Hiroshi, Daisuke and June were sitting just outside the Vault, underneath the trees that surrounded the entrance door leading to the main shaft. The dryad knew there might be some dangerous creatures lurking around in the woods, but as long as the boys didn't move further away, they should be safe. Not to mention she was able to protect them, in the worst case.

June chuckled as she stretched out her legs in the soft grass. "A unicorn? Really? One of the most magically-gifted creatures in existence, and you thought turning her into one of those was a good idea?"

"Well… yeah," Daisuke grumbled. "How was I supposed to know that?"

"The Vault has a library," June said. "If you ever need more information about any sort of class or creature, you can look it up there. Just be glad the essence belonged to a unicorn from Equestria… unicorns from other realms could be even more powerful than that."

"Noe you're telling us," Hiroshi sighed. "Well, that was a big waste of time. Now what do we do?"

"That's what I'd like to know," June said as she grinned at them. She didn't want to admit it to them just yet, but the two new kids were amusing her. Admittedly, their first action was pretty careless, but at least they did take some action. It took other Keepers before them months until they felt confident enough to use their first relic. "What are your next steps, oh Keepers of the Vault?"

"Why does that sound like you're mocking us?" Hiroshi frowned. "And… to be honest, I'm not quite sure. What should we do?"

"You know, I've been thinking," Daisuke said. "When I was at the Tendo Dojo, Nabiki wasn't just screwing with me, but also with Ranma. I mean, he's this strong martial artist who doesn't have to be afraid of anything… yet he cowers, just because Nabiki has taken some pictures of him. Well, of his girl side, at least. That's not like him."

Girl side? Now that took June's interest. The boy could be just talking metaphorically, but the dryad had more than enough experience that she knew when there was more to a situation that meets the eye. She decided to delve into this matter more thoroughly at a later time.

"I think we should help him then," Hiroshi said. "Ranma's a great guy, even though I'm envious of him quite often. He doesn't even manage to get along with Akane most of the time, even though she's the most badass chick in Furinkan… well, aside from Kuonji-san, maybe. He shouldn't have to deal with this crap from Nabiki."

"Then what do we do?" Daisuke asked. "Getting Nabiki out of the picture didn't work. How else can we help him?"

Back at the Tendo Dojo…

"What's going on, Ranma?" Akane asked. "I thought we were going to continue our spar this afternoon."

"I'm sorry, I just need to take care of this," Ranma said. "If I don't find a way to get that money for Nabiki, she'll hand over those pictures to Kuno."

"So what?" Akane threw up her arms in exasperation. "He's seen pictures of you all the time."

"That doesn't mean I have to accept it like that," Ranma snapped at her. "I still have some manly pride, but I guess that's something an uncute tomboy like you will never understand!"

He knew he made a mistake when Akane lifted her mallet. "Ranma no BAKA!" she yelled as she pounded him into the ground once more.

As Akane stormed off in a huff, Ranma crawled back out of the hole that was shaped like himself. "Me and my b-big mouth…"

His mother, Nodoka Saotome, was sitting nearby and sipped some tea. "I don't like to say this, son, but you really brought that up onto yourself. That's wasn't a very nice thing to say to Akane. Besides, she was really looking forward to this."

Ranma groaned as he pushed himself back to his feet. "Yeah, but… can't she understand I have more important things to take care of?"

"I think she does understand that it's important for you," Nodoka said. "But she also feels that you're ignoring her."

"How can I ignore her when I feel the weight of her mallet upon my head nearly every day?" Ranma grumbled. "Aw, forget it… I need to find Nabiki." And he stormed outside.

Nodoka let out a sigh. "You really need to talk to that daughter of yours, Soun. The way Nabiki is controlling others will only make matters worse for her in the long run."

"I know that," Soun muttered, shaking his head. "But I'm not sure I can even reach out to her. Sometimes, I'm afraid she doesn't even see me as her real father. And I can't blame her… ever since we found her on our doorstep as a tiny filly, we knew she'd be an outcast. And these past years, she's felt more and more that she needs to make others respect her, in order to be accepted amongst humans."

"They don't accept her, they're afraid of her magic," Nodoka pointed out. "I think Nabiki fails to see that. On the other hand, I also get the feeling that she feels a bit jealous of Akane."

"Jealous?" Soun wondered. "Jealous about what?"

"Jealous that she never had a real chance with Ranma in the first place," Nodoka explained. "Think about it. Kasumi always had a crush on Dr. Tofu and Akane now has Ranma, no matter how hard the two try to hide their feelings. But Nabiki? What chance does she have to find a nice man for herself, as a unicorn in a human's world?" The Saotome matriarch looked down at the floor with sadness.

"Oh Nabiki…" Soun sighed. "It's times like this I wish Kimiko was still around… What should we do?"

"At times like this, all we can do is to let our children now that we support them in everything they do and make sure that they uphold the family honor," Nodoka said firmly. "Isn't that right, dear?"

She looked over to her husband… but only saw a panda holding up a wooden sign that read: 'Nobody here but us pandas'.

Nodoka groaned with frustration. "Genma Saotome, you might be the worst father in existence."

Somewhere across the multiverse, Gendo Ikari sneezed.

Akane was so mad at Ranma that she went outside for a run to clear her head. It only helped a bit, though. When she came past the shopping mall, most of her anger had subsided. But she was still upset.

That Ranma, she thought to herself. Why can't he ever acknowledge me?

"Oh hey, Akane-chan," a pair of familiar voices shouted. "Over here!"

Akane turned around and saw her two friends from school coming towards her, Yuka and Sayuri. "Oh, it's you guys… hey."

"What's the matter with you?" Sayuri asked. "You look like you're mad about something."

"Did someone bother you again?" Yuka inquired.

Akane knew she couldn't keep anything a secret from these two. "It's… Ranma," she admitted. "He promised to spar with me this afternoon and now he's run off again." She rubbed her forehead. "He… he just never cares about me. Whenever I wanna do something with him, he has something better to do."

"Awww, that's a real shame," Sayuri said. "You poor thing."

"Maybe you're trying the wrong things," Yuka took a guess. "Maybe you shouldn't try sparring all the time, but instead, try something else. You know… go watch a movie, visit a nice restaurant…"

"Nice restaurant?" Akane snorted. "Yeah, right… the only ones he's willing to go to are the Nekohanten and Ucchan's. And we all know how that will turn out!"

"Oh yeah, maybe that was a bad example," Yuka admitted. "But if you don't go out together, why don't you coo…" She quickly bit her lower lip when she realized what she was about to suggest.

"Why don't I do what?" Akane blinked.

"Um… never mind," Yuka said. She wanted to help Akane, but not by dooming Ranma to Akane's cooking. "I'm… sure you'll find some other solution. I'm sure there is one. We'll help you find one… but only on oooone condition!"

"Oh, really?" Akane frowned. "What is it?"

Yuka gave her a big grin. "Pleeeeaaase ask your sister if we can pet her. I've never pet a pony before!"

Akane facepalmed.

"Hey look, there's Hiroshi." Sayuri then pointed at a familiar-looking boy that was running by and waved. "Hey, Hiroshi-kun! What's that you got there?"

Hiroshi stopped and looked over to the three girls. He was obviously in a hurry, and in his hands he was carrying some sort of bundle. It looked like something round had been wrapped with a newspaper. "Oh, it's you guys," he said. "That's, um… nothing important. Listen, I'm kind of in a hurry, I'm on my way to Ranma…"

"Oh yeah?" Akane snorted and crossed her arms. "Well, then you can tell that jackass that I'm done with him!"

"What? Why?" Hiroshi asked. "Are you mad at him… again?"

"They got in another fight," Sayuri sighed. "And we're trying to figure out how to help her make up with him."

"What's the point?" Akane muttered. "Obviously, I'm not that important to him. That self-centered idiot… he'll never realize that I can be just as strong as him." Then she sighed and hid her face in her hands. "I… wanna be as strong as him…"

"I wonder if that's the problem," Yuka pondered. "I'm probably grasping at straws here, but maybe you feel that you can't catch to him as a martial artist. Could that be it?"

"Maybe…" Akane muttered. "All this time, I thought I was a great fighter. But… now I see how good Ranma, Ukyo, Ryoga and Shampoo are… and I feel I'm being left behind in the dust."

"You mean you should try something different than being a martial artist?" Sayuri asked.

"I don't really think that's actually possible," Akane said. "I've been a martial artist all my life… how can I be something different just like that?"

Hiroshi froze. Was that it? Was that a better chance to carry out their plan? Originally, he just wanted to take this orb to Ranma, but… he really didn't know just how exactly it could help his friend. Also, Ranma was the most passionate man he had ever met when it came to martial arts, so there was no way he would accept giving it up to be something else.

But what if he gave it to Akane instead?

"Hey… Akane?" He hesitantly approached her. "Listen, I… have something I wanna give you. It was supposed to be for Ranma, but, um… I think it'll be more useful to you. Just… just take it home, unwrap it and… just use it. I guarantee it'll help." And he shoved the little bundle into Akane's hands.

"Wh-what?" Akane asked with surprise. "Wait a minute… what is this? What am I supposed to do with it?"

"Oh, just a little something Daisuke and I thought up… reeeeally can't stay to chat though, gotta go, see you later, byyyyeee!" And with those words, Hiroshi took off.

Akane, Sayuri and Yuka looked down at the small bundle together.

"What do you think it is?" Yuka asked.

Sayuri shrugged. "I don't know, but I wouldn't touch it if I were you. Hiroshi-kun's a nice guy, bit he can be a little dimwit."

Yuka frowned at her. "He's not!"

Sayuri sneered. "You're just saying that because he's your boyfriend."

"Oh yeah? Well, YOUR boyfriend Daisuke is a much bigger dimwit than Hiroshi!"

"WHAT? No, he isn't!"

"Um, girls?" Akane spoke up. "It was nice of you to cheer me up and everything… but I really should get back home now. See you tomorrow at school."

"Yes, he is!"

"No, he isn't!"

Shaking her head, Akane left her two friends to their little discussion and went home. It took the other two girls some time to realize she was gone.

"Huh? Hey, Yuka, where's Akane?"

"Hmm, I guess she must have been in a hurry." Sayuri angrily snapped her fingers. "Dangit, now we'll never know what's in that little package." She pensively looked in the direction Hiroshi vanished in. "Those boys… do you think they're up to something?"

"Wouldn't be the first time," Yuka said. "Should we try and find out what it is?"

"Well, okay… but if it turns out they're up to some mischief, I'm betting it's Hiroshi's fault." Sayuri sneered.

"What?" Yuka glared at the other girl. "No way, it's obviously Daisuke's fault!"

"It's Hiroshi's!"

"It's Daisuke's!"

Akane shut the door behind her. "I'm home!"

Kasumi welcomed her with the smile that always made everyone feel better. "Welcome home! Are you feeling better now, Akane?"

"Yeah, a little bit," Akane said. "Where's Ranma?"

"He's fighting with Uncle Saotome over some leftover ramen," Kasumi smiled. That girl really didn't let anything bother her. Then again, everyone in the Tendo household was pretty much used to the spats between Ranma and his father by now. And if it got too bad, Nodoka would always intervene.

"Got it… I'll talk to him later. Right now, I just wanna be in my room, for some peace of quiet…"

"Of course," Kasumi nodded. "I'm sure you need some rest after today. By the way, what's that you're holding?"

"Hmm?" Akane looked down at Hiroshi's bundle. She almost forgot she had it. "Oh… nothing important, I guess." She then went into her room.

"I'll tell you when dinner is ready," Kasumi shouted after her. "Oh, and make sure to change out of your gi. It must be all sweaty by now."

When she came past Nabiki's room, the door was slightly ajar. Akane peered inside and saw her unicorn sister sitting at her special, pony-sized desk. Actually it was originally a children's desk, but Nabiki managed to redesign it for her own purposes. Since Nabiki was so small, Akane was able to look over her shoulder and see the photos lying in front of her, all of them of Ranma in his female form. Akane remembered that day well… Shampoo had come for a surprise visit (that's where the hole in the dojo originated from) and attacked Akane. Ranma had been caught in the crossfire, had his shirt torn open by flying debris and then was thrown into the koi pond, turning him into a girl. She then tried to 'convince' Shampoo to leave, which included another round of fighting. During that time, Nabiki had managed to shoot a few pictures of Ranma's half-nude form in mid-fight. And thanks to her telekinetic magic, she didn't even have to get close to the fight.

Akane stuck her head into her sister's room. "Nabiki… do you have to do that every time Ranma gets turned into a girl? Can't you just leave him alone?"

"What's this?" The unicorn turned her head to look at her human sister in surprise. "You're taking Ranma's side? Well, hell has officially frozen over."

"I'm serious, sis," Akane said. "I might get upset with him quite often, and yeah, he often acts like a stupid bonehead… but he IS my fiance, after all. And you're family… so can't you just give him a break for once?"

Akane barely even noticed it in the stern façade Nabiki had built up. But she knew her sister pretty well, and she noticed the small glint of pain in the big, shimmering eyes of the unicorn. "Family?" Nabiki scoffed. "Really? Well, the rest of the family obviously isn't interested in a solid income, and who has to take care of it? In an ironic twist of fate, the inhuman black sheep of the family. Tell me, Akane… how else am I going to make some money for the family? Do you think anyone is willing to hire a unicorn in his business?"

Nabiki's words stung Akane more than she was willing to admit. "Fine… I get it," she said quietly and closed her sister's door.

In her room, Akane threw herself onto her bed. She was getting so sick of everything… the fiancee problem, Ranma's unwillingness to take her seriously, stalkers like Kuno and now Nabiki's trouble of not getting accepted in a human society.

She turned around and looked up at her ceiling. "Isn't there anything I can do?" she murmured. "Anything? As a martial artist, it is my duty to help other people. But how can I help them if I can't even keep control of my own life?"

Maybe Sayuri was right. Maybe being a martial artist really wasn't the right thing for her. So what was she supposed to do?

She looked at the small bundle in her right hand and finally decided to take a look at the thing. She still didn't believe that anything the dweeb duo came up with would be a big help, but… it couldn't hurt to look, right?

She removed the newspaper that was wrapped around the small object. It was a small sphere or orb, barely bigger than her own fist, glowing in a mysterious, green light.

"What in the world?" she whispered as she sat up straight to get a closer look on the orb. It looked like some sort of strange energy was swirling around inside. She wondered where on Earth could the two blockheads have come across such a thing. She doubted it was anything you could buy at the next supermarket.

She grabbed it with both hands and lifted it up in front of her face. She saw lines floating around the outside of the orb. Small phrases written in a strange language she was unable to decipher. But wait… did the letters shift around just now? She realized that it was getting easier to read the phrases. Was this a message written in different languages?

She decided to quickly read the text before it changed again. "Congratulations to you, oh holder of the Orb of Ranger," she muttered as the message floated along in front of her eyes. "You hold the chance to start anew, to choose a new career, a new class. You are offered the gifts of the ranger… quick and nimble on his feet, with a sight as sharp as an eagles and an aim as swift and accurate as an elf. Good with animals, a man of the forest and a master marksman, the ranger never misses his target. But be warned… to accept this gift, you will have to give up everything you have mastered up to now. Surrender your career, surrender your old class and be willing never to embrace it again. Only then will you gain the gift of the ranger. Do you accept?"

Akane lowered the orb and pondered for a moment. This was exactly what she had been asking for… well, somewhat. She still had no idea how such an item got into the possession of Hiroshi, but she didn't really care about that now. Instead, she asked herself: Was she really willing to give up her life as a martial artist? It was her joy, her pride, her way of life.

But then again… could she hope to ever come close to what Ranma and his other fiancees were capable of? Would she always be forced to stay in his shadow?

This was a chance to get out of that shadow, to prove to him that there could be something she could be good at. And maybe even another way of helping her family. It was simply… another way.

A small voice in her head still warned her that it was rash and unwise to accept bargains from mysterious, magical artifacts… but Akane had never been a patient one. If she didn't accept this now, she might never get another chance in her life.

So she raised the orb back up to her face, sternly gazed into it and said: "I accept."

And then, she was bathed in a flash of bright, green light.

Only seconds later, she was able to see again. The strange light disappeared, along with the orb in her hands. She blinked a couple of times, looked down at herself… and nearly let out a shout of surprise.

Her old combat gi was gone. Instead, she was wearing an outfit she had never seen before in her life. Most of it was made of leather, its main colors being brown and dark green. On her feet was a pair of comfortable leather boots, and around her waist she wore a belt with a silver buckle and several small pouches.

"Wow…" she said quietly as she carefully inspected every bit of her new appearance. She stood in front of her mirror and watched herself from all sides. "I guess the message in the orb was telling the truth. I really look like a forest ranger now, instead of a martial artist…"

She then gasped. "Oh no!" She quickly ran over to her closet, where she kept all of her spare gis, all the belts she acquired in her past and every tournament trophy she had ever won. It was all gone. Instead, she saw an incredible-looking composite bow hanging in her closet and next to it, a fine quiver with a big assortment of arrows.

Akane let out a sigh. Of course. The orb had told her that she would have to give everything up. That included all of her previous accomplishments as a martial artist. Part of her knew this had to be part of her deal, but she still felt some pain of loss and disappointment.

But she had been ready to give it up, she told herself. The orb could not be blamed for this, and not even Hiroshi. She had made the choice herself and accepted the offer. Still, a question remained: Now that she had become a ranger, how could she use that for herself and her family?

She heard her big sister's voice: "Akane, dinner is ready!"

Still uncertain about herself and her new situation, Akane just left her room and went into the living room, where all of her family was already waiting.

"There you are," Kasumi said as she turned to face Akane. "Have you calmed down a bit and… oh! Oh my…" Her eyes widened a bit when she saw her sister in her new appearance.

"Whoa, Akane?" Ranma blurted out. "What's with the new outfit?"

Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "Looking very Middle-earth there, sis."

"Um…" Akane let out a nervous chuckle. "I was just… trying out something new… Surprise?"

Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

The Dryad (NPC) and everything Terraria belongs to Re-Logic.

My little Pony belongs to Hasbro.

Gendo Ikari and Neon Genesis Evangelion belong to Gainax.

Middle-earth and Lord of the Rings belong to J. R. R. Tolkien.