(Re-Posted January 11th 2007)
Disclaimer; This fanfiction uses existing ideas, characters and or worlds, but is an independent work of art. I own nothing, hence the reason for publishing my writings here instead of in real books where I could make some money.
It was Brianna's first morning on Jade.

And it is indeed a fitting morning for it, as the sun is painting the sky in marvellous colours ranging from pale blue, purple, red and orange to yellow and pink.

The town of Seer's Hamlet is slowly starting to wake.

The subject of our scrutiny is also waking, aided greatly by the crowing of an overturned bowl … with wheels and painted on eyes?

No, this was a Peebo, one of many maniacal, semi-intelligent kamikaze robots, which Brianna had made and brought with her to Jade on her quest to restore life to a golem named Raphael that nearly ruined her sister's wedding because of his form as a male werecheetah. Most had wanted to end the wedding so that Britanny would revive the species with this apparent Werecheetah, but the plot to break Britanny and Stryyp apart was revealed by its instigator when Brunhilda "Mumsey" Brigand had come with the suggestion of having Raphael go to the Amazon Breeders, who were famed for their ninety-something percent pure blooded breeding even with single specimens.

The reason for this quest, was that Raphael had started to dissolve shortly after the plot was revealed, and only a jigsaw puzzle-like piece remained of him because it had been taken away before the body started to dissolve, and Brianna, knowing how it feels to suddenly be faced with life and no independent memories, wanted Raphael to at least have that. She knew that the only place she could get the assistance she needed was in the Realm of Jade, as her father, excellent aura mage as he was, would not understand her request … someone here was bound to.

Upon arrival in Seer's Hamlet, the hidden town in the middle of a desert made up mostly of dry grass that needed only a small amount of water, and survived on the rain that fell only every six years or so, she was approached by a member of the Edge Guard, and joined them at the tavern, the Brass Bone, run by a golden dragon in human form. There she had learned that someone had been going around kidnapping magic users for a while. The werejaguar named Sheila barely voiced her suspicion of the mysterious werecat roaming the desert when Brianna's escort, Gar, Sheila's brother, pointed out that Brianna had arrived with two magic users, and it would be important to check on them and let them know of the danger. They had arrived at the Inn to find the kidnappers had already attempted to shanghai the two, and the confrontation piqued during the solar eclipse, where Gar had entered the Lunar Rage and sent the strongest instigator flying … literally. This was quite a feat against a Weapons-Master.

It was after the eclipse had passed that everyone noticed that Brianna's appearance had changed drastically. Her hair had gained very visible cheetah spots, lost some height and talent, her ears had become human, she had grown cheetah fur and a tail, and the final touch was that her eye stripe had changed sides from the left side of her face to the right.

Brianna yawned and stretched in her bed, drifting out of a pleasant night's sleep.

This was how everyone should wake up. Not those annoying buzzing sounds that most modern people of Earth insisted on. That sound could drive anyone batty after a while.

The room and surroundings may be a little primitive, but that was part of the charm of this world.

The door carefully creaked open, and a head normally covered in hair with rings on it peeked through. Now, though, the owner was in human form instead of the hybrid form.

"Brianna?" whispered Sheila carefully, not yet in complete view of the woman. "Brianna, are you awake?"

Brianna finished her yawn before she answered.

"oh … g' morn'n Sheila," she answered somewhat loudly, ridding herself of the remains of her yawn.

"Shhhh!" hissed Sheila. "You'll wake up the fellas!" she added in a whisper.

She stepped inside and overlooked the waking of the semi-werecheetah.

"And I want to get in a quick bath before they muck up the pond … so hurry up, or I'm leaving without you!"

Brianna sat up in bed and looked at the giant of a woman that had stepped into her room. She was only wearing something that barely was large enough to cover her breasts and lower parts, but they were both girls, so there wasn't anything to be embarrassed about.

"Huh?" she mumbled, still slightly incoherent. "Oh yeah … "Pond" … hot running water is a foreign concept on this world …"

Brianna smacked her lips.

"Lemme get my towel 'n stuff."

She finished with another yawn.

Shelia shook her head at the woman.

"Don't knock it until you've tried it city-girl." She declared in a superior whisper. "You probably won't want to go back to your dinky little bathtub ever again!" she paused and watched as Brianna scratched her head to assist in waking up faster. "And by the way … why did you come to Jade anyway-"

She ended her question before it finished, as the other woman waved her free hand in the air and got her bathing supplies to float into it.

"Huh?" asked Brianna absently, still not completely awake. "Oh yeah … I'm –YAWN- on a … quest … er sumthin'."

Sheila was seriously confused.

"Brianna?" the woman walked past her. "Did you just?" Brianna scratched her head again and was nearly out the door. "I mean, how did you get your towel – and …" seeing that the woman wasn't paying attention, she sighed. "Never mind …"

As they left the room, Brianna groggily muttered to herself. "Hmmm … 'feel lighter in the front …"

They walked outside in silence.

Once outside, Sheila gestured to the body of water stretching out before them.

"Well, here we are …" she started. "I poured a "Purify-Water" potion in it last night. Mosquitos and pests hate that stuff! Should be fresh and clean until tonight."

"Hmm," moaned Brianna sceptically, "A little chilly out, isn't it? I can even feel it through this fur …"

Brianna removed her nightgown and started toeing the water.

"Oh, that reminds me, Sheila … why did you change form from your lycanthrope hybrid form? And why is your hybrid for so small while your human form is so huge?"

"Well …" started Sheila as she loosened her own gown, "… I wouldn't say "huge" …" she muttered to the side. "I have a small birth defect." She explained. "All of my werejaguar power, speed and … um … size …" she emphasised, "were granted to my human form instead of my hybrid form.

"I switched to human form because the pond's a bit deep in some places … and I'm a bad swimmer."

By now, Brianna had gotten waist-deep, and quite a surprise.

"Hey!" she nearly purred in satisfaction. "It's warm!" in an undertone, she added, "Not bad!"

Sheila toed the water as well. "The water comes from nearby hot springs." She explained. "I told you you'd like it!"

She hadn't even submerged her first foot entirely before the peace the two women had was broken.

"Hello Ladies!" called a suave voice. There was a definite undertone of lecherous delight in it.

Sheila was surprised, then angry as she saw a nude Tirga emerge from behind a rock in the pond.

"I didn't expect you to be up so early … what a lovely surprise!" he commented. The lecherous undertones were even clearer by now, and his roaming eyes did little to deny it. "And I must admit, you both look exceptionally "exciting" this morning. Especially you, Brianna!"

Brianna, not prepared for such a sight, and with a weakness for men that she had little control over, blushed and stammered out a "H-h-hi, Tirga …" in a husky tone.

Sheila was more annoyed than embarrassed.

"Ahem … Tirga … do you mind?" there was no misunderstanding the irritation in her tone.

"Of course, Sheila. I'll be going now." Stated Tirga politely as he made his way for the water's edge. "I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable." Mentally, he chuckled and added, Phase one complete …

Sheila and Brianna watched as the man got out and left. Sheila was slightly disappointed that her time was over, and that she wasn't allowed as big blowouts as she had a few days ago until a few weeks from now. Still, she was annoyed with Tirga, and noticed, as it was really hard not to, that Brianna seemed hungry for the man.

Note to self … give Tirga six hundred and one kapowies for this half-baked stunt!

-Sigh!-

I have a feeling this won't be the last one he pulls … now that he's marked Brianna for his next conquest!

"Show's over, Brianna … now, about your quest …"

Brianna was too occupied with watching the retreating weretiger to hear her.

"Jinkies! I had no idea how big and handsome his-"

Her statement was interrupted by Sheila turning Brianna's head to her.

Oh, right … my … uh … what was I saying?

Sheila saw the reaction, and decided to give the confused woman some sound advice.

"Look, Brianna. You're my friend, so I'm going to set you straight!" the tall woman started sternly. "Tirga is a great pal, a terrific team-mate, but a lousy boyfriend! I've seen it happen over and over again with scores of love-struck gals! Don't fall for him! It'll only lead to heartbreak disaster! Two words … STAY AWAY!"

Brianna took a moment to realise what was said, and when she did, she playfully crossed her arms over her exposed chest and grinned mischievously at the other woman.

"Why, Sheila … I do believe … you're JEALOUS!"

"I – am NOT JEALOUS!"

In her embarrassment, Sheila misjudged her strength and rapped Brianna over the head, like one normally does to friends upon being ridiculed, but the result of a werecreature that misjudged her strength in that slap was Brianna smashing face first into the water and floated around unconscious.


Ranma was driving through the desert.

It wasn't much of an entertainment, but it was all he had to do except a few kata to keep in shape, and he'd done those before he started driving again.

He had experimented a great deal with the shifting forms the night before, and early this morning. And since he had so little in the way of clothes with him, being human, or being female was not much of an option. If he was female, he would have to cover up the chest somehow, and he simply had no top to put on, and if he was human, anyone who saw him and connected his tracks would know he was the werecat that had helped with the bandits.

This morning he had attached windshields, (glass was surprisingly easy to make in a desert even if most of it was grass,) doors and the rest of the exterior components of the car, making it appear whole … until one looked inside and saw only the necessary components for driving, no lighting for any luxuries and only the driver's seat. He would add more later … after all, there was no rush. He was only driving by day, so there was no need for headlights, and there was no traffic so there was no need for a tail light. He had no passengers, so he had no need for extra seats. There wasn't a chance of any transmitters anywhere in this Realm, so there was no need for a Radio. He was in control of his aura, enabling him to cool or heat his surroundings according to his needs, so there was no need for air conditioning.

Ranma was pondering what to do about what he should add next when he saw smoke rising in the distance.

According to what the women he had freed said, there should be no other towns but Seer's Hamlet in this desert, so smoke formations like that could only mean trouble. He set course directly for it.

Within moments, he came upon the sight of the smoking remains of another caravan.

That's two caravans within a week that has been attacked. How many bandits are there? Where are all those soldier patrols I heard about?

Ranma stopped and examined the scene of the raid.

Corpses by the dozen littered the ground between burning wagons, and many looked to have been running for it, only to get hit with either energy blasts or arrows. Notably absent were the women under the age of forty. Sure, there was one or two scattered here and there, but from the looks of things, they had gotten in between the bandits and the small troop of soldiers selected to escort the caravan, and perished in the crossfire.

Thankfully, there were no children with this caravan, or they may not have been spared.

One or two wagons were missing, as the tracks and gaps in the chain of burning wagons told clearly.

The bandits must have loaded those wagons full of prisoners and loot before taking off.

Ranma got a small amount of pleasure in the knowledge that the bandits hadn't escaped unscathed. The corpses of some rather grizzly looking men in equally grizzly clothes were proof of that. The colourings of the clothes were specifically made to blend with this terrain, so these people could not be part of the caravan.

Seeing the direction of the tracks was leading towards one of the areas there was supposed to be small mountains in the desert, Ranma knew that's where they were going. The mountain would be a logical spot to seek shelter.

Ranma, fuelled by cold fury, jumped into the car, and set off following the tracks.

He would exact revenge for the dead, and return the kidnapped to Seer's Hamlet which was where they were headed for.


"So good of you both to come on such short notice …" a concerned old werelion mage intoned gratefully. "Normally, curses are no problem … but this one …"

Standing before him was a floating dummy that looked like a bowling pin, with long sleeves for arms and glasses for eyes, and exaggerated eyebrows and moustache hanging on his nose. A squiggly line was made across each arm. Next to him stood a dwarf, receding hairline going all the way around the top of his head. His ears came to slight points, and he was wearing big robes and was making notations on a clipboard with a quill.

"Ohohohoho!" laughed the dummy. "Say no more, friend Gaja … You've helped Dee'em and me countless times in the past-"

"And I'm more than willing to take a few moments from guiding my young pupils to help in an emergency." Finished the dwarf, Dee'em, making it clear by his tone that he'd rather be there than with his students. "Let's see now …"

"By the way, Dee'em …" muttered the dummy, "How's that boy of yours working out? The scaredy-cat …"

"Oh, Eric? He's fine … a bit of a flake, though …" answered Dee'em. "How's that Strife boy of late, Bugie?"

"He married the Lockheart girl last month …" answered Bugie.

There was a bit of rifling of paper and quill scratching for a little while, no one having anything to say while Dee'em made his calculations.

"Ah!" exclaimed Dee'em after a little while. "Here we are … a simple combination of aura spells should solve this dilemma … we simply divide the girl's two forms into two separate bodies … then we may safely remove the curse without harming the girl."

"Excellent, Dee'em! You are a genius!"

"I know …"


Ranma had been driving for over an hour before he came over where the bandits had made camp along a cliff.

It was getting dark, and the bonfires near the centre of the camp were providing illumination to the activities that went on in the shade of the mountain. It did not make Ranma pleased.

Scattered here and there were bandits, drinking strong spirits, feasting on what fresh food they had gotten their hands on, and some of the more daring ones had pulled girls from where they were chained against the mountain side out to where everyone could see them, and started making sport of tearing their clothes apart piece by piece around the women's resisting struggles. One or two had gotten past that, and were on to humiliation, by being tied to poles in ways that they were exposed to the world and with no way to cover themselves. One of them even seemed to have lost control of her bladder and bowel, as seen at the foot of the pole she was tied to.

Ranma decided these bastards would not get to the third stage of the agenda, which could be either physical torture or rape, which acted as physical and mental torture.

The guards were a joke. They were much too distracted with the goings on in the camp to even spare a moment to look for any approaching persons.

These idiots were the first to get knocked out by an invisible fist.


Unknown to both parties of the events, the scene was already being observed by a patrol. They had come over the tracks, same as Ranma had, and followed them, circling off when they approached the mountain, and were at that moment watching from atop the cliff for when the bandits went to sleep so they could surprise them and round them up. The women were the distraction the soldiers needed for the bandits to lose control of their habitat. The women were pawns … expendable, yet important to the game.

They did not expect to see several guards along the outer dunes of the camp to suddenly go limp and keel over for no apparent reason.

Nor could they anticipate the events that were to follow …


Ranma, cloaked in his new and improved Umi-Sen-Ken, made his way to the middle of the camp.

It appeared that he was just in time, because judging by that one man's fiddling with the strings of his pants, things would happen very soon.

"EVERYONE! I HAVE YOU SURROUNDED! DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TAKE HOSTAGES OR FLEE, BECAUSE YOU WILL GET CAUGHT, AND PUNISHED MORE BRUTALLY FOR MAKING ME WASTE MY BREATH!" he yelled out, using his ki to persuade the chi of the area into bouncing his voice around more efficiently than normal sound, making it impossible to tell where the origin of the voice was.

All activity halted instantly the moment the demand had been called out. Then the meaning came across, and every bandit started laughing.

An understandable reaction. There were over one hundred of them, and as his demand had indicated, there was only one of him. One can understand why the demand was thought to be so amusing.

"Wester!" called one of them, while laughing, apparently he was the leader if his order was any indication. "Scan the area and find our new jester!"

One of the bandits stood up, revealing a black and tight suit under his robes, a mage if Ranma's memory served from the descriptions of the world the women he had rescued a few days earlier gave him.

The mage placed his hands to his temple, and seemed in deep thought. Ranma felt something brushing against his area, and pulled the cloaking closer, tighter. He decided to remember what the man was doing for further experimentation later.

"There's no one here!" yelled the mage after a short while.

"What do you mean, no one's here?" demanded the leader, ending his laughter.

"I sense no thoughts of anyone but our own men!" replied the mage. "If it's an aura mage, he might be using Invisibility and Mask Presence at once, there's nothing I can do to penetrate it unless I know exactly where he is!"

"There he is!" yelled one of their number, pointing to the entrance of a tent, where a black werecat was standing without a worry.

"Don't just stand there like a bunch of rotting posts! Get him!" commanded the leader.

Crossbows loaded and fired, but the werecat dodged and ducked out of the paths of the bolts as though they were snails trapped in molasses out to attack him and he was a hummingbird dancing around the slow attacks. Several bandits grabbed their weapons of choice, and rushed in, swinging them wildly in hopes of hitting him.

Again, the werecat ducked and weaved through it all, making it appear as though they were slower than the tides.

Finally, after ten bandits had been punched out, fifteen injured from the werecat's fist, feet, and redirecting blade attacks, one of their number managed to stab his sword through the werecat's shoulder.

The thing gaped in pain, then dissolved into a small pile of dirt.

"False Input!" exclaimed the mage in horror. "It can only be the Illusion spell of False Input! He's tricking us into taking ourselves apart with clever illusions!"

"If he's using your kind of spells, why can't you find him?" demanded the leader, now having gotten to his feet, and grabbed his studded shield and mace. If more of those things came into being, he would be ready.

"I don't know!" yelled the mage in frustration. "I can't sense anyone drawing on the Ethereal stream! And if he is holding the Invisibility and Mask Presence spells, he needs to remain completely still, any movement can make him drop the spells! That's why he somehow managed to conjure that False Input spell!"

"Then sweep the area!" demanded the leader of his bandits. "Leave no blade of grass unturned, not crevice unchecked! If he is in this camp, he will be found, and I mean now!"

Ranma could barely keep from laughing. These idiots were just too much. But he did at least manage to distract them from going as far as raping anyone. Perhaps he needed to spice things up?


Up on top of the cliff, the soldiers were stunned by what they were seeing.

"Some idiot mage adventurer is about to get himself killed," observed one of the more experienced ones.

"He can make it!" protested one of the younger ones. "You saw how good he was, I bet he'll make it!"

"I'll take that bet!" put a third in. "I bet three silver pieces that he doesn't make it!"

"Count me in!" called a fourth.

"All right, but you'll owe me," warned the lad.

"No, no, you'll owe us!" the three that bet against countered.

"Na-ah!"

"Ya-ha!"

"Na-ah!"

"Ya-ha!"

"Mom!"

We'll just leave these brave defenders of the area to their intelligent conversation.


Twelve werecats, completely identical, suddenly appeared all over camp, and started attacking anything that was moving, but wasn't restrained by shackles or rope.

The mage could no longer claim the werecats were illusions, as he got a solid hit to the nose to disprove it.

All across camp, there was fighting and screaming. Bandits tried to escape the carnage, but whenever they tried, one of the twelve would appear and throw them back to the middle of the camp.

Meanwhile, Ranma casually strolled through camp, ducked the occasional flying bandit, and released the women. His claws glowed a dull white as he cut through metal bonds like they were wet noodles. He told the women to stay together along the cliff, and not run anywhere until he came back, to which they nodded fearfully. They were of course still in shock from having been kidnapped, shackled, and some nearly raped after they had been humiliated.

Ranma returned to battle, and started doing what his clones were doing … beating the bandits so badly, they didn't know which person was the enemy, and which was the ally, which accounted for one or two fatalities among them.

Finally, after ten brutal minutes, only the leader of the bandits remained conscious, but only because his four long limbs were being restrained by two werecats.

"Release me!" the man screamed, and tried to get his limbs free. "I know the rules you heroes play by, you can- gurk!"

Ranma had grabbed the man's neck and lifted him into the air with ease.

"Now, now," tutted Ranma, the clones around camp dissolved into dirt. "Why would I do a fool thing like release you?"

"Gurk!"

"Exactly, you can't speak," confirmed Ranma. "And I won't listen, d' you know why?"

The man did not reply, but was turning a fetching shade of purple from the lack of our favourite gas … oxygen.

"Because you did not listen to the women you had at your mercy, now I have you at mine," finished Ranma. "However, it would be a shame to kill you, when it would be so much more fun to leave you to them."

As he said that, he slackened his grip somewhat, allowing the man to breathe, and Ranma turned the man around to see the women slowly approaching, anger, relief and shock apparent on their faces. Shock at their previous situation, relief that they were free again, and anger at the bandits that had done this to them.

"So, should I leave you to them?" asked Ranma conversationally.

"No!" pleaded the man. "They'll kill me!"

"Why shouldn't they?" asked Ranma coolly. He was deep in the Soul of Ice to manage to hold his expression. "You would eventually have them killed, when they started to become a burden instead of entertainment …"

"Please!" screamed the leader, seeing the women starting to realise what they would now be able to do. "You're a hero! You're not supposed to let anyone get hurt! Just lock me up! I'll go peacefully! I'll serve eternity in jail without complaining! Just don't let them get me!"

By the end of his begging, the man was starting to sob and cry, not unlike how the three women that were humiliated had begged before they lost their dignity.

"Tell you what," decided Ranma after a moment. "I'll let you sleep on it, g' night!"

-THWAK!-

"Damn, that man had a hard skull …" muttered Ranma. He wasn't hurt, but he could still recognise when someone was hard to injure by normal human standards.


"Why don't you big bad wizards fight back?" demanded Grave, the evil side of Brianna's personality. "Are you afraid? Am I too strong for you?" she was gloating. These people had managed to separate her from Brianna, but were incapable of fighting back when she attacked. Maybe making her own light out of Britanny's and Gina's shadow would be easier than she thought. "In any case, you moldy ol' geezers are gonna taste my wrath for trying to bump me off!"

"I've got your wrath right here!" cried Brianna at her evil half. "But first I want you to say hello to my little friend! Something I stashed away in my hotel room for just such an emergency! L.B.D! Get your butt down here!"

For a moment, it seemed like nothing was happening.

"In a moment, the only thing L.B.D. will mean for you is "Long Bloody Death", Brianna!" challenged Grave. "Guess what, I don't need you anymore! I can kill Gina and Brit now! So you DIE!"

Brianna stood defiantly and stared at her evil half.

"Yeah! That's it! Keep talkin' smack! Don't even look behind you or anything …"

Grave looked over her shoulder to see something large headed right for her.

"Aah!" good thing I didn't think she was bluffing! "Ma-Magic Barrier!"

"Cluster bombs! Use the cluster bombs, R2!" yelled Brianna at the Approaching object. "Dang A.I. can't hit a thing!"

"B-Bombs! What about my clinic?" screamed Nali in despair.

eeeeeeEEEEEEEEEE-BOOOOOOOM!


Ranma had just finished tying up the bandits.

He used all his skills within the art of escape and evasion to make sure they would not find a way to get loose from the shackles and ropes he secured them with.

The women had been very grateful. In fact, he had to remain within the Soul of Ice to keep some of the women from rewarding him. At one point, he had to pull up his pants because one of the women had started loosening the ties holding them up.

When he started tying up the bandits, he had to order the women to go through the tents, get some clothes to wear for some, and then order everyone to go into those tents to sleep.

Ranma himself decided to go to sleep curled up in front of the bonfire.

A nice nap always helped cheer him up after a fight of fury.


Up on top of the cliff, three soldiers were grumbling about the unfairness of it all as they parted with their money.

"Come to poppa!" laughed the lucky soldier that bet that the werecat would win. He had heard about the werecat that was supposed to roam the desert, and didn't want to be known to underestimate him. Of course, the werecat was supposed to be bigger …

"Stop foolin' around and get to work, the cat's asleep." Growled the dwarf in charge of this patrol.


On the western continent, headed for Lrith City, was the large hunting party of Amazons.

"What makes you say my wayward son-in-law is in this "Seer's Desert"?" asked Cologne as she hopped along side the busty woman that was the leader of this party.

"Rumours," was the brief answer. "Rumours say that not much more than a week ago, about the time your son-in-law was banished, bandits on a raid were beaten by a single werecat of unknown species. He fits the description you have given us, if one weeds out the growth that is the result of rumour mills. Two days later, he supposedly freed nearly a hundred slave women from the hideout of those bandits."

"That sounds like my son-in-law, all right," chuckled Cologne. "He simply cannot allow for anyone to suffer from decisions of fools, and cannot allow the weak and defenceless be beaten by unfair odds."

"We are the best," replied the proud Amazon. "If they are on Jade, we can find anyone."


On a ship between Lrith City and Trinc, a celebration was taking place.

Three rats had just outsmarted a cat.

Moisha, acting as bait, had triggered an old-fashioned rabbit trap. A big, overturned bucket supported only by a stick, which was kicked out of the way when the cat was under the bucket, and Moisha had slipped out, causing the bucket to fall and trap the cat within. A gnawed rope caused heavy bags of flour to fall over the bucket, weighing the thing down enough for the cat to be unable to move it.

The three rats were ecstatic, as now they only had to contend with Moisha's motion sickness.


Author's Notes; Whew, this chapter had many sloppy spelling errors! I have a feeling that I didn't get them all, but please inform me if you see any errors at all, and I will try my best to correct it.