Kaneda called a meeting of his council. This might be our last meeting, he thought. Alain, Alyssa, Mai, Vanin, and Doric sat around the table with him. Alain was an old soldier, with grey hair and a body that was still well muscled, but clearly past its prime. Mai was the brown-haired daughter of a mountain man, one of his best students in martial arts, and an excellent organizer. Now, she was one of his channelers as well. Vanin was an Amadician nobleman who had to flee the Whitecloaks after he killed a Lord Commander in a duel. He was middle-aged and ugly as sin, but a decent fighter and knew all about managing meager resources. Finally, there was Doric, a young black haired Amadician woodcutter and carpenter, who had organized all their building projects. Every last one of them was older than him. A year ago, Kaneda would never have believed they'd follow him. "I have good news. Thanks to the artifacts we have found, and deals that have been made, we now have an easy way to travel to the Lord Dragon in Cairhien and offer him our services." Whispers went round the table. He continued. "I am quite certain that this man, Rand al'Thor is the true Dragon, and I am merely a channeler. Indeed, Ranko Sedai witnessed him drawing the Sword That Is Not A Sword, and she assures me of this as well. I trust her judgement in this matter." They listened quietly now as he continued. "Secondly, many of those among our company now possess a vast amount of knowledge of channeling, both men and women. How I gathered so many people with the potential all unknowing, I do not know. Perhaps I am ta'veren. Perhaps it is simply a blessing from the Wheel. I found an artifact within the mountain that enables one to bargain for boons." He paused. "This is going to take a while." ************ Parallel Lives #6: Book One: For Remembrance Lost New Alliances A Wheel of Time / Ranma 1 / 2 crossover, by John Biles Other chapters available at http://www.thekeep.org/~wombat/PL/ ************ Ryouga sat and ate breakfast with the other vistors. Most of them he didn't recognize, but then he spotted Kasumi and went over to her. She didn't look too happy. "You okay?" Kasumi blinked. "Ryouga-kun!" She smiled a little. "I should have known you'd find a way here." "Where are we?" "In another universe." "..." "Akane's having a meeting with her council. She's the lord of this place." Ryouga boggled. How long have I been lost? "How long...I mean...this happened in two weeks?" "Let me try and explain it all." It would have helped if Kasumi actually knew the whole story. ************ "To demonstrate," Kaneda continued. He picked up his glass of hot tea and dumped it on himself. Vanin and Doric fell out of their chairs. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but it just...I would have sounded crazy. I think I should tell everyone before we leave. What do you all think?" "Not a good idea," Vanin said faintly. "Some people might start panicking and wondering if it might happen to them." Doric simply stared in shock. Mai said, "I think you should tell everyone. Better to get it over with before there's an accident." Alyssa nodded. Alain cocked his head to the left and stared off thoughtfully into the fire. Finally, he said, "I agree with Mai. I don't think there's likely to be a panic, but better not to risk it." "Well, let's start planning our move, then," Kaneda said. "We need to find everyone who can channel, first off." ************* Ranma and Ukyou showed up as Ryouga and Kasumi were about to finish breakfast. They were holding hands, and Ranma looked incredibly nervous. Ryouga looked up and frowned. "What, holding hands with Ukyou when your FIANCEE is..." Ukyou snorted. "He's my fiancee." "Ranma, you cad!" Ryouga leaped to his feet. "I won't stand for this!" "You're standing right now," Ukyou said. Ryouga frowned and sat down. "I won't let you do this to Akane!" Kasumi said, "Would you like something to eat, Ranma- kun?" She paused. "Well, I suppose it's not my food to offer." She looked ever so slightly confused, and a short, skinny man came around with some biscuits and fruit. "Good morning," he said, laying out two plates for Ranma and Ukyou. "I'm Cham, head cook, more or less. You two with the Lord Ayabara's party?" "We're friends of Kaneda from his hometown," Ukyou said. Ryouga said to Ranma, "Don't ignore me!" Ranma sat down with Ukyou to get some breakfast. "Thank you, Mr. Cham. I'm FAMISHED." He ate like a man used to having his breakfast stolen daily. Cham bowed. "An honor to meet you. You look rather like those other guests of his...Ranko Sedai and...can't remember the lad's name..." Ukyou laughed. "Relatives." Ryouga stood up again and loomed over Ranma. "Say something!" "Something." Food continued to vanish. Ryouga's face was getting red. "Have you NO HONOR?" Ranma paused and looked back at Ryouga. "What are you talking about?" "Holding hands with another woman when you're engaged to Akane!" Ryouga screamed. Half the population of the castle turned and looked. Since almost none of them knew anything about anyone named Akane, they soon went back to their food. Ranma said quietly, "Lemme eat, okay? We can beat each other hello, later." Kasumi said, "Now, Ryouga, you shouldn't worry. Friends hold hands all the time. I remember I held hands a few times walking home with my friends." Ryouga twitched, then relaxed slightly. "I'm just trying to protect Akane's honor." "And sneak into her bed," Ranma said. Kasumi blushed. "Ranma-kun, you shouldn't tease like that." Ukyou blinked. "I think he'd get rather a surprise if he did that." "I do NOT sneak into Akane's bed!" Ryouga shouted. Several people stared. "Mr. Head Cook, can I ask you a question?" Ranma said to Cham, who was eating nearby. "Sure." "Any chance we could have pork tonight?" "I'm afraid we don't have any pigs." Cham said. Ranma smiled. "I might be able to fix that." Ryouga howled. *************** The meeting dispersed as everyone headed out to prepare for departure in a few days, and to prepare for the big announcements at dinner time. Kaneda himself was ready to go work out for a while. Alyssa had left to go round up female channelers, but he had found Tyr and Celice to work out with him. I should see if Ranma and Ukyou and...I almost forgot Ryouga showed up! They found Ryouga and Ranma going at it on top of the castle wall, with Ukyou watching them and sighing, along with Kasumi. Kaneda said to Kasumi, "How long did this take?" "About twenty minutes. It's nice to see they haven't forgotten how to play," Kasumi said quietly. Celice and Tyr watched in awe. When Ranma vaulted over Ryouga, hooking his umbrella as he went by and flinging Ryouga off the wall with it, Tyr said, "I can't believe it." When Ryouga got up from landing head first in the ground and leaped back up onto the wall, it was Celice's turn to boggle. "Is everyone from your hometown this good a fighter?" "Some of them are better," Kasumi said. "Not too many." "Better than THAT?" a deep voice said nearby, sounding dubious. "I wouldn't have thought that possible." It was Perrin. "Ranma started training as soon as he could walk," Kaneda said. "The same for Ryouga." "Are they Aiel?" Perrin asked. They didn't LOOK Aiel, but they fought like them. "Just dedicated." Kaneda said. "HEY, RYOUGA! CAN YOU COME DOWN HERE?" Ryouga turned and got knocked off the wall again by Ranma. He landed at Kaneda's feet, then got up. "I...I brought you some souvenirs from Hokkaido, A...Kaneda." He looked around at all the people he didn't know. "It took me three weeks to get back." He paused. "Where are we?" Ranma leaped down off the wall. "Yo, Kaneda." Kaneda smiled. "I'm glad you found us...hasn't someone told you where you are?" "They told me, but I never heard of it." Kasumi said, "We're in another..." Ukyou's hand clamped over her mouth. "Ryouga, you come with me, I'll give you the whole story." Ukyou dragged Ryouga off. Ranma stretched. "I feel great. Haven't had that good a workout in a while, not counting the fight yesterday." "Ranma, you could have destroyed our homes!" Kaneda said. "You shouldn't get in these fights with Ryouga." "Hey, I waited for breakfast to be over! And I took it up there where we couldn't hurt anyone." Ranma sulked. "Why did you two start fighting, anyway?" Kaneda wasn't sure he really wanted to know. "Ranma and Ukyou were holding hands. They're such good friends," Kasumi said. Kaneda was surprised by the burst of intense jealousy that struck him. Only the fact that people who respected him were watching kept him from shouting or doing something else impulsive. I have someone else. I can't...shouldn't be jealous. I can't believe he's moving so fast, though...I waited months. Kaneda seethed, but kept a lid on it. "So he got mad about that?" Ranma took a deep breath. "Cause he loves...Akane. But she just doesn't seem to get it." I didn't promise to keep this secret. I think. I'm not saying he's P-chan or nothing, so it's okay. I think. "He loves...Akane?" Kaneda said, boggling. Looking back, it was obvious. How could I have not noticed? Oh, Ryouga, I'm sorry. Tyr said, "Celice and I are going to spar while you all talk, okay?" Kaneda nodded. Celice grinned. "Well, that won't take long. I'm going to eat you for breakfast." Perrin said, "You've been training in unarmed combat?" He noted they had no weapons. Celice nodded. "Kaneda trained us." She and Tyr moved off a bit and got into ready positions. Perrin watched, impressed by their speed and skill. I wonder how many of these warriors Lord Kaneda has, he thought. They rained down blow after blow at each other, dodging and blocking at a high speed, though not nearly the speed of the two he had watched on the wall. "He ain't gonna be too happy about Akane's new lover, either." Ranma said flatly. I'd love to see his face when he crawls into THAT bed, Ranma thought. "..." "Luckily, he doesn't fight girls anymore than I do, but..." Kaneda twitched slightly. "Why didn't you ever tell me this before?" He wanted to scream, but he couldn't, and holding it back was starting to strain him. "Hey, it ain't MY job to go around telling people about Ryouga's heart." Ranma said. "Just cause he never quite managed to tell you don't mean I had to." Kaneda sighed. "Got any other surprises for me?" "I...Can we talk in private?" "Sure." Kaneda was less calm about this than he sounded. ************** Kaneda and Ranma went back to Kaneda's house. Once they were out of sight, Ranma got some hot water and splashed Kaneda. "I wanna talk to Akane." "Kaneda is Akane." Ranma sighed. "Lemme say what I gotta say before we have our usual fight." Akane sighed and sat down in a chair. Ranma sat down in another one. "Okay, shoot." "Does Kasumi know about you and Alyssa?" "She's been too distraught for me to tell her. I don't need her freaking out more." Akane sighed, and shivered a bit. The fire was low, and being damp was not fun. "You figured out what we're gonna tell Pop and your dad?" "I won't be going back, you know that." She paused. "Ranma, please stay. We can use you. This fight...it's not going to be easy. I'm probably crazy to stay, but...I can't leave my people. You'd be a great help, and you'd get all the fighting you can stand." She cleared her throat nervously. "We need you, Ranma." "I'd been thinking about staying. Since a month passes here for every day back home, we wouldn't even miss more than a few weeks. I dunno if Ucchan would go for it, though." He stared at the floor. "Your pop's gonna freak. Mine's gonna be mad, but you're not his daughter. Mr. Tendo...he just..." "I don't care. I never wanted to play housewife to some guy who would run the dojo, anyway. I wanted to be something, to make a difference, to...They'll probably just try to make you marry Kasumi." She sighed. "I couldn't go back now and just be a high school girl. This...this is what I was born to do, I think. Daddy can't stop me. And if he doesn't like Alyssa, well...too bad." Akane tried to be defiant, but she was worried. She hadn't really thought about this, mostly because she hadn't expected to see her father again for a long time. "Ryouga's gonna freak, too." Ranma sighed. "Ukyou and I..." "Hmm?" Akane felt herself getting tense, just hearing Ukyou's name. She tried to calm herself. "We...we...we did what you and Alyssa did." For a minute, Akane stared at Ranma, trying to figure out what he meant. Then it struck her. "..." "I...she and I...we're gonna try. And be real fiancees. Since you...you and I...I guess it's...over." He stared at the floor. "Right?" "Yeah," Akane said quietly. It hurt. Even though they both had someone else, someone they cared about, it hurt. She and Ranma had never said they loved each other...while sane, anyway. They'd kissed, but it had been with tape, or in their cursed forms, or when Ranma thought he was a cat. And yet...Ranma had been the constant in her life. Could Alyssa be that for me? I love her, but...am I doing the right thing? I mean...I...part of me still l...loves Ranma. "I..I guess." "We don't...we don't have to hate each other or nothing, right?" "No, we don't." Akane said quietly. I wish...I wish I had some way to be sure, she thought. But there's not many guarantees of being right in life. "Especially, if you stay...we need to be able to get along." "Why'd we fight all the time?" Ranma asked. "Habit, I guess. I think I've calmed down a lot. I think you have too. I guess we're growing up." "I think I wanna spar," Ranma said. "All this being serious is making my head hurt." Akane grinned. "What happened to not fighting girls?" "I ain't gonna fight no girls, but I'll happily hand Kaneda his head on a plate." Ranma got up. Akane smirked and cracked her knuckles. "I'll have Cham get one ready for YOUR head, then." After a good beating, they both felt better. *********** A little before dinner, Mai and Alyssa had finished rounding up females who could channel. There were eight of them, not counting Alyssa: Mai, Celice, Joan (who still had short blue hair), Egwene (no relation), Lori (the flutist), Haile (a Taraboner noble on the run), Alya (Corwin's sister, who was an herbalist), and Dora (definitely no relation). They'd also dug up eight men: Alain (the ex-soldier), Corwin (not the wagoneer who was Alya's brother, but a farmer), Balin and Dor (twin peddlars, originally from Ebou Dar), Wil (a Ghealdan farmer), Havric (an Amadician carpenter), Basel (a Taraboner peddlar), and Jo (an unsuccessful thief-catcher from Amadica). Kaneda and Ranko joined the meeting, which started with tests of everyone's strength. They ranged in power from Havric and Egwene, who could move small rocks, light little fires, and make pretty lights to Alain and Lori who could match Kaneda for strength, although Ranko was just a tiny bit weaker than the three of them. The strongest of them, however, was Alyssa, who was delighted to see that this one of the wishes had come true the way she intended, at least when she didn't get knocked out from behind. After the tests were over, Kaneda said, "The eighteen of us possess the knowlege of the Age of Legends, although much of what we know is still not that useful to us, unless we find a bunch of artifacts we don't have. Still, I believe we can make a major difference in the battle to come. We stand at the end of an age in which channelers have been feared and hated, either hunted down or withdrawing into seclusion. They have forgotten the past that we now remember. We know that Aes Sedai means 'Servants of All', not that all should serve us." He took a breath as various people nodded. "Someone once said that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That is the danger we face. The weakest among us still possesses power that virtually no one possesses. A single spark can ignite a fire that burns down a forest. It can make us arrogant. It will make monsters of us if we are not careful." He nudged Alyssa, who took over. "Yet, that power is never enough to accomplish all we wish. I thought I would be invincible after I made my bargain, but I'm not. I got taken out by a person who couldn't even channel. That's part of why power can corrupt. The more you have, the more you think you need, but you never have enough. 'If only I had a little more, then I could accomplish my goals.' But you can't ever have enough. Not without trampling on other people, and even then it won't be enough." Alyssa turned and looked at each of those who sat around her. "In the Age of Legends, the Aes Sedai wielded their power responsibly. We are their heirs. We possess their knowledge now." Her voice sped up a bit, starting to become a little excited. "Kaneda and I have discussed this, and we want to take up that legacy and form a new order of Aes Sedai on the lines of the old, of men and women working together. The end of this age is coming. The Dragon is reborn. Tarmon Gai'don casts a shadow on us all. Will you join us?" She looked hopefully out at everyone. She didn't have long to wait. Alain said, "I will do so gladly." Mai nodded, as did Cerise. A chorus of affirmatives followed, and the making of plans began. *********** Kaneda was scared out of his mind as he stood on the hastily built podium to make his announcement to his followers. Alyssa stood nearby, smiling at him, which gave him a little more strength. He could see Kasumi and Ryouga out in the audience, and spotted Ranma and Ukyou with a little more effort. He was terrified of how they would react. "I have several announcements to make. Firstly, after consulting with Lord Perrin and my council, I have decided to go to Cairhien and offer my services to the Lord Dragon." There were several gasps among the Audience, and much whispering in response. "Thanks to the Ash'aman and the Hall of Servants, we can easily transport all of you to Cairhien, or wherever you wish to go. I hope that you will join me in supporting the Lord Dragon, but you are free to do as you like. Those of you not interested in fighting, I will do my best to find you a place to live and the opportunity to work at what you like best. Cairhien needs just about every kind of work there is. I myself and the Hall of the Servants will be needing people who can fight, and I'm sure the Lord Dragon is hiring as well. I thank you all for your faith in me, and I intend to make sure all of you have something to look forward to when you leave here." He paused to take a couple of breaths. "If you wish to stay, you're welcome to do so, but I expect the Whitecloaks and the Prophet's men will be back for another round in the Spring, and I see no point in fighting them. On to the second item of business." "In my recent trip, we recovered some old items of the Power, cached in the last years of the Age of Legends. With the aid of one of them, I was able to endow those among us with the ability to channel with the knowlege of the Aes Sedai of that age." A murmering ran through the audience. Many people visibly boggled. A single voice said in shock, "Men and women?" "Men and women." Lots of people shifted uncomfortably, and the mood darkened. Kaneda went on. "In memory of those we have gained the knowledge of, we have named ourselves the Hall of the Servants, for we intend to serve the world as best we can, with the memories we now possess of the Age of Legends. Male and female Aes Sedai working together, as in the Age of Legends." He noticed the three Ash'aman in the audience frowning a bit. "All channelers will be welcome to join us, and we hope to train as many people as we can with the knowledge we possess. The end of this age is coming, and we intend to be ready to defy the Shadow to our last breaths. We'll be needing warriors as well, for Warders." The audience calmed a bit, but only a bit. He couldn't blame them for being afraid of male channelers. "Finally, many of you have wondered where I come from and why I would never talk about it." That got their attention. There had been a million crazy rumors. His favorite was that he was actually the son of Merik the giant, who had somehow slept without aging for thousands of years. "Once, in the Age of Legends, the Aes Sedai travelled to the stars and to other worlds beyond this one by using the ancient secrets of the Portal Stones. I am from one such world." They all stared in shock, with a few exceptions. Cham was nodding his head as if he had expected to hear this all along. Then again, Cham usually acted as if he was all knowing. "That world is very different from this one. There was no Breaking. Theere are no channelers there. However, we have very many powerful warriors." A lot of nodding ensued. Many of them had seen Ranma and Ryouga's fight, and virtually all had seen Kaneda fight. "There's something else different about that world." He signaled to Alyssa. "Some people in that world change into something else when they get wet." Many cocked heads and blank stares followed. "I know people who become ducks or cats when wet." A vast sea of laughter greeted that comment. Kaneda shook his head. "I'm not joking." "Tell us another one!" someone shouted. "I myself..." He signalled again to Alyssa, who doused him. The change was never pleasant, especially not in this bitter cold, although it being hot water helped a little. Alyssa began to channel the water out of Akane's clothing, which also helped. "...am a girl who turns into a boy with cold water, and back to a girl with hot water like the water Alyssa just dumped on me." Akane had never seen so many people faint in her life. *********** "It...it's not infectious, is it?" Faile asked as she and Perrin ate dinner with Akane's inner circle. The two of them, Alyssa, Ranma, Ryouga, Kasumi, and Ukyou were all eating together. Faile looked rather nervous. Kasumi shook her head. "Not at all, or everyone in our house back home would be infected by now. Ranma-kun's been living with us close to a year, and he had nothing to do with Akane-chan getting cursed." She paused and cocked her head slightly. "Actually, if he did somehow infect Nabiki or I, we wouldn't be able to tell anyway. Well, if it was a drowned girl curse. I suppose Daddy wouldn't be very happy, though." Akane and Ranma both began to laugh raucously. "Daddy would just DIE," Akane managed to say. "He'd probably fill the tub with hot water and never come out." "Just don't make a bargain with the Foxes without thinking about the consequences," Alyssa said quietly. "And you'll be fine." Perrin said, "So what are you going to do with the portal to the Foxes' realm?" "Give it to the Lord Dragon. I'm sure he can think of three good wishes. We could probably send in a few dozen Ash'aman and get enough taint-stopping power to protect the whole Black Tower too." Akane said. She was wearing one of Alyssa's dresses. It felt GOOD to wear a dress. It had been so long. She didn't mind dressing like a guy, but not all the time. Unfortunately, Alyssa's dress didn't fit right. Alyssa was about three inches taller and had slightly smaller breasts. It also seemed to involve about 3000 hooks, latches, ribbons, and ties, which had taken forever to arrange, even with Alyssa helping. Kasumi had borrowed another dress from Alyssa, and it looked marvelous on her. Perrin frowned. "Are you sure there aren't any side-effects to that? It makes me wonder why the Age of Legends Aes Sedai didn't just go make that wish to stop the Breaking of the World." Kaneda sighed. "They said they could only protect twenty people. That would hardly have been enough to stop the Breaking of the World." Perrin nodded. "That does make sense. Three wishes...it's quite tempting." Faile said, "I would wish to seal the Dark One off forever. Then...hmmm..." "They're not that powerful," Akane said. "They couldn't even get rid of the Taint on the Source, let along seal up the Dark One forever." She pulled her dress into place. "Too bad they didn't train the ancient Aes Sedai as tailors..." Faile laughed. "So, are all of you staying here with Kaneda?" She paused. "Or would you rather I call you Akane?" "Akane when I'm a girl," Akane said. "I'm going back as soon as I can," Kasumi said. "I hope Father doesn't flood the entire house before I get home. Mopping is boring." Ryouga said, "I suppose if Akane is staying, I'll probably stay a while and help. Mom and Dad probably won't be home from the store for another three months or so." "Ranchan and I are going back to Nerima," Ukyou said. "Ucchan and I are staying," Ranma said. They paused and looked at each other. Perrin whispered to Faile, "Brings back old times, eh dear?" She grinned at him. "Only if he had said she was going back and he was staying." She tweaked his nose. Ranma and Ukyou both started to speak, then fell silent, then both said, "Hey, you should have ASKED before you said that!" Kasumi said, "Well, Ranma-kun probably should stay with his fiancee." It was at that moment, Akane realized that disaster was coming. She had always wondered why deer froze up in headlights. Now she knew. It had been months since she had had an experience like this. Now was not the best time for old home week. Ukyou said, "He is. He's MY fiancee." Ryouga snarled, "Even though he DOESN'T deserve it, Ranma is Akane's fiancee! And I won't let him abandon her!" Perrin blinked. Didn't he say he was going to stay...wait...he's engaged to Akane? But she and...they're both girls. Or is Akane a guy who turns into a girl? No, wait...she's engaged to Ranma. But Ranma turns into a girl too. His brain entered the spin cycle. "I didn't say I was gonna ABANDON HER! I took the Oath of the Hall of the Servants, ya know!" Ranma shouted at Ryouga. "You did WHAT?" Ukyou bellowed. "Without consulting me? I'm your fiancee, damnit!" Kasumi said, "Oh my. I didn't mean to start a fight." She frowned. "Well, you seem to have done a good job of it," Faile idly observed. "Hey, everyone was doing it! I just kinda...uh..." Ranma said nervously. "If EVERYONE WAS DOING IT, WOULD YOU JUMP OFF A CLIFF?" Ukyou shouted, leaping to her feet. "How can you DO this?" "Ta'veren," Perrin muttered. "That's how. That's how I do everything these days, it seems." Faile pinched his cheek to silence him. Ryouga said, "So you betrayed BOTH of your fiancees! Now, Ranma, you will DIE!" He vaulted across the table at Ranma, who backflipped away across the room. "Can't it wait til we finish eating? We already fought once today!" Ranma said. Akane tried to speak, but she couldn't figure out anything to say except, "Can you take it outside? We're trying to eat." Kasumi nodded. "We're guests here, try to be polite." Ukyou faced off with Ryouga. "Only I get to kill my fiancee for being an idiot!" Perrin watched them, ready to step in if things got out of hand. I can't believe Akane isn't doing anything. He looked over at Akane, then recognized the look on her face. It was a helpless look, of one who had seen this happen 3000 times and just didn't know what to do anymore. He was about to speak when Alyssa said firmly, "If ANY of you throws a single blow, I'll tie you all up with the Power and send you to bed without any dinner. We're all adults here; we shouldn't fight like small children. If you have quarrels, you can settle them later like reasonable people." There was a steel in her voice that none of them had heard before. "In private. Now, can we all sit down and EAT?" Ryouga sat down shamefacedly, grumbling. Ranma looked grateful, scrambling back into his seat. Ukyou frowned and whispered something to Ranma that madehim look less happy. Faile said, "Nicely said, Lady Alyssa. Would that my husband might learn when to tell certain people to be silent." She gave him a meaningful look. Perrin frowned slightly. "You trained in the Tower, right?" He had flashed back to memories of Moraine when she made her little speech. She would have done the same thing. "Rank...Ranma and I trained in the Tower." She couldn't quite admit that she had washed out. "Yeah, I made it to Accepted before the Amyrlin Seat sent Nynaeve, Egwene, Elayne, and I on a secret mission," Ranma said, holding up his great serpent ring. "Rand and I fought..." Perrin boggled at a sudden memory. "Wait...that was YOU?" He thought a moment. "It was you." Ranma grinned. "Yeah. I showed Bel'al who's boss." Alyssa's eyes widened. "You fought Bel'al?" "Yep. Kicked his butt, then Moraine Sedai balefired Ishmael back to the Stone Age." Ranma thought a moment. "He was pretty strong in the Power, but he wouldn't last five minutes with Kunou without it." "How many of the Forsaken yet live?" Alyssa asked. Perrin thought a moment. "Aginor and Balthamel died at the Eye of the World. Rand finished off Bel'al at Tear and Ishmael got balefired there by Moraine. Lanfear died with Moraine at Cairhien. Rahvin died at Caemlyn. Rand killed Sammael at Shadar Logoth. That makes...seven down, six to go. Demandred, Asmodean, Semirhage, Moghiedien, Mesaana, Graendal still live." "Wow. They may all die by Tarmon Gai'don at this rate," Alyssa said. "I certainly hope so," Perrin said. *********** Akane sat next to Alyssa on their bed. "I won't make you do this." A bucket of water sat nearby. Alyssa shook her head. "If I'm going to be stuck like this, I have to get used to it." She sighed and reached for the bucket. "You might step away from the bed first," Akane said. "Unless you like sleeping in wet sheets on a cold night." Her eyes twinkled as she smiled. Alyssa laughed nervously. "I guess you can tell I'm not used to this." She took the bucket and stepped away from the bed. *SPLASH* Alyssa-kun shook himself. "I suppose I should have changed out of my clothing too." "I'll just...then again, maybe I won't channel you dry," Akane said. "Not unless I get wet too, but then once I change back, I'll be wet again and...oh, baah." "I'll just go dry off and change again," Alyssa-kun said. "Maybe I can think of what to call my boyform while I'm in the bathroom." He headed into the bathroom. Boy type Alyssa was about four inches taller, almost as tall as Akane's father, and a good seven inches taller than Akane. This was rather pleasing to Akane, who liked tall guys. He was one of the skinniest men Akane had ever seen. He might have even lost weight from the transformation. His hair remained a bright yellow, and the same length and style, much longer than any man that Akane had seen in this world, although she had heard that Kandorian men had long braids. While Akane's boy body was even more muscular than she was, Alyssa's had only a little muscle tone, no more than her girl body. Akane found it quite pleasant to look at, and recognized the faint stirrings of desire. She tamped them down. It would take Alyssa a long time to adjust, and while Akane felt quite ready to go as far with Alyssa's boy body as she had gone with Alyssa's girl body, she also was quite certain that Alyssa was not. It would take a long time, and might never reach that point. Certainly, Ranma wasn't ready to sleep with men, and he had been cursed for months. Although there had been that one incident when I had thought I was a male. Akane had been bonked in the head, and then Nodoka had shown up for a visit, so no one had bothered to disabuse her of her delusions. She had snapped out of it in the middle of nuzzling Ranma-chan's cleavage. Ranma-chan hadn't tried to stop her, really, although she couldn't be sure that was an accurate memory, since her memories of the period of her insanity had never been clear. She laid back on the bed, thinking about it. I guess I might have gone this way evven if I had never come here,she thought. But am I this way naturally, or is it the curse? I guess that's a question I'll never be able to answer. It must be natural, or Ranma would be lusting after men in his girl form. He's had the curse longer...maybe I should ask Ukyou. A voice cut through her thoughts. "Gonna take up the whole bed, dear?" Alyssa-kun sounded rather scared. Akane couldn't blame him. She sat up and made room. "Sorry. I was just thinking." "About what?" Alyssa-kun sat down by Akane. "How handsome you are." Akane smiled reassuringly. Alyssa-kun twitched slightly and sat down on the bed. "Now what?" Akane laughed slightly. "You do remember how to sleep, right?" Alyssa-kun frowned. "That's not what I meant." Akane leaned over, pulling Alyssa to her. "Now we kiss and get some sleep before we die of exhaustion." She leaned forward and smooched Alyssa-kun gently on the lips. Alyssa jumped slightly. Akane laid down. "We can cuddle up if you feel comfortable, or spread out." Alyssa-kun laid down on his back, then said, "I think we're going to need a longer bed." Akane dragged Alyssa-kkun's legs around so his body lay across the bed diagonally, then plopped down on top of him and pulled up the covers. "I'll just use you as a bed, then, okay?" Alyssa-kun laughed and wrapped his arms gently around Akane. "Okay, Akane. And I'll use you as a foot warmer." Cold feet brushed Akane's legs. Sleep was delayed on account of necessary combat. *********** Ranma slept on the roof. He and Ukyou had had a fight that dwarfed any of his fights with Akane, except for being less violent. In a lot of ways, the yelling was a lot worse than being hit. Physical pain faded pretty quick. Maybe this was a mistake, he thought. No, I'm not gonna give up that easily. Everyone fights sometimes, and I guess maybe I shoulda asked her before I swore any oaths. Not that she had asked him before making a promise to break a statue for the Foxes at some unspecified time. So she couldn't even really leave, anyway, until they called in their favor. And there was no way to find out when. I just wanna help my friends. He thought about Egwene, Elayne, and Nynaeve. They all drove him nuts sometimes, but they were friends. They'd been kinda thrust together by their 'wunderkind' status, as all four of them had been among the strongest new recruits the Tower had seen in quite a while. Except for Ukyou, Ranma had never really had female friends before them, and Ukyou didn't quite count since she was a fiancee. He had more than enough of those. It was a different, weird, sometimes exciting, and sometimes terrifying experience. He'd found himself engaging in what he could only describe as 'girl talk' with them, and more frighteningly, enjoying it. They'll probably die when they find out I'm a guy, he thought. He laughed a little. I wonder how Elayne and Rand are doing. She was fretting about him all the way to Tanchico. Assuming they've seen each other again...surely they have. I wonder if Nynaeve ever got her boyfriend...whasshisname...Ran? Lan. That's it. If they ever finally got hitched. I guess since Moiraine died, they can finally tie the knot since he doesn't have to follow Moraine everywhere. He looked down and saw Ryouga wander by. I wonder if you'll still be in this universe in the morning. I wonder how you GOT to this universe. I guess you can find Akane no matter where she is. A gentle rain began to fall. Ranma-chan swore. I gotta find somewhere else to sleep, or I'm gonna freeze to death. Maybe I'll... She now saw P-chan veering off towards Akane's house. Ranma-chan swore again. "You moron." First I stop you, then I'm gonna take YOUR bed. She leaped off the roof. P-chan immediately went into evasive maneuvers when he heard Ranma-chan coming. "Oh no, you don't!" Ranma-chan said, sprinting through the snow. "Ahh, I should have thought of this before..." With a little use of fire, the snow under P-chan turned into very hot water, and an instant naked Ryouga resulted. He shuddered. "What the..." Ranma-chan grinned. "Pool of Drowned and nearly frozen Ryouga. VERY tragic story." She tossed him his clothing. "Get dressed." The rain struck him. More P-chan. Ranma-chan sighed and grabbed him and the clothing, hauling him into one of the storage buildings. She made more hot water. "You shouldn't wander in the rain in a world with no hot and cold running water, ya know." "I needed to go to the bathroom." "All the houses have privies inside them." "..." Ranma-chan sighed. "Look, just don't go sneaking off into Akane's bed, okay? If you promise, I'll get you back to your house, warm and dry." "I can get myself home." "And how does the little piggie propose to reach the doorhandle?" "I'll improvise." "Whatever. I'm gonna crash. You go have fun in the rain without your umbrella." "Tomorrow, you'll pay for what you've done!" Ranma-chan rolled her eyes. "I already am. Get out of here." Ryouga left. Blink. Instant pig. Ranma-chan followed him to make sure he got home and not into Akane's bed, anyway. She didn't get much sleep that night. *********** Ukyou found herself in T'A'R in a foul mood. Baka Ranma, swearing that stupid oath. Now we're stuck. She wandered through the Dream version of Castle Mist, kicking rocks and banging on buildings. "THIS SUCKS! I WANT TO GO HOME!" Ranma didn't break his promises. That was his strong point. But like his father, he made stupid ones. That was his weakness. I can't leave without him. Not now that we're... we're... what if he swore the oath because he really wants to be with Akane? No, that can't be it. I hope that's not it. Please don't let that be it. "I guess I couldn't leave until I break that statue for the Foxes anyway...wherever it is." She sat down and realized she was sitting on stone, and not dirt. Looking around, she was inside a long hallway of some building she didn't recognize. "Great, I let my brain wander." Looking down at herself, she realized that she was now dressed in Ranma's usual costume. She sighed and let it be for now. A bit of wandering found a chamber full of knicknacks, most of them incomprehensible to her. Part of the problem was that except for the large fountain, the items kept appearing and disappearing. They haven't been here long enough to be part of the way the place always appears, Ukyou thought. "A bunch of odds and ends. Funky junk." However, among the junk, a statue caught her eye. It showed a fox and a serpent chained together with enough chains for five men. It was crude and ugly, but made of a soft white stone, the same as the door to the treasure horde in the mountain had been made of. A shadow she hadn't paid any attention to, suddenly moved. It was vaguely humanoid with glowing eyes. "What?" It sounded surprised. Ukyou fled. With a thought, she returned to Castle Mist, and with a few more, she forced herself to wake up. "Great. Whatever that was, it was scary." *********** Mesaana frowned. Spying was hard enough without someone stumbling into it. Probably one of those children who had somehow beaten Moghieden. This would bear looking into. ********** Kasumi took the cute little piggie, who looked like P-chan, but of course couldn't be P-chan, since he was in another universe, to breakfast. Kaneda was quite pleased to see him. "P-chan!" It was a private breakfast, with just Kaneda's friends and Perrin and Faile. Kaneda looked around. "Where's Ryouga?" He cuddled his pet pig, making Faile grin and Perrin almost laugh. Alyssa smiled and patted him on the head. "Look, Ryouga gave him a cute little bandana!" Ranma discovered that snarfing mead up your nose feels really bad. Ukyou said, "Ranma?" It was the first thing she'd said to him that morning. Kasumi said, "I don't know where Ryouga went. He must have gone to exercise or something." Kaneda nodded. "Well, he was planning to stay, anyway. You'll tell Daddy that we'll be back in a few weeks, right? Two or three months at most." Three months at home would be 7 years here, which should be more than enough. "So he shouldn't worry. And let him know I love him and miss him a lot." Kasumi frowned. "Are you sure you can't come home and tell him yourself?" Kaneda shook his head. "Not with the oath I had to make. But he's welcome to come visit with the D-hopper. And I promise I will come back when this is over." If I don't die. "At least for a visit." "If you and Ranma-kun get married without him, he'll be very disappointed. So I suggest you wait." Ranma snarfed more mead and incapacitated himself. Ukyou began whacking him on the back. Alyssa blushed and Kaneda sighed slightly. "I promise we won't get married without Daddy." Kasumi looked relieved. "Then, I'll go after we finish eating." Kaneda thought a moment. "Oh, actually...can you get Ranma's other D-hopper whhen you get home and bring itback to us? That way we'll have one and there will be one at home." Kasumi nodded. Perrin said, "Are you ready for the trip today?" They had decided that Kaneda and Alyssa would go to talk to Rand before moving everyone, and that Ranko would go with them since she knew Rand, and Ukyou had insisted on going with Ranko. Ranma crawled back into his chair. "All I need is a bucket of water and something to keep this mead out of my nose," he choked out. Faile laughed. "Not used to having it?" "We don't normally have sweet tasting alcohol with breakfast." Ranma said. "At least I don't. Happousai probably does." Kaneda fed P-chan some of his breakfast. "Eat up, piggie!" He giggled a little. Faile gave Perrin another one of those looks that meant he was supposed to read her mind and draw a conclusion. The only one he drew was to hope Kaneda didn't take P-chan to the formal audience. *********** Kasumi had departed, but they still hadn't found Ryouga. Kaneda left P-chan in Alya's care, despite his efforts to come along with the group. Kaneda was wearing his finest clothing, which meant he looked like a rich peasant with a nice scarf and a clean hat. Alyssa was dressed in a nice yellow dress of soft wolsey with a high neckline and blue embroidered flowers. She wore one of the dream walking ter'angreals shaped like a ring and had the strongest of the angreals in a pocket on her skirt. Ranko and Ukyou were dressed in the only outfits they had, which had been thoroughly scrubbed. Ranko wore her great serpent ring with pride, and Ukyou had shined and polished her spatulas to make them gleam. Most of the Ash'aman were staying with the Hall of the Servants to keep guarding the prisoners, but three of them went with Perrin and Faile, along with a small honor guard. They appeared in Perrin's chambers and sent a runner to see how soon the Dragon would be available. Within a half hour, they were ushered to the Throne room, where Rand sat in state, the Dragon sceptre across his lap. Several Aiel chiefs lurked about, looking impressive, along with the serried ranks of Cairhienin and Tairen nobility, a few Aes Sedai, and a girl who stood next to the throne serving no apparent purpose. She was dressed in men's clothing, brown breeches, a white shirt and blue vest. The newcomers saw she was staring at them. Ranko recognized her. "Hi, Min!" she shouted. The room fell silent, and Min laughed. "Hello, Ranko." Perrin laughed a little himself, and said, "Rand, I present to you, Kaneda of House Tendo, lord of Castle Mist and First among Servants of the Hall of the Servants, and his consort, Alyssa of Ghealdan. I present also Ranko Sedai and her warder, Ukyou of Osaka." There was a wash of whispers around the room. Kaneda stepped forward and bowed. "I have come to pledge myself to your service. While my followers believed for a time that I might be the Dragon, I have come to the conclusion that you are the one. I believe you know Ranko Sedai. She told me of your battle in the Heart of the Stone against Be'lal." He knelt now, as did his companions. "I command a force of ten female and nine male channelers, the Hall of Servants, and several artifacts we recovered from an ancient treasure house. But most importantly, I have learned a great secret." Kaneda looked up. "I'm sure you are already holding the Source. Try channeling." He extended his will and brought his protection against the Taint over Rand. Rand looked suspicious. He held out one hand and a ball of flame formed. Then his eyes widened. He stared at his hand, then at Kaneda. "It...it's not possible." Kaneda smiled. "It is possible. I understand you know of the twisted loop ter'angreals." More whispers circulated the room. Most of the people present couldn't even begin to guess what they were talking about. His eyes narrowed. "How can I be sure this isn't a trick?" "Shield me all you like. I'm not holding the source. Shield us all. Send us back to Castle Mist for a while if you like. It's quite real." "Just like the Eye of the World," he whispered. Min whispered something to him, and he whispered back. "You say you bargained with the Foxes for this?" "I still possess the means by which the Bargain was made, if you desire it," Kaneda replied. "I cannot use it again." "Come," Rand said. "We will converse in private." ********* Private included three Aiel women lurking menacingly, an Aes Sedai named Merana, who Ranko knew was of the Grey Ajah, and quite highly regarded within it, the Lord Dragon, Min, an Aielman named Rhuarc, a Wise One named Amys, Perrin, and Faile. It was better than having dozens of noblemen staring at them, though. "So they offer three wishes, but you pay a price," Rand said. As with Mat, he thought, but he wasn't ready to reveal he knew of such things. Kaneda nodded. "And they have limited power. I can only shield 20 men." "How can you be sure that they don't just THINK they're protected from the Taint?" Merana asked. "I can't," Kaneda said. "But it's a rather powerful delusion if it is one. They didn't cheat us on anything else. If we worded our wishes clearly." Alyssa nodded. "Be careful about naming your price. I got stuck channelling with these two women who apparently had gotten stuck in some kind of long term service contract or some such thing. They didn't look too happy, anyway." Rand twitched. "Did you...get their names by any chance?" Alyssa thought hard. "Moraine and...um..Mierin, I think." The room fell silent for a moment. The Lord Dragon snarfed his wine and looked quite foolish. Ranko tossed him a handkerchief in sympathy. Min's eyes widened. "Moraine is alive?" Rhuarc said, "Perhaps." Amys said, "But who is this other woman?" "Lanfear." Rand said. "Moraine lives." He smiled faintly. "One less death..." Alyssa twitched. "I was linked with one of the FORSAKEN?" "Sometimes we pay costs we don't expect," Rand said. Alyssa laughed. "You got that right." "How soon can you bring it?" "Tomorrow. How soon can I start moving my people?" Rand thought a moment. "As soon as you like. Let's work out the details." ************* "Wait...this Aviendha person is after him ALSO?" Ranma- chan boggled. She and Min were hanging out on one of the Sun Palace's balconies. Rand and Kaneda and their respective advisors and flunkies were knee-deep in administrative stuff and discussions. Never in a million years would either of them admit they had snuck off to gossip, but they had. Ranma-chan wanted to know what was up with her old friends, and she had hoped Min would know. "Yes. I have to share him with two other women." She sighed and stared out across the city. "Sometimes I hate my visions." "Yeah. So what do you see in my future?" She sighed and stared at Ranma-chan for a moment. "A panda bear and three women are chasing you along a tightrope over an abyss. A hallway with four doors. One of them is locked, so you go to the next one. A boy who looks like you kissing a girl who looks like your warder." She frowned slightly. "Weird. You battling some boy with a yellow and black bandanna. He looks dark. He suddenly shouts something and a huge black sphere erupts from his body, engulfing both of you." Ranma-chan twitched. "Shishi Hokodan?" "My visions don't have sound, and I can't read his lips. He could be shouting, 'I want some beef' for all I know. The weird thing is that the guy has fangs. Maybe it's some kind of dreadlord or a..." Ranma-chan shook her head. "My old enemy/friend, Ryouga." She sighed. "And these always come true, right?" "I didn't see you die, if that's what you're worried about." "What you saw was almost certainly the Shishi Hokodan and I'd bet a week in the kitchens I know what is gonna set that off." "You do?" Min was surprised. If she didn't know the meaning of her vision right off, usually no one figured it out until it was too late. "Okay, I'll start by explaining what the Shishi Hokodan is." This took a while. Min sat and thought for a minute. "No good way to ease this revelation to him?" Ranma-chan sighed. "He loves her too much. For there to be an easy way. Nothing is ever easy with Ryouga, anyway. I mean...just imagine if you found out Rand loved someone else." Pause. "Umm...I mean..." Min laughed faintly. "I don't like it, but given he doesn't have forever to live...I'm just glad I'm here and can be with him." Ranma-chan nodded. "Anyway, I'm tempted now to take him off in the countryside and just let him blow up on me. I can take it better than this palace can or most of the people in this city." Min frowned. "But if it gets stronger the more he despairs..." "You got a better idea?" "Not really." "Right. Let's go find him." ************** They found P-chan with Alya and Balin. Balin was trying to show off his knowledge of Cairhien to impress her, but her real intention was focused on playing with the pig. Being from Ebou Dar and handsome to boot, he wasn't used to being upstaged by a pig, so he kept getting louder and more overly dramatic, occasionally fingering his knife or tugging on his short black hair. "Yo, P-chan, we gotta talk." Ranma-chan grabbed P-chan. "I'll take care of him now, Alya." Alya laughed. "Have a nice chat. Who's your friend?" "This is Min from Andor. She's an old friend of mine from the Tower." "Should I call you Min Sedai, then?" Alya asked. Min laughed. "I was just there for the laughs. And to keep a few people company." "Come on, P-chan." P-chan looked up nervously at Ranma- chan. "Take us to the kitchens, Min." ************ "The one thing holding me back is that I just...I'm suspicious as to why the Aes Sedai of the Second Age didn't do this," Rand said to Kaneda. "It's a good question. They told me they could only protect twenty people, so maybe it was done, but was forgotten about. If we had some way to contact the Snakes, I suppose we could find out," Kaneda said. "But all my knowledge only applies to where the portals USED to be." "Well, I know where a portal is, but I can't use it...ahh, right. I'll take you to Tear and you can ask them yourself." He stood up. "No time like the present." Rhuarc said, "I think you can wait for us to gather a proper bodyguard." The explosion that shook the palace halted that discussion. ************ After much panic and searching, they found Ranma-chan on top of Min, with both unconscious. Ukyou had been able to easily lead them to her. The back half of Ranma-chan's clothing was ripped apart and they had been driven into the ground along one side of a huge crater. Alyssa soon had both of them conscious and feeling much better. "What happened?" "Ryouga took it pretty hard." Rand looked around at the crater. I didn't feel any male channeling, but what else could make a crater this big? "He did this? Is he a channeler?" "No, but he took the news pretty badly." Ranma-chan clutched her head. "You okay, Min? I tried to shield you, but..." She sighed mentally. I TOLD YOU to stay back, but no, you wouldn't listen. Everyone in this universe thinks they know better than everyone else. "I feel like someone beat me for a few days without stopping." She stared down into the crater. "He's a strong channeler." "It's not channeling. It's chi. Anyone could learn to do it." Min looked over at Rand, who said, "I didn't sense it." He turned to the nearby squad of Asha'man. "Did you feel anything?" "Other than a mild case of gas, no," one of them said. None of the others had felt anything, either. "He can't have gone far," Rhuarc said, then he sent out squads of Aiel to search for Ryouga. "I wouldn't be too sure of that." Ranma-chan said. "He can cross oceans without crossing them, if you know what I mean." Rand frowned. "I'm a little more aware of that than I wish." Several people stared at Rand, who didn't elaborate. Kaneda frowned. "What the hell did you do to him this time, Ranma?" "Min had a vision and I decided it was better to take him outside than to let him blow up the entire palace." "But WHY did he...blow up?" "He found out about Akane's new lover." Kaneda's eyes widened. "He WHAT?" Rand looked back and forth between them, clearly showing he was clueless. "I thought it was better he find out now instead of learning in a place with a lot of people." "He explodes when this happens?" Rand asked, sounding confused. "When he gets depressed, he can make these explosions," Ranma-chan said. "And since it was gonna happen anyway..." "You should have asked m...her before you told him!" Kaneda shouted. "She could have told him herself!" "I can take being blown up better than she can! I can channel and she can't!" Ranma-chan shouted back. Everyone began to back away; screaming matches between channelers do that. Rand signaled the Asha'man to be ready to shield both of them. The bright glows they began to emit, on the other hand, was something none of the others understood. "He might not have exploded if she had told him herself! She doesn't go around DELIBERATELY MAKING HIM MAD like you do!" Kaneda had a hard time restraining himself from grabbing the Source and thwacking Ranma-chan. "MIN HAD A VISION! THEY ALWAYS COME TRUE! IT WAS INEVITABLE! The only question was WHERE he would blow up!" "You're making that up!" They were nose to nose now, shouting. Or to be more precise, Ranma-chan's nose to Kaneda's adam's apple. He was much taller than her. Ukyou-kun came running up at this point. "Ranma! What happened! I could sense...what happened?" Rand said, "She's not lying, Kaneda. Min's visions always come true." Kaneda reined himself in. People were watching. "You should have told ...her first, Ranma. You always rush off half- cocked." "I do not! Which one of us used to get kidnapped all the time?" "What does that have to do with ANYTHING?" Kaneda began to rant, and Rand began to wonder what he was getting into with this new ally. ************* Ryouga ran through the wilderness, not bothering to figure out why it looked suspiciously like the inside of a building. He had lost his one true love. Akane. To...to...he couldn't even think about it. The only comfort was that at least Ranma hadn't beaten him. He wondered briefly, if he could be transformed by his own tears. It hadn't happened yet, though. He didn't care if he did. His life as a human just wasn't worth living. Not looking where he went, he was surprised when he slammed into a woman. She was dressed in a brown dress with an odd shawl and had a book under one arm. He was even more surprised when she didn't fall down. He certainly did. "Where are you in such a rush, young one?" she asked, her voice compassionate. "You lookheartbroken." "I...I...lost the only woman I ever loved. To some magic using girl." The woman raised an eyebrow. "You lost her to a woman?" Ryouga struggled to come up with some explanation besides the truth. "She's this...I can't think of the word. High Sinai." "Aes Sedai?" The woman raised an eyebrow. "Is she a novice or something?" "I dunno. She's named Alyssa. And she...I can't believe she...Akane!" He struggled to control himself. His chi was surging, trying to build up and escape. I never should have learned the Shishi Hokodan, he thought. It's too dangerous. The woman's eyes perked up. "Her name is Alyssa? Blonde?" Ryouga's eyes widened. "You know her?" Her voice took on a pitying tone. "Another victim of that woman. A shame. The way she seduces and controls her lovers with the One Power. Reshaping their minds and twisting them to her own path of perversion. That's why we were going to still her, but she escaped somehow. Do you know where she is?" "Umm...there was this city. And a palace and people and stuff. And a river. Carthage?" Ryouga tried to think. "She...twists people?" "She was horrible, a spy of the Dark One in our walls. She must be brought down. At once. And her allies, such as that redhaired girl who was her friend here, Ranko, I believe her name was. They studied many dark arts together." Ryouga felt his rage boiling. It WAS Saotome's fault. "Damn you, Ranma!" "Would you be willing to help me hunt them down? They must be stopped." "I will hunt Saotome to the end of the Earth! And his evil ally! This, I do swear! I will set you free, Akane!" She smiled. "What is your name? My name is Lara." "I'm Ryouga Hibiki." Turning to leave, she said, "Come with me, Ryouga. I must teach you a few secrets to help you protect yourself. It is fortunate that you have come here. The Wheel weaves threads together in mysterious ways." "I'll do anything to free Akane from that...those...grrrr," Ryouga said, trying to follow her. "It will not take long to prepare," she said. "I've always been good at teaching." ************** End Part Six