The ruler of the Shadow Realm Na'aj looked down at her captive with satisfaction. "I guess you're here to save your precious Akane, are you not? Well, I may not be Akane... but I can offer you so much more... How about it? Join me, and I'll make you king after conquering the miserable country of Ja'an."

Ranma snarled at her. "You might look like Akane, but you're nothing but a selfish tomboy... and, and did I forget to tell you you're uncute?"

For a moment, it seemed like Ekana's face would turn into a grimace of anger. But then, she smiled. "Nice try, Ranma... But I'm not like Akane, you know? There is not much you can do to catch me off-guard. After all, I know you..."

"How would you know me?" Ranma snapped. "We've never met before!"

Ekana grinned. "Oh, didn't sweet Kasu tell you? Ja'an and Na'aj... those two countries are nothing but results of poor Akane's psyche. She needed a place to stay after suffering from her usual days... and the back of her mind created Ja'an, a beautiful and peaceful country full of life... and the people living there would resemble those she knew in her real life, only would they be like she imagines them deep within her conscience."

Ekana leaned back in her throne. "Oh, but you know what? A human can only stand so much days of peace until his or her mind begins to develop doubts. With doubt comes insecurity... with insecurity comes sadness... with sadness comes fear... and with fear comes anger. The perfect way to create a dark mirror image of her peaceful haven, right?"

"You want to tell me that everything here... The dark forest, those black knights, Yokot and even yourself... are just results of Akane's own fears and doubts?"

"I'm afraid it is true," the dark mistress said. "And ever since I came into existence, I wanted to have someone at my side... someone like you... to rule next to me." She stood up. "And now you've come..."

She started walking down the steps of her throne, when suddenly, Ranma jumped back and went into his battle stance. "Stand back!" he shouted. "One more move and I'll knock you out!"

Ekana just laughed. "Get him!" she commanded Koan and the other knights in the room.

Ranma turned around to face them and cupped his hands. He concentrated and...

"MOKO TAKABISHA!"

But nothing happened.

Ranma blinked as he stared at his outstretched hands. What happened? Why didn't his powerful ki attack work? What was wrong with him?

He tried fighting back as the powerful knights grabbed him, but while they seemed to flinch under his kicks and punches, they obviously lacked the true power they should have.

When the knights had secured Ranma and pulled him in front of their mistress, she smiled down at him. "Poor Ranma... My, what happened to your precious ki?" She chuckled. "You fool... Na'aj, as well as Ja'an, is a spiritual realm. While everything you see and feel here seems to have a corporeal form, you cannot affect it like you can back in your world. Remember? You left your body back there. And with it, the ki that you need to perform your infamous attacks... Oh, you could become a powerful fighter if you learn to train your mind... but until then, you won't stand a chance against my knights."

She raised a black wand that was tipped with multiple spikes and a ruby. "Watch closely, Ranma... THIS is the force that rules our world. Not ki... but magic!" And she thrusted her wand forward, shooting out a bolt of black lightning that zapped right into Ranma's body, making him scream in pain.

Ekana walked back to her throne and sat down. "Throw him into the dungeon... We will continue our little conversation later, Ranma. And I hope for your sake that you are a little more reasonable then... for your and Akane's sake!" She gestured to the door with her wand. "Take him away!"


Ranma was sitting on the cold floor within his cell, curling his body into a ball. Now what should he do? Why didn't Kasu tell him about this? If he wasn't able to control his ki, and his strength here was only equal to his mental abilities... how would he be able to save Akane?

He didn't know for how long he had been sitting there, in the dark, cold cell of Yokot's dungeon... Without any window or source of light... only the thin, flickering light coming through the tiny slit in the massive iron door of his cell.

After an hour or so - or was it five hours? - the door was opened, and the bulky form of a black knight was standing in front of him.

"Come," he just said. "Our lady has requested your presence!"

Not feeling able to fight back, Ranma followed the metal-clad man through the corridors and up the stairs of the fortress... until he was being lead out on a balcony that was rising high above the barren plains of Na'aj.

Ekana was standing there, clutching her wand, and welcomed him with an evil grin. She raised her wand and gestured towards the plains. "Take a look at this, Ranma... this is my realm of darkness! No sunlight will ever shine down here, no birds are singing, and no children's laughter will ever fill the air..." Her face took on a dreamy expression. "Isn't it wonderful?"

"Just what kind of wicked witch are you?" Ranma grumbled weakly.

Ekana turned around to face him. "Remember... while I and my men look like humans, we are creatures of the darkness... We flourish where normal humans would wither away."

She circled him with slow steps. "You know, Ranma... all of this had once been a green, lush country... Thriving with life! In fact, all of Na'aj had once been a part of Ja'an. But when little Akane started to develop doubts, this was the result... And once I've defeated the forces of good, all of Ja'an will look like this."

"I know you want me to help you reach that goal," Ranma replied. "But why should I help you?"

"Simple," Akane's evil counterpart grinned. "We have your fiancee..."

Ranma threw her a dark glance, and Ekana laughed evilly. "Come, I will take you to your little sweetheart... and don't worry, we didn't actually harm her..."


"Akane!" Ranma shouted as his fingers touched the smooth surface of the hard glass panel in front of him. Behind it, lying on a big bed, was Akane, her eyes closed.

"She can't hear you," Ekana grinned. "She's fast asleep, just like a mirror image of her corporeal self, back in your world."

Angrily, Ranma turned around to face the dark ruler. "What did you do to her?"

"Oh, nothing," Ekana claimed. "Just put a little sleeping spell on her... You know, as her dark half, I always have to struggle against her unconsciousness... but with her asleep, that won't be a problem. Hehehehehe..."

Ranma just glared at her. Then he pulled back his fist... and smacked it as hard as he could into the glass.

He cringed in pain, as the glass didn't shatter.

"Forget it," Koan said, who was standing behind his mistress. "This is unbreakable glass... it will only give away if my lady wishes it."

All of a sudden, Ranma felt very weak. He looked at the image of his sleeping fiancee through the unbreakable glass. "A... Akane..."

"Well, I see this was a bit much, even for you," Ekana nodded. "Okay, that will be all for today... you can go back into your cell. Tomorrow, I will ask you again... and I hope for your sake that your answer will be much more satisfying than now."

The other black knight grabbed Ranma's shoulder and pushed him out of the room.

After Ranma had left the room, the image of Akane and the bed seemed to quiver... and then it became a black, shimmering surface.

Koan approached Ekana. "My lady... what will we do if Saotome doesn't accept?"

"He will! He has no other choice. But if he actually won't do it... then he'll be sorry..." She made a fist. "I have waited too long for this day... Ja'an will be mine!"

The black baron couldn't help himself after seeing his beloved mistress in such a state of glorious fury... and glomped her with all his might.

"Oh, my dark mistress... you are so inspiring when you're evil! Let this lowly servant relieve you of your troubles..."

For a moment, Ekana just shook with rage...

Then she hit the dark copy of Kuno with a mighty uppercut. "KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF ME!"


Meanwhile, Ranma was being lead back through the fortress by his guard. Now that the gruesome image was gone, he felt a little more confident. All of the past days, he just couldn't bear looking at Akane's sleeping face... when he had to think about the possibility that she would probably never wake up again. He found new hope in form of Kasu, who told him there would be a possibility of saving Akane...

But when Akane was sleeping even here... what could he do? He couldn't even fight against the knights properly without being able to use ki.

He had to escape... Ekana wouldn't dare harming Akane... that had to be her doom as well.

He somehow had to get out of here... he would return later to save Akane.

When he and his guardian reached the top of the stairs leading down into the dungeon, he decided to take a chance.

After taking one step, he faked a little dizzy spell and staggered forward. The dark knight quickly took a step forward to catch him...

...and then Ranma turned around, sweeping him off his feet with a low kick. The black knight had no time to even shout in surprise, as he fell down the long stairway, all the way rattling within his armor.

Ranma stood up and nodded. That should be enough to buy him some time. If the power of the mind truly was the mightiest tool he had in this world... then he had to learn to sharpen his mental skills.

But first, he had to get away from here. So he turned around and ran down the corridor.

After hurrying through endless hallways and chambers, he finally found a window that wasn't blocked by iron bars. It seemed strange that he didn't run into any other guards... or that he couldn't hear the footsteps of any followers. But he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth...

He looked outside. The window was quite a distance above the ground... but he had to take a chance. So he carefully climbed out... and jumped!


"He has to be somewhere around here," a loud voice shouted. "Find him!"

Ranma cursed inwardly as he pulled his head back behind the tree. He had managed to reach the dark forest, but he had been stupid to believe that the dark knights would give up that easily. Of course they would catch up with him, they had their horses.

But he still couldn't risk a confrontation... he still wasn't too sure if he would be able to defend himself without the help of his ki attacks.

Then, a rustling behind some bushes almost made him gasp. He carefully took a step backwards, when a dark shape appeared in front of him, between the trees...

And then a pair of strong hands grabbed him and pulled him into the thicket.

"Ssshhhhh," a voice hissed. "If they hear us, everything will be over. Those black devils have good ears!"

Ranma didn't respond, but the owner of the mysterious voice was obviously on his side, so he stayed silent.

"What's wrong?" one of the black knights shouted.

"Nothing," another voice answered. "I thought I saw something here, but it must have been my imagination..."

"Keep searching!" After several seconds, they were gone.

Ranma let out a sigh of relief. "Well, that was close..." He turned around to face his saviour. "Hey, thanks for the..."

"Keep your thanks for later, we have to get out of here! Quick, follow me!"

Ranma made sure to stay behind his strange guide as he seemed to know the forest well. While running, he noticed the sleek, sportive body of his rescuer, and the long strands of hair that were trailing after him. Also, he didn't seem to wear any shoes...

After some time, they reached a small clearing. "Okay, I think that's far enough... But still, we have to be careful. I don't trust those devils..." He turned around.

Ranma gasped. "Tsu... Tsubasa?"

"What are you talking about?" his saviour asked. "My name is Tsaquasa!"

"Oh... Tsaquasa... right!" Ranma's gaze wandered over Tsaquasa's body, which obviously was much more muscular than that of the cross-dressing boy Ranma knew from home. He was wearing an outfit that looked more like rags than actual clothes, his hair was wet and stringy, and his skin was very pale.

It took Ranma another second to realize that Tsaquasa wasn't really a he, she was a girl.

"What's the matter?" she asked in an unfriendly tone. "Never seen a girl before?"

"Well... not one like you..."

"Thanks for the compliment, you're too nice," she grumbled. "Never mind, we have to leave... Come, I'll take you home, there we'll be safe."

"Are you sure those knights won't find us there?"

Tsaquasa looked at him with a puzzled look, then she grinned. She put a hand on his shoulder and said: "Trust me... even those black devils won't ever be able to find a mermaid's home if she doesn't want them to find it."

It was then that Ranma got a better look at the hand lying on his shoulder... the fingers were connected by a thin layer of webbing.