A Scary Thought

by Derekloffin

What happens when Kasumi is the one coming back from a training trip rather than Ranma? Well, read on to find out. Chapter 33 new content not on my webpage yet.

66. Chapter 66: Visitors from the past

Ranma ½

A Scary Thought:

What happened last time: With the crew returned to Nerima, they settled some matters, and Frost caught up.

Chapter 66

XXXXX

Saki's morning started rather dull. She awoke early and considered her schedule for the day. School was due to restart tomorrow, but that left today rather open for her. All her school work for the break was already complete, and with her Grandmother having just left she was also due a down day to recover from the recent heavy training.

Saki paused while thinking about this, looking into her mirror. 'For the first time in a long time I feel kinda... good. Almost like, life is looking up,' she thought before smirking. 'So now I've jinxed it.' Saki sighed jokingly and after straightening herself in the mirror headed out.

'Maybe I'll try to think up what to say to Sanpei,' she thought as she headed downstairs to get some breakfast and was just in the process of opening the shared fridge to assess her options when she heard the front door open sharply and curiously looked down the hall to see who had entered. Her answer was not one she was expecting, that of Jin.

"Saki! Come with me!" he called out on seeing her.

'Yep, I jinxed it! Now what?!' she thought with another sigh and closed the fridge and headed over to join him.

"What-"

"We'll talk in the car," Jin said quickly and headed out with Saki following close behind.

Once in said car, Jin immediately began driving, leaving Saki to wonder at just what was so urgent. Before she could give voice to the question once more, Jin began explaining. "Remi's out."

"Out?" Saki echoed in initial confusion before realizing what he meant. "Out?! How?! When?!"

"The whole thing happened damned fast. I tried to get in contact with you earlier but you were off in the woods," he explained. "The entire case against her completely collapsed."

"Wha- How?!" Saki asked, still in wide eyed shock.

Jin shook his head. "A couple of key judgments went against us. They shouldn't have, they were totally solid, but..."

Saki clenched her teeth in intense thought before an idea hit her. "It's... payback. That damned hotel."

Jin glanced at her before looking back ahead and nodding. "That's our guess too, but I asked, he got no... well, not really official, but any real feedback on that whole mess. If they are pissed, they've apparently been awfully quiet about it."

"But who else could it be? He cut off all her assets, right?"

"Yes, or at least we thought. We're not so sure anymore," Jin replied. "We're looking into it now, but that changes nothing in the near term at least."

Saki rubbed her forehead as she absorbed the situation. "This is a disaster. She's a psychopath. You know she'll just pick up where she left off."

"Oh... yes, about that..." Jin replied, but trailed off before elaborating. They soon arrived at their destination and both exited the vehicle with Saki keeping her questions to herself till they were within the police agency's interior. She did not need to ask though as Jin immediately started. "She's on her way to your school."

"WHAT?!" Saki practically yelled in total shock, now frozen in place.

Jin turned and nodded sadly. "Yes, in fact, she's arriving today."

"WHAT?!" Sake exclaimed again, now in a near panic. "Why am I here then?! I should be-"

"Saki, calm down," Jin ordered and she bit her tongue. "You're here to cool your head and not do something stupid. Legally, she's in the clear. You do something dumb, and you could be in trouble, and you know how calculating she is. She'll fully exploit anything you do, so stepping even an inch out of line is not an option."

Saki clenched her fists but was forced to nod in agreement. "Damn it!"

"Come on," Jin directed and the pair headed to the inspector's office. Saki could not help but glare at him in a mix of emotions as Jin closed the door behind them. "I gave her the very basics," Jin said.

The inspector nodded solemnly. "Good. Then let's talk about what little good news there is. She's still largely cut off. All her father's assets were seized, and their organization was badly hurt by the whole affair. Also, there has been some activity in the dark," the inspector explained and stood up. "It is all still rather confusing, but it seems like the remaining parts of her organization were also caught up in something, and not in a positive way for them. Not sure what that's all about, but if I were to guess, it is likely my... associates."

"The illuminati?" Saki asked and the inspector nodded. "What do you think they did?"

"If I were to hazard a guess, Remi made a deal, and handed over the remains of her organization to the illuminati in exchange for her freedom," the man replied.

Saki frowned. "That's a... hell of an exchange."

"Yes, in fact it is too lucrative an exchange, for them, which is why I doubt the conclusion. While yes she was imprisoned, even at worst she could have simply waited out her sentence. She had managed to avoid the worst charges, or redirect responsibility for them onto her dead family, and what was left wasn't going to keep her behind bars forever. We even have some solid intelligence that she was planning an escape, so this seems like a very unfavorable exchange for her."

"An escape..." Saki echoed

"Yes. She was at your old holding facility, and we found some suspicious things among her remaining belongings. Nothing concrete of course, but enough to point to her planning something elaborate," Jin said. "Although, honestly, I'm more concerned about her little picture book."

"Do I want to even know?" Saki asked.

"A lot of very innocent looking artwork... all of you," Jin replied.

"Oh great," Saki responded with a sigh.

"Yes, speaks to quite the ax she's grinding," Jin said.

The inspector nodded. "Which oddly is perhaps the best thing here. She's focused on you, to the point she somehow arranged to get sent to Furinkan. It is our best chance to turn this whole thing around on her."

"Assuming the Illuminati lets you," Saki noted and the inspector sadly nodded. "They haven't spoken to you at all, not even a passive aggressive conversation?"

The inspector let his usual unflappable air slip with a deep frown. "No. Believe me, I've been fully anticipating retaliation, but they have made no contact on the matter. In fact, what little contact I have had has been unrelated, almost as if the incident didn't happen."

Saki hung her head. "Yeah, but maybe they don't blame you."

The inspector nodded once more. "You mean their focus is on you. Quite possible, especially given it is Remi we're dealing with. I have reached out to them, but they have been silent on this matter so far. It could mean they are cutting ties with me, or it could be something else. I'm not sure."

Saki pondered this with a scowl. "Alright... so, what do you want me to do?"

Jin and the inspector exchanged looks before Jin replied. "For now just keep your eyes on her. She'll probably try to provoke you, don't fall for it. Sadly, if the illuminati is against us, we'll need something rock solid to take her down."

"Right," Saki replied with a sad nod.

"There is one other matter," the inspector said, surprising Jin.

"Hmh?" Jin responded as he looked back at the inspector.

"There are other rumblings in the dark as well," the inspector explained. "Something else big happened and it sent shock waves through practically everything."

"But not from the Illuminati?" Saki asked and the inspector shook his head.

"No. Not only did it seem to catch them off guard as well, that is the one matter I've been in contact with them about since. They were looking for information, which I had none to provide, but they seemed unsurprised. That said, it wasn't their organization that got hit. It was someone else. I'm not sure who, but one of the big dark players. No one was overly willing to talk about it, but there was a huge mass of activity because of it."

"When did this happen?" Jin asked.

"Some months ago, a fair while after the hotel incident though. I only bring it up as much of the focus of the activity was in Japan and the surrounding areas. It could be mere coincidence, but it makes me wonder if it might be involved," the inspector said.

Jin frowned and thought. "Not a lot to work with."

"No," the inspector agreed.

"What kind of activity?" Saki asked.

"Materials and personnel were being shuffled around very rapidly. There were also a number of holdings suddenly shifting hands, or put up on the market as if they were being abandoned," the inspector replied but frowned and shook his head. "Sadly, all my attempts to track any of it were blocked. Think I even lost an asset who got too nosey."

Saki frowned as she absorbed this. The inspector refocused on Saki. "Perhaps that friend of yours has a theory," he suggested

"Ugh," Saki groaned. "I wouldn't doubt it but god knows if it is useful or not. Half her stuff is total nonsense."

"But the other half seems very solid somehow," Jin replied with a slight smile.

"Yeah, that's the freaky part," Saki said with a sigh. "She hasn't mentioned anything interesting though, so I doubt it is on her radar, as she's very chatty with me since then. Still, maybe I'll ask, you never know."

"Even if it is fantastical, it may be worth looking into," the inspector replied and Saki nodded.

"Do you really think it is related?" Saki asked.

The inspector looked away. "The timing is highly suspicious, even more suspicious as we believe Remi was contacted around that same time as she was given a very short notice transfer. Perhaps the Illuminati thought she had info or connections relevant to the situation."

Saki considered and nodded. "Right. So what now?"

The inspector turned back to Saki. "Now we simply observe. She may already have arrived by the time you return. As we said, all signs point to her focus being on you, so in the short term just keep your head and endure until we can get a feel as to her goals here."

"Revenge most likely," Saki said with a sigh.

Jin nodded. "Quite possibly, but why get so close? She could attack you from afar. I think there is more here at play."

"Agreed," the inspector concluded.

"Great," Saki said with a down look. "Just give me a few to... ready myself."

"I doubt she'll try to pull anything too extreme in the near term," Jin noted and Saki nodded.

"Yeah, but still going to have me on edge... oh and let me guess, she'll be at the dorm, won't she?"

The inspector and Jin nodded.

"Just great."

XXXXX

'Okay, today, no spells. I need to reserve mana for the sentry spells... god damn it! Totally messed that up yesterday,' Frost thought as she exited her pocket dimension to enter the one at the restaurant. However, she made it barely one step in before she noticed a gathering that looked rather concerning. Kasumi, Herb, Shampoo, Makoto, Ranma, Genma, Lemon and even Akane were gathered around a woman Frost didn't recognize, at least not by face. Her general appearance, though, gave away her rough identity. 'What's another kitsune doing here?' she wondered as Kasumi smiled weakly and waved her over.

"I do hope that door doesn't bypass the barrier," the unknown woman said.

"No, of course not, and I've only given two people access to my room anyway. What's going on?" Frost asked. "And, who are you?"

"Oh, I guess you never did have the chance to meet her. This is Peach, Eyebright's wife and Lemon's Aunt," Kasumi introduced.

Peach nodded. "As to what is going on, Lemon's mother is going on."

"Lemon's mother?" Frost asked.

Peach sighed. "As I was explaining. Palm, that's Lemon's mother, slipped away from us, and she's very likely here looking for... trouble."

"She means to take Lemon?" Herb asked and Peach frowned.

"I honestly don't know what her objectives are. She had us thoroughly convinced that while she was angry, she had accepted the situation, but she's always been a good actress. Taking Lemon back is one possibility, but probably not the one she's out for," Peach explained.

"Why not?" Ranma asked.

"Mostly because she knows well Lemon is being punished, and she can't just forcibly take her back for that reason. No clan would take them," Peach answered.

"Maybe she simply plans to take Lemon and live on her own?" Kasumi suggested. "I've heard of that before."

"Perhaps. It is certainly not impossible or unprecedented, but unlikely. To understand why, you'd have to know her, but let's just say I highly doubt it," Peach said with a light shake of her head. "No, sadly the far more likely thing is she's here to... get at you."

"Oh..." Kasumi said and hung her head sadly.

"Yeah, and that's why I'm here. You're staying in this barrier until we get this mess sorted out, and I'm your personal bodyguard. Anything you seriously need to appear at, outside, I'll be doing in your place," Peach said.

"Surely attacking Kasumi is even less useful to her situation," Herb pointed out.

"Oh, certainly, but this isn't a rational decision from her. There is no outcome here where she comes out ahead. So, we have to get into her head to figure out what she wants, and I know her enough to know she wants revenge," Peach replied.

"She's right," Lemon quietly agreed, gaining everyone's attention. "My mom's... a very angry woman."

"Just wonderful," Ranma said. "Wait, will she target just Kasumi then? Why not someone else?"

Peach touched her chin in thought. "That is a concern, but doubtful, even for her. She has some standards, and going after uninvolved parties I think would be something she wouldn't do. Plus, if she goes after someone else, in theory, Lemon would likely pay the price."

"I wouldn't-" Kasumi started to protest but Peach cut her off.

"In theory," Peach dryly retorted. "Yes, I know the reality is likely not so, but she doesn't know that. Taking you out, however, also in theory, lets Lemon loose of her punishment. I highly doubt our clan would conclude that, but she'd at least have an argument to that effect, at least if Palm fell on her proverbial sword. She... may just go that far, which is the most logic I can see in her approach."

Ranma frowned but nodded. "Just how tough is she?"

"For me she's no match. For you all... hard to say," Peach started. "She's a five tails: Illusion, Power, Time-Space, Alteration and her newest is Transformation. It is a reasonable variety, but she's also highly inexperienced and poorly trained. So power wise she easily beats you lot, but skill wise she's rather poor despite her age. A few of you might be able to give her some trouble, but honestly, it isn't worth the risk. And, she's more than tough enough to kill you if you are dumb."

"No enchantment?" Herb asked in a bit of surprise.

"No. Tails are random, so yes, ironically, Lemon already has a tail her mother lacks," Peach explained. "So, at least you don't have to worry about her putting you under mind control, but she's got plenty of other tools... which reminds me, Shampoo is it? Who am I?"

Shampoo blinked at the strange question. "You're... Peach?" she responded in uncertainty.

"Yes... did any of you think to confirm that?" Peach asked and finally it clicked for the others and they all collectively shook their heads. "Yeah, we're shape shifters. Don't trust your eyes. Even that true sight spell you have on you won't help with a shapeshifter. Shampoo here is a key asset to detect her. Speaking of which, have you detected any other older spirits around? Remember, she has the transformation tail. She can be practically anything." Shampoo shook her head. "No, too bad, but not surprising. If you do sense something, tell me immediately. It is very likely her. I can smell her out up close, and so can Lemon, but that's not much use for finding her when she could be literally anywhere. I don't know if she learned about your spirit sense, so she might be foolish enough to enter the barrier for a scouting mission."

"She can do that?" Ranma asked.

"Certainly. It doesn't block those with anger in their hearts, just those with specific hostile intent. So long as she enters with no intent to attack at that time, she can. I'm not worried about that, it would actually be good for us. She can't change her mind inside and like I said, Shampoo, Lemon or I can potentially catch her."

"So then... what do we do? Just wait?" Akane asked.

"Yes, sadly. Either she gives up and heads home where we can properly secure her, or she gets fed up and confronts me, in which case I take her down... or I suppose you get stupid and go outside without me and something bad happens," Peach said.

"Right... I won't," Kasumi quickly said.

"Good. Hmmm..." Peach said in sudden thought. "Is that... girl a common visitor here? The red head?"

"Uh... oh, Ranko? Uh, not really, although she was planning-"

"Absolutely not!" Peach said with noticeable tension. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to recover from that?!"

"I can... no not really," Kasumi replied.

"Entirely too long. She's a menace!" Peach said before taking in a long breath and calming. "Just... make sure she and I don't come in contact... and as much as I might like it, let's keep her away from Palm too."

"Okay, I'll inform her," Kasumi said, giving Peach some relief.

"Alright. I'm going to prowl the neighborhood for a bit and see if I pick up any signs of her being here. As I said, stay in the barrier at all times, no excuses," Peach instructed and headed out.

"I get the impression that she and Palm don't get along," Makoto commented.

Lemon nodded. "My mother and her don't... like each other."

"But they're both married to Eyebright?" Ranma asked in confusion.

"Yes, but that's because of the curse situation," Lemon explained.

Frost huffed. "Wouldn't it just be easier to hand her over," she said, gesturing to Lemon.

"We suggested that when Peach arrived, and she said no," Kasumi replied.

"That whole punishment thing?" Frost asked with a frown.

"Yes. If Lemon wants to go, we'll let her, but given the circumstances, Peach says the clan wouldn't respect the choice and consider it coerced," Kasumi explained.

Lemon shrunk back a little, gaining a suspicious look from Frost, but after a second she just sighed. "Whatever... what a pain in the neck."

With that the group began to break up, but Herb came over to Frost, while Ranma likewise lingered.

"What about that spell you used to find Lemon?" Herb suggested quietly.

Frost shook her head. "That needed a ton of mana, and I don't have it. Those artifacts are still recharging. It hasn't exactly been a high priority to get them working again. Besides, I don't think it would work on someone trying to avoid being found. If she's half ways smart she's already surrounded herself with anti-divination magics. If you remember, it didn't even work to find Lemon because of that."

"Right, of course," Herb said with a sigh.

"I was going to be setting up some security magics around. I can add something to help, but honestly for a magical creature of her level, don't think she'd blunder into them," Frost said and Herb nodded and headed out, leaving only Ranma. "And what do you want?"

"Just a little discussion, not sure this is the time," Ranma said before frowning at himself.

"I got nothing better to do. Still recovering from yesterday. What do you want?"

Ranma nodded and stepped closer. "I've been trying to integrate some... magical theory into my techniques, without much success."

Frost frowned. "Why in heaven's name would you want to do that?"

Ranma sighed. "I wonder myself, but there is a logic behind it. Magic manipulates mostly external energies, right? You just use your own mana as a sort of framework, where the real muscle of the spells comes from the surrounding energies."

Frost nodded. "Yes, basically."

"Well, nearest ki technique we have to that is that Ha Do, which Kasumi was nice enough to let me try and nah... that stuff is nasty. Sure I could get it working, but it is a real mind bender. Even Kasumi can go all berserk if she gets too much of that dark stuff in her system," Ranma explained. "So, I was looking for an alternate approach. That's probably the big reason, but this magical stuff also seems like it can do more complex things too."

Frost considered and nodded. "I suppose."

"Anyway. Me and Rippa have been kinda dividing up the issue. He's been trying to get the theory to work on external energies, while I've been trying to get the flows to stabilize... using mostly my body... and yeah, that's been... a bit less than successful, on both fronts."

Frost frowned once more. "No shock there. Ki won't hold its form outside a living thing, and messing with a living thing's energy field, especially your own, is all kinds of stupid."

"Right, hence my need for assistance," Ranma concluded.

"What do you want from me? Sounds like you're making up something totally new and absurd," Frost replied.

"I don't know... maybe some more theory will help. You know magic," Ranma suggested, gaining only a scowl from Frost. "I tried asking Spring, but it was a bit out of expertise she said."

"No doubt. She is still only at an intermediate level. Theory is more high level," Frost responded and sighed. "Okay fine... you're not going to get anywhere without stabilizing the energy flows, so guess best to start there. You got an example of something?"

Ranma nodded and traced out a few lines on his arm while motioning with that same arm at the same time, all the while concentrating intently. After a few seconds he finished and winched before his arms flashed super-fast through the air. "Just a bit of a speed... boost... but it smarts like hell!"

"Yeah, looks like it," Frost replied and examined his arm intently. "Looks like you were doing some circle form inspired manipulations."

"Yeah," Ranma agreed. "I picked them up with some help from Spring."

Frost shook her head. "Well, I can tell you right now you're going with the wrong approach. Circle form is pretty useless to you. You can't use a library," Frost explained, although this only confused the boy. "Not a library with books, I mean a Circle library. It is the big backbone of Circle form. You pre-build your subordinate Circles so you can just build the outer magic using them when appropriate. Thing is, you can't stabilize your energies so you'll never be able to make an equivalent."

"Oh," Ranma said in disappointment.

"I said it was the wrong approach, not the only approach," Frost quickly added in some annoyance. "Come on," she directed and headed back to her room with Ranma following. "You can come in this once," she said as she passed through the door and immediately headed to the shelves of her room to scan the books. "Now where is it... no, that's not it... Hmm... ah, here." Frost recovered a book from a high shelf with the help of a ladder and handed it to Ranma. "There, that is more what you'd want."

"What is it?" Ranma asked as he opened the thick tome.

"A simple guide to Glyphic. It is an older magical form, one that was reasonably popular before Circle form took over," Frost explained but Ranma remained confused. "Ever heard of Runes? Kinda like magic symbols. Well, those are a form of Glyphic. It has many forms though, not just Rune magic. Important thing for you is it keeps the symbology simple and you build it from scratch each time... main reason it fell out of fashion, but still, you're starting something new, so probably better to look at older techniques than the latest and greatest."

Ranma nodded and started leafing through the tome. "Right... looks like a pretty dense read."

"It is a pretty big topic, but that covers practically all the basics of it. Might be useless, but closer to something you'd want," Frost said with a shrug. "Anything else?"

"No... ah, thanks. I'll give this a try," Ranma replied with an appreciative smile which Frost only sighed.

"Whatever. I should start on some other projects, so if you don't mind..."

"Right, thanks," Ranma said and quickly headed out the way he came with the tome in hand.

XXXXX

A short time later, Shampoo had started her shift at the restaurant. Since she was still going to school, her number of shifts was quite low, but still a bit of a welcome diversion. Her fellow workers were competent enough, but she was able to serve not only quicker, but with a bit of a flair that gained her quite a bit of extra interest.

Today was a bit quieter than the previous day, so Shampoo was just finishing up with her lone table when a fresh pair of customers was being directed in by the hostess. Shampoo took stock of the pair, two girls about her age that she didn't recognize, but then something else hit her.

'What is this weird feeling?' she thought, immediately considering one of the pair maybe Palm in disguise, but soon had to dismiss that as the issue. 'It does feel... it is one of their spirits, but it isn't older...' she pondered before shaking her head and deciding to head over and greet them.

The two girls were looking around the restaurant with interest when they spotted Shampoo and both seemed to tense up just a bit. Normally this would be something Shampoo would ignore, but together with the feeling, it got her more suspicious. "Nihao," Shampoo greeted. "I will be your server today. Is there anything I can get you to start?" she asked in a well-practiced line.

"Uh... not just yet. We're just looking over the menu," the one emanating the feeling replied with a smile.

"Okay, just motion me when you're ready," Shampoo replied and departed with a smile of her own, but once turned away it slipped into an expression of suspicion. She made it to the kitchen just as Kasumi was taking a look out and saw her.

"Is something wrong?" Kasumi asked and Shampoo motioned for her to go back into the kitchen.

"Is new girls... one feel... very strange," Shampoo explained.

"Strange? Strange how? Like-"

"No, not like kitsune," Shampoo quickly intercepted the question and frowned. "I... I never feel like this before. Is something about spirit, but I do no know what."

"Hmm," Kasumi replied with a slight frown of her own. "Let me go talk to them quickly," she replied and Shampoo nodded.

Kasumi headed back out into the restaurant dining area and locked in on the pair. The instant she did, she pulled back in surprise, immediately seeing the issue. "Oh... yes... hmm..." she said as puzzled over what she was witness to.

Shampoo peeked back out. "What you see?"

"Um... I'm not... sure..." Kasumi said as her mind rapidly tried to consider the possible explanations. After discarding several possibilities, she took closer note of the two and had a vague. "Oh! I think I know what's going on. Uh... leave them to me. I don't think it is a problem," Kasumi replied with a smile and headed off leaving Shampoo slightly confused.

Kasumi walked over to the girls' table, noticing the same slight tension from the pair, but to her eyes the reason was all too obvious. "Hello," she greeted.

"Oh, hello," one greeted with a smile.

"Uh... just a question. Are you here perhaps looking for someone?" Kasumi asked with a continued smile.

The girls exchanged looks of confusion. "Um... well, actually yes."

"Hmm," Kasumi replied and the two on seeing her smile seemed to clue in.

"You can totally see who we really are, can't you?" the other girl asked.

"Yes, true sight within the restaurant," Kasumi replied.

"That would do it," the first girl commented with a slight chuckle.

XXXXX

Saki arrived at the dorm just as Ranko was heading out. She gave the girl a curious look, but seeing that she seemed in a bit of a rush, but not overly concerned, she dismissed this and headed inside. Once within, she immediately caught the sound of several people speaking in the common area, and a distinct voice was noticeable among the others.

Saki steeled herself and headed to the common area, and sure enough, there she was. To most she looked like some prim and proper upper class girl. Long, well styled blond hair, nearly flawless skin and a beaming smile. Saki could easily see through the facade though. Underneath it all, this girl was as cold and calculating as they came.

It took only a moment for her to spot Saki at the doorway and smile at her. "Saki! To think I'd see an old face here at Furinkan. How have you been?"

"Remi... I've been fine," Saki replied. "What a surprise to see you here amongst us delinquents."

Remi chuckled. "Yes, sadly due to certain events, as unfairly as they fell on me, I had to look for new schooling and Furinkan came up," she replied.

"Yeah... I'm sure," Saki said with her own strained smile, debating calling her transparent lies out or simply leaving them be. She decided on the latter for now. Several more comebacks also flashed by her mind, but she dismissed those as well. 'I can try pushing her buttons later, just gauge the situation for now,' Saki self-instructed, noticing Kitsune giving her a particular smile. "Guess we'll be seeing each other a lot from now on."

"Yes, like old times," Remi replied with an innocent smile just as Yotogi questioned her about her old school, or more specifically if it had any handsome men.

With Remi momentarily distracted, Saki motioned for Kitsune to join her. Saki's roommate dismissed herself with a friendly smile and headed out, her and Saki walking to their shared room. Once within, Kitsune let out a long sigh before asking, "She's a total psycho, isn't she?"

"Oh yeah," Saki replied.

"How bad?" Kitsune asked, her smile fading into concern.

"Like involved in potentially a hundred plus deaths bad," Saki replied, and clearly Kitsune was unprepared for that as she grew pale, but Saki pressed on. "Like responsible for the kidnapping, assault, including sexual, and eventual murder of a friend. Oh, and she had her father and sisters killed."

"Oooh..." Kitsune said as she sat on her bed. "That's... bad," she said, her eyes distant.

"Yeah, very bad."

"What's she doing here?!" Kitsune exclaimed quietly.

"Current working theory, payback from the Illuminati," Saki answered.

"For the whole hotel La Bac thing?" Kitsune asked and Saki nodded. "Okay, I guess they might be annoyed by that."

Saki nodded once more and sat next to her. "Do you think the others are on to her?"

Kitsune considered but shook her head. "No, they're all pretty oblivious and I think buying into her act, or just don't care. Should we warn them?"

Saki considered but shook her head. "No. Issue is she's legally in the clear now. If we start going around bad mouthing her, even if legit, could get us in hot water. I have to wait for her to slip up and pull something. Until then, she's untouchable."

"She got completely off?! That's just... that's nuts, but totally the type of thing the Illuminati would pull," Kitsune said with a thoughtful scowl.

Saki gave a sad laugh. "Okay, on a related matter, I know it is a long shot, but... have you heard anything about something big going down in the last few months?"

"Something big? Like what?"

"Something in the dark as my boss says, lots of movement of men, material, changes of holdings, all centered around Japan. It wasn't the Illuminati, but they were very interested and Remi here was contacted right around then," Saki explained.

"Not the hotel though?" Kitsune confirmed and after Saki shook her head, she leaned back and held her chin. "Hmm... I do recall some of those same rumblings, but if you're mostly in the dark, I'm thinking it is on the... magical side of things."

"How so?"

"Those bunch are far more cagey than even the most underground of organized crime types, and even the Illuminati. Mostly, I think it is because they have magic going for them so they can actually... magically deal with any info getting out," Kitsune explained. "Sadly, the same goes for me, which is why it was so awesome getting into the mages' gatherings."

"Right... that was around then..."

"Yeah, I was thinking that too," Kitsune replied but shrugged. "I mean there was that business with the Kitsunes, but no reason that would cause a bunch of underworld types to pick up shop and move. Might be related, but no idea how. I didn't hear anything there."

Saki pressed her mind back to that time and had to nod her agreement. While she had overheard a number of weird conversations, nothing seems to fit the bill.

"Want me to-" Kitsune started.

"No!" Saki sharply interrupted. "My boss already lost someone who got nosey. You stay well clear of that nonsense."

"Uh... right, okay," Kitsune replied, getting a glare from Saki. "I mean it! I'll stay totally clear! I swear. That side of things is... kinda scary anyway, so don't need much encouragement."

"Better not."

"Speaking of scary, you okay if I bar the door at night from now on?" Kitsune asked with a weak smile.

"Fine by me, but she's not a hands on type of woman. If she wants to do you harm, she'll do it through goons most likely," Saki replied and stood up.

"Right, but it can't hurt," Kitsune said and Saki nodded.

With that, Saki headed back out just in time to see Remi come down the hall towards her, apparently having finished her introductions to the other girls. She paused in front of Saki, her smile as beaming as ever, while Saki simply returned a flat look. "You've been quite active from what I've heard," Remi commented.

"Wouldn't think you'd be hearing much where you were," Saki replied.

"I have my ways," Remi replied. "Oh... congratulations on finding your sister. I'm sure you're quite happy about that."

Saki twitched. She took a moment before replying, "Yes."

Remi's smile, just for the briefest instant, changed to a smirk before her facade was restored.

"The scar is hardly noticeable," Saki finally said, looking to Remi's forehead where the remnant of their final encountered had healed well, but was still noticeable if you looked close. Remi's smile faulted just for another instant.

"Yes," Remi replied after a few seconds. "Well, I should be off. Have to get prepared for classes after all." With a slight nod she walked past and headed into Makoto's old room where she had apparently been assigned.

"Damn it," Saki growled out under her breath before heading off.

Unseen within her room, Remi's facade faded completely and she glared at the opposite wall of her room, experimentally clenching and unclenching her fist in her lap, before touching her forehead with clenched teeth. However, just then her expression shifted and she looked up, annoyed. "Fine," she muttered and got up to put away her luggage.

XXXXX

About that time, Ranko arrived at the restaurant with a confused frown on her face. 'First I'm told I should steer clear, now they tell me to come over... make up your minds guys,' she thought as Kasumi greeted her.

"Ranko! Sorry about the mixed messages," she said with an apologetic look.

"Eh... it's not a problem," Ranko conceded. "So what's up?"

"Um..." Kasumi started before smiling in a manner that Ranko found more similar to Shampoo than Kasumi, but couldn't quite place why. "There are some people who want to see you."

"See me? What for?"

"Oh... I didn't ask. They're friendly enough," Kasumi assured her.

Ranko shrugged. "Okay, where are they?"

"Oh, I let them use one of the Karaoke rooms, number 1," Kasumi directed and with a nod Ranko headed over.

'Who the hell would want to see me?' she wondered and paused at the door to the private Karaoke room. 'Wait... now I know why that look reminded me of Shampoo, it's the look when she's playing around.' Suspicious now, Ranko opened the door, ready for anything.

Said readiness was proven ineffective though as she was pulled within so fast she could barely register what was happening. However, her fighting instinct detected no threat so rather than snap to the ready, she simply took stock of her situation only to be utterly shocked.

"Thought you got away, did you?" one of the girls within teased while the other closed the door. "You have any idea how hard it was to find you?"

Before her were two very familiar faces, although also ones she had not seen in many months and honestly had never expected to see again. "Akane, Shampoo... how..."

"It wasn't easy," Akane, the one sitting near the door, replied.

Shampoo, the one currently hugging Ranko, simply smiled, her shorter hairdo giving away her true identity. "You couldn't escape us forever."

"Is it really you two?" Ranko asked in shock, fully processing that these were the Akane and Shampoo from the other dimension.

XXXXX

After a few minutes, Kasumi decided enough time had passed and headed over to the room with a platter of various refreshments. She knocked and was given a quick call out to enter, finding the trio of Ranko, the alternate Akane and alternate Shampoo within, all now seated and apparently had been conversing.

"I thought you'd like some refreshments," Kasumi said with a beaming smile.

"Thanks a bunch!" Akane said and helped her place the platter down.

Ranko frowned at that moment. "Hey, did you guys just walk in here-"

"Oh no," Akane quickly assured her and pulled out an amulet from her shirt. "We got these. Doesn't work on you, obviously, and apparently not Kasumi either."

"I do see both the illusions and the reality, but everyone else sees only the illusions," Kasumi added.

"Oh... well, guess that will help," Ranko said with some relief. "So I guess you already know who they are," Ranko said and Kasumi nodded.

"Yes. It was the most obvious theory," Kasumi replied.

Shampoo looked at Ranko. "Is she the only one that knows about you?"

"So far, I think?" Ranko asked, looking up at Kasumi.

"Our Shampoo hasn't questioned it, so I haven't told her, but she did sense something. I'm guessing it was the feeling of an alternate version of herself," Kasumi explained.

"This is going to get confusing real fast," Akane commented. "Since we're the visitors here, why don't we just try... Kane for me, and Shan for Shampoo?" she asked, confirming with her adoptive sister who nodded.

"Yes, that's fine," Shampoo, now Shan, confirmed.

Kasumi nodded. "Yes, that will help a bit, although what shall I say to my Shampoo?"

The three looked at each other and Ranko simply sighed. "Just... tell her the truth if you think she's up to it. Probably wasn't going to keep it a secret forever anyway. Although, that does bring up the question, didn't she recognize Akane... err Kane too?"

"No," Kasumi said with a shake of her head. "And she's never mentioned anything about you resembling Ranma either."

"Hmh," Ranko said, finally noting the inquisitive looks from Kane and Shan. "Oh, our Shampoo has a spirit sense. She can normally identify people just by that, but guess it doesn't work quite the same across dimensions."

"Oh, weird," Kane commented, exchanging a look with Shan.

"Yeah, but minor mystery aside, rather uninteresting," Ranko noted.

Kasumi nodded again in agreement before changing topics. "Alright. Well, I'll leave you to get reacquainted but, if I might ask, what are your plans?"

"Ultimately? Shan here is getting married, and this bozo promised to attend," Kane replied.

"Well... yeah, I suppose I said that," Ranko conceded.

"She probably thought it was an idle promise but we're holding her to it," Kane continued. "Unfortunately, we'll need a few days to recharge before we can make the trip back."

"Does that mean you're leaving?" Kasumi asked.

"Nono, I'm coming back, right?" Ranko asked with a suspicious look, but both other girls reluctantly shrugged.

"If you want. I suppose you've been living here for a while so are set on staying. We'll bring her back, we promise, if she wants," Kane replied.

"I will want," Ranko added.

"Okay, do you have a place to stay while you... recharge?" Kasumi asked.

"No. We were going to camp out," Shan answered.

Kasumi shook her head. "No, you can stay here. We have plenty of space. If anyone asks we can just say, honestly, you're old friends of Ranko's."

"That works for us," Shan replied with a quick confirming look to Kane.

"Great!" Kasumi said with a beaming smile. "Alright then, I'll see you two to some rooms later." With that she headed out once more.

"Kasumi is quite different in this world," Shan commented.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it," Ranko commented before smiling mischievously. "Like for starters, she's married to Shampoo, this world's Shampoo that is of course."

This gave both Kane and Shan serious pause before both exclaimed. "WHAT?!"

"Yeah, this is going to take a long while to explain," Ranko said with a slight chuckle and started doing just that.

XXXXX

Not long after, her rounds of the restaurant complete, and nothing else to do, Kasumi headed up to her room and came out onto the porch area on the third floor to find Peach. The kitsune glanced at her but then returned to observing the city from her outlook. "Need something?" she asked.

"I should mention, there are some new... visitors here, friends of Ranko's actually," Kasumi explained.

"You're positive of that?"

"Yes, Shampoo already checked," Kasumi assured her.

"Whatever then. Just keep her specifically out of things. If I'm laid out again, not many can replace me," Peach said with a frown.

"Oh, right, I'll be sure to warn her again," Kasumi said and sat down.

Peached glanced back and sighed, before taking a seat next to Kasumi. "So, what do you want?"

"Just... I suppose... a better understanding?"

Peach frowned but conceded with a shrug. "Not like anything is happening, so fine. Lemon told you anything about her mother?"

"Uh... no, we don't actually talk much," Kasumi replied.

"You know she's supposed to be serving you as... ugh, whatever," Peach said and leaned back. "Alright, the best place to start with Palm is to know she was kidnapped by some group of humans when she was quite young."

"The Organization?" Kasumi asked, getting a brief quizzical look from the kitsune.

"No. They didn't exist yet, at least not in their current form. Like I said she was young so this was centuries ago. That said, the group that did take her does sound like just the type that would have been well at home in the Organization," Peach answered. "To say this was a rough time in her life would be a gross understatement. She was their captive for decades, and the full list of things they did to her would take likely hours to repeat and wouldn't be pleasant to listen to."

"Oh..." Kasumi said with a downcast look.

Peach nodded. "Thing is, I'll give her this much, she's mentally tough. Through all of it, she never broke. She put on a wonderful act. Made her captors think she was completely shattered when in fact she was just biding her time, waiting for the right moment. Then, it happened. Her current captor of the time got sloppy, too trusting of her, and let her have just a bit more freedom than he should have. She capitalized, slowly neutralizing every contingency he had until he had nothing left and then pounced when he was off guard. I hear he met a rather grizzly end."

Kasumi cringed. "I suppose, it was an end he brought upon himself."

"Definitely. Thing is though, free or not, you don't go through that kind of hell for that long and come out unscarred. Physically she's fully recovered now, but mentally is a different issue. She hardly ever leaves the protection of the clan she's in, and she has a deep, and I do mean DEEP hatred of humans," Peach explained and sighed.

"I understand why."

"Understanding is one thing, accepting is another," Peach cautioned. "Her hatred is irrational. She blames every human for the actions of a tiny minority. I get it, but that doesn't make it right. Even in the Musk she hardly ever ventures out and practically refuses to interact with anyone who isn't a kitsune. When she does, you can just feel the disgust pouring off her."

"So that's why you think she won't attempt to run away with Lemon, she'd have nowhere to go?" Kasumi asked.

Peach nodded. "Exactly. Other kitsunes could easily live among humans, but not her. And, while I say it is hatred, that masks her fear. I don't think she'd last a month if she had to live out in human society. That may help us a bit here as she's bound to get more and more irritable as time goes on stalking you."

"I suppose, but wouldn't it also make her more... dangerous?" Kasumi asked

"Possibly," Peach conceded. "However I feel she'll slip up well before then and I'll deal with her."

A moment of silence passed between them before Kasumi asked another question. "You and her don't get along, is it... because of that hatred?"

"No, actually. I may find her a bit annoying for that hatred, but like I said, I can at least understand it. The reason we don't get along is we're kitsunes, both... mating with the same male," Peach explained, unable to hide her disdain.

"Hmh? Is it really that bad?"

"You have no idea. We kitsunes are by nature very... and I mean VERY monogamous. We mate for life, and the only way we ever get another mate, usually, is if our original dies. However, given current circumstances, we've had to break this rule," Peach explained.

"I see."

"No, I don't think you do. Human's choose to be monogamous, we don't. It's built into our very instincts, our very being. This means, I instinctively HATE Palm. She could be the nicest most perfect kitsune ever, it wouldn't matter, I'd still hate her because of having to share my husband with her," Peach growled out.

"How does Eyebright feel about it?" Kasumi asked.

Peach sighed. "He's... more flexible on the issue. Perhaps you figured it out already, but I'm not his first mate. He had another before me. She died from an illness. We became a couple after that, well after the curse was already in full effect, but before just how disastrous it would be was realized. Point is, though, he's... kinda already been through this and is more open to the idea, at least as it comes to continuing our species. Honestly, that is also a matter of overriding importance to him."

Kasumi nodded. "It sounds like a bad situation."

"It is. He actually has over a dozen mates, but most are smart enough to keep their distance. They come from their clan to us, do their thing while I keep my distance, then return to their home clans, but not Palm. That is how it worked for a little bit with her, but for whatever reason, she ended up with the Musk."

"She's not from the Musk originally then?"

"No. She was part of a European clan. Maybe they were annoyed with her and Eyebright took some pity on her. I don't know, didn't ask. Won't change my feelings for her."

"I assume, then, she doesn't like you either?"

Peach chuckled. "Oh, most likely. We barely interact so I can't say for sure how she feels, especially as my interactions are tainted by my own feelings. Believe me, just like her hatred of humans, I know my own hatred of her is irrational, so I do try at least to fight it and manage it. I just wish she would do the same for her own hatred."

"She sounds rather isolated," Kasumi remarked.

"That's her own doing," Peach retorted before a moment of silence let her switch topics. "The Organization hmm, not a group you want to mess with."

"Uh... no," Kasumi replied.

"Hmh, nasty lot they are," she said and stood up. "I think I'll do another patrol."

"Alright," Kasumi said and likewise stood up. "I should check up on Ranko."

"You do that," Peach said and stepped up onto the railing in preparation to leap off, but paused. "We kitsunes would love to see the Organization fall, and are more than willing to damage them anyway we can. So, if you ever need some extra help in that regard..." she hinted with a slight smile and jumped away.

Kasumi blinked. 'Does she know? Or maybe just suspects?' Kasumi wondered but shook her head and dismissed the matter.

XXXXX

"So... yeah. While there are things here that at least started similar to how I knew them, for you guys it's practically all different," Ranko concluded.

"I'm still trying to get over that I'm married to Kasumi," Shan said with a pale look.

"It's not you, it is this universe's Shampoo," Kane tried to console her but this seemed to do little.

"I know it is weird, but they're happy enough with the situation," Ranko added.

"Right... sure..." Shan replied, still looking spaced out.

Ranko sighed and decided to change topics. "What about you guys? How's things been with you? Did you get to that Tae-il guy before all the trouble?"

"Kinda," Kane said with a bit of a wince. "I mean, he is safe, but we just squeaked by."

Shan finally shook off her stupor. "Yes, we found him basically just as the executioner was about to. That... didn't go so well, but we did get away."

"I take it the guy is tough," Ranko said with a frown and both girls grimly nodded.

"Oh yeah. Even Shamne could barely even phase him. I mean... we were prepared for a fight, but damn. It is a good thing Shamne's body is easily repaired as he trashed her several times. All we really managed to do was stall him long enough for Soon Li to remove the trace that had been placed on him, and then for the others to make their getaway," Kane explained. "Which means if we run into another one of those things when retreat isn't an option..."

"That doesn't sound good," Ranko conceded. "Trace?"

"Oh, yeah, the executioner was tracking Tae-il with some odd trace effect. He couldn't remove it so had been basically bouncing around the planet for the last several days trying to shake him, which of course he couldn't because of the trace. Hong Kong is about where he was getting too exhausted to continue. Speaking of which," Shan explained before looking very seriously. "There was no fire here, was there? In Hong Kong I mean?"

"No, nothing like that," Ranko replied.

"That's good, although not surprising," Kane replied. "All the dimensions we visited hunting for you haven't had the problem. We guess there is something particular to our dimensional branch that is causing the issue. Don't suppose you've heard about Soon Li here?"

"No, but haven't had cause to ask," Ranko said just as a knock came at the door. "Come in," Ranko called out and Kasumi opened the door.

"Hello again. Hope I'm not interrupting?" Kasumi said as she stepped and closed the door behind her.

"Nah, I was just getting them up to speed about the differences here," Ranko replied. "Say, since you're here, I don't suppose you've heard anything about an Amazon named Soon Li from Shampoo or Cologne?"

"Soon Li... hmm," Kasumi thought for a moment. "Yes, I believe Shampoo mentioned her once."

"You know what happened to her?" Shan asked.

"I believe she said she left the village, but we didn't talk long on the matter," Kasumi replied.

Shan frowned in disappointment. "And your Cologne isn't here either so can't ask her," she muttered.

"I'm afraid not."

"Hey, did you go looking for her too, the other Cologne I mean?" Ranko asked suddenly.

Kane nodded. "Yes, we did. Found her before you, but... she's fully merged. She didn't seem to recall us at all, so we just left her there."

"Merged? Oh, Ranko mentioned that," Kasumi said.

"Yeah, everyone in our dimension merged with their counterparts in Ranko's, well save Ranma and Cologne," Kane explained. "Still for most of us, it is at best a half remembered dream. Me, Shan and Perfume are basically the only ones that have more memory than that, and even ours is little better. Guessing it is the same for Cologne when she merged with that other dimension's Cologne." Kane paused and frowned. "Actually, there are likely 4 other exceptions, Soon Li and her siblings. They seem to have died with that dimension's fall."

"Yeah," Ranko agreed with a sigh. "It is mighty weird talking about it like that."

Kane and Shan nodded in agreement.

"Enough grim stuff," Kane said at last. "So, Kasumi, Ranko mentioned you were having some troubles of your own right now?"

"Oh... ah, yes, a kitsune... the mother of Lemon, appears to be... stalking me, at least that's the best guess," Kasumi replied with a weak smile. "Peach, another kitsune, is here to protect me and hopefully subdue Palm and bring her back home."

"Peach is the one I messed up, right?" Ranko asked with a cringe and Kasumi nodded in confirmation. "Bet she's still sore about that."

"Yes," Kasumi confirmed. "She mentioned again that you should... keep your distance, not only from her but Palm as well."

"What's that about?" Shan asked.

"Oh, my anti magic aura. They are creatures of magic, so it messes them up BAD if I touch them. Makes me a bit nervous every time I come here that I might accidentally run into Lemon," Ranko said with a worried look.

Shan and Kane looked at each other brightly. "Oh, we just might be able to fix that!"

"Hmh?" Kasumi and Ranko said as once.

XXXXX\

A few minutes later the foursome could be found in the pocket dimension. Now, however, they were joined by this world's version of Shampoo, who Ranko and Kasumi were finishing explaining the whole situation too. Needless to say, she was giving her counterpart quite the look.

"So... you're... me?" Shampoo asked and Shan nodded.

"Near as," Shan replied before looking at Kasumi and sighing. "Just... don't think about it too hard, I'm trying not to."

"And you're Ranma?" Shampoo asked Ranko and she nodded. Shampoo frowned. "Is strange... I would think spirit sense would... but no..."

"Yes, we wondered about that too. We don't know how spirits work across dimensions," Kasumi suggested and Shampoo could only nod. "That you sensed yourself probably means there is some connection, but not one you can easily recognize."

"We have lived quite different lives, from the sounds of it," Kane said. "Maybe that throws off your ability to recognize the spirits."

"Maybe," Shampoo replied.

"Or maybe we have totally different spirits... but guess that doesn't explain me giving you weird vibes," Shan suggested.

Shampoo could only shrug, having no answer.

"Right, well, what's this about a fix?" Ranko asked.

"Oh right... okay, we're okay to use this place?" Kane asked and Kasumi nodded.

"Everyone else is out in the restaurant right now, so it should be empty," Kasumi replied.

"Good, as we'll need to put on a bit of a show," Kane said and looked at Shan and mutually nodded.

"I already know what you're up to," Ranko said and motioned Shampoo and Kasumi back. "Let's give them some space."

"Oh, not much need, we're much better at it now," Shan replied and with that Kane and each offered a hand to the other and joined. Much to the other's shock, practically instantly a being of pure electricity and turbulent wind sprouted into being above them and within just a few seconds the storm within was contained within a bluish human like vessel resembling a combination of Shan's and Kane's looks, although sporting much longer hair flowing unnaturally in the air.

"Aiyah!" Shampoo exclaimed at the sight.

"Hot damn, they really have sped that up," Ranko commented as the combined being floated down to touch the ground in front of them. "Ah... so, Kasumi, Shampoo, meet Shamne," Ranko introduced.

"Uh... hello," Kasumi said.

"Pretty neat, huh?" Shamne replied with a smile, her voice a mix of both Shan's and Kane's.

"Feel so strange," Shampoo commented. "Like spirits... intertwined together."

"Makes sense," Shamne replied. "Alright, I only have 15 minutes or so like this a day, so let's not mess around," she said and turned to Ranko. "Now then, for a little impromptu aura surgery."

"What?" Ranko said in shock and backed off a step.

"Don't worry, this won't hurt at all," Shamne said with a wide grin and before Ranko could even protest Shamne flashed forward and seemed to dematerialize and surround Ranko. Ranko tensed but seemed otherwise fine as several seconds went by before Shamne withdrew and rematerialized. "There, see, all done."

"What did you do?" Ranko asked.

"One sec, they'll explain," Shamne replied and her body vanished, prompting Shan and Kane to blink and return to their senses.

"Did you.. remove my magic immunity?" Ranko asked in shock.

Kane shook her head. "Sadly no. We did tweak it though. You should be able to suppress or expand it now."

Ranko pondered that for a moment. "How would I know if it is working?"

"Well, we can test with these," Shan suggested, presenting her amulet.

"Right," Ranko said and concentrated. "So, suppress... kinda like when I was going against Ms. Hinako..." she thought aloud then experimentally reached out and touched the amulet. "Anything?"

Kane nodded and looked at Shampoo to confirm. "She's still got the illusion for you too?"

Shampoo nodded. "Yes!"

"It really worked!" Ranko said with a smile. "I don't think I can suppress it much more than this though. Wouldn't be able to move."

Shan examined her. "It is just below your skin level it seems. So, still might get singed by a spell, but that's it. Curse still won't work sadly. Try to expand it now."

"Alright," Ranko said and let go of the amulet and once more concentrated. After a moment Kasumi could see the illusion components of Kane and Shan's appearance disappear.

"I think it worked," Kasumi and both Shan and Kane nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, looks quite large too," Shan commented as she looked about. "Not nearly as dense though. Some magic might work in here."

Ranko groaned and relaxed. "Yeah, and that's draining. Much harder than suppressing it. Still, I think I can keep it suppressed when I'm not fighting without much trouble. That will help a lot with any accidental encounters," Ranko said with a smile. "Still, I'll need to practice with it."

"Yeah," Shan agreed. "We figure, maybe, if we can get the other unifications, we might be able to improve the effect even more."

"Meaning?" Ranko asked with wide eyes.

"Meaning... it isn't impossible we might be able to cure you one day," Kane explained. "Don't get your hopes up too much though. There is no guarantee. Your aura is directly attached to the planet itself and it is that connection messing with it. To fix that we have to sever, not just simply alter, that connection and that's not easy. Even with all the unifications together it may not be possible... although if we do fix Soon Li, maybe the spirit itself can do it."

"Soon Li?" Shampoo asked in surprise at the name.

"Oh, right," Kane said. "You know her, right?" Shampoo nodded. "Yeah, she's actually an... avatar of the spirit of the planet itself."

Shampoo withdrew slightly in shock at hearing this. "Really?"

"Yeah. Problem is, at least in our world, that spirit connection is all messed up. We're trying to fix it. If we do though, presumably, she'll have full access to her power again without going... nuts," Kane explained.

"I'm guessing that is why you wished to know about our Soon Li?" Kasumi asked and Kane nodded. "Do you know anything more about what happened to her, Shampoo?"

Shampoo shook her head. "Just know she left the village almost ten years ago. Never seen or heard about since. Maybe Great grandmother knows, but I don't," Shampoo answered.

"Too bad," Shan said. "Still, all signs are pointing to the situation being... dealt with some other way," she said, looking down slightly.

Ranko caught the look and quickly concluded what they likely had, 'She's quite possibly dead. The executioners may have got to them, safely though unlike in their world.' Dismissing the thought, Ranko triumphantly clenched her fist. "Alright, can't deal with that, but this is great. First I can actually get in here, and now I have some control of this dumb aura now. Say... back to an old topic, Shan, think you could spot a kitsune if you saw one, even shapeshifted?"

Shan considered. "Possibly. I've never actually encountered one, so can't be sure, but if their energy lines are different, it should be pretty obvious to me."

"We have two you can test with," Ranko said, looking at Kasumi. "If she can, you got another way to catch Palm."

"Yes, that just might work," Kasumi agreed.

"Two actually," Kane said to Ranko's surprise. "Didn't get to tell you, but since we've merged... we're pretty close to mastering each other's schools. Every time we merge up, bits of the other's knowledge gets through and really speeds up our ability to use the other's techniques. I already know the art of focus, although not as polished as Shan, but getting there."

Shan nodded in confirmation. "Yes, although we're still rather clumsy with each other's style. Doesn't help that we've been trying to keep it a secret from Cologne... our Cologne that is."

"Why's that?" Kasumi asked.

"It's... a long and complicated story," Kane replied. "Main point is, Soon Li advised us to keep as many things a secret from her as we could as she might be up to something, and we want options she's unprepared for, just in case."

"Great grandmother and you no get along?" Shampoo asked and Shan sadly nodded.

"Yeah. Not for a long while now," Shan replied. "I wouldn't think about it much. We're pretty sure it is particular to our Cologne and the circumstances of our universe, so doesn't much apply to others."

"Yeah, well, if you can see too, that's great. Two more scouts," Ranko said and Kasumi nodded in agreement.

"I think the second floor is free," Kasumi pondered aloud. "Unfortunately, the bath only has cold water at the moment. Frost said she'd look into that but I don't know when it will be working, but the main house bath is available if you need it."

"Hey, we were planning to camp out, remember. A little inconvenience is nothing," Kane said with a smile before remembering something. "Oh, right, we should report in before they start to worry."

"Hmh?" Ranko said in confusion. "You can communicate across dimensions?" she asked in realization.

"With the necklaces, yes. It is a bit limited, but works," Shan confirmed. "I'll do that, Kane you can see to the room."

"Right," Kane said with a nod, and Kasumi led the way to the castle. Shampoo lingered behind, curious as Shan took off the necklace, fully revealing her true form, pressed the jewel at its center and placed it on the ground.

"This may take a bit. Only Tae-il can... pick up," Shan explained.

"So, he's still with you guys, huh?" Ranko asked and Shan nodded.

"He teleports off every now and then, but always leaves a note as to his whereabouts, just in case," Shan said with a slight sigh before noticing her counterpart giving her a close examination. Self-consciously she rubbed her neck near her hair line, but neither version of Shampoo said anything before the jewel glowed and an image appeared above it, distracting them.

A familiar face, at least to Ranko, appeared with a smile and immediately chuckled. "Ah, see you met your other self," Tae-il said through the projection.

"Yes," Shan replied. "We found Ranma... well, she's going by Ranko now."

Ranko joined the two and lightly waved.

"Ah, the others will be glad to hear," Tae-il responded just as Soun could be heard in the background and rushed over.

"Are you both alright?" Soun asked anxiously across the transmission.

"We're both fine. We actually met up with Ranma already, and are staying with this world's Kasumi," Shan explained.

"Ah, excellent! You'll have to tell us all about it when you get back... uh, how long will you be."

"3 days at least," Tae-il said in slight irritation. "I told you this yesterday."

"Well, it has been almost a day..." Soun meekly argued.

"No it hasn't. They've been gone half a day at most," Tae-il replied with a roll of his eyes. "Oh, we should set up the anchor trace so you don't need to hunt for that dimension again," he said before gesturing in the air and frowning. "Where are you?"

"In a pocket dimension," Shan replied.

"That would explain it. I need a better anchor point. Ideally near where I am. Can you get to the dojo?" Tae-il asked.

Shan looked at Ranko and Shampoo questioningly. Ranko shrugged. "I don't see why not."

"I'll have to remove the amulet to anchor it," Shan said.

"Oh... um, guess best to do it after dark so no unnecessary questions," Ranko suggested and Shan nodded.

"Right, that will do," Tae-il said. "Talk to you then."

"Stay safe!" Soun said and with a parting wave from Shan, the image disappeared, prompting Shan to retrieve the amulet.

Shampoo returned to her examination of Shan, once more making her counterpart nervous. "Kasumi father seem very concerned for you," Shampoo commented.

"Uh... he's my adoptive father," Shan explained to Shampoo's surprise.

Ranko intervened. "It is a long story, Shampoo. She's had a bit of... rough journey to this point."

"Hmm," Shampoo murmured but shrugged and nodded before noticing Kasumi and Kane once more approaching and turning to them.

"Everything fine back home?" Kane asked.

"They didn't mention anything, so guess so," Shan replied as she donned her amulet once more, reverting to her illusionary appearance. "We need to set up an anchor at the dojo tonight though."

"Oh? I can do that," Kane volunteered. "Maybe I'll get to see the other me."

"We're trying to avoid that," Ranko pointed out. "But, I guess if someone did see you, they'd be less likely to question it, unless our Akane is nearby," she said but seeing Kane undeterred, sighed. "I'll join you and run interference if that happens, but let's try not to have it happen."

"I'll be careful," Kane replied with a teasing smile before turning to Kasumi. "Ranko mentioned your Ranma stays here, and this Herb person as well?"

"Ranma stays in the house itself," Kasumi confirmed. "Herb, Mint, Lime and Lemon stay here. Ukyo and Makoto also stay in the house. Occasionally Crystal, the restaurant manager, will sleep over as well, also in the house."

"Know Ukyo, but not any of the others," Kane replied.

"I'll introduce you to all of them," Kasumi offered.

"Yeah, just don't treat Ukyo like your Ukyo," Ranko cautioned. "Ours is a bit... high strung."

Kane and Shan both nodded and Kasumi gestured for them to follow.

XXXXX

Lemon, finally finished with all her duties of the day, after having been thoroughly questioned by Peach. Free of all that, she retreated to her room in the castle and flopped onto her bed, face down in her pillow.

"Damn it, Mom, couldn't you just stay at home!" she bitterly muttered before rolling over and looking at the ceiling, lost in thought. 'It has taken me months to get any level of trust here, and you're messing everything up!' She sighed and closed her eyes. 'And what the hell is this all for? Kasumi...' she thought, clenching her teeth. 'Kasumi... she's the one person here who really stuck their neck out for me.'

With a growl of frustration at the situation, Lemon slammed her fist into the mattress, before calming and sighing once more. At that moment she heard a knock on her door, a distinctive one she had learned to recognize as Herb's. With yet another sigh, she sat up and called out, "Come in."

Herb was barely through the door when he went directly to business. "It would save us all a lot of trouble if you had any idea how to deal with your mother."

"I know that," Lemon replied with an annoyed frown. "If I had any ideas, I'd give them to you. I don't. She's never particularly listened to me. Best I got is I can smell her pretty well, but you already know that."

Herb frowned but nodded in acceptance of this. "Yes, and the city is simply too vast to search. Not to mention, if she can teleport, she can easily evade us even if we do begin to hone in on her."

"She can," Lemon confirmed. "Plus she can smell me probably even easier than I can her, so..."

Herb nodded once more. "Right," he agreed before turning slightly as Ranma walked up from the hall.

"Take it you had the same idea I had," Ranma said.

"Yes, and just as expected, it was pointless," Herb replied, glancing at Lemon who looked away.

"Well, I figured it was a long shot," Ranma responded. "What a bloody nuisance."

Lemon winced at this, but the boys failed to notice.

"Don't suppose Sorora-" Ranma began to suggest.

"No," Herb interjected. "I already attempted to contact her. She did not respond. It seems we have little choice but to wait till circumstances change in some way we may exploit," Herb replied.

"Guess so," Ranma concluded and headed off. After a few seconds of thought, Herb did likewise.

"He could have at least closed my door," Lemon muttered as she got up to do just that. 'Still, I need to think of something. If Mother makes a mess of things...' she thought as she closed her door.

XXXXX

Many hours later in the evening, Kane and Ranko were at a discrete corner of the Tendo compound. "Alright, that should do it. Connection is solid," Tae-il said through the line of communication. "See you girls in a couple days I guess. Have fun."

"Right," Kane replied and the projection vanished leaving her alone with Ranko. Akane put away the amulet and looked at the house. "I was hoping to see my counterpart."

"I'm sure she'll be over at the restaurant tomorrow morning," Ranko replied, gesturing for Kane to follow as she departed, and with a quick jump to clear the fence, Kane joined her on the street and started their way back.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, pretty much everyone does their training there now. Can't blame them, gets pretty intense. Don't think they want to wreck the dojo," Ranko explained.

"Ah, that makes sense. We have to really dial it back ourselves at the dojo," Kane replied. "What's she like... the other me I mean?"

Ranko considered. "Uh... pretty similar to your old self... I mean... this is kinda annoying."

Kane chuckled once more. "Yeah, but I get you."

"Yeah. There are differences though. I mean, no offense, but she's a bit better than you were, skill wise, and being friends with Kodachi, which I think I mentioned."

"Yeah, that's weird."

"Oh, Kodachi's actually not so bad here. Kinda... interesting to be around."

"And she and Ryoga are a thing?" Kane said with a frown.

Ranko considered. "Sorta. I mean, she's chasing after him, but not so sure he's too into it, although lately he seems to be warming to the whole thing. I haven't really been paying that close attention to them. Speaking of love though, Akane's still pretty hung up on Tofu."

"Tofu... yeah, I kinda remember that," Kane said, frowning in concentration. "So he and Kasumi... aren't a thing at all here?"

"Nope. Kinda surprised me too, but nothing."

"Weird. I wouldn't have thought that would have changed, but guess something about it didn't click. I get Kasumi maybe not being interested, but Tofu too?"

Ranko shrugged. "Don't know. All I know is he's totally normal around her. Like you say, guess something just didn't click. Maybe he's not interested in the martial arts types."

Kane frowned. "Maybe," she conceded. A moment of silence passed as Kane absorbed this before she changed topics. "Do you think... Shampoo... your Shampoo is going to be troublesome at all?"

"Hmh?" Ranko replied in confusion.

"I mean, about Shan being... disowned and all."

Ranko considered. "I doubt it, but if you're worried, you can always discuss it with Kasumi. Shampoo follows her lead most of the time, so if Kasumi is the one to tell her about it, I'm sure she'll be sympathetic."

Kane nodded and smiled at that. "That's good. Maybe will do that, just to be sure." As Kane said this, a thought hit her. "Oh, drat, I forgot to ask. About our curses..."

"Oh, that's not a big deal here. Kasumi did do the whole Nekoken thing, but something happened a while back and she's much better about it now. Cats still make her nervous, but she doesn't freak out," Ranko said, then sighed. "Wish I could have got what she got. Would be nice."

"Can't help you there. Guess you weren't involved?"

Ranko frowned. "No. Something big happened. Whole feel of the group... Kasumi, Shampoo, Ranma, even Herb and Ukyo switched up at that time. I get the impression it is something they aren't too hot to discuss so I haven't pried."

"Hmm," Kane responded. "Well, guess we'll stay out of that unless it comes up. Oh, not that it matters much, speaking of curses, ours was partly broke."

"Partly?" Ranko asked in puzzlement.

"Yeah. I don't know if you remember, me and Shampoo share her split Jusenkyo curse, but also the Maomolin's. That was locking her in cat form. Well, Tae-il broke that second one."

"What did that do?" Ranko asked.

"About what we thought, we transformed into sorta half-human half-cat hybrids... No, sadly not your typical anime cat-girl. More like freaky monster cats," Kane said with a sigh, before noticing Ranko looking alarmed and quickly waving her off. "Don't worry, he put on a placeholder equivalent. So we're back to full cats again."

"Er... uh... wouldn't it be better-"

"Uh... not really," Kane quickly cut in. "The forms are too animal-like to speak, and even using our hands is hard. Plus, we shrink so we don't even gain much physical ability and obviously we're not at all familiar with them so our actual fighting ability sharply declines. Overall, it is rather pointless. Don't get me wrong, we can cancel out the placeholder spell ourselves if we really want to, but honestly, most of the time, being a normal house cat is better."

"Guess you can't... de... split?"

Kane shook her head. "No. Tae-il said that was a one way deal. He said he'd... work the problem, but he said not to get excited as he was very skeptical he could do anything. Jusenkyo curses are apparently pretty serious stuff, even for him, and near as we can tell, he's like... the best magic user on the planet."

"Don't tell Frost that," Ranko remarked with a slight smirk. "Anyway, sucks, but I guess you're one step closer to a full cure."

Kane nodded. "Say, are Natsume and Kurumi around anywhere? You didn't mention them."

Ranko blinked in confusion. "Who?"

"Natsume and Kurumi, you remember, our sisters... well, kinda informally adopted sisters," Kane explained with a surprised look.

Ranko looked away. "Oh... uh... no, haven't seen them around at all."

"Hmm," Kane replied and shrugged. "If I remember, they appeared a lot later in our old world. Can't remember the exacts though."

"Uh... yeah, probably," Ranko replied. "I'll... keep a look out for them."

"You know Natsume is going out with Kuno," Kane said with a smile.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. She and Kurumi are going to school with us now and Kuno did his usual thing, and Natsume responded about as well as we did... and yeah, as you can guess, he got interested, but she... well, went along with it," Kane explained with a mixed look. "Not sure what I feel about that."

"Our Kuno isn't so bad. Maybe yours isn't either, given a chance," Ranko replied.

"Maybe," Kane conceded before frowning. "Actually still wondering if she's doing it because she's genuinely interested, or just looking for someone to fill her time."

"Hmh?"

"Oh, uh, Kurumi and Tae-il are oddly hitting it off... not that way, more like... father daughter I guess, which now that I say it..." Kane said, holding her chin before shaking off the thought. "Anyway, that's about the time Natsume started spending time with Kuno."

"Oh, I get you. Feeling lonely maybe."

"Yeah," Kane said, hanging her head. "I mean, we're trying to include her in stuff. She's even taken over Soon Li's role in the wedding, but I guess she and Kurumi have been together for so long, losing any of her attention is a bit of a hit."

"Don't know," Ranko replied with a shrug.

Kane sighed once more as the restaurant came into view. "Not much we can do about that. Guess we're here."

"Right, I have to head over to the dorm," Ranko said as they stopped.

"Dorm?"

"It's where all the out of area students in the class stay... which you don't know about either... it's complicated," Ranko said with a slight smile.

"Sounds like. How are you getting by, anyway? Without... paper work?"

Ranko shrugged. "Slipping through the cracks mostly. Kasumi has spoken on my behalf and that has gotten us by so far."

Kane frowned. "Hmm."

"Well, see you tomorrow I guess," Ranko said.

"Right, see you," Kane replied and the two went their separate ways, although Akane approached the restaurant in deep thought. Her attention was quickly directed elsewhere as Peach dropped down in front of her. "Uh... hello."

Peach looked her up and down. "What is the deal with you and that other one?"

"Deal?"

"I can see through that illusion you are both using, and I can also tell you're not the original, but it seems Kasumi at least is already aware of this and unconcerned," Peach said with a level glare.

"Oh... uh... it's a long story," Kane replied.

Peach huffed. "Very well, I have no cause to get involved, so keep your secrets if you must. You don't seem to be involved with Palm, but do know if I find you are-"

"We're not," Kane quickly replied.

Peach stepped back, took a long breath and nodded. "I will take you at your word for now. I was told you have some special perceptions as well?"

"We do... and yeah, seeing you here, it's pretty obvious you aren't human," Kane replied. "You're Peach, right?"

"Yes," Peach replied. "Then I trust you'll keep your eyes open for similar patterns?" Kane nodded. "Good."

"Is this... Palm really that dangerous?"

"Yes," Peach replied. "If she gets conditions advantageous to her. I, however, have no intention to let her have such conditions. It would be best for me to find her before she does anything serious, for everyone's benefit."

"Right. We'll tell you if we see anything," Kane assured her and with one last nod Peach leaped back up and out of sight. Kane frowned, realizing that the motion had been paired with a shapeshift and remarkable speed. "Pretty impressive," she muttered before continuing on her way.

XXXXX

That evening, a small bird landed atop the roof of Furinkan High and surveyed the city from the high vantage point. To most any observer it was a completely unremarkable event. To those with other sensitivities it would have been all too obvious this was no bird.

In truth this bird was Palm, considering her next move. 'A pity that Peach would beat me here. Oh well, I expected little different,' she thought. 'It matters not, my target will not stay within the protection of that restaurant forever. All I have to do is wait and stay out of her way.

'It is true I'm no match for Peach in a straight fight, but there is one thing I definitely have on her, patience. I waited over 50 years to get my freedom, this is nothing compared to that,' she confidently declared before turning her thoughts to finding a place to stay the night. However, just as she did, a hint of movement caught her attention.

She quickly honed her senses, tense, but felt none of the usual signs of the approach of any of her clan. So, she kept her calm and simply focused in. 'No significant Chi or Mana... yet difficult to track...' she pondered as she tried to get a firm location on the motion.

Finally she spotted it. It was barely a distortion in the air, like that produced by a wave of heat, but no such heat was emanating from it, and no such heat distortion could so thoroughly camouflage something the size of a human. No, this was something else she had never witnessed before. 'Natural high speed adaptive camouflage with no use of magic? Hmh.'

The figure joined her on the roof, but had taken up a position on the opposite end. So close now, Palm could make out its rough features and could see whoever or whatever it was, it was surveying the city much like she had been. 'Looking for me?' she wondered just as the figure seemed to look her way, but disregarded her without the slightest care. 'Well, if you are, you're not very good at it.'

With a bit of subtle magic weaving, Palm switched her eyes' perceptions until the figure became more plain and obvious. 'Hmh, it doesn't matter now. Whatever trick you're using I can detect you now. Best to just avoid you I think,' she thought and flew into the air and off into the night. She looked back to see the figure had apparently tired of its outlook and was now bounding back into the city in the opposite direction. 'Curious,' she thought but quickly concluded this was likely one mystery she would not be solving any time soon.

XXXXX

End Chapter 66

Next time in A Scary Thought: Palm makes her move

For those a bit confused on the crossovers: Usagi, Rei, Minako, Makoto, Ami, Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru, Setsuna, Luna, and Artemis are all from Sailor Moon. Kitsune has her ties to the X-files, but only in that she's a fanatic of similar interests rather than appearing in said show. Saki and Sampei are from Sukeban Deka. You may also notice Frost borrowing a spell from here or there; in particular Gargoyles and Illusionaries are two prime targets. Speaking of Gargoyles, if you're a fan of the series you may have already figured this out, but La Bac is Cabal spelt backwards. Also Gen-U-Tech is also a business from Gargoyles. Does that mean this is a Gargoyles crossover? At this point, probably not. I have tried to square the circle of Gargoyles time travel mechanics with my story and it just isn't working and unfortunately they are too key to Gargoyles continuity to just ignore so most likely Gargoyles will remain just a shout out kinda crossover but not official. Anyway, besides that we have Chun Li, Rose, Shadow Lady, Shadow, Gill and the previously shown Karin and Sakura which come from Street Fighter series (Rose, Karin and Sakura from Street Fighter Alpha 3, Shadow and Shadow Lady from Marvel vs Capcom, Chun Li from much of the Street Fighter series, and now Gill from Street Fighter III). As for Ranko, well she's from my other major fanfic, Most Unlikely of Friends, although you can largely consider her standard Ranma trapped in female form for most purposes. And lastly comes dear old Siren who is from Dreiser's story 'Black Rose Blue Thunder'. Gee, I used her a fair bit now, guess I have to retract my former statement. Be Dea comes from D B. Sommers fic Shampoo ½, and if you haven't read it, do so, now! I've also previously mentioned Perfume from same fic (although this story has two Perfumes being mentioned, the other being from my own Most Unlikely of Friends). Garnet was first mentioned by Jim Bader in A Very Scary thought I believe, but whatever the case I don't believe he ever actually appeared in any of Jim's stories, although I could be wrong. As already mentioned, Miku, Neru and Haku are vocaloid character, but just cameo's for them.

On a side note for those crossovers, it recently came to my attention that some believe I am crossed with Negima. I'm actually not, but out of curiosity I checked out Negima and could certainly see the similarities (a lot of them in fact, and was quite surprised seeing as I had never even heard of Negima until it was mentioned). That got the proverbial wheels in my head turning about potential crossovers so... maybe, but don't count on it. As Uq Holder, Negima's continuation, is still in progress and throwing in all kinds of new curve balls, I'll probably be forced to steer clear.

Speaking of things I'm not crossed with, two notable ones are Ah My Goddess and Tenchi! Jim liked to use the latter a great deal, and I believe he might have used the former too, although less sure on that, but either way I have decided both are ultimately incompatible with my vision of my story world.

Oh, something new cross over wise to speak about this chapter, and that is Miyuki. Not long ago I discovered there is a Sukaban Deka manga and it has a LOT more content than the anime covered. Now, for the most part I'm ignoring the manga canon particulars as they already contradict the anime canon which I used for the basis of the cross over. However, I will be taking some inspiration from it. The first bits being for Saki's backstory and the existence of her sister Miyuki. While there is obviously nothing in the manga about the mother being an Amazon, it actually fits reasonably well with what is there, so with a bit of a massage that is what we have here.

So one might ask, is this telling of the killing accurate? Pretty much. It's messed up. This is even down to Saki for whatever reason not visualizing her father's face. We see him from the back while alive and we see his head roll over and his eyes face Saki, but never his full face. It is an interesting detail in the manga.

Website... does my website even exist anymore? Well, I have it on my hard drive still, but that hardly counts. Needless to say, if you do stumble on it, it's hopelessly out of date.

XXXXX

It's time for another installment of Kitsune's Corner! And today I'm dragging the author back in here for a chat.

"Sigh... what now?"

I'm confused. I get that this is MUOF stuff creeping back in, but... dimensions, timelines, explain yourself, sir!

"What's to explain?"

Well, for starters, like when is everything taking place?

"Hmm, I suppose it can be a bit confusing, so okay. So, as should be obvious from recent AST chapters, AST is currently placed just after the 2nd movie, which if you're on top of their anime knowledge places it before any of the OVAs... OAVs? Bah, whatever they're called."

And MUOF stuff?

"Same exact timeframe for them."

But Natsume-

"I was getting to it. One must recall, MUOF had many events occur long before they were supposed to, like Natsume and Kurumi showing up. In their case they heard about the Tendo dojo because of ads Nabiki had running for the whole area to improve business, something she never did in the anime canon. On the other side, similarly, Ms. Hinako came to Nerima long before she normally would because of Kasumi's involvement at the school. Get it?"

Uh... think so. So what about the original universe... well, Ranko's original universe.

"Ah yes, that was at the end of the anime timeline, so it included the OVAs. When the universes crossed between it and MUOF, MUOF universe wasn't in temporal sync. This is why they had some forewarning of the fire in Hong Kong where Tae-il and the executioner would clash."

Ah, okay, think I get it. So... about Soon Li-

"Spoilers, so nope!"

AW! How about-

"Spoilers!"

I didn't even-

"I write you, so I know exactly what you're thinking. Give it up!"

Sigh, fine... stingy. Can I at least confirm that AST and MUOF share base continuities?

"Hmm... yeah, basically, for whatever that is worth. Obviously they have diverted a lot. It is odd actually, when writing this chapter I was trying to think of characters who are approximately the same, and the pickings are slim. There are numerous characters who are similar with the canon counterparts, but between AST and MUOF, pretty much everyone would have significant differences between the two worlds. Even minor characters like neighbors to the Tendos, or regulars at the restaurant would have experienced wildly different lives by now as fallout from the changes between the timelines."

Hmm, so what am I doing over there?

"Probably still at your old school getting into trouble there, but nothing too significant."

Hmm... I wonder if we can form a collab...

"...Maaayybeee..."

Ooo...

"I'm still heavily considering how to structure this cross over. Current thought is to revive MUOF for its portion so I'll consider it... no promises."

I'll take it! So I guess I'll not press my luck any further, and bring this to a close.

"Good choice."