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

Nine Princes in Anime
Chapter 2:  The Road to Anime

by 

John Biles

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

     Ukyou, Yuu, and I took some of the 'family fortune' and bought
ourselves a black van for the trip to Anime, the Eternal City.  Ukyou
wanted to get a jeep, but you can put a lot more guns in the back of a
van.  We also grabbed some clothing, music, and other things you need on a
quest to take over a city with three people.  Yeah, we sounded insane...we
were.  I think the only reason Ukyou came was that she wanted to be with
me, and Yuu wouldn't help her take me to an insane asylum.  We also got my
sword rack from our house and some knick knacks we didn't want to leave
behind.  Then we locked up, turned on the burglar alarm and hit the road.
I let Yuu drive.  

      As we headed onto I-35, Yuu said, "You sure you don't want to drive?
You're better at this than I am."

      I shook my head.  I had no clue how to get to where we were going,
other than guessing it involved magic.  "You drive.  I'll watch the road
for trouble.  Ucchan, make sure the guns are loaded."

      She laughed a little and went to work.  She'd brought her
okonomiyaki grill, so I knew she was serious about this.  It took up a
third of the back of the van, but she insisted.

      We started north on I-35.  At first, everything seemed normal, but
then I noticed the road was blue with purple stripes.  And Round Rock was
done up in Victorian architecture.  We hit the countryside, and the forest
was shrouded in mist, with long fences between it and the road that I knew
didn't exist.  "So what route are you planning on?"  I asked in a
hopefully idle fashion.

      "Well, it's going to be tricky getting this van all the way there,
although Dad did finally build a decent road through Arden.  Although
getting past Mendo may be tricky."

      I nodded.  "He can be a bit overzealous."  

      We chatted idly for a while. I tried to let Yuu talk in hopes I
would remember things...except Yuu doesn't talk much.  Well, he does, but
mostly he makes jokes and isn't very serious.  Although I did enjoy the
story about the time our parents dressed up as giant gingerbread men.  

      I did figure out a bit more.  Apparently Dad was married a lot of
times, so Yuu and I are half-brothers.  Same for Kasumi and I.  It's
rather debatable as to who is legitimate and who isn't.  

      Finally, right after dodging some dinosaurs crossing the road, Yuu
turned to me and said, "So you really don't remember anything."

      "Well, I wouldn't quite say that."

      "Virtually nothing?"

      Laughing nervously with one hand behind my head, I said, "Well,
uh...I have no idea what is going on with all these dinosaurs and
whatnot..."

      Yuu laughed.  "How do I get into these fool's quests...Well, the
first thing, then, is to go somewhere we can fix your memory.  Walking the
Pattern would do it, but that means either going to Anime-3 or taking our
chances with Laputa..."

      Laputa.  "The Castle in the Sky?"

      He grinned.  "I see you remember something.  Probably too risky with
your memories fuzzy...but it wouldn't be a good idea if we went to
Anime-3."  He sighed.

      "How come?"

      "Well, there was this girl named Arimi and she just doesn't give up
and...umm..."  He trailed off and looked embarrassed.

      "Now she wants you dead?"

      "I gave her a trial engagement for three months, and it didn't work
out, so now her mother, Queen Misato, put a price on my head."  He looked
off to one side of the road.  "Hmm.  Horsemen.  Let's see if we can outrun
them."

      I could see them following us.  We were going through rolling hills
and light forest.  The road was black with yellow stripes again, but there
had been no signs for the last twenty minutes.  The horsemen looked
reptillian, though the horses were completely normal.  Ukyou and I got
rifles and moved to the windows.  They were armed with crossbows.  

      "They're not losing ground," I said.

      "Well, I'll just push our shadow travel a little faster."  The
horsemen suddenly vanished.  A few seconds later, they winked back in.
Yuu cursed softly.  "Right.  Hang on.  This is going to get wild."

      Imagine, if you will, the entire universe vanishing except for one
object, then coming back, totally different, except that one thing is
still there.  For us, it was the road, which now ran through a bleak
desert with three suns.  There was a sign, which read 'Nightfall City,
Next Four exits.'  The city itself was up ahead of us, a pile of adobe and
stone buildings, rather drab and ugly.  

      The riders were gone.  For all of three minutes.  Then the city
vanished.  Yuu blinked.  "What the...I didn't do that."

      "What the hell are you doing, anyway?"

      "Shadowwalking.  It's how we travel through Shadow."  He looked at
me briefly.  "Which you don't remember, either."

      Ukyou kept an eye on the riders while we yammered at each other.
"And I wouldn't know anyway, so tell us."

      "All the many worlds of Shadow are reflections of the perfection of
Anime, the Eternal city, our home.  Those who are of the Blood of Genma
can walk the Pattern that he drew to create Anime, and thus gain the
power to walk among its shadows.  All it requires then is that you move as
you use the power. Normally, you go slowly, thinking of what you should
find as you move, and finding it.  If you're desperate, you can
'hellride', which means you keep one detail and change everything else.
It's hard and slow to shift Shadow near Anime, but the further out you
move, the easier it gets."  Yuu paused and gritted his teeth. The city
winked back in, and the shadow riders winked out.  Then the city vanished,
and the desert became a plain. The riders reappeared, closer now.  

      "So these guys chasing us walked the Pattern too?  They don't
exactly look like relatives."

      "It's possible for people to follow you through Shadow, though a
true child of Anime can usually lose them with some effort.  You can in
fact lead an entire army, if you wanted to.  However, some other beings
can move through shadow as well.  What really worries me, though, is that
someone is moving US."

      "Into a trap."  Ukyou said.

      "Most likely.  I dunno how they're doing it, though."  The city
winked in again, but this time it was a fairly normal looking town.  The
road, however, turned a neon pink with black stripes, and there were
several zepplins over the town.  The plain turned into cornfields, and
suddenly, the road was full of traffic.  An eighteen wheeler squashed
three of the horse riders.  Then the traffic vanished and the city, which
we were driving into, dwindled to a small village of about fifty
buildings.  "And it's starting to annoy me."

      "Maybe we should just shoot them,"  Ukyou said.  "Try to scare them
off."

      Yuu nodded.  "Go for it."

      Ukyou and I tried to open fire...and nothing happened.  "Hey!"

     "Great.  Another shadow where gunpowder doesn't work."

     Ukyou urked.  "So we could enter one where  say...car engines don't
work?"

     "Let's not give anyone any ideas."

     I stared at the riders.  "So how does this shadow shifting thing
work?  You just think it?"

     "More or less."

     I tried thinking the riders' horses into chihuahuas.  That didn't
work.  Then I tried thinking of the road bursting into flames behind us.
That worked, but it also set the entire road on fire in front of and under
us too.  The fire winked out and Yuu said, "Hey!"

     "Sorry."   There had to be something I could do to stop them.    "Any
idea who could be doing this?"  

     "Well, Wasyuu, Gosunkugi, and Ryo are probably the only ones of us
who have really studied shadow in depth.  All the rest of us just run
around having fun, generally.  And maybe Goto.  He always seems to know
everything.  Actually, I guess Youshou might be able to do this.  I don't
see why he'd want us dead, though."

     "What about the others?"  Ukyou asked.

     "Well, if they're working for Kunou, yeah, I could see it."  He
frowned.  "But how they found us...Shadow's a pretty big place.  Infinite,
really."

     "They might be using the riders as eyes, somehow,"  I speculated.

     The world shifted again, as farmland turned into light forest, and
light forest into a thicker one, then suddenly caught fire and became
light forest.  "I'm going to try something dangerous."  He began to
accelerate.  "So I'll need your help."

     "Right.  What?"

     "Ever seen the Dukes of Hazard?"

     I had a bad feeling about this.  "..."

     "We're going to make a big chasm and jump over it.  Then we'll both
focus on keeping it in place behind us, however the world shifts."

     I nodded.  Okay.  I closed my eyes and concentrated. Ukyou reached
over and squeezed my hand.  "Gambatte."  

     The Dukes of Hazard theme song started playing in my head as I
imagined a huge chasm.  A really honking huge chasm.  When I opened my
eyes, Yuu said, "You just have to overdo everything, don't you."  I
looked.  We were plummeting into the Grand Canyon or maybe just a close
relative.  

      Ukyou said, "We're still moving, right?  Fill it with Jello!"

      Yuu began to laugh, then concentrated.  So did I.  The bottom
several hundred feet were now full of Jello.  The air turned very cold,
and the van hit the Jello and bounced, making it ripple.  The horsemen,
being less spread out than the van, hit the Jello and sank into it.  We
simply bounced several times, then started driving over the rough surface
of the Jello.  Slowly, the Jello dwindled and the air warmed.  We were
driving through a rocky canyon.  The walls began to shrink, and finally,
we emerged into a very dry, dusty river valley studded with buttes.  It
began to rain and we rolled up the van windows.

      "Looks like we lost them,"  I said.

      Yuu glanced at the gasoline meter.  "Looks like we're almost out of
gas."

      I thought about it and focused my mind.  Gas station...over there.
It hurt, and I had the vague feeling I was pushing too hard.  But we got a
gas station.

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

      The riders didn't find us for the next two days, which suited me
fine.  One nice thing about this shadow travelling is that you can always
find a luxury hotel which gives free service to people who happen to look
like you, so we slept in style.  Our plan, such as it was, was to get
close enough to Anime, into the Seven Cities of Gold, to find out who was
actually running Anime, and whether we'd need to fight Kunou or not.  If
we were lucky, I would be able to get to the Pattern without a fight.  If
not, we'd make new plans.  

       We pulled into Tomobiki late on the third day.  It's ruled over by
King Ataru, a notable lecher.  It's one of the Seven Cities of Gold, the
seven main shadows that Anime trades with and has defensive alliances
with.  Yuu gave us a long lecture, most of which I promptly forgot.

      We stayed in a very nice hotel, the Neptune Arms, run by a somewhat
maniacal ex-sailor and his son. Or maybe daughter.  It was hard to be
sure.  After dinner, we were playing poker when we got a phone call.  It
was the owner's son...daughter?  "Yo.  You got a visitor."

      "Who?"

      "Some redhaired whacko.  Says she's your sister."

      I told Yuu.  "Must be Wasyuu," he said.  

      "Send her up?"

      He nodded.  "Her help could be useful.  Or we might all die."  He
shrugged.  "If we say no, she'll come anyway."

      Wasyuu soon arrived, looking like a twelve year old child with
glasses in a long blue skirt, and a red vest over a white blouse.  Her
hair was long, red, and spikey, making her look rather like she was Sonic
the Hedgehog's sister instead of mine.  "Well, good to see you've decided
to finally come back to us, Ranko."

      I nodded.  "So how are things in Anime?"

      She sat down on the bed.  "Well, Kunou's appointed himself regent
and is making plans to take the throne.  Usagi accused him of having
killed you, and now she's fled into exile."

      "Why didn't you tell her I was alive?"

      "I don't think Kunou knows you're alive either,"  Wasyuu said.
"Until you got your memories back, it would have been too dangerous to let
anyone know.  That's why I've been keeping an eye on you.  Once I found
you, anyway."

      Yuu frowned slightly.  I said, "We think walking the Pattern would
help me...you could have just taken me to it."

      "With no memories, would you have gone?"

      Probably not, I thought.  "So where is Usagi now?"  

      "No one knows, though we keep hearing rumors about her raising an
army of female warriors.  Looking for you, probably."  She smiled.  "You
two were always pretty...close."  Her voice was just a touch insinuative.
Ukyou frowned, and so did I.  I could barely remember Usagi, but I didn't
think we had...anyway.

      "And the others?"

      Wasyuu began counting on her fingers.  "Rei hardly ever leaves
Anime-3 anymore.  Ryo is busy making contacts out in Shadow and getting
his skull clonked, as usual.  Youshou was last seen trying to win the
Battle of Waterloo with medieval knights, although he's apparently talked
to Kunou lately.  You've seen Kasumi more recently than I have, although I
have heard she's been summoned by Kunou.  Mendo is still tooling around
Arden with Morgenstern."  She moved to the next hand.  "Gosunkugi and I
have been working on a few experiments and trying to decide whether or not
to support Kunou.  Ryouga has been busy with the navy and trying to
find you so he can kill you.  He's one of Kunou's firmest supporters.  I
see Yuu is with you.  Kunou, of course, is in Anime and currently Regent,
likely to be King soon.  And Goto is still the Constable of Anime."

       Ukyou said, "So Kunou has Ryouga and Youshou on his side and
everyone else is neutral or opposed?"

       Wasyuu shook her head.  "Mendo will likely oppose anyone who tries
to threaten to overthrow Kunou by land, and Goto will probably support him
as well.  With Ryouga on his side, he can defend the sea approaches as
well, and if Youshou stands by him, any military force would be difficult.
Still, it's not impossible, if we all unite against him."

       I frowned.  I need my memories back.  I'm flying blind, and I don't
like that.  "This won't be easy, then."

      She nodded.  "But not impossible.  If that's what you want."

      "I won't let Kunou usurp the throne.  He's a moron."  I said flatly.

      "Well, yes.  He has been getting a bit brighter while you've been
gone, though.  Surprising, really.  Well, think about it.  I'll be seeing
you."  She stood up and was gone.  I hate it when she does that.

      Yuu said, "I think we are going to need to ally with her.  We're
going to need all the support we can get.  She's pretty powerful."

      I nodded.  "Well, we can Trump her if we have to.  For now, let's
approach Mendo.  He might be amenable, and if we can get past him and into
Anime, I can get to the pattern.  Are you sure trying Anime-3 is a bad
idea?"

      Yuu shook his head firmly.  "Yeah."

      So instead, we decided to sneak into Anime past all our potential
opponents, so Yuu wouldn't have to deal with his ex.  This is the story of
my life, I think.

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

     The real question was whether Mendo would support us, or at least let
us through.  We planned to not announce what we intended, especially since
we weren't planning to just try to take over when we got in, anyway.
Shadow Highway #1 runs through Arden to Anime from Tomobiki, so it was an
easy drive.  We didn't even have to shift shadow, which gets hard this
close to Anime, anyway.  The road was remarkably empty, which bothered me.

      We were passing through thick forest on a four lane highway, but we
hadn't seen a car in half an hour.  Then we came around a bend and dozens
of dogs came boiling out of the woods.  They were huge and shaggy, about
the size of a very large doberman, and they started chasing our van.

      Yuu sped up, but they were faster.  Then we came around another bend
and the road was blocked off, with Morgenstern, Mendo's M-1 tank, sitting
right in the middle of the road.  Dozens of elves dressed in green
uniforms with bows were lined up behind the barracade.  Dad contracted
with some elven tribe a long time ago to defend Arden.  Apparently, they
got tired of dealing with some annoying sorceress in their home shadow.  

      Yuu cursed.  "Get ready to abandon ship.  This is going to hurt..."

      I shook my head.  "Stop.  We can't evade all these people.  We'll
get crushed."

      He sighed and screeched to a halt.  Several of the hounds couldn't
stop in time, smacked into the back of the van, and passed out.  Mendo
popped out of the top of his tank.  "COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!  DROP
YOU TRUMP CARDS AND COME QUIETLY.  YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED."  Pause.
"UMM...FORGET THAT BIT ABOUT ASSIMILATION."  He was using a megaphone.

      We came out quietly.  I said, "Mendo, we're just dropping in for a
visit.  No need to call out the Park Rangers."

      When all the elves trained their bows on me, I decided to never call
the elves 'Park Rangers' ever again.  Mendo put down the megaphone and
said, "I suggest you turn around and leave, Ranma.  Kunou wants you
imprisoned.  I'm willing to let you go, but stay away from Anime, Ranma."

      I frowned.  This wasn't going to be good.  I sighed.  "Right.  Off
to Anime-3, then."

      I turned to go, but Mendo had somehow moved from his tank to right
next to me in two seconds.  Or more precisely, next to Ukyou, who he
handed a flower.  "Ahh, such a lovely lass as you should not be consorting
with such low lives as these."

      She blushed.  "I...uh..."  

      I stomped over.  "Get away from my WIFE!"

      Mendo frowned.  "Is it true that such a lady as yourself has been
chained to this pathetic half-man?  Come with me, and I will show you how
a real man treats a woman!"

      Half-man?  I'm female, you idiot...what he's talking about?  I was
confused.  "I don't want to listen to you and your stupid biases, Mendo!
Get away from MY WIFE!"  I shoved him aside and took Ukyou's hand.

      His face darkened.  "I will not accept such an insult from anyone!
No one shoves me around!"  He stomped towards his tank.  "You have five
minutes, and then we're coming after you."

      I turned to the car to hop in it, and saw the dogs were picking
their teeth with what was left of it.  About all that remained of it was
half of Yuu's saxophone and the steering wheel.  

      Yuu said, "I hope the insurance covers this."

      "What insurance?"  I said.  "RUN!"

      We took off into the forest, running like maniacs.  We could hear
dogs baying behind us and the sound of Elves moving silently through the
forest while trying to dodge an M-1 tank.  Yuu said, "Got any plans?"

     "We head for Anime-3...how far is it?"

     "About three days on foot."

     Ukyou gave a faint strangled cry.  

     "Wait,"  I said.  "We could just trump out!"

     Ukyou shook her head.  "The trumps were in the van.  They got eaten,
I think."

     Now I screamed.

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

       This was just not my day.  Not even vaguely.  Especially when we
found out that our guns didn't work.  I stared at Yuu.  "Hey, why didn't
you tell us?"

       "I was wondering why those Elves had bows."  Yuu said.  "Dad didn't
like guns around the house...he must have done something."  

       Great.  Just great.  At least I had my fencing sabre, and Ukyou had
one too.  Yuu was out of luck, for the moment.  Luckily, we were all in
pretty good shape, so when the five guards who had found us recovered from
hiding from bullets that never arrived, we had gained some ground.  

      Naturally, this was the moment that three of the hellhounds chose to
arrive.  Yuu scrambled up a tree, while Ukyou and I nervously faced off
with them.  He was able to keep one distracted by playing fetch with it,
although what was going to happen when he ran out of branches, I didn't
know.  

     The two hellhounds weren't very subtle.  They just bulled straight
ahead.  I leaped to one side and speared it in the side, then stabbed a
leg with my sword.  I kept dancing about, leaping up into trees to avoid
the charges.  However, while it couldn't hurt me, I wasn't doing much to
it, either.  It's hide was tough and resisted my weapon.

     Then Ukyou screamed.  Her opponent had her pinned down, but it
appeared the dog was just trying to keep her from escaping, not kill her.
I leaped down and knocked it off her, but then I got nailed from behind by
the other dog, which head butted me into a tree.  We could hear more dogs
and guards coming, and things looked bad.

     The music came first.  I still don't know how she does it.  Then the
speech.  "Trying to eat my relatives just isn't right!  All they wanted to
do was to go to the one true city!  I am Usagi, Princess of Anime, and in
the name of familial relations, I will PUNISH YOU!"  She was standing up
in a tree, clad in her war gear, which looks rather like a school uniform
to me, but it stops bullets, so hey, if it works, don't fix it.  She was
waving a long mace with a heart shaped head, which she pointed at the
hellhounds.  "BAD DOGS, NO BISCUIT!"  A huge red heart erupted from it,
smacking both dogs in the head, knocking them out.

     Yuu said, "Nice timing, Usagi."

     She bowed.  "I try hard.  Let's get out of here!"  She leaped down
and picked up me and Ukyou, then started leaping tree to tree while Yuu
tried desperately to keep up.  She said to Ukyou, "Nice to meet you.  Are
you one of my relatives?"

     Ukyou shook her head.  "I think I'd remember you.  You're
um....strong."

     "Yeah! I've been drinking milk!"  Then she tripped and plunged out of
the tree into a small river.  "And just a wee bit clumsy."  Sploosh.

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

      We finally washed up on the beach.  The white river has a really
strong current, and by the time we got out of it, we ended up on the
shore.  We could see Anime itself far to the north, jutting out into the
sea on the great peninsula at the foot of Mount Fuji.  

      I pulled myself out of the river, joining the others on the shore.
We'd lost everything except for our clothing, the swords, and Ukyou's
wallet.  And Usagi's funky mace thing.  She carries the weirdest looking
weapons.  "Now what?"  I spluttered.

      "Depends on exactly what you were hoping to accomplish by heading to
Anime.  Kunou's declared himself King.  There's going to be a coronation
soon."

      I sighed.  "I need to get to the Pattern to get my memories back."

      "There's a full moon tonight.  We could use the Laputan pattern,"
Usagi suggested.

      "Too close to Anime.  Kunou will have guards watching it."

      "Then we make for Anime-3,"  Usagi said.

      I looked over at Yuu, who sighed.  "Maybe Arimi will have forgotten
me."

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

      I've never seen so many guards put their swords to Yuu's throat
before.  "The Lady Arimi will see you now," they said, leading him away.

      The trip to Anime-3 had been fairly easy, only a one day jaunt on
foot.  Anime-3 is a huge duplicate of Anime, under the waves.  It sits
underwater in a sea of this strange stuff called LCL that collects in the
bay where Anime-3 is.  You can actually breathe it and function just fine.
If you try to leave the city underwater you'll be in trouble though.  

       The city is ruled by Queen Misato the Loudmouthed, and has a set of
very powerful golems known as the EVAs.  My half-sister, Rei, is one of
the pilots, along with Misato's two children, Shinji and Asuka.  We were
standing before the Queen when Yuu got hauled off.  She cackled, then
said, "It has been a long time since you came to visit, Ranko."  She
smiled.  "What can I do for you?"

       "Umm...what's going to happen to Yuu?"

       "I have decreed that Arimi may do anything she likes with him, for
getting her pregnant and then running off."

       "Ack."

       Usagi shook her head.  "I told him there would be trouble."

       "I believe she was planning to start by forcing him to view some
sort of thing known as 'Barney' whatever that is.  Amazing the horrors you
can found out amongst the shadows.  Anyway, what brings you here in his
company?"

       "I ask your permission to walk the Pattern of Anime-3."

       "Granted.  And for you, Usagi?"

       "I'm just hanging out with Ranko while we plan to take over the
world."

       Misato laughed.  "I will have no part in such plotting.  We have
other concerns.  Strange beings have been attacking our city, and we must
deal with them.  Good luck in your dealings with your brethren."

      "Thanks.  Umm...can someone show us the way to the Pattern?"

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

      The chamber of the Pattern was deep underground, a silver outline on
a dark obsidian floor.  It twisted and bent, but never crossed itself,
forming a swirling outline marked at three points by a sort of side
flaring that looked like a cross mark, but wasn't.  "So, I start here and
walk on it to the middle?"

      Usagi nodded.  "Then it should restore you to your normal state.
Gets rid of demonic possessions, amnesia, disease, alien mind control
devices, pneumonia, the common cold, slow spontaneous combustion, and
Dutch Elm Disease."

      I started walking along, watching the pattern spark as I stepped on
it.  It started getting harder and harder to move, but I pressed ahead.

      "Oh, two things!  Don't leave the path, or you'll die!  And don't
stop, either, or you'll die."

      "But it's getting harder to move!"

      "It beats being dead!"

      I pressed onward.  The flared out section now flared up, a wall of
sparks.  I ignored it and pressed through it.  My mind was stirring.
Pieces of memories drifting back into my mind.  A cute girl with short
black hair, wearing a crown and sitting by my side.  A kingdom, somewhere.
I had ruled it.  A trip with my father somewhere.  A pool.  A pit.  A pit
without a bottom.  

     I kept going.  Every step brought back memories.  Every step gave me
names, places, people, events.  I remembered fighting Ryouga on top of a
moving train.  I remember being strapped to a table by Wasyuu.  "This
won't hurt a bit."  I remembered some really disgusting shrunken old man
being in my underwear drawer one day.

      My legs felt like lead weights.  My arms were so heavy they were
trying to fall off.  The second veil was a barrier of stone almost, that I
shattered with my will.  In my mind, Usagi, Ryo and I were at the top of
Akbar Pass, battling the Moonbunnies out of Gidget.  Millions of the damn
things.  We killed and killed and killed, and still the bunnies came.
They'd already stripped the plains of Khyber clean of all plant life.  

      Another step.  Now Kunou and I were fighting on top of the palace
roof.  Youshou had tried to break us up so we tossed him off the roof.
Now he came back and stomped both of us into the ground having armed
himself.

      Another step.  I was with my twin brother.  Ranma.  Maybe I was him.
The memory was confusing.  I was a king, and someone...someone named Akane
was my queen.    

      
      My mind cleared every time I raised my leg, put it forward, then
shifted my weight and moved again.  Long training trips with my father.
Fighting an army of mutant turtles and a giant rat.  Shadows where
people's voices and lips weren't in sync.  Some guy in a red and blue suit
who flew.  Someone shoving pie after pie into my father's face.  Armies
closing in on the kingdom I had ruled.  A final battle.  Dead.  All dead.
Akane...my wife...she was dead.  I found another, but she died as well.
It was all very confusing.  Sometimes a girl, sometimes a boy.  What was
I?

       The third veil rose before me, a wall of sparks and light and fire.
I was its master, though I stumbled and nearly fell.  I remembered.  A
shadow of endless pools with poles in them.  Father told me that if you
fell into the pool, you were carried away to another shadow.  I should
have known better than to actuall believe him by that point, but I did.  
I'd seen much weirder.  We leaped from pole to pole, battling.  Then I got
hit and fell.  

       Everything exists somewhere in Shadow, father once told 
me.  There are even shadows of ourselves.  I've met some of them.  
Ranmas who spouted poetry.  Ranmas who want to be lumberjacks.  Ranmas
who are pacifists.  But I have something they don't, for most of them can
never reach the place where it exists.  The shadow called Jyusenkyo, home
to a thousand pools or more.   They're cursed.  Fall into one and you
start turning into whatever once drowned there.  That was where father
had ACTUALLY taken me.  I fell in and now I...I change sex when I get
wet.  I had forgotten that.  I was born a boy.  

       It was both a punishment and training.  Father had said I 
would thank him for it one day.  But when I took my final steps 
on the Pattern, I knew that day hadn't come yet.  The final sparks 
died down.  I was tired, but I was whole.  I stood at the heart of 
the Pattern of Anime-3.  I remembered everything.  My long 
quarrels with Kunou.  My feud with Ryouga.  The time Wasyuu 
tried to turn me into a turnip.  Avalon.  The tears came.  Akane 
was dead, dead hundreds of years, but the memory, which I was 
sure the centuries had dimmed, was strong again, thanks to the 
Pattern.  Damn it.  And our child.  Dead.  I still didn't really 
know where the monsters that brought it down had come from; 
I'd blamed Kunou then, but...it wasn't his style.  I know that 
now.  He would have led an army of Samurai against me, not 
monsters.  He couldn't have sent those horsemen; if he tried to 
kill me, I'd know who was trying.

        I turned to Usagi.  "I'm going to confront Kunou."

        Her eyes widened.  "You nutjob!  That's suicidal!"

        "This is the best way for me to get past the guards."  Another 
advantage of walking the Pattern is that you can go 
ANYWHERE once you get to the middle.  Like my old quarters 
there.  "Without putting you two in danger."

         Ukyou was staring at me like I was insane.  Or maybe had 
turned into Satan.  I couldn't figure out why.  
"Ranchan...what's...what's happened to you?"

        "I got my memories back."  She continued to stare blankly at 
me.

        "Ranko turns into Ranma with hot water and back to Ranko 
with cold water,"  Usagi said.   I stared down at myself.  Oh, I had
reverted to my boyform.  The strain of walking the Pattern had been so
great I hadn't even noticed it.  I felt like an idiot.  She pointed her
heart-mace at me.  "You're NOT going alone!  I'll walk the Pattern and
come with you!"

        "And leave Ukyou behind?  I need you to protect my wife, 
Usagi-chan.  Take her to where you're raising that army.  I'll 
trump you soon as I get my backup deck."

        Usagi blinked.  "How'd you hear about my army?"

       "A little bird told me."

        She fumed.  "I told Rei-chan those ravens were a bad idea!  
But noooo, she wouldn't listen!  Now they're telling all our 
secrets!"  Usagi always looks cute when she's mad.  

         Ukyou continued to stare at me.  I did my best to smile at 
her.  "I'll explain everything.  Usagi will take good care of you.  I 
trust her.  You can trust her too.  Now I have to go kick Kunou's 
mangy butt."

         Ukyou stared at the ground.  "This is all so confusing."

         I did a v-salute and formed the image of my old room in 
my mind.  In an instant, I was there as if I had never left.  Well, 
if I had trashed my room before my last departure, it would have 
been as if I had never left.  The trashing must have been recent; 
surely the maids would have cleaned this all up, I thought.  
Then I remembered the fact that I had locked the door and 
gotten Youshou to ward it; theoretically, no one could get in.  Or 
out.  The door was still locked.  I frowned and started sorting 
through everything.  

***********

       Everything useful was gone.  All I could find was some 
decent clothing, so I changed outfits, and a thermos of still hot 
water.  This was my special thermos.  Wasyuu gave it to me as a 
birthday present; it always had hot water in it.  Useful for dealing 
with my curse.  

        Having garbed myself in my favorite red satin outfit with 
black pants, it was time to get a trump deck.  Not too hard to do; I 
sneaked to the library easily and snarfed one of the decks kept in 
the display cases.  

       "Ranma."  I nearly jumped out of my flesh.  It was my half-
brother Goto.  He was leaning casually against the wall, acting 
like he always hung out in the library.  "Fancy seeing you here.  
Decided to drop in after all this time to find something to read?"

       "Is Kunou going to crown himself?"

       "Anime needs an Otaking.  There are rumors in Shadow.  
Dark things stir again.  Father is gone, likely permanently.  No 
one has seen him in centuries this time.  If he did find a new 
bride, he apparently likes her more than his kingdom.  And his 
trump is dead.  Youshou doesn't want the throne, and all of 
Beryl's children have been disrupting the Regency Council for so 
long that no one trusts any of them to rule.  You were gone, and 
even if you weren't, Kunou is your elder brother.  The throne is 
rightfully his, if anyone's.  While Anime has needed all 
Genma's children, you've been off gallivanting in Shadow."

       "I got sick!"  A plague.  How it had robbed me of my 
memories, I didn't know, but I had gotten sick while fighting in 
a war to sharpen my skills.  To make it worse, it had been serial 
amnesia.  Every thirty to forty years, I had forgotten everything 
again.  Kasumi had introduced me to Ukyou just after the most 
recent of my fits.  Not counting the one that sent me to the 
hospital.  I hadn't even thought about that until now; I had been 
attacked by beasts like the one that attacked Yuu; they had nearly 
killed me, but I killed them and then...time to think about that 
later, I thought.  "And got amnesia."

        "You?  The man who once swam a thousand miles without 
stopping because you were too cheap to pay for a ship?"  He 
sounded dubious.  I couldn't blame him.  "Then what brings you 
back now?"

       "I saved Yuu from some monsters."

       Goto looked around.  "Where is he?"

       "Queen Misato isn't too happy with him for running out on 
Arimi."

       Laughing, Goto said, "I can see that.  Usagi went into exile for 
you, you know."

       "I know."  I can't bring her here, I thought.  Kunou will flip 
if she defies him like that; she might get hurt.  Like...I won't 
think about that.  I won't.  "She's safe.  I've seen her."

        "Be warned, Ranma.  I bear you no ill will, but I will not 
allow Anime to be put in danger by one of you and Kunou's 
quarrels."

        "Putting an idiot like him in charge would do a lot more 
damage than one of our fights."  Where the heck have I left my 
sword, I thought.  "Not to mention, someone plundered my 
room.  Look into it, Mr. Constable."

        "Several people's rooms  have been plundered.  Whoever it 
is can get past locks and wards without leaving a trace.  Quite a 
mystery."  He turned to go.  "I will look into it.  And I suggest 
you slip out without making any trouble."

       Kicking Kunou's butt would be no trouble at all.

***********

       Stomping around the palace looking for Kunou, on the 
other hand, was a lot of trouble.  Lots of people gave me funny 
looks; I gave them funny looks back; I hardly recognized anyone.  
Of course, it had been three hundred and thirty three years since 
the last time I was here, so that was part of it.  And the castle had 
been expanded on again.  

        I finally found Kunou in the garden.  He was practicing 
swordplay with Youshou.  Just my luck, of course.  They're both 
better with swords than I am, I have to admit.  But I prefer to 
fight unarmed, although I do have a pretty impressive sword.  
Well, I had it.  I kinda lost it during one of my fits of amnesia 
after I got sick with a plague; something I'd have to remedy.  It 
wouldn't do me much good now.

        Kunou looked up.  "Ranma.  Alive and well."

        "Despite your best efforts."

        "I have done nothing to kill you in centuries.  Indeed, you 
might likely be dead or lost forever without me.  I will not say 
you please me with your presence, Ranma.  You do not.  But I 
have larger concerns than your petty self.  I suppose you've 
come to beat me up."

        "Damn straight!  I'm not going to let an idiot like you take 
the throne!"

        "I am the eldest child of our mother.  Whatever the merits 
of my claim versus that of Ryo, or Wasyuu or Gosunkugi, I have a better
claim than you.  I will be crowned in two weeks.  You can support me, or I
can banish you like Usagi forced me to do."

        "I'll fight you for it."

        Kunou threw back his head and laughed.  "The throne of 
Anime is a not a toy.  I know I would beat you, but even if I lost, 
I would not wager the throne in a fight."

        "Coward!"  Kunou had always been easy to provoke.

        Youshou shook his head.  "I see you haven't grown up any 
in the three hundred years you've been gallivanting around 
Shadow while you were needed here."

        "I had amnesia!"

        "A likely story."  

         So I'd used that excuse a few too many times when I was a 
child.  "It's true this time!"

         "Wolf, wolf."  He shook his head.  "I will not allow you to 
endanger Anime, Ranma.  Kunou will be Otaking.  Will you aid 
us or oppose us?"

         I might have swallowed my pride and said yes if I hadn't 
seen Kunou smirking at me.  I felt ganged up on, that he was 
trying to manipulate me into a suicidal fight with Youshou.  
Unarmed, I could whoop Youshou, but me unarmed versus 
him with the Tenchi-ken would be a good way to commit 
suicide.  Hopefully, he wouldn't kill me, but...best not to find 
out.  

         "Support Kunou as Otaking?  When he taunts me, then hides 
behind someone else?  No way!"  I needed a distraction.  "Hey, 
look, it's a Dragon!"

          Kunou turned to look; Youshou wasn't that stupid.  It was 
good enough.  I took off running, ignoring whatever Kunou 
shouted after me.  

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

          One of the secret techniques Pop taught me was that if 
you're in a fight you can't win, make a distraction, run away, 
plan your comeback.  I began paging through the Trump deck I'd 
gotten from the Library.  I quickly concluded someone with a 
sense of humor had made this one.  They looked like they were 
designed for some kind of game, with statistics for each of us and 
a pithy quote to go with the picture, along with a bunch of 
symbols.  There were also a lot of people I didn't recognize.  I 
decided to focus on the people I did know.  I could hear people 
coming.  Had to hurry.  Not too many people who would give 
me sanctuary; I didn't want to drag Usagi into this, not yet.  Ryo, 
though...Wasyuu had said he was putting an army together.  
Perfect.  I pulled his trump, and it soon came to life.  I could see 
him in the middle of drilling a bunch of oddly dressed soldiers; 
not too many wear t-shirts and jeans.  "Ryo."

        "Hey, Ranma.  I see you finally woke up."

        "Yeah.  Planning to overthrow Kunou?"

        "Yeah.  You want in?"

        I reached out an arm.  "Let's do it."
   
        I had gotten out of Anime, and into the pickling pot.  But 
that's the story of the next chapter.