Project A-Ko Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Vampire Hunter (Darkstalkers) Fan Fiction ❯ Nabiki 1/2 (A Very Scary Thought) ❯ Revenge of the Housewife!... ( Chapter 135 )

Nabiki 1/2

(A Very Scary Thought)

Written by Jim Robert Bader

Proofread by Shiva Barnwell

Based Upon the Altered Destinies Storyline

Inspired by the works of such fans as

Wade Tritshler

Richard Lawson

James Jones

And Many Others

Standard Disclaimer: This is inspired by the work of Takahashi Rumiko and is not my original creation. All characters belong to her. This is only a fanfictional work, and is not intended to compromise the rights of the original owners, distributors and publishers of the Ranma series. I have no money to spare and would very much appreciate if no one tries to sue me.

"Whut a bloody mess this's turnin' out t'be..."

"You said it," Darkwulf declared as he, Raptor, Atros, Lilith and the half-cyborg Gunther stood in a defensive ring facing a horde of demons that had cut them off from the rest of their party, "Looks like we're in too deep to dig our way outta this one. Kinda ironic when you think about it since we helped open the gate that brought these Rakshasa through in the first place…"

"Yeah, only ironic don't even begin to cover it, Mate," Raptor remarked as he gave up trying to estimate the odds that were presently being stacked long against them, "The boss never filled us in that we'd be up to our necks in these soul-eatin' bastards. Thought the plan was t'grab up all the energy O' their boss, not pave the way to a full scale invasion."

"I don't mind the invasion part," Darkwulf said, "But the part where these guys trample over us to break through to our world is the one that's giving me trouble at the minute. Looks like there's a lot of stuff that the boss neglected to mention about this job, and now I'm wondering if we're gonna last long enough to collect our payment…"

"Would you guys just put a sock on it already?" Lilith snapped, "Of course Dimitri double-crossed you and left us to carry up the slack. What the hell did you expect was gonna happen? The guy lives and breathes betrayal…or he would if he could breathe, that is. The point is…we're stuck holding the bag and it turns out to be loaded down with poison…"

"Didn't exactly hear you raising a fuss when we all got conned into joining this little party, Missy," Raptor snapped in the succubus's direction.

"That's because I'm a sucker for a good fight," Lilith replied with a scowl, "And my big sister got drawn into it too, so who's calling who a naïve twit here?"

"You cubs wanted in on this as much as us," Darkwulf snapped back at Lilith, "So don't complain to us that your little bitch squad took a couple of hits…"

"Shut up, you…flea-bitten hound, you!" Lilith snarled, "Queen Bee's dead and maybe BB's dead with her. It's just Atros and me left to pick up the slack of what's left of the B-Girls…"

"Yeah, an' miss Waterworks here's about as much lively as one O' me Zombies," Raptor noted, albeit not without some sympathy in his raspy voice, "So far she's fightin' on automatic 'cause she's under one O' Jeddahs mind spells, but with the J-man gone, done in by his own hand…"

"What's to keep her from snapping out of her mind-control at any minute and going rogue on us?" Darkwulf noted, "You know she's got about as much love for us as her old man…"

"She won't turn on me," Lilith said, "I was her friend even before Jeddah mind-wiped her. You wanna worry about someone going rogue on us, keep your eyes trained on Gunther. Thought I saw his one good eye twitch a little sometime after he ran out of ammo. He's been fighting mechanically ever since, but sooner or later he's bound to override the programming of his implants, and then he's going to get seriously freaked and turn on us to relieve his tension."

Gunther and Atros, of course, said nothing, but their seemingly impassive faces were beginning to show mild animation, and their eyes were no longer quite as glassy.

Darkwulf spared a glance with Raptor and said, "She's got a point on that."

"Might not do t'stand too close to either one o'em if they gets their memories back," Raptor noted with a much sobered expression.

One of the Rakshasa snarled something to his colleagues, and all at once the mass surrounding them grew tenser and appeared infinitely more hostile.

"Whut's eatin' them?" Raptor asked, displaying an inordinate amount of nervousness for a zombie.

"Long as it's not them eating us, who cares?" Darkwulf responded, "Man, what are they waiting for? This standoff thing is getting old, and I'd almost prefer it if they attack us or something."

"You might get your wish," Lilith hunched her shoulders, "I'm picking up mega-bad emotional vibes from these suckers, and I don't like the way that they've been eyeing me and Atros."

"Yeah, well, if it's just you girls they wants to party with, I'd say let 'em," Raptor snorted, "Maybe they'll ignore me'n 'Wulf long enough that we'll escape…and besides, way I hears it, these Rakshasa boys're more keen t'leave you girls alive so's you can bear them sprouts, so you'll probably survive it…"

"Gee thanks," Lilith winced, "Like I wanna be a mom at my age…"

"Chivalry is not dead after all it seems."

"Huh?" Darkwulf blinked, "Did one of you girls just say that?"

"Wasn't me," Lilith turned to the amphibious girl beside her, "That you, Atros-honey?"

"No," the strangely disembodied voice said once again, then all at once hell burst forth in the midst of the Rakshasa, and before the demons had time to react they were being flung in all directions, some thrown into their nearest comrades with lethal force that ruptured both of their bodies, and like that a space was cleared to one side of the ring, causing the remaining members of the Dark Pack and B-Girls to turn in dismay at their nominal pint-sized rescuer.

"It was me," said the young adolescent girl named Anita as she stood there with her headless doll in hand, "Got any problem with that?"

"The sprout?" Raptor blinked his empty, soulless eyes in disbelief.

"Donovan's silent pet Psi-babe," Darkwulf swallowed, "The mental Cuisinart?"

"We are sooo dead now," Lilith openly shuddered.

"Maybe not," Anita said in the same flat, inflectionless voice that seemed almost second nature for her as she turned her back towards the B-Girls and Dark Pack, "But if you want to live I suggest you come with me now as we go find Donovan."

"Find…Donovan?" Raptor repeated, "Y'gotta be crazy!"

"I'm not fooling around," Anita said, displaying the barest hint of annoyance in her voice, "We have to go now to help Donovan…and if you want to help Dimitri and Morgan, they're also waiting for us, but you have to follow me now or we won't get there in time to help out."

"Huh?" Lilith blinked, "But…I thought you hated Dimitri…"

"I do," Anita stated flatly, "He killed my parents and he deserves to die for that, but there's something more important than revenge at stake here, and I'm not yet ready to face Dimitri by myself in order to kill him."

"Something more important than revenge?" it was Darkwulf's turn to blink in disbelief, "Like…what?"

"Survival," Anita said without turning back, "Now come with me now or you can face the rest of those demons by your lonesome. Or don't you believe in safety in numbers?"

"Eh…spud's gotta point," Raptor glanced at the surviving Rakshasa, who were snarling like no tomorrow, "Better take a chance she ain't leadin' us into a trap…"

"Like there could be something worse than this?" Lilith asked as she stepped lively and followed close behind the heels of Anita, all but dragging Atros along by one arm in the process.

"I hate it when she puts it like that," Darkwulf snarled as he, too, followed close behind Anita.

"Y'gotta better idea, I'm listenin'," Raptor murmured as he glanced nervously at the snarling Rakshasa all around them, "But right now I don't think them boyos are givin' us much choice, if ye take me meanin'…"

As they started forward so did Gunther, albeit the towering Cyborg moved grudgingly with a halting, mechanical gait, keeping pace by din of his long stride rather than any great haste on his part as he easily kept up with Anita. The lumbering cyborg made an eerie sound in the almost total silence as those few Rakshasa remaining parted before the little girl and her headless doll as if she were the very devil incarnate, though in all truth the one they served was more befitting of that role and was even then staking out his intentions on a certain Vampire Queen named Tendo Kasumi…

"What are we gonna do, Oneechan?" Kurumi cried, dodging an attack, "They've got us surrounded and outnumbered!"

"Yes, and we have already witnessed the ruthlessness that these things exhibit during our previous encounter," a bare-chested Tatewaki concurred as he fought valiantly with his bokken at the side of his half-naked ladylove, Natsume.

"Just hold on out, I'll think of something!" Nabiki declared as she and Ranma fought to hold the line against the multi-appendaged monstrosities attempting to get at them, using ki attacks while avoiding direct physical contact.

"You guys want a piece of me?" a nude Keiko snarled as she leaped into the air and spun her legs about in a series of lightning kicks that sent ki-bolts lancing into the bodies of those Rakshasa attempting to grab her. She alighted down as their bodies exploded, then whirled about and cried, "Who else wants some? You wanna poke my ass, you boys are gonna have to work at it!"

Donovan Bane was less voluble about his own disdain for the creatures that beset them from all sides, but his response was to summon up yet another one of his spirit guardians and unleash a powerful wave of ki that tore into Rakshasa bodies as though their flesh were little more than smoke and mirrors.

"This is nuts!" Talbain snarled as he slashed at the Rakshasa trying to get past him to reach the huddled form of the blonde BB Hood, "They just keep coming, and they're gonna overwhelm us by sheer force of numbers!"

"I know!" Frank declared as he delivered punishing blows with his hammer-like fists, "What do you expect me to do about it? I've kinda got my hands full at the minute...!"

Mousse whipped out with chains and struck the Rakshasa that was inches away from grabbing Kurumi, then with a feral snarl he cried, "How many times do I have to say this-KEEP YOUR CLAMMY PAWS OFF OF MY AIREN!"

"Huh?" Kurumi nearly broke her concentration to glance at the Chinese boy, but she needed her full speed to keep one step ahead of the Rakshasa, which she well knew by now were interested in her purely for her "breeding potential," a thought that inspired her to whip out her ribbon with a hot-ki blast to discourage these intentions.

"Bah!" Dimitri said dismissively as he easily dispatched three Rakshasa with a taloned hand, "Pitiable minions, you are not worthy to be my enemies! How dare you send this lowly trash to annoy me, Father?"

The Rakshasa lord did not deign to answer, but Morgan-who was busy dispatching yet more Rakshasa with her shadow-thrusts and succubus powers-could not help but note the blazing anger in her sometime partner-in-crime and felt his rage intensify at being so lightly dismissed by his inhuman lordly father.

D easily took down his share of the Rakshasa, his long sword blazing a path of deadly steel to work their destruction. Happosai, who fought near to his side, was also barely troubled by the marauding demons, his formidable martial arts skilled backed by centuries of knowledge in ki attacks and other forms of effective counter-measures, though in truth the ancient Master never took his eye away from Kasumi, who was standing apart from the fray with a troubled and much-vexed expression, being clearly the object of Mor'ghul's dark intentions.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked of the towering monstrosity, "Why are you trying to hurt my friends and family? What are you hoping to accomplish?"

"That much is simple, my dear woman," Mor'ghul revealed, "I am eliminating an annoying distraction…all the better that I may claim the prize that I most desire, which is your sweet, delectable body."

And before Kasumi's astonished eyes the creature began to change its shape and take on a new form, reducing its mass in the process so that it did not stand out as quite so towering or imposing…though as its new form became clear there was an indefinable aura of power that made the eldest Tendo sibling blink in astonishment and confusion.

"Oh my," she said as she gazed upon the transformed Rakshasa, and in doing so did a slow inventory that took in the anatomical dimensions of his now fully human appearance…

"Red!" Talbain cried as he huddled down beside the blonde whom he had been protecting, "Pull yourself together! We need you on the front lines, girl! We're getting slaughtered out here, and slaughter is usually your business!"

"Cold…so cold…can't fight, Wolfie," Hood replied in a shuddering, little-girl voice, "Those…things…they got inside me…and…and they…"

"I know, kid," Talbain said with genuine sympathy in his voice, "But you can't let 'em get to you…or else those things have won already!"

"Leave me alone!" Hood protested, hugging her knees tightly as she huddled there, naked, in a fetal position, toes curling as the memories threatened to drive her past the point of madness…

Nabiki ducked low under a powerful swing by one Rakshasa who seemed eager to claim her body, but even as she readied a ki-powered counter-attack another powerful appendage swept her literally off of her feet and threatened to leave her vulnerable for a crucial few seconds while the creature sought to overwhelm her…but before it could do so it was met by a number of protruding spikes that shot up from the ground to rupture its body before it could get near enough to claim her prostrate form.

"Hands off of my wife, Baka!" Ranma snarled, then softened his tone and said, "You all right, Nabiki?"

"Oh sure," she said as she flipped herself back to her feet, all too aware of the way her breasts obeyed the laws of gravity and inertia as she readied herself to continue the fight, "I'm naked, hopelessly outmatched by things that want to eat me, and some lobster-headed guy wants to make it with my oneechan. That and I've been molested by tentacles, but otherwise I'm just peachy."

"Just don't say I never take you anywhere to have fun," Ranma quipped, earning a look from his wife that promised a pleasant form of retribution for sometime later, right before they went back to fighting as a team against the Rakshasa invaders…

Talbain was desperate so he decided to try a different track for dealing with his long-time nemesis, "You wanna cower there like a little girl? You're got sterner stuff than that in you, and I should know it! C'mon, Red! Your granny couldn't break your spirit, and I don't see how any stupid old tentacle rape beast could compare to what she put you through!"

"But it was eating me!" Hood all but screamed, "I could feel it…absorbing me…so horrible…like being dissolved alive…like in a snake's belly!"

"Hey, you've been through that once before, remember?" Talbain mildly jested, "You survived it like the last time, so you ought to be able cope with a few tentacle-rape monsters…"

At the moment one of said "tentacle-rape monsters" was attempting to descend upon them from above, but Talbain shot an angry stare and began to glow with a furious battle aura, and that Rakshasa in particular seemed to seriously rethink the situation.

"I…can't…I can't…!" Hood shuddered.

"Hey," Talbain snarled, "Where's the psycho-chick who's been frying my ass for years with everything from M-80s to Napalm to stuff that's not even in Jane's handbooks?"

"But I had my guns the last time!" Hood wailed, clutching her hands at empty space, "I don't have anything now! And without my weapons I'm USELESS…useless…!"

"It is useless for you to attempt to resist me," Mor'ghul declared as he smiled, savoring the stunned expression on the face of the lovely young woman standing before him, "I am infinitely more powerful than you can even imagine, and while I would prefer to do this…pleasurably…I am not adverse to using force to gain what I need from you, Woman."

"Oh my," Kasumi continued to look the man-like shape before her up and down, seeing a seemingly handsome and robustly powerful figure, if lacking in certain culturally mandated accouterments, such as clothing (a condition far too common among the female half of those presently in attendance).

"You are impressed, which is only to be expected," Mor'ghul gloated, flexing his arms in a particularly masculine manner.

"Um…actually," Kasumi forced her eyes to drift down towards the demon's nether-regions.

"Eh?" Mor'ghul followed her line of thought with a questioning expression, only to belatedly catch on, at which point he made the equivalent of human blush then immediately snarled, "It's expandable…I'm not always this size!"

"Er…if you say so," Kasumi replied with a polite (if dubious) expression…

"You idiot," Talbain growled at the blonde Hood, almost with affection, "Don't you realize where you are? This is limbo…where you can create anything if you concentrate on it hard enough! Just imagine you've got guns and they'll appear in your hands, complete with ammo!"

All at once the blonde stopped rocking back and forth on the floor and looked positively stunned, "Really?"

Talbain gasped as yet another Rakshasa attempted to get past him to the blonde that he was protecting, but though it took real effort to struggle against the mass of the insidious thing, Talbain still managed to gasp out, "Sure…all you need is lots of imagination! Just believe in it and it'll happen!"

Hood stared at her empty hands in dull wonder, then all at once swirling plasma seemed to congeal about them, taking the form of a pair of solid shapes that she grasped like a drowning woman clutching at a life preserver, then with a gasp she found herself clutching at a pair of Ingram automatic machine pistols that took on an even more solid continence the longer that she stared at them…and then she smiled in sudden realization.

"NEATO!" she cried, uncoiling from her sitting position just as one of the Rakshasa managed to break through past Talbain's position. The demon had one instant in which to contemplate the naked prey that stood tantalizingly before it, only to see the twisted smile the blonde turned in its direction, followed shortly thereafter by a pair of gun muzzles that partially obscured its vision, then fire erupted before its eyes and the world went red in an explosion of pain that was followed by oblivion as the magically created shells ripped apart its ethereal body.

"EAT THIS, YOU MOTHERLESS SCUM SUCKERS!" Hood cried as she started spraying a seemingly endless stream of nine-millimeter shells at the nearest of the Rakshasa, taking out the one that had just managed to slash Talbain with its forward claws, almost disemboweling the werewolf before it found its own body being torn and mangled by the hail of deadly fire that filled the air as Hood transformed her fear and hate into righteous retribution.

"YIKES!" Talbain himself dove for cover, his regenerative abilities already repairing the rift to his stomach while BB Hood reigned down death on yet another dozen Rakshasa.

Of course her aim was hardly all that precise, and with bullets whizzing everywhere it was all but inevitable that a stray shot came close to nailing someone other than a Rakshasa. Nabiki found herself ducking under the spray that took out the demon she had been looming over her. Similarly Dimitri and Morgan felt the hiss of hot shells whizzing dangerously close to their own persons, at which point the renegade vampire lord snarled, "What idiot gave her a hunting license?"

"Yer asking me?" Morgan replied, "I'm surprised she can tell friend from foe most days, let alone in this free-for-all…"

All at once a Rakshasa managed to slip last the guard of the exiled queen of Makai and all at once Morgan disappeared beneath its folds, the creature grabbing hold and immobilizing her before she could act to use her powers against it.

"Morgan?" Dimitri's expression registered genuine alarm as he did not feel his companion's energy manifesting to drain the life force of the creature. Sensing that this Rakshasa knew how to paralyze its captive, he moved to attack while it was vulnerable and thus could spare no more time nor energy for contemplating the wild-west shooting of his other erstwhile Darkstalker compatriot.

Frank felt a nick along his cheek and moved the back of his hand to examine the slight trickle of black blood that he felt there, then turned a non-plussed look towards Hood and said, "Who's side is she on anyhow? Those things can even hurt us!"

"I know," Talbain revealed as he surfaced at the side of the towering man-monster, "Deadlier than silver, but don't disturb her right now, she's have fun working off some issues. I just knew she needed a kick in that pretty butt of hers to get her back in the action."

It was Keiko's turn to duck low as she sensed the hiss of fire just seconds before the bullets went whizzing past her, then she winced, "Sheesh…how much ammo does she have in those stocks?"

"Probably as much as she needs," D observed, "Right up until she remembers that guns do need reloading. Nothing worse than breaking the illusion that is holding those pseudo-guns together."

Ranma felt something hissing in his direction and started to turn around when a bright burst of explosive fire turned the air in front of him briefly into a flaming shield, at which point he heard Latisha's voice in his ear say, **Careful, Master…bullets are deadly enough to you humans, and these are magically created.**

"Oh…thanks-NABIKI!" Ranma cried out, seeing yet another of the Rakshasa demons looming up in his wife's blind-side.

"Huh?" Nabiki gasped, dodging instinctively at the last instant as the taloned hand of the Rakshasa sliced the air down her backside, and had she been wearing any clothing at the moment she might have had it shredded to pieces as those claws came within a razors breath of leaving stripes down her buttox.

However…something else became a casualty, and for a moment Nabiki felt a slight brush of air before something did, indeed, bounced against her fanny and hit the ground next to her, causing the middle Tendo sister to turn and stare in dismay at the object that she had just lost in the excitement.

She barely even noticed as Ranma shot hot flames into the face of the Rakshasa that had come so near to connecting, but all at once Nabiki gave off a piercing shriek that briefly distracted Kasumi in her confrontation with Mor'gul, giving the Rakshasa lord the opening that he was after…

Someone else was distracted in what she was doing, but Keiko was in a better position to see what had happened and gasped aloud, "Oh Kami…!"

"Nabiki?" Ranma was at her side at once, "What is it? Are you all right? What…?"

And then he saw the severed thing that lay in her hands…the little braid that she normally wore at the nape of her neck, formed of hairs that grew down her back, the "warrior's braid" that he had always wondered about, yet which had been severed dangerously close to collar. Just an inch or two closer and…Ranma swallowed, refusing to think about that possibility befalling his Nabiki.

But then something else occurred, and all at once Nabiki's hair started…growing! Before his very eyes Ranma saw the forelocks and bangs of Nabiki's notorious "pageboy" style helmet-cut began to grow long and lengthy, stretching out around her shoulders to the floor and covering her face beneath an auburn brown canopy that threatened to obscure Nabiki entirely from view. Her hair kept on growing right up until the moment when Keiko rushed to their side and snatched the severed braid from Nabiki's fingers.

"What are you doing just standing around gaping like that?" Keiko declared as she undid the braid with great haste, extracting something from the severed mass that she quickly whipped out as she leaped behind Nabiki and started to gather her hairs up along her nape and with a few quick motions bound them up into a makeshift braid, at which point Nabiki's hair finally ceased growing.

"What…what happened?" Ranma asked as she found his wife with some effort from beneath her "Cousin It" hairstyle.

"Something I only found out about a little while ago," Keiko revealed, "The reason why Nabchan wears this braid down her back all of the time. Ever noticed before that her hair never grows and she's never needed to cut it? Well, now you know the reason."

"I…don't get it," Ranma admitted as he risked a glance over his shoulder to see that no Rakshasa attempted to take advantage of their moment of distraction.

"Back in China, over a year ago, just before you guys met," Keiko revealed, "Nabby drank something by mistake that was made from the boiled whisker of a dragon…a kind of hair-restorative soup this apothecary guy was whipping up to cure his wife's baldness problem. Turns out it makes your hair grow really, really long, but it only works while she's in female form…I think. Well…turns out the only thing that can keep her hair from growing is the whisker of another dragon, so…"

All at once three Rakshasa descended upon them, but Ranma extended a hand and jets of water shot out to blow them away, giving him the moment he needed to say, "So…whenever she takes the whisker out…her hair starts growing again?"

"That's right," Keiko nodded, "Right up until it all falls out when the follicle cells exhaust themselves, which means without the whisker in the braid…" she stopped herself from completing the sentence.

Ranma's eyes went wide with horror and he silently comprehended the reason why the redheaded kickboxer refused to spell aloud the possible outcome. The thought of his wife losing all her hair was a horrible prospect, but the thought of what she might do if this were brought to her attention was infinitely more hideous, and even a young man as prone to putting his foot in his mouth as he was knew better than to tread into that dangerous direction…

Kasumi found herself struggling against the man-shape of the Rakshasa lord, who was using his greater mass and extraordinary power to force her steadily backwards using leverage to overcome her enhanced strength as he drove her to her knees with the clear intent of obtaining her submission.

Making matters worse, once Kasumi was halfway prostrate, the demon lord's small sexual organ began to expand in size and length, stretching out to form a serpentine mass, very much like a python yet with a bulbous head far more menacing than any hissing serpent. Kasumi's eyes went wide with astonishment as she saw the thing approach her own loins, and a part of her mind reacted with dismay at the inappropriate implications.

"You see, woman?" Mor'ghul crowed, "I told you it would grow when called upon to perform its all-important function. Consider yourself blessed that you are about to be graced with my seed and will soon bear my most potent of offspring."

Despite the strain that she was clearly under, Kasumi still managed to gasp, "Is…this how…you impregnated…Donovan…and Dimitri-san's…own mothers…?"

"No," Mor'ghul replied, seemingly under no great strain now that victory was near to his grasp, "With them I used a different approach…a seduction, followed by an attack in the night, and I overwhelmed their resistance and made them bear my young before they knew of my true nature. But with you I have not the time to waste…you know too much already…so I will simply have you for my get and you will become my mistress and rule at my side as I dominate both you and your dimension!"

"I'm…very sorry," Kasumi replied, "But…I cannot allow…this to happen."

"Eh?" Mor'ghul gasped as-all at once-resistance from Kasumi's end melted away altogether. Rather she leaned backwards and drew him forward with her foot rising up to connect with the space between his legs, then while he was reacting to this sudden reversal of fortune her hand shot up to grasp him by the shaft of his "python" and her slender hand applied pressure that was far greater than possessed by a common housewife, the result of which was that Mor'ghul froze up with his handsome male fact taking on a nearly comical expression…

"I need a knife here," Keiko said.

"Huh?" Ranma said in shock, "But…It's not that serious!"

"I don't mean that, Lover-boy," Keiko snorted, "I mean something sharp to rid of most of this hair so Nabchan can see where she's going…"

"Uh…yeah, right," Ranma said, "Nabiki…you all right? Can you hear me under all…of that?"

"She's still in shock," Keiko glanced sideways and glared at the Rakshasa bearing down on them, and with a sudden motion of her hand she sent a force-bolt hurtling its way, catching the thing in its hideous face and exploding its body from the inside out all over.

"Whoah," Ranma said, "Didn't know you could do that…"

"It's easy in this realm," Keiko explained, "You just have to feel the energy flow…hey! That gives me an idea!" She took a deep breath, raised both of her hands, then moved them in a rapid blur, and all at once Nabiki's hair was shorn to its normal length, with only the braid in the back extending as usual down her nape.

"Whoah," Ranma said again.

"Thought it might work," Keiko grinned, "I just had to think of my fingers as blade and concentrate on the shape of the hair that I wanted to cut and…voila! Instant hairdo!"

Nabiki blinked her eyes then showed her first physical reaction in nearly a minute, glancing down at the piles of hair that were scattered all about her as if only just beginning to contemplate the significance of what they represented…

As this was taking place Frank was finding himself in a serious situation, being overwhelmed by enemy Rakshasa while his blows started to lose much of their force and impact, his general movements slowing down and registering a sharp decrease in energy. The tide of battle was clearly forcing him down to his knees as the demons sought to press their advantage, sensing monster blood and seeking his destruction.

Talbain saw this even while immersed in his own struggles and called out, "Frank! What's wrong…you running out of juice or something?"

"Just about," Frank grunted, his craggy face contorted with the effort it was taking him to hold the demons at bay, "Maybe got enough in me for another minute…but after that…"

Kasumi perked up her ears and turned to glance his way, and while she maintained her grip upon Mor'ghul's own sensitive anatomy and dared not release him for any reason, she could not resist the urge to help out the valiant man-monster, and so she cried, "Doctor Steinberg!"

"Huh?" in spite of the strain he was under, Frank managed to hear the gentle voiced Kasumi calling out to him and spared a glance her way as if wondering what she needed that would make her sound so desperate.

Kasumi was still new to the full range of her abilities, but she instinctively perceived that she had some limited control over the elements of nature, and that a particular form of energy was needed to restore the man-monster to full strength, and so with her free hand she raised her fingers to the sky and concentrated upon the clash of positive and negative ions that she sensed there, and by a simple twist of their arrangement caused a bolt of lightning to flash down and strike Frank with astonishing pin-point accuracy, causing him to cry out in pain and surprise as if the gesture had caught him totally off-balance.

"Oh my goodness!" Kasumi exclaimed as she saw Frank fall to his knees in the midst of the fused glass and rising ozone fumes caused by her unfortunate misuse of her powers, "Doctor Steinberg…are you all right? I didn't know it would be so…"

"Ohhh-YEAH!" Frank exclaimed as he pushed himself back to his feet and stared at his fists, which were now glowing with power, "Way to go, Beautiful! That's just what the doctor ordered…now, who here wants some?" he growled as he turned his wrath upon the astonished Rakshasa, who sensed that the tide of battle had definitely turned against them.

"Oh my," Kasumi said as she saw Frank tear into his opponents with renewed fury, "I guess maybe that was the right thing to do after all. Well then, Mor'ghul-san…um…Mor'ghul-san? Is something the matter?"

The transformed Rakshasa lord lay sprawled at her feet, his mane of hair standing out like an Afro and his body looking bruised and singed around the edges. His tongue lolled out of his purpled face and his eyes were strangely unfocused, but somehow he managed to croak out, "Lady…whatever you want…you can have it…just…don't do that again…!"

"Oh my," Kasumi said, glancing down at the hand that was gripping the demon by his privates, and abruptly she colored, realizing the implications of her own actions…

Just then Dimitri passed by Ranma, Nabiki and Keiko, clutching a naked Morgan in his arms while pausing long enough to glare at the trio and snap in annoyance, "What are you doing, fools? Do you want to be killed, making yourselves easy targets like that?"

"Back off, Maximoff!" Ranma snarled, "Nabiki's having a bad moment, that's all. She just needs another minute to pull herself back together."

"A minute you do not have to indulge!" Dimitri snarled, "The Rakshasa are regrouping and will strike again at any second, and you mope around because of some silly emotional…"

"Mister sensitivity," Keiko glared, "How would you feel about almost losing all of your hair, buster? Of course, in your case, that might actually count as an improvement.'

Dimitri snarled, "You mean that is what has distracted you away from the battle? Which would you fear more, girl…being ravaged by Rakshasa or winding up bald for the rest of your…"

At the mention of the dreaded "B" word Ranma's face went ash-white, and Keiko took on a look of horrified panic. Nabiki, by stark contrast, woke up from her state of total daze with eyes as wide as saucers, and then with an ear-splitting cry she shot up to her feet and balled her fists as her battle aura flared to life and the delayed effect of her own emotional turmoil hit home like a force-five twister, sending those nearest to her scattering in all directions.

"Huh?" Frank said from beneath the pile of demons that he was wrestling against.

"Oh man…you feel that?" Talbain winced, "My fur's standing on end!"

"Uh oh," Happosai turned one look towards Nabiki then cried out, "INCOMING!"

"Huh?" BB Hood blinked, then instinctively she dropped down to her knees and ducked as she felt the heat of Tendo ki pass over her bare skin like a backdraft.

"Eh?" D turned about and was struck sidelong by a forcewave that nearly sent him sprawling.

"What manner of attack is this?" Tatewaki cried as he tried to brace himself against the winds that buffeted against him and the others.

"Oneechan…she's in trouble!" Natsume declared.

"Well, duh!" Kurumi said as she and Mousse ducked under a conveniently placed boulder.

"Nabiki?" Kasumi turned a concerned glance towards her sister, who stood at the center of a maelstrom of intensifying ki forces. She turned a worried look towards Mor'ghul and said, "I'm sorry, I can't spare you any more time, Sir. My sister is in trouble and needs my help."

"Sure…no problem," the Rakshasa lord said in a voice noticeably higher pitched than normal, even as his eyes never left the hand of Kasumi, who had been holding him in check while lecturing him about the proper way to behave around women…

Just then Anita and her oddly mismatched entourage at long last arrived, only to halt in their tracks as the wave of force washed over them, broken only by the mental shields of the young Psionic.

"Whut in the hell…?" Raptor gasped.

"Bloody hell," Darkwulf murmured in numb horror.

"Yup, looks like hell to me," Lilith agreed, "Only who's the crazy chick who's causing it?"

"Someone who is very, very upset about something," Anita replied with a very rare hint of emotion in her tone and expression, only one that had been rarely heard before…fear mixed with sympathy and pity, and all at once she cried, "Duck!" and promptly heeded her own recommendation.

The others were just a bit slow to respond to this, but the two who did not duck low to avoid the secondary force wave stared unblinkingly ahead as Atros and Gunther were incapable of processing the fact that they were being confronted with potential danger…

Ranma had been quick to call upon his new power over earth to create a protective ridge behind which he and several of the others were able to take shelter, among them Dimitri and a semi-conscious Morgan. As the secondary wave shook the air Dimitri heard Ranma growl in his direction, "Nice going…you just had to say that stuff about her almost going bald…"

"You did not tell me that this would be a feminine pride issue," Dimitri shot back, "As a courtesy between gentleman you might at least have warned me that she was this sensitive on the subject."

"Hey, I only kidded Nabiki about that braid of hers once," Ranma shuddered, "Just once…and that wasn't pretty…"

"Men," Keiko sniffed as she examined the semi-coherent Morgan, "How's your girlfriend? I don't see a mark on her, but those Rakshasa guys can be pretty rough…"

"I would not know myself," Dimitri replied, "But the Rakshasa who accosted her seemed to have some means of counteracting her powers. She is not drained of energies, as I would have expected, but rather seems to have received more of a jolt from its attempts to ravish her than might have been anticipated."

Keiko glanced his way then back at Morgan and said, "In other words she's suffering from indigestion, huh? Well, they say too much of a good thing can be bad for you…not that I've ever known what too much sex can be like…"

"Careful," Ranma said, "You know what she did to you the last time…"

"I'm onto her now, Ranchan," Keiko replied, "I'll definitely be careful, but I think the lady's had enough for now. Besides, I'm more worried about Nabiki."

"Indeed you should," Dimitri noted, "She is harnessing forces that ordinary human beings were never intended to master, and doing so with remarkably little effort. Indeed, it is the Rakshasa themselves to whom I almost feel pity…"

The area around Nabiki was a swirling vortex of intensive energies into which no Rakshasa dared to tread, and the few that had been slow to evacuate the immediate zone were vaporized like hot soap bubbles in the blazing ciracco of elemental life essence. Nabiki hardly seemed aware of what she was doing as she intuitively drew upon the nature of the limbo-like realm to shape it into a deadly force that obeyed her will like an angry genie uncorked from its bottle. Her eyes were blazing with the heat of her inner flame as she sought a target upon which to unleash her wrath, all but daring those Rakshasa standing apart from her to come within the sphere of her influence. That none were taking served only as a source of deep frustration and a need to unleash her fire in their direction, but even as she prepared to explode with the energies that she had gathered into herself, someone dared to enter her free-fire zone, someone heedless of the possibility of mortal danger, and who could speak with a tone and authority that could cut right through the red haze that clouded Nabiki's vision.

"That is enough, Imoutochan," Kasumi said calmly and clearly, using a tone of voice that she normally reserved for when breaking up a fight between Ranma and Akane.

Very slowly Nabiki turned around, eyes blazing with the need to find release, but the moment her gaze fell in line with Kasumi's it was as if foam had been tossed over a flame, and like that her wrath was extinguished under the calm regard of her beloved older sister. Once Nabiki let go of her anger the power that she had gathered into herself flowed away like a melted iceberg, flooding out into the surrounding terrain as the winds died down to a dull roar, then faded out altogether.

"Let it go, Nabiki," Kasumi urged with gentle regard, "You've won your point, now there is no more reason to fight. The Rakshasa have agreed to withdraw, so we can close the gate and go home without the need for any more bloodshed."

"Excuse me?" Nabiki asked, "You mean…it's over…just like that?"

"Just like that," Kasumi replied, "I've convinced Mor'ghul-san to withdraw his forces, so there need be no more killing and no more violence. We have won the day, thanks largely to your efforts and that of the others."

"Over?" Dimitri said as he straightened up, poking out from concealment, "Are you serious, Woman? How can it be over? My father and his minions would never accept anything less than total…"

"I said that it was over," Kasumi said calmly, "Lord Mor'ghul has withdrawn, and his servants will follow him back to their own dimension. I…convinced him that it was all for the best and he agreed with my assessment."

"He agreed with you?" said an astonished Morgan as she recovered from her own belated state of incoherence, "How…how did you convince him?"

"I was just about to ask the same thing," Frank said as he limped into view, partially supported by Talbain, who hardly seemed to be in all that much better a condition.

"I…" Kasumi glanced at one of her hands then seemed to mimic holding something invisible before elaborating, "…took a firm grip over matters and applied persuasive pressure. I'm not very sure where the idea came to me all of a sudden…it just seemed like the sort of thing that mother would approve of…"

"Oh," Nabiki remarked, giving her older sister a respectful (if wary) expression.

"You mean she…?" Ranma swallowed thickly, "Oboy."

"Way to go, Kasumi," Keiko murmured with a nod of tacit approval.

A voice that came from the general vicinity of the Vampire Hunter known as "D" spoke out, "Now that's what I call giving him a hand job."

"Or putting the squeeze on him," Happosai suggested.

D winced slightly and said, "I just knew you were going to say that…"

"It would appear that you chose the path of least resistance for obtaining a just end to the matter, Tendo-san," Donovan noted, "My respects to you. Very few women have ever looked my father in the eye and sent him packing, and in such a manner as he is unlikely to forget the humiliation."

"Whoah," Raptor said as he and Darkwulf reflexively crossed their legs and appeared appropriately nervous.

Morgan turned to Dimitri and said, "And that's the lass you were thinking of having for yourself?"

"A fair point," Dimitri replied, his expression suspiciously neutral.

"So what's the big deal?" BB Hood asked as she held her guns in a less-threatening (but nonetheless cocky) manner, "A guy drops his guard around a pretty girl, sooner or later he's gonna run into one who knows a thing or two about ball grabbing."

"Thanks Red," Talbain sniffed, "I'll try and remember that one around you."

"Hey, what's with the long muzzle, Wolfie?" BB Hood asked with a grin, "Like the lady said, we won this one, so what's to complain about?"

"How about the fact that we're both in need of a new wardrobe?" Lilith asked as she glanced down at herself, then pointedly gave Hood a rather poignant expression.

"What, you think I'm ashamed of the way I look?" Hood flashed herself with arms spread widely, "Besides, I think I'm filling out nicely. Won't be too much longer until I can walk into a bar without being carded."

"That ought to be enough to give your legal guardians some fits and nightmares," Frank tacitly noted.

"What, you think I'm going back to that dump?" Hood sniffed, "Besides, if you're so worried about giving the boys here a free peep show, just try thinking yourself into some clothing. Like Wolfie said, this is Limbo, and your imagination here can make stuff as real as you want it to be."

"Yeah, but that only lasts for as long as you're here," Darkwulf pointed out, "The minute we go back to the real world-WOOOFFF!!!" he grimaced as he suddenly doubled over.

"Ixnay on that business, Bucko," Raptor urged before giving a rictus smile at the ladies and saying, "Don't mind him, mates, he just needs his rabies shots 's all…"

"Now that ye mention it," Morgan straightened out, "I could use a change of wardrobe meself, something a big more dignified for a-QUEEN!" she suddenly shrieked and gave a start as something was suddenly plastered against her chest and rubbing its face between her breasts before she could stop him.

"OOO---SWEET!" Happosai declared, "You don't have to hide these babies on our account, Sweetums! I think you look just great, and old Dimwit here agrees with me, don't you big baddie?"

"How dare you lay hands upon her you…you unnatural freak!" Dimitri snarled, snatching the old man away from Morgan's bosom as the succubus covered herself up with both hands and glared acidly in the ancient pervert's direction.

"Look who's talking!" Happosai snorted as he broke free from the vampire lord's grip and grabbed him by the wrist, giving Dimitri a sharp twist that sent the vampire sprawling on his considerable backside.

"Did you see what he just did to the boss?" Darkwulf shuddered.

"Crickey," Raptor winced, "The boss's gonna tear 'im a new one, no doubt about it…"

"Lord Dimitri?" Morgan asked as she bent down over her fallen ally.

"Bury me here while I still have some dignity left," Dimitri murmured, then winced as dirt was suddenly thrown into his face, "What-? How dare you!"

"Hey, I was just taking you up on your offer," Talbain said innocently from where he was hunkered down digging up dirt and kicking it towards Dimitri.

"Can I help?" Frank asked, no longer favoring one leg as his regenerative powers helped restore his wounded member.

"Oh, for pity's sakes!" Morgan straightened up again then raised her arms and a shadow seemed to congeal around her, forming itself into a low-cut, tight fitting costume with lots of cleavage, "There…now the rest of you ladies, if you don't mind?"

"Who made you the den mother all of a sudden?" Keiko eyed the green haired succubus with mildly appreciative suspicion.

"Is it really that easy to create clothes while you're here in Limbo?" Kurumi asked of BB Hood, the person standing closest to her.

"I guess," Hood shrugged, "'Course in Morgan's case we never could figure out what keeps her costume on in the first place…"

"Hood?" a voice cracked slightly, as if from disuse, "Lilith? Morgan…what…what's going on here?"

"Huh?" Lilith whirled around and stared in disbelief at the amphibious Atros, who blinked her own nictitating eyes and stared back at her in mild confusion, "Atros? Are you all right? What…you're awake? I mean…you've got your mind back?"

"Uh…I guess," Atros glanced down at herself and said, "I feel tired…and my body feels like lead. I need to find some water…I think I'm starting to dehydrate…"

All at once a massive yawn drew eyes towards the towering cyborg that was Gunther, and then the big man stretched his limbs and flexed his arms and the artificial bits of armor and technology fell away while he groaned like a man coming out of a long nap, took one look around and said, "Ja…did I miss something? Vas ist…?"

"Gunther?" Frank took a step forward, "Are you all right, Neph'?"

"Uncle Frank?" Gunther replied while flexing his massive shoulders, "Gutten Tag…is long time no see, ja? Ah…I had the strangest dream just now… what did I miss?"

"Gunther?" Talbain repeated in frank disbelief, "But…how…?"

"Somehow his cybernetics and inorganic bits must have been canceled out by that massive wave of Chi energy that was released just now," D suggested, "His body was stimulated to regenerate itself, and that meant that anything anomalous to his normal state was rejected by his system…"

"Well…yeah," Frank said dubiously, "Of course that's only a tentative theory…"

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Gunther-san," Kasumi bowed to the former cyborg, "I am Tendo Kasumi, and on behalf of my family it is very good to see you in good health."

"Ah…" the tall blonde giant said as he regarded the slender girl with a curious expression, then all at once he bowed back to her and seemed to flush a slight green tinge along his cheeks and said, "Victor Von Gernheim of Bavaria, herr frauline…but everyone else these days just calls me Gunther."

"So…what now?" Kurumi nervously asked as she glanced from the blond giant to take in her numerous companions.

"Now we go home," Donovan answered, "And bring closure to this matter."

"So…that is it?" Natsume asked, "The battle is over, time to go home, and no hard feelings towards these fellows who caused us so much grief?"

"What point is there in continuing a battle that can have no ultimate resolution?" Kasumi asked, "The Rakshasa have left and we are all quite tired from our ordeal…"

"For now, dear lady," Donovan informed them, "But my father…is not one to take defeat lightly, so I will seal the gate to insure that he complies with the truce that you have forced upon him."

"For all the good that it will do us," Dimitri snorted.

"Huh?" Ranma asked, "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"That if you had permitted me to carry through with my plans it would have ended the threat posed by my father altogether," the renegade vampire lord started to say when Keiko interrupted him in mid-tirade.

"Yeah, yeah, we know," the naked Kickboxer snorted, "If not for us meddling kids you'd have gotten away with it and gained ultimate power, yadda yadda."

"What a ridiculous thing to say," Dimitri sniffed, "I would never be caught dead…or alive…saying something as cliché as that. What I was saying is that you have chosen to make an enemy of my father, and instead of ending the threat that he poses to the earth you have wounded his pride and insulted his masculinity, so of course he will be compelled to try again on some future occasion."

"I fear that you may be right on this matter, Dimitri-san," Kasumi replied, "But the future has a way of dealing with itself, and for now all that matters is that we have come through this alive and well, and that means that there is always hope for a better tomorrow."

"No offense, Oneechan," Kurumi uneasily observed, "But are you sure we can trust these guys not to stab us in the back as soon as we turn our backs on them?"

"A fair point that," Natsume agreed, "We know for a fact that Lord Dimitri and his allies are not to be trusted."

"Got that right," Frank grumbled, "Kid has a point, your track record ain't exactly sterling , Dimitri, and that goes for even less with Raptor and Wulf."

"You may presume what you like about us, Peasant," Dimitri growled, "But if you wish to settle accounts here and now, then I will be more than willing to accommodate…"

"No," Kasumi said softly, her gentle voice carrying an edge that drew attention back her way.

"Oneechan?" Nabiki blinked, surprised once again at the assertiveness of Kasumi's tone and manner.

"I said that there should be no more fighting for now, and I expect that to be observed," Kasumi insisted, "If you must fight then let it be for a cause, not to settle old grievances that can have no true resolution."

"How presumptuous," Dimitri said, "I made you, yet do you now presume to instruct me in how I should conduct my affairs, woman?"

Kasumi turned her normally gentle eyes his way and all at once Dimitri felt the grip of their power overwhelm his lordly resolve. A brief contest of wills ended abruptly with the renegade Vampire Lord turning away to escape the compulsion that had so nearly come upon him, overmastering his will as he found Kasumi's resolve to be like silken chords, soft yet stronger than iron.

Morgan started to speak up, only to find that gaze shift her way, which caused her vocal chords to inexplicably lock up and her protests to die unvoiced as though she had been beaten into submission by merely staring into the depths of the brown-eyed Tendo woman. Next Kasumi's gaze drifted towards Raptor and Darkwulf, causing them to take a mental backstep as if to recoil from the force of her will that warned them off from causing further mischief. Then Kasumi turned a similar look towards Talbain, who gulped and flinched as though someone had struck him on the nose with a rolled up newspaper, and then she stared at D and Gunther, who each seemed to rethink beginning anything that might meet with the eldest Tendo sister's stern disapproval.

Lastly Kasumi turned to Frank and met his level stare as he seemed to be observing her with more than simple curiosity. Exposed to the true force of her personality he found himself at a loss to form words that could protest her statement. Instead he gave ground to her, silently acknowledging his compliance with her wish that there be no further acts of violence. He tried to affect a stern expression to register his disagreement with said policy, for he knew these others well enough to expect more trouble in the offing…yet under Kasumi's level stare he found that he could not maintain his resolve, giving him a too-brief taste of what it must be like to come under the wary scrutiny of a concerned mother.

Kurumi and Natsume remained unconvinced, but as Kasumi sensed their disquiet she at once smothered their unvoiced protests by giving them a look they both well knew, the look of an older sister whose disapproval could be felt in ways that had nothing at all to do with threats of physical mayhem. Nabiki and Ranma were even less easily persuaded of the rightness of this course, but one glance from their "eldest sister" and even the Tendo heir rethought the wisdom of going against Kasumi's judgement.

"Now then," Kasumi said serenely, turning to Donovan, who had been watching her the entire time with the eye of one who read the affirmation of his earlier judgement, "If we are ready to leave this place, then I suggest we do so."

"Of course," Donovan acknowledged, "You have the power yourself at your disposal, and if you trust your instinct they will show you what needs doing."

"About time," Anita spoke up, her own silent resolve marred by just the barest hints of impatience.

"I was just thinking, my dear," Happosai spoke up, giving Kasumi a shrewd regard as he continued, "Your mother would be awfully proud of you and what you've done this evening."

"Thank you, Grandfather," Kasumi smiled at the little man, "Somehow I know that you are right, and that my mothers…both of them…would be pleased with how this event has ended."

"Both of them?" Nabiki and Natsume asked in chorus with raised eyebrows as they regarded their sister with more than a trace element of disquiet.

"Curiouser and curiouser," Keiko murmured to herself, smiling as she silently took note of how the older Tendo sister was radiating a presence that was highly magnetic and unselfconsciously sensualistic.

"I confess that I, too, am growing anxious to be about our way," Dimitri admitted, "This place has a stifling air and lacks the vibrancy of the world we know, and the people who dwell within it."

"Some of whom we could use for a light snack to replenish our spent resources," Morgan murmured in a voice barely soft enough to be heard up by anyone but the sharp-eared among them.

"Um…Boss," Raptor said rather nervously, "Ah…me an' Wulf here…we're…kinda sorry we got here late and…"

"We will discuss it later," Dimitri said sternly, "But I am making a mental note to myself to maim the both of you for it later."

"Urk," the Zombie King and Darkwulf swallowed in chorus.

"Of course," Nabiki noted with a dark look towards Dimitri, "If we had let you steal his power, then we'd have to deal with you instead of him."

"I will not quibble with the particulars on the matter," Dimitri shrugged, "But mark me well, this is far from an end to the affair, and one day-perhaps soon-we will again be forced to contend with the dark shadow of the Rakshasa."

"That is as it may be, Dimitri-san," Kasumi replied, "But I prefer to believe that my family and friends will be more than equal to the challenge…and as I said before, it is a matter for the future.

"Besides which," Ranma said, "If he ever does try to pull anything, he'd better be ready to deal with…this!"

As he declared that he once more called forth the power of his four elemental Dragons, and like a shot they flew from his arms to fill the air and whirl about like four-colored miniature comets, only to return to him again after having painted the air with the colorful hues of their essential nature.

"You see that?" Lilith remarked in an astonished tone as she stared all around her.

"He controls the elements of earth, air, fire…and water?" Atros asked as she stared at Ranma and said, "Who is he?"

"He's already married," Anita announced, then rolled her eyes as she heard a double sigh and said in a mild huff, "Teenagers…"

"Cool your jets, Bo-hunk," BB Hood smirked, "We didn't need your little fireworks display to get the point, and we'll be happy to go along quiet…right up until we're back home in our own dimension."

"You really mean that, Red?" Talbain asked with an upraised bushy eyebrow.

"Sure do, Wolfie," BB Hood winked in his direction, "Like the lady said…no point in sticking around here to make an issue over the lack of any more fighting."

"Besides," Keiko pointed out, "There might still be Rakshasa on our side of the fence, so what are we waiting around here for while they're marauding in our dimension?"

"A very good point that," Nabiki said, "Oneechan?"

"Let's go home, Imoutochan," Kasumi replied, "We can sort the rest of it later…after everyone has time enough to catch their breaths and take stock of the important changes that we have all experienced together…some of us more than others."

"Huh?" Nabiki said as she followed her sister's gaze and saw Ranma suddenly surrounded by four very attractive looking female figures, only two of which seemed somehow familiar, yet each of which seemed VERY intimate with her husband, and on a level that caused Nabiki's short hairs to bristle.

"He's mine I tell you!"

"Says who? I knew him first!"

"Well, I called dibs back down there in the catacombs…"

"You flighty windbag, can't you see that a young man with his potential needs a real woman at his side, someone who can teach him the essence of what it means to be a true Master of the Elements?"

"You just want him because he has a great butt!" the dark-green haired, dusky skinned one of these four stunning figures snarled, "I appreciate him for his mind…he's really quite intelligent, once you look past his naïve inexperience to see the charm that lurks behind his macho self-image."

"He's a young man of vast potential who needs spiritual guidance from a proper expert!" the fiery redhead of the bunch insisted, "Potential that would be wasted over you flighty airheads…!"

"Airheads?" the blonde in their group reacted, "I like that! Coming from a hothead like you, Latisha…!"

"Please, Karina," the blue haired Sharil urged, "Let's have a little more respect for our ELDER…after all, she is so much OLDER than we are…!"

"Older?" Latisha snapped, "I'll show you who's older you flotsam-headed bimbo…!"

"Says the fire witch who's older than some mountains," the dark haired Nagisha snorted.

"Ahem," Keiko spoke up loudly enough to get even the attention of even the most irritated of the elementals, "You guys think maybe you can settle this later? And besides, you've got an audience to listen in on this rather fascinating discussion."

"Huh?" Ranma blinked, turning to find Nabiki staring at him (or-more precisely-at his new companions) and promptly said, "Everyone back in-NOW!"

At once the female figures dissolved into their constituent elemental forms and flowed back into the upraised arms of the young man named Ranma, and then into the ensuing silence was heard his heartfelt sigh or relief, only to react with a double-take as he caught Nabiki's angry glare in his direction.

"What?" he asked a bit too hastily, hinting at a secret guilt over the withering regard his young wife paid in his direction.

"Busted," Keiko mused as she pretended not to find the whole thing deeply fascinating, making a show of examining her fingernails while Ranma sweated under the accusatory look that Nabiki kept pouring on like there was no tomorrow.

"You are full of surprises yourself this night, Little Brother," Kasumi noted in a mildly amused manner.

"Now that's one curse I wouldn't bear for all the world," Frank subtly murmured to Talbain.

"He's gonna have a time of it digging his way out of this one," the werewolf sagely noted.

"And to think that I believed that I had troubles," Dimitri observed in a faintly aristocratic manner.

"An' what's that supposed to mean?" Morgan asked as she glared at her vampiric companion, thereby revealing that even the undead were capable of sweating bullets.

"I find this most strangely vexing," Tatewaki murmured to Natsume, "On the one hand I feel the urge to lend assistance to Saotome…on the other…"

"That he has made his own bed and must now lie upon it?" Natsume murmured back, then nodded, "I fully agree with you in this, beloved."

"Let's go home, my sisters…my friends," Kasumi urged, and then with a wave of her hand and great ease she summoned up a dimensional portal to whisk them away back to the world that they called home…and towards a last fateful confrontation…

Continued

Comments/Criticisms/Time And A Half Charges For Story Length: Shadowmane@msn.com