[Ranma][FanFic] The Bet: A Different Art, chapter 8 "Reunion"

[Gregg Sharp]

A Different Art, Chapter 8: Reunion
gregg sharp

Disclaimer: Not mine. Keian appears courtesy of Kevin W
Patterson, Ranma 1/2 char by Takahashi. Aramar setting by
me.

Keian was grateful for the protection of Cloudrunner's
"Resist Fire" spell as he looked into the raging column
before him. With a motion he'd practiced on the way here, he
caught a swirling bit of ash within the specially prepared
box and waited for the next.

With the Sundering, Aramar had ceased to be the Ninefold
Worlds and had been rebuilt as a single world. With the
Sundering, travel to and from the Nexus Plane had become
difficult and full of twists and turns. The mechanism of
magic had altered slightly too.

Now the energies of paradimensional chaos were shaped and
released by what they called Keytowers. Each of these was
said to release a different kind of magic into the world.
Transmutation magic was the Keytower to the southwest of
Nihon, and on that island anything and everything except the
tower itself changed from moment to moment due to the
discharge.

It had taken over a month, but Keian was now standing at
the only other Keytower whose location was known to the
Shadar Mage Corps. The Tower Of Fire as it was called.

Flames twisted around Keian without touching him, but if he
stepped forward another few feet the spell protecting him
would evaporate like snowmelt in a hot furnace. Followed
almost instantly by every molecule in his body dissolving
under the heat.

The force was channelled up as if through a cannon, and
only trace leakage was responsible for the burned and
blackened landscape and the thousand mile high pillar of
flame.

The Tower Of Change had the Mantaran Artifact within its
bowels, forming the linkage between the pure energies of
elemental chaos and the magic of transmutation. Somewhere
below him, Keian knew, was an object of similar power tied
to the element of fire.

Keian left the inferno, deep in thought. Here was where
some researchers came to observe the spells and energies dir
ectly, and thereby glean details of powerful fire spells and
wards. That, of course, was why he had come. That and to
catch a few bits of ash from where dust particles
continually swirled in the inferno, clumping briefly, then
disintegrating again. Except that if one personally caught
three flecks of ash from the Tower, one could use them to
enchant an anti-fire charm.

He hadn't gone more than twenty yards from the flame when
his familiar's presence loomed. This brought another smile
to his face. Many things about Aramar reminded him of an old
game he had once played, AD&D, but then the world would
throw him a curve ball.

One of those curve balls had been casting a "Find Familiar"
spell. In AD&D, it was a random thing and one was likely to
end up with a toad. In Aramar, one's inner nature was
reflected in what kind of familiar one had. In AD&D, most
beginning mages had a familiar while the higher power ones
did not. In Aramar, a large number of mages of all ranks had
familiars and one could guess what the mage was like by what
their familiar was like. A big old friendly mutt was the
familiar of the good-natured mage Kenimere. A razorcat was
the familiar of Dagnabus the Easily Angered.

The critter that looked like a winged tiger (except for it
being only just under three feet in length) hissed
uncomfortably at the heat. *Home?*

"Yes, Tigger," Keian addressed his familiar. Not as
intelligent as a person, about the level of a smart dog, but
capable of mindlinking with him. To Tigger, home was the
ship.

Cloudrunner hovered nearby. "Did you get it?"

"Three ashes from the Tower," Keian answered, holding the
pillbox up.

"Oh. Hey, do you know what day this is," the winged elf
zipped around him, her expression playful.

Keian nodded. "One year, two days ago, we were married.
Which means that tomorrow Ranma finishes his Ordeal? Did you
want to go see him?"

Cloudrunner laughed. "We're more than a month out by
skyjammer. The most powerful spell you've mastered so far is
Phantom Steed. How would you suggest we get there?"

Keian frowned. "We could try to get one of the researchers
to teleport us, but I agree, it's probably not worth it."

Cloudrunner picked up on his mood and landed lightly near
him. "Regrets?"

Keian sighed. "No, not really. I've seen so much in the
past year. Those pillar-trees, as big as a skyscraper back
home. The Dire Straits where Keira Kinslayer haunts the
cliffs where she mistakenly slew the very family she'd tried
to rescue. The Sky Islands and the Maelstrom, the hives of
the Mu and the Dragonflight over Nihon. It's just that
sometimes..."

Cloudrunner slipped an arm around him, then a wing. "You
miss your homeland."

"Yeah," Keian brightened slightly. "Come to think of it,
let's at least head back. It'll be interesting to see how
Kasumi or some of the others are coping."

--------------

A small courtyard had been fashioned, and in the courtyard
a ring of six pillars reached three elfheights to surround a
simple pool of water.

Kasumi finished her ablutions, drawing on the healing magic
of her patron to store within her for future need.
Finishing, she drew herself up and looked out over the
Faerwood to observe the flash of lightning and dark clouds
of a distant storm.

"Be ready to get the linens in, Bartholomew," Kasumi
advised in a quiet voice. "The storm will be here in 3 hours
27 minutes."

The mouseling straightened from his concealment behind one
of the pillars. It would not do to interrupt the Mistress'
meditation after all. "As you will, milady. Still time to
let them dry some. Mistress Aura reports a delegation of
pixies from the wood will arrive sometime early this
morning."

"Oh dear, I hope they get here before the rain hits,"
Kasumi fretted slightly at the thought of the tiny winged
faerie caught in the storm.

"There is also an excellent chance of your sisters
arriving, though I would expect them to wait until after the
storm." Bartholomew bowed as best he could, having learned
long ago some of the Lady Kasumi's native customs and
adopting them. Or at least trying to. Having a barrel chest
and spine that was not really as flexible as a human's made
his bowing a bit awkward.

"Make sure the dwarves have warning, you know how much they
dislike surprises." Kasumi smiled at the little
mouse-critter and tried to ignore the sudden urge to leap on
a table and shriek the way she had when the butler/majordomo
had first shown up in her kitchen. That hadn't gone over
well in anyone's estimation but Thurin's, and the dwarf had
complained later that he'd laughed himself sick.

Bartholomew remembered the incident without any prompting.
"Thurin is liable to accompany Aka-chan, milady. And...
there has been a bit of bad news."

"Yes?" Kasumi considered the storm for a moment. Much of
Aramar was water, and most of it had the eternal noon
effect. Storms tended to be massive affairs with quite a
punch. She'd briefly wondered why have castles and towers,
and why so many buildings were of mortared stone until she'd
witnessed a full blown storm. Sturdy construction was
definitely a good thing.

"Word has just reached us by an Imperial Esper,"
Bartholomew didn't like to say "ninja" as he felt the word
was unlucky, "the Emperor died in his sleep three days ago.
There is talk about who is to be his successor. Princess
Aura and Usagi left immediately on hearing the news."

"Oh my, I'm so sorry." Kasumi had only met the Emperor
once, which was once more than Ranma had, but Imperial
audiences were actually fairly rare. Kasumi's impression had
been that the Emperor was old and tired and probably
trickier than a dwarven locksmith. "They'll miss Ranma's
return, but I can't really blame them."

Bartholomew nodded. "I'm told that Emeraldis has all but
shut down for the mourning. Lady Megumi is off meeting your
mother-in-law and sister-in-law to guide them in. Kaera is
hunting, and relayed the message that she hopes you
appreciate the gesture."

Kasumi nodded happily. Kaera was kind, nice, and still
scared Kasumi. Not because of how she acted, and Kasumi had
gotten used to the exotic feline looks. But Kaera was, by
instinct, a savage hunter who frequently ate raw meat that
she had just chased down. Kaera couldn't handle large
amounts of rice and many other typically Japanese (or Rising
Sun) foods produced a reaction in the kirrfolk similar to
Kasumi's reaction on seeing Kaera wipe the blood off her
muzzle.

There were a number of other activities that Kasumi's
various co-wives did that she had trouble with. Everyone
made allowances for different cultures and physiologies.
Right now one of Kaera's kind little gestures had been to
take one of her three day hunting trips to give the First
Wife some quality time with their returning husband. Kasumi
understood and appreciated this, and also understood that it
probably wasn't the right time of month for Kaera to have
that much interest in a male. Sexually at least. Otherwise,
nice intentions or no, Kaera would scent her chosen mate and
literally claw her way through intervening walls to be with
him.

She knew this because Kaera herself had cautioned her about
this sort of thing. Followed by Megumi, followed by Usagi,
followed by Aura. She had been duly warned. When Kaera got
*that way* it would be best to get out of the way. Or, as
kirrfolk could be uninhibited by Kasumi's standards, they'd
be "having three for breakfast" as the elven saying went.

"Bartholomew, relay my sympathies to the Court, and let
everyone else know." Kasumi tried to think of what else she
should do but drew a blank.

"Yes, milady. May I then lower the Imperial Crest to
halfmast?" Bartholomew pointed idly towards the Shadarian
flag flying from the watchtower.

"Yes, take care of the details, please." Kasumi nodded
gratefully. If she gave Bartholomew free rein, he'd do
everything that needed done. The little mouseling had been a
gods-send in keeping the tower operating.

Bartholomew merely bowed and went about his duties. A busy
mouseling, after all, was a happy mouseling.

-------------

Nabiki stretched her wings just a little further as she
caught a thermal, spiraling slowly up until the storm was
three cloud-layers below her. On Earth, the air would have
been too thin at this altitude for her to breathe, even as a
dragon. Here, it was about her top altitude for flight
unassisted by more than her inherent dragonmagic. She
estimated it as about 120,000 feet.

Nabiki was content, which might have surprised any number
of her acquaintances back home. After all, she had been
transformed into an inhuman monster sixteen feet in length
that could transform back into human form through the magic
of an armband. Yes, any number of people back home would
think she was in a horrible situation.

The new Nabiki Tendo would have called them idiots.

She hadn't been thrilled with it to begin with herself.
Especially as it became obvious that she needed to spend a
*lot* of her time in her natural form. But gradually, she
adapted and came to appreciate this form on its own merits.

First off was sheer power. She could fly on her own power,
shucking off the shackles of ground-based existence with her
inherent magic and powerful wings. When she wanted to
attack, glands along her throat could spew forth a powerful
stream of acid or her own strong talons and bite could make
quick work of many obstacles.

Second was that once you got used to it, she considered the
dragon form to have its own beauty. In the air she had
practiced until she was as graceful and lithe as any
serpent. Her body was largely a reddish brown, but the
pebbly scales had a shiny copper tint to them along the
outer edges.

She was a copper dragon, and therefore felt more
comfortable in dry climes and in mountain ranges than the
areas she now flew over. Rolling around in hot sands and
snoozing in the sun, these were natural pleasures that she
had discovered in the past year. Now she had sympathy for
those like her sister, stuck in a frail human form that
wouldn't even last one tenth the lifespan she could look
forward to.

Finally she made out the valley. Like the much bigger
Starfall, this valley was obviously an impact crater. Outer
rim of mountains, almost circular valley, single large
mountain in the middle. Nabiki's draconic mouth smirked in a
manner that would have been instantly familiar to anyone who
had known her when she had been human.

Eyes keener than any human's read the air currents and the
clouds and decided to stop on the highest of the peaks in
the outer rim. The storm would then pass below her and she
wouldn't have to get wet. She could catch a nap for an hour
or six, then fly the rest of the way when the way was clear.

Even though she had practiced flying for months, Nabiki
knew it would take more than three hours of flight to make
it safely to the rest area she had chosen. Copper dragon
wings were less manueverable than the batlike wings of a
bronze or silver, though they were better than the brass
dragons. She also was not old enough or powerful enough to
make use of the feng shui or any special abilities. Except,
of course, to neutralize poisons - which had proven most
useful after she had discovered how delicious a giant
scorpion could be.

Nabiki chuckled as she noticed a ship moving far below her.
If she *could* teleport, she'd have appeared in human form
on their decks and scared them. There was no way that they,
mere mortals, would have noticed *her*.

-------------

"Ya think that's Nabiki-chan?" The eight year old shaded
her eyes with one hand, pointing with the other.

"Almost certainly, squirt!" Midori adjusted her clothing,
wanting to look *just so* when meeting her brother's wife
for the first time in eight months. Red hair brushed back
into a ponytail, check. A green tunic that matched her eyes
with the kanji for "Flower" (she was frequently called
little flower due to her hair and tendency to wear bright
clothing) in black embroidery inside a yellow sphere. Hose
of a deeper green terminating in dark boots of an elven
make. At her right hip was belted her backup weapon (her
primary weapon being the Art), because a well dressed Amazon
*always* had a weapon. In Midori's case, this was a simple
pistol-style crossbow such as a number of Southern Cross
Amazons favored. At her left hip a pouch that could be
flipped open in a moment to reveal a variety of bolts for
her crossbow, including some with silver heads. "How many
coppers do ya think'd be out in THIS weather?"

Nodoka walked towards the prow of the ship, noting that the
Amazons were covering the cannon and stowing cargo. She
finally found the Captain at the very prow. "We're going
through the storm?"

"Aye, Saotome." Melys turned to Nodoka briefly before
regarding the storm again. "It looks a bad one, but nothing
we haven't handled before. Looks like the rains are heavy,
winds gusting to about 45, hail mixed with the rain and some
lightning but not much."

"Relatively," allowed Nodoka, remembering some of the
storms she'd been through out away from the cities. Catching
sight of a shimmering curtain caused by radically different
air masses, she pointed. "Is that a Zone over there?"

Melys after consulting a map. "Yeah, looks like it's a
heavy one like the one near Fort Blacksands. Small reptine
village. Won't bother trying to pronounce it."

Nodoka nodded absently. The last she'd seen that nice
Chinese girl, Shampoo had been wearing heavy weights and in
one of those heavy Zones. Nodoka wondered if Shampoo had
survived Boot Camp.

-------------------

Four months previous:

Shampoo entered the cave wearing her best new armor, her
BDA (best dress armor) in fact. It had been a difficult
year. Though Boot Camp had only lasted four months, advanced
training had taken another two, and then another two months
visiting other bases and repeatedly being tested.

She had faced warriors and pirates, goblins and the
fiendish octopus men, undead that clamored for her blood and
monsters who sought to feast on her flesh. She had faced
them all, mostly without fear.

Now a proud Amazon facing another challenge, alone. Proud,
but scared. Drug-crazed, spear-toting goblins would have
been preferrable.

Now she proudly wore the three badges on the left upper
sleeve of her armor. The first, showing her House to be that
of Rising Sun. The second, her rank within the military
organization of the House (Specialist) bisected by the
branch (Home Guard). The third badge, the hardest one,
wasn't something she had chosen but that had been planned
for her the moment she had been taken to Boot Camp. The
badge indicated her Specialty.

Shampoo checked herself as she wound her way through the
narrow pass. The rod at her belt was a low level magical
weapon, a spear that could collapse into a rod about the
length of her thigh. The thick arrows were perfectly stored
within her quiver. Shampoo's horsebow, the main weapon she
had trained in for months, gleamed with a fresh painting of
enamel.

A snuffling sound and a vague form shimmered into being as
an emerald dragonmage dropped her Invisibility spell.
"*About time, human.*"

Shampoo nodded as she walked past. This was her final test.
One that she had learned of only five months ago. She'd
learned more and more of it over the intervening time and
the initial panic had run out. Though now, faced with the
event herself, her stomach hurt.

"*Good luck.*" The emerald dragon called out telepathically
after her, noting the big bad human's knees were shaking.

Finally Shampoo climbed down a short overhang and entered
what she had hoped was the correct cave. The scratches left
at the entry matched the sketch in her booklet, at least.
Deep breathing could be heard within the dark depths,
otherwise the only sound was the surf far below. Shampoo
swallowed nervously, then steeled herself.

"I come here to offer challenge! By the ancient pact and
rules of dragonkind, I, Shampoo of Nichieju, Warrior of
Rising Sun, Amazon of two tribes, demand battle!"

The slow breathing stopped. "What? Who? Oh. It's that time,
is it?" The voice was deep and spoken aloud with equipment
that wasn't quite right for human speech.

Shampoo let out a deep breath. It sounded like her opponent
hadn't expected her to show up and had been asleep. Maybe
she could win quickly. "I call for the rite of Combat Of
Subdual."

"Do you know what you ask, human?" The voice ended in a
puzzled tone. "Why do you challenge me? And what stakes?"

Shampoo frowned at the deviation from the script. "I
challenge you because I must. Show yourself, Frostbite!"

The shadows moved, the silver dragon emerging from his
lair. "The stakes?"

"If I win, you forsake this marriage, I go back to Ranma
and lose my position within Rising Sun. No holding back, no
quarter. We fight until one cannot fight any longer."

The dragon sighed, long and low. "You would be dishonored
within the terms of Rising Sun. You would be forever
outcast. And if I should win?"

Shampoo twisted the rod, transforming it to spear form.
Much more useful in close quarters like the tunnel to the
lair. "Standard terms of dragonkin. But I do not intend to
lose."

Frostbite blinked. Slavery if she lost, disgrace and exile
if she won. He reflected that HIS Shampoo never done
anything by half measures either. "I do not like this, and I
do not wish to battle you. Unfortunately I do not have a
choice as you invoked the pact."

"Then," Shampoo said as she began spinning the spear in a
rapid blur, "let us battle! Defend yourself!"

A saddened expression flitted over the dragon's face. He
waited for the Amazon to get within thirty feet before
slamming out with his breath weapon, a blast of ice and snow
that transformed the tunnel for eighty feet into a scene out
of an Ice Age.

Observing the ice sculpture caught in mid-run towards him,
Frostbite grumbled about stubborn damn Amazons with a chip
permanently affixed to their shoulder. "Couldn't ever try
doing this the easy way, oh no. Not the mighty warrior
Shampoo!"

The ice crackled, cracked, and split, Shampoo stumbling
forth with icicles hanging off of her. "Hah, I came prepared
for you. This won't be that eas...."

Frostbite leapt forward, crashing into Shampoo and sending
her flying out into the air. She caught a quick glimpse of
the surf below her, way below her. Then she was snatched out
of midair by a large pair of claws.

"*Your weapons are back in the cave. You've been disarmed
Shampoo. Surrender.*"

"NEVER!" Shampoo beat on the claws holding her with her
fists. "I am an Amazon, we don't surrender!"

"*Stubborn, foolish, prideful, stupid, stupid, STUPID!*"
The dragon swept along the beach at high speed dropping the
Amazon in a dune while berating her. "*You could just file
for a divorce! We never consummated anything! You don't have
to do this.*"

Shampoo spat blood and sand out of her mouth, seeing the
dragon building up speed for another attack. "Okay, maybe I
bit off a bit more than I can chew. But I will NOT...."

The rest of her speech was bitten off as the real Frostbite
dropped Invisibility and slammed the Amazon face forward
into the dune, then pressed down with all his weight. With a
few deft movements, he buried the Amazon to her head in the
sand, then settled down for a nice nap curled around her
protectively.

Shampoo woke up a few hours later to discover she was well
and truly trapped. Worse, she'd been stuck like that for
three more hours until the dragon awoke. Seeing that she
wasn't attacking anymore, the dragon freed her.

"*Well, Shampoo, if it means that much to you, I shall
register that the marriage was never consummated and that we
both agree it should be annulled.*"

"That was not the terms of the battle."

"Huh?" Frostbite sounded rather less intelligent than he
would have preferred.

"You have won. Now if you will take elven form?"

Uncertainly, Frostbite shimmered and took his human guise.
"I do not require or keep slaves, Shampoo.

Shampoo stepped close to the silver-haired elf, seeming to
examine him closely. Then, with a playful smile, launched
herself. "Wo da airen! Wo ai ni!"

"Huh?!" Frostbite repeated as someone wrapped herself
around him. Sometimes he just didn't get humans, even though
he had been one several centuries ago.

Shampoo snuggled herself against her husband, feeling that
now she had at least done the proper thing by her own
culture's standards.

----------------

"Now:"

Eighty feet of serpentine form glinted in the sun. Silver
wings sliced air as dragon and rider coasted along at high
speeds.

Shampoo munched on a few sandwiches in midflight, keeping
an eye out for any attackers and her bow in the saddlehook
that kept it ready for use.

There were many things one could say about their
relationship. One of which would be that if Mousse had ever
shown up and tried to come between the two, he most likely
would have been buried the very next day.

Shampoo eyed a few distant specks and pulled out a spyglass
kept on a tether to the saddle. She made a face and put the
remains of her sandwich away when she made out the harpies.
Ugly things, carrion birds without much to recommend them.
Even kobolds had better dietary habits. About as much threat
to her husband as the aforementioned kobolds.

"*Coming up on the Valley. Looks like a stormfront is
passing through. Do you want to go through it?*"

Shampoo concentrated on the mindlink now that Frostbite had
opened it. "If big strong Master wouldn't mind?"

There was a mental grumbling which Shampoo laughed at. She
knew the big dragon didn't particularly care for the
slave-master routine, but tolerated it as he knew full well
that Shampoo would find some worse way of teasing him if he
did not.

The dragonpriest grumbled aloud and claws moved in precise
motions. Glowing white sigils appeared in the air, forming a
transparent shield which stretched to cover them in a
teardrop shape.

"We could just go through the rain!" Shampoo slapped the
neck near her saddle.

"*It's rain and hail and thunder. I will *not* endanger the
little one...*

"What do you..." Shampoo's eyes bugged. "You said 'little
one'?!"

"*Remember three days ago when we...*"

"I remember, I remember," Shampoo yelled, blushing
furiously.

"*Well, when we passed the coast, the wind changed and it
brought your scent forward. Congratulations, wife.*"

Shampoo's eyes were bugging. A hand crept up to gently
touch her stomach. "I..."

Frostbite grinned, careful that the dragonrider couldn't
observe. He had suspected, but the latest change in scent
made things obvious. He wondered if Shampoo was really ready
for this though.

Shampoo made a mental note that as soon as they landed she
would have to beat up a dragon for springing a surprise like
this at the last moment. Was she getting enough vitamins?
Exercise? What about her diet?

Enough of the rain got through the shield to bring her out
of shock.

--------------

Kasumi watched from a tower window as the water came down.
Aramar was BIG and it was mainly ocean. The sun shone
without interruption over most of it, the "string of pearls"
or near-orbit moons and clouds of orbiting gas and debris
providing a few areas with occasional twilight. And there
were Zones that had a sort of artificial nightfall. But over
most of the surface of the world, the sun was brightly
shining.

Which resulted in rain being frequent unless you happened
to be in a desert zone or on the far side of some mountains
sufficiently high that any low clouds that might dump rain
were diverted.

There were occasionally days where only a light rain would
fall. More frequently there were rainstorms that were hard
enough to dim visibility to a hundred feet or less. All too
frequently, one had rainstorms like this one where lightning
seemed to walk along the ground but you couldn't tell for
sure because the visibility was measured in inches.

Almost every variety of plant had long roots to protect
them, and many areas had 'Weather Extreme Diminishing' wards
cast and renewed simply as a precaution. But that was
Ranma's job, and he hadn't been around to do it.

So Kasumi, as a priest of Etragar, politely asked the storm
to be gentle around her house. And because of her status,
the storm listened and abated its fury. Visibility increased
to a hundred yards.

A dragon of silvery hue landing brought Kasumi up out of
her chair, and she thought she saw a glimpse of purple hair
as the dragon's rider dashed for shelter. "Keide?" Kasumi
called one of the maids, a slender elven girl. "Keide, that
girl must be drenched. Get her a towel and some dry clothes
will you? Something that would fit a short Delphins."

The thin elf bowed and hurried about her task without a
word.

Kasumi returned to watching out the window as the dragon
held a few bags closer to the stables, allowing the handlers
within to mainly keep dry while he was unloaded. Then the
dragon went out into the rain to allow it to sluice over
him, uncaring of the elements.

Kasumi recalled when she had last seen Frostbite. The
dragon had come to the Tower barely three months after
they'd all parted ways. He'd heard how close Kasumi and
Shampoo had been, and had come to tell Kasumi of the
training Shampoo had undergone and of the Delphins plan to
get them married.

He'd also told Kasumi that a long time ago, he had met
other versions of themselves, and had ended up married to
Shampoo. There had been a long battle against a demonic
force that had been slowly infesting their world and which
had been drawn to the area where so much dimensional travel
had been done. And, in order to appease her great
grandmother, Shampoo had challenged HIM in dragonform. He'd
been puzzled and had pinned her under one claw while
wondering what was going on. Then, with her Great
Grandmother watching, Shampoo had had Frostbite shift back
to human form so she could declare him her husband.

Eventually the Evil had been beaten back and contained. Odd
planewalking allies like that Celestial girl had appeared
and strengthened their cause. Then Shampoo and Frostbite had
returned here, though one of the injuries inflicted by the
demons had left Shampoo barren. Shampoo had never learned of
it, as it would have been devastating to her. Frostbite
himself kept those memories blocked for the most part, using
a draconic mind trick.

Kasumi had sympathized and agreed that it should be
Shampoo's decision. Frostbite had been overwrought by the
similarities and had had to dull the memories of his
previous relationship to cope with it.

Keide (who usually went by the name of Leafwhisper but
Kasumi tried to use her name without translating it from
Elven) could be heard talking to Shampoo in the foyer.
Shampoo's voice was complaining but Kasumi couldn't make out
the words.

Frostbite remained out in the rain, which Kasumi took to
mean that the two had had an argument. Oh dear.

A Delphins airship, rain sleeting off it, lowered itself
out of the clouds as thunder crashed in the near distance.

Kasumi spent a moment watching the experienced
Delphins tie the ship off and furl sails, not that they had
much open as they navigated a storm. Still, the duties of a
host are many, and Kasumi eventually made her way to the
stairway and from there to one of the guest rooms.

"Kasumi!" Shampoo hugged her non-Amazon "sister"
lightly but with affection. Kasumi took a moment to examine
the girl and was pleasantly surprised. Shampoo had lost a
bit of baby fat, and looked a little leaner and tougher, but
was still the bouncy Amazon who had shown up at the Tendo
Household what seemed like a King's Age ago.

Shampoo looked over Kasumi, and noted that Kasumi had
changed, but it wasn't a physical change that she could put
her finger on. It was more the aura of serenity and lasting
peace and a sort of sense of timelessness that seemed to be
a part of all the Healer Priests she'd met.

Kasumi eyed Shampoo's uniform, hung over a rod while
it dried, and Shampoo wore the simple tunic and braies that
was the unofficial 'off duty' clothes that Delphins favored.
"Oh, you've got your specialist qualification!"

"Yes, I wish I could send notice to my Great
Grandmother." Shampoo shrugged. Her whole village would be
proud of her showing, she felt. It had been a *tough* time
training, but she had done well as a representitive of her
village.

"I'm sure she would be proud of you," Kasumi nodded,
knowing from her own contacts that Delphins Boot Camp meant
"one was treated as a boot."

Shampoo grinned at the priestess, certain she had *no*
idea what the Amazon had gone through.

--------

Despite popular opinion, he was not dead. He'd lost
his left hand. Been transfixed with arrows seven times.
Crossbow bolts in his posterior, twice. Hit by lightning,
fireballs, manna bolts, ice, magic missiles, flying discs,
thrown knives and spears and other assorted martial
weapons - more times than he'd care to remember.

He had been cursed at Jusenkyo, cursed as a thief,
cursed as a temple thief, cursed as a tomb robber, cursed by
a really powerful blackskinned white-haired elven sorceress,
cursed by other things that he wasn't sure how to classify.

He had been chased by Amazons and little mouse
thingies, and he'd had dragons after him.

But he was Genma Saotome, head of Clan Saotome (no
matter what his grandfather or Nodoka might say), Master of
the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts (no matter
what Happosai might say), the father of Ranma Saotome who
had mapped out his destiny and life long before he was born
and nobody was going to tell him any different!

That he was currently a statue of a panda, with a
hose parked up his butt, water spraying out of his mouth, in
a goblin village known as Dungwattle was of no consequence.
He was Genma Saotome, and he would reclaim the boy and his
retirement would be assured.

Now if only the pigeons would stop pooping on him.

--------

Ranma gripped the railing and looked over the deck.
Once through the next set of Zones, he could use a "Teleport
Without Error" and get directly to his tower. The problem
was that Zones could be as small as a few feet wide, or a
slash hundreds of miles across, but each had slightly
different physical or magical properties. Some Zones had
extremely heavy gravity or the air within them was thick or
magic just misfired in odd ways. So, to get from the
Imperial Palace (where he'd paid his respects to the widowed
Empress) to the Lonely Tower required either two Teleports
(from Emeraldis to Amberlake or Tympani and then to the
Tower) or going past the Koradai Drift by other means and
then using a spell.

There was also the occasional ghost or monster that
could interfere with the really long range teleports, though
these were rare.

The year of Ordeal had been quite difficult, and
Ranma had surpassed his limits many times, but there could
be no doubt about his earning the Sapphire Rankstone at this
point. He'd been reinserted back into his universe of
origin, and been repairing damage done by his previous
visit.

When Soun Tendo returned, he would find the Tendo
dojo much as he remembered it. Likewise the Amazon village
had been repaired. The transformations and summonings had
started becoming undone the moment Wyndlace died, it was the
physical damage that was hard to erase. Spells used
originally on spelljamming vessels like "Repair" had proven
their worth, and Ranma thought he could cast a basic "Remove
Curse" in his sleep now.

A scuttling noise brought Ranma's attention briefly
back to the present. A large mantis-like creature bobbed her
head and chirped unhappily at the mage. Ranma nodded in
reply. A stormfront sweeping through the area, a miserable
thing to the thri-kreen who preferred desert climes. The
merchant continued to click and chirp about this latest
indignity for a few moments before going on her way.

Ranma settled back into thought as the thri-kreen
continued to try to find someone who would cast a Weather
Protection for her, for free of course.

Most high-levels Ordeals also contained the making
of talismans or amulets, or something else permanent the
mage could leave behind when finally passing from life.
Sometimes it was physical, sometimes it was simply adding to
the Art itself with a new spell or technique. Ranma had
taken the time to craft a simple talisman that acted as a
manna filter, allowing one to recharge manna normally
without having a local taint affecting the spellcaster.

He had quite lost track of time when finally Ranma
sensed the proximity of the Tower and used his Mass Teleport
to appear in the central hall of his home with his luggage.
Looking about, he noticed the large number of tapestries and
a mural. The place had been fixed up quite a bit since his
last appearance.

Kasumi moved forward from the archways, wearing the
simple white robes of a Healer.

Ranma smiled at his wife, having learned something
of Japanese customs during his ordeal. "I'm home."

Kasumi smiled back and bowed with her hands clasped
in front of her as she gave the ritual reply. "Welcome
home."

---------------

EPILOGUE:

The woman was old and grey and wrinkled, but there
was a twinkle in her eye and a warmth in her smile that
revealed that her heart was still young, or young enough.
The child in her lap, barely past toddler, sat still and
relaxed as he listened to the woman conclude her tale.

"...and so it came to pass that in the years
afterward, Ranma became a powerful mage but never attained
Star-rank as he valued his humanity so much. He and his
wives came to the Empire's defense during the Boskone Third
War nine years later, which was where Megumi perished in
valiant battle, and Usagi Shades was lost in a dimensional
rift - never to be heard from again.

"Ranma died at the age of one hundred seven, long
after his kirrfolk wife had died, and was followed by his
first wife a few months later into that last great
adventure. Their children each became powerful mages or wise
priests, except for Kaoru, of course. Nodoka Saotome died as
befits a Delphins, surrounded by her children and
grandchildren and great grandchildren.

"Soun Tendo had a number of new children by his
wives, until one day he vanished. Gone back to his home
plane, most say - so that when he died he would be reunited
with his first wife- Kimiko.

"Midori, Ranma's green eyed sister, eventually upset
all the betting by catching Stormshadow during a Sadie
Hawkins Race. Some say that the dragon Nabiki had a hand in
it. As far as I know, Midori is still in the Tower Of
Storms, furthering her mastery of chi. One of these days I
will go there and see if my old friend remembers me.

"Shampoo and Frostbite had three children. One
matured and became a full dragon. One became a half-dragon.
The third was human with some of the innate strength and
power of a dragon, and it was he who went to his mother's
homeland. Shampoo eventually followed in her ninetieth year
of life, and it is said that she followed her Great
Grandmother's wishes to become an Elder of the tribe of
Chinese Amazons. Frostbite remains, watching over his
remaining son and daughter, and fulfilling his duties to the
Empire.

"Nabiki and Garr had three children as well, though
Garr perished during the Boskone War. Nabiki is an older and
wiser dragon now, and if she retains some of her
mischievousness and love of treasure- why grudge her that?"

The child waited for the old woman to continue for
a moment before asking. "But what of the others?"

"Which ones? Keian? He became a true elf and a
hundred years is almost as nothing to him. He's still out
there, exploring and inventing, somewhere beyond the Pillars
Of Twilight. Genma? No one has seen or heard from him. One
day the panda statue was there, the next -poof! Perhaps he
is with his old friend Soun, or perhaps he is with his
wife - reconciled at last. Zen- well, he had many children
himself, all Delphins who mainly took after their mother and
were a credit to their House. Princess Aura? Well, you know
about *her* - she had four children, one of whom married one
of Keian's children."

"...but..." The child hesitated to ask further.

The old woman chuckled tiredly. "It's late, great
grandchild, and I'm not nearly as young as I twice was.
Sleep, and perhaps dream, for yours is a great and glorious
heritage full of warm love and hot steel, of cold nights and
hot passions. And perhaps you'll have another tale
tomorrow."

The child nodded with a "hmmmph" and a smile. Old
folks tired easily. "Good night Great Grandmother!"

Akane watched her great grandson go out into the
warrens of Ironhill and smiled. So tired. Perhaps she would
rest herself, and dream of days long past.

FIN

Note: well this is a wild ride, and everyone lives happily
ever after. As for what happened to Scarlet and Jared,
that's covered in Skysaber's Choice by Skysaber (no i don't
know WHEN this will be finished). This was done specifically
for Red Death, he of the Ranma 1/2 Superhighway, and is
intended for exclusive (other than the RAAC archives) to his
site.
Hopefully you enjoyed it, this was just a mainly
amusing story, not intended as epic by any stretch of the
imagination. TTFN (ta ta for now)
-----------------------------
http://metroanime.home.mindspring.com/
metro...@mindspring.com
""Tsk. You Americans, your women are encouraged
to live up to a standard, while your men are encouraged
to live down to another."
- Kasumi Tendo, "Supersoldier"

"The loudest voice is often the most
incorrect."
- Grey, "reluctant bet"