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 morning when the entire group, now including Julia, Carla and Luan, made way for the Tournament of Arms, so that Julia may enter it and regain her lost honour. Halfway there, Julia and Dr Diggers had broken away from the rest, and made for the Arena, as most of the group would prefer to get there at a slower pace, and had agreed to meet them at the entrance.

They had already reached the mountain which the Arena was built into, and Gina was trying to coax information from Luan about Jade's History, a subject which Luan claimed to be an expert at.

"Pay no attention to Luan, Gina," interrupted Carla. "If she reads more than two scrolls on a subject, she's an "expert"-"

Ranma recognised the personality … Akane had the same attitude towards everything she did, only she thought she'd be an expert without even reading about it … her cooking was the most noteworthy example, followed immediately by her skills as a seamstress, and her skills as a Martial Artist, all of which she claimed to be an expert at without having the skills or knowledge to prove it. The only thing she did excel at, was school, and even that was an area Ranma had overtaken her in, though this was without her knowledge.

"At least I know how to read, Carla …" retorted Luan smugly.

"That was uncalled for …" muttered Carla sourly.

Ranma was very thankful that these two had not fallen under the "spell" that many women seemed to around him. He remembered what Dao had read to him from the computer read-out about his physical conditions … he knew what potential consequences having a severely increased pheromone output could cause. He already had enough trouble with Brianna, Gina, Beebee and Lydia … he didn't need more to add to the list … though after his gift from the Emperor, there was no excuse for shunning women, according to his mother's point of view. But, for some reason, he found it very difficult to resent the act of copulation recently … or more accurately, after he came back to America.

The two students of Julia traded some moments of half-serious banter before Gina decided to proceed with her original questioning.

"Aheh …" she coughed politely to announce her intent to start speaking. "So … What can you tell me about the tournament at the Arena, Luan? Mom and dad said they'd meet us at the entrance …"

"The Tournament of Arms …" started Luan reverently. "The Arenas of Jade … a long time ago, they had a different purpose. A long time ago, the Shadows, for their own twistedentertainment, forced the inhabitants of Jade to build those Arenas and the Warriors of Jade to fight to the death in them …"

"Jinkies!" exclaimed Gina. "Who are the Shadows?"

Ranma was curious about this as well, and made sure to pay attention … after all, those who did not learn from History were doomed to repeat it … besides, nothing passed the time on a long trip like a good story, and this had all the makings of one.

"Eons ago, when magic flourished on the Earth, some dimensional explorers from Earth discovered this realm … believe it or not, it was more beautiful then … a pristine world! A paradise! They named it Jade … There was no sign of intelligent life … except for a strange scrap of stone hidden in an old cave … the magic sages used their spells and tried to learn what had created the stone, but all they could learn, was that it belonged to an ancient race, which suddenly vanished from the realm …

"It wasn't until centuries later, after Jade was settled by the magical races of Earth, that the fate of the ancient race became known. You see, the destroyers of that old civilisation returned!"

Gina could not contain a comment about how the mysterious past of Jade only brought up more questions, something Ranma and Beebee agreed with her on.

"Please, go on," added Gina after her comment.

"After the arrival of the Shadows, all of Jade's inhabitants were enslaved!" continued Luan reverently. "There was no one who could resist. It was … the Realm's Darkest Hour! The horror … the horror …"

"Cut out the melodrama, Luan," commented Lydia … she wanted to hear the story, damnit!

Luan was minimally offended by the blunt end to her acting. "The Shadows then forced their slaves to construct monstrous War-Engines … constructs of metal and wood … floating machines of destruction!"

Ranma made a mental note not to show his car to anyone on Jade … they might just be reminded of their past and kill him to keep his technology from spreading. He knew that most would try to destroy what they did not understand, human or humanoid, they seemed to generally have the same train of thought on the issue of strange things

"After the war-machines were made, the Shadows used them on the cities of Jade … devastating them …" continued Luan. "Countless lives were spared only because of the fact that the Shadows had emptied the cities and towns of Jade to fill their slave camps, but it wasn't until after all of the civilisations of Jade were annihilated did the true nightmare begin … the Shadows forced some of the slaves to build giant arenas in four locations, then they began toying with us by having our once proud warriors do meaningless battles with each other to the death!

"All of the slaves were forced to watch the carnage …"

Ranma was fascinated by this story, but also noticed that they had now come across what could pass as a miniature town, filled with stalls and merchants here for the tournament. The people milling the street made Ranma glad he had taken on his human form instead of his hybrid form … he would most assuredly have drawn some attention in all of this, especially after having tied in a sparring match with Karia …

"But one day," continued Luan, "a warrior … a champion … broke the bonds of the Shadows and, from the Apex Rock Arena … he led Jade to freedom! The Shadows fled the realm and never returned … in memory of that great victory, we hold that tournament to select a new champion every ten years."

It was about this time that the women that tried to attach themselves to Ranma noticed the activity around them … Brianna drew the conclusion that this event was much like a festival, and expressed her desire to go on a shopping binge … if only they would take her x-press card, something Gina pointed out was impossible.

After some window-shopping, figuratively speaking as there were no windows to browse through, the group ended up in front of the entrance to an important-looking building just as a huge woman with her grey hair in twin buns on the sides of her head exited in a stern march.

"-battle in the Fire Arena in one hour," she commanded to someone behind her. "Don't be late."

All in all, it was a very serious scene … unfortunately, Gina failed to realise this.

"GRAMMY!" the blonde genius exclaimed happily before setting course directly for the giant woman.

To say the big woman was surprised would have been putting it mildly … she could have been knocked over with a feather.

"G- Gina?" she asked, as though to assure herself of it.

"Grammy!" exclaimed Gina once more and eagerly jogged up to the huge woman, and embraced her as high as she could reach, which was about her waist. "It's so great to see you!"

"Gina!" repeated the big woman as she happily returned the hug. "And Brianna too!" she added when she saw the youngest Diggers daughter run towards her as well, with a silly expression on her face.

"We missed you thiiiiiiiiis much!" exclaimed Brianna in a giddy display of enthusiasm, illustrating her point by flinging her arms open as wide as they could get. Gina made sounds of agreement from the bigger woman's stomach, agreeing with her sister.

The previously stern expression on the giant woman's face melted into that of a loving grandmother reunited with her grandchildren, which was the case if Ranma understood her identity correctly. From previous conversations, Ranma assumed this huge woman to be the mother of Julia Brigand Diggers, a member of the Barbarian tribe, the affectionately named Brunhilda "Mumsey" Brigand.

"Oh, my!" exclaimed Mumsey. "What a wonderful surprise! Oh, I'm so glad you came to visit your tired old Grammy! I get to spoil my beautiful granddaughters again!" she ended in a sing-song tone.

Neither Diggers women would deny her this, and replied with a stereo "Ayup!"

However, the joyful reunion was interrupted when Mumsey was reminded of her appointment. Julia had followed her outside.

"Gina, Brianna …" started the elder woman seriously. "Grammy's … sorry … but … Grammy has to leave now, okay?"

Ranma watched the exchanged looks between Mumsey and Julia before the elder of the two walked away, and knew something was wrong … the elder woman had mentioned something about an Arena before being interrupted by Gina, could it be a battle of honour?

It would make sense … according to Jade, Julia sold her honour for money, and as such, tarnished her family's good name … perhaps she had to prove herself worthy of her family name to regain her family?

Family honour was such an annoying thing … mostly because there was rarely more than one judge of it, namely the Head of the family, and when matters of honour was at stake the opinion of the Head tended to be more than a little biased, especially in the more strict families. Ranma's father was a brilliant example of this … if he ever did anything wrong, it was okay or the blame was transferred to his son … but if Ranma ever did anything remotely wrong, it was a dishonour and needed to be mended by marrying Akane immediately. Personally, Ranma was glad that those days were over for him.

"Say, mom?" asked Brianna, bringing Ranma from his thoughts. "Why is Grammy in such a hurry? She didn't even have time to pinch our cheeks or anything!"

"Well," started Julia uncertainly, not of the situation, but how to phrase her words. "Your grandmother is being … difficult towards me right now …"

"Huh?" asked Gina, not understanding why this was happening.

"Julia," groused a giant man in an earthy voice matching his tan and weathered expression. "May I have a word-"

"You too, Battlock?" asked Julia angrily. "You want to … rebuke me too? Then again, if my own mother can turn her back on me, why not my old mentor as well?" the sense of betrayal permeated her angry words, and Ranma would have easily taken her side on things if he hadn't witnessed the exchange of glances between Mumsey and Julia. Mumsey was hurt just as much by the situation as Julia, if not more, and in knowing this, Ranma could not take the side of his sensei's wife, but nor could he the take opposing side.

"You should not judge your mother so harshly," objected Battlock. "As Chairwoman of our Clan-Council, she's had a hard time since your losing to G'Nolga. Our neighbours … particularly the Shadow Elves and the Dwarven Kingdom … have seen this as a sign of weakness. We're being challenged for territory on every front … unless we wish to commit to wars, we can't win, we must defend our lands with a Champion in a Tournament …" here he took a brief pause to let this information sink in. "And as far as our champions go, we're running very low … we stand to lose everything unless we reclaim the Arms-Master title …"

Julia had the good sense to calm down, and towards the end of the explanation of her former mentor, started looking ashamed, perhaps because of her behaviour towards her mother, but most likely out of regret for losing her title so easily.

"Th- That's right …" she admitted. "When I was Arms-Master, no one could try to challenge our clan for property we already own!"

Julia took a moment to compose herself, lest she lose her emotional control.

"I see why she's so mad at me …" she agreed. "Basically, I made a big mess of things, and left her to pick up the pieces … damn."

Dr Diggers, sensing the inner turmoil of his wife, approached her and lay a placating hand on her shoulder.

"Julia," he started. "You know it's not your fault …"

Ranma agreed with his sensei, but refrained from ruining the tender moment by interfering.

"I'm not so sure, Theo …" argued Julia sadly. "Not that it matters any more," the resigned sigh in her tone was almost audible, though it was not uttered. "I have to enter the Tournament … I can't back down now …" the former Arms-Master turned to her newly appointed apprentices. "Luan, Carla … I'm sorry, but I won't be able to teach you now … not until the Tournament is over."

"We understand, teacher," replied Luan automatically for them both.

"Thank you, both of you …" turning to her eldest daughter, Julia went straight on to business. "Gina, did you bring my sword?"

"I was storing it in Hyper-Space for safe-keeping!" chirped the blonde genius and whipped out what looked like a remote control for a television. She giggled with a slightly insane tint that only a scientist can get right just before revealing some exciting experiment to someone. "Just stand back, mom …" she warned. "Calling things from Hyper-Space gets a little flashy …"

-KWOOOOOM!-

Lightning struck the ground in front of Julia and Gina, sending a shockwave and crushed rock debris flying in all directions, nearly knocking over several people, and whipping around with light and loose things such as hair and clothes.

"AAAH!" screamed Julia in shock. "Gina!"

"What?" asked Gina in a clueless tone.

"Uhhh …" groaned Julia as she calmed down from the shock. "Never mind … you just – startled me that's all …"

"It's just technology, mom!" replied Gina, rolling her eyes. "Sheesh!"

"… right …" agreed Julia. "But … just … try not to use the "Flashy" stuff so near me next time, okay?"

Ranma had been caught off guard by the light show, he could admit to that, but it was nothing on the reactions of Carla and Luan, who were cowering in fear of being smote by the evils of technology.

It was one of the reasons Ranma himself didn't use the stuff here anymore … the other reasons were that he didn't want technology to be a crutch, and he didn't want to get arrested again. It might be a little more annoying trying to break out a second time, if they even sent him to the same place as last time.

It seemed that this reaction reminded Gina how frightened most inhabitants of Jade were of technology, and felt slightly bad for upsetting them.

"Well …" started Julia, and hefted her sword to her shoulder. "I'm off to warm up … uh, Theo, dear? Could you show everyone where we rented the Inn?"

Gina and Brianna wanted to come with their mother, but after some convincing by their father and Ranma, who had some idea of what would happen, they conceded. Brianna, however, dropped something deliberately, and Ranma was about to notify her when he noticed what it was … it was her newest techno-toy, the Wild Weasel, a Peebo specially designed for stealthy recon missions … a spy-bot to put it simply. It looked a lot like peebochu had before it exploded during the Explorers' Banquet, only its tail was not broad and jagged, and its colours were black and grey.

Ranma knew what Brianna was planning as soon as he realised what she had dropped, but didn't stop her.

Frankly, he was curious about Julia's skills, and how brutal some of the battles in this realm could get, and Julia had only told them not to follow her, and mentioned nothing about sending machines out to spy on her … they would be playing by the set rules, but still be able to find out what was going on.


Meanwhile back on Earth, Britanny and her husband, Stryyp, were very busy and unhappy.

The day had gone very well until moments earlier … they had started a barbeque with Dao, Genn and Seance … grilled tuna was on the menu, and was almost ready to be served, when they trespassed onto the property, demanding they hand Ranma over to them.

Genn had tried to explain to the large group of women, of varying sizes and state of dress, that they couldn't, because Ranma wasn't in this realm, but the women had only heard her say that she couldn't and reacted accordingly … in an aggressive manner.

This was the reason for the 'Gia couple's annoyance, as the ensuing battle was tearing up the property, and injuring their invited guests.

Where the women had gotten their weapons was a question that was on the minds of everyone fighting them, because it looked like they had only taken them out of nothing … almost like Ranma did …

After about five minutes of fighting, the defending team developed a strategy of sorts.

Genn, Britanny and Dao would engage the enemy in hand-to-hand combat, trying to disable or disarm as many of the armed women as possible … Dao had an easy time of disarming, because the women did not know how to defend themselves against his extra arms, and Britanny was stronger and faster than most of them, even the ones that easily topped nine feet in height. Seance and Stryyp would take out the enemy by means of their special talents, natural, trained or otherwise gained … meaning the attacking women would start flying all of a sudden, crash into nothing, or get struck by energy bolts.

This strategy worked very well … until the woman that looked like a long-haired monkey on a stick started commanding the women to fight long distance instead, making the three offensive defenders wear themselves out chasing them.

It was Stryyp that recognised the danger when the ancient artefacts fused into his body registered the thermal movements natural to this area started cooling down at an unnatural speed, and called for the trio to stop chasing the women or they would be severely injured.

A tense moment followed immediately after the three close-quarters fighters stepped back. The thermal movements quickly returned to normal.

"Hand over Son-in-Law!" demanded the monkey-on-a-stick in a raspy voice after a few moments.

"Who?" asked Stryyp. Hadn't they come for Ranma?

"Ranma!" added a purple-haired woman, waving her maces like a pair of maracas. "My - Husband! Bring me my husband!"

"Ranma's married?" Stryyp asked Dao, wincing at the prospect of having missed that little detail when listening to his story.

"If this is who I think she is, then no …" denied Dao, who had paid more attention due to Ranma's unusual background and origin. "This would have to be Xian Pu, of the Chinese Amazons of Juketsuzoku … she believes herself married to Ranma because he defeated her in a physical conflict, and is of the male gender, or rather, was at the second conflict … the first time, he was in female form, and defeated her on a hanging log for the victory prize of the annual championship to determine the best warrior of the tribe. According to the laws of this tribe, if an outside male defeats an Amazon warrior, they are married … if an outsider female defeats one of their warriors, that warrior has to hunt that female to the ends of the Earth until one of them is dead.

"I've actually been expecting the Amazons to show up for some time now … though not this late … were there any delays?"

"None of your business!" snapped the monkey. "Just hand him over, or we'll be forced to kill you!"

"We can't!" protested Genn, and earned herself a serious glare from the woman claiming to be married to Ranma. "He's not here!" she added before another attack could be initiated.

A series of undisciplined groans issued from the Amazons. Their prey had eluded them once again!

More than one of the women were cursing themselves for celebrating the previous day, and got caught up in it enough to waste the entire day. Their husband had of course taken the brunt of this celebration, and was attempting to recuperate in camp while they came here. Just to make sure he wouldn't escape, they had tied him up in several different ways, leaving him no leverage to move more than his eyes … not that he'd have the strength to do so after the eager moods his wives had been in. Well … at least they wouldn't count their chickens before they hatched the next time around …

The Amazons would have asked where Ranma had gone off to, had not the backdoor of the house burst open to spill out a sea of peebos, all of which screamed out their delight at being enabled to fulfil their purpose … to blow up the bad guys, which in this case was consistent of the female intruders.


In one of the sub-levels of the Diggers home, Romeo was uncertain about whether he was in Heaven or in Hell.

This conflict of thought was brought on by one thing … Moisha had more or less raped him … of course, once she had made her intentions clear, he wasn't exactly an unwilling participant, and actually shown some initiative.

It was unavoidable, really … a male and a female of similar age, locked up alone and together over a prolonged period … sooner or later, one of the two would try to initiate sexual activity, something Romeo had tried since day one and gotten shot down every time. This didn't necessarily mean they were an item … just … friends with benefits or something to that effect …

What had prompted the sudden change in the bucktoothed female wererat, Romeo didn't know or care … he was merely glad it had.

He felt like he was in Heaven because of the act … he felt like he was in Hell, because he was tired and wanted to go to sleep, but Moisha wasn't about to let that happen, and kept him awake by incessant chatter about how he could improve his performance, derogatory comments about his physique, and asking him what was on his mind.

Romeo was relieved of his problem by the force field holding them in turned itself off after a few short series of rumbles from the surface.

Barring the only way out, was a woman with huge goat-like horns on her head, forming a helmet that curled backwards, down and up somewhere around the hips, and with eyes on her stomach instead of her face.

"Hello, there," purred the woman … clearly a magical being if her features and the hovering ring she wore around her chest instead of a top were any indication. "Are you about ready to leave this place?" this was of course a redundant question, as very few were ever willing to remain under lock and key for longer than they felt unable to escape. "Then I may have a proposition for the two of you …"


Back in Jade, Ranma, Gina, Brianna, Beebee, Lydia, Carla and Luan had gathered around the laptop Brianna's Wild Weasel sent its broadcast signal to, watching the confrontation between mother and daughter for the right to represent their clan in the Tournament of Arms.

">-I'll need all the luck I can get …>" sighed the giant woman as a mysterious man vanished in a green cloud of smoke, like the legendary shinobi. She was sitting in the middle of a large arena, bathed in the warm light of the intense inferno surrounding it, holding her sword at the ready.

">MOTHER!>" Julia marched into view of the optical sensors, sword at the ready. There was a tense moment of silence as mother and daughter looked each other over, both sad at what needed to be done. ">Let's get this over with …>"

No words were exchanged beyond this … there was no need, as Julia's statement had been the starting signal for what promised to be a brutal battle.

Brunhilda "Mumsey" Brigand charged in with greater grace and speed than her outward appearance would allow, swinging her huge broadsword with expert flow and finesse. She was so fast, that even Julia was unprepared for the impact, barely managing to raise her own sword to block the diagonal chop at her chest.

The brute force behind the impact pushed Julia off balance, and another incoming swing kept her from regaining it. And yet another followed, all with enough power to throw Julia off balance.

Ranma was impressed … not even Genma could move as gracefully and fast as that big woman was, and she was more than twice the man's size, and obviously in better shape. He could see that Julia was in a tight spot, trying and failing to regain her balance before it was-

-Ktch-

-Yaah!-Whamm!-

-too late … never mind …

Mumsey had grabbed hold of Julia's leg and used her as a bludgeon on the ground, and started repeating the process.

Ranma ignored the worried chattering of his female companions, and instead watched the monitor intently … the feedback didn't have enough frames per second to accurately capture everything going on, so if he wanted to learn anything from this, he'd have to pay close attention.

After a few more slams, Ranma saw the two were starting to tire, making him hold back a snort … didn't these two know that they should conserve some energy in case the battle drew out longer than planned? Against someone this strong, pacing was the key to winning.

Mumsey dropped her daughter once she thought she had enough, and started to walk away.

">Stay down, Julia …>" advised Mumsey, huffing and puffing from exertion. ">The fight is over, daughter … you've lost …>"

Ranma would have to disagree.

Though he could not read her aura through a monitor, he could read her movements, and she was struggling to get to her feet … determined to continue … an admirable trait, but not always advisable.

">No … No, mother,>" objected Julia, looking very bruised … though it was difficult to tell just how bruised she was, because the pixel count and zoom features weren't as good as they could be at this distance. ">It's not … it's not over until I yield? Not until I give up! And - I'm not giving up!>"

Regret played across the giantess' face as she turned to once more face her daughter, who had by now gotten to her feet, and stood proudly, ready to leap into action at any given moment.

And leap she did … with a powerful thrust of her legs, Julia was airborne and doing a flip over her mother, who followed her momentum carefully.

Ranma ignored the dialogue taking place … it wasn't important.

At some time during mid leap, Julia seemed to have lost her sword, as she had it when she jumped, but not when she landed in a crouch on the other side of her side-stepping mother.

He spotted the sword a micro-second before Mumsey realised that the sword was not where it was supposed to be.

It had been thrown into the air at the pique of Julia's leap, and was plummeting towards the giant form of Mumsey.

When Mumsey realised the danger she was in, she had to throw herself back, and swatted at the descending projectile with her own sword, and managed to deflect it in time … but now it was her that was off balance, and Julia took advantage of the weakness, and delivered a very powerful blow to Mumsey's abdomen, sending the giantess flying several feet away.

"-a Master Technique, Brianna," explained Carla sagely, drawing Ranma's attention. "It has many names … but it's mostly known as the "Master Blow"! It focuses every bit of strength into one strike! But - it usually leaves you completely drained after you use it!"

Personally, Ranma thought this a foolish technique … what use was it if you couldn't defend yourself afterwards? From personal experience, Ranma knew that if any enemy happened to come over you while you were in such a state, they would not hesitate to take advantage of it, and then you'd be deep in it. Trouble, that is …

Catching motion on the monitor, Ranma turned to it and saw Mumsey rise, laughing.

">That's my girl!>" laughed Mumsey proudly. ">That's my Julia! You knocked the stuffing out of your ole' mom! You had it in you after all …>"

">No ->" wheezed Julia, clearly not even seeing straight from exhaustion. ">No way! It's not possible!>"

">It's – it's over, Julia …>" announced Mumsey, limping closer, clutching her left ribs with her right arm. ">You can no longer resist … while I can still fight …>"

">No …>" protested Julia weakly, still not able to return to her feet.

">Daughter, I'm so sorry …>"

">NO!>"

">JULIA!>" bellowed the giantess to regain her daughter's attention. ">… Julia, please … it's over …>"

Ranma could see that his sensei's wife was not going to give up … this was about her honour, and the honour of her clan … she couldn't give up …

Julia started controlling her breathing … focusing her energies, trying to muster the strength to get back up and fight.

With one final big intake of breath, Ranma could see in Julia's posture that she was starting to heal … this must have been the technique she wanted to learn from Master Leep … the Renewing Breath … impressive … of course, he could do the same, only he didn't want to spend enough energy to convert surrounding energy into his own to heal his injuries that fast.

Mumsey was as surprised as her granddaughters, and was left more or less speechless.

">Okay, mom …>" said Julia smugly. ">Top that!>"

Ranma could see that Mumsey was very proud … but her injuries were too severe to continue, and with a motherly embrace, she yielded to her daughter. Those injuries could be a problem for the woman … and Gina seemed very willing to go visit her Grammy … maybe he should have her bring a device he had cooked up by accident during the trials of the limiters he used on his father … a healing device that absorbed surrounding chi and transformed it into healing ki, which was sent through the natural ki flow of the body, capable of healing some internal damage if caught in time … or worn over a prolonged period of time … he had theorised that it would be possible to revive someone with it, within the time it would take for the brain to suffocate … he didn't want to bet any money or lives on the device being able to regenerate brain cells … but it would be useful, right? At the very least, if it worked, he'd have the giantess owe him a favour … in the worst case scenario, nothing would happen at all … but at least he would have tried …


Outside the Arms-Master's Palace, five shapes were ascending the stairs leading to it.

"I can't begin to describe to you guys how much I hate going undercover!" growled the middle figure, a tall, redheaded woman with a red, see-through veil across her lower face, and the rest of her body covered by a purple cloak. "I mean, how in this realm does a seven-and-an-half-foot tall woman remain inconspicuous?"

"You knew the job was tough when you took it, sis," commented her neighbouring figure, a shorter man with red hair and a green cloak with its hood down.

"Shut up, Gar!" hissed the woman. "I should have stayed in Seer's Hamlet with Raphiel …"

"You're a lot less conspicuous in your human form than in your hybrid form, Sheila …" commented the front figure, who was a dark-skinned man with no hair, a blue hood, and a lute slung over his shoulder.

"Thropan's got a point, sis …" agreed Gar. "Plus, all of your werecat strength and agility are available in your human form instead of your hybrid form … a solid advantage for you now …"

"I still stick out like a sore thumb, and my so-called advantage is still a birth defect!" argued Sheila.

"Your sister is just a little shy, Gar," commented a blonde man in a red cloak, with a flute of some kind slung across his back. "If you think about it, we'd be suspicious as a group of minstrels if out main attractions didn't stand out! Right, Onoli?"

"Bite me, Tirga …" retorted Sheila automatically. She didn't want to be seen like this … at least not by anyone present.

"Focus, Edge Guard," cautioned the last member of the group, a tall, powerfully built, if not gentle-looking blonde man in a pale brown cloak … His voice booming with authority. "We have to focus on our goals …"

This was the first serious mission they had had for ages, and it was a self-appointed one at that, meaning that the sheriff had no clue, and they had been very careful about revealing the plan to anyone or anything. It could not go wrong, or they would all be in it up to their ears.

"The first step is to infiltrate the Arms-Master's Palace G'Nolga now resides in …" he continued. "To do this, we'll have to be more than convincing as a troupe of travelling minstrels. Remember, she is still wanted for kidnapping all those magic users … plus, we still have to locate the victims."

"I know … I know …" agreed Sheila, trying to appear calm … her next sentence, however, ruined the illusion. "But why do I always hafta be the Belly Dancer?"

As she nearly bellowed out the word with enough venom to kill off a family of elephants, she spread her arms and looked down on her outfit as it was underneath the cloak. Mostly-see-through red material barely covered her sizable charms and nether-region, and she was quick to close the cloak again, lest Tirga get a better and longer look than was good for him … or rather, a better look that would lead to her giving him a kapowie with enough oomph to deflect an asteroid from its set course.

Tirga was not exactly careful with his next words, and she felt it only fair to warn him of his impending doom. Luckily for him, Gar intervened before Sheila acted on her threat.

"Um …" he started, uncertain. "G'Nolga is a woman … I don't think she'd be too distracted by Sheila's dance routine …"

Now, the tables were turned, and Tirga became the target of taunting. Sheila made sure to sound equally lecherous towards him as he was towards her, when she suggested that they make Tirga the dancer, and exactly what he could wear … or not wear …


At the Arena, Ranma was surrounded by women … Brianna, Beebee, Lydia, Luan and Carla were crowded around him as they waited for the battle to start … Gina was missing, but she was visiting her Grammy at the friar she had gone to for healing … she had promised to get back in time, but it didn't look like she was going to make it.

She had brought the device, and listened to Ranma's attachment instructions carefully … she knew how dangerous experimental devices could be if one didn't follow instructions to the letter, and was not about to risk her Grammy's life just to make her a guinea pig.

The arena was an unusual sight … it was a rock platform with thick rock poles of varying heights covering only parts of it, and surrounding it all was a water-filled mote that separated the audience from the combatants.

However, when the combatants entered the arena, Ranma knew that Gina was not going to get there in time.

The number of combatants was what threw Ranma off … there were three of them, and he had expected two …

Luan explained that the man and woman were a team, a Symbiar … this was apparently two warriors who fought while using the other's arms or legs instead of their own. It was apparently a rare fighting style.

Ranma dismissed this fighting style immediately … it was impractical. First off, the one in control of the legs, while having the advantage of being able to move about freely, would be weighted down by the other, which would also change the centre of balance further back than advisable … second of all, the one in control of the arms could easily be thrown off if the momentum suddenly changed beyond the capability of the straps to hold them together … finally, there was only a small chance that one could predict what the other was thinking in terms of improvised strategy without speaking out advise, which could lead to the initial two disadvantages and alerting the opponent to what would happen.

However, this pair seemed to have worked out some kind of system, and might just be capable of pulling it off against many good fighters … though how good their opponent had to be to just win he couldn't be sure until the battle had finished.

Julia wore a tight, green bodysuit, with splits along the outer side of the thighs to allow better mobility … a much more sensible article of clothing than the uniform Master Leep had designed for his pupils.

The symbiar, man and woman, wore little clothing. It actually looked like they were on the way to the beach, as the man wore trunks, and the woman a one-piece bathing suit … her legs were wrapped around his torso, under his arms, which were crossed across his chest … these four appendages were locked together by some kind of leather harness to keep them in place while causing as little damage to them as possible.

The battle started with both parties rushing in … an unsound tactic for those who wanted to have, hold, and keep the upper hand throughout the battle.

Zel, the man in control of the balance and speed, used his shins to block an elbow blow from Julia.

Di, the man's wife, who was in control of the upper parts, used the opportunity to slash at Julia with her sword, but was parried when Julia raised her sword in defence.

Several more attacks were traded, and Ranma noticed that Zel had gone into a low and wide stance … perfect for balance, and perfect for a dirty fighter to take advantage of … fortunately for Zel and his family jewels, Julia was not such a person.

In layman theory, the Symbiar was the ultimate opponent … but in the end, swordsmanship won out, and Julia managed to disarm Di with flourish.

Zel tried to compensate, and buy them enough time to retrieve the lost weapon by stomping Julia, but she was too agile, and rolled out of the way, finishing with a kick that struck Di in the face with enough force to tear her from the restraints keeping her attached to her husband, and flying back a couple of feet.

She had barely crashed into the ground before she flipped back to her feet.

Julia, in the spirit of fair play, discarded her sword so she would be on a more equal footing with her opponents.

All around Ranma, the audience, minus Ranma and his companions, were booing the turn of event, showing clearly how popular Julia was … or rather, how unpopular she was.

The husband-and-wife team shared a glance before rushing in on the unarmed Julia, hoping to double-team her.

Zel kicked, and was blocked, creating an opening for his wife to jump in and deliver a flying kick to Julia, who was busy defending herself against Zel's follow-up hammer elbow. The flying kick struck Julia's face much like Julia had kicked Di.

Di was not about to quit, and was about to rush in once more, when her husband restrained her.

"Di!" he barked. "Cease! We've lost!"

"Zel!" screeched the woman angrily. "Are you mad? Let me go!"

"Calm yourself," commanded Zel. "Listen … Julia disarmed us. If she'd kept her sword, we would have surely lost!"

"I don't care!" screamed Di, struggling in her husband's grip, trying to claw Julia's eyes out but not reaching. "She kicked me!"

"We began this battle to fight her as one warrior, not as two …" continued Zel, ignoring his wife's struggling. "Even if we did defeat her now, it would be an honourless victory!"

"I still don't care, Zel!"

"Julia planned it this way. She has shown us that she is our superior without harming us!"

"I got harmed!" protested Di angrily. "That kick hurt!"

"Wife, be calm!" commanded Zel. "If we cannot win with honour, then we must at least lose with honour! We yield! Julia is the victor!"

Ranma was satisfied as he heard a pin drop on the other end of the arena … the audience had been shocked into silence.

He recognised the looks on Julia's and Zel's faces, even at this distance … they were looking forward to their next battle … so they might see what new tricks the other had up their sleeves. It was something similar to what he and Ryoga had developed over the years … only Ryoga still had that pesky animosity towards him for no discernable reason, and half-heartedly tried to kill him every time he saw him …

Brianna took great pleasure in rubbing the gawking audience's faces in the victory they were so much against.


At the Arms-Master's Palace, the troupe of travelling minstrels had come to a stop at the front gate, where they were trying to bargain with the buxom woman guarding the place, for permission to enter.

Thropan was doing a most convincing act of "selling" their troupe, which basically meant he was trying to get the guard to hire them for the expressed purpose of entertaining, and as such, he was cutting it close to over-acting … but it was a fine line …

The buxom and cloaked woman guarding the gate, however, was not easily persuaded and outright declined the request … or, would have, if she hadn't been interrupted.

"Hold!" commanded a semi-hollow voice, drawing everyone's attention to the top of the wall, where stood an armoured figure. "Let them in Hanzo …"

"HANZA!" barked the cloaked woman, her back still turned to the darkly armoured man. "And you're not in charge of security, Rook! I am!"

"You know …" mused Rook aloud. "Just because that potion cursed you with a gender-change, doesn't mean you can't act like you've got a pair!"

"… that was low," growled the woman, Hanza, under her breath.

"Besides …" continued Rook, ignoring the muttering of the opposite end of this dialogue. "It's been boring around here. We could use the … entertainment!"

"I - really don't like the way he said that …" muttered Sheila to herself, blushing slightly from the attention and anger.

The buxom chief of security sighed before stepping aside and gesturing for them to follow her.

"Follow me …" she added in case her gesturing was not as clear as she meant it to be. "I'll show you to the guest wing of this palace. Don't muss it up! We expect you to play at our feast tonight in honour of Arms-Master G'Nolga … and you'd better be good …"

"But of course, milady …" agreed Thropan grandly. "Now, about payment …"

"You'll take what we give you!" snapped Hanza. "But you may keep any tips you make …"

"Just a moment, Hanza …" interrupted Rook, as he came into being before them through a burst of flame … swords at the ready in both hands. "I'd like to borrow our musician friends for a bit … I like to practice to music."

Hanza was not upset about this. "Whatever, just make sure they get to the guest wing afterwards …"

"Follow me, please … I assure you this won't take too long …" added Rook, ending it with a chuckle.

Sheila got a sinking feeling about this, and fought her first instinct to tell her brother about it … if push came to shove, they would all transform and use their magical weapons to get out of it … and she would use her human form to the same end.

They eventually found their way to a circular room with an alcove containing several benches, where the musicians were to sit.

"Ahh …" sighed Rook as he closed the door behind them. "Here we are … you may use the area to the right to prepare and play your instruments in."

"Th-" started Sheila, and stopped to compose herself … fear would only get in the way, and give away that she was hiding something, which happened to be that she was only pretending. "Thank you … w- what should we play for you while you practice, sire?" good, only two stutters … that could be interpreted as awe at a magnificent presence or even –shudder- lust.

"Something classical …" mused Rook aloud. "Yet, "upbeat" … something with a nice tempo! I like to come up with little scenarios to play out during my sessions, and that type of music would fit nicely … My favourite scenario involves the Rangers of the Mior or the Realm – Crusaders, or even the Northern Edge Guard! In my scenario, they try to infiltrate our stronghold by using disguises! Dressed as merchants, peddlers, cooks … or … minstrels …"

At this point, Sheila was getting more nervous than could be passed off as something else … had they been discovered? She could see the others shared in her concern.

"But little do they know this practice area, like the Arenas in the Coliseum, is sealed from magic," continued Rook as he got into his ready stance. "Whatever devices they were using for the disguises … say, a magic cooking pot … or … enchanted instruments … would no longer work!"

This news sent a shock of realisation through most of the troupe … they didn't know how to play! They had counted on the enchanted instruments to do their job! Sheila started cursing up an internal storm, swearing that she'd kapowie her brother for talking her into something that could ensure that she'd never see Ranma again!

"The same would go for any magical abilities or weapons they would possess …" added Rook. "Such as the Rangers' ability to command the elements of nature … or the Northern Edge Guard's werecat abilities and their mystic weapons! Suddenly, they would realise they were trapped, exposed, and helpless!

"I would then delight in their horror as I butchered them … one by one … washing my armour in their blood!"

As Rook finished, his eyes were glowing red, like blood, and he was laughing maniacally at the envisioned image.

"Now PLAY!" commanded Rook dangerously. "As if your lives depended on it!"

By now, the Edge Guard members were ready to run for the hills, so to speak, and would have surely given themselves away, had not Thropan intervened.

"Why don't you guys sit this one out?" he suggested as he adjusted his lute to a comfortable position. "This is a new song I created on the way up here. You probably won't be able to follow along properly. The tempo is pretty hi and the rhythm's tricky … but it should be perfect for this occasion …"

Sheila was not alone in her surprise … she may have known he liked music, but she had not known Thropan could actually play an instrument …

But play Thropan most certainly could … the werepanther in human form picked the strings with talented fingers, and heavenly sound emerged in coherent tones that stringed together into a melody that flooded the room, enveloping everyone in its spell.

"I think you were right, Tirga," commented Onoli in a whisper. "Thropan missed his calling …"

It seemed the music had an additional effect that had not been expected … Rook was heading for the door, looking unsteady on his feet.

"P-Pardon me …" he said, his voice wavering with heavy emotion. "I've … something i-in my eye … y-you're all excused until the feast in the main hall tonight … until then …"

-Slam!-

The door closed behind the ghost in an enchanted armour.


Gina was most displeased.

She had gone to visit her Grammy before her mother's scheduled battle, but had spent a little too long assuring herself that her grandmother would be fine, and had gotten the best care she could in addition to the device Ranma had handed her … and now she was unable to get inside the Arena because the battle had started without her.

"I'm truly sorry, milady …" said the man at the entrance, the man who would not let her pass … she should try to kick his eye-patched face in for keeping her from her mother's important battles. "The battle between Diggers and the Hroths has ended. This line is for the afternoon's contest …"

"Oh, FRAK!" cursed Gina.

The man tried to push a ticket on her for the match the others were in line for, but when it was clear that she wouldn't buy it, she was ignored in favour of the next customer.

"Hey, Gina! Over here!"

Gina turned, curious and saw her sister, along with the rest of the group, come towards her.

"You missed it!" exclaimed Brianna.

"I know …" sighed Gina. "Did mom win?"

"To put it mildly," commented Ranma. "But they were outclassed and had the disadvantage of being two people tied together … they were bound to lose against your mother even before setting foot in the Arena …"

"Yeah!" agreed Brianna enthusiastically. "Mom took 'em to school!"

"FRAK!" repeated Gina. "I wanted to see …"

"Don't worry!" assured Brianna. "I had it taped! I'm just waiting for peebochu to return with the footage it filmed … PEEBOCHU!"

"Wasn't peebochu the bit-bomb you lost to missiles at the Banquet?" asked Gina sceptically. She was no doubt wondering if her sister was developing an early case of Alzheimer.

"I fixed it!" replied Brianna cheerfully. "PEEBOCHU!"

Ranma could only shake his head in mirth … what was with Brianna and those things? He was distracted by Beebee pinching his cheeks … Lydia, not about to be outdone, pinched the other cheeks.

Brianna and Gina got into a little discussion about Brianna's tendencies where weapons were involved, but it ended in time for Luan to suggest they head for the Inn to meet up with Julia and Dr Diggers to celebrate Julia's victory.

The journey to the Inn was not all that long, but it felt like it to Ranma, who had two women hanging off his sides, while walking with another four … added to it, the two clinging to him were subtly fighting for dominance of who got to grope him and where

"Man, am I hungry!" exclaimed Brianna as they stepped up to the entrance to the Inn. "I hope they serve a good tuna salad here!"

""Tuna"?" asked Luan, genuinely confused. "Brianna? What is this "Tuna" you speak of?"

"You're kidding!" screamed Brianna desperately. Ranma felt somewhat deprived as well … after his transformation, the popular fish had grown on him … "Jade doesn't have tuna?"

"Brianna, calm down!" chided Gina.

"But, Gina!"

"Let's talk about this after we get in and meet mom and dad in the tavern … you know how irate mom gets when we're late for lunch!"

It was at that second the group opened the door, and was presented with a very irate Julia, letting out a primal scream of engagement.

Ranma was very impressed … if his assessment of Julia was correct, it would take a great deal of provocation to get her to lose her temper … something she seemed to have done … that short brown-haired woman must have had some very well trained taunting skills to coax this kind of result out of her.

The short woman was smirking at the sight, and Dr Diggers was trying to get Julia to her senses.

Just before she could get to the short woman, Dr Diggers must have employed one of his techniques, because he called out the name of one, and Julia crashed face first into an invisible wall.

"THEO!" shrieked the irate fighter in fury.

"Julia! Stop! Think!" plead Dr Diggers.

"What's the matter, Julia?" asked the short woman smugly. "I'm ready when you are!" she added in a singing tone.

"THEO!" growled Julia warningly.

Under his breath, Dr Diggers muttered something that Ranma could not catch. "LISTEN!" he yelled out in a booming voice that filled the entire building. "HEAR ME! ALL OF YOU! HAVE YOU ALL FORGOTTEN THE RULES OF THE TOURNAMENT? I'M SURE G'NOLGA HAS NOT! STARTING A BATTLE OUTSIDE AN ARENA … RESULTS IN IMMEDIATE DISQUALIFICATION!" Harry was impressed and appalled at the nerve of the short, formerly smirking woman. A lot of thought had gone into this confrontation … it was on the verge of being dishonest, and reminded him of how Nabiki used to do things before he had a talk with her. "G'NOLGA WAITS FOR JULIA TO ATTACK SO SHE WILL NOT HAVE TO FACE HER LATER!"

The silence following this revelation was deafening.

Ranma would have tried to defend the honour of his sensei's wife, but realised that this was lady that had kidnapped Brianna on her last visit … it would be better to stay out of her way … speaking of which, during the time Ranma had been thinking, the confrontation between Julia and G'Nolga had ended, and said dwarven woman was headed for them, or more accurately, the exit.

Gina, not wanting to be seen by the crazy lady that kidnapped her sister, ushered the entire group out of the way and around a corner.

Once around the corner, Gina pulled out a small periscope-like device which she used to look around the corner.

Brianna was upset that such a dangerous criminal was still at large, and muttered her objections to the legal system under her breath. Luan and Carla were not entirely briefed on that incident, and stayed silent. Beebee and Lydia were egging Brianna on, trying to get her to take action. Ranma was partially in agreement with them … he wanted to get revenge for the threat to his sensei's family, but on the other side, he didn't want to get on the wrong side of the law again …

"Hey, Brianna, look!" Gina hissed suddenly. "In the grass! It's peebochu! It's following G'Nolga!"

Ranma looked as well, and saw the pale purple bit-bomb with the flame design in an arrow point across its shell roll along in the grass … knowing the bit-bombs as well as he did, Ranma didn't have to wonder what the thing was saying. It knew that G'Nolga was a bad person, and the programming of Brianna's bit-bombs was to blow up bad guys … Ranma would be very surprised if the thing would not say "Go Boom on You!" at least once during the night.

"It's got the right idea!" agreed Brianna. "Let's go!"


Author's Notes; Here's a little preview of the problem-words that will be taken up in future writing tips; Than/Then, Sight/Site, Sole/Soul, Definitely/Defiantly, Weather/Whether and finally, Their/They're, not necessarily in that order. More will pop up as I go along, but it was only a little preview, so there was no need to include every single problem.

On a different note, I'm sure some of you out there might react to my repeated use of the word "Civilisation" as opposed to "Civilization" … that is simply because they both mean the same thing, and are both perfectly acceptable within the English language, and it is the word I am more comfortable with, so if some of you feel inspired to write me to report this, please don't, it is a conscious choice, and unless someone can prove me wrong, with references to specific texts, I will not change it. Also, from my understanding of the term "Thermal Movement", it means the movement of air, or more specifically, heat … if this is wrong, please correct me, but please do so in a polite manner, giving me references to locations where I will be told what was wrong. Sorry for sounding rude.

Small writing tip; supplied in part by borg rabbit; "Quite" and "Quiet". Someone or something that is "Quiet" makes only a small amount of noise. You use "Quite" to indicate that something is the case to a fairly great extent, or as a less empathic substitute for "very" or "extremely". You use "Quite" after a negative to make what you are saying weaker or less definite, or express agreement

Credits; Thanks to TerraBull, who prompted me to write about what was going on with Romeo and Moisha … apparently, they had been silent for too long … the actions were of my own design, but the strong suggestion to write about them was given to me by TerraBull. I also realised that the ki cannons were partially based on a concept I read earlier … in the Fourth Power, by fullsailnate … the ray guns in that story greatly resembles the result made by the ki cannon … if the author happens to read this story, I apologise if I failed to mention this earlier, but I merely came to realise it now. An additional thanks to my parents, who conceived me and my sister deliberately twenty-three years and eight months ago, and an even bigger thanks to my mom who birthed us both twenty-three years ago to the day.