The Road to Freedom

By The Senshi of Valis

Chapter 17

I don't own W.I.T.C.H. or Ranma 1/2

Will smiled as she leaned up against the wall before the portal, Ranma beside her and Ryoga standing across from them. It made Will feel so good to know that Ranma loved her so much that he risked his very life to save her from the castle though she was worried about him doing that same thing while she was there. She knew she couldn't have handled it if she lost Ranma, he was more important to her than anything.

She was also worried about what kind of effects he may have suffered from exposure to the hearts power when it was fueling and enhancing his own abilities. Will was happy that she had the heart back and it seemed to be working normaly and Ranma didn't seem to be suffering but he wasn't a guardian, she didn't know if that would have caused any problems when he was chanelling the power he was never meant to.

Now though, Ranma had the Heart of Cassidy but she had no idea what good that was going to do him or the rest of them as it was now inactive like Cassidy had said, drained of all of it's power until it had a chance to recharge. What would happen then though, was Ranma now meant to be it's keeper or what?

"Are you guys sure that it's okay if I stay with you for a little while?" Ryoga asked nervously.

"As long as you don't cause any problems I don't mind." Ranma said.

"And neither do I, besides you said that you would help us train the girls for the final battle." Will said, "We will restore the Light to Meridian."

"And help the people rebuild their homes and lives." Ranma agreed. "But for now we better get home before mom worries about us."

Will smiled as she took Ranma's hand and the two stepped through the portal followed closely by Ryoga. As soon as they three was through Will held up the heart of Candracar and concentrated, closing the portal and sighing as she pocketed the jewel. It was starting to get dark which worried Will a little, they was planning to spend a short time in Metamoor but in truth she expected maybe an hour or two if they hurried but this took far longer than she planned.

"Cool." Ryoga said with a grin just as Will's cell phone started ringing.

"Hello." Will said, answering her phone.

"Are you okay, Will?" Susan asked frantically, "I've been trying to get ahold of you for hours."

"We just got sidetracked, mom, I'm sorry. We're on our way home now and we're bringing a guest for a few days. Is that okay?" Will said.

"Sure, honey, just please hurry up." Susan said, sighing in relief.

"I will, mom, we'll be there in a few minutes. Love you." Will said.

"Love you too, dear." Susan said hanging up.

"Hurry up, guys." Will said, "Let's get home."

XXXXXXXXXX

Nabiki looked at the directions she had gotten off of google as she stood under a street light studying the map and looking for the street sign she was standing near. She was so close to finding the apartment she needed but she had a bad feeling of being followed, a feeling that would not go away no matter how much she looked and tried to convince herself otherwise.

She had to find the apartment that was the red haired girl's…Will's home. She didn't know for sure that he was there and she seriously doubted he would be but she kept hope of finding some clue to find him. Maybe she would even be able to help Will's mother out by finding the girl too. Heck, she would even do it free of charge if the woman would cooperate and help Nabiki find Ranma.

"This is going to be great." A voice said excitedly. Looking up Nabiki noticed an asian girl with two long ponytails carrying a bag and walking with a girl with short brownish/reddish hair.

"Too bad we couldn't have done this sooner but…I'm just glad we can do this for Will now." The brown haired girl said.

"Me too, I'm glad Will came back. I was so shocked to see that she was actually married to that hot guy." The black haired girl said.

"What about the curse of his…wow, not only does Will have one of the hottest guys around for a husband she has a husband that turns into one of the hottest girls around." The brown haired girl said, laughing a little, "It's not fair though that a guy looks better as a girl than the rest of us."

"I don't know about you Irma but I'm happy with the way I look." The black haired girl said.

"I am too, Hay Lin, it's just…well, Ranma is…wow…" Irma said, "I have to admit I'm jealous of Will. Happy for her but a little jealous."

Nabiki looked up at the sky with a huge smile on her face and mouthed the words, Thank you." Before almost fainting. Was they talking about Ranma and Will being married? Oh god, if the others found out about this it would be world war three. Quietly Nabiki followed the two girls as they walked down the street.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ranma shivered as they walked into the building where their apartment was. He felt as if something very bad was about to happen. As they walked into the apartment he noticed the lights were all off and no one was around. Staying on guard Ranma started to scan the room when the lights turned on and Susan, Cornelia and Taranee jumped out and cried out, "Happy Birthday Will!"

Ranma smiled, praying that this was why he was sensing trouble but for some reason he had to doubt it. There was something in the air and it was bothering him very badly.

XXXXXXXXXX

AN: Hi everyone, another chapter out and this is going on a lot longer than I originally had planned. At the moment it looks like there will probably be anywhere between 10 to 15 more chapters tops before this is finished. Hope everyone likes it and after that I'll be working on some of my other stories plus I'll be starting one more new story then, The Road to Freedom: Six Months (Working on the title) which is the story of the six months Will and Ranma spent on Metamoor. Hope everyone enjoyed, please read and review.

Until Next Time,

Ja Ne