(Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or any of the characters and stories associated with it.)

Logan

From the last chapter: Nabiki then reached up with both hands and clasped them around his neck. Ranma's eyes popped open as she brought his head close to hers and kissed him full on the lips.

It was several long seconds before Nabiki slowly pulled away from the kiss. As their lips parted, she looked up closely into Ranma's wide open eyes and purred, "You see, Ranma. That wasn't so bad now, was it?"

It was fortunate for Ranma that his fiancé decided to stop just before his brain completely shut down, "N-no…it wasn't."

She smiled, "Well, I'm certainly pleased you liked it, Ranma. There's hope for you yet."

Ranma blinked, "Huh?"

Nabiki chuckled, "As much as I'd love to continue with this, there important things I need to take care of."

She moved away and pointed to the broken window, "I'm going to have to make a few calls to get my window replaced and some of my things repaired. I'll see you again later after I'm done, okay?"

Ranma nodded and mentioned he needed to do some training, but just before he left, he stuck his head back into the door, "Nabiki?"

"Yes?"

He gave her a bright smile, "That was really nice. The kiss, I mean."

He then left and shut the door leaving Nabiki in her thoughts, "And that, dear Ranma, is one of the reasons why I've fallen for you."

"Oh well, playtime is over. Time to get some bids on the repairs."

In the next room a much different sort of conversation was about to take place.

"Where am I? It feels like I'm in my room, but things are all foggy and grey?"

Through the mists of her mind, a handsome, young man appeared and smiled, "Greetings, Akane Tendo. My name is Logan and this you see about you is all your own creation."

The young man raised his arms to emphasize the point and Akane glanced around, "What do you mean my creation? There's nothing here."

Logan smiled, "That's because in your mind, this is still a blank slate. All you have to do is picture it in your head, and whatever it is that you imagine, will appear here before you."

Akane laughed, "That's just plain silly. How can something appear just by imagining it?"

The man smiled, "Anything can be possible when you put your mind to it. Why don't you give it a try? Think of some place you know very well…like your bedroom for instance."

She cocked her head for a moment, "Well, it seems kind of silly, but since you asked nicely…"

Akane closed her eyes and thought about her room. She imagined her nice comfortable bed as well as her neat little desk, dresser and all of the decorations that adorned her little bedroom. When she opened her eyes, she expected to see the same grey mists. Instead she let out a squeak of surprise as she found herself in her own room, just the way she imagined it.

"You see Akane, this truly is your own little world. Inside it, you can do anything, and be anything you wish. You can imagine and bring anyone and anything here as well. Your friends from school, your sisters, even your fiancé if you wish."

She looked down sadly, "He's not my fiancé, at least not any more."

Logan laughed, "This is your world, Akane. All you have to do is imagine it and it's yours."

Akane stared at the man carefully and thought, "Can it really be that easy?"

Suddenly Ranma appeared in front of her. Smiling warmly, he sat down beside her on the bed and placed his hand gently on hers, "Hi there Akane. How ya doin today?"

The man smiled, "You see, Akane. Here you can have anything you want. Even loved ones who have passed on."

Her head shot around as Ranma faded away, "Are you serious?"

"It's your world."

Suddenly a woman appeared. Taller and older than Akane, she never the less looked quite similar. Wearing a light maroon kimono with pink flowers, she almost radiated love and compassion.

Akane whispered, "Mom?"

The woman smiled as she bent over and cupped Akane's face in her hands, "My dear Akane. I've missed you so."

Akane jumped up and grabbed her mother, squeezing her tightly as she cried, "I've missed you too, Mom. I've missed you so much!"

Never had she felt such joy as Akane did at that moment. For several minutes, she just stood there hugging her mother while crying into the woman's kimono. The woman's voice sounded so soothing, like soft music, "There, there daughter. Everything's going to be alright."

Akane looked up at her mother. At first she was just as she imagined, not having aged a single day in all these years and just as beautiful as ever. But then something started to happen. Her mother shimmered a bit and faded from sight. Akane looked around in panic as everything in her little world slowly faded from view. After a few moments, the only thing left was herself, and Logan.

She glared at him, "What happened? You said this was my world!"

The man smiled and nodded, "And I have not lied to you, my friend. This is truly your world. What caused your images to fail was not your fault but an outside force attempting to hold you back."

"I don't understand. What force."

Logan spread his hands apart, "The power to create this was awakened in you when you began the spell of strength. You are nearly finished, and once you complete the final ritual, all of this and more will be yours forever."

Akane nodded and he continued, "The Amazon Elder has taken the box and you must retrieve it before tonight to complete the spell before she can ship it back to China. But before we can do that, you must remove the chain that locks you within your own mind."

"How do I do that?"

"Come with me, my friend, and I will show you."

Logan turned and began to walk. Akane followed close behind and after a very short while a bright green glow could be seen in the mist ahead. When they got closer, she could see the glow was coming from three circles drawn on the ground. Each about a foot in diameter, they pulsed and glowed with an eerie green light.

Akane stared at the circles for a moment, "What are these things? I certainly didn't make them, did I?"

Logan smiled warmly, "No, my dear, you certainly didn't. These were put here by the Amazon and the doctor, and are meant to keep you from awaking and completing your goal. These are the chains I spoke of, Akane. These are what are holding you back from what is rightfully yours."

Akane looked down at the circles for a moment then back over to Logan, "Is there a way to remove them?"

"Indeed there is. This is your world, after all. Concentrate on one circle at a time and make them vanish. Remember though, these were put here by an outside force, they will not be that easy to remove…Now try it, Akane. Concentrate on one of the circles."

Akane picked the one closest to her and began to concentrate on removing it. She thought hard on seeing only the grey mists with no ugly green circles in the way. She concentrated for what seemed like ages and for a moment she was seriously thinking of calling it quits when she noticed something and smiled. The circle was fading.

Back in the real world, Ranma had gone into the dojo to workout. He snickered to himself a bit as he took note of the hog-tied panda in one corner, "One of these days, Pop, you're gonna learn not to piss Mom off. You're lucky that's all she did to you after this morning."

Ranma suddenly stopped talking when he realized his panda-father wasn't responding in the least. In fact, the elder Saotome was peacefully snoring. Ranma shook his head in disgust and began his kata's.

It was about an hour and a half later that his workout was disturbed by a somewhat frightened looking fiancé, "Ranma, you need to come up to the house. Quickly!"

He quickly reached down and picked up his shirt, "Yeah sure, Nabiki. What's up?"

Nabiki was already running back, "It's Akane. She's gone!"

It only took a few moments for the two teens to reach Akane's room. Inside Tofu was examining the open window and the bed, Soun was off to one side being comforted by Kasumi, while Nodoka walked up to them, "Son, the doctor tells me she could have broken free anytime after we left here. It doesn't look as if anyone came in so she must have freed herself."

Ranma cursed under his breath, "Where could she have gone?"

Tofu looked up, "She's probably going after the box, Ranma. Cologne said that if she was close to finishing the summoning, the demon would do whatever it took to make her complete the task."

"I gotta get over to the Cat Café, then."

Ranma turned to take off, but before he could, Nabiki grabbed him by the arm and whispered softly, "Try to save my little sister, Ranma. But please be careful as well for your own sake."

She then gave Ranma's hand a squeeze and Ranma smiled, "Don't worry, Nabiki. I'll find her."

After Ranma left, Nabiki turned towards Tofu, "I hate to say this, but I don't think I can just sit here and wait it out. I need to be there."

Kasumi gave a worried look, "No Nabiki. It's too dangerous! If Akane is under a demon's control, you could be seriously hurt."

Tofu walked up to the two sisters, "I'll take you with me, Nabiki. There may well be injuries if a battle erupts."

He then turned towards Kasumi and kissed her on the cheek, "Don't worry Kasumi, I promise I'll keep us both safe."

Kasumi reached out and grabbed his hand while giving a very un-Kasumi like glare, "You better…"

Before they could leave, Nodoka spoke out, "I'll meet you there after I wake Genma."

Nabiki smirked, "Are you sure you want to do that, Auntie?"

Nodoka smiled, "He may be selfish, lazy, and arrogant, but he's still one of the best martial artists around."

With that she spun around and headed off to get her husband. Nabiki and Tofu immediately headed out the door on their own, hoping to get to the Cat Café before it was too late. Unfortunately, as Ranma was finding out, it already was.

Ranma stared with wide eyes. There was little left of the small café he had visited so often. Many times the place caused him much grief, but today would not be one of them. He rushed over to the main entrance and called inside, "Hello, anyone here?"

The door itself had been ripped off of its hinges and tossed against far wall, shattering it and a pair of tables. Chairs and tables littered the small café and the counter was completely ruined, smashed in two as if by some monstrous axe. Ranma carefully made his way through the café, searching for the Amazons and praying he wasn't too late. He called out once again and heard a sound in the back kitchen. As he worked his way across the debris, he could see the damage was the most intense here. Pans, pots, cabinets, knives, and everything else were thrown everywhere.

He saw a small movement and called out, "Shampoo! Cologne! Hang in there and I'll get you out!"

As quick as he could, the pig tailed martial artist began to move the mess out of the way. He found Cologne and Shampoo under the remains of a broken cabinet. Ranma tossed the wreckage aside and squatted down beside them, "Hey you guys. Are ya okay?"

The old woman slowly opened her eyes, "I'm certainly 'not' okay, sonny boy. Here, help an old woman up, will you."

Ranma helped Cologne up and pointed over to Shampoo, "We gotta do something about her. She's breathing but she hasn't moved."

"Better let me look at her, Ranma"

"Doc! Man, am I glad to see you. She doesn't look too good."

Tofu squatted down next to the young Amazon while Nabiki gasped, "Good Lord, Ranma! What happened here?"

Cologne was leaning heavily on her stick, "I'll tell you what happened young lady. You're sister Akane stopped by for a visit."

Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "You can't be serious, Cologne. I know Akane has violence issues, but this looks like somebody tossed a grenade in here."

The old woman coughed twice as she leaned on her stick, "That's a pretty good analogy, Miss Tendo. When she attacked, we had no idea what hit us. By then, it was far too late to do anything about it…."