Converging Series

by The Altered Destinies

The tale that started it all. A magic locket that has the ability to move people through dimensions gets loose. Havoc time! Crossover of quite a few fanfic worlds, the major ones being Ranma 2096, The More things Change and Ranma Nibunnoichi. This continues after the events of Descents and Inversions as Ryo Saotome attempts to return home. Things never work out right

12. Chapter 12

Act 8

Written by

RpM, Mike Loader, Ross McKenzie, Chris Willmore,

David Tai, Kevin Eav and Caroline Seawright

~rpm/converging_series

Act VIII

The story so far...

ACT I:

In an alternate reality where Ranma married Shampoo,

their daughter had somehow obtained a magic locket that

allowed her to cross dimensions. A few accidents later,

several of Ranma's 'children' from various realities ended

up in one reality, where Ranma was still a teen-age youth.

One among them, Ryo Saotome (son of Ranma and Ukyou) managed

to get a hold of the locket before Cologne was about to do

something devious with it. Following his victory, Ryo sent

all the children of Ranma & company to their proper

realities, and then prepared to go home himself. Something,

however, went wrong. He ended up in a bizarre version of

Tokyo in 2096 and accidentally dragged along Ratiko Hibiki

and Childra Jansen in his attempt to fix this mistake. That

attempt dragged him to two other realities with amazing

speed. From them, he accidentally brought Miyabi, daughter

of Ranma and Akane, and Ishido, a mysterious amnesiac hunted

by a shadowy organization. Finally, they stopped in a

reality where Ranma & co. were still teens, but had never

met them before.

ACT II:

Childra, curious as to what caused their

dimensional/reality shift, watched Ryo Saotome closely, and

discovered that the locket is the source of their troubles.

She tried, and succeeded, in stealing the locket from him

without his noticing. Ratiko schemed to make sure that the

history of his world took place, and began a plan to kill

Ranma and frame Miyabi for the murder. He succeeded in

getting a blood sample from her and a torn piece of her

clothing, but was interrupted before he could go through

with his plan. In a talk with Ishido, he found out about a

certain umbrella-wielding maniac threatening to kill Ryouga

in Ishido's reality. In a panic, Ratiko rushed to Childra,

and accidentally triggered the locket. The three of them

found themselves on a bridge somewhere. Before they left,

they accidentally dragged along Ryo Muhoshin, a person that

looked amazingly like Hikaru Gosunkugi, but in truth was a

bit more devious. Bringing him along, the four crossed

several realities, narrowly escaping danger, capture, and

death. Then they returned to the Nerima they had left from,

with an irate Ryo Saotome waiting for them. Meanwhile,

Miyabi had put up with the antics of her grandparents (Soun

and Genma) who were overjoyed at her existence, distressed

at the way her parents were fighting, greatly annoyed at her

trans-dimensional half brother Ryo Saotome, and had decided

that a talk with Grandmother Nodoka was in order.

ACT III:

Miyabi went to Nodoka's to talk, unaware that Ranma's

life was in danger due to the promise Genma made to Nodoka

regarding manliness and Ranma's upbringing. The end result

was that Nodoka was invited to dinner, expecting to see her

son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. Miyabi's age,

almost that of Ranma, was, unfortunately, not foreseen as a

major problem by Miyabi. Upon returning from her accidental

trip through time, Childra surrendered the locket to Ryo

Saotome once again. Meanwhile, the extra passenger they

picked up, Ryo Muhoshin, passed himself off as 'Ryo

Gosunkugi, son of Gosunkugi and Ukyou' and had everyone

fooled. Nabiki got a hold of the material Ratiko was

planning to frame Miyabi with and used it to blackmail him

into buying her dinner, among other things. They end up at

Ucchan's, where he washed dishes to pay for things. He

eventually got drunk, hit on Ukyou, and was knocked out by a

blow to the head. Childra and Ishido became more...

intimately attached. When his guard was down, Ryo Saotome

was knocked out by Ryo Muhoshin, who then accidentally

triggered the locket and disappeared into times and places

unknown.

Ryo Saotome woke up much later to find the locket gone,

an image of it burned in his hand, and discovered what was

inside the locket:

A picture of him and Bell-chan, his fiancee.

ACT IV:

Ryo Saotome began making plans to assemble the locket

that he was apparently destined to create (the photo from

the locket being proof of that). Meanwhile, Ratiko spent

the day with Nabiki, buying her food and treats while also

beginning to feel somewhat attracted to her. Ishido and

Childra sorted through their fears and anxieties, but in the

end came together in a happy reunion within the local

graveyard. Miyabi & the Tendo household held a dinner for

Nodoka, who was expecting to see her son at last. What

happened instead was that she had an interesting experience

with a time traveler (Happosai) and realized that Miyabi

was, in fact, Ranma's daughter from the future. She also

assumed that 'Ranko' was Genma's daughter from an affair.

Soun briefly assumed Akane was Genma's child from an affair

with his deceased wife. Things got ugly, but got better

again as they usually did (although Nodoka still thinks

Ranko is Genma's illegitimate child). Meanwhile, Under the

distrustful eyes of Childra and Ishido, Ryo Saotome used the

arcane resources within Happosai's room to create the

locket.

ACT V:

Ryo Muhoshin, having borrowed the locket from Ryo

Saotome by means of an umbrella applied to the back of the

head, found himself whisked away to a post-modern,

futuristic world populated by thousands of Kasumis, Ryougas,

and other familiar faces (Ministry of Confusion). After

losing the locket in a fall, he settled in and tried to make

the best of it, striking up a friendship with a Kasumi

extender named Ami. The relationship progressed to the point

of a date, at the end of which Ami was murdered by a berserk

Ryouga extender. Muhoshin killed him in retaliation, and

began a slow but methodical hunt for Ryougas across the

city.

Ryo Saotome, having remade the locket with some help

from three goddesses of time, arrived in this world just as

Muhoshin killed a Ryouga to recover his own locket. The two

fought inconclusively, with Muhoshin escaping.

Leaving 'Ministry of Confusion' in a hurried fashion,

Muhoshin rescued one world's Kasumi from a group of

terrorists intent on beating her to death. A veteran

time-jumper already, she took the name Kaeri to distinguish

herself from the more serene person she had been. The two

stayed together for a few weeks, with Kaeri recovering and

picking up some of Muhoshin's skills. Still obsessed with

the need to protect her family, Kaeri prevailed upon

Muhoshin to take her to Nerima - and off they went.

ACT VI

Nabiki unwisely allowed Ratiko to take the lead in a

brisk walk through Nerima. As a result, she found herself

lost in Africa.

Obeying her wishes, Ryo Muhoshin brought Kaeri to Nerima,

the version of Nerima that just happened to be the resting

place for Ishido, Childra, and the others...

Miyabi hatches a plan to use Nabiki's tape recording

equipment to make a fake conversation between Ranma and

Akane, so as to discourage the other rivals and possibly

nudge the two closer together.

Ratiko, after having just one of those days, hunted for

Ranma. Instead of finding him, he had another one of those

days.

Ryo Saotome chased Ryo Muhoshin across the worlds,

stumbling through across strange realities, and learning

that he has more power over the locket than he knew.

Ryo Muhoshin and Saotome confronted each other once more,

with the end result being dozens of injuries and a destroyed

building. This convinced Ryo Saotome that bringing in

Muhoshin would require a team effort.

Kaeri spied upon the Tendo household, finding out (much

to her distress) about the fate of her family in Ratiko and

Childra's world and causing much confusion among them until

Ryo Saotome, returning from other worlds, runs into her.

She tells him her tale, leaving out her involvement with Ryo

Muhoshin, and asks for his help in putting an end to the

timeline that creates Ratiko and Childra's world.

Ryo said no.

Kaeri hit him when he wasn't looking and took the locket.

Just before she disappeared, Ryo Saotome, Ishido, and

Ratiko jumped into the fading afterglow of the locket and

all disappeared.

ACT VII:

Kaeri traveled through time and realities to prevent the

tragedy that gave birth to the reality of Ranma 2096, and

succeeded in doing so. However, doing so did not change

history as she expected it to, but only split the timeline

into a reality where it did happen and where it didn't.

Shattered by this fact, Kaeri went into a catatonic

state. Ryo Saotome and his party of time trippers arrived

just as she collapsed and brought her back.

With the locket once more in his possession, Ryo Saotome

went with Ishido and Childra to once again stop Ryo

Muhoshin's cross-dimensional murdering spree, leaving Miyabi

to care for Kaeri.

Ratiko, believing Kaeri's intent to eliminate his

timeline made her too dangerous to live, scheemed to kill

her.

After a battle in a mysterious deserted city, Ryo

Muhoshin was defeated, but only after he had an odd

epileptic fit which seemed to be linked to the locket which

was now imbedded in his chest and poisoning his body.

Miyabi walked into Kaeri's room, only to find Ratiko

just about to kill the unconscious girl.

And now...

Converging Series

Act VIII

Converging Series

Act 8

For a moment, there was a deadly silence in Kaeri

Tendo's room.

Ratiko Hibiki stood frozen, holding a pillow, hovering

over Kaeri's head. He gave a very loud audible gulp. Maybe

this assassination wouldn't go too smoothly.

Miyabi Tendo was slowly emitting a large red aura which

looked remarkably like that of her mother, the indomitable

Akane Tendo. "Wh-what do you think you're doing?" she

managed to squeeze through clenched teeth.

Ratiko gave a nervous smile. "Aheh, er, fluffing

pillows! Yeah, that's it!" He began fluffing the pillow a

lot. "See? Fluffing, right, I'm fluffing, don't want her to

get uncomfortable, right?"

Miyabi slowly approached, her demeanor suddenly going

from psychotic to smiling. "Oh re-ally...?"

Ratiko laughed nervously, then covered his mouth. Every

fiber of his being was screaming at him to get out of there,

but...

"Ooooo, Ratiko..." Miyabi cooed, coming up close to him.

"That's sweet of you."

"Aheh. Ah..." Ratiko mumbled, trying to back away from

her slowly. At least until a wall came up behind him. And

all the while, Miyabi was slowly coming up quite close to

him, a seductive smile on her face, fluttering her

eyelashes.

"And what were you doing with Kaeri, Ratty-chan?" Miyabi

murmured, quite close now.

"Well... aheh... y'know... kill her... and..."

She moved her lips next to his ear, her breath tickling

his skin.

Then she yelled.

"RATIKO NO BAKAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

And suddenly, a fist entered his field of vision.

And another.

And another.

Miyabi displayed the speed and skill inherited from her

father in a dazzling array of elbows, knees, punches, and

kicks that battered Ratiko like a tornado in a matter of

seconds.

And then, displaying the might of her mother's side, she

pulled out a giant mallet and sent him on the aerial tour of

Nerima.

-WHAM-

Sighing, Miyabi turned back to Kaeri, sitting down by

her bedside and reaching out to brush back a few loose

strands. Poor Auntie Kasumi...

Her eyes fell across the scar, and for a moment, she

thought back to what Ryo Saotome had said about Kaeri.

Which was practically nothing.

She frowned. Ryo... the big dummy! Why did she have to

listen to him? Just because he thought he knew

everything... he had to order everyone around. And he had

to be so secretive too, like anyone cared about him and his

troubles... Well, she'd show him! She'd show him... and

everyone else that she could be just as good! Just because

she had been spending her time trying to get Mum and Dad

together...

She sobered quickly. No. Didn't want to think about

that.

She missed her family.

And looking down at Kaeri, she began to feel that this

Kasumi who was not Kasumi, felt the same way.

She reached down to squeeze Kaeri's unconscious fingers.

"I guess it's just you and me, right, Auntie...?"

There was no answer.

Flying.

It was a wonderful sensation, thought Ratiko, something

to enjoy.

Normally he enjoyed it when he was in his cursed form,

i.e. female fruit bat. Today, however, there was a

problem. He wasn't a bat, and yet he was airborne.

This kinda feels nice, he thought to himself. Wonder

how I'm gonna land.

Oh.

Uh oh.

*WHAM*

Grey concrete and blue sky swirled around him, along

with a mix of stars. Fortunately for him, Hibikis are

generally sturdy, and even this, the most cowardly scion of

that family, had a fair amount of endurance to him.

Which is why, after landing on his face, he suffered

only a sore neck and a broken nose.

"Ow."

Ratiko stood up slowly, wobbling on his feet. He gently

touched his nose, which reacted by sending a fresh wave of

pain straight to his brain.

"Ow!"

Yes, it was definitely broken. He ripped off his

bandanna and covered his nose with it, but it was too late

to keep his face clean. Streaks of blood had already run

down his face, giving him the appearance of being far more

hurt than he really was.

That appearance didn't get any better when he tripped

and fell flat on his face.

"Ow!"

Which is where the passing ambulance came in.

He'd managed to fall right in front of it as he tripped

and fell. By the time he managed to stand up again, they

finally saw him.

And they hit him.

*WHAM*

It was an accident, really.

"Hey, Taki, we just hit a guy?"

"I think we did, Koji."

"Oh man."

"Quick! Get'em in the ambulance and tranq'em! If we

drug him up enough, he might not rememeber!"

"Good idea!"

Before Ratiko could get up again, he found himself

picked up, dropped on a stretcher, and slid into the back of

the ambulance.

He tried to say something, but the world was still

spinning entirely too much for him to get some proper

sentances arranged for vocalization.

Instead, he just said, "aag."

And then he felt a slight pricking sensation on his arm

and the world went black...

Miyabi was fuming. It'd been a few hours and she was

STILL waiting for Ryo! It would have been so much easier if

she knew what she was waiting for, but...

She turned to look at Kaeri, who was still quiet and

motionless. Sighing, Miyabi sat down at Kaeri's bedside,

tilting her head to watch her silently. Her attention was

drawn to the large pink scar across Kaeri's face.

She shuddered slightly. No one she knew in her universe

ever got hurt, or angry... well, not for long.

She sighed. Bored. No use sulking like this. What

would Mum do? Wait. Fight with Dad. No.

Auntie Nabiki would go earn money, but she didn't think

it was a big deal.

Auntie Kasumi? She'd tell stories.

Stories.

She looked at Kaeri.

The last thing Ratiko remembered was hitting the ground.

Or was that being hit to the ground? He wasn't entirely

sure. The world was a warm and fuzzy place, literally.

Everything was so... not focused, and everything had a weird

echo too.

"Echo echo echo echo whee whee whee whee!"

Something felt odd, not quite right. He felt around

with clumsy fingers and realized that there was something on

his nose. It was hard, and cold, and didn't seem to be

removable.

A part of him wondered if he'd been drugged up. This,

however, was the common sense area, and Ratiko rarely paid

attention to that.

He stood up from the bed (yes, it seemed to be a bed)

and stumbled around until he found himself before a mirror.

Being a Hibiki, that was a fairly impressive accomplishment

done considering it was done under ten minutes.

The mirror seemed blurry.

He tried wiping it down a few times, but that didn't

seem to help.

Then he wiped his eyes a bit, and that made everything

clearer.

"Oh."

He had, it seemed, a cast on his nose.

"Ah..."

And it made him look... sort of...

"Aheheh..."

... sort of funny, actually.

"Ahehehehehehheeh, looka me! Clown! Hehehee!"

Ratiko stumbled and bumbled all around his room, giddy

with laughter but not entirely sure what he was laughing at

any more. It didn't matter. He was feeling groovy, so

everything was groovy.

And with that in mind, he continued to happily groove

about the place, not heeding what or who he ran into.

Hibikis are known for several things. One of them is

the talent to get spectacularly lost. Another is their

above average strength.

Hibikis also were always good at generating spectacular

amounts of ki when under emotional stress.

Finding himself in the hospital, bandaged, and with

various drugs circulating in his system, Ratiko was a time

bomb just waiting to blow.

And it did.

"Auntie, can you hear me?" asked Miyabi softly, kneeling

by Kaeri's side. "Auntie Ka... er.. Auntie Kaeri?"

Miyabi frowned. It would take some time to get used to

that name.

"I... I don't know if you can hear me," continued Miyabi

hesitantly, "but I hope you can. You used to take care of

me a lot when I wasn't feeling well, so I guess this is my

chance to do the same for you."

Miyabi pulled the blanket around Kaeri, making sure she

was tucked in nicely, then gently caressed her forehead with

her hand. It didn't seem to ease Kaeri's pained, haunted

face.

"When I was sick, hurt, or just feeling sad, I remember

you always used to tell me these stories. I really don't

know what's wrong with you, but I hope it'll help."

Miyabi took a small moment to curse Ryo Saotome for not

telling her what was wrong with Kas... Kaeri. Then she

closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to remember

the first tale Kasumi had ever told.

If one could peer into the mind of Kaeri, formerly

Kasumi Tendo, one would see absolute darkness. The horrific

realization that her entire family was damned, no matter

what she did, was devastating beyond words and brought her

mind collapsing down into nothingness.

After all, there was nothing left to hope for.

Somehow, through the void of darkness, she heard

something...

A faint echo of a familiar voice, a comforting presence

in a time of need.

"Ka... Kasumi, can you hear me?"

Mother?

Her long dormant mind slowly stirred, straining to hear

the faint voice, so near yet oh so far away.

Mother, is that you?

She felt the gentle caress of a warm hand across her

brow, and a soothing voice drifting softly along. Through

the haze of her mind, she heard the words that mother once

told her, words of comfort in times of distress.

And somewhere in Kaeri's mind, she remembered...

The last story.

She didn't like hospitals.

They were so solemn, and quiet, and her mother had been

stuck in one for weeks now and she didn't understand why

mother hadn't come home yet.

"Kasumi," said her mother (for she was still Kasumi in

that time), "come hear, dear."

"Mother?" Kasumi found herself at a loss for words, as

the feeling of impending death in the air robbed her of her

voice.

"Kasumi," said her mother, in a voice far too weak and

far too tired, "you remember all the stories I used to tell

you."

"Y-yes, mother."

Mother managed a weak, but still comforting smile as she

took Kasumi's hand in hers. "I know times have been hard on

you lately, dear, and I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you.

There's... one more story, my dear Kasumi, that I must

tell."

Kasumi noddded slowly, and then her mother told the last

story...

"Once upon a time in ancient Japan, when a trip between

cities took days, there was a man and his wife. They lived

in a remote part of Japan, and were blessed with a little

girl who was sweet and good and dutiful.

"One day, the man was called away on business to faraway

Kyoto. Before he went he told his daughter that if she

were good and dutiful to her mother he would bring her back

a present she would prize very highly. He kissed his wife,

and took his leave, as mother and daughter watched him go.

"Weeks passed, and the mother and daughter kept the cottage

clean, and played games and laughed with each other, while

missing the good man very much.

"At last he returned to his home, and after his wife and

child had taken off his large hat and sandals, he sat down

upon the white mats and opened a bamboo basket, watching

the eager gaze of his little child. He took out a

wonderful doll and a lacquer box of cakes and put them into

her outstretched hands. The daughter laughed and cried for

joy, and the good wife smiled at her husband. The man

a wrapped gift, and bade her to be careful with it. The

good wife unwrapped the gift, and exclaimed in surprise.

For in it, there was an object with a human face looking

out at her! Its convex surface shone brightly, while upon

its back, there was a design of pine trees and storks.

"The good man's wife had never seen a mirror before, and on

gazing into it she was under the impression that another

woman looked out upon her as she gazed with growing wonder.

Her husband laughed, and explained what the object was, and

bade her to take great care of the mirror.

"And they were happy for many more years. But all good

things come to and end. One day, the woman became very

ill. Just before she died, she called to her little

daughter, and said, "Dear child, when I am dead, take care

of your father. One day, your father will remarry. I want

you to love your new mother as much as you love me."

""Don't talk like that, mother! You will get better!" the

daughter cried. The mother shook her head. "I must leave

you. But..." and here she drew out a wrapped object, and

bade her daughter to unwrap it.

""Why, that is the mirror Father got when he went to Kyoto

many years ago!" the girl said.

""Yes. I know you will miss me when I have left you. But

take this mirror, and when you feel most lonely, look into

it and you will always see me. I may not talk, but I will

be there for you." And with these words, the mother

sighed, and passed away.

"After mourning the loss of his good wife, in due time the

man married again. His new wife was not kind at all to her

stepdaughter. And often the daughter found herself lonely,

and missing her mother. And then one day, she remembered

her mother's words, and drew out the mirror in the privacy

of her room. And lo, her mother looked out at her from the

mirror's surface. Not the sickly pained face of her dying

days, but the young and beautiful beloved face.

"After that, whenever her stepmother's unkindness grew too

much for her, the daughter would retreat into her room and

gaze into the mirror. And in this manner, she was able to

remain calm and gentle and good-natured, for her mother's

smile and gentle look reassured her.

"One day the girl's stepmother chanced to see her crouching

in a corner over an object she could not quite see,

murmuring to herself. This ignorant woman, who detested

the child and believed that her stepdaughter detested her

in return, was frightened, for she thought that the girl

was performing some strange magical art -perhaps making an

image and sticking pins into it. Full of these notions,

the stepmother went to her husband and told him that his

wicked child was doing her best to kill her by witchcraft.

"When the good man had listened to this incredible tale, he

went straight to his daughter's room. The good man knew

that there was friction between his loving daughter and his

wife, and felt that time would work it out, but he thought

it wise to talk to his loving little girl. He had meant to

be gentle, but when the girl saw him, she slipped an object

into her sleeve. For the first time her doting father grew

angry, and he feared that there was, after all, truth in

what his wife had told him, and he repeated her tale

forthwith.

"When his daughter had heard this unjust accusation she was

amazed at her father's words, and she told him that she

loved him far too well ever to attempt or wish to kill his

wife, who she knew was dear to him. ""What have you hidden

in your sleeve, then?" said her father, only half convinced

and still much puzzled over his daughter's strange

behavior.

"Then the daughter took out the object. "The mirror you

gave my mother, and which she on her deathbed gave to me.

Every time I look into its

shining surface, I see the face of my dear mother, young

and beautiful. When my heart aches-and oh! it has ached

so much lately-I take out the mirror, and mother's face,

with her sweet, kind smile, brings me peace, and helps me

to bear hard words and cross looks."

"And the man did not understand, so his daughter took out

the mirror, and looked at it. And then she looked up at

her father with a simple innocent joyful expression. "Look,

Father! Do you see Mother?"

"And the man looked, and understanding broke out on his

face. "Oh, how wise your mother was! Like two halves of a

melon, you and your mother shared the same face, and thus,

in your innocence, you have grown up to be the loving

person your mother was!" And he hugged his daughter, and

loved her more for her filial piety.

"The girl's stepmother, who had snuck up and listened at the

doorway, suddenly burst in, crying and kowtowing to her

stepdaughter. "I did not know! I did not know! I had

thought that you hated me, and so I, in turn, hated you.

But having heard the tale of you and your mother, I am

ashamed. From this day forth, I will cast out my old

heart, and put in a new one, and love you as my daughter,

and I hope you will love me as you

loved your mother." And she cried.

"And this dutiful daughter, who believed she had seen her

mother's face in the mirror, forgave her stepmother. From

then on, her home was again a happy one, and the family was

never troubled again.

There was a moment of silence as Kasumi held her mother's

hand like a lifeline. She never wanted to let go, never,

not ever, it wasn't fair...

"Kasumi," said her mother gently, "do you understand what

I'm trying to say?"

"Y-yes, mother, I do."

Miyabi paused in her storytelling as she saw, at last,

the first sign of life from her comatose aunt.

A single tear.

Miyabi clasped her aunt's hand tightly. "Auntie

Kasumi...?"

A voice answered. "No. Not Kasumi...

"Kaeri."

"Hello?"

Ratiko Hibiki wasn't quite sure what was going on. The

last thing he remembered clearly was falling down on the

road. The details were murky, but there was definitely a

road and he'd definitely hit it face first.

From that point, his memories were murky to the point of

being unreliable. Something about clown noses and flames,

but that didn't seem right.

As to where he was now... it was a bed, in very cramp

quarters, surrounded by lots of medical equipment. It

seemed to be... an ambulance?

Slowly, he stood up, and immediately noticed something

was wrong. There was something on his nose and one of his

arms was wrapped in bandages.

What, he wondered, just happened.

With that in mind, he opened the door.

And then he quickly closed it again as the wail of

sirens and the sight of a hospital ablaze greeted him.

Oh, so that's what happened.

"Oh boy."

And then, without warning, the ambulance roared to life,

sirens wailing, and sped away.

"H-hey! Waitaminute!"

Ratiko made his way to the front of the ambulance, where

two very stressed medics sat.

"Um, hello?" he asked nervously.

Both of the medics groaned.

"I knew we forgot something," said one of them.

"Sorry about this sir," said the other to Ratiko. "But

we've got an emergency call to get to and we can't turn back

now. Just... ah... sit back and relax. I think we've got

a few magazines there for you to kill time with."

Ratiko blinked. "Oh. Um, okay."

Kaeri slowly sat up, looking up, a dull, impassive

expression on her face. She slowly tilted her head to look

at an anxious Miyabi.

"... Auntie Kaeri?"

There was no response.

"Auntie Kaeri? ... Are you okay?"

A pause for thought, then Kaeri slowly shook her head,

remaining sullen.

Miyabi sat down nervously next to Kaeri. She reached

out to touch her aunt's hand.

Kaeri flinched, backing away. Miyabi let go quickly,

then looked down. "I'm sorry, Auntie." And she stood up

quickly, leaving the room.

Outside the room, Miyabi sighed. Great. Just

greaaaaaaaat. Ryo Saotome was going to pay for this. But

until she came back...

"Auntie, are you hungry?"

Kaeri shook her head.

Miyabi frowned. "You haven't had anything since you

came here. Are you sure?"

With that eerily blank look on still haunting her face,

Kaeri nodded.

With a sigh, Miyabi walked quietly out the door, closing

it slowly on her way out. A moment later, she peeked back

into the room. "Tell ya what, I'll just bring you a little

something... just in case, you know?"

Kaeri didn't respond.

"Right. Back in a while."

Entering the kitchen, Miyabi was greeted with awkward

silence. Kasumi was there, chopping vegetables and watching

over boiling pots as she prepared the next meal. However,

she just didn't seem... herself.

"Auntie Kasumi? Are you okay?"

Kasumi twitched, as if startled, then turned to Miyabi

with a warm smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm

fine, Miyabi-chan. You?"

"Um, okay, I guess."

"And how is..." Kasumi's expression wavered for a

moment. "How is... our guest."

"She's... okay, I guess. I'm gonna bring some food to

her, I don't think she's eaten anything at all yet."

Kasumi nodded. "That's... nice."

And then the eldest Tendo resumed chopping vegetables.

Chop chop chop chop.

Miyabi looked at Kasumi with concern. She couldn't

imagine how her auntie felt, seeing a deranged, scarred

version of herself. Whatever she was feeling, Miyabi hoped

she could handle it, becuase she'd be busy enough with

Kaeri.

Humming to herself, Miyabi gathered some fruit, chips,

and other miscellaneous snacks, along with a canned drink,

placed them all neatly on a tray, and carried it out.

And then her grandfather walked by.

"Ah, Miyabi-chan, how thoughtful of you."

With speed born of being a horrible glutton, Genma

reached for the food on the tray. With speed born of eating

countless meals with Genma and Ranma, Miyabi pulled the tray

out from his reach.

"Grandfather, no! This is for Auntie Kaeri."

"Who?"

"The other Kasumi, the one that... you know..."

Genma's expression turned very solemn. "Oh, I see.

Very good, granddaughter, tending to the weak is a martial

artist's duty. Go on, dear."

"Thanks, Grampa."

As Miyabi walked away, Genma shook his head. The worlds

were mysterious places indeed. What kind of world would

produce such a shatttered version of their dear Kasumi?

Ah, well, the mysteries of life.

He watched his granddaughter depart upstairs, then went

over to the old reliable shogi board to kill some time with

Soun.

"Ready to face defeat again, Tend... o?"

Soun Tendo, in full glistening and sharp samurai armor

was not what he was expecting.

"Hello, Saotome." The metal scraped and whined as Soun

took a sat at the Shogi board. "Shall we?"

"Ah... sure."

"Last time I went first, I believe. So you're up

today."

Genma nodded. He moved a piece.

Soun studied the move carefully. Then he

*SCREECH*GROAN*SQUEEK*SCREECH* moved a piece.

Genma took five seconds to recover, then another minute

to contemplate his next step. And then he moved another

piece.

Soun nodded approvingly, as if seeing wisdom in Genma's

strategy. He then took a full minute to contemplate the

next step, then he *TREENK*SCRUONKK*TREEENK*SCRRRK* moved

another piece.

Genma blinked and shook his head, trying to stop the

world from reverberating. "Tendo, my friend, may I ask a

question?"

"What is it, Saotome?"

"Why do you have that armor on?"

"Saotome... that girl... that other Kasumi... before

tonight I had thought it impossible that such harm could

befall my first child. Now I know the world is in fact a

far more dangerous place, and so long as Kasumi is under my

roof I shall _never_ allow her to suffer such a fate."

Genma nodded approvingly. "Very noble, Tendo."

Akane walked into the room at this time, looking

puzzled. "Daddy? Mr. Saotome? Did you hear that noise?"

Soun turned *SCREEECH*SCROONK*WHRRR*SCREEK* to face her

youngest daughter. "What noise, Akane?"

After her ears finally stabalized, Akane sighed. "Ah...

never mind." She turned to walk away, muttering something

about crazy parents, then paused. "Say, have any of you

seen Nabiki?"

Genma shook his head. "Not I."

"Probably out with her friends," said Soun. "You know

how she is."

Meanwhile, in Ethiopia...

Nabiki sighed in relief, watching the ground zoom by and

below her. She was currently passenger in a VTOL combat jet

she'd come into possession of after a long and complicated

series of transactions that made even her head spin.

At long last, back to Japan.

It was a real experience, these past few days, but she'd

survived. Oh yes, through thick and thin, through endless

negociations, corrupt government officials, corrupt rebels,

and noisy tourists, she'd survived and come out on top.

And in a matter of hours... she'd return home

triumphant.

*BOOM*

Or not.

("What was that?!") she yelled to the pilot.

("Rebel gunfire, Miss Tendo. They took out one of our

engines!")

And as her newly acquired VTOL plane spiraled back down

to earth, Nabiki cursed and cursed and cursed and cursed...

And, again, she swore vengence on Ratiko Hibiki.

Night and day came and went, and for the second day in a

row, Ryo Saotome had not come back. Miyabi felt a bit of

worry but a large amount of irritation. Kasu- Kaeri needed

to be someplace more peaceful, where she'd belong, and not

this place. Kaeri didn't belong there, and neither did

Miyabi. Until then, the future Saotome tried to make life

as comfortable as possible for them both.

"Good morning!"

Miyabi carried the tray laden with breakfast items to

Kaeri's side. The former Kasumi acknowledged Miyabi with a

glance, but nothing more.

"Feeling any better?" asked Miyabi softly.

Kaeri shook her head, negative.

"Don't you want any breakfast?"

Again, Kaeri shook her head.

"Won't you at least give it a try? I made it myself,

y'know." She gave Kaeri a ressuring smile.

No response.

"Just a little? For me? Please?"

No response, again. Kaeri merely looked blankly at the

wall.

With a sigh, Miyabi took a seat on the floor, opposite

of Kaeri, and rested her hand in her head. What to do to

get her to talk?

Hrm.

"Tell you what," said Miyabi. "I'll tell you all about

me, then you tell me all about you, okay? That only seems

fair, ne?"

The underwhelming response was not inspiring.

"I'll... take that as a yes." Miyabi shifted for a

moment, settling down to tell her tale. With a deep breath,

she began.

Or, she was about to, when she realized she'd forgotten

something very basic.

"Oh, I never introduced myself!" she said with much

embarrassment. "I'm Miyabi Saotome, sorry I didn't say so

earlier, but I guess I was just kinda caught up in things."

Kaeri's gaze shifted towards her, until she was looking

directly into Miyabi's. The girl found the dead stare a bit

unnerving, but pressed on and told her tale...

"Ranma and Akane, they're my parents. I'm told I have a

lot of them in me. I dunno. Grownups say that a lot about

kids." Miyabi shrugged.

"I was born, um, will be born, in a few years. I'm the

first baby they had. My little brother was born a few years

later, but that's another story."

"They say I was born kicking and screaming, and haven't

stopped since." Miyabi thought about how that sounded, then

laughed. "No, I'm not bad like that, I guess I'm just a

little stubborn sometimes."

Her frace brightened, a proud grin making its way to her

lips. "And I'm good at martial arts."

"I'm the heir to the Tendo Dojo, and proud of it.

Father says I'm every bit as good as he was, and I've heard

how good he was so hearing that from him means a lot to me."

Miyabi glanced quickly, checking on Kaeri's expression. Was

that a faint smile she saw flickering? Maybe this was

working.

She thought of what to say next, then had a profound

insight on her life situation.

"I just realized. If I'm the heir, they're probably

gonna try to engage me to someone. I just hope mother and

father don't make the same mistakes grandfather made." She

frowned and bit a nail. "Say, waitasec, they don't

necessarily need ME to have children to get an heir. They

could always engage Masao to Saeko! Yeah, that's a plan!"

She grinned proudly, feeling good about her plan.

"Oh, that's right, you don't know them. Masao is my

brother, and Saeko is Uncle Ryouga and Auntie Ukyou's

daughter. Saeko's okay, but Masao's a brat."

"You used to babysit us a lot, I remember. You always

told me I was such a tomboy, just like mum was when she was

a kid. Seeing her now, I still don't know what they're

talking about. Do you?" She looked at Kaeri curiously.

No response. However, she was either imagining things

or Kaeri actually looked like she was listening.

"Well, we..." Miyabi hesitated, then frowned.

"I'm rambling, aren't I."

Kaeri blinked. It was better than nothing.

"Well... hold on... lemme think of something." Miyabi

hummed for a bit, eyes rolled upward, deep in thought.

"Ah, I know! I remember when you taught me to cook."

That seemed like a good place to start. She remembered it

well, and it involved auntie Kae... Kasu... her.

"Well, you didn't start teaching me until mum and dad

asked you to. I guess it was because of the way I started

cooking..."

It was six in the morning and Miyabi was hungry.

Mommy and daddy... were still asleep.

Granpa Soun was... still asleep.

Granpa Panda was... still asleep.

Miyabi was very hungry.

Being the independent sort, much like her mother, Miyabi

decided that making her own breakfast should be just fine.

Obviously, the really neat stuff was too hard for her.

But that instant ramen... now that looked easy.

Hot water, noodles, mix. Right.

Now how did mum heat water?

"Dear, what's that sound?"

Ranma yawned and groaned. "Nnng, more sleep."

"Will you go check?"

"Right, okay, hold on..."

And so Ranma Saotome, Martial Artist, trudged down

half-asleep through his abode. He may have been

half-asleep, but he was still an alert martial artist. The

sound of metal clanging on metal could be heard from the

kitchen.

A burglar?

He carefully made his way to the kitchen, silently,

slowly...

"Hi daddy!"

"Miyabi-chan?" Ranma looked around the kitchen,

puzzled. "What's going on?"

"Cookin' breakfast!"

Oh, thought Ranma, that would explain the bits of dry

ramen splattered on the floor, along with the bowl full of

smashed up ramen bits.

"Instant ramen, Miyabi-chan?"

"Mm-hm!" said the girl, nodding enthusiastically.

The sound of the microwave humming along got Ranma's

attention. He looked inside, where a cup of water was

already steaming. Ranma looked at the heating time.

999 minutes, 32 seconds.

Oh boy.

Ranma chuckled. "Heh, just like your mom."

"And what do you mean by that?" asked Akane's voice.

"Er... nothing, love."

Kaeri blinked, again, but otherwise didn't react much.

Miyabi didn't notice, too wrapped up in her own tale.

"After that, they kinda told the whole family. Everyone

laughed about it, which made me kinda confused. But you...

you took me seriously."

With Ranma and Akane gone on yet another adventure,

Miyabi found herself in Auntie Kasumi's care once more. The

little girl didn't mind much, since Auntie Kasumi was nice.

"Miyabi-chan, I heard you were trying to learn how to

cook?"

Miyabi nodded. "But daddy won't let me unless him'n mum

is watching."

Kasumi smiled and ruffled the girl's hair. "That's

good, Miyabi-chan. You know, I learned how to cook at your

age."

That seemed to get Miyabi's attention. "You did?"

Kasumi smiled wistfully. "Mm-hm. I tried on my own,

just like you, but I accidentally started a fire."

Miyabi gasped. "Did the house burn down?"

The eldest Tendo daughter laughed. "Oh, no, everything

was okay. But after that, mother taught me how to cook."

"Oooh."

Kasumi appeared contemplative for a moment, then knelt

down to be at eye level with Miyabi. "Miyabi-chan, do you

want me to help you learn how to cook?"

The little girl's eyes widened. "You would?"

"I'd love to."

"Yaaaay!"

"Now, you'll have to promise to do exactly what I say."

"Haiii!"

"Now, the first thing mother taught me is how to boil

water."

"Water? How'bout okonomiyaki?"

"First things first, Miyabi-chan. You have to learn the

basics before you try bigger things."

"Okaaaay."

"I'm still not as good as you," said Miyabi. "Don't

know if I ever will be, but I'm told that I'm a better cook

than mom was when she was my age."

She stretched and yawned, feeling the effects of sitting

in one position for too long.

"I'm gonna go take a quick jog around the neighborhood,

okay? I'll be back later."

Kaeri blinked, which wasn't much more than she'd been

doing before. With a sigh, Miyabi rose and went to the

door.

She paused, however, when she heard the faintest of

sounds, a few softly spoken words from the silent Kaeri.

"Come back."

Miyabi stared at Kaeri in surprise, though Kaeri was

still staring at the wall across from her. Well, she wasn't

normal, but progress was progress. As her father once told

her, one step at a time.

"Don't worry, auntie. I will. I promise."

As promised, Miyabi had returned later that day and told

more stories of her eventful youth. She spoke of birthdays

and picnics, rivalries and friendships, a youth spent

amongst some of the most formidable martial artists in the

world.

And as she spun her tales, Kaeri listened. Silently, as

she listened to the girl, her eyes became just a little less

haunted, her gaze a little less blank, and a little more

human.

However, Kaeri still remained mostly silent, except for

the occasional "no", "yes", "bye", and other monosylable

words.

There was one exception.

"Come back."

Two words spoken with a certain sadness and need,

whenever it appeared Miyabi would leave the room. The girl

would always assure her that she'd return, and when she did

she thought she sensed relief from the scarred and shattered

woman that was once Kasumi Tendo.

Three days passed in this manner, and Miyabi found them

to be more pleasant than any time spent with her parents and

grandparents so far. From Kaeri, there was no nagging, no

arguing, no denial. She listened, and maybe, though Miyabi

admitted it might have been wishful thinking on her part,

maybe she cared.

However, it wasn't until the fourth day that there was a

change.

"So the first time I tried making sauce for the egg fu

yung, I thought it'd be easy," said Miyabi. "I mean, gravy

is just water, seasonings, and flour, right?"

"Corn starch," mumbled Kaeri.

"Yeah, I-"

"Corn starch, beef stock, salt," continued Kaeri.

Miyabi stared at Kaeri, surprised. This was more words

than she'd ever said before in a row. She watched Kaeri

intently, waiting to see if she would open up further.

She didn't disappoint.

"Use a sauce pan, medium heat. Stir and mix, be sure

not to leave any lumps, until thick and bubbly."

"Auntie... you're talking."

Kaeri nodded. "Good cooking," she said in a hoarse

voice, "is important."

It was, admittedly, a bit of a letdown.

But at least she was talking.

"Go on," said Kaeri.

"Huh?"

"Your story."

"Oh!" Miyabi laughed nervously and scratched the back of

her head. "Well, anyway, I mixed beef stock, flour, and

water, then put it in the microwave. A minute later, I got

a muffin."

"A muffin?" asked Kaeri.

"Yeah, it was neat! Firm on the outside with a gooey,

salty middle. Daddy called it a 'Chinese muffin'."

Kaeri smiled.

"What... happened?"

"Why you..." Miyabi searched for the words, not entirely

sure how to put the question. "Why... who... who hurt you?"

Kaeri looked away, closing her eyes. Miyabi could feel

her hand trembling, and held it more firmly.

"It's okay, you don't have to-"

"Knives," Kaeri whispered. "They used knives. And

needles."

Her fingers, those that remained, clamped tightly around

Miyabi's hand.

"Auntie..."

"They killed them. All of them. Akane, Nabiki, Ranma,

Daddy, all of them dead, but they DIDN'T KILL ME!" Kaeri's

voice went from whisper to shriek in an instant, and Miyabi

shrank away from the fires that suddenly danced behind her

eyes.

"Killed them! Left me all alone... all alone.." The

shriek faded into choking half-sobs, and Miyabi began to

open her mouth, a comforting phrase floating up through her

horrified mind.

"But I wouldn't let them, no, I wouldn't! The mirror! I

took the mirror, and I went back, and I found them, and I

took the bomb, the bomb that killed them, and I found the

monsters and they... they hurt... it doesn't matter, I don't

matter, the Work is everything... but they hurt me..."

"Auntie... Auntie, please, it's okay..."

"And there's more Akanes and Nabikis and they die and I

can't save them all," Kaeri mumbled, a hurt, confused look

moving over her scarred face. "They can't die. They're all

I've ever had. It's all my fault. My fault..."

Dropping her face into her maimed hands, she wept.

Miyabi tightly hugged her, tears running down her own

cheeks. Now, at least, she knew what had happened.

She remembered her own tears at seeing this alternate

version of her parents constantly fighting. How much worse,

then, must it have been for Kaeri? Her real family killed,

alternate families apparently dead as well... physical

torture, emotional torture, survivor's guilt, and the loss

of everything she had built her life around...

The only wonder, Miyabi thought sadly, was that she was

as relatively sane as she was.

"Sssh. Ssssh. It's okay..."

"All gone... all dead..."

"Let me tell you about my world again. Mum and Dad were

so pleased when the Hibikis had their first child..."

"Burned to ashes..."

"...there was a big celebration..."

"Dead. All dead..."

Half an hour later, Miyabi emerged, her legs a little

unsteady. Kaeri was asleep... or dozing, or just more

unresponsive than usual. It was hard to tell, sometimes.

Stories of her world seemed to help. Apparantly she must

have grown up in a virtual paradise by the standards of the

universes Kaeri had seen, as if some kindly power had

watched over Miyabi and her extended family, giving them

happiness.

The scarred Tendo has rambled on for a good fifteen

minutes, sometimes about knives and needles and stoves, and

sometimes about surreal-sounding lands, but mostly the same

mournful lament that 'they' were all dead.

It did give Miyabi a bit of a queasy feeling.

Intellectually she supposed that there were worlds where her

parents died, or she died... but there was a big difference

between mental supposition and actually seeing it happen. A

very big difference.

Possibily the difference between madness and sanity.

Even with someone like Kaeri, there were only so many

times one could go over the same family gossip and recipes.

The scarred woman had a blissful expression on her face; she

looked like she could go on hearing about mum and dad all

day long, but Miyabi felt that SHE'D be the one lying on a

couch soon if she didn't change the subject. So she did.

"...and after that we had to bathe my brother in alcohol

to clean it all off. Auntie Kaeri..." A muffled 'hrmph?'

came from the woman. Not quite a 'Yes?', but it was a

response. "Have I ever told you about how I got here?"

Kaeri shook her head ever so slightly, bit her lip

and stuck her right hand in the crack between the seat and

back cushions.

Miyabi decided to risk it, and began to narrate the

adventures of Ryo Saotome and the Locketeers - the G-rated

version. She could tell when her story was getting too

troublesome for her audience, because her eyebrows would

knot themselves up and she'd reach deeper into the sofa

crack. Whenever that happened, she'd backtrack a bit, skip

over events, or patch up the narrative with attractive

little white lies. "...and then Rat poked me with a nee...

with his finger, to check for bruises. Hey, wait! Where

are you going?"

"It's a lovely... Miyabi..." Kaeri stood up slowly and

carefully, using the sofa's armrests as supports. "I'll

just be a minute. I need to..." She pointed at the washroom.

"Need help?"

Kaeri shook her head.

Miyabi sat on the edge of the sofa and watched her as

she walked. She stumbled a few times, but never actually

fell. The washroom door opened, then shut with a click.

Miyabi looked at the sofa. Auntie'd lain there so long

that there was a slight Kaeri-shaped depression on the

cushions, and a distortion where she'd stuck her hand

between the cushions. What'd she been doing that for,

anyway? She reached in.

Was that a broomstick? That made sense. For Auntie, a

mop would be as good as a security blanket. But it was so

cold and hard, and it must be carved... She grabbed the rod

and yanked it out.

Nope. Definitely not a broomstick. Nuh-uh.

A flush from the washroom.

Miyabi didn't know what it was that she was holding, but

she guessed that anything with that kind of symbol on it

couldn't be entirely harmless. On an impulse, she stuck it

in the broom closet. Kaeri stepped out of the bathroom only

moments after she'd closed the door.

"Um... All done?"

A small nod. Her mouth was a straight line, neither

happy nor sad.

"Yeah, so... I was telling you about Rat and his bl...

his bruise test, wasn't I?" Kaeri laid herself back on the

sofa and closed her eyes. As Miyabi went on with her story,

her cheekbones rose slightly, and one could almost say she

smiled.

"...and then that PERVERT of a half-brother of mine

jumps in,

shouting-"

"It's GONE!"

"Yeah, but... how did you- Auntie?"

"It's... it's GONE!" Kaeri's voice and body were

shaking. She'd stood up and was running her hand along the

entire length of the sofa crack.

"What's gone?" asked Miyabi. Maybe now she'd be able to

figure out why Auntie carried something that nasty-looking

around.

"It's my... my..." Her adam's apple rose and fell. She

stopped shaking. It wasn't gradual; it was an abrupt stop.

She was repressing it. "It's nothing," she said. "Go on

with your story." Miyabi spoke, but her audience was no

longer listening.

The sirens of the ambulance blared as it sped through

the night. In the back of it, a very bored Reiraku Hibiki

thumbed through a dog-eared copy of Shonen Sunday while

wedged between a stretcher and a machine that went ping, and

wondered, somewhere in the drugged and microchip-affected

recesses of his brain, just how long it was supposed to take

to get to an emergency call.

At least he had plenty of entertainment for the trip.

Reiraku thanked his medical training and injected another

dose of morphine into his IV. It made the manga a lot more

interesting.

Up front, Taki and Koji tried to contact the hospital by

radio to find out the address of the emergency they were

supposed to be attending to. As said hospital was last seen

busily burning to the ground, there was little success.

"I thought YOU remembered the address!" Taki shouted.

"I thought YOU did!" Koji replied.

"Oh, sure, blame ME for it. YOU'RE the one who got us

into the middle of that desert!"

"At least the pyramids were nice. And don't tell me you

didn't like the camel."

Taki considered this, and nodded.

"The camel was cute. But... since when are there

pyramids in Tokyo?"

"I dunno. Since when is there a rainforest, small brown

guys with blowguns and colonies full of fat people wearing

fur hats?"

"Good point." A pause. "Taki?"

"Yes?"

"Do ya... Do ya think our patient's still alive?"

"How long's it been?"

"Dunno. My watch got fried right about when we passed

that flag stuck in the snow."

"Mine too." A pause. "Koji?"

"Yes?"

"Do ya... Do ya think WE'RE still alive?"

"Whaddya mean?"

"Well... all the different people, an' places an' stuff.

We could be on the highway to the heavens, you know. Died,

and are going through the places where all the other dead

folk live while searching for our own... our own..."

Koji scratched his chin.

"Could be... could be... Hey, look! There's a dead man

now!"

Later, both would claim the other was driving when they

hit the boy with the umbrella. In truth, it was not so much

they hit him as he hit them.

Ryouga simply wasn't paying attention. All his thoughts

for the last while had been about great-grandsons from the

future, getting married to Ukyou, and a whole

bushel-and-a-peck of other topics too diverse to enter into

at this point.

So when he looked up in the middle of the formerly-empty

intersection in a dilapidated section of the harbour

district filled with empty warehouses, and saw the

ambulance, sirens blazing, bearing down on him, he did what

came naturally.

He hit it. With his umbrella. The front of the vehicle

crumpled into a variety of interesting shapes around the

invincible red-bamboo frame. Ryouga held his arm rigid,

thinking he could stop the ambulance as if it were simply a

charging wild boar. As it turned out, however, it didn't

end up stopping until reached out and put his other hand on

the bumper. He had to dig his feet in too.

Taki and Koji looked out at the lost boy, who was

dressed very much like the one in the back of the ambulance.

Their attention was somewhat distracted by the jagged pieces

of metal which had entered the cab (miraculously missing any

vital or non-vital parts of their body) when Ryouga had hit

the ambulance.

"Uhh," said Koji.

"Mm," said Taki.

The siren gave a last piercing wail, and died out.

Ryouga came over and knocked on the driver's-side window

with his umbrella. Koji (or Taki - it was never made really

clear who had been driving) rolled it down.

"Watch," Ryouga said. "Where you are going, please."

He casually tossed the front bumper of the ambulance to the

road and walked away.

Koji looked to Taki.

"Coffee break?"

"Coffee break."

Considering they were going to lose their jobs, and

weren't entirely sure that they were alive to go back to

them should they miraculously keep them, it wasn't too big a

deal to them at that point. The pair absconded from the

ruined ambulance and walked off in search of someplace

entirely absent from people capable of stopping speeding

ambulances using umbrellas and their bare hands.

"Looks like we bumped into the soldiers' section. Let's

go try to find the furry bunny heaven."

"Or the Playboy bunny heaven."

"Good thinking, Koji."

In the back of the ambulance, Rat yanked out the IV feed

and worked to untangle himself from the defibrillator pads

(managing to receive only five large jolts of electricity in

the process) that he'd gotten worked into when Ryouga had

stopped the ambulance. With a hard shove, he pushed open

the doors and staggered out onto the street to see a

familiar figure with bandanna and umbrella heading away

around the corner.

"Hey! Great-granddad! Wait up!"

Ryouga turned and looked at Rat, his umbrella resting

lightly on one shoulder. "Oh. Hiya, Ratiko. How's it

going?"

"Not good," Ratiko said. For some reason, he giggled.

"The plan, the plan." He shook his finger at Ryouga. "The

plan, you see, is not unfolding quite as well as was hoped."

Another manic titter escaped him. "You see, you see...

there are _powerful forces_ conspiring against me!" Ryouga

blinked as his future descendant grabbed him by the

shoulders in a death-grip. "They want to see me wiped from

the face of the earth, great-grandfather!"

A pat on the back did little to calm Ratiko down.

"Umm... who?" Ryouga asked after a hesitant moment.

"_They_!" Ratiko snarled. "They're all against me!

Every one of them!"

"Err..." Ryouga searched for something

great-grandfatherly to say. He fixed upon the splint and

bandage upon Rat's nose. "Who did that to you?"

Ratiko went from manic to depressive in an eyeblink.

"One of _them_," he said glumly.

"Err... who?"

"Miyabi," he muttered. "Ranma's little spawn."

"Is it not enough that you torment my kin and I,

Saotome?" Ryouga said mournfully. "Must your descendants do

the same?"

"There's only one thing to do, of course," Ratiko said,

rubbing his hands together gleefully. "Get them first. Get

'em all. Every single one! Ranma first!"

"Uhh..." Ryouga felt distinctly uncomfortable suddenly.

Talk and action were two different things. And Ratiko

sounded frighteningly serious. The lost boy might himself

have shouted 'Ranma, prepare to die' any number of times,

but he'd never actually carried through. "Why Ranma? I

mean, well... he has admittedly made your life a living

hell, just like mine, and, uhh..."

"Oh, it's not that." Ratiko let out another giggle.

"Then what?"

It is probably good to note for readers at this moment

that Rat is suffering from:

a) A slight concussion (from being run over by an

ambulance after falling facefirst into concrete from a

great height)

b) The lingering effects of enough morphine to kill a

horse

c) The brain-twiddlings of the Onocorp O.P.I.M. chip in

his head

d) Impromptu electroshock therapy from the defibrillator

pads

e) A mild case of genetically inherited stupidity

Let us now step back into the action as if we had never

left it:

"Well," Ratiko explained with all the clinical

detachment of a doctor describing how the progress of a

patient's terminal cancer had reached their brain and would

soon be causing them to be reduced to a pathetic drooling

heap of humanity. "Ranma has to die, you see. When Ranma

dies, Akane will commit suicide after murdering Happosai.

After that, you and Ukyou will get married. Ukyou will get

consigned to a mental institution, and you'll end up

sleeping with Nabiki. Then Nabiki will accidentally kill

Kasumi while blowing up the Tendo house. Then she'll kill

herself too." He scratched his head. "And, uhh... no,

wait. Kasumi doesn't die right away. Her daughter kills

her by lethal injection as she lies like a vegetable in a

hospital bed. And Doctor Tofu goes insane, I think."

Ryouga stared.

"So you see," Ratiko concluded. "Ranma's got to die so

everyone else will either die, go insane, or suffer

horribly. Except Kuno, I guess; he kinda gets to rule the

world. Wanna help out?"

"Akane... dead?" Ryouga murmured.

"Yeah," Ratiko said, and beamed as only someone

completely and utterly unaware of the true gravity of a

situation can. "And it's all so _I_ can come into existence.

Ain't it great?"

Ryouga thought for a split second, and then quite calmly

and efficiently broke Ratiko's nose again.

Miyabi moved the staff into her room the moment she had

a chance, and since then, Kaeri had seemed more at peace.

There was less trembling, less shifting of eyes... She'd

tried to go look for it once or twice, but Miyabi had

managed to stop that. Now she just lay back and listened to

her gossip and asked and bothered and-

"Miyabi-chan, come back! You haven't finished your

story!"

"I've told it to you a HUNDRED TIMES! Geeze! They're

just my PARENTS; it's not like they're... they're some movie

stars or something."

"But you told me..."

"Look; I have a headache, my legs are cramped and I'm

sick of spending all my days telling my life story to you

hopin' that MAYBE, just MAYBE you'll actually get up and DO

something." Was she crying? Cripes, talk about frail...

"Stop that! I'm just going out for a WALK, okay? Why don't

you just.. go talk to yourself, or something? She's in the

kitchen."

"But... the stairs... I thought you were..."

"I'm goin' out the window. Hey, I'm my father's

daughter, right?"

If Kaeri answered, Miyabi didn't hear it.

Night.

The Tendo household was wrapped in darkness as it came,

eventually surrendering to the darkness one room at a time

as the people of the household went to sleep.

Not all of them rested.

In the darkness, Kaeri slowly crept through the house.

Sometimes she would stumble, but always she would remain

silent. Through empty halls she crept, her footfalls soft

against the wooden floors, down the stairs, to the dining

room.

After peeking into the room to make sure it was empty,

she entered the room crawling on hands and knees. She

looked under the television, under the furniture, underneath

anything that could be moved.

And then she moved to the kitchen and did it again,

searching through cabinets, shelves and cupboards.

After a few minutes of this, she sighed and moved on to

the tea room, relentlessly searching through there in the

same obsessive and driven manner. After every room, her

eyes grew wilder, more desperate, her movement less subtle,

more noisy.

It had to be here, she whispered to herself.

It simply had to.

She entered the dojo, though this time she entered

caring not about stealth at all. Kaeri tossed aside

training equipment carelessly in her search, her hands

beginning to shake. She bit back a scream of frustration

after more minutes of searching bore no fruit.

Kaeri ran outside, dropping to her knees and crawling in

the dirt, not caring that her clothes became filthy in the

process. Her hands sifted through dirt and grass, seeking

relentlessly.

Ten minutes later, she emerged from underneath the dojo,

a wild and desperate look in her eyes. She wandered to the

middle of the courtyard, trembling, then saw the pond.

She ran to the pond, kneeling at its edge. She reached

in with both hands, first searching slowly, then

frantically, splashing the waters to a froth. A moment

later, she entered the pond entirely and dove underneath,

groping blindly in the dark waters.

She rose for air, gasping, then dove down and searched

again.

WHERE IS IT her mind screamed.

She crawled out of the pond, dripping wet and trembling

badly now, and stared at the cloudy skies above, wet,

smeared with dirt, trembling.

Where could it have gone?

The ships of many nations dock at the harbours of Tokyo.

Great tankers, massive transport ships, importers of illegal

arms. Their crews drink in the bars near the harbour, and

occasionally fight with each other. Sometimes, they even go

to sleep, in the cabins and quarters of the great ships. The

ships bob slowly at the docks, rocked by the subtle motions

of the waves. The crews slumber, soothed by the rhythms of

the sea, dreaming dreams of far-off homelands, perhaps of

families left behind. When the sun rises, some of them will

leave the shelter of the harbour and sail out across the

ocean to other ports. The lives of seamen are short and

fast-paced. They spend their entire existence running with

the tide, trying to get up a nest egg. Most of them will

die unfulfilled.

Thus, the seamen need their rest.

"Ach! Verdammtes Scheiss! Wir schlafen hier, Arschloch!"

They're not getting it tonight.

"Callense! Quedos, bobos! Estou tentando dormir!

Schweigen-sie!"

As they watch sleepily from the decks of their ships, a

dockside warehouse (it is probably an unecessary detail to

tell the reader that it was used to store insulin for

distribution to needy diabetics, but we'll do it anyway)

goes up in an cacophonous explosion of yellow light.

"Quien hace ese maldito ruido?! Les voy a sacar la

mugre!"

Faintly, over the sounds of things blowing up, someone

can be heard screaming.

"Cor! Shut the bloody 'ell up, you lot!"

Screaming in mortal terror.

"Silence! Vous etes ein par de betes!"

There is another voice too. It is screaming in rage.

What it is screaming is this:

"RATIKO HIBIKI, PREPARE TO DIE!"

Miyabi lay flat against the floor, frantically running

her arm under her sleeping mat.

"It's GON..." She stopped herself before she brought the

whole house to the door with her shouting. Where WAS it?

Could Kaeri have stolen it from her? Maybe Ryo'd popped in

and...

Her fingers touched the cold carvings on the staff, and

she sighed with relief. Miyabi gently slid it from under

the mat. She could have LIFTED her bed, but the staff liked

the dark, and it wouldn't be nice to bring in all that light

all of a sudden, without warning it or anything...

Geeze. Now she was pampering broomsticks.

She used the staff to prop herself up and admired the

figures carved on it. At first she'd thought they might be

stylised animals or people, but now... Now when she squinted

at them, they almost seemed like words. Like stories. Or

maybe laws. Every time she thought she understood them, her

mind would move to something else...

Miyabi ran her hand along the staff's length. She had a

vague feeling that if she only fingered the symbols for long

enough, the meanings would come to her head, like blind

people and Braille. All that it gave her was a rush. But

that was enough.

She smiled.

"Sorry for takin' you out like this. I just had to

check on you, you know? Well... Now I'll put you back. I

have to go for a walk." Miyabi lifted the edge of the mat

and replaced the staff beneath it. "Before I leave," she

said, still holding a corner up, "if Kaeri or either of the

Ryos comes, you... you... just stay put, you hear? I'll be

right back."

It was silly, she knew, but it almost felt as if the

staff understood her.

Feet, do your stuff, Ratiko commanded. The feet did.

Behind him, the warehouse collapsed in on itself in a pile

of broken timber and rended metal. The attack had been

aimed at the precise point where Rat had landed after his

great-grandfather broke his nose again with a

perfectly-placed blow of his fist. The searing beam of

yellow light had torn through the wall, the warehouse

interior, and the opposite wall. All the windows of the

dockside warehouse had blown out from the resulting

shockwave, spraying the streets with glinting patterns of

glass.

Blood flowed copiously down Rat's chin as he ran down

the street, chest heaving as he passed in and out of the

circles of light weakly cast by the skeletal shapes of the

streetlamps. The pounding of Ryouga's footsteps on the

street followed him like the march of doom.

The pain of his rebroken nose was almost godlike in its

purity. Every step drove needles of pain straight back into

his brain. Ryouga was screaming something about it being

time for him to die. As that didn't fit into Rat's plans at

this point, he declined to, and simply kept on running. The

exquisiteness of agony can do a lot to drive the fog out of

one's brain sometimes, and Rat right now was no exception.

Once Ryouga had laid into him, he started to figure out what

he'd done wrong. Telling his great-grandfather the precise

details of the future he needed to bring about had been a

very, very bad idea.

The telltale sun-bright glow from behind alerted him to

Ryouga's building-up of another ki attack, and he threw

himself sideways through the conveniently open door of the

warehouse he was passing. In his haste, he never looked at

the sign over the door:

Mottomokutsu Industries: If It's Sharp, We Make It!

It is events such as these that cause people to think

that there quite possibly _is_ someone in charge of the

universe, and that He or She has a very nasty sense of

humour.

"Kas... Kaeri? What are you doing out here?"

The girl formerly known as Kasumi spared a glance at

Akane and flashed a brief smile.

"Kaeri, what are you doing here?" asked Akane. "We were

all worred about you!"

The elder Tendo frowned. "Everyone?" she said quietly.

"How'd you get up here, anyway? Usually, we all have to

jump up here to-"

"I climbed."

Looking again, Akane saw that there wer small cuts and

scrapes on Kaeri's face, hands, and knees. Some of the

tiles leading to the guest room were also out of place,

clearly where she pulled herself up.

Akane nodded. "Is there... is there something on your

mind?"

Kaeri nodded.

"Do... you want to talk about it?"

Kaeri shook her head.

"Do you... do you need time alone?"

"No."

Akane blinked. "No?"

"No. Please stay," said Kaeri softly. There was a

desperation in her voice, so severe it touched Akane deeply.

The youngest Tendo nodded, taking Kaeri's hand in hers.

It had been a while since 'Kaeri' had arrived at the dojo.

During that time, it was a great relief to Akane and the

others, seeing Kaeri imrpove from a mad, shivering wreck to

a stronger, more composed woman. She was still jittery in

some respects, avoiding Kasumi like the plague, and looking

lost and in a daze at times, but she no longer was quick to

flee or cry. A lot of that was thanks to Miyabi, who'd

spent a lot of time with the alternate Kasumi. But

lately...

"Kaeri?"

"Hm?"

"Where did Miyabi go?"

"Out."

"She didn't say where?"

Kaeri shook her head and sighed. Thinking of Miyabi

used to cheer her up, but now it saddened her. The girl was

becoming harsher, more sneer in her voice than usual and

more snap in her answers. Each insult was a slap, each

snide remark a stab to the heart.

Oh yes, her mind was clearer now. She could clearly see

how Miyabi was slowly beginning to hate her.

Below, the sound of a broom scraping on brick caught

Kaeri's attention. She looked down below and saw her other

self, Kasumi, the one that hadn't had her life torn down in

flames and ashes. She felt mixed emotions, looking at her

alternate self.

Oh, how much she hated Kasumi. Blind, obvlivious,

stupid girl. Doesn't know what's happening around her AT

ALL. Stupid stupid girl, letting her family die.

Oh, how much she envied Kasumi. Carefree, innocent and

happy. Where every day was a good day, making everyone

happy with the little things she did around the house.

Happy happy happy.

Sweeping.

For some reason the sight of the broomstick in Kasumi's

hand caught Kaeri's eye.

The staff.

Missing.

Long unused mental gears began to creak. Kaeri wondered

where Miyabi was indeed.

Akane, finally noticing Kaeri staring at Kasumi with a

frightening intensity, squeezed her hand. "Kaeri?"

"I'm okay, Akane. Everything's okay."

As Rat's body concentrated on the task of running the

hell away from Ryouga, Rat's brain was currently going

through what might be described as one major bitch of an

identity crisis.

The Onocorp O.P.I.M. chip was designed to preserve the

existence of its host above all else. Unfortunately, its

designers had neglected to consider such scenarios as the

host being pursued by a homicidal ancestor intent on

reducing him to a fine paste. Computers, even extremely

sophisticated and intricately tiny ones, do not like

contradictions such as this.

The quick-thinking but limited 'brain' of the O.P.I.M.

chip ran through the situation in a fraction of the eyeblink

of a split second:

1) Attacker is fixated upon host and has capacity to

injure fatally or severely enough to make future

survival difficult.

2) Attacker is unlikely to cease attempting to kill

host unless injured fatally or severely enough to make

future survival difficult.

3) Attacker's anger will not dissipate with time,

making flight futile and dangerous.

4) Attacker is ancestor of host. Must live for host

to come into being.

5) Host must survive at all costs.

6) Host will not come into existence without survival

of attacker.

7) Host will not survive without fatal or crippling

injury of attacker.

8) Fatal or crippling injury of ancestor of host is

forbidden.

The O.P.I.M. programming did what any other decent

software would do when faced with an internal contradiction.

It went absolutely haywire.

Ryouga stalked into the dim warehouse like a

bandanna-clad angel of death. Shadows lay thick like swamp

murk throughout the building, the dim wash of light from

outside that pierced through the dusty and high-set windows

the only source of illumination. Wooden crates as tall as

he was lay eveywhere, in many places stacked haphazardly

atop each other as a child's building blocks.

"Come on out, little Rat," he snarled.

"Great-grandfather wants to have a talk with you."

"Abort, retry, fail?"

Ryouga blinked. "Huh?"

"Runtime error."

As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, the Lost Boy cast

his gaze about in search of his descendant. What horrible

repercussions Ranma's death would have, he thought sickly.

All that monstrosity and pain come about because of one

untimely end.

And Ratiko wanted to bring it all about just so he could

exist.

The selfish little worm. He wasn't _worthy_ to be born

of Ryouga's line.

"Must be from Ukyou's side," Ryouga muttered. "He _did_

say she ended up in a mental institute."

Ratiko had gone oddly silent after his strange words of

before. Ryouga crept deeper into the warehouse, tensed and

ready.

"Fatal error great-grand abort father rebooting don't

running hurt corneredrat ME!"

Ryouga spun. Ten feet behind him, Rat's eyes glowed in

the darkness, a swirl of white and black that merged into a

grey so intense it hurt to look upon. Air writhed in agony

around Ratiko's cupped hands.

Then the world turned white as new snow. Ryouga flew

through the air, clipped a precarious stack of crates, and

yelled out in surprise as they collapsed atop him and buried

him. The ki blast had been achingly cold, a solid hammer of

ice.

Ratiko walked disjointedly towards the fallen crates,

synapses randomly firing like firecrackers on New Year's

Day. Within his brain, the O.P.I.M. chip pulled him one way

and then the other like a deranged puppet master. Base

insticts of fight and flight were stimulated simultaneously,

and Rat's body jerkily tried to follow both at once.

"BAKUSAI TEN-KETSU!"

The crates exploded outward, and hurled their inventory

of pins, needles and nails through the air in a hurricane of

steely death.

"Processing HOLY response SHIT!"

Rat's left leg went one way, and his right went the

other. The end result made him sprawl to the floor, and let

the scything wave of sharp implements pass overhead.

Ryouga shoved the remains of the crates off himself and

strode over to where the prone Ratiko lay twitching and

writhing as the Onocorp device merrily turned upon itself.

"He's completely insane," Ryouga said as he watched a

thin stream of drool slide from Rat's mouth. He almost

pitied the boy, but then...

If Rat had his way, Akane would die.

Ryouga reached down to pick Rat up by the head, in

preparation to embedding him several feet into the concrete

floor. Somewhere amidst the spasms of malfunctioning

software, the chip made Rat swing a foot up and catch Ryouga

squarely between the legs.

Ryouga gasped softly, and fell over in the way that only

a solid and unexpected kick in the jewels can make a man

fall.

A wild chance made the chip come to a coherent decision.

Ratiko sprang up onto his feet and ran.

Ryouga staggered to his feet a moment later to see Rat

darting around the edge of a crate stack. Lost from sight.

He might never find him in this darkness. Ratiko would get

away, and he'd kill Ranma, and Akane would kill herself, and

it would be all his fault...

Those thoughts were depressing enough. The throbbing

pain from the good kick Rat had given him in his softest

bits just pushed it over the edge.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

The column of searing yellow light shot through the roof

of the warehouse, a bolt hurled at the heavens. Like a

pillar dividing earth from sky, it hung for all of a second

in a flaring glory of power against the stars. On the

boats, the seamen panicked, blinded by the intensity of the

light.

Then it fell. There was no distinct sound of the

half-dozen warehouses within the radius of the blast being

smashed into flinders; everything was lost to the enormous

muffled whump of the blast touching down.

When the light cleared from the eyes of the seamen,

there was an enormous crater filled with debris. Broken

lamp posts threw clouds of sparks like fireflies against the

night, and tangles of overhead power lines sizzled and

cracked amidst the ruins. In the wreckage of an entire two

blocks of the harbour district, two figures stood.

One had his fists clenched at his sides. The air around

him still blurred and shimmered from the force of the blast

he had just unleashed.

The other had his arms flying out to his sides. His

legs were pumping frantically. The blast had laid him flat

out on the ground, but now he was running as if... as if...

Well, as if his homicidal and pissed-off ancestor was

trying to kill him. Sometimes a metaphor just isn't more

appropriate than the genuine reality.

Needless to say, with two Hibikis in a high-speed chase,

it didn't take them long to leave Tokyo. Or Asia, for that

matter.

"The... birds. They're singing, aren't they?" Kaeri

whispered. She looked up towards Miyabi with eyes that were

flat and dull, but had a spark of interest. Miyabi grinned,

nodding.

"Mmm, hmm. Are you done with that soup, or not? I've got

to get the bowl back into the kitchen before Kasumi starts

the di... Aaaack! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Don't start with

the sobbing again! Geez! I meant-"

"Miyabi, could we talk for a minute?" It was Akane.

Miyabi took the occasion to retreat, leaving Kaeri be.

"Sure. What's up, Mum?"

"I meant..." Akane rubbed the knuckles of her left hand

with the palm of her right. "Not here."

"What, don't wanna offend Scarface's sensibilities?

Don't worry 'bout it. She's gettin' tougher. Aren't ya,

auntie?" Miyabi punched Kaeri's shoulder playfully and paid

no attention to the ensuing gasp and hiss.

"She's not the only one getting tougher."

"Oh, yeah? What's on your mind, Mum?"

"You're changing."

"That'd be neat trick, considering the amount of

clothes around here that fits me. I've got to scramble just

to keep myself with fresh undies."

"Are you..." Kaeri was trying to speak again. "Do

you... help your parents with the laundry?"

"Why do you wanna know?"

"Miyabi..." Akane looked at her daughter sternly.

"Okay! Okay! I get the point! Geeze... Yeah, sure, I

help when they ask me, but I don't like it or anything. I'm

tidy, but I'm not a clean freak like your twin sister back

there." She jerked a thumb at the kitchen. "Oh? Was that

the last of the soup?" It wasn't, but she grabbed the bowl

from Kaeri's hands anyway. "I'll just take that to the

kitchen for you, then I'm going out for a while."

"But I..." Kaeri's hands still held an ethereal bowl.

Her fingers began to open and close. "I want to hear..."

"Cheer up. Mum can tell you stories. Catch you later!"

There was silence for a while after Miyabi left the

room, then Akane sat on the edge of the couch and began to

gossip. She couldn't go on for long, though.

"Go on," said Kaeri. "You were saying, about Ranma and

Tatewaki..."

"I'm sorry, I just... I'm worried about Miyabi.

She's... different."

"Yes."

"Not herself."

"No, she isn't."

"All this anger, and her snappy comments... Do you think

it's because Ranma and I... I mean... We're engaged, but it

was kind of against our wills, and we never KNEW it could

work out before she came, so we still fight so much... Do

you think THAT'S what has her... like this?"

Kaeri shook her head.

"You and Ranma... you shouldn't fight. But

Miyabi... I think she has a new friend."

"A new friend?"

"Yes. One of mine."

And with that Kaeri fell silent.

The O.P.I.M. chip liked running. Yeah. It had finally

figured it out. Definitely. Definitely running. As long

as Rat kept on running, Ryouga couldn't kill him.

Definitely. Definitely good.

And the change in scenery was nice, too. Fresh air, the

Champs Elysee, the Kremlin... Maybe it'd allow Rat to make a

pit stop in Brussels before lunch. Its programmers had

always wanted to see Brussels.

All it had to do was keep Rat running forever, and he'd

be fine. Definitely. Keep him running through everything.

Through anything.

Rat slammed through an electric fence, flooding the chip

with more juice than it'd ever tasted before.

Yeah. That was the ticket.

The herd of... O.P.I.M. made Rat's head turn and read

the sign above the proper entrance to the corral,

'Entrada prohibida: Toros reservados para la corrida de

Pamplona'. Ah. Yes. The herd of Spanish bulls was most

definitely NOT the ticket.

Miyabi held the staff down on the ground before her, on

its upper end with both hands. She closed her eyes. It was

trying to speak to her; she knew that... maybe she just

wasn't concentrating enough.

"I know you want to tell me something... but can't you

just... speak up?" Symbols that she'd never seen before

floated across her mind's eye. They felt... familiar,

somehow. "What... what are these? Are they... letters?

What-" The figures began to dance, and twirl; they were

trying to arrange themselves in a way she could understand,

they were trying to... She gripped the staff at midlength,

now, and brought her hands against her chest. "You're too

far... too... If only we could melt, or... or bind

together, I..." The symbols were transforming, now. Their

edges were dissolving and reshaping themselves into contours

well-known to Miyabi. "You're... That's it! I..." She

could feel her brain being picked for her native tongue. It

felt like a kiss or a caress, and she helped it along. "Only

a bit more, now..." Gold and black swirled and twisted,

fading into brown, then flashing into- "AAAAAARGH!"

"Miyabi-chan, thank-you for taking care of this for me.

Now I need it back." The girl didn't answer Kaeri. She was

too busy clutching her head and moaning. "You really,"

said the woman, wiping the rod with the edge of her smock,

"should dust more often. Where were you keeping it? It

likes the dark." Some hissing from Miyabi. Kaeri didn't

heed it, but only frowned and looked ahead with a blank

look. "It likes you, too," she concluded. "I've told it

that it can't have you. It's mine."

The staff flared red for a moment, and with it Miyabi

writhed in pain. And then they both fell silent.

Kaeri gazed at the staff one more time, sternly.

"You're mine."

There were further curses and shouts, but these came

from below.

Ryo Saotome fell to earth, azure flames clinging to his

body. His mind was burning as well, hit with a massive

nausea and throbbing migrane. He was vaguely aware of the

others landing roughly with grunts of pain and cries of

anger, but his own pain made them far less of a priority.

He staggered to his feet and looked around.

"It's blue," he muttered, clutching his head with a

hand.

He was vaguely aware of steadying hands helping him to

his feet.

Mother?

"Ow... man, y'gotta work on those landings."

No, father. That's right, he was a girl at the moment.

"Pop?" Ryo asked weakly. "Some... something went wrong.

Is everyone okay?"

"Sorta."

"Sorta?"

"We all kinda got burned by some weird blue flame too.

Childra's unconscious, Ishido's kinda awake, and Muhoshin's

still out."

"N'you?"

"Been better. You okay?"

"Yeah, pop, Just fine. But why's everything blue?"

"Blue?"

"Ohboy." Ryo's stomach churned and he fell to his

knees. He fought the urge to throw up and lost, wretching

up dark blue bile.

Ryo shakily wiped his mouth and stared at the azure pool

below him. "This... is not good."

"Oh man," said Ranma quietly. "C'mon, Ryo. Let's get

the doc to look at ya."

"No, I know what's wrong." He slipped the lockets into

Ranma's hands. "Pop, s'important. Hide'em, but not in the

same place. Don't... tell... anynnn..." His eyes sealed

shut, and Ryo Saotome slumped unconscious in his father's

arms.

"Oww!"

Burma had blurred into Bangkok, which morphed into an

industrial area in the suburbs of Berlin. The Hibikis

continued their chase along a bleak landscape of girders and

piles of sand, eventually, inevitably entering a dimly-lit

warehouse full of hazardous materials.

The sign above the door?

Mottomokutsu Industrien, Deutscher Zweig:

Leben-drohende Substanzen eine Spezialitt

Rat kept on running, trying frantically to unwrap

several coils of American razor wire from his legs as he

did. He had to keep on running, or Ryouga was going to catch

him. For some reason, it the razor wire didn't actually

_hurt_; he only removed it because it inconvenienced the

fastest running possible. His nose didn't hurt anymore

either. Nothing had for ages. It was as if some kind god

had filled his entire system with so many amphetamines and

pain-killers that he could have run through a pool of

electrified acid and not felt a thing.

Speaking of that...

It seemed almost contrived, but what the hey? One of

the many suspiciously fragile containers in the building

had broken open, and the industrial-strength acid it held

had just happened to spread across the floor in such a way

that the stripped wires of the conveniently fallen power

lines had dropped into the edge.

Somehow, it made absolutely perfect sense to run through

it. It was, after all, the quickest route away from the

pursuing Ryouga.

"Oww,oww,oww,oww,oww."

Funny. He kept on screaming. It was as if his _body_

were aware that this hurt, but something were keeping the

pain signals from reaching his _brain_. What a stupid

notion. He promptly forgot it. In fact, he couldn't even

remember what he'd been thinking about in the first place.

Except running.

"Hey, wow," he said as he noticed something sharp pierce

the sole of his shoe. "More caltrops." Obviously,

Mottomokutsu Industries believed in sharing products among

its branches. "Groovy." He giggled.

Darkness.

Ryo Saotome found himself enshrouded in it, his head

still spinning, though more slowly than it had been when

they first landed.

In the distance, he saw a shimmering blue light. From

past experiences, he was already wary of it but had no other

direction to go. Cautiously, he approached it, and found

that it wasn't one light, but many.

He found himself surrounded by infinite shimmering

points of light, and as his eyes passed them he saw brief

visions of people and places, some familiar, some alien.

Alternate realities, he realized. This is what he was

looking at.

But... how did he get here?

It felt an awful lot like a hangover for Childra Jansen.

Headache, dizzy feeling, all the other usual symptoms.

"Not fair," she mumbled. "I don't remember a party."

"Miss Jansen?"

"Mrr?"

She slowly opened her eyes. A blurry, bespecled face

gazed down at her.

"Ishido, s'at you?"

"Sorry, miss. Just me, Dr. Tofu. You're here at my

clinic."

Childra rubbed her eyes, then tried to sit up. A gentle

hand on her shoulder pushed her back down.

"Don't," said Tofu. "You need your rest."

"What happened?" asked Childra, closing her eyes and

resting on the bed once more. "Where's Ishido?"

"He's resting, like you. You're all are suffering

exposure to some strange energy. With time and some rest

you should all recover."

"Mm. Good."

Tofu watched as Childra closed her eyes and rested

again, then pulled the curtain around her bed and left. A

few seconds passed, then Childra slowly rose from her bed

and pulled aside the curtain around her bed. Around her,

several other curtains were drawn, no doubt the other beds.

She walked quiety across the room to the other curtains,

peeking inside at every one.

Curtain number one... Ranma.

Curtain number two... his son, Ryo. Odd, thought

Childra, were his eyes glowing blue?

She moved on to the next curtain and nearly gasped. The

other Ryo was there, eyes wide open but lifeless. He laid

limp on the medical table, an empty shell. She particularly

noted the straitjacket that held him tightly, as well as the

handcuff that kept him attached to the bed. Strange, that

such a weak looking boy could be so dangerous.

Well then, curtain number four must be it. With a

smile, she parted the curtains and at last spied her dear

Ishido. He looked awfully cute, asleep like that. Like a

shark through water, she easily slid into the sheets,

embracing his unconscious form.

A few minutes later, she joined him in rest.

Ryouga raced after Rat. Up ahead, the floor was covered

in a glinting sea of spiky metal. Ryouga tried to guess by

Rat's posture which way he would go around it, but he hid

his intentions perfectly.

Then he ran through the caltrops, screaming all the way.

Ryouga blinked, and went left around them. This meant

that Ratiko got further ahead than him, but by the sounds

Rat made as he stepped on the caltrops, Rat could take the

lead that way if he wanted.

Sizzle. Hiss. Crackle.

"AIEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Surprised did not begin to describe Ryouga's reaction as

he watched Rat splash, howling in agony, through an

ankle-deep pool of electrified acid.

"How is he still moving?" Ryouga murmured as he skirted

around the acid. Rat got even further ahead. He seemed to

simply be running in a straight line away from Ryouga.

"AURGGGHHHH!"

Ryouga winced in mutual sympathy and took the long way

around the second bed of caltrops that had been laid down in

the rubbling of the warehouses.

Ryouga gulped.

Rat was going to get away if he kept on running like

this.

"For you, Akane!"

Good thing his boots were tough.

"Oww,oww,oww,oww,oww..."

"Feeling better?" asked Akane.

Miyabi nodded, sipping the tea afterwards very slowly.

"What happened to you anyway?" asked Akane. "I found

you unconscious and on the floor, and you looked like you

were in pain."

"Guess I just fell asleep and had a nightmare," answered

Miyabi, laughing nervously.

"You'll be glad to hear your dad's back."

Miyabi perked up. "He's okay?"

Akane nodded.

Miyabi frowned. "Wait, that means _he_'s back."

"Who?"

"My so-called half-brother. Did he manage to bring that

other guy back?"

Akane nodded.

Miyabi sighed. "Maybe we'll be able to go home now."

The girl missed the slight sadness in Akane's voice when

she replied, "Yes, I guess you will."

"Y'know, this really is good tea. You really made it?"

Miyabi asked her mother teasingly.

Akane played along, swatting Miyabi's arm. "Oh! I'm

not bad at -everything!-"

They laughed, and Miyabi closed her eyes, savoring the

moment.

Suddenly, it all came rushing back to her.

The staff. Her. What she did.

How she treated Kaeri.

"Oh no!"

"What?" asked Akane. "What is it?"

"Where's Kaeri? Oh God, I messed up, mum. I really

did, and now I've gotta go find her. Oh no-"

Akane tried to calm Miyabi down, putting a hand on her

arm. "Kaeri's okay. She just said she was going to take a

walk."

"Did you see if she was holding a stick?" asked Miyabi

frantically.

"Um, I think so..."

"Oh no! I've gotta go save her! Thanks, mum!" Before

Akane could say another word, Miyabi sprang up and ran like

the wind.

She rushed through the house, looking in every room,

around the yard, then hit the streets. That stick...

whatever it was... she had to get rid of it.

Over rooftops she ran, frantic in her search, speeding

across fences, hopping across boulderes in the waterways.

She searched all the places Kaeri might've gone to: the

markets, the malls, the parks, even Furinkan High.

And still she did not find her.

Where, thought Miyabi, just where would I go if I was a

scared, scarred Kasumi with a stick that radiates evil?

She snapped her fingers.

"Dr. Tofu's!"

Miyabi ran again, hoping she wasn't too late, hoping

Kaeri wouldn't do anything crazy, hoping she wouldn't arrive

just in time to witness the tail end of a bloody killing

spree winding down.

She ran into Dr. Tofu's clinic hectically, bursting

through the door. "Dr Tofu! Dr. Tofu! I-yeeeagh!"

She turned around quickly, blushing deep red as the

naked man in front of Tofu scrambled to cover up.

Naked man. And Tofu.

And the hand. Tofu's hand.

Whoa. Eep. Yikes.

Oh my.

"Um, Miyabi-chan," said Tofu. "We can talk after I'm

through with this rectal exam."

"Right! Okay! Leaving now! Sorry about that!"

Blushing redder than any human should, Miyabi quickly

stepped out of the office and closed the door, taking care

to NOT turn back.

"This is something I think we won't be telling mum," she

mutterd to herself.

With many deep breaths and thoughts about mundane

things, Miyabi finally got the blush off of her face. She

decided a walk around the block would be good. She'd rather

not look Dr. Tofu's patient in the face when he was done.

As she walked around one side of the building, her

senses began nagging her. Her father called it 'battle

sense' and her mother called it 'intuition'. Whatever it

was, it was usually right. She looked around slowly,

cautiously, then saw what was bothering her.

Kaeri.

She was perched in a tree overlooking the Tendo clinic,

peering into one of the windows intensely, the strange stick

clutched in her hands.

She approached Kaeri cautiously. "Auntie?"

Kaeri looked down, an eerie sort of calm in her eyes.

"Hello, Miyabi-chan," she said evenly.

"Auntie, I'm sorry!"

Kaeri tilted her head slightly, looking puzzled.

"Sorry?"

"I was being a real jerk before and I didn't even know

it and I really don't hate you and-"

"That's okay, Miyabi-chan. I understand."

"You do?"

Kaeri nodded, a light smile gracing her lips.

"Auntie... if you do understand, you know you have to

let go of the stick." Miyabi held a hand out, looking at

Kaeri with hopeful eyes.

Kaeri shook her head. "I have everything under control,

Miyabi-chan."

"That thing twisted me," argued Miyabi. "And it'll

twist you too. Please, auntie, before it's too late?"

Kaeri shook her head again. "You're not strong enough

to have it. I am."

"But when you came here you were a wreck! The staff-"

Kaeri closed her eyes, turning away. "The staff... was

not the problem."

"But-"

The expression on Kaeri's face when she looked into

Miyabi's eyes took her entirely by surprise. It wasn't the

troubled, haunted look that so dominated her, but a look of

utter calm and tranquility. It was a face you could only

find on Kasumi.

"Everything's fine now, Miyabi-chan. I promise."

And then it was gone, replaced by the more vulnerable

expression that usually was kept on Kaeri's face.

But she smiled. A little.

"Um, auntie," said Miyabi slowly. "Why are you here?

Is it because of... Dr. Tofu?"

Kaeri's troubled face darkened a little more. "No... I

don't think I should see him... not anymore." She

brightened, a little smile on her face. "I'm here to visit

someone else."

Someone else? But who else...

The image of Dr. Tofu's patient immediately slammed into

her head, causing Miyabi to blush badly again.

Nonono, can't be that, she mentally berated herself.

"Who?" she finally asked.

Kaeri pointed to the window. Standing on the ground,

Miyabi couldn't see, so she leapt up to join Kaeri, then

peered down.

Behind the window was a boy, pale, skinny, and

unconscious. His expression was entirely blank, devoid of

expression, and he was bound by a straitjacket.

"Him?" asked Miyabi.

Kaeri nodded, the small smile still evident.

Miyabi looked again. "Him?"

"Muhoshin-san," said Kaeri quietly. Miyabi could hear

the care in her voice.

"Isn't he the guy they were chasing after? Ryo and the

others?" asked Miyabi.

"Muhoshin-san is just... misunderstood. He was hurt,

like me."

"I don't know..."

"I do," Kaeri told her firmly. "He... he saved me. From

them." A slight tremor developed in her hand, quickly

stilled. "He helped me to get better, and he sat up with me

like you did, and... well... he was very nice."

Miyabi could see her cheeks color slightly.

"But Ryo's been chasing the guy..."

"Ryo hasn't done anything for me lately," Kaeri said,

her voice turning slightly cool. "Or for my family." She

frowned slightly. "He doesn't care, Miyabi-chan. Watch him.

He'll do what he thinks is the right thing, no matter how it

hurts..." She voice fell to a whisper. "And he's not right.

He shouldn't be here. You now how it's supposed to be. You

know Akane and Ranma love each other. So whose son is he?

What happened to have him born?" Kaeri smiled slightly, a

cold, empty thing. "Does he want things to be like that

here?"

Miyabi swallowed slightly. "He's a jerk, but I don't

think he'd..."

"Why not?" Kaeri pressed. "You tried to make things just

like home. The way they should be. What has this Ryo been

telling Ukyou, hmm? What has he been doing?"

"You don't think..." Miyabi trailed off, aghast. What if

he had? He disappeared and reappeared mysteriously, she knew

he'd spoken to Ukyou at least more than once, and she was

beginning to think that he'd MADE the locket in the first

place... what for?

"Would he?" she weakly finished.

Kaeri shrugged. "I don't know. But don't trust him. You

can trust Muhoshin-san, but don't trust him."

Miyabi glanced through the window once again, and

frowned. This was the terrible menace Ryo had been chasing?

The deadly martial artist and killer? He didn't look like he

could get through a set of push-ups, let alone take on Ryo

Saotome.

The frown deepened. If he'd taken care of Kaeri, he

couldn't be that bad. Certainly he had to be better than her

half-brother, who had apparently first ignored and then

dragged back a terribly hurt, traumatized woman.

The pursuit ended several hours later, in a blind alley

that backed up against a ten-story building only blocks from

the Tokyo dock where they'd started. Ryouga and Ratiko had

left a meandering trail of destruction throughout the

harbour district, which had only lessened a little after

the O.P.I.M. chip had let Rat move out of a straight line to

use doors rather than running straight through walls.

Both of them were bloody, bruised and nearly dead from

exhaustion. Rat staggered into the dark alley, and slumped

against a wall. Soon enough the sun would rise, but right

now the narrow space between buildings was filled with deep

shadows.

Even the greatest craftsman is only as good as his

tools. The O.P.I.M. chip had given its best, but Ryouga's

pursuit had been absolutely relentless. Now the host was so

exhausted that making him further exert himself could likely

lead to a heart attack or respiratory failure. Even the

continued manipulation of the chemical levels in his brain

and body was becoming dangerous. In response, the

beleaguered chip shut down all functions but the monitoring

of its host to await a time when it could safely affect his

actions to preserve his life.

Rat looked blearily up as his great-grandfather came

panting into the opening of the alleyway. The only way in

which the bone-tired Ryouga would have been able to kill Rat

right now would probably have been by falling on him from a

great height.

He was damn well going to try, however.

"C'mere, you little sociopath," he muttered.

"Great-grandfather wants to talk to you."

Rat backed further away into the depths of the alley,

and gulped as he realized there were no doors concealed

behind the rotting mounds of garbage, or some other means of

escape. It wasn't like he had the energy to run further

anyway. Once he came down from the effects of the chemical

stimulation the O.P.I.M. had done to him to keep him

running, he'd likely simply collapse.

Ryouga came closer, using his umbrella like a walking

stick. He giggled. "End of the line."

In one of those non-coincidental coincidences that

happened to Jusenkyou victims, someone poured a bucket of

mopping water out their apartment window on top of his head.

P-chan squealed.

Ratiko laughed hysterically. "The gods are on my side!"

he cried, and shook a fist at the sky.

Then P-chan bit Rat on the foot.

Rat screamed.

In the back of the alleyway, something shifted. Many

somethings. Feral eyes glowed redly as lean and hungry

shapes padded out on four limbs from their nest amidst the

garbage.

Rat stared at the wild dogs. "Shit," he muttered.

The wild dogs stared at Rat and P-chan, and said, "Arf."

This translated in their crude but ugly language as

'breakfast'.

Being threatened by a hungry pack of dogs can do wonders

for making you feel invigorated again. Rat and P-chan

paused for a split second, and then took off as if... as

if...

Well, as if they were both being chased by an enormous

pack of savage wild dogs. Once again, reality takes over

where metaphor fails.

It used to be quiet.

"Muhoshin-san?"

Until the voice.

"Muhoshin-san, can you hear me?"

He felt slightly irritated at the voice, interrupting

the peace and quiet that the absolute void held for him.

After bearing witness to infinity, some time spent in

absolute nothingness was what his mind desperately needed.

"Muhoshin-san?"

The voice seemed familiar, and it stirred something

within him. A memory of something.

Her.

Slowly, he opened his eyes.

The world was draped in shadows, yet what little

illumination there was showed enough to warm his heart.

"Kas..." He said, his voice barely audible and his

throat stining dry. "Kaeri."

"Muhoshin-san!"

He felt soft arms surround him, and the scent that only

a woman's hair could carry filled his nose.

"Where... where am I?"

"You're in Dr. Tofu's clinic."

"I... see. And... the others?"

"They're here too, sleeping."

Muhoshin nodded slightly, then closed his eyes again.

It felt good, being there, with her like this. He could get

used to it, certainly.

Though something... something was missing.

Muhoshin narrowed his eyes.

"Where... where is... where is my locket?" he hissed.

"I don't know, Muhoshin-san. I didn't see it when you

came back and the other Ryo didn't have it, but-"

"I need that locket," he hissed, his voice becoming

angrier. "I need the locket. I need it now."

"Muhoshin-san, please, you need to rest."

"I do not need to rest, I need that loc-" Muhoshin's

next words were lost as he coughed and wheezed, what little

energy he had left quickly drained by it.

"Muhoshin-san, please rest," said Kaeri softly. She

gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek, then tucked him in.

"I'll look for the locket. Don't worry."

"Kaeri... don't tell..."

"Hm?"

"Don't tell them... I'm awake."

"I won't."

And with that reassurance, Muhoshin closed his eyes and

returned to oblivion.

Miyabi waited patiently outside while Kaeri snuck inside

and talked with Muhoshin. While she didn't mean to, she

watched from the window as Kaeri spoke to the boy.

She was surprised when she saw Kaeri suddenly embrace

him, and couldn't help but feel happy for her when she saw

how happy Kaeri was at that moment.

A moment later, Kaeri returned, looking much better than

before. Not normal, not Kasumi-normal, but not so much on

edge anymore.

"Let's go home," she said with a smile.

"Um, okay." As the two walked, Miyabi eyed Kaeri

curiously. "So... he's okay?"

Kaeri nodded happily, then frowned. "Oh, Miyabi-chan,

please don't tell anyone I talked to him. It's very

important, please?"

A strange request, but Miyabi didn't see the harm in it.

"Well, okay."

"Thank you, Miyabi-chan."

As one day passed to the next, the various members of

Ryo Saotome's transdimensional team eventually recovered

from their illnesses.

Ranma, with his natural toughness and high constitution,

was first to recover and return home. Ishido was released

soon after, but remained at the clinic until Childra was

declared healthy enough the day after.

Only two people remained: the two Ryos.

Ryo Saotome tossed and turned, uneasy in his slumber.

Sometimes Ranma would visit, mixed emotions brought forth as

he watched his possible future son's troubled sleep.

Sometimes Ukyou would visit, motherly worry obvious on her

face as she tended to her 'son' with care.

Ryo Muhoshin on the other hand, was absolutely comatose

and unmoving. He was still seemingly comatose and left

unguarded while the others recovered from their illness,

though that changed when Ishido found out. After he raised

an uproar about how careless it was to leave him unguarded,

a constant vigil was kept on Muhoshin.

Sometimes it was Ishido himself, with a suspicious

glare. Sometimes it was Childra with a baleful stare. Two

Nerima 'regulars' also took turns, Ranma with a lazy

demeanor, though his attention was far sharper than it

appeared to be, and Ukyou, who watched over Muhoshin with

the diligence of a prison warden. And sometimes it was

Miyabi on guard duty, looking curiously at the so-called

menace that was Ryo Muhoshin.

Ryo Saotome remained unconscious for quite some time.

Ryo Muhoshin, despite all appearances, was far more

alert than he appeared to be.

"Hello."

Childra nearly had a heart attack, being used to nothing

but silence while on guard duty. She immediately whirled

around, her bo whipping out just short of his head.

He stared at her blankly with dead eyes.

"Hello," he said again.

"Yeah, hello to you too," she replied sarcastically. He

merely blinked at her.

"Hello," he said again, still looking mostly blank.

"Ah, a few marbles short I see."

"Maybe."

She stared at him, gripping her bo, as he simply went to

sleep.

Ishido glared at him.

Ryo stared back, though with a fairly blank expression.

"You're not fooling anyone, Muhoshin," grumbled Ishido.

"No, I'm not," replied Muhoshin casually. He closed his

eyes and relaxed on the bed, a slightly smug grin on his

lips. "Tell me," he said calmly. "You love that Jansen

girl, yes?"

"And if you EVER lay a hand on her again-"

"I'm not the one," he interrupted calmly, "that you

should worry about."

"Huh?"

"You. Her. Different worlds," purred Muhoshin. "You

know he won't let this situation continue."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Isn't... isn't that other Ryo so keen on 'setting

things right'? Hm?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Muhoshin sighed. "Think about it. I'm feeling tired."

And with no further words, Muhoshin went to sleep.

Night came to pass over Nerima, once more bringing rest

to most of her children.

In Tofu's clinic, Ryo Saotome spent another night in

restless sleep, unknown visions plaguing his dreams. Ryo

Muhoshin slept just as uneasily, his hand over a

heart-shaped hole in his chest where his locket once burned.

Sitting by him, Ishido slept lightly, awakened by the

slightest sound. His sleep was far from relaxed.

In Ucchan's, Ukyou dreamed of a future with her Ranma,

and their son Ryo. It was a happy dream, filled with a

sweet kisses and promises of happy tomorrows.

All was dark in the Tendo home, with her inhabitants at

rest once more.

Except for one, and she'd done this before.

Kaeri wandered the grounds in darkness once more, this

time with slow and methodical searching instead of the

desperate scrabbling she'd done last time.

There were so many places to hide a locket.

Oh, so many.

And on the next day, Ryo Saotome rose from his sleep.

"Ah, I see you're finally awake," said Dr. Tofu.

Ryo groaned.

"How are you feelling?"

"Tired," said Ryo. "The others?"

"They're all fine," Tofu assured him.

"How... how long have I been out?"

"A couple of days," said Tofu.

Ryo's eyes widened. "DAYS?!" He suddenly stood up,

only to slump back into bed. "Damn... still weak."

"Hey, don't rush things," said Tofu. "You'll only make

yourself more sick." Seeing Ryo settling back into bed,

Tofu relaxed.

"Think I know... why," said Ryo weakly.

"Why?" asked Tofu.

"Lockets... was holding both lockets... must've been...

some sorta feedback."

Tofu nodded. "That might explain the disruption in your

aura. I'll let Ranma know you're awake now. You just get

your rest."

Ryo nodded and sunk lower into the blankets. More rest

was definitely needed.

Everything was still blue.

"Hello," said Muhoshin, still as wooden and unemotional

as he was the day before. Childra found his gaze eerie,

despite its lack of malice.

"Hello to you too," said Childra in a fairly unfriendly

manner.

"He's awake," said Muhoshin.

"The other Ryo? Yeah, he's awake," said Childra,

keeping a hand on her bo.

"You said goodbye to Ishido, I guess."

Childra glared at him for a moment, then laughed. "And

why would I do that? You're in no position to do anything

to us."

Muhoshin raised an eyebrow. "All I have to do is

watch."

"And what's that mean?"

"Other Ryo."

"You're talking nonsense," said Childra.

"He's all for setting things... ah... in order."

Muhoshin gazed at her flatly for a moment, then closed his

eyes and sighed. "Ishido doesn't belong in your world. You

don't belong in his."

"That doesn't matter," she replied, sounding a little

bitter.

They stayed there in silence for a while, Muhoshin

looking very relaxed while Childra seemed disturbed.

Finally, Muhoshin spoke again. "Help me stop him."

"Why should I? You tried to kill us last time."

"You... *yawn* you were trying to take my precious away

from me." Muhoshin stretched and scratched his side, eyes

still closed. "Help me. You'll stay together."

"You've lied before."

Muhoshin opened one eye and peered at her. "Take your

chances with the boy scout, then."

Kaeri strode through the upper hall, grinding her mental

gears in time to her footsteps. She ran through her

checklist again. Nothing seemed to be missing, and there

was little left to do. Everything was almost right; she was

almost ready to leave this place with Muhoshin-san.

Almost.

They both had Work to do. Maybe this time they could do

it together. Now, wouldn't that be nice?

She decided that it would be. A task shared is a task

enjoyed, and Kaeri hadn't realised how lonely she'd become

until meeting Miyabi. She had needed this. Just... a rest.

A break. To pull herself together. To sort things out.

To claw herself upwards through the slime with her

fingernails, away from the the blazing depths of the pit of

insanity - but it had already singed her.

That worried her. She couldn't afford to go mad. Or

madder. She suspected that she wasn't completely sane...

but then, who was? Who cared? As long as it didn't

interfere with the Work, as long as it didn't get too bad,

as long as the shadows stayed out of sight...

And then there was her staff.

It was lying on her bed, at the moment.

She could feel it.

Miyabi was too weak, too easily snared. She didn't have

the will to deal with it. Perhaps being a little insane

wasn't so bad after all. Kaeri was many things, but weak

was not one of them. Now that she knew exactly what the

staff was, she could deal with it. Not master it, but deal

with it.

It wanted to kill things. That was fine with her;

certain things needed to be killed. But only certain things.

She would make the decisions, not it, but it would take

effort. A lot of it. The staff was strong, and cunning...

it waited for just the right moment, subtly trying to color

her emotions and mind in the process.

Now that she knew what to look for, it would have a

harder time of things. But even with her added knowledge,

what lay ahead was still rather worrying.

In fact, Kaeri was so caught up in her brooding that

she utterly forgot to keep one of her major goals in mind;

namely, avoiding Kasumi and, with the inevitability of such

events, she turned the corner and nearly ran straight into

the eldest Tendo sister.

Kasumi blinked, tried for a smile, faltered, and then

managed a brightly polite beam. "Oh dear. Hello."

Kaeri favored her with the sort of polite look one gives

a friendly mangy dog. "Hello."

There was an awkward pause, and then Kaeri began to walk

past her double.

"Why do you hate me?"

Kaeri stopped, slowly turned. The smile on Kasumi's face

was as immutable as the pyramids.

She shrugged. "Because you're blind."

Kasumi smiled in silence.

"Because you're stupid."

The smile seemed to twitch a little. It must, Kaeri

thought, have been her imagination.

"Because..." The word she needed was one that had lain

long unused in her vocabulary. "Because you're happy."

This last dissolved the sugary lipcurve so that the

human vegetable could ask a question.

"Aren't you any of those?"

Kaeri sighed. "No. Not anymore." Her double was a

potato. Or a turnip. Probably not as advanced as a leek,

and radishes had too much character.

"Who are you?"

"I was you."

Kasumi nodded slowly. "Why would I hate myself? I don't

really hate anything."

"You can learn."

"Oh dear. I'd really rather not."

Kaeri almost laughed. "You'd rather not. You'd.

rather. not. You think... I CHOSE? The fire came. I

didn't know it could burn more than trash and cookies. But

now I do. You can learn. I've learned. And sometimes,

'I'd rather not' just isn't good enough. Life doesn't work

like that. I tried it, once, and it all ended."

"What happened?"

"I went to a seminar in Osaka. I came back, and they

were all dead." She poked her double lightly in the chest.

"People think they take you for granted, but it's really the

other way around. What would you do without them? Who would

you cook for? What would you clean?" Again she poked Kasumi,

this time not so gently. "Stupid girl. What would you do

when your reason for living dies? All you do is take care of

them. What happens when they're gone?"

"They're not going any..."

Her hand came around hard, catching Kasumi on the side

of the cheek with a echoing slap. "That's what I thought,

you stupid girl! That's exactly what I thought, and then

they were DEAD! So I had a choice, you see... I had fallen

out of heaven, and landed in hell, and I could either stay

there or use the Nanban Mirror to fix things..." She

chuckled, watching as Kasumi rubbed at the side of her

cheek, a nervous look in her eyes. "I did. I fixed things.

But you can never go home again. I fixed things for some

other Kasumi, who had never had anyone cut off her fingers,

or put her face to a hot grill. The same blind, stupid,

worthless Kasumi as always. Not me. So I had left hell, and

you can't ever go back to heaven, and that just leaves

purgatory."

"Envy is a very bad reason to hate someone," Kasumi said

softly.

Kaeri stared at her for a moment, and then slumped.

"Maybe. But it's not just that. You just take care of the

easy things, girl. The things you enjoy. You ignore the

rest, and they can't afford that. Open your eyes and pay

attention."

"But..."

"No buts. I know you. Don't think you can hide from me.

I know you think that if you just do what Mother did,

everything will be okay. That's a lie. It won't."

Kasumi flinched. "It has been, though. It really..."

The second slap actually sent her sprawling. "IDIOT! It

was 'all right' because _I_ made it so! Because _I_ went

back and was cut and burned! So they could live, and so you

could be stupid and happy! It could have been you, you

stupid little girl! It should have been! I just want to go

home and have things the way they were, but I can't because

you're in my place!"

Kasumi slowly climbed to her feet. "Don't... don't you

hit me. I won't..."

Kaeri laughed. "You can't stop me. You're weak. You

don't have the will. But you could have. And maybe you will,

because I'm going to tell you a secret."

"A secret?"

Kaeri winked with her one good eye. "A secret. You see,

my seminar? It hasn't happened yet. This place is a year

behind my timeline."

Kasumi stared at her. "What does that..."

Kaeri giggled. "It means that what happened to me hasn't

occured her yet. If it occurs. I'm not sure whether it will

or not. The locket is funny; some places are so alike, and

some are so different... who knows? You might be the eariler

me. Or maybe you'll be weaker than I was, and will just kill

yourself after your entire world is destroyed. Or maybe

you'll just rot in your empty little apartment. Who knows?

Maybe nothing will happen at all."

She turned, and continued down the hallway. "But don't

bet on it, Kasumi."

It felt good to be back on his feet, mused Ryo Saotome.

Though he wasn't on his feet at the moment, he was at least

finally out of bed.

Though Ranma had argued against it, Ryo took guard duty

over Muhoshin. He was hoping to talk some sense into his

adversary, even though all previous attempts had failed

miseraby.

Never giving up was something he liked to think he'd

gotten from his father.

"Hello, Muhoshin."

His adversary, on the other hand, seemed to have lost

his fight. He laid passively on his bed, not struggling to

get out of his straitjacket at all. According to the

others, he hadn't made any attempt to escape at all.

Even now, Muhoshin seemed eerily passive.

"Hello," said Muhoshin, taking a moment to open his eyes

and glance briefly at his nemesis. After that, he settled

back into silence, closing his eyes.

While Ryo was generally a good speaker, Muhoshin's

passive attitude left him speechless.

And so they passed an hour this way, Ryo watching over

Muhoshin in peace and quiet.

"Saotome," said Muhoshin, suddenly breaking the silence.

"Yeah?"

"If you're up and about, why aren't we all home yet?"

asked Muhoshin, suspicion in his voice.

"I'm still not feeling entirely well."

"Ah. Everything still a nice shade of blue?" There was

a hint of a sneer in his voice.

Ryo ignored it.

"Saotome," said Muhoshin. "If I asked you to give me my

locket back... you would say no, wouldn't you?"

"I would."

"And if I were to get it back, you'd chase me again."

"Yeah. Muhoshin, you're not we-"

"That's all I needed to know."

"But-"

"Quiet. I'd like to rest. Things are still a nice

shade of blue. I'm sure you know the feeling."

Once more, they fell into silence. And once more

Muhoshin broke it.

"Saotome?"

"Yeah?"

"You're a lot like me."

Ryo frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" Whatever

it meant, Muhoshin declined to say.

Miyabi peered cautiously around her, making sure there

would be none to overhear her conversation.

"Hey, Muhoshin, you awake?"

He lazily lifted an eyelid. "Hmm?"

"I've been thinking about what Kaeri said about you

and... did you really save her life?"

Muhoshin's expression darkened. "Yes, yes I did."

She looked him sternly in the eye. "So what would you

do if I set you free?"

"If I'm what they made me out to be, I guess I'd sneak

up on them and slit their throats. But of course, I'm not

like that. Instead, I'll just take my locket and leave."

"You're not gonna hurt anyone?"

He remained silent for a while, then finally replied.

"I only bite when bitten."

"Okay, then. I'm gonna let you go, but-"

"Not yet."

"Hm?"

"Don't release me yet. Kas... Kaeri hasn't found my

locket yet. No sense in alarming the others too early."

"Um... okay."

Irritated by his lack of progress with Muhoshin, and

feeling restless in general, Muhoshin took a walk once

Miyabi came in to take over the watch.

No sense delaying returning them home, right? The

longer he put it off, the more he ran the risk of something

going wrong again.

Everything was in place for him to go home again. No

sense in putting it off, right?

He found himself at the Tendo residence and hesitated as

he stood at its gate. Before, he'd always felt good when he

saw this place. Now, however, there was no doubt as to the

slightly unpleasant undercurrent that he represented.

Ranma was supposed to marry Akane, not Ukyou.

Not his mom.

His very presence there was a reminder that Soun Tendo's

dreams would not come to pass. They probably didn't think

he noticed it, but he did, when Soun cast a wary glance at

him, or Akane frowned as he talked about how his mother and

father were... would be... will be...

"Argh."

He didn't like this feeling. The Tendo home was

supposed to be Bell-chan's, a place where he'd always be

welcome.

Well it was about time he went back to that place, blue

specks in his eyes or not.

Feeling full of purpose once more, he walked to the door

calmly, and asked to see Ranma. Kasumi lead him through the

house, feeling the awkwardness the other Tendos felt when he

was around, as he passed her, to the dojo, where Ranma was

keeping himself busy doing katas.

Ryo waved. "Hey pop."

"Oh, hey Ryo. Feelin' better, huh?"

"Good enough," said Ryo. "Hey, listen, pop, you hid the

lockets, right?"

"'course I did."

"Well, I think it's time... y'know?"

"Time?" Ranma blinked and looked at Ryo cluelessly.

"Time I went home," said Ryo. "Time everyone else went

home too."

"Oh." Ranma nodded. "Well, I hid one of them behind

the shrine," he said, tilting his head at the shrine on the

dojo wall.

Ryo immediately went to it and searched blindly with his

hand.

"Um, pop? You sure it's here?"

"Yeah I'm sure," said Ranma. "Move aside, lemme see."

He reached behind the shrine... and blinked.

"Oh boy."

Ryo gave him a haggard, wearly look. "What do you mean,

'oh boy'?"

A pair of silhouettes appeared at the doorway. "Hey,

Ryo," said a stern female voice. "There's something we need

to straighten out."

Ryo turned around. "Childra..."

The woman didn't look happy, and Ishido looked even less

so. "You aren't taking Childra away from me," said Ishido.

His battle aura flickered slightly.

Ryo sighed. "Oh boy."

A gentle knock on the door turned Miyabi's head. Kaeri

entered, giving Miyabi a smile and a gentle squeeze on the

shoulder, then stood by Muhoshin's side.

"I found it," she said, then pulled a shining silver

locket from her pocket.

Muhoshin smiled. The straitjacket holding him

dissappeared with an azure flash. He took the locket from

her hand, held it high, then suddenly pressed it to his

chest. Azure flames blazed from beneath his hand and a

whirlwind seemed to rush through the room.

And then all was quiet.

"What... what did you do?" asked Miyabi.

Muhoshin didn't stand so much as he slithered up to a

standing position. From under his shirt, Miyabi noticed a

pulsating azure glow.

"Just took my heart back," mumbled Muhoshin. Another

flash of blue engulfed him and he suddenly had on a new grey

suit, tailored and pressed to perfection. "You couldn't

find the other one?" he asked Kaeri.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Muhoshin-san."

"No need to apologize. This one will do."

Miyabi suddenly had a bad feeling about this, but she

couldn't leave now. As Kaeri rushed up to Muhoshin's side

and embraced him, Miyabi knew the scarred girl might be

blind to Muhoshin's faults.

Someone had to watch out for her.

For better or worse, she was with them.

"Pardon me, ladies, but I've errands to run," said

Muhoshin.

"Errands?" asked Miyabi. "What kind of er... hey!"

Suddenly, she found herself bathed in azure flames and

fading into nothing. "What's going on here?!"

Muhoshin gave her a reassuring smile. "Just sending you

and Kaeri ahead. Don't worry, I'll be with you soon."

Miyabi yelled in protest, but her words were lost as she

and Kaeri vanished in flashes of bright blue.

Alone once more, Ryo Muhoshin's grin lost all warmth.

"Suddenly, I'm in the mood for okonomiyaki."

Ranma moved into a fighting stance, ready to defend his

son. Ryo, however, had other ideas.

"Dad, it's okay. Listen, guys," said Ryo Saotome

wearily. "Let's talk about this."

"We're just a little worried," said Childra, not

relaxing a bit. "You seem to be very keen on 'setting

everything right', and that would mean sending Ishido back

to where he came from."

"I don't want to go back," said Ishido firmly. "I am

_not_ going back. I'm staying with Childra."

Ryo held his hands up in submission. "Okay, okay, you

guys want to stay together. I understand that. Fine." He

hesitated a moment, thinking of the words to say to diffuse

the situation.

"Right, okay, I'll let you stay together," lied Ryo.

Muhoshin's last words nagged at him.

'You're just like me.'

No, he said to himself, no I'm not.

"And where are the lockets, anyway?" asked Childra.

"Well, one was right here," said Ryo. "You sure, pop?"

"Yeah I'm sure!" said Ranma. "It was right-"

Suddenly, flames of blue erupted in the air an arm's

length in front of Ryo and faded away to reveal an

okonomiyaki takeout box. Reflexively, Ryo caught it before

it fell to the ground.

Ryo's sinking feeling sunk even lower as he opened the

box. Written in sauce were the words 'HELP ME', and

scribbled inside the box lid were the following lines:

Hear the loud alarum bells-

Brazen bells!

What a tale of terror now, their turbulency tells!

In the startled ear of night

How they scream out their affright!

Too much horrified to speak,

They can only shriek, shriek,

Out of tune,

In a clamorous appealing to the mercy of the fire,

In a mad expostulation with the deaf and

frantic fire,

Leaping higher, higher, higher,

With a desperate desire,

And a resolute endeavor,

Now- now to sit or never,

By the side of the pale-faced moon.

Oh, the bells, bells, bells!

catchy, isn't it?

- Muhoshin

p.s. Got your mom too

Ryo dropped the box, his arms trembling.

"Oh no... Bell-chan."

END ACT 8

- end act 8 -

E

by Susan Doenime

Characters and Backstory by Rumiko Takahashi. Used without permission.

Ranma slept.

This was not exactly an unusual occurrence. It happened every

night, and usually did not stir any interest or comment.

Breathe in, breathe out. Turn slightly. Mutter.

The reader may be wondering why such a common event is

being described. Be patient.

Like most martial artists, Ranma was a light sleeper. With the

amount of people after his head, he really had to be. So when the

object came sailing through the window to land with a clatter on

the floor, one of his eyes shot open.

A few seconds later, a flare of brilliant light filled the room,

and the eye snapped shut. Springing to his feet, trying to blink

away the spots dancing in front of his vision, Ranma waited for

the attack. Mousse, perhaps? Sasuke? It wasn't really Kunou or

Ryouga's style...

Perhaps some entirely new enemy?

His senses reached out to take in the entire room, to perceive

every flow of chi, to prepare for the barrage of thrusts that was

about to come.

A minute passed.

Maybe it was some sort of chi blast that took time to charge?

Five minutes passed.

His brow furrowed. A flashbomb used to blind your opponent

was a sound tactic, but only if you followed up on it immediately.

His vision had long since returned to normal, and he was now on

guard. His foe had thrown away the advantage of surprise for no

good reason.

After thirty minutes, he gave up and went back to sleep. But

with one eye open. Just in case.

.

His sleep that night was a exhausting affair, and to compensate

he rose in the late morning. Some joker, he mused, was trying to

rattle him.

Ranma shrugged. He could deal with it. After breakfast.

After pulling on his clothing, he skipped downstairs and into the

kitchen. And froze.

The room was occupied by Akane, Akari, and P-chan. And a

sinkfull of warm, soapy water.

"Time for P-chan's bath!" cooed Akane. Akari smiled

benevolently.

Ohmygodohmygod...she'll kill Ryouga and then she'll kill me...

"Akane! No!"

His fiancee didn't even turn. "What is it, Ranma? I'm just giving

P-chan a bath." She began to lower the pig towards the water...

"No! Uh, warm water's really bad for them!"

Akari spoke for the first time. "On the contrary. It's necessary

for their good health to be bathed every so often."

"See," Akane said, a smug tone in her voice. "And Akari should

know, her being a pig breeder."

Horrified, Ranma saw it. Akari wanted to break any possibility

of a Ryouga/Akane relationship in the most complete way she

could.

Akane dunked P-chan into the warm, soapy, warm sink.

Ranma closed his eyes, and waited for the carnage.

"Akari, hand me the soap."

Huh?

He opened his eyes. P-chan was happily splashing about in the

sink. In the sink filled with warm water.

Dashing over to where the two girls stood, he dipped his finger

in the water. Warm. It was warm. And Ryouga was a pig.

He stared at his friend's eyes in horror. The eyes stared back.

Empty. A pig's eyes.

"Ranma? Is something wrong?"

"Oh no... Ryouga... oh, man..."

Akari grabbed his arm. "What about Ryouga?"

He turned to face her. She didn't look upset in the slightest. "He

didn't change back! He's stuck in his cursed form!"

"What cursed form?" the girls asked simultaneously.

Ranma closed his eyes. This was going to get him in trouble,

but...

"P-chan is Ryouga with a Jyusenkyou curse. The warm water

should have changed him back. But it didn't. Something's trapped

him like this."

Akane turned pale. "You mean he... that.. my bed...that... my BED!"

Akari just looked puzzled. "Ranma, that's not true."

"What do you mean? You've known about the curse too!"

"My BED! That... I'm going to..."

"Ryouga," Akari said calmly, "is not P-chan."

"Why would I be P-chan?" asked Ryouga, who had just strolled

in from the dining room.

Who had just...

Ranma looked at the sink. P-chan was splashing about happily in

the water. He turned back to the door. Ryouga was standing in the

doorframe, looking bemused.

There was a bucket of water in a corner, and Ranma threw it at

Ryouga. It hit dead-on.

Ryouga made an amazing transformation. He went from a dry,

bemused Ryouga to a wet, annoyed Ryouga.

"Ranma! Why are you throwing water at me?"

"Ranma," snarled Akane, "why are you trying to give me a heart

attack with filthy lies about Ryouga and P-chan?"

Oh no.

"Ryouga," he said hesitantly, "can we talk?"

"I think that would be wise," the Lost Boy evenly replied.

.

They went for a walk.

There was something odd about Ryouga, thought Ranma. He

wasn't trying to kill him. He didn't really even seem all that mad.

And there was something else, something he couldn't quite place...

"Ryouga, how'd you get cured?"

"Cured of what?"

"The curse!"

Ryouga stared at him. "What curse?"

"The one you got at Jyusenkyou, stupid!"

"Ranma," Ryouga slowly said, "I've never been to Jyusenkyou."

Then it struck him what seemed wrong about Ryouga.

"Hey, man, when did you paint your umbrella blue?"

"It's always been blue. Ranma, did you hit your head fighting

Ukyou or something?"

Fighting...

The flash of light, with no attack following...

"I think I'd better go see Cologne."

Ryouga looked puzzled. "Why do you want to talk to him?"

Oh boy.

.

Ranma recognized the Amazon matriarch the second he saw

her. Or, rather, the second he saw _him_. Cologne was male.

"Ah, Apprentice! What can I do for you?"

"Something's wrong," he said flatly. "My memories don't match

reality. You should be female, and Ryouga should have a

Jyusenkyou curse."

The withered old man listened as Ranma told about the burst of

light, the events in the kitchen, and his conversation with Ryouga.

Finally he spoke.

"I think I know what has happened, but I will need to make sure.

If you will stand still for a moment..."

Ranma did, and Cologne rummaged around for a selection of

scrolls. After settling on one, he began to incant in an odd, harsh

language. The room grew dark, and a odd aura flared around

Ranma's body.

Despite an urge to scream and run, he held still.

Cologne finally fell silent, and the glow surrounding Ranma

faded. The old man slowly nodded. "As I thought. You are not from

this reality."

"Huh?"

"Someone has exchanged you with the Ranma Saotome of this

universe. You are not where you belong."

His head spun. Of course, that explained everything! "How do I

get back?"

Cologne frowned. "It will not be easy. There are tales of a

magical locket that let one move from one world to another,

said to be lost somewhere in China. If you could find that..."

"Somewhere in China! Do you have any idea how BIG China is?"

The old man stroked his beard. "True, true. It may indeed take a

while."

"I don't even speak the language very well!"

"Your best friend does."

Ranma laughed. "Ryouga? He doesn't..."

"No. I mean Shampoo."

"I'd hardly call her my best friend. She wants to marry me!"

Cologne laughed. "Really? How odd. The Shampoo of this world

just sees you as a close friend. Although Ukyou did once try to fix

you two up so that you'd stop bothering Akane."

Ranma frowned. "Ukyou's a guy in this world?"

"No, a lesbian. So is Akane. They've been going steady for

months, although we never were able to get you to give up on

her.."

"Oh my G...that's...You've got to get me back to my world!"

Shampoo entered from the back room. "Oh, Nihao Ranma. You

spar with Shampoo?"

"Great-granddaughter, Ranma needs your help."

.

It took half an hour to persuade Shampoo to go with him. After

some last minute advice from Cologne, the two headed out the

door.

If it takes a million years, Ranma thought grimly, I'm going to

find my way home. Ucchan and Akane... He shuddered.

Cologne watched the pair head off in the direction of the docks,

smiled, and put on a kettle. After a minute, Ryouga walked in.

"Is he gone?"

"Yes." Cologne lifted the kettle and poured it over himself,

rapidly shifting into female form. "You did well, boy. I was afraid

you'd foul up."

Ryouga rubbed his head. "I had trouble convincing Akari to go

along with it, but she gave in. Even helped me find a piglet the

same color and size as P-chan. Got any more of that instant

nyannichuan, by the way?"

Cologne handed him a box. "Here you go. Except for the packet

you used, and the packet I used, it should be full."

"Good." Ryouga frowned for a second. "What do I tell Akane?"

"The truth. Tell her that Ranma left for China with Shampoo,

and never wants to see her again. She'll be upset, and you'll be

there to comfort her."

"And Ranma?"

"He'll spend years searching China for a magical reality-

traveling locket that doesn't exist, while the delayed action

love spell I cast on him starts taking effect. He'll marry Shampoo

within two years."

Ryouga grinned happily. "And Akane will be mine."

"If you work hard at it." Cologne frowned. Something she had

said was nagging at her, but she didn't know what.

Oh well. It couldn't have been very important.

There are an awful lot of reality-travel fanfics, with Ranma waking up

in another world for no good reason. In all of them, it's odd how quickly

he accepts the fact that he really has been transported to an alternate

dimension.

Or maybe not so odd, considering the weirdness of his life.

Another common theme is how his love for Akane eventually carries him

through the plots and dangers tossed at him. In the end, it does seem to

be the reason for his coming out on top.

A cunning enemy would turn this strength into a weakness.

Special thanks to Kevin Eav, Chris Willmore, and RpM. Mythical

reality-traveling locket indeed.

- Susan Doenime