I was wrong.  There will be a part 22.

	Tachi tugged at the ropes that bound her hands behind her back, 
but they were tied tightly, and there was no way the kendoist could break 
them.  Her sonic knife was in the purse she'd appropriated from Kodachi, 
and the purse was hanging from Mousse's cage.  It might as well have been 
back in the future for all the good it was doing her now.
	Ryoga, dressed in one of Mousse's spare robes, stood by the front 
door.  He was growling a lot, and his eyes were glazed; Tachi couldn't tell 
if he had been drugged, or if he was just fatally depressed.  With Mr. 
Hibiki, you could never tell.
	Shampoo and Spring, at Cologne's direction, were putting the 
finishing touches on a circle of power.  The mystic diagram took up most 
of the dining room floor.  Tachi looked desperately for any flaw in the 
pattern, and object she could knock over to disrupt Cologne's plans.  She 
found nothing; the ancient Amazon was good at what she did.
	"Quaaak," Mousse wailed.
	"You said it," Tachi agreed.

* * * * *

	Ukyou was waiting for Ranma and the others a block away from the 
Nekohanten.  "What's all this about, Ranchan?"
	"We have to save reality," Nabiki explained.
	The okonomiyaki chef threw her a sour look for interrupting.  
"That helps a lot, Nabiki.  Could you be any more vague?"
	The mercenary Tendo girl took on a lecturing tone.  "Look, 
reality is not what it used to be.  Take your restaurant, for example.  
I'd be willing to bet that it doesn't look the same now as it did this 
morning."
	Ukyou frowned.  "You'd win that bet.  It looks like it was 
decorated by a cheapskate.  All the kitchenware is sub-standard.  And 
Konatsu is missing.  It's like he was never here at all."
	"He probably wasn't.  We're living in a different world, now, one 
where Ranma married Shampoo and moved to China."  Nabiki swept her hand 
around in a circle, taking the five of them in.  "We remember the way 
things used to be, because we've all interacted with Spring."  She 
frowned in the distance.  "Other people didn't."
	Kuno saw his two loves and came charging down the street, heedless of 
the driving rain.  "Akane!  Nabiki!  Oh, what sweet rapture is mine!  Now 
I need not choose between- urk!"
	Nabiki returned Ukyou's battle spatula while the others 
face-faulted.  "Case in point."
	"Kuno likes _you_?" Ranma asked.
	"Stranger things have happened," Nabiki said, a touch defensively.  
She picked the kendoist up by the lapels.  "Now, does everyone understand 
the plan?"
	"What plan?" Ukyou asked.
	"It's easy, Aunt Ukyou.  We run inside and beat everybody up."
	Ukyou stared at her childhood friend.  "Ranchan, did you come up with 
this plan?"
	Ranma shrugged.  "Hey, it's worked before."

* * * * *

	There was a knock at the door.
	"RANMA, DIE!" Ryoga shouted.  He charged towards the front of the 
building, but Cologne tripped him before he went very far.
	"You do not want to go outside just now, boy.  Turning into a pig 
will not help you.  Let them come to us."
	Come they did.
	Ranma swaggered into the Nekohanten, Ukyou and Akane flanking him.  
"Hey, y'old hag," he called.  "Nabiki told us what you're planning, and I 
can't say I like-"
	Chaos hit.
	Shampoo leapt at Ranma, only to be intercepted by Akane before 
she could glomp on to the pig-tailed boy.  Ranko, who had been left 
outside as part of a surprise attack, saw Ryoga pick himself up off the 
floor and jumped in through the window.  Shards of glass ran off her 
transuranic umbrella like raindrops.  Ukyou threw a handful of spatula 
shuriken at Spring, who knocked them out of the air with her bare hands.
	"...it," Ranma finished.  "Oh, well."  He cracked his knuckles.
	Cologne pointed a bony finger at Ranma.  "Do you really think your 
allies can stop mine, Son-in-law?"  She swept her staff around the room, 
taking in all the combatants.  Ranko was holding her own against Ryoga, 
but Shampoo was forcing Akane back, and Spring was taking Ukyou apart.
	"Damn."  Ranma ran across the room and grabbed Ukyou, catching a 
kick in the side from Spring as a reward.  "Go help Akane," he told her.
	"But I _want_ that girl," Ukyou argued.
	"Ucchan, you're way out of your league."  He blocked another kick 
from his daughter, and jumped over a foot sweep.  "Don't argue, just go,"
	*Why are you trying to stop us, father?* Spring asked.  *This way we 
can be together.*  She sounded confused, but she didn't slow her assault 
down one bit.
	"Huh?" was Ranma's only reply.  He couldn't speak Chinese.

	Ranko swung her umbrella like a club, smacking Ryoga in the side 
of the head.  "This time we finish it, Mr. Hibiki!  No escapes, no 
interference."
	Ryoga let the pain wash over him.  "Cologne told me what you 
are."  His eyes seemed to glow with righteous indignation.  "You're an evil 
spirit Ranma conjured up to confuse me and Akane.  Well, I won't believe 
any of your lies, not any more.  I'll send you back to hell, and then 
I'll send Ranma after you, and everything will be right again."
	Ranko kicked her would-be father-in-law in the stomach.  "Wake up 
and face the real world."
	Ryoga punched the titian-haired girl in the face.  "My world was 
heaven, until you stole it from me."
	"Stupid pig!"  Ranko stabbed with the umbrella.
	"Demon!"  Ryoga grabbed the umbrella and broke it in half.
	Then the fighting and the name calling got really nasty.

	Cologne watched the battle rage around her.  Ranma had his hands 
full with Spring; he could not bring himself to hurt his daughter, so his 
advantage over her was wasted.  Ryoga and the red-haired girl were evenly 
matched, trading blow for blow with equal savagery.  Shampoo was 
hard-pressed, but them she was facing two-to-one odds.
	The ancient Amazon studied the locket in her hands.  The battered 
silver caught the candlelight at odd angles, making the charm seem to 
glow with azure fire.  _Can I use this to end the fight?_ she wondered.  
_No, I still know too little about the power it contains.  I had best end 
this fight myself, the old-fashioned way._  She twirled her staff like a 
baton.
	"Hold, troll, and go no farther.  I, Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue 
Thunder of Furinkan High, say to you, 'Cease.'"  Thunder rocked the 
Nekohanten, blowing out some of the candles.
	Cologne turned around slowly.  "I should have expected this, 
Nabiki Tendo.  Son-in-law led a frontal attack, but that attack was a 
diversion, allowing you to sneak in through the back."
	Nabiki tugged at the ropes holding Tachi captive.  "Ranma's 
rather good at tactics," she agreed.  "And we all knew I wouldn't do any 
good coming in through the front door."
	"Indeed."  Cologne's staff shot out like a snake, neatly 
disarming Kuno and hitting him in the head.  The kendoist fell like a 
rotting tree.  "And it seems you will do little good here."
	Nabiki took a step back and held up her hands.  "Uh, can't we 
make a deal?"
	"The time for deals is past, Nabiki Tendo."  Cologne raised her 
staff and struck.
	"I couldn't agree more, Amazon," Ryo said as he intercepted the 
blow.  The pig-tailed boy twisted his wrist a fraction, and the gnarled cane 
shattered like a toothpick.

	Kodachi didn't know what was going on, but she knew she should be 
involved.  That horrid Tendo girl and some peasant with a giant spatula 
were double-teaming the Amazon who had stolen her Ranma-sama away.  
Ordinarily the Black Rose would have cheered such a move, but another, 
more beautiful possibility danced before her eyes.  _If I defeat the 
Tendo girl by honorably hitting her from behind, then I can take her 
place in the fight against the Amazon.  Both of the women I despise most 
in the world will be at my mercy._  "OHOHOHOHO!"  Kodachi threw off her 
overcoat and attacked, her ribbon snapping like a whip.
	Akane heard the laugh.  "Kodachi?"  She turned, blocking the 
attack at the last moment.  "What do you think you're doing?"
	Kodachi smiled.  It was a beautiful sight, in much the same way that 
many poisonous flowers are beautiful.  "Why, Akane Tendo, I'm just 
clipping away at all the dead wood that stands between me and my 
Ranma-sama.  OHOHOHOHO!"

	Ukyou and Shampoo were hurt; at one time or another during the fight 
both of them had fought against a force noticeably more powerful than 
themselves.  Now, with Akane out of the picture, the sides were even.  
Ukyou hefted her battle spatula.  "Round two?" she asked.
	Shampoo smiled softly as she raised her bonbori.  "Shampoo always 
ready."
	Anything else they had to say was drowned out by the ring of 
metal on metal.

	Cologne studied her new opponent.  "You, too, are a a child of 
Ranma.  Would you strike at a helpless old woman?"
	Ryo laughed dryly as rainwater pooled on the floor.  "I don't 
know you Amazons very well, but I know you're fare from helpless."
	Cologne narrowed her eyes.  "You are much less rash than your 
half-sisters."
	"That's because I'm a scholar, not a fighter."
	"A pity for you, then."  Cologne darted forward and around, 
striking Ryo in the small of the back with one finger.
	Ryo should have fallen to the floor, paralyzed.
	He didn't.
	Ryo grabbed Cologne by the wrist.  "I told you I was a scholar.  
Tofu-sensei taught me quite a bit about anatomy."  He saw the locket in her 
hand, a heart-shaped piece of silver.  "I've also learned a little about 
magic, enough to recognize power when I see it."
	Cologne scratched at the pig-tailed boy, pulling away.  "You 
don't know the forces you're dealing with!"
	"I know enough to want to keep them out of your hands."
	Cologne reached into her robes and threw a small packet of powder 
to the floor.  A white cloud of smoke appeared, hiding her.  "That will 
prove more difficult than you think."
	Ryo picked up Kuno's bokken.  "That's what you think."

	Ranko and Ryoga broke apart.  Their fight was inconclusive; 
neither could get the upper hand.  _I did something today,_ Ryoga 
thought.  _Twice.  What was it?  What did I do?_  Desperation fueled 
self-doubt.  _I must beat this demon!  I must!  If I don't, I'll lose Akane 
forever!_
	_This is my last chance,_ Ranko thought.  _I've got no excuses 
now.  I'm in my own body, and nobody's interfered.  I know I'm good.  Pop 
said so.  I can beat this guy!  I know I can!_
	Earlier that day, Ranko had been on the receiving end of a 
Shishi-Hokodan.  She was Ranma's daughter.  She picked up new combat 
skills as quickly as Tachi picked up spare change.
	She was also Akane's daughter.  Her Chi was strong.
	Shishi-Hokodan met Moukou Takabisha.
	Ranko knew what she was doing.
	Ryoga didn't.
	A bolt of solid confidence ripped through the lost boy's despair, 
knocking him across the room.  Candles went flying, and the outer ring of 
the mystic design was torn, rendering Cologne's ritual useless.
	"Yes!" Ranko shouted.  "Who's next?"

	Akane was tired, and Kodachi was fresh.  "What my Ranma-sama ever saw 
in you I'll never know," the fey girl said as she threw a set of clubs at 
her opponent.
	Akane blocked with her arms.  "He's not yours."
	"Oh, he is."  Akane had to dodge a razor hoop.  "He just doesn't 
know it yet.  OHOHOHOHO!"
	"If that's so, why don't you have a child here fighting for 
you?"  Akane taunted.
	"A child?"  The gymnast frowned.  Akane's obvious lack of breeding had 
obviously taken it's toll, and the poor girl's mind had cracked.  Still, 
the idea of having a child with Ranma-sama did have it's obvious appeal.
	"Look!"  Akane pointed past Kodachi just as Ranko polished Ryoga off.
	Kodachi smiled.  "My dear Akane Tendo, not even I would stoop to 
such an obvious ploy."  She struck with her ribbon, but Akane ducked the 
blow.  Her weapon wrapped around _something_, though.

	Cologne was worried.
	For every trick she tried, the pig-tailed scholar had a counter.  
Blinding powder didn't work; he closed his eyes.  Pressure points didn't 
work; he knew them all.  Poisoned darts were no use; he knocked them out 
of the air.  Even hot and cold water were of no use; this boy had never 
been to Jusenkyou.
	That left the locket.
	Cologne raised it above her head.  _If I can use it to summon 
others from my tribe..._
	Kodachi's ribbon wrapped around the charm, and pulled it from the 
ancient Amazon's hand.

	Ranma heard Ranko's cry of triumph.  "Hey, tiger, I'll trade 
you," he shouted as he blocked another kick from Spring.
	"You're on, Pop."  The titian-haired girl pounced, knocking her 
transdimensional half-sister to the floor.  "I'm on a roll now!"
	"No!" the purple-haired girl argued.  "You on Spring!  Get off!"

	_What do I have here?_ Kodachi wondered.  She didn't have long to 
ponder the locket, though, since Akane wasn't above attacking a distracted 
opponent.  That was how she hit Ranma most of the time, after all.
	Kodachi's last thoughts before consciousness faded were about the 
strong children she and Ranma would have.

	Ukyou had given her childhood to the study of okonomiyaki-style 
martial arts.  Shampoo was a warrior born of warriors, trained from birth 
in the ways of fighting.  One-on-one, Ukyou never had a chance.
	Ryo saw this.  "Mom," he shouted.  Just then, Kodachi's ribbon 
ripped the locket from Cologne's hands.  The pig-tailed boy couldn't have 
cared less.  "Leave her alone!" he shouted.  Bokken raised, Ryo leapt at 
the Amazon.
	Shampoo met his furious attack, parrying with one mace while 
striking with the other.  Ryo felt the bonbori as it connected with his 
skull.  That only added to his rage.

	Ranma looked around.  Akane was fine.  Ranko was fine.  Kuno was 
out, but that didn't matter.  Nabiki was still trying to get her daughter 
free.  Ukyou was hurt, but her son was here, and he seemed to have that 
situation in hand.  That left Cologne, and the guy in the mask and cape with 
the long, black hair.
	_The guy in mask and cape?_
	"Who are you?" Akane asked.
	The newcomer stood up straight, his flowing hair snapping like a 
flag as he brushed it back with his hand.  "I am the devilishly handsome 
business-suited warrior, Shutaro Kamen," he declared.  "You have struck 
down my mother, a queen among women, and thus, even though it pains me 
to harm such a beautiful girl, in the name of the house of Kuno, I WILL 
PUNISH YOU!"  He made passes in the air with his hands, ending his 
solliloquey by pointing at Akane.
	Ranma bust up laughing.  "What're ya gonna do, throw roses at us?"
	"I will teach you to mock the fighting style of Shutaro Kamen."  
The boy waved his hands some more.
	Ranma laughed harder.  Akane was worried.  The stranger looked an 
awful lot like Kodachi.
	Black roses sailed through the air, stapling both Akane and Ranma 
to the wall.  Akane struggled a bit, but she couldn't free herself 
without doing irreparable harm to her clothing.  Ranma didn't have that 
problem.  The roses holding him up went through his flesh.
	Ranma roared, anger covering the pain he cause himself as he 
ripped free from the wall.  "You're gonna wish you'd never been born," he 
grated.
	Shutaro Kamen held his arm out straight, and a fancy cane 
appeared in his hand.  "We shall see about that."

	Nabiki cursed under her breath.  She still couldn't get the knots 
undone.  "There's a knife in the purse," Tachi told her.  "Use that."
	Nabiki grabbed the bag from where it hung on Mousse's cage and 
upended the whole thing.  "I don't see a pocketknife," she said as she 
rummaged through the pile of cosmetics, checkbooks, and credit cards.
	"It's not a pocketknife.  It's a sonic knife.  It looks like a 
highlighter."
	"Oh."  Nabiki held up a short green piece of plastic.  "Is this it?"
	Tachi shook her head.  "No, that _is_ a highlighter.  Wait, Mom, 
forget about me.  Aunt Kodachi has the locket.  Go get her!"
	"But I can't leave you like this.  I left you earlier today, and 
look what happened."
	"Mom, we're talking about all of reality here.  That's more important 
than me.  Go!"
	"That depends on your priorities," Nabiki said.  "In the future, 
I might disagree, but for now, anything to make my little girl happy."
	"Mom!" Tachi whined.
	"I'm gone."

	Ranko and Spring rolled around on the floor like a pair of 
wildcats.  All normal rules of combat had flown out the window; the two 
girls had been reduced to scratching, biting, and pulling hair.  Neither of 
them had ever trained in Martial-Arts-Catfighting, so Spring's superior 
martial legacy was of as little use as Ranko's greater confidence.
	Ranko did have one advantage, though.  Spring's braid was 
waist-length, while her own pony-tail only reached her shoulder blades.  
That gave the Japanese girl more hair to pull.
	"Give up.  Give up!" Ranko said as she tried to yank her opponent's 
braid out by the roots.
	"Aieee!" Spring cried.
	"Give up!"
	The Amazon sank her teeth into Ranko's arm, revealing her 
advantage over the titian-haired girl.  The Musk Dynasty knew what they 
were doing with their eugenics program.  Shampoo had given her daughter a 
fairly sharp set of fangs.

	Ryo had stored up a lot of anger during the past few hours.  He 
was lost in a strange world, separated from his fiancee, and helpless to 
do anything but watch as his mother was assaulted.  Shampoo was good, but 
she'd been hurt, and Ryo wasn't holding back.
	The apprentice healer took a moment to make sure his mother would 
be all right, then looked around the room for anyone else to vent his 
rage on.  Spring and Ranko were locked so close together that he could 
barely tell where one started and the other began.  Cologne was nowhere 
to be seen.  That left the guy in the cape fighting his father.
	_Guy in a cape?_  Ryo studied the stranger.  _He looks like 
pictures Tachi showed me of his aunt.  And he looks like... Pop!  Oh, 
no!  Not another one.  How many brothers and sisters do I have?_

	Ranma was mad, and he was making mistakes.
	Not big ones, but this mask guy took advantage of all of them.  
He was fast, he saw everything, and he fought dirty.  "Enough of this," 
Ranma grated.  "Moukou Takabisha!"
	"Buster Cloak," Shutaro countered.  The masked boy wrapped 
himself in his cape, and Ranma's Chi passed through him with all the 
effect of a damp breeze.
	"Huh?" Ranma said.
	Shutaro's cape flew open and he posed, much like Batman would have.  
Ranma had a moment to blink before his own Chi-attack knocked him across 
the room.
	"Have you had enough yet?" Shutaro asked Ranma.
	Ranma, still lying on the ground, held his head in his hands.  " ," he 
answered.
	"Speak up!" the boy demanded.  "I can not hear you."
	" !"
	Shutaro took a step closer.  "I command you, in the name of the 
House of Kuno, answer me!"
	"No," Ranma said.  He stomped on the floor, breaking through the 
wood and ripping up the plank Shutaro was standing on.  The masked boy 
stumbled, and as he regained his balance, a Moukou Takabisha caught him 
square in the chest.  "Sucker," he said.

	Nabiki walked around the remaining fights, trying to stay out of 
everyone's way.  What with throwing roses and Chi-attacks, the Nekohanten 
was becoming a dangerous place.
	She reached Kodachi's prone form without incident.  The unconscious 
gymnast still held the locket in her hand.  "So much trouble for such an 
ugly piece of jewelry."
	"It is the power that we all find attractive," Cologne told her.
	"Or just keeping it from you," Akane said.  She had escaped from 
Shutaro's roses by wriggling out of her sweater.
	The three woman looked at each other.  The they all dived for the 
locket.  After a moment of struggling, they all looked up.  Ryo stood 
above them, the silver charm glowing blue in his hand.  
	_Kodachi used this to summon her son.  And Spring used it to drag 
us across the dimensions.  I'd bet Tachi my last dollar that this hunk of 
metal is the reason why Ucchan's looked so funny.  The old amazon said 
this was power._
	_I have the power, now._
	He looked around the room.  Ranma and Akane were standing 
together, while Ukyou pushed herself to her feet with her combat spatula, 
alone.  _I could change that._
	Ranko and Spring were still rolling around on the floor.  _I 
always wanted sisters, even if violent, maniacal ones.  I could change that._
	Cologne was staring at him, murder in her eyes.  _These Amazons 
have been nothing but trouble.  I could change that._
	He thought about his fiancee.  _Bell-chan is waiting.  I don't 
need to change anything._
	The world vanished in azure fire.
 ______
{B-{=__

	Tomorrow:  The epilogue, where we see what happens to everyone...