Project A-Ko Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Honeymoon Hentai ❯ Chewing and Swallowing... ( Chapter 7 )

Nabiki 1/2

Honeymoon Hentai

(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.

One thing about waking up in the morning after having some of the best sex in your life is that you tend to have this **peculiar** taste in your mouth and no clear idea how it got that way, or so Nabiki realized as consciousness slowly returned to her, along with a budding sense that she seriously needed to relieve her overly swollen bladder.

The second thing that occurred to her was that she was laying atop a silk-spread dog-pile with her loved ones scattered all about and Ranma snoring like the dead would get no rest this morning. On the whole he looked **very** satisfied, and maybe a bit too smug about himself for some peculiar reason. Nabiki had a halfway wicked impulse to smack him on his exposed fanny, just as a token payback for the way he had ridden her ass-not once but TWICE in the same furious evening!

(What is it with him and my ass?) she idly wondered, (Do I have a bullseye painted down there or something?)

Even so she was in a good enough mood that she only faintly minded that there was some kind of a **hangover** effect that made moving seem like a really poor option. She groaned faintly at the sense of having drunk a little too much of something **wicked,** though she could not for the life of her remember anything alcoholic being consumed the previous evening.

Hey, now that she thought about it, what had she been eating and drinking to sustain herself since yesterday morning? From the time when Ranma had taken her to bed the previous morning to the present, the only thing she could recall passing through her lips was…

Oh yeah…well, at least that did have some protein in it, right? Not to mention a lot of vitamins and minerals that could sustain a body in the short run…

"Good morning," a pleasantly vibrant voice asked, "Can I service you? You look like you're in need of being serviced."

"Hah?" Nabiki half-opened one eyelid, then opened the other eye all the way as she gazed up at the face of one of the blue-skinned Undine, who was kneeling over her with her translucent body shimmering slightly from the oddly faint luminescent lighting that seemed to suffuse each room of the POJ either morning or evening.

"I am an attendant assigned by her ladyship to see to your every need," the Undine spoke, her voice a curious quavering sound that suggested the liquid medium that was her body, "I asked because you appear to be in need of some relieving."

"Relieving?" Nabiki blinked, "Um…my wife…wives are right here…and my husband…"

"Oh, not that kind of relief," the Undine reassured her, "Your bladder…I can sense that it is full of impurities, and we in the Harem must attend to such things by the command of the Mistress."

"Oh," Nabiki said mildly, half pushing herself off of the pile of pillows upon which she had been resting, "Um…well…if you'll show me the way to the privy…"

"Oh, there is no need for you to get up," the Undine assured her, "This isn't the first time that I've relieved your bladder during the night, but the other times you were unconscious. I am asking permission because I wish to be polite…"

"Hah?" Nabiki said more alertly, "You what?"

"My sisters and I have been assuring that you and your loved ones slept well after the amount of energy that you were expending with one another," the Undine explained, "It's quite a simple process, and it won't bother you for more than a few minutes. I'm very good at this sort of thing, and you won't have any complaints, I assure you."

"Huh?" Nabiki said, "Now wait a minute-!"

"Here, allow me to demonstrate," the Undine replied, and then her body flowed onto Nabiki, briefly overwhelming her and surrounding her body completely in the liquid medium of the Undine's body. For a moment Nabiki kicked and flailed reflexively, but there was nothing against which to offer resistance, and a few moments later she found her body relaxing all over…and-indeed-the water felt warm and entirely…**pleasant**…

And then a curious thing happened…she felt her hips relax and her internal muscles gave way to a soft penetration that entered her rectum, even as she felt her **other** muscles relax in the fore as the elemental did its business. Nabiki opened her mouth as if to offer a protest but found something else flushed its way down her throat and briefly held her immobile all over…and then it felt as though her body was…**purged** as if impurities were being flushed out of her system…and moments later the elemental withdrew from her altogether.

"There now," it said as the feminine shape restored itself to normal (albeit now her coloration was somewhat more…opaque), "That wasn't so bad, was it? I'm sorry if I gave you a moment of panic there…now, excuses me while I dispose of this waste matter. We use the raw elements to fertilize the plant life in the hydroponics garden."

With that the elemental flowed through the cracks in the floor, leaving not even a trace of foul smell in her passage.

"Weird, huh?" Nabiki heard Ukyo say from the other end of the dogpile, "Freaks me out a bit whenever they do that…glad to see you're with us again, Nab-chan. This place just isn't the same without you."

"How long have you been awake?" Nabiki asked as she checked herself over, just to insure that she was indeed still female.

"Not too long," Perfume said in a fuzzy voice, pushing herself up off of a still sleeping Shampoo, whose tummy had been serving as her pillow, "Just long enough to get that tinny flavor out of my mouth. What happened to us, by the way…it felt like we spent the whole day screwing…"

"We did," Ukyo said, pushing hair out of her face as she groaned, "Man, I haven't felt so wasted since that time I drank my Aunt Yuki's home-brewed Sake…and that taste in my mouth…"

"It should fade in another minute," Nabiki said, glancing around, "Anyone know what time it is?"

"Sure," Perfume replied, "It's seven-thirty-two, why do you ask?"

Nabiki blinked, "How do you know that?"

"Internal Cicada," Perfume shrugged, "I always know what time it is. It's you outlanders who need time pieces to tell what hour it is. Great-grandmother always said that watches were a confidence trick invented by the Swiss…"

"Forget I asked-SAY WHAT???" Nabiki blurted out.

"No so loud, Airen," Shampoo groaned sleepily, feeling her head as though it were balloon sized, "What you shouting about? Shampoo just want sleep in a little longer…"

"Sorry Honey," Nabiki apologized, "You mean we were in here a whole DAY? But…I thought we were a few hours from reaching port…"

"That's what I thought too…" Ukyo paused as her attention drifted off to the side, and then she sprang to her feet with an astonished cry of , "MY BABY!"

"Aiyaa!" Shampoo came to full alertness with a speed that was astounding, and like Ukyo went to check the crib in which both of their daughters had been resting the night before, only to sigh with relief when they found their children cooing and burbling softly, as though they had not even been aware that their mothers were missing.

"Oh…my little girl," Ukyo declared as she held up the tiny newborn to her breast, and within moments said child was fastened securely to one of her already-swelling breasts, which had grown considerably heavier with the advancing of her former pregnant state.

"Little Lylac miss you mommy?" Shampoo cooed as she cradled her own suckling daughter, "What Shampoo drinking she forget all about you? Is no time for Amazon to get distracted when she have such big responsibility giving milk to Airen baby…"

"What happened to us last night?" Perfume asked as she joined Ukyo's side in admiring their baby, "It's like we just went mad with sex and forgot about everything…"

"I know what happened," Nabiki growled, "Lao happened! She did something to the air to make us act like sex-crazy nymphos! I'll bet she did it to get us out of the way while she was up to who knows what kind of mischief…"

"That does sound in character," Ukyo mused as she rocked from side to side with her arms cradling her hungry baby, "She has a way of playing these kinds of games…but it doesn't seem to have caused us any trouble. Look here…little Fragrance is as healthy as a horse, and pretty strong too…"

"What did you just call her?" Nabiki asked.

"Frei-Granz," Perfume replied, "I named her for a warrior ancestor of mine…but Ucchan seems to think it was because she smells as clean as a new flower…"

"Well, she does smell clean," Ukyo frowned, "Weird…she's not even wearing a diaper…"

"Those elementals no doubt," Perfume remarked, "Just as they cleaned us out, they must have been looking after our babies…"

"That's very civilized of them," Nabiki sniffed, "But it doesn't excuse the fact that we were drugged into having an orgy while…what's that?"

"Aiyaa," Shampoo averred, "It sound like…singing?"

"I guess you could call it that," Ukyo replied as Nabiki went to the curtained doorway and peered out into…the Harem…

"…We are a jolly, merry lot who ply the seven seas,

And when we get to port we like to break monotony,

By orgying and wenching hard and outright gluttony,

'Cause when we get hungover, that's when we will ship to sea…

"And we're-Banned from Argo, everyone!

Banned from Argo, just for having a little fun!

We spent a jolly fortnight there for just three days, or four,

But Argo doesn't want us anymore…!"

"Say what?" Nabiki blurted out, seeing the Concubines busy about the seraglio while joining in with communal singing, the naked women busy hanging or taking down the silken curtains that partitioned the room in different places, and generally appeared to be freshening up the place as though performing a group wash day with the precision of a military unit.

"Our Captain is a feisty lass, she whores the Seven Seas,

And never ever get her mad, or even downright peeved,

'Cause we like her happy, randy and anything but mean,

'Cause then she is a Tiger of the Seas!

"And we're-BANNED from Argo, everyone!

Banned from Argo, just for having a little fun!

We spent a jolly fortnight there for just three days, or four,

But Argo doesn't want us anymore..!"

"Man, that Lao is sure something," Ukyo commented, "Not only does she torture and enslave these girls, but now she's got them Filk singing."

"Filk singing?" Nabiki asked.

"It's like Folk singing, only you don't have to be as coherent," Ukyo explained, "If you ever attend a science fiction convention, you'll know what I'm about."

"Aiyaa," Shampoo murmured softly, "They is surely happy about something."

"Yeah," Nabiki frowned, "But what I wonder what that could be?"

"The Shanghai Pirates thought that they were as tough as they were gay,

And they'd gladly shoot you in the head if got into their way,

They'd laugh at pain and sneer at death and scoff at come what may,

But when they saw us coming they all turned and ran away…

"'Cause we're-BANNED from Argo everyone!

Banned from Argo, just for having a little fun!

We spent a jolly fortnight there for just three days, or four,

But Argo doesn't want us anymore…"

"Excuse me!" Nabiki called out, snagging the nearest of the concubines who happed to be within arms reach.

"Yes?" the dark haired beauty purred as she sized Nabiki up with undisguised lust in her expression.

"Er…you could tell us why everyone seems so happy all of a sudden?" Nabiki asked, then hastily amended, "I mean…more than usual that is?"

"Oh yes," the concubine cooed, "You're the new girls…the Mistress left us explicit instructions that you were not to be disturbed while you were consummating your marriage."

"I'll bet," Nabiki winced, uncomfortable about the way that this girl was sizing her up as though she were on the dinner menu, "Just answer the question, all right?"

"Well, if you must know, we've just got back from enjoying a little shore leave," the concubine responded.

"Shore leave?" Ukyo responded in place of Nabiki.

"Yes," the concubine replied, "The Mistress, in her infinite generosity, allowed us to have two hours of free time on shore in groups of six. That was just enough time to visit some of the stores along the dockside…"

"Stores?" Nabiki said, "You mean you went SHOPPING???"

"Oh yes," the concubine smiled, "Taipei has some excellent shopping marts. I was able to find some nice CDs for my collection, and there was the cutest little doll that I bought for my daughter, along with a coloring book and…"

"You have money?" Ukyo asked.

"Well, of course," the concubine replied, "The Mistress gives us money and allows us to buy anything that we want, just as long as it's in the budget. By the way, my name is Suite Ann Lo, just in case it's important…"

"Sweet and Low?" Nabiki wondered if she had heard that right.

"I don't blame you for looking at me like that," the lovely concubine replied, "My cousin, Hung Lo, has the same exact problem…"

"Excuse me, but," Perfume spoke up, "Your Mistress…our aunt, let you girls go on shore and shop in the local stores around Taipei?"

"Taipei?" Nabiki blanched.

"You had guards watching you all the time, right?" Ukyo interjected.

"Well, yes," the concubine named Suite Ann Lo replied, "But they're mostly there for our protection, to see that no one tries anything with us. After all, we're property rightfully owned by the Mistress…"

The girl sounded actually quite proud of that fact, prompting Nabiki to ask, "You went ashore to buy stuff…provisions and the like? What about clothing?"

Suite Ann Lo gave her a blank look, "Clothing? What would I want to waste money on that for? I'd only need to wear something whenever I go to shore…might as well buy a bathing suite while you're at it…"

"But what about escape?" Perfume asked.

"Huh?" the girl seemed genuinely puzzled by the question, "Escape? From what?"

"From Lao of course," Ukyo replied, "You mean you never even thought about using the opportunity to get away from her?"

"The very idea!" the girl sounded shocked by the suggestion, "Where would I go, what would I do if I left the employ of the Mistress? I'm her property…I don't have anywhere else that I would rather be than right here on this ship. It's my home, after all, and I'd hardly leave my daughter behind…"

"But what about the other girls?" Nabiki asked, "Are you saying that no one has ever even tried to escape until now?"

"Well…it doesn't happen very often…once in a blue moon, but those girls were never really the types who fit in here very well," the concubine replied, "I feel sorry for them, really…adrift in a strange place without anyone around to help them…no family, friends, not even an owner…"

"Sounds like somebody here is still operating under a false assumption," one of the other concubines turned and smiled in their direction, "You think we stay here because we have no choice, that we were forced into it and are brainwashed so we don't even know that we have that option. Let me assure you that we're all here because we want to be a part of Mistress Lao's harem…we're family here, a tribe, as close as any blood sisters."

"But don't you ever miss the lives you led before you came to live in this ship of enslavement?" Perfume asked, "Don't you have families that worry about you…?"

"Families?" the concubine approaching them sniffed, "Sure, many of us have families, and we talk with them all the time and write to them often. You can have mine, though…my parents sold me into prostitution to work off the debt a local warlord laid on their farm. I used to slave in a mining camp where I was little more than common dirt, and all because my parents valued me less than my brother. I'm surprised they didn't drown me at birth…and thanks the Gods they were too poor to have me aborted, all because of that one-child policy on the mainland! Fathers want sons to pray for them when they get into heaven…well, I pray in thanks ever day that the Mistress discovered me and rescued me from that awful hell pit. Serving her is much more fulfilling than any traditional marriage that my folks might have arranged if they had kept me…"

"Ignore Wa-Ten over there," Suite Anne Lo shrugged, "She's got a bit of chip on her shoulder about men. Of course we all love her for herself and think she's worth more than all the rice in China…"

"Flatterer," Wa-Ten replied, "Remind me to spank you for that later."

"Well, what's stopping you right now?" the other concubine challenged.

"Good point," Wa-Ten walked up and casually grabbed a hank full of the other girl's hair in one hand, "Come over here and take it like the little rabbit that you are, Bitch…"

To the surprise of Nabiki and the others, Suite Ann Lo went along meekly as she was guided over towards a padded bench that looked partially as though it had been made from a saw horse.

"Uh-excuse me!" Nabiki belatedly spoke up, bringing a halt to the ensuing "punishment" session, "We need to go ashore ourselves. It's been…interesting spending time with you, but…"

"Oh, didn't you know?" Wa-Ten asked, "We left port over an hour ago. You must have been asleep when they made the announcement."

"Say-WHAT???" Nabiki reacted, then grit her teeth and shouted, LAO!!!"

"If you wish to speak with the Mistress, ask one of the guards," Wa-Ten, pulling Suite Ann Lo closer to her face with a slight gasp from the other concubine, "You didn't tell them that, did you? Shame on you…you must be punished."

"Yes…punish me," Suite Ann Lo replied, "I've been bad, I deserve it…"

"You have indeed," Wa-Ten smiled and half-dragged the unresisting girl to her impending "punishment."

"We left the shore?" Ukyo said in a hollow tone of voice, "You mean…we're stuck here…AGAIN???"

"Aiyaa," Shampoo averred softly, "What we do, Airen?"

"YOU don't do anything," Nabiki shot back, "Stay here and look after your babies, and Perfume?"

"Yes?" the brown haired Amazon replied.

Nabiki turned to glance back at the snoring Ranma, "Wake him up, would you? I want Ranma alert and ready."

"Wake him up?" Perfume asked, "How?"

"I don't know…use your imagination!" Nabiki snapped, and promptly stormed out into the midst of the harem.

"Use my imagination?" Perfume glanced back at Ranma, who seemed no more awake than he had in the beginning.

"Guess you'll have to come up with something that can wake that lug from his nap," Ukyo mused, "We did kind of work him pretty hard last night…"

"Aiyaa," Shampoo agreed, "Much, much stamina in husband than Airen…him more than need rest after making us all happy."

"All of us?" Perfume slowly smiled, taking on a predatory, kittenish expression, "Well…not quite…and I know how I can get a rise out of Saotome…"

"If you're looking for permission," Ukyo grinned, "I say go for it…just as long as Shampoo and I get to watch, Sugar."

"Well, Nabiki is the senior Airen," Perfume grinned as she bent down and uncovered Ranma's groin area, "And…to tell the truth…I have been wanting to try this after watching the rest of you in action…"

Shampoo and Ukyo smiled and re-entered the chamber as they watched the brown haired Enforcer begin to play with the limp manhood of their mutual husband. Within a minute she had restored life to his male member, and then she brought her mouth into play and began to lick it like a Popsicle, causing Ranma to stir slightly and groan softly in his sleep…

Martha's mind was awash with sensations and images as it seemed as if every square centimeter of her skin was being caressed and massaged both inside and out. Her highly attuned nervous system was enflamed with stimulation that reached into her loins and all the way down her throat into her belly, probing her rectum and affecting her entire body as every fiber, bone and sinew vibrated to the pulsing rhythm of those strokes. Her consciousness reeled from the overwhelming bombardment of tactile information coming at her from all directions, and in that sea of swarming physical contact she could find no escape, no release, nothing to grip hold of to give her leverage with which to regain her bearings.

For a Kryptonian-even one born of terrestrial blood-there could be no greater form of torture, having her freedom stripped away while overmastering her mind and body awareness in a sea of altogether pleasurable sensory data. From the day of her birth Martha had always been aware of things that were beyond the capacity of a normal human being…of sounds that ranged to the ultrasonic, of sights that her eyes could perceive to which normal human eyes were blinded. Even as an infant she had been aware that the world was one vast plaything for the boundless reaches of her imagination, and growing up had been an experience of ever-improving control of her expanded awareness. Growing up it had seemed as though the world had no walls, as if barriers did not exist, as if the flimsy partitions that separated one room from another were as translucent as glass and as permeable as a silk screen. It had taken years to learn how to adjust her eyes so that she did not see right through people and could actually make out surface textures and shading. For her it was natural to see into non-visible wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, and yet the real talent proved to be her ability to focus her awareness on a place that was very distant, to see things in a line-of-sight way that went beyond barricades and petty obstructions, and to hear people talking from miles away with as much clarity as if they were in the next room. For her it had been a surprise to learn that people even wore clothing since to her it had appeared as if everyone around her was walking about naked.

Learning to control and focus her awareness to the here-and-now had been a struggle for her, whereas for most people with whom she came in contact it was entirely second nature. By learning to follow their example she had mastered the fine art of "toning down" her super-senses, and by gradual steps practice with the goal of being able to "fit in" with "normal" society, to walk among mere mortals as though she were not extraordinarily gifted. Hiding her powers from her normal schoolmates had been a trick that she turned into a game, yet every-so-often she would let slip that control and expose her real nature. Fear and prejudice often followed such a revelation until such time as Martha could manage to convince them that she was not a freak nor a mutant…and learning to hypnotize her friends in order to make them forget had been a large step to overcoming this prejudgment. Over time she got so good at "fitting in" that she could even convince herself that Martha Kent was a perfectly ordinary human woman, while Power Girl (and later Woman) was the one who was exceptional, the one whom people could look up to or fear, the one who stood out and was treated differently by others.

It might seem that such a dual identity could lead to a mental schism, and in time that actually proved to be the case, until the help of friends convinced Martha that she did not have to live a double life of constant denial and avoidance, that in effect she was the same person in both forms, and simply disguising her identity through the use of a blonde wig could not fool the person deep down who meant the most in her life…her own self-image. That was when she had resolved to withdraw from the superhero game and to reconcile the two halves of her identity by living her life as Martha Kent, a Power Woman and executive who-for all her superior abilities-fundamentally was still quite human.

Yet a lifetime of ratcheting down her ultimate powers of perception did not deny the fact that she had these heightened perceptions and could feel the Universe around her in ways that no "mere" human being could possibly comprehend. Even Helena had no idea how sensitive Martha was to the lightest caress of a hand, the blush of a cheek, the subtle play of highlights and colors when reflected off an unguarded profile. It overwhelmed Martha sometimes to realize how much more of the world that she could comprehend than others knew, excluding only her father, who had gone through the same experience during his own childhood. By learning to ignore this bombardment of feeling, Martha had insured that she could function in a society that was rich with background noises…noises and smells, sights so bedazzling, tastes so refined that she could identify individual chemicals by their flavors alone, even those that where thought to lack any flavor. If people only knew how overpowering it was to smell cologne from across a crowded room and be able to pick out the offending player, and yet she had learned to control her impulses, and to such a degree that she could discern one individual scent from the scent of another person…would they still dab themselves in flavored musk and think nothing of it even as it spoiled the natural wonder of their own perspiring bodies?

Thinking back to it now, Martha remembered when she first became aware that there was a difference between men and women. Puberty was the worst of it, the time when she had experienced a rush of raging hormones that had made her lust after boys with the ardor of a lost puppy, making her seem weak and pathetic in her own eyes because of a terminal case of shyness that had plagued her "Martha" identity, even as she had to fight to control her lust during those monthly periods when her loins were aching for some good-old-fashioned **attention.** That fact that she knew full well how much she could hurt a boy if she lost control that way at a critical moment kept her in line far more severely than any parental sternness from either her mother or her father…and yet on days when she developed these **cramps** she could do nothing but seek the relief of a "Mega-Industrial Strength" vibrator, let alone vent her wild developments on something unlikely to retaliate or sue her…

Martha wondered if she were having some manner of a crisis, or missing those "good" old days when it was easy for her to tell the heroes from the bad guys. She had quite forgotten the actual nature of her plight, that she was floating inside the belly of a colossal beast whose nature was unfathomable, almost purely elemental, like one of the Angels from an Evangelion movie. She was swimming in a sea of tentacles that were writhing and fondling her naked body while a shaft inserted down her throat was feeding her enough oxygen to sustain her vital functions, the other shafts removing excess body fluids and waste matter in order to maintain a healthy balance. Those squirming, squishy tendrils that played over her skin were making contact with surface areas normally inaccessible even to ordinary water, and as such there was no part of her body that was immune to the creature's undulating mass. Try as she might she could not resist the bombardment of so much stimulation, all of it pleasurable and giving her a strangely embryonic feeling, like the ultimate "return to the womb" complex, even while relentlessly probing her insides with her consciousness expanded to well beyond even her supernormal levels.

As such she experienced the past and the present with equal clarity as though that portion of her mind dealing with memory were itself being hyper-stimulated. She recalled incidents and events of her life that had been long buried in her subconscious, thoughts she had not even wanted to relive came back to her with as much vividness as her most fond experiences and joys long cherished. How easy it was to drift from one experience of her life to another, finding new discoveries in tiny things that she had overlooked the first time, and former a sharper understanding of events that she had unfortunately misconstrued as the picture became clearer and her comprehension grew in focus.

As such she could remember the difficulties of growing up feeling abandoned when her mother had died unexpectedly when Martha had just turned sixteen, a time that should have been one of joy and gladness for her but instead proved to be the saddest day of her existence. It effectively meant the end of her childhood, the day when she truly became aware of just how precious life was, and how short it could be for ordinary mortals. She also remembered the rage that had filled her being when her father had chosen to remarry…and to marry a woman much, much older than himself, a PAGAN no less, the daughter of Greek Gods better relegated to ancient mythology. She had felt such disdain towards Diana for daring to presume to take her mother's place, all because she had known her father for over forty years and had come to love him in secret, a betrayal that Martha still bitterly resented.

Odd then that she felt so close to the daughter of her father's second wife, but then again, little "Ally-chan" did remind Martha a lot of herself when she was that age, so full of energy and yet naïve in ways that were quite appalling…

And now Alison was all grown up and having a baby…and when had such a thing happened? Martha could still remember giving her little sister piggy-back rides while flying, of having Alison spending time with her Joannie, who was only a couple of years older, if that, a good playmate for her only daughter, and wasn't it too bad that the family was separated because Dad preferred to raise his new family in a foreign country?

Well…all right, so maybe the whole world was **technically** a foreign country to their father, so maybe one country was just the same as another to her father, but she still could not help but feel that he was being disloyal to the nation that had helped to raise him, something else for which she blamed THAT WOMAN to whom he was currently married…

And then Martha's mind flashed back once again to happier times when she and her family were a unit, when both of her older brothers were her two closest friends and nothing seemed impossible, no bridge too far beyond their horizon, when she was happy and care free and had not a shadow in her world…

Mistress?

Eh? What was that…?

"Mistress," the voice spoke again, "Saotome Nabiki is here to speak with you once again, as per your instructions."

"Eh?" Lao replied, drawing her attention back from her link to the Kraken, turning about in time to see a naked Nabiki storming up to her with blood in her eyes and a remarkable shortage of patience, "Oh, I see…"

"LAO!" Nabiki all but snarled her name, "You tricked us! You were supposed to put us to shore with the others and instead you've pulled out to sea and left us stranded!"

"Why, whatever do you mean, Nabiki-san?" Lao asked innocently, "I don't recall saying anything about letting you have shore leave like the others…"

"Not shore-leave, damn you!" Nabiki snapped in her face, waving her fist for emphasis, "You were supposed to let us go! Don't tell me you broke your word again and…"

"I've never broken my word to you," Lao replied, "I never gave you my word that I would set you ashore once we arrived. I did say that you would be free to go, but since you seemed otherwise occupied…"

"Because you TRICKED US!" Nabiki roared, "I'll bet you never had any intention of letting any of us go in the first place!"

"Not so," Lao said calmly, "I kept my word about the passengers of the liner…they are all on shore now, every one of them, including the ones whom I was considering keeping for myself. You can check for yourself to see, you won't find a single one of them on board this vessel."

"W-What?" that halted Nabiki in mid-tirade, "You…let them go?"

"I thought that would please you," Lao replied, "I could have made a tidy profit had I chosen to keep those fifty-three other girls, but instead I opted to let you and your family remain behind in their place."

"You WHAT?" Nabiki snapped.

"After all," Lao continued, "I value your companionship a lot more than I would fifty-three total strangers, who no doubt are already on their way back to Japan via the Taiwanese airport courtesy of the Cruise Liner's owners.."

"That's…why?" Nabiki asked.

"Why didn't I disturb you so that you and your family could join the others in leaving?" Lao asked, pretending not to understand the question, "Simply put, you were having a good time, so I had my people place a 'Do Not Disturb Under Severe Penalty' sign over your door so that you could finish your business and sleep it off in private. Only my Undine servants were allowed to look in on you and see to your every need, also to insure that your husband did not accidentally set fire to my ship in his sleep…"

"Ranma wouldn't do…"

"He may not," Lao replied, "But the Fire Elemental with whom he is allied might have other ideas while he is unconscious. My people were prepared to act if there was need, but otherwise…"

"YOU SET US UP!" Nabiki flared back up again, "You knew that aphrodisiac perfume, or whatever it was, would make us so horny that we'd be totally mindless and screwing each other until long after sunset, then be too exhausted to do anything until morning…!"

"Is that the effect it had upon you?" Lao feigned surprise, "I guess you're not as used to it as the rest of my people. Next time I'll have them ratchet back a bit on the dosage…"

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!" Nabiki reacted before her mind had time to think and her fist went flying at Lao's chin before she could even think to stop it.

Much to her surprise, Lao did not avoid the punch, nor did she block it, and her hand connected dead on target with such force that the self-styled Pirate Queen was driven backwards by the force, skidding across the smooth planking of the deck for a good four meters before managing to halt her momentum.

Lao paused, felt along her chin and found a slight trickle of blood from a cut lip, then smiled wolfishly and said, "Good one, Nabiki-san. That free shot I owed you."

"EAT THIS!" Nabiki's other hand shot forward as she sent a chi-bolt hurtling in Lao's direction.

Much to her amazement, Lao simply stretched out a hand and caught the bolt against her palm, scattering it harmlessly in all directions.

"I told you I had more experience at this sort of thing," Lao straightened up, "And surely you didn't expect a little Chi attack like that to phase me. I've been deflecting far worse since I was only a little older than yourself, but I do thank you for giving me the pretext to do…this!"

With that Lao brought her hands together before her body and cupped them as if to grip an invisible object. At the same time this happened, two Undine spirits-bodies as warm as a good bath-appeared to flank Nabiki on both sides and grip her arms in their watery embrace, partially solidifying around her arms in order to hold her immobile.

"Hey-what???" Nabiki struggled to no good effect.

"Don't bother fighting them," Lao replied, "I've specially trained these two in order to handle you directly. I knew that-sooner or later-you were going to lose your temper and do something foolish that would force me to restrain you."

"Because you goaded me into it!" Nabiki tried kicking against the deck but found that she lacked sufficient leverage to get a good purchase.

"True enough," Lao replied, "But you didn't have to react, you know…if you'd maintained your self control, then I wouldn't have the excuse to do this," and with a gesture of her hand water flowed up from the deck and formed a pair of manacles around Nabiki's ankles, complete with linking chain between them, "Mind you, it's only temporary, but for now that should keep you in line until further notice."

"What-HEY!" Nabiki exclaimed as her wrists were forced together behind her back and she felt ropes being tied into place.

"The Shadowskills that great-grandmother taught you were created by female slaves in order to cope with positions such as you are presently under," Lao remarked, "But without your hands they are only half as effective, and with the length of your kick thus hobbled…well…I think that will do for now. No sense in having you gagged when we can have a nice, pleasant conversation."

"Conversation?" Nabiki spat, "What are you going to do with me, you…PERVERT?!"

"Why, nothing too special," Lao replied, "But the offer I made to you earlier still stands, so keep it in mind as your best option at the present. It certainly would behoove you to consider training with me as opposed to my just taking you on as a new bondslave and bending you to my will. My previous offer, after all, involves no mind control or hidden coercion…but if I choose to make your enslavement PERMANENT, well…let's just say that I won't feel so constrained in my methods of making you see reason."

"And why would you even want to consider giving me a chance?" Nabiki growled.

"Because it's more sporting this way," Lao shrugged, "And I'd really rather not curb those razor sharp wits of yours. I've come to enjoy these refreshing little debates we share on the propriety of what I do for a living and…besides…there is always the possibility that you are right. Maybe I am every bit the monster that you seem to think I am, in which case I should like to learn for myself if this is indeed the case."

"You're crazy!" Nabiki snapped.

"Granted," Lao replied, "What's your point?"

Nabiki stopped struggling against her bonds and said, "You want to use me as a test subject to salve your conscience by proving that you can break me and turn me into another one of your happy little sex toys? And you expect me to just go along with this?"

"What I expect you to do is to put up as much of a fight and resist me every step of the way with all the energy and resource that you can muster," Lao replied matter-of-factly, "If, by the end of the week, you have indeed held out and resisted my charms, then you will be free to go by the end of this voyage. If not…then I get to decide your fate, and I assure you, I am looking forward to keeping you on as my apprentice. You can even have the same berthing Kei-chan used when she my personal favorite, and you won't even be separated from the rest of your family, now…isn't that nice?"

"Nice," Nabiki said bitterly, "You really are crazy."

"You don't get to be the owner and undisputed master of a cursed ship without losing a little of your sanity," Lao said frankly, "If you doubt it, then come and take my place and you will learn the truth of it for yourself."

"I'd never be like you!" Nabiki snarled.

"Tendo-san," Lao shook her head from side-to-side with a sad expression, "I was EXACTLY like you when I first came aboard this vessel. I was a slave back then, remember? And hardly much older than you are now, and full of ideals that I never intended to compromise or set aside. Back then, the thought that I would become a notorious slaver would have revolted my Amazon sensibilities, but I got over that and gradually came to terms with my lot, exactly as you will."

"I'll never submit to you!" Nabiki declared defiantly.

"Funny," Lao folded her arms, "That's exactly what nearly everyone else presently on board said themselves when they started in my service, including the Undines. So far I'd say that my methods have proven to be VERY effective and persuasive…but never mind the debate. I have something else to show you."

"I couldn't possibly care what you have to show me!" Nabiki said flatly.

"Oh, I think you will very much want to see what I have to show you," Lao turned and led the way down the corridor, followed by the Undines, who all but dragged Nabiki after their mistress.

The room into which she was herded surprised Nabiki as it turned out to contain modern electronic devices of a sophistication that she had not suspected the POJ of possessing. There were monitor screens and all sort of equipment and panels that were on hand, with trained attendants manning various keyboard stations...and to Nabiki's astonishment, she recognized two of these women as being slaves from the harem!

"First off," Lao paused in front of a wide-screen monitor that was angled about eye level for easy viewing, "I want you to meet another new guest who will be staying with us for the duration."

The screen came to life and there appeared what looked like an underwater image of a naked brown haired woman floating face-upward in a tank, moving slowly and occasionally kicking a bare leg as though involuntarily, her back arched upward with her head thrown back and her mouth wide open, her thighs parted in a suspiciously intimate matter while her arms were held out to the sides, palms also facing upward. The way her body moved indicated that she was very much alive, and there were bubbles in the water to suggest that it was aerated, but still…

"Who is she?" Nabiki asked, momentarily distracted from her own unpleasant situation.

"I would say she is your counterpart from perhaps twenty years in the future," Lao replied, "An American businesswoman who was not a part of the Liner crew. I picked her up just yesterday, along with a dozen other new candidates for enslavement who were brought in from the shore by my procurial ladies."

"You what?" Nabiki said, "You shanghaied these people?"

"Well, you did insist that I let the other ones go," Lao pointed out, "And since I had to sell some of the cargo that I was carrying to pay for costs on this voyage, I had to recoup my losses somehow. But…never mind all that, shall we? The point is that this lady will be my special guest for the week and share with you the distinctive honor of being my personal pet project. As you can see, she is undergoing the reconditioning process that I was telling you about, care of the Kraken, who is pleasuring her even as we speak."

"The…Kraken?" Nabiki blanched, "That monster that does your bidding is in THAT?"

"Correction," Lao replied, "She is inside the Kraken."

"You mean he's EATING her?" Nabiki's voice squeaked under the strain of her question.

"Of course not," Lao replied, "He eats plankton. Surely you don't expect a scrawny little girl such as that is capable of sustaining the Kraken? Now…I am merely allowing him to…play with her…he derives great pleasure for taking nubile young things like you and chewing them up a bit to soften their resolve and make them more…agreeable to persuasion."

Nabiki grew pale as she considered the implications, then swallowed.

"Of course, that could be you if you decide not to cooperate," Lao mused, "The Kraken has been pleasuring her for close to fifteen hours…a record time. Normally it only takes a girl a few hours inside the belly of the beast before they give in to his charms…and then they become most cooperative houseguests. I could do much the same with my Undines, but I prefer the personal touch myself, and through the Kraken I can feel everything that the girl herself feels, experience her pleasures and her surrender, just as I know that I would enjoy feeling the moment that you give in and become the Kraken's love slave. Think about that the next time you say something unflattering about my normal, non-intrusive methods."

Nabiki did consider this, and the notion chilled her in spite of the warmth of the elemental bodies holding her tightly.

"Now then," Lao smiled cunningly, "As to the other business for which you are here…call up file STN0312, if you will please."

"Yes, my lady," one of the attendant concubines replied, and a moment later a new image appeared, though this one was clearly from increased magnification of what looked to be a microscopic object framed against a wall of cellular matter. Clearly defined, the object was a machine of some sort, yet attached both to the surface of the wall and poised above a huge cluster of round cells formed like clumped tennis balls within a cellophane envelope, each one possessing its own semi-opaque cellular structure, also attached to the wall surface.

Nabiki paused as she stared at the tiny object then said, "What is that?"

"That is a snapshot taken by an Undine at my instruction while you were stretched out and dead to the world late last evening," Lao replied, "You are familiar with fiber optic cameras? One was inserted up into much-used love canal and into your uterus…a simple process, really…the camera remains outside the body while the actual lens is the optic fiber…"

"Never mind all that," Nabiki would have pointed with her hand if she could, but at the moment her nose was all that she had available for such service, "What is that???"

"That," Lao replied, "is a fertilized embryo, and by the amount of cell division currently in evidence, I would say that-at the time that this was taken-that it was already more than a day old…that is if we go by the regular habits of cells dividing ever twenty minutes…but in your case I would say that it was closer to twelve hours, judging by the rate of speed with which this object must have traveled down the passage from your fallopian tubes to become attached to your uterus…"

"What?" Nabiki blinked, "W-What are you saying…?"

"I am saying that the object that is currently lodged to both the egg and your uteral lining has somehow guarded, protected and transported the egg at a faster rate than a fertilized ovum usually travels over such a distance," Lao replied, "The cells are clearly viable and even appear to be thriving in their new environment…a healthy sign of a successful implantation. I would theorize that this cluster has-by now-grown considerably larger since this snapshot was taken, and since the rate of progress is clearly enhanced by the normal growth stimulation effect of a Jusenkyo curse…"

"I-I mean…what are you getting at?" Nabiki stammered, "That can't mean that I'm…?"

"Pregnant?" Lao smiled, "Congratulations. Of course I suspect that a gene test-which can't be successfully taken until much later-will determine that your husband is the likely perpetrator…the Gods know he was at it often enough to have spawned a dozen such offspring, if nature worked on a grading point curve."

"But that's…that's impossible!" Nabiki blurted out.

"Normally I would say that you are correct," Lao replied, "But then again, circumstances for we Jusenkyo cursed individuals are hardly what anyone would call normal. By all the signs here indicated, you have a healthy baby growing within you that is the equivalent of a three-day-old zygote, but if the rate were to continue in said progress, then in around three or four months you will have another baby."

"But…I can't…my curse…" Nabiki blurted.

"Yes, that is the puzzling thing, is it not?" Lao stroked her chin in a thoughtful manner, "Ordinarily when you change genders your body automatically rejects any object determined to be foreign to the sex that you are at the present. In male form an embryo would be rejected out of hand, unless extraordinary means were to be employed in order to protect your child from the ravages of a sex-change. That is, after all, why we call these things a curse instead of a blessing…they tend to be annoyingly inconvenient."

"But…"

"Of course it may be that the curse can be induced to **ignore** an embryo in its early stages of development," Lao continued, indicating the picture, "And for that we need look no farther than the actual foreign object this camera had detected, an object not much bigger than the original egg itself would be, and yet possessing its own means of locomotion, and clearly of artificial character. An amazing design, light years ahead of anything currently possible with our science…Nanotechnology carried to a degree that is truly and utterly amazing…"

"Nanotech-Beiko!!!" Nabiki suddenly frowned in displeasure.

"Ah," Lao turned to regard her once again, "Your platinum-haired friend from the hospital, the one with whom I was recently in contact, who seemed to already know that you and the others had been taken on board my ship, the clever girl who pals about with a semi-diving redhead…"

"That's the one," Nabiki said through clenched teeth, "The most annoying, sultry, silver-tongued, back-stabbing double dealing little minx…!"

"Indeed?" Lao remarked, "Then she sounds like someone I very much would like to have the chance to talk to in some detail. Such a promising young child, no wonder the two of you have become such close friends that she would want to spy on you for your honeymoon and go to all these elaborate details…"

"Ex-friend," Nabiki growled, "This isn't the first time she's pulled something like this! Just two months ago she did the same thing to her girlfriend and knocked her up with a baby!!!"

"Now THAT I would dearly love to hear about in more detail," Lao mused, "Fortunately, I think that will shortly be arranged."

"What do you mean?" Nabiki asked sharply.

"Well, I don't know them as well as you obviously seem to," Lao replied, "But I do pride myself as a judge of human nature, and I remember that Alison Kent Managi seemed more than a little bit upset about my taking her sister into captivity, even though I tried to reassure her that she would be treated well and that it was only a temporary condition…"

"Sister?" Nabiki blinked, "You have Aiko's sister on board this ship?"

"The businesswoman whom I just got through demonstrating to you," Lao replied, albeit somewhat reluctantly, "She seemed…to be in a less than agreeable mood…so I took what actions as I deemed necessary to detain her, purely for the good of my ship and crew, of course, who might have been endangered had she gone on a rampage."

"That…was Alison's SISTER???" Nabiki's eyes got extremely round at that, "You're holding a Kryptonian captive on this ship?"

"Not by choice, I assure you," Lao replied, "Who would know better the risks of making a Metahuman angry at me for-how shall I put this-going about my usual livelihood. The Gods alone know how much damage she could inflict if she were to get loose and start causing mischief…such an unfortunate situation to have tossed into my lap, but one does what she must to improvise and hope that it all works out in the long haul…"

"You are insane!" Nabiki said, "When she gets out of that Kraken's belly she is going to rip your head off and sink your ship!"

"That is certainly one possible scenario," Lao conceded, "But you can believe that I will use every means at my disposal to avoid having that happen. Pray that I succeed, because if I do not, then you and all of your loved ones will likely suffer the consequences, right along with the rest of my crew and loved ones. In the meantime, let us return to the discussion of your unexpected condition…"

"I…I can't…" Nabiki's mind refused to shift gears the way she normally would have done with great ease, "A…a baby? Ranma's baby? But…how…it…"

"The situation, as I perceive it," Lao began, "Is that the embryo can survive within you for only a short period of time before it grows too large to be accommodated by your cursed form. The obvious solution would be to find a way to keep you female for the next few months…but that is not easy to do when it comes to these curses. They have a way of **demanding** that you acknowledge their existence, and locking you in only one of your two forms is...a difficult undertaking. For now I can help by imbuing you with a level of protection that should avoid the immediate problem on a temporary basis."

"Protection?" Nabiki asked, "What protection?"

In response to this query, Lao strode over to Nabiki and placed her hand over her forehead, and for a moment nothing seemed to happen…only then a wave of blue-white warmth passed through her body, and Nabiki felt herself staggering somewhat as the elementals abruptly released her. At the same time the manacles and chains dissolved from around her ankles. Lao stood back and surveyed her own handiwork then said, "Yes…that will do…perfect."

"Perfect…what?" Nabiki blinked her eyes as she struggled to remain upright.

"I have just cast an anti-water shield around your aura," Lao replied, "Strictly temporary, but for the next few days you should be safe from accidental splashes, provided you don't try and go swimming for a few days. Oh…and yes…bathing will be a problem. I'll have to see about adjusting the field to accommodate warm instead of cold water."

"You…cast a spell on me…?" Nabiki asked dubiously.

"See for yourself," Lao held up a hand and formed a globe of moisture into a ball of sloshing water, then tossed it at Nabiki, who instinctively flinched, only to see the water bounce off of an invisible shield that sprang up around her body, the water never quite touching her skin.

Nabiki took a moment to register this fact then said, "Amazing…"

"Yes, but it does have a few problems and limitations," Lao replied, "You may find it difficult just using a glass of water, and until I reverse the field the simple act of touching your skin may seem…odd for any of your loved ones. However, after twenty four hours, this field should settle in and become less of an obstruction…which means that you will need to be isolated for about twenty four hours to insure no accidental incidents occur for which there might be…complications."

"I don't think I even want to know what that means," Nabiki said dubiously.

"Oh, there is nothing to fear…as yet," Lao smiled, "In fact I have the perfect means by which to isolate you…and it is long since time that you began your training."

Nabiki instinctively backed away from the lady tigress, the urge to run like mad coming over her as she saw the Captains eyes shift from pink to gold, which was NEVER a good sign. The Undines were-for the moment-no longer a problem, and with a ship this big it easy to get yourself lost in its labyrinthine corridors…of course the fact that she could not expect to outrun Madam Lao, let alone evade her within her own lair, did seem to make a moot point out of the impulse, not that Nabiki didn't give it the old college try, even managing to get four steps before being landed as Madam Lao pounced, then hauled the helpless Tendo girl over one shoulder and grinned like the triumphant predator that she was.

"Come along, my dear," Lao cheerfully swaggered in true Pirate-like fashion, Nabiki helplessly kicking her legs in the air to no avail, "It's time to introduce you to the rest of your new fellow classmates…"

A stirring chant of "Yo Ho!" echoed in the chamber they were vacating as numerous Undines, concubines and crewmates all smiled in tacit approval, having their own vivid memories of being rough-handled like a bit of cargo by their indomitable Mistress…

"Morning love," Beatrice called out without turning to see Alison staggering out of the bedroom, "Did you manage to get any sleep yet?"

"Hardly a wink," Alison yawned, "I was up all night fretting…just closed my eyes a bit…how about you?"

"A few hours of nap time," Beatrice replied without pausing in her keyboard typing, "Mostly while downloading new files…the sort of thing that doesn't require immediate attention. Fortunately my Nanites can stimulate the right brain chemistry to help relieve the stresses of fatigue, at least on a temporary basis."

"Lucky you," Alison yawned again, "What about the rest of our houseguests?"

"In the next room," Beatrice replied, "Sleeping it off, the same as the others. Of course I have been hearing peculiar noises on the sly, but I've been much too busy to investigate directly."

"Oh yeah?" Alison frowned, went over to the door of the guestroom and knocked, "Hey, you guys decent in there? It's nearly eight-thirty…"

"We are awake," the muffled voice of Kodachi responded, "But I would hardly call us decent…"

"Oh yeah?" Alison found the doorhandle turned without effort, indicating that it was not locked from inside, so she decided to open it and take a look, only to double-take and say, "NANI???"

"Oh, hi," a naked Kodachi smiled at her from the bed, where she sat poised with her loins clearly straddling the face of a naked male form that could be none other than Ryoga…the lost boy's other end being dominated by a bound and gagged Akane, who was tied in place with her loins clearly imbedded upon Ryoga's masculine "tent pole." Akane herself was unable to do more than merely bounce up and down over that male organ, clearly in no hurry to be released from the yards of rope that were presently holding her otherwise naked form in a fixed position, her long dark hair tied cunningly to her ankles.

A casual glance to the sides showed that the other occupants of the room-Keiko and Ryonami, were on the floor in a sixty-nine position, tied together beyond the hope of immediate release, though all that could be heard from their ends was a lot of profuse groaning and licking. The scene was so overpowering that for a moment Alison found herself unexpectedly…horny!

"You don't mind, do you?" Kodachi asked, "Akane-chan here was fretting so much about her sister that I thought she could use a little something to take her mind off her troubles. Ryoga-dear boy-was willing to accommodate…and OH MY! Has he been accommodating!" Kodachi arched her back as her tone grew more arched in a similar manner.

"You guys have been screwing around like this all night?" Alison was not sure if she were appalled or merely outraged.

"Why, of course not," Kodachi turned to look at her again, "We've only been like this for the last two hours. Before that I had everybody in a VERY different set of positions…"

Alison closed the door rather than verbally speak, then stood there poised with an uncertain expression as she fought down the urge to grab Beatrice and toss her over her shoulder with the intent of hauling her to bed and ravishing her like crazy, just on general principles. For a moment she ALMOST managed to forget about the current plight of her sister…almost…

"Well, at least someone has been having fun while I've been busy," Beatrice commented dryly, as if unaware of how near she was to being statutorily raped, "Come over here, Aiko-chan…I've isolated the signal from my probes and have managed to affix a location to the ghost ship of Madam Lao."

"Yeah?" Alison stalked over like a pregnant hippo, a reminder that proved to be a temporary mood killer, "Where is it?"

"Just crossing the Tropic of Cancer and heading in a southerly direction…Longitude 123, out into open territorial waters," Beatrice mused, "Interesting…if they proceed in a curving pattern, then their next destination may likely be the Philippines, possibly even Manila. Curious in that this is very different from what we have been given to believe is Madam Lao's normal trade route…"

"Yeah, so?" Alison asked, "Didn't Nabiki say she's got clients all over this side of the Pacific?"

"True enough," Beatrice conceded, "Now…the real question is…what-if anything-should we do about this information? Granted we have a rough general idea of the direction that she may be taking your sister and the others…"

"What do you mean what do we do?" Alison asked, "We go over there and force her to let go of my sister!"

"In your condition?" Beatrice replied, then added, "I will go…I am the one responsible for Martha being out there in the first place. If not for my meddling, then we would not even know that there was a crisis…"

"Hey, if not for you we'd still be in the dark about where she is, along with the others," Alison replied, "And no way am I letting you face that loony pirate all by yourself! You're staying right here with me and that's final."

"Hmm…perhaps a compromise," Beatrice observed, not bothering to hide the affectionate smile that crossed her lips upon hearing her lover's unvoiced concern for her welfare, "We get someone else to go after them. Now…who do we know who might be able to face down a challenge of this magnitude? Your father and mother?"

"Are you kidding," Alison winced, "I still don't know how I'm going to tell them about this in the first place! Besides, they're probably off on another mission…the world governments tend to keep them busy that way, know what I mean?"

"Indeed," Beatrice nodded, "Then perhaps their friends in the Justice League…?"

"Depends on who's in the current roster," Alison replied, "It changes so much I doubt that anybody in their satellite even knows about me. They'd just think I was a crank call."

"The Avengers then?"

"Same story," Beatrice replied, "Only we hardly ever talk to that lot, and they're mostly based in New York since they closed down their west coast branch office."

"What about the Teen Titans?"

"Just Titans these days, hardly anybody there calls them teenagers, and are we really THAT desperate?"

"What about the X-Men?"

"Are you NUTS, Beiko? We want them to FIND the ship, not blow it up!"

"Well…this does seem to limit our list of options," Beatrice mused, "Conventional military and police enforcement can be dismissed out of hand right away…Madam Lao has been on the top of the 'Most Wanted' roster of Interpol for years, and as long as she operates within international waters…what about Aquaman?"

"Arthur?" Alison replied, "He's based in the Atlantic Ocean…same with Namor, and the Pacific is Lemurian territory, a whole different matter of jurisdiction. I don't even want to THINK about going to the Deviants and asking for their help. Same with the Eternals…"

"Then what of your sister's former husband?"

"Uncle Hal?" Alison grew quiet for a moment, "Nobody's seen or heard from him in a while…about ten years ago…well…he was having some…personal problems…it affected his marriage to Sis. They got divorced a short time later and…well…somebody else is the new Green Lantern. I dunno…maybe Jade might help…"

"Jade?"

"Uncle Hal's daughter by his first marriage to some lady named Carol Ferris, who's supposed to have returned from the dead, or something like that," Alison shrugged, "Weird stuff like that is always happening in this business."

"Well then," Beatrice mused, "Perhaps this Jade is your likeliest bet for helping your sister…"

"Might be," Alison said tightly, "But Jade and Mom don't always get along, even though they used to be on the same team together, Infinity Incorporated, or something like that. I'm sure she'd help for old times sakes but…well…it may take me a while to look up her number. I haven't seen cousin Jade in ages, not since she attended a party for my father…"

"We'll keep her in mind as one of our currently likeliest options," Beatrice nodded, "Any more candidates of whom you can think off the top of your head, Aiko-chan?"

"Just one," Alison said sullenly, "My niece…Rad."

"Rad?" Beatrice repeated.

"Joan Jordan," Alison elaborated, "Only these days she's taken to calling herself Joan Wayne, go figure. She hangs out with this all-female group in Florida…"

"Do you have her number?" Beatrice asked.

"I think I remember it," Alison nodded, "The thing to keep in mind is…she doesn't get along too well with her mother…with my big sis. She's Martha's only kid, and just a little bit older than me by a few months…"

"Then she sounds like an ideal candidate," Beatrice pondered, "Why do you hesitate?"

"Well," Beatrice squirmed, "Remember how I said that Oneechan was more…conservative than left of center? Well…Rad's the opposite extreme…she's a militant Feminazi-Gender Chauvinist who's into all sorts of really weird stuff…the black sheep of our family and all that, though personally I think she does a lot of it just to annoy the heck out of her mother…"

"She does sound as though she has…issues," Beatrice conceded.

"Yeah, to put it mildly…" Alison was about to elaborate when a knock on the door drew her attention, "Now who the heck could that be?"

"I don't know," Beatrice remarked, "Is there anyone who isn't presently tied up in our guest room?"

"Heh, good point," Alison replied as she waddled over to the door of their apartment and paused to glance through the peep-hole, then do a double-take as she hastily stepped back and opened the door in order to say, "Tendo-san…to what do we owe this honor?"

"Um…hello?" Kasumi asked hesitantly, "Aiko-chan…I've brought this box of homemade treats as a gift to you and your…partner…but I was wondering if you could tell me…is Akane still here? She called last night and said that she and Kodachi would be having a slumber party…"

"Ah…right…she's here," Alison stepped away from the door and indicated that the older girl should enter, which Kasumi did, in spite of a curious reluctance, "I'll get her for you…she's all tied up at the…I mean…busy…just sit down and I'll get her, okay?"

"Oh…all right," Kasumi replied, then sat down politely on the sofa.

"Hooboy," Alison said as she turned away, hiding the concern that she had dared not demonstrate before the oldest Tendo sister.

Beatrice turned away from her console-even as Alison vanished into the next room-and said, "How nice it is to see you again, Tendo-san…is your father doing well, and your Aunt Nodoka?"

"Well enough," Kasumi replied, then paused before adding, "Uncle Genma seemed to think that there was no immediate problem, but he did complain that Akane-chan missed her morning's practice session, along with Ryoga-kun…"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much along those lines," Beatrice said as she got to her feet and approached the overly polite Tendo girl, who tried not to notice that the silver haired genius was dressed in a light blue negligée that was virtually see-through, "Both Akane and Ryoga have been receiving a rather vigorous…workout of their own this morning…but how about yourself? You look well…but…forgive my asking…you do seem rather a bit pale this morning…"

"I do?" Kasumi asked in mild puzzlement, glancing down at her arm before saying, "Ah…well…Doctor Tofu believes that I need to get more iron in my diet…"

"I should think so," Beatrice remarked, "After all, it's only been a few weeks since your encounter with that vampire. You don't seem much worse for the wear…but…perhaps you do seem a little thinner than usual. I would definitely suggest that you consider adding liver to your diet…"

"Yes…perhaps you are right," Kasumi replied with a curious expression, "Liver…particularly served raw…can have all sorts of interesting…nutrients…"

"Oneechan?" asked Akane as she stepped out from the guest room, an Akane who looked as though she had hastily dressed and forgotten to comb out her hair, and whose wrists and ankles still bore the reddish marks of their recent binding, though Akane herself seemed remarkably chipper, "What are you doing here? Now that it's a bad thing to see you, but…"

"Oh my," Kasumi blinked, "Akane-chan…did I catch you at a bad time?"

"Er…how do you mean?" Akane blinked.

"It's just that you…smell as though you've recently had sex, my sister," Kasumi said matter-of-factly, "Were you and Ryoga…?"

"Um…" Akane fidgeted and squirmed, looking like a little girl who had been caught doing something very naughty by a parent, even adopting a pose with her hands cupped behind her back, one leg partially crossing in front of another and her head hunched down nearer to her shoulders.

"Akane-chan," Kasumi chided, "Don't you know that it's improper to do such things before you are married? Oh well…I suppose that I can't really blame you for not being able to wait…and neither could Ryoga, it seems…"

"Huh?" Akane blinked again, "How do you…?"

"I can smell his semen from here," Kasumi replied, "Haven't I warned you both before about using protection? Do you want to become pregnant before you graduate high school, like Ukyo and Shampoo?"

"Well…" Akane winced, "Not really…"

"Well," Kasumi shrugged, "He is your fiancé, so I guess there's no harm to it, and in a few more months you'll be married anyway…"

"Um…you won't tell Dad, will you?" Akane asked.

"Father doesn't really like to be too concerned about such things," Kasumi smiled, "And Aunt Nodoka would just say that Ryoga's behavior was very manly. Just be careful not to play too rough with him, and do feel free to come to me if you have any questions."

"Do…Natsume and Kurumi also know?" Akane wondered.

"They may suspect that you are seeing Ryoga on the side," Kasumi replied as she got back to her feet, "But they are your sisters and will respect your privacy. Besides…they have young men of their own with whom they choose to spend their time. Well, I just came over to see if you were well, but now that I better understand the situation, I guess I ought to be going…"

"Oh, must you?" Beatrice asked, "We were just about to make a late breakfast, and it would be wonderful to have an excellent chef, such as yourself, to help prepare our meal. Among the delicacies we plan on servicing will be…Blood Pudding."

"Blood…pudding?" Kasumi once again gained that peculiar expression, "Well…I suppose that I could help out, since you asked me to…"

"Blood Pudding?" Alison turned a questioning look towards Beatrice, who made a demurring hand motion.

"Great!" Akane said with a grin, "I'm starving! I was even thinking about helping out in the kitchen with one of Kodachi's recipes…"

"URK!" Alison got a round-eyed expression, and even Beatrice seemed alarmed at the prospect.

"I'd be delighted for your companionship, Imoutochan," Kasumi said graciously, "But…I don't think it would be too polite if you kept Ryoga waiting."

"Right," Alison said, and unceremoniously grabbed Akane by the arm, all but hauling her out of there and shoving her back into the guest room, "Tell Ryoga and the others to dress decently and we'll see you soon enough, right guys?"

Some muffled noises responded to that query right before Alison firmly closed the door and muttered, "And I thought Ceiko had problems with cooking…"

"Oh?" Kasumi blinked, "You mean there are others in that room with Ryoga and my sister…?"

"Right this way, Kasumi-chan," Beatrice smoothly directed, tactfully avoiding both the question and its implied subject matter, "I'm sure you'll find that we have a fully stocked and prepared kitchen with all the ingredients that you will need to prepare a sumptuous breakfast. Why, I've even prepared a special concoction that I want to try out with you, if it's all right by your standards."

"A…concoction?" Kasumi blinked again, then watched as Beatrice opened the refrigerator and removed a carafe bottle of some reddish-brown mixture, which she poured into a glass and handed to Kasumi.

"Please feel free to try this out," Beatrice offered, "It's a special blend that I whipped up the other morning using fresh fruits, vegetables and…other ingredients that you may find has a pleasurable taste."

"Well, I suppose…" Kasumi paused, her nose poised over the glass as she sipped, then without preamble she drank the contents down in one long gulp, finishing the glass in seconds before holding it out again with a polite, "More please?"

"But of course," Beatrice handed her the bottle, "Take as much as you like, I'll even give you the recipe."

"That would be wonderful," Kasumi said, ignoring the glass and drinking straight from the bottle.

Alison's eyes goggled as she saw one-and-a-half liters of "special beverage" get downed in one long swallow by Kasumi, who seemed to relish the mixture as though it were liquid honey. Swallowing thickly, she leaned closer to Beatrice and said, "Um…isn't that…?"

"Yes," Beatrice replied smoothly, as though suspicions were being confirmed about their house guest.

"That was wonderful," Kasumi said as she politely dabbed her chin with her fingers, then licked the remaining "juice" off her own digits, "What do you call that, by the way?"

"Tomato Juice Surprise," the silver-haired genius responded.

"Odd," Kasumi paused, "It didn't quite taste like tomato juice…but…oh well…"

And to that comment, Alison could only feel along her neck and swallow thickly, not at all liking the implications…

Continued

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