There was no real indication as to where the Kuno castle grounds end and where the rest of Nerima begins. The looming, terrifying building had no real gardens or surrounding parks to speak of, at least not on the outside. The famous rose garden lay within the castle walls.

Leading up to the castle's main gate was a mostly straight paved road, bypassing a number of gnarled, old trees. The gate itself was a massive hunk of iron which looked like it was impossible to move by human hands. A pair of armored suits was flanking the gate day and night. They were enchanted by dark magic, turning them from inanimate objects into magical constructs that obeyed only the will of their dark mistress. They didn't really have any sort of intelligence to speak of, but they reacted to every intruder approaching the gates, every living being that had no right to be within the castle.

Ranma had promised to take Akiko home, but he was careful enough not to step into the field of view of the two guard armors. He peeked out from behind one of the closest houses that surrounded the castle to see if the coast was clear. There weren't a lot of people living this close to the lair of the evil vampire queen, so most of the surrounding buildings were abandoned ruins.

"This should be close enough," he said to the small vampire girl crouching behind him. At the moment, they were standing in the shadow of the house, so Akiko was shielded from the rays of the sun. "I really don't wanna mess with those guys at the gate, I'm sure you'll manage to carry the mattress over your head during this final stretch." He took the sports mattress they took from Furinkan as a replacement for Akiko's parasol and gave it to her.

Akiko sniffled a bit, still playing the part of the helpless damsel in distress. "But Ranma-darling… this mattress is too heavy for a delicate flower like me. Please, be a gentleman and accompany me to the front gate. I can tell the guards not to harm you. Nothing will happen to you, I promise."

Ranma may be gullible, but he wasn't a fool. With a smirk, he patted the smaller girl's head and said: "Nice try, but I really don't want to stay for the night. Besides, don't these guards only answer to your sister?"

Akiko pouted. "I just want you to stay for dinner one time…"

"And bite my neck for dessert? Sorry, but I'm not falling for that twice in one week. I helped you get home, but that's it." He stretched his arms. "Well… see you tomorrow in school, Akiko." And he ran off.

Akiko crossed her arms in frustration. "I'll get you some day, my darling, just you wait…"

"Vampire girl will not!" an angry voice shouted.

Surprised, Akiko saw how Shampoo leapt down from one of the nearby, abandoned buildings with a scowl on her face. "Shampoo was on delivery and watch you go through town with Ranma. And Shampoo ready to save Ranma if vampire girl decided to get too bitey."

"Ah, it's the Chinese barbarian," Akiko said with a smirk. "Are you jealous that Ranma decided to accompany me home? All he does when seeing you is run away."

"Shampoo is not barbarian, is amazon!" the lavender-haired girl shouted. "And Shampoo is fed up with undead girls that want to suck my Ranma's blood." She took on a battle stance. "Shampoo teach you lesson!"

The vampiress giggled. "Oh, how adorable you are. Thinking you can challenge the power of a vampire noble… your primitive weapons don't even have the nessecary sharpness to harm a vampire."

"Thank you for tip," Shampoo replied with a smirk and leapt at her. Akiko cackled evilly and blocked her attack with her bare hands.

Shampoo started to sweat. She had planned to push Akiko out into the sunlight to weaken her, but she severely underestimated the strength of a vampire. The Chinese amazon was a formidable warrior, but she still was only human. She realized that she had to use some tricks to gain the upper hand.

"Hey, vampire girl. You like ramen?"

Akiko blinked in confusion. "Um, sometimes. Why?"

Shampoo grinned. "Because Shampoo has new Nekohanten ramen recipe with garlic broth… you enjoy meal now, vampire girl!" She pulled a steaming bowl of ramen out of her delivery box and threw it into Akiko's face.

"AAAAAAAAAAH!" the vampire girl screeched as she frantically tried to wipe the sticky broth away. "Not this! Not GARLIC!"

She flailed around, nearly stumbling into the sunlight. Instead, she fell into a deep puddle of water that was nearby. A puddle which Shampoo, unfortunately, had not seen. "Oh no…" she muttered as was splashed with water, turning into a small cat with lavender fur.

Akiko quickly washed the ramen broth off her face and snarled at the kittyfied amazon. "I shall make you pay for this insolence… as soon as I tell my big sister!" In a puff of smoke, she transformed into a tiny bat… a bat which still had Akiko's hairstyle. Letting out an adorable squeak, the little bat flapped her wings as hard as she could, trying to get to the castle.

But the cat was faster than the bat. With a ferocious meow, Shampoo leapt into the air and pounced on the winged mammal. Akiko struggled against Shampoo's paw as she was pressed into the ground. She inwardly scolded herself for not realizing that a bat would be an easy prey for a cat, being really nothing more than a mouse with wings. Shampoo seemed to have realized this as well, as she looked down at the helpless Akiko like the cat who ate the… bat. She licked her lips and opened her mouth, revealing teeth that were nearly as sharp as those of a vampire.

But then, in a matter of seconds, the whole situation changed. Akiko transformed back into her normal form, grabbed the surprised cat with her hands and stared into her eyes. Shampoo tried to get away, to struggle against the vampire's grip, to scratch her with her claws… but she found herself unable to look away.

"Silly kitty," Akiko chuckled as she focussed all her willpower on the transformed amazon, overwhelming her mind. "As a vampire, I can easily manipulate your primitive, barbarian mind… and as an animal, controlling you has become even easier than before." She stood up from the ground. "Listen to my voice, Shampoo… you are my slave. You will obey only me. You will act like your normal self in every other situation… but you will listen to every order once you hear the following command: Shampoo, obey!"

She carefully put the cat back down on the ground. Shampoo was still unable to move, her mind was in a haze. Akiko reached into her delivery box and, with disgust, took out another bowl of ramen. She hurled it at Shampoo, who was turned back to normal by the hot ramen broth.

"I don't have any need for your services right now," Akiko smiled. "But as soon as I do, I will come for you, my new little servant." She hummed a happy little tune as she grabbed the mattress, held it up above her head and started walking towards the castle gates. But before reaching them, she turned back around and snapped her fingers.

Shampoo blinked in confusion as she tried to understand what was going on. She was back in her human form and Akiko was not around anymore… then she saw the little vampire going back to the castle.

"Shampoo not get you today, vampire girl," she angrily muttered. "But some day she will."


Hiroshi and Daisuke were hanging out in June's shop after school. They were sitting at a table close to the counter and contemplated their job as Vault Keepers. Meanwhile, June was busy dusting off some of the orbs. It was a quiet afternoon.

"Say, June…" Daisuke asked. "Now that we're all here, is the vault okay on its own? I mean… there's no one there to look after it at the moment. Shouldn't we go back there now and then?"

"How do we even get back there?" Hiroshi added. "Do we have to use the mirror? Or is there another way?"

"No worries," June told them. "I created a pathway that leads to the summoning chamber back in the vault. It's in the back of the shop, and only I know how to activate it. So I can go back anytime, without having to ask you two for the mirror."

"Well, that's good to know," Daisuke said. "I started several projects in the vault's crafting room, and I want to finish them at some point. And Yuka told me there are still a couple of books in the library she wanted to read."

"Where are the girls anyway?" June asked. "I haven't seen or heard anything from them ever since Nerima changed."

"I think they need some time to deal with the changes," Hiroshi explained. "Their parents all remember Nerima being like this and they don't. Yuka's parents are suddenly owners of a magic shop and Sayuri's father works at the local blacksmith. A few days off is just what they need."

"Fine, I'll give them one week," June sighed. "That should be enough."

"Hey, isn't this something we should decide?" Hiroshi frowned. "We are the Vault Keepers, aren't we?"

"Yes, but I am the head assistant," June asserted. "And they are junior assistants with no experience, so I'm their superior."

"Sure, whatever," Hiroshi shrugged. "I'm just glad not too many things changed back at my place. My parents are still the same as before. Our neighbor's a harpy, though, so there are always some feathers in front of our door. What about you, Dai? Your folks doing okay?"

"Um…" Daisuke was very interested in observing the wall next to him for some reason. "My parents are… they are fine."

"Hm, good to hear," Hiroshi said.

June carefully studied Daisuke's behavior. She could tell that he wasn't completely honest, but that didn't really bother her. As long as it didn't interfere with his duties as Vault Keeper, his family life was of no importance.

"So far you two are doing pretty good as Keepers," she said. "The last few decisions helped getting things under control in town. The outside world will get used to inhabitants from other dimensions, the Reaper threat is nullified, and that kleptomaniac hasn't stolen anything ever since we used the essence on her."

"She still could decide to start another robbing spree," Hiroshi pointed out. "After all, becoming a bipedal rock creature didn't really slow her down, like you said it would."

"So what? That's even better, isn't it?" June shrugged. "The less we change about her life, the better. As long as she doesn't cause any trouble. So, what are your next plans?"

"I really don't know yet," Hiroshi said. "I talked with Dai and he agreed that maybe we should just wait and see what happens, at least for a couple of days. And you've got your shop, so if anyone wants to buy an orb or a bottle, you can always inform us and ask."

"I just wish more people would actually come in and buy something," June sighed. "The gambling hall that opened next door is attracting all the customers. I need to have a word with this 'Gambling King' and make sure he doesn't steal all of my clients away."

Just then, the door opened. When hearing the jingle, June wanted to give her usual greeting. But when she looked towards the door, she saw the familiar form of a small unicorn pony standing there.

"Nabiki? What are you doing here?" June wondered. "Didn't you tell me you don't want to buy a class changing orb?"

"I did," Nabiki nodded as she trotted towards the counter. "And I really didn't want to buy one… at least not back then. But today is different."

Daisuke and Hiroshi looked at each other in confusion while June raised an eyebrow. "So… what you're saying is… you changed your mind?"

"All I'm saying is that I'm considering it," Nabiki said. "But first let me clarify something. When a class change orb is bought, the customer always has a period of time in which he can decide to bring it back for a full refund. Isn't that correct?"

June nodded. "Yes, that's correct. And the orbs themselves always give the user the chance to back off from the exchange. If you changed your mind or are dissatisfied because of some other reason, you can always bring it back here and get all your money back."

"Can I get that in black and white?" Nabiki further inquired.

"Sure, we have some contract forms to fill out, in case the customer isn't satisfied with just an oral agreement, " June explained.

Nabiki smiled. "Excellent. In this case, I wish to make a purchase."

"You want to buy an orb after all?" Hiroshi blurted out. "But which one? The Orb of Mage? I mean, Yuka noticed how jealous you looked when you saw her casting those spells."

"I really don't see Nabiki as the magic caster type, even though she's a unicorn," Daisuke spoke up. "Maybe she wants to be a merchant?"

"She already knows how to make business deals, she doesn't need an orb to do that," Hiroshi protested.

But Nabiki shook her head. "Nothing of the sort. I've thought about this for some time and I realized there's only one logical choice for me."

She pointed her hoof at a dark violet orb. "I want the Orb of Rogue."


"What's that, Nabiki?" Derpy asked.

She was lying on the floor of Nabiki's room, curiously staring into the swirling depths of the orb Nabiki had just brought home.

"This is the Orb of Rogue," said Nabiki, who was lying beside her pegasus friend. "I can use this to become a rogue."

"Really? Oh, you mean like in Ogres and Oubliettes?" Derpy smiled. "My Dinky played that once with her friends. She's playing a pegasus cleric called Dawnplume the Brave."

"This isn't a game, Derpy," Nabiki explained. "A rogue is a master of stealth who specializes in picking locks, disarming traps and backstabbing enemies."

"That doesn't sound very nice," Derpy pointed out. "But why do you want to be a rogue in the first place? Aren't you satisfied with what you can do right now?"

"To be perfectly honest, I'm not satisfied," Nabiki said with a frown. "I feel left behind by Ranma and my siblings… even Kasumi learned how to use a weapon now. And how often have I been kidnapped? Far too often for my taste! But you're right, I really don't want to lose my business skills. That's why I didn't want to buy a class change orb at first.

But then I realized: Do I even have to give up my financial skills? Did Kasumi lose her cooking skills when she became a paladin? No, she still is the best cook in the house, right after Auntie Nodoka. That means some skills are not counted as a class. Which makes sense, if you think about it. There have been a lot of adventurers coming through town that are, at the same time, also merchants or craftsmen. And there are other great examples. Ukyo, for instance, is a student, a martial artist and an okonomiyaki chef. So why can't I be a great businesswoman in addition to something else?

Of course, I wanted to play it safe. So when I returned to the orb shop, I decided on a class which is perfect for my natural cunningness, sniekiness and intelligence." Nabiki chuckled for a moment. "And it would be natural for rogues to be good with money, wouldn't you agree?"

"Umm, I don't know?" Derpy said. "Maybe?"

"There were other orbs I could have used," Nabiki continued on to explain. "An assassin concentrates on the battle skills of a rogue, notably his tendency to attack from the shadows. But an assassin is basically a mercenary, and I've always hated that nickname Shampoo gave me." She grimaced. "A thief focusses more on stealing money and items, which might be more fitting. But as I said, I want to be able to defend myself at least somewhat capably. So a rogue is the perfect compromise between fighting and money. What do you think?"

Derpy scratched her head. "I think… I don't really understand everything you've tried to tell me." She then smiled. "But I think the most important thing is, that you need to feel comfortable, no matter what you do and who you are. So if you feel this is something you want to do… then sure, go for it!"

"I'm planning on doing just that," Nabiki nodded. She picked up the orb with her magic and looked into the swirling colors, reading the lines that circled within.

"I accept," she told the orb.


Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

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

Derpy Hooves and My little Pony belongs to Hasbro.

Wonder Woman belongs to DC Comics.

World of Warcraft belongs to Blizzard.

The Legend of Zelda belongs to Nintendo.

Dungeon Keeper belongs to Bullfrog Productions.

Fire Emblem belongs to Nintendo.