the worries of her life. She hadn't used to have this problem. Other guys had never been this attractive to her. She would have blamed it on today's frazzlement, but it had happened before. She studied Ukyou's face. He was nervous too. They'd both decided they wouldn't kiss again, not like this. No matter how much they liked it. They hadn't spoken for almost a week after the first time. It had been too terrifying. It reminded Ranma too much of when Mikado had kissed her, except this time...she had wanted it. She'd kissed Akane when Akane was a guy too...She had been starting to wonder if she'd gone totally perverted. Of course, Akane had been hit in the head and thought she was "Ranko's fiancee, Kaneda" at the time. That had been a mess. They'd come pretty close to actually having sex, except that Ranma had managed to get ahold of her sanity and "Kaneda" had snapped out of it. Ranma breathed deeply and stepped back. I can't afford another incident like that. Not with Ucchan. What if we didn't stop...what if I got pregnant? I can't do that to Akane...or Ucchan. She started the calming, focusing exercise she had learned in the Tower. I am the flower in the river. It came naturally to her now. The sea of surging emotions and need calmed. Yet, something was wrong. With a moment's thought, she realized what it was. The source was gone. She hadn't even thought about it until now. Am I doing this wrong? Did I get stilled somehow when we returned here? Is the Source simply not reachable from here? For a moment, she felt panic run through her. The sisters won't be pleased. Aes Sedai who burn out are...She chased the thought from her head. I'll never see the tower again. Ukyou looked at her through the rain. "Are you okay, Ranchan? You're so quiet..." The realization then struck her. I'll never channel again, either. EVER. Doesn't that kill people who lose the ability? They just wither away. For a moment, tears threatened to come. She focused again and stopped them. The Power is gone. Forever. I have to deal with that, she thought. "Ranchan...what's wrong, Ranchan?" Ukyou's voice held a note of apprehension now. "Are you okay, Ranchan?" "I'm fine," she lied. Ukyou wasn't dumb enough to fall for that old line. ****************************** They sat in Ranma's room now, listening to the rain. Mr. Saotome was off being a panda somewhere, probably. Normally, he would have been here asleep. Maybe Azusa caught him again, Ranma thought. Ranma leaned up against the wall. Ukyou had one of his arms around her shoulders. I ought to tell him not to do that...but I want him to...I mean, part of me...aargh, I'm not gonna bother arguing with myself, she thought. I do like her, but she's gonna have the wrong idea...I can't marry two different women. Ranma tried to tamp down his thoughts and pull herself together. "Akane's acting really nuts. She's never this nice all the time...and when she hid at the movie theatre...I mean, she just never acts like that." "Well, I've felt a little bit odd myself today, but not that odd...Maybe she just got shook up from the trip to the other dimension...I had weird dreams about running a bar in Boston last night after we got back, and I felt ever so slightly out of place all day." "Me too. I hope we made it back to the right universe." "Does Mr. Tendo still cry a lot?" "I haven't seen him cry yet today." Maybe we are in the wrong universe...go get that thing." Ranma pulled it out of her pocket. It was a long rod with a button on the top and a series of rings around it with various symbols lined up on it. She had only the vaguest comprehension of how it worked, and as usually happens with such artifacts, the store from which she had bought it had been gone the next time he tried to go back to it. She knew a few settings. Currently, it was set to take you to Earth, but she also knew the settings for the other worlds she had visited, trying to dispose of those evil rings that had caused so much trouble. "I'm pretty sure this is how it was set when I bought it. I've got the manual in the closet, but it's rather hard tounderstand." A large part of this had to do with the fact that the manual was originally written in the B'thr..;D'clack language, a language which is ideal for manual design, but almost impossible to translate. This has to do with the fact that most languages cannot convey such nuances as the fifty nine words in B'thr..;D'clack that translate in English as "left", or the 345 words that translate roughly as "slot B". To make matters worse, the manual had been translated first into Ute Indian, then into English from that, then into Serbo-croatian from that, then into Japanese. With parallel columns of text in 15th dynasty Egyptian Hieroglyphics, "for your convenience", which, by the way, can be expressed using 56 different words and phrases in B'thr..;D'clack. Some of these phrases also translate roughly as "up yours", depending on inflection and whether your skin is currently off-mauve or not. "Okay. This symbol stands for Earth like planets. This one signifies planes where Japanese is spoken. This one signifies democracies...or maybe used car salesmen. This one means...umm...can't find this symbol." "Well, maybe it's set wrong," Ukyou said, trying to read the manual. "This ibis looking thing next to it is making me nervous. It looks evil." "It's just a silly looking bird!" Ranma said, trying to pretend it didn't make him nervous either. Paging through the manual, he finally reached the section he was looking for. "Here's where it has some of the most popular worlds to visit. Ours is here, listed as "Y'sldkf--*&, pto World"." "How can you be sure it's our world?" Ukyou asked, trying to read the description of it. "Cause there's a picture of the Dojo right there." Ranma pointed. Ukyou felt a slight chill on his spine. "Couldn't we be in a world almost exactly like the right one? I mean, how accurate is this device..." "I dunno. I guess we ought to see if we can find anything else wrong with it...There's a help line number, but it doesn't work. I keep getting a Domino's pizza in New York City when I call it." Ukyou laughed faintly. "Maybe they went out of business." "Maybe Ryouga's family runs it and the business just got lost with them." They both laughed. ********************************** Kaneda sat in the big chair (he refused to think of it as a throne) and listened to yet another stupid argument. How'd I ever let Alyssa convince me to try to arbitrate this, he wondered. Joan and Sera had both come from the same village as Tyr, and both of them had been after him romantically for quite a while now. Either he was really dim, or just not interested, because their best efforts hadn't gotten much more out of him than an occasional compliment. As often happens in such things, they hated each other. Currently, Joan had blue hair because Sera had mixed crushed berries into her hair dye that she insisted on using for no apparent reason that Kaneda could determine. Since the dye was made out of various berries and herbs and whatnot, he couldn't see anyone WANTING to put it in their hair in the first place. "So after your hair turned blue, you then snuck into her hut and cut off all her hair, is that right?" he asked. "While I was asleep!" Sera wailed, her once long golden locks now cut to just above her shoulder. "Umm...well, I suppose you could say that," Joan waffled. Kaneda sighed. Everyone is starting to go nuts being cooped up in this place. I've got to come up with some way to relieve tension. Maybe we should have a festival. He grinned faintly. I can provide the fireworks myself. "Sera, your punishment is to have your hair dyed blue, since you seem to like that color so much. Joan, I'm going to cut your hair myself, since you seem to like people to wear short hair." They both wailed and gnashed their teeth in the extravagant style of Taraboners bewailing their fate. Alyssa, standing nearby, smiled faintly, and several of the other men and women waiting for disputes to be resolved laughed loudly. "I hope you all will find this so amusing when it is your turn," Kaneda said, smiling a little himself, until he spied the chicken that Alvi was holding. Not the chicken AGAIN.... ********************************** Ranma woke up with the vague feeling he was being crushed. Oh great, Shampoo's snuck into my bed again...Either that or Dad rolled over during the night. He opened his eyes and was stunned to see Akane was lying on top of him in her yellow pajamas. Frozen by shock, he simply stared at her for a few minutes, wondering if he'd accidentally set off the Dimension hopper while asleep. Finally, Akane began to rouse. She yawned, then smiled at Ranma. "I got lonely last night, so I came to sleep with you, Ranma-kun. You don't mind, do you?" Ranma's brain tried to shut down, but he finally mastered his total panic and shock saying, "Uh..no, of course not, umm..." She got up over him, leaning on her arms and kissed him, then blushed and got up. "I'd better get out before anyone notices...Nabiki and Kasumi might get the wrong idea..." "Uh...yeah, that's a good idea...You, um...know how they are." Ranma tried hard to tamp down the vortex of chaotic thoughts in his head. Akane smiled at Ranma, and tiptoed out of the room, leaving him to stare mindlessly at the wall. ********************************** Ranma sat up on the roof again and looked out across the dojo and the town. Kasumi and Akane were working on the garden inside the dojo courtyard. Once again, she was dressed in a very feminine manner. Ranma sighed faintly. I thought I'd like it if she was more like this...but it just isn't right. She's not supposed to be like Kasumi. Not THIS MUCH like Kasumi, anyway. Glancing off into the streets, he saw Dr. Tofu coming. He hopped off the roof and ran to meet him. "Thanks for coming by. Akane's around back." Dr. Tofu nodded. "Has the behavior continued?" "Yeah. Lots. She...She kissed me this morning." Dr. Tofu tried not to laugh. Only Ranma would sound that concerned over something most people would welcome. "We'll see." A big waste of my time, but today was pretty boring anyway. Ranma led Dr. Tofu through the house to the backyard. Dr. Tofu stood quietly and observed Akane for a few seconds. "Hmm. Nice dress." Akane turned and smiled. "Hi, Dr. Tofu! Are you here to see Kasumi?" Kasumi looked up from raking the sand. "Why, Dr. Tofu! So nice to see you!" Dr. Tofu's glasses fogged up and Ranma slapped himself on the forehead. Oy, I'm an idiot, he thought. We all know what happens next... ************************************ Ranma regained consciousness in the alleyway behind the Tendo dojo, having gotten wet at some point along the way, and thus now being female. Akane was standing over him, wringing her hands. "Are you okay, Ranma?" she asked. "Dr. Tofu got a little...over enthusiastic." Ranma tried to remember what had happened, but he couldn't. "Where...is he?" "He and Kasumi went off to take a walk together before he could destroy the house as well as the garden," she said in a matter of fact tone that sounded more like her old self than she had sounded in a while. Maybe she's snapped out of it, Ranma thought. She got up. "Oh well, I guess it's lunch time by now?" I really need to get a watch. Akane smiled. "I'll make us some lunch. I don't think Kasumi will be back in time." "Are you sure that's safe? I mean..." Ranma winced in anticipation of the blow to come. Instead, Akane's face crumpled and she started to cry. "How can you be so mean?" She ran off crying. On second thought, something is still wrong...why is she being so, so...She's supposed to hit me when I say that! Ranma ran after her. "I wasn't thinking...I...Akane, don't cry...I'll eat your cooking..." Akane stopped running. "You will?" "I...I shouldn't have teased you. Just don't cry like that." Ranma said. Akane stared at Ranma for a moment. The hurt in her face was clear. Even at his worst, he'd never made her look so sad. She always got angry instead. "You always say things like that...why, Ranma, why?" Ranma didn't know how to answer that. "Uh...I guess I talk without thinking sometimes. You've hurt MY feelings too, ya know." Akane blinked as if the possibility of this had never crossed her mind. "I have?" Ranma face-faulted. "What, you think I LIKE being called a pervert? That I WANT to have this curse? That I..." "That really hurts you?" Akane asked. The pain was gone, apparently replaced by curiousity. Maybe she's just gone stark raving mad, she thought. How could anyone constantly taunt someone and not realize they were hurting their feelings? Ranma carefully failed to draw the appropriate conclusion for himself. "OF COURSE IT HURTS MY FEELINGS! Isn't that the whole idea behind you SAYING anything like that?" Akane wilted under the impact of her yelling. "I...I just...I mean when you call me names...I could never tell that you were really bothered by what I said...It really hurt you?" With a supreme act of will, Ranma pulled herself together. "Yeah." She took a deep breath. "Let's just go get some lunch. I'm really hungry." She started to move forward, and was suprised when Akane took her by the hand. "Maybe we can try to stop fighting so much. I mean, I really do ...care about you. You care about me, don't you, Ranma?" Ranma froze up for a moment. "Yeah, I do care about you." Her stomach grumbled. Akane giggled. "I can see what else you care about. C'mon, I'll make you some lunch." Ranma went off to face her doom like a man. ********************************** The stars shone clearly over Castle Mist one night. Kaneda sat on the roof of his "palace" (A house with more than one room), looking up at the stars. The constellations were strange to him, although he did manage to find one set of stars that formed the kanji for cat. I could use a pet, he thought. Although feeding it might be hard. He looked out across his domain. There were flowers everywhere. It had been easy to make them grow with the power once he had figured out the trick from Alyssa's effort to explain how women did it. It gave the place a more pleasant air, and was the only kind of decoration for the upcoming festival they could afford. He'd been able to make food grow too, with some effort, and so they would have vegetables and fruit, if not much meat for the festival and for the winter. Other than settling disputes and training his students, he didn't have much to do besides figuring out new uses for the power. One of them he had learned by accident... the making of images. He concentrated and drew on the power now, and drew lines in the sky, connecting stars together, trying to make things he knew of. With substantial effort, he made a big leering line drawing of Happousai by connecting stars, then laughed faintly. "At least the real one isn't here..." He heard movement below him and a voice. "You up there, Kaneda?" It was Alyssa. He moved to the edge of the roof and looked down. "Shouldn't you be asleep right now?" She looked up at him and wondered how he had gotten onto the roof without a ladder. "Shouldn't you?" He laughed and leaped down, picked her up, then leaped back up onto the roof, setting her down. "How do you like my art?" "What sort of thing is that?" She pointed at Happousai's image. "Some sort of legendary monster?" Kaneda laughed. "Well, you're half right. He trained my father. He's a martial arts master named Happousai." She looked at Kaneda. He rarely laughed. Perhaps this was a good time to find out some things she had been wondering. "So is he legendary or a monster?" "Some of both, I guess. He drank like a fleet of sailors and liked to fondle women's underwear. So my father and his best friend got him drunk and trapped him in a cave. He later escaped and came back to torment us." Kaneda laughed. "He'd steal our underwear, then pretend he didn't know who did it. One time, the local town elders came to my father and asked him to help track down this horrible panty thief who was rampaging through the town...You can imagine how well that worked with the panty thief LIVING in our house." Alyssa laughed. "You had a much rougher childhood than me, I'd guess." "It wasn't always bad." Kaneda forced himself to stop staring into space and to actually LOOK at Alyssa while he was talking to her. She had long blonde hair, running down to the bottom of her shoulder blades. She was dressed in her usual red and black dress, although she wasn't wearing the hood and cape that she often did. She shivered a little in the cold air. Her eyes were blue and she was quite beautiful, he suddenly realized. He'd never quite looked at her before, though he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because she always seemed nervous, as if she expected someone to jump on her. Suddenly, he wasn't so sure if her childhood had REALLY been any more peaceful than hers. Well, more peaceful than MOST of her childhood. "I had a lot of good times with my sisters." "You were the only boy?" Alyssa shivered again. Kaneda took off the jacket he was wearing. "Here, put this on. I didn't have any brothers," Kaneda evaded. Alyssa took the jacket. "Are you sure you won't be cold?" "I'll be fine." It's not that cold, but I guess some people get cold easily. "Dad had a hard time raising us all by himself. My mom died when I was young." He sighed. "Dad trained me to be the fighter of the family." "Well, you were his only son," Alyssa said, then wondered why Kaneda frowned. Did I say something wrong?, she thought. Kaneda saw Alyssa look faintly worried, and wondered why. I haven't said something bad, have I? "So what was life in the Tower like? I've heard all sorts of rumors, but...For that matter, do you think they're likely to send the Reds after...us?" Alyssa shuddered. "It was awful. They treat the novices horribly. We were practically slaves. I put up with it for years, because I didn't know what else I could do... once you get in, you can't get out. I didn't want to be there. I just wanted to go home. So I deliberately failed the Accepted test so they'd get rid of me." Well, okay, the last time, I did...I really did try the first two times. It was just too scary. I didn't want to risk vanishing just so they could abuse me some more after I passed the test. Or have to push other people around. "It's that bad? I knew someone else who went there...She didn't seem to think it was that bad. Then again, we didn't have much time to talk the last time I saw her." She looks like she's about to cry, Kaneda thought. Great...how do I stop her from crying? Alyssa tried to pull herself together. I have to be strong, she thought. I can't let myself fall apart all the time. She hugged herself in the darkness. "It was awful. I think I've learned more...from being here with you, and on my own than I ever learned in the Tower." Kaneda moved a little closer to her, wondering what he could do for her that wouldn't be taken the wrong way. She needs a hug, but she might think that I...If I was a girl, this would be a lot easier. "You've helped me learn a lot about the Power. I wouldn't know half as much as I do without you." Her face brightened and the shivering stopped. "Really?" "Really." "Will you...dance with me at the festival tomorrow?" Please say yes, she thought. "Sure! I haven't gotten to dance in a long time," Kaneda thought. "I don't know much about how people dance around here..." Alyssa smiled and Kaneda smiled in response. "I'll be happy to teach you that too." They talked on, into the night. ********************************** The Autumn festival began with a lot of singing. Kaneda mostly just listened, since he didn't know any of the songs, which made him feel a little weird, since everyone else either knew them by heart or faked it well. Still, he clapped his hands and joined a few choruses. Everyone was dressed up, which meant they'd washed their clothing and put some of the copious flowers to work in decorating themselves. Many of the women had made wreaths for their hair, in fact. Many of the men had either shaved or trimmed their beards and moustaches. Only two of the inhabitants knew anything about music, so they were trying to sing to the accompaniment of drums and flute. Lori was an accomplished flautist, while Alain was simply enthusiastic. He had made the drums himself, while Lori had already had a flute. Right now, they were playing a song called "Wind on the Mountains", and Alyssa was trying to teach Kaneda a dance called Windy Five-step. Unfortunately, Kaneda kept turning it into either a four step or a six step. "I'm really sorry. I'm not good at this." Alyssa, on the other hand, was good. "You'll learn. No one starts as a good dancer." She smiled and whirled in close to him, drawing his arms around her, then whirled back out and they promenaded round the large circle of dancing couples. He's so nervous, she thought. I've got to find some way to reassure him he's doing okay. Kaneda found himself on the receiving end of several knowing winks as he danced with Alyssa, though he wasn't sure why. Also, he was too busy enjoying himself to really think about it. Pretty soon, he started to get the hang of the dances, although he still wasn't ready for a dancing duel with the local equivalent of Fred Astaire. The evening blurred on in a swirl of dances, song, eating, and fun. Kaneda danced with more women than he even remembered being present at the castle, even a little ten year old girl who was its youngest resident. Still, somehow, by the end of the evening, he found himself dancing with Alyssa on an almost empty 'dancefloor'. A few other couples still danced, but most of the inhabitants of the Castle had slinked off to bed. The two tired musicians said, "Last dance. We can't take much more of this." The final dance was a slow dance, which was good, since none of the people except Kaneda had much energy left. Luckily, he had already learned the dance, so he was able to prop Alyssa up as they circled the 'dance floor' in a series of spirals. He could smell the faint scent of her carefully rationed perfume, a scent that reminded him of the smell of cherry blossoms in the spring. For a moment, he was no longer in Castle Mist, but in a park near his old home, with his sisters, watching cherry blossoms blow in the breeze. Life was a joyous thing then. He smiled and returned to the present. Alyssa sleepily smiled up at him. The music stopped, but they still held each other. Suddenly, he was very aware of her presence and just how pretty she really was. He could feel her body pressed to his, and felt the strange sensations that he suspected meant his body was becoming all too aware of this. She smiled up at him and he found himself transfixed by her gaze. A moment of decision was upon him, and he had no idea what he was going to do. As if on autopilot, his head was slowly tilting towards hers. He saw her eyes close and his eyes closed too. Oh god, I'm going to kiss her, he realized. What am I DOING? He tried to stop himself, then realized he wasn't sure if he wanted to stop. I've been so lonely... As so often happened in his life, the choice was taken away from him. A voice spoke nearby, "Will we be having practice tomorrow?...Ohh...you're busy." The moment was gone. Kaneda stepped away from Alyssa, blushing as he did so. "Yes, we will, although I think I'm also going to sleep in." He wasn't sure if he should be angry at Alain or grateful. Alyssa, on the other hand, knew exactly how she felt... ************************************ Ranma-chan stared at her meal as if it had grown fangs. Some days, it actually wouldn't have surprised her if Akane's cooking DID grow fangs. However... Akane frowned. "It's not any good, is it..." "Actually, this is really great!" Ranma-chan munched on the dumpling again. Yep, it actually was not only edible, but good. Akane's face lit up. "You're not just saying that to make me feel good, are you?" "When have I ever said anything to make someone feel good?" "Good point." Akane hugged Ranma-chan then danced about happily, singing some song about cooking. Ranma-chan returned to eating, mostly oblivious to her own current display of good manners. Akane smiled. Everything's been going so well for me the last few days...and they seem to have taught Ranma some manners in that other dimension. Oh, we're going to be so happy together! She drifted off into happy daydreams about being a happy homemaker. ********************************** Akane sat on the porch and smiled at the setting sun. She had been so... relaxed the last few days. It was like something had vanished from her... something that had been driving her on. All her anger was gone, she realized. The rage that had driven her through life for so many years. She could remember what it was like, but it was...somehow alien. This must be what Kasumi feels like all the time. Maybe it's because Ranma's been so much nicer the last few days. I guess I've been nicer to him too. She laid back. Maybe I'll just relax for a while. She coughed faintly. Oh my, I must be catching a cold... ********************************** Snow would come soon to Castle Mist. Everyone could tell. The weather was turning chill and clouds constantly blocked out the sun. They had weather-proofed their homes as best they could, but everyone could tell this would be a chill winter. Kaneda sat at a crude table with some of his, well, he refused to call them councillors, but they were. Alain, Alyssa, Mai, Vanin, and Doric. An old soldier, a failed Novice, a prospector's daughter, a down on his luck Amadician nobleman, and a woodcutter. Kaneda wondered again how he'd gotten himself into all this. "Well, our food stores should be adequate," Doric said. Kaneda had put him in charge of the food stores since he at least knew something about farming. "All the crops are in. Next year, we could easily grow two crops with the rate at which you can speed up plant growth." Alyssa nodded. "I'm going to see if we can figure out how to make them grow during the winter. Then we won't have any worries at all." Alain said, "I think we need to send out a scouting expedition to make sure the Whitecloaks aren't going to try and do anything before the snows hit. Once it snows, they can't get through, but we're still not ready to face any armies." Kaneda nodded. "Right. Alain, take some of the prospectors and other people who know the mountains and see what's going on, if anything. Well, that's enough for this meeting. I need some food and some sleep." Vanin and Alain got up immediately, bowed, and left. Mai smiled. "Your dinner is on its way. I'll be right back." She got up and headed out also. Alyssa, on the other hand, didn't leave. "You can go eat now, Alyssa," Kaneda said. "I won't die while I'm waiting for my food." He smiled faintly. "Unlike some people I've known." "Well, I asked Mai to bring me some food too...if you don't mind," she said hesitantly. Kaneda wasn't sure if he minded or not. I'm ENGAGED!, he thought. But then how much does that mean anymore? Where have they all gone? Is everyone dead? Will I be here forever? What if I really am the Dragon... Maybe I never lived that life...No! I'm Tendo Akane! I'm a girl, not a boy! A GIRL! "What was that about girls?" Alyssa asked. "You're a very pretty girl...Ummm..." How did that come out?Well, better than making her think I'm already going insane. Alyssa smiled. "You're very handsome, Kaneda." She blushed slightly. "Are you really...engaged?" Kaneda nodded. "Who told you that?" "I asked Alain. He said you had a beautiful, but cruel fiancee. What was her name? I might have met her in the tower." Kaneda hesitated. "Ranko. Saotome Ranko." "Ohh...she's afraid of cats, right?" Kaneda nodded hesitantly. "Hai...what happened?" "Well, this one Red has a lot of cats, and she sent Ranko to feed them one day..." Kaneda laughed. "Oh god...she started tearing up the furniture and thinking she was a cat, right?" "The Browns studied her for months trying to figure out how she did that... without the Power! They never did figure it out. SHE was your fiancee?" Kaneda nodded. "But everytime anyone tried to fix her up with someone, she insisted she hated boys!" Kaneda began to laugh and laugh and laugh. Alyssa soon found herself laughing without quite knowing why. ********************************** Ranma woke in the middle of the night. The room was very dark on a moonless night. He started to fumble for the source to make a light, then realized that first of all, he was male right now, and secondly, the Source would probably never come at his command again. He had dreamed he was back in the Tower. It was a twisted dream though... Siuan Sanche was not normally at all like Principal Kunou, at least from what little he had seen of the Amyrlin Seat. Instinctively, he checked, and his pigtail was still there. He gave a sigh of relief. I wonder if Elayne and Nynaeve and Egwene are okay. I'll never see them again. They'll never find out I'm really a boy. Which is probably a good thing...I'd have been in a lot of trouble. I guess I'll miss some of it. He looked at the ring on his finger. He was still wearing the golden band that marked him as Accepted. He hadn't known what to do with it...or the dress he had been wearing when he finally got back from that world. I ought to give the dress to Akane or somebody, but what am I going to do with this ring? Staring at it brought no answer. ********************************** Loud coughing woke most of the Tendo household the next morning. Ranma rushed into Akane's room, as did Nabiki, Kasumi, and Mr. Tendo. Akane looked pale and coughed a lot. Kasumi checked Akane's forehead. "Oh dear. I think Akane is running a fever. How do you feel, Akane-chan?" "A little weak, but I'll be okay." She sat up. "I've got to make breakfast...it's my turn." "You just stay here, Akane. I'll make breakfast," Kasumi said. "Once you get cleaned up, I'll take you to the doctor." "Is that really necessary?" Nabiki asked. "If it's just a fever and a cough..." "Better to catch it now before it can get worse," Kasumi said. "Time for me to get to work." She did. *********************************** Kick, kick, parry, thrust, punch, kick, parry, dodge. Fighting practice continued at Castle Mist, as it always did, despite the cold. Kaneda was pleased at everyone's progress. No one could last against him more than five minutes yet, but then he had years of training, and they had only a few months. Being the best fighter around was new to Kaneda, still. For a long time, he had been king of the hill back home, but then all that had changed. Now he was the best once more, and he liked it. He liked it a lot, really. The only bad part was it was hard to spar with people you could easily slaughter. He'd clobbered a lot of his followers at first, trying to get used to how flimsy they were compared to the people he was used to. They were tougher now, and he was more careful. He had learned more self-control in these months. He had to. Not because it would hurt him, but because it would hurt them. His people. He still didn't want to think of them that way, but they were his responsibility. He was their sensei, their leader...their...Dragon. Could I really be the one? This isn't my world...I don't even know exactly what the Dragon is supposed to DO! Besides save the world. And die and come back...or something. I wish someone would wander by and tell me what I need to do... Kaneda snapped out of it when Mai bonked him in the head. "Hey, you alive in there?" "Sorry, I got distracted. Just wishing I knew more about...what I'm supposed to do. I mean..." Mai nodded. "I wish I knew more of the prophecies. The only ones I know for sure is that he will die and live again and that he will pull the sword that is not a sword, from the Heart of the Stone of Tear." "Like King Arthur?" "I don't remember any stories about Arthur Hawkwing doing that..." Kaneda laughed. "A long story...A different story. So how can something be a sword, but not a sword?" "Ummm...Actually, I'm not sure." Kaneda facefaulted. *********************************** Practice was wrapping up when Alain and the scouts returned. "Whitecloaks are coming, my lord Dragon. At least three hundred, maybe more. To make it worse...We've also spotted some men off to the east. They fly the flag of the Prophet in Ghealdan. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll exterminate each other." Kaneda swore faintly. "I thought we'd be free of them until spring." We're not ready to fight an army, dammit. Especially not two armies. "I need a map. We need to make a plan. Mai, go get everyone who know this area well. We're going to hit them before they can turn this into a siege." Soon Castle Mist was a flurry of activity. *********************************** Dr. Tofu finished making some notations on the medical records of one of his clients just as footsteps in the reception area alerted him that he now had another one arriving in need of help. He turned and saw Kasumi, the love of his life, escorting in Akane, who looked rather ill. Professional courtesy and mad, raving, deranged love went to war with each other. Generally, mad, raving, deranged love would have gotten its usual victory, but luckily for Akane, Kasumi said, "Can you take a look at Akane, Dr. Tofu? I have to go run some errands. I'll be back for her soon!" She swept out and probably saved Akane's life in the process. Dr. Tofu snapped back to reality, and went to work examining Akane's condition. *********************************** Kaneda and his raiding band stood up on a ledge, watching a hundred Whitecloaks pass beneath them. He turned to Alain. "I thought you said there were three hundred of them." "This could bode ill. Some of them seem ...no, most of them seem to be missing." "Well, we deal with what we have. Everyone ready?" The plan was simple. Collapse a large chunk of the mountain on them, then move down the slope and take out as many horses as possible, then withdraw using the paths the mountain men knew. The pack horses were the especial goal. Take out their supplies and the Whitecloaks would have to go home. He grasped the Source. It howled and bucked, but he easily fought it down. "Now." With the power, dumping a large chunk of mountain on them was easy. The battle was joined. ********************************** Ranma and Ukyou were busily puzzling over the D- hopper manual when Dr. Tofu entered the room. They blinked. "What brings you here, Dr. Tofu?" Ranma asked. "Kasumi and Akane haven't come back yet." "Akane is lying down in her room. I have some serious news for you." Ranma blinked. "Is she going to have to go to the hospital?" "Worse. This isn't something a hospital can treat." Ukyou said, "Is it magic?" "Some of Akane's life force is being drained away. I'm hardly a specialist in this sort of thing, but I think she was split in half when you returned from that other dimension. Her 'male self' so to speak was left behind. The two halves need to be reunited in order for her to recover her health. In her current state, she's far too vulnerable to infections." "But why didn't this happen to me?" Ranma asked. "I mean, I've been cursed longer than she has..." "That could be it. I wish I knew more about this, but it's just my best guess. Part of her is missing in a metaphysical sense, and this seems the most likely cause. It is at least worth exploring. Unfortunately, most of the people who could tell you more are rather hard to find these days." "So what can we do about it?" Ranma asked. This did make sense. No wonder Akane was acting so girly... Dr. Tofu held up a book. "This book details a ritual for travelling between worlds. It splits you in two, then reunites the two halves upon its performance in the world you travelled to. I believe we could use it to send you after Akane, Ranma, then you could use it to reunite yourself and her once you found her." "Well, if Ranchan is going, I'm going. I'm not gonna let him go off alone to that godforsaken primitive place!" Ukyou said. "You don't have to go, Ucchan. This is all my fault, not yours." "I don't care whose fault it is! I'm going, and that's it!" Ukyou said. I can't believe I'm going to go help rescue Akane...but I can't let Ranchan go into danger by himself like this. It could take a long time to find her. "I...are you sure?" "Yes!" And that was that. ****************************** Kaneda and his men returned to Castle Mist. The Whitecloaks were in a state of chaos now. Their supplies were gone, and many of them were wounded or killed by the rockfall. Eight of his men were injured, but none were dead, thank Kami-sama. Well, men and women. About half of his band had been female. That had thrown the Whitecloaks as much off their guard as the rockfall. The Whitecloaks hadn't known what hit them. They returned to Castle Mist. Mai was waiting for him. She didn't look very happy. "We won!" Kaneda said. "Where's Alyssa? We need to get these men healed." "The Whitecloaks have her." Mai said flatly. "What? I TOLD HER TO STAY HERE!" A burst of fear and anger rushed over Kaneda. He barely fought back the urge to grab the Source. "Two of our new recruits were traitors... They managed to knock her out and ran before we could stop them." She sighed and stared at the ground. "We should have caught them. This is all my fault. You left me in charge here." "I will find them." Kaneda's voice seethed with barely supressed rage. "They will regret this. Which way did they go?" "I'll go with you. There aren't very many ways they could have gone." "We'll all go with you," Alain said. "You can't fight them all alone." "If they've hurt her..." Kaneda trailed off. He'd explode their heads one by one and smear their blood on the rocks. If they were lucky, they'd be the ones he killed first so at least they wouldn't have to watch their friends die. Alain whispered in Kaneda's ear. "I've been wondering about you two. I guess I know now." Kaneda would have blushed, if he wasn't already on the verge of going stark raving berserk. "I'm taking only my best students. We go in, we get her, we get out. I won't risk everyone on this. We need time to plan...but I won't leave her in their hands. Not on my life. Tyr, Mai, Alya, Celice, Alain, get ready. We're leaving in ten minutes. I've got to get some food first." It wasn't satisfying, but it took the edge off his hunger. Soon, it was time to go. ****************************** Akane, Ukyou, and Ranma stood in the circle together. Dr. Tofu had set up part of his clinic for the ritual. "Are you sure this will work, Dr. Tofu?" Akane asked. "Yes," he lied for her peace of mind. This had better work. He started reading the long complicated chant and waving his arms, while doing something that resembled the hokey pokey. ****************************** The Whitecloak camp was spread out around a stream in a small valley. It was night and the watchmen were posted. They expected trouble. Commander Ches laid down and prepared to sleep. He could send the messenger in the morning to demand that the false Dragon surrender or his woman would be killed. He didn't like using a woman as a hostage, not even an Aes Sedai witch like the men said she was...but this man was dangerous. Probably she had done all the channeling that he was supposed to be responsible for, but he wanted to take no risks. She was bound, gagged, and blindfolded right here where he could keep an eye on her. Just as he was drifting off to sleep, the explosions began. Screams and the smell of smoke woke him back up, and his captive too, whatever her name was. He sprang to his tent and ran to the tent flap. Most of the tents were on fire. Men were running everywhere. He started bellowing orders. Some of the men rallied around him. There was movement inside the tent. He spun and saw three women and three men inside the tent. Two of them were hefting the hostage and untying her. The third, a man with brown eyes and short black hair, was staring at him intensely. One of the women spoke, "Alyssa, are you okay? Did they do anything to you?" Ches frowned. "Of course I haven't done anything to her. I'm not some kind of petty street criminal who molests women, even Aes Sedai witches." The angry man spoke. "So you're in charge of this mob?" "We are not a mob. We are the Children of the Light." "Bullshit. You serve the Shadow if you serve anything besides your own delusions. Get out of my lands. Go home. Or next time, it will be your men that are on fire, not your supplies and your tents. Are you sure he didn't do anything to you, Alyssa?" Her voice came quietly. "I'm fine, Kaneda." It was the so called Dragon himself. Ches frowned. If I move, he or his witch might strike me down. But if I let him go, when he's right here... "If you had harmed her..." The ground nearby exploded upwards. "That would have been your body. We're leaving. I suggest you do likewise." Ches cursed as Kaneda and his band fled through the chaos of the night. The Lord Commander will not be happy...but I had no choice. I could not throw away my men for nothing. All that effort...wasted. At least I wasn't beaten by those stupid men who follow the Prophet. I was hoping they'd weaken his forces. I wonder if he defeated them this handily. ******************************** Kaneda paused at the edge of the camp. Many of the Whitecloaks had fled, while others lay scattered across it or ran to find a hiding place. He stared for a long time, then stepped towards it. Alyssa said, "You're going to look for the people who kidnapped me, aren't you." He blinked. "I...how did you know?" "Let them go. It's not worth it. Who knows if you'd even find them." "I can't let them get away with doing something like this!" Someone had to pay. He hadn't been able to bring himself to just blow away the Whitecloak commander...seeing her safe had lessened his rage...but he wanted to unleash it on someone...something. Someone had to pay. Alyssa reached over and touched his shoulder. "We've got to go while we still can. I don't want to see you get hurt, Kaneda." Alain nodded. "All it would take is one surprise attack..." "We can't afford to risk losing you," Mai said. Kaneda quivered. They were right. It was too dangerous...A few months ago, he would have done it anyway. Things were different now. He had responsibilities. People were counting on him. Revenge could wait. It had to wait. No matter how much he wanted it. He looked at the burning camp. Maybe this was revenge enough. He turned. "Let's go." Soon, they were gone, leaving chaos in their wake. ******************************* The smoke cleared and Akane, Ranma, and Ukyou stood in the middle of the circle, nothing having apparently happened. "It didn't work!" Ranma said. Dr. Tofu dumped a bucket over Ranma's head. He got wet, but that was all. "Yes it did." "I...So now we wait?" Ukyou asked. It was a relief to be free of that curse, if only for a little while...But now they had to wait. And she knew that if there was anything she and Ranma were both bad at, it was waiting. "Now we wait. You'll need to stay inside the circle so that we don't have any trouble with reuniting you." Akane smiled, then coughed again as she leaned over onto Ranma. "I can stay by Ranma for a really long time." Ukyou frowned. This was clearly going to be more fun than the human mind is designed to stand. ******************************* Kaneda and his band came over the top of a rise and looked down into the valley below Castle Mist. A rather large mob was gathered there, in the process of trying to charge up the rather narrow pathway that lead up to the small plateau upon which Castle Mist stood. They flew the flag...of the Dragon. Mai said, "Dragonsworn." "The Prophet's men. They must have learned about me," Kaneda said. "Well, I'll put an end to this foolishness." "We're gonna fight all of them?" Tyr asked. He looked rather nervous at the prospect. "Fight?" Kaneda smiled. "Who said anything about fighting..." A few minutes later, they had reached a good point from which the entire valley was easily visible. He turned to Alyssa, "Amplify my voice, if you can." She nodded and wove a flow to make his already loud voice louder. He tapped the source and wove a giant burst of light. It flashed over the Dragonsworn, who halted and looked up. He spoke, his amplified voice echoing over the valley. "You want the Dragon? Come and get me, you idiots! I'm UP HERE!" The mob milled about uncertainly, straining to see the figures in the darkness. He wove another flow and made his own spotlight. In addition, he flung a rather crude image of a dragon into the sky over himself, just in case they couldn't get the point. That did it. He could hear incoherent shouting and milling around. He wasn't sure if they thought maybe he was the Dragon they had sworn to, or were afraid to really face him. Finally, the Dragonsworn began to warily move up the hill. He dropped the weave from the sky, and wove a second weave. A wall of fire. Just a light show, really, but it looked real. They froze up. He smiled and extended it all the way around them. Terror took them. He dropped the image. "LEAVE NOW AND NEVER RETURN! OR THE SECOND TIME, I WON'T STOP!" The dragonsworn scattered in all directions. They had become a panicked mob before the wrath of a power they could only vaguely comprehend. Within a few minutes, the rout was complete. ******************************* The moon shone down as they staggered into Castle Mist. Kaneda was carrying Alyssa now, despite her protests that she was fine and could walk. Alain and Mai were trying not to laugh. Tyr and Celise didn't bother not laughing. Alya smiled knowingly and said, "I wouldn't complain if someone wanted to carry me!" It took a while to disperse the cheering mob of inhabitants, so glad to have been saved again. The little band finally scattered to their homes, leaving Kaneda and Alyssa alone, just outside his door. He opened the door and carried her in. She smiled faintly. He then realized what he was doing and blushed. "I forgot to take you home." She smiled nervously and whispered, "Do I...have to go?" He froze up and stared into her eyes, his mind exploding into a chaos of thoughts. Did he want her to stay? Yes, he did...but what about Ranma? It's not like sh...he's going to show up, but we're still engaged...if he's alive. I've been so lonely...She's so beautiful. "I...you want to stay?" "As long as I can, Kaneda. I...you came for me, Kaneda...I...thank you." She smiled at him and leaned her face a little closer. "I feel so safe with you." "You'll always be safe with me." His face crept closer to hers. I'm going to kiss her, he thought. All of his locked away passion exploded and he let his emotions take him. The kiss alone, he thought would never end. ************************************ A chill wind blew from the west as Ranko and Ukyou stood near a carved pillar in the midst of the Tarabon plains. "This is where you lost her, Ranchan?" Ukyou asked. "Hai." "So how do we find her?" "We go to Tarabon...if she was left behind, I think she'd have headed back there first. I wonder if my friends are still there." "Well, it's only been a week. Shouldn't be too hard." Ranko frowned. "It was spring then. This feels like winter or at least fall." She shivered slightly. "We're going to need warmer clothing. Although..." Hesitantly, she opened herself to the Source. The Power flowed into her like an old friend. Ukyou watched as a look of ecstasy crept over Ranko's face. "I may be able to fix that problem..." She wove a thin flow of fire and air and the area grew noticably warmer. "If I could only figure out how to make that move with us." Ukyou blinked. "I...didn't see you do anything." "The power is invisible. You only see its effects." Ranko demonstrated by creating a ball of light. "No hand waving or chanting or anything?" "Nope. Just draw on the One Power and shape it into flows with your mind that cause what you want. You could do it blindfolded, but it would be really hard to get the flows to go right." "Could I learn to do it?" "It kills men or drives them mad...it's not safe, except for women. If you were here as your normal self..." Ukyou blinked. "It kills them?" "Yeah. For once I'm glad I can't turn male here like this. C'mon. Let's get going." They turned and headed for Tarabon. ****************************** A ragged band of survivors staggered out of the mountains and into Ghealdan. The word soon spread. A False Dragon had proclaimed himself in the mountains. He had called down fire on the faithful. The Prophet was not pleased... ******************************** End Part Two.