Hi again, all! So Sorry it's been so long since Part 3;
I've been busy. If Kenny had a computer, he could post when
I got swamped; but oh, well--such is life. On wit' da shew:



    RANMA 1/2--ABORT, RETRY, ESCAPE
          Part the Fourth
      by Paul Herring and Kenny Blackwell



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

Ranma 1/2 is ™ & © 1997 Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan, Inc. Used
without permission; this fanfic is NOT intended to be resold or
used for profit in any way, shape or form. The Clan Justice, The
Tribunal, The Threat, and The Chronomancers are ™ & © 1997 Kenny
Blackwell. Any other characters are ™ & © their respective owners.

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




 AKANE:  Those two are in Love!"
 RANMA:  Well, what do you know!"
         -- Saotome Ranma and Tendo Akane,
   Ranma1/2 Oh, Cursed Tunnel of
   Lost Love! Let Love Be Forever!"



     <Drat. Things seem to be moving a bit slow today,> grumbled
Ukyou, leaning over counter of her okonomiyaki stand. The sun had
finally broken through the clouds that afternoon, leaving the
sidewalks wrapped in gentle wafts of steam as the warm rays hit
them. Not a whole lot of people were out and about in this weather,
though, or at least none who were interested in what she had to
offer. Even her regular customer, Megumi Eiko, hadn't shown up yet,
and she was one who could usually be counted on to swing by to
grab a bite rather then endure her best friend's "cooking."

 Ukyou shook her head and smiled.

 Short, blonde and bubble-headed, with huge green eyes, Eiko's
little friend Kotobuki Shiko was certainly a nice enough girl and
all. . .but she couldn't cook an edible meal to save her life.
 <Kamisama knows,> thought Ukyouu, <the things she does to food
should be declared a crime against humanity.>
 As she knew better then most.
  For once. . .
   . . .a long time ago. . .
    . . .before she realized what Shiko was capable of
in the kitchen, Ukyouu Kuonji had. . .
 . . .TASTED SOME OF SHIKO'S CUISINE.
 Immediately Ukyouu began to shake, a tremor that seemed to go
down to the very core of her soul as the memories washed over her.
 <No,> she told herself, eyes tightly shut, <no. Forget about
it, forget about it, that was a long time ago; the seizures have
stopped and the doctor gave you a clean bill of health just last
month.> She ran a hand across her brow that came away damp with
sweat despite the cool of the afternoon.
 Eiko, however, was another matter. Just thinking about her--
that luxurious maine of scarlet hair, those ocean blue eyes--
brought a brought a deep blush to Ukyouu's cheeks. She had never
seen anyone so fast, or so strong.

 <Maybe she's even stronger then Ryouga-chan,> she mused. <And
more. . .limber, as well.> She wondered what it would be like to
find out.

 "Ukyou! Hey, Uu-chan!" The okonomiyaki chef looked up at the
sound of the familiar voice.

 "Sorry I'm late," panted Eiko as she ran up to her. "I had
to ditch Shiko--I left her wandering around in the Planet Bandai
Toystore."

 Ukyouu giggled. "The Sailor Moon Department alone should keep
her busy for hours. She try to feed you lunch again?"

 Eiko nodded and grimaced. "It's curently attempting to fight
it's way free from a dumpster about a half mile back. I locked
the lid pretty good, but if it gets loose they'll need Astroboy
to deal with it." She grinned wickedly. "It was pretty lively
when I left." <And pissed,> she silently added.

 "Heh. Well, my cuisine isn't quite so active," said Ukyouu.
Two of your usual?"

 "Please," said Eiko.

 "But what about me?" asked a melodious voice.

 <Oh, no. Oh, *god* no,> groaned Ukyouu inwardly. She knew who
it was even before she looked up, and one glance told her everything
she needed to know:

 Daitokuji Biko.

 With entourage: a cute brunette named Asa; fat girl with glasses
known as Ume; Ine, the skinny one with short brown hair, and some
hulking. . .*thing,* Mari, which Ukyou hesitated to refer to as a
woman. Ever the alpha female, Biko herself was out in front, smiling
coyly, her violet hair flowing in the breeze.

 "Ohoyo, Uu-chan," Biko cooed. Ukyouu's skin began to crawl; the
other girl was positivly undressing her with her eyes. She bristled.

 "Don't call me that," Ukyou protested, "don't dare call me that.
The only people who can refer to me that way are my friends and the
man I love; and you don't fit in either category."

 Biko shrugged her shoulders as if the matter was of small importance.
"Fine. Be that way," she smiled, oozing closer. "But may I at least try
some of the fameous Kuonji okonomiyaki? I'd love the chance to eat
your. . .cuisine." She ran her tongue across a glossed upper lip.

 Ukyouu felt herself lube almost instantly, her body reacting on the
deepest level to something inside which she didn't like to acknowledge.
Angrily she clamped down upon her roiling emotions.

 "Sorry, Biko," she hissed between gritted teeth, "but I reserve the
right to service--*refuse* service--"
 <damn>
 "--to anyone, and that includes you. Got it? Or must I emphasize my
point?" Ukyouu grabbed her battle spatula, resting in the corner but as
always within easy reach. Mari growled and tensed.
 "Now, now, no need for violence, everyone," said Biko, raising a
conciliatory hand. "We'll go in peace. . .for now." As she turned, her
blue eyes fell upon Eiko.
 "Oh, and I suppose that I can expect you tomorrow morning, at our
usual place, ne, A-chan?" Her voice fairly dripped venom.

 "So that I can trash more of your shoddy-ass mechs?" retorted Eiko.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world!"

 For a moment, just a moment, Biko's face contorted into a gorgon's
mask of rage and raw hatred which shocked even Eiko. Then the charming
smile and beauty were back as if they had never left, but her voice
held just the slightest of quivers as she said

 "I *will* win Shiko and Ukyouu from you, you brainless cunt. Mark my
words." She stalked off, her crew trailing behind her.

 "She. Is. *SUCH* a jackass," Ukyouu spat, watching them depart. With
sigh she ran her fingers through her ebony tresses. I swear, one day
she'll push me too far, and then SHOOMPF! Spatula enema."

 "The line forms on the right for those that want to administer that
particular pleasure," muttered Eiko. She was still a bit troubled by
the exchange; she'd never quite guaged the depth of Biko's hatred
before and what she'd just seen disturbed her. With an effort, she
brightened.


 "Saaaay, Uu-chan," she asked, leaning forward on the counter, "When
do you expect your boyfriend back? He still owes me an arm-wrestling
match!"

 "Well, you never know with him," Ukyouu shrugged. "He said that he
went up north to Wakkanai to train, but that was awhile ago." A fond
smile. "Knowing him, he's probably headed south, towards the Goto
Islands or something."

 Eiko looked puzzled. "Eh? Why would he go there?"

 "Well," replied Ukyouu, "it's his sense of direction. It's. . .
*really* unbelievable."





     <How long. . .have I been. . .walking?> thought Ryouga as he
trudged
through the dense greenary of the rainforest. <Feels like. . .it's been.
. .
days.>

 As a matter of fact, it had been. In his mind, the last 72 hours were
naught but a blur of mountians and prarie, desert and dry savannah, and
now he was deep in the seemingly endless foliage of some sort of
tropical
wilderness. Something stung his upper arm; he cursed and slapped at the
mosquito which bit him.

 <No doubt my bloodhount-like directional instincts are once again
guiding me straight and true,> he thought savagly. <By Bhudda's rosary
beads, why me?! With my internal compass, I'll probably be coming up on
Joketsuzoko any minute now!>

 Ryouga stopped in his tracks.

 Suddenly, in spite of the heat, Ryouga felt his innard grow cold.
 <. . .In which case,> he thought, turning and starting off in the
opposite direction, <perhaps I should go *this* way instead. It wouldn't

be too healthy to wind up among those wenches--especially if *she's*
around-->
 Like his body often did, Ryouga's mind began to wander.





*              *              *               *            *




  EIGHTEEN MONTHS AGO
  JOKETSUZOKU AUTONOMOUS REGION
  UNITED REPUBLIC OF CHINA:
     <China,> Ryouga thought as he gazed in wonder upon the beautiful
mountain landscape spread out before him. the cool wind tousled his
hair,
and from far above came the scree of a falcon.
 <I'm in China.> He had passed the Great Wall a couple of days back,
but he hadn't been sure then weather he was entering or exiting the
fabled
Middle Kingdom. Fortunately, he knew the language--even many of the
local
dialects--and he still had pleanty of currency left from the last time
he'd been here.
 He strode into a clearing. <All I need,> he thought, <is a good place
to crash, and to train. I'd heard there was some sort of dojo or village

or something around here that>

 >SPLOOSH<

 <Brilliant> she grumbled as she began to sink to the bottom
of the spring. <Now I'm soaking wet.> She swam to the surface with
ease and crawled out onto it's muddy banks.
 <Damn, what a mess> she thought, examining her mud-stained
cloths. She walked over to a nearby tree and sat down, her back to
the trunk, her knees against her chest.
 Her ample chest.
 Ryouga cocked an eyebrow, puzzled.
 <What th--?> Straightening her legs, she put her hands on her
chest. . .and went pale. In shock, she stood and opened her shirt.
 They were huge, round, well-formed and firm. On anyone else,
they would have caused him an instant nose-bleed.

 But they were on him.

 On *her.*

 <Breasts,> Ryouga-chan thought in heavy amazement. <I have
breasts. Tits. Hooters. GAZONGAS!>

 "Impossible," she moaned out loud, "Impossib--who said that?!"
she looked around wildly for a few seconds before realizing that
the strange, feminine voice was his own.

 *Her* own.

 "My god," she breathed. What the hell had happened?

 <The spring. . .>

 She ran to it, almost tripping over the cuffs of her now
too-long pants, and fell to her knees before the rippling waters,
staring into the reflection wavering upon the surface. A beautiful
young girl gazed back at him, wide-eyed, waring his trademark
bandana and yellow shirt. Even the hairstyle was identical, though
the color was a bit different: *green,* by all the gods, with a
large streak of blue from bangs to crown.
 She grit her teeth, and a low growl eminated from within her
chest.
 <If this is the result of some kind of hidden toxic waste dump,>
she vowed, <then some CEO's head will adorn my trophy case before
this is through>.
 A new thought struck her.
 <How long will this last?> she wondered. <What if. . .what if I
stay this way. . .
 . . .forever??>
 She threw back her head and uttered a howl of frustration.

 "THIS BLOWS!!"





     It had been several hours since Ryouga had undergone her
transformation. Since then, she had found the village of Amazon woman,
Joketsuzoko.

 <A nice place,> Ryouga thought. <Perhaps I'll stay here. As far as
I know, the man Aibiki Ryouga is dead. I'll have to accept the fact--the

woman Hibiki Ryouga lives now.>

 "Hey! Hey, you!"

 Ryouga turned toward a pretty Chinese girl with green eyes and dark
green hair. She looked desperate.

 "Yes?" Ryouga spoke in Chinese. "What's wrong?"

 "Are you a fighter?" the girl asked.

 "I am. What's wrong?"

 "I need someone to help me in a match! One of my teammates is
unable to make it, and I need a replacement!"

 "I see, you need my help then?"

 "Yes! Badly!" Ryouga looked into the girl's emerald eyes. <To refuse
her wouldn't be prudent,> she thought. <And besides, if this will be my
new house, it's only fair to make new friends.>

 "Don't worry," Ryouga said. "I'll help you."

 "Ohh, Sheishei! By the way, what's your name?"

 "Ryouga. Hibiki Ryouga."

 "I'll note that. . ." the dark green-haired girl smiled slyly.

 The Chinese girl lead Ryouga to a crowd of Amazon warriors
surrounding a log hoisted several feet above the ground. Already on
top was another Chinese girl with brown eyes and purple hair.

 "X'ian Pu!" the dark-green haired girl called. "This woman will
represent me in this match!" The purple-haired girl just shook her
head and sighed.

 "Li Kuan," X'ian Pu replied, "did you con another outsider into
fighting for you?"

 "What?!" Ryouga turned to Li Kuan. "Is this true?"

 "I'm not ready to combat her yet," Li Kuan whispered to Ryouga.
"I'm sorry for lying to you like this, but I still need study her
fighting style so that I can beat her next time."

 "I--it's all right,"  Ryouga said. "I'll will not turn my back on
you, Li Kuan. I will still help you."

 As Ryouga leapt onto the log, Li Kuan couldn't help but smile to
herself.

 <Sucker,> she thought. <She's as good as dead, even if she DOES
win!>

 "I apologize in advance," Ryouga stated to X'ian Pu. "I will
not go easy on you!"

 "Good," replied X'ian Pu. "That is how I like it."

 The two assumed their battle stances, watching and waiting for
any first moves.

 X'ian Pu dashed at Ryouga with her bonbori raised. Ryouga quickly
ducked under her attack and threw an uppercut that connected with
X'ian Pu's jaw. The Chinese woman staggered back from Ryouga's blow,
wavered a bit, then unceremoniously fell from the log.

 Virtually every Amazon in attendance let out an astounded grasp.
Their greatest warrior, beaten! And so fast. . .

 Ryouga leapt from the log toward X'ian Pu, holding out her hand.

 "Sorry about that," she said. "No hard feelings?"

 X'ian Pu did not reply, grabbing Ryouga's hand as the outsider
pulled her up. Then X'ian Pu took hold of Ryouga's face, leaning
toward it give her a gentle kiss on the cheek.

 Ryouga stepped back from X'ian Pu in shock. <Is she coming
onto me?!> she wondered.
 X'ian Pu merely grinned at Ryouga: it was a kind of playful
smile, but her eyes revealed something deeper, more. . .devilish.

 "I suggest you run," X'ian Pu said.





*              *              *               *            *




  THE PRESENT:
  <Lousy Kiss of Death,> Ryouga fumed as he continued his trek
through the forest. <I should never have decided help Li Kuan in
the first place, the minx.>

 <But at least I've lost X'ian Pu for now. Thank the gods for
that hot bath in Chengtu; it taught me that hot water reverses
my predicament. Without it I would never have been able to trick
X'ian Pu into thinking that my female self had died.> He frowned.
<I should have thought of a better demise, though--being eaten
alive by pigs sounds too gothic to me.>

 Breaking free from the forest, Ryouga found himself looking
upon. . .a school. Curious, he walked towards the gateside plague.

 It read: "Graviton High School For Girls." His heart leapt.

 "Ryouga!"

 Ryouga turned around to see Ukyou, clad in the school
uniform, but with her battle spatula on her back, get up from her
schoolside okonomiyaki stand and rush towards him.

 "Uu-chan!" he said happily.

 Ukyou leapt into Ryouga's strong arms. The two spun about at
least three times before they locked lips in a long, passionate
kiss.

 When they broke, Ukyou and Ryouga gazed into each other's eyes.
"I missed you, Ryo-chan," she said lovingly.

 "Not as much as I missed you, angel," he politely retorted. They
kissed again.

 "Mmmmm. . .I'd. . .*love* to continue this, but I still have my
afternoon classes," Ukyou said. "Why don't you wait out here until
school's out, okay?"

"Well, why can't I just wait over at your house?"

 Ukyou's raised eyebrow and smirk quickly answered Ryouga's
question. He blushed.

 "Ohh, right. My direction problem. I'll, uh, stay here."

 "Good choice," Ukyou advised. "You try to find my house, you'd
probably end up in Hawaii!"

 The school bell suddenly tolled its melodic chimes.

 "Whoops! Gotta go!" Ukyou declared. "I'll see you later,
baby!" A quick smootch on the nose, and she was off.

 "I'll wait for you, U-chan!" Ryouga waved as Ukyou dashed into
school grounds.

 <Ukyou darling,> Ryouga thought. <I'm really lucky to have her
by my side. An excellent warrior, a superb cook--and the most kawaii
girl on earth. I look forward to the day when I can settle down--that
will be the day I wed my Uu-chan.>

 Ryouga noticed a rumbling in the sky: the sound of thunder. Quickly
he pulled out his bamboo umbrella, opening it just as the rain began to
fall.

 <Not even the rain will spoil the day that I am reunited with Ukyou,>
Ryouga continued. He suddenly felt a drop. And another. And another.

 Ryouga sighed, standing there like a stump, her umbrella leaking
profusely on her head.

 <I KNEW I should have gotten a new umbrella,> she thought in
annoyance.





 "I expect a judgment. Shortly."
                 --Charles Dickens

  FALL, 1997
  JOKETSUZOKU AUTONOMOUS REGION
  UNITED REPUBLIC OF CHINA:
     The afternoon sky over China was beautiful and clear, with the
sun bright. Abruptly, clouds gathered, swirling about in a clockwise
rotation. Interdimensional energies rippled throughout the airborne
whirlpool anomaly as the rotations picked up speed, energies building
up higher and higher.

 All at once a fifty-eight foot tall building appeared out of
nowhere, plunging to the ground like a meteorite. It struck with
a resounding sonic boom that rolled and echoed across the landscape.

 Hundreds of miles away, at Joketsuzoku, the Amazon villagers
could hear the sound of thunder resounding all around them.

 Ku Lon, the Amazon queen, walked out of her cabin, gazing
intently at the auzure sky.

 "Odd. . ." she mumbled.

 "Great grandmother!" X'ian Pu walked towards her Matriarch with
her bonbori under her arms. "Is today's tournament going to get rained
out?"

 "No. . .that wasn't thunder created by nature," Ku Lon replied. "Nor
was it created by man." She turned to her great grand-daughter. "Don't
worry about it, X'ian Pu. Go and defend your title."

 "I will!" X'ian Pu said, bowing towards her great grandmother and
then rushing toward the log-like rings.

 Ku Lon bowed her head and closed her eyes.

 <Something is going to happen--something monumental,> she thought.
<I can feel it."

 Far away, other-dimensional energies crackled about the chrome hall
of the Forseti Tower as it stood prominantly in the clearing.

 The entrance doors unsealed themselves, slid open--






 FALL, 1997
 EAU DE TOILETTE MANSION
 LUBBOCK, TEXAS:
 He was here again.
 The Tokyo, Japan of his youth. . .
 . . .in the Sendai Zoo.

 It was deserted, now, save for the Panda in it's cage.  Genma looked
about, puzzled, but not frightened.

 Not yet.

 <What th--?> he wondered. <What the *frag* am I doing back here?>

 The panda snorted, then held up a sign.

 "Don't ask me," it read. "Panda's can't talk!"

 <Wonderful,> thought Genma, <I'm in a Loony Tunes cartoon. Well,
that's the last time I have sardine and swiss cheese pizza just before
going to bed.> Mentally, he resigned himself to an expected deluge of
weirdness. <I bet any second now, Yako, Wako and Dot-->

 "Hello again, Oyaji," said a voice from behind Genma. He froze.

 "Oh, no. . ." whispered Genma.

 He whirled to face a young man wearing a red Chinese shirt and
black baggy pants. His luxurious black hair was tied back in a pig-tail.

 "Recognize me, Oyaji?" he asked Genma in Japanese. "It is I--your
son--Saotome Ranma!"

 "His name is my name, too!" Suddenly a cute buxom red-haired girl,
wearing the same clothes with an identical hair-style, was standing
next to the male Ranma.

 Genma's eyes narrowed. "You. . ." he growled.

 "Why did you kill me, Oyaji?" asked Ranma-chan softly.

 "KILL you?!" demanded Genma. "Would that I had had the chance!" He
stopped suddenly. "Depending on who you are, that is--some of you that I

saw were victim, rather then victimizer." An apprasing look. "Which are
you?"

 "VICTIM! VICTIM OF YOU, MURDERER!!" Ranma-kun shouted.

 Genma was shocked by the vehemence in his voice. "Now, wait just a
minute--" he began.

 "YOU NEVER MET MOM!" screamed Ranma, face tear-streaked and scarlet
with rage. "I never got born! You never--NEVER--gave me a chance to
prove
myself!" Sobbing wordlessly, he fell to his knees.

 "So you killed me," Ranma-chan continued for him. "Way to go, otousan!
Thanks EVER so much. I never really wanted to live anyway!" The acid in
her voice could burn through steel.

 Genma closed his eyes for a moment, forced himself to calm.

 "I did what Our Lord Brian wanted me to do," he replied at last, not
without pity. "The visions He showed me were abominations from Hell
itself,
and in some of them, you died in awful, ghastly ways that I wouldn't
inflict on a rabid dog!" He swallowed before continuing. "In others,
*you*
were the murderer, in some cases of the entire planet. I am sorry,
Ranma,
but I had to fulfill His Divine Will. I only wanted to--"

 "To what, Genma? Save yourself?" Ranma-kun interrupted. "Don't
blame this on God, oyaji--you were shitless and you ran away from
your destiny, just like always!"

 "That's kind of selfish of him," said a new voice. It belonged
to a cute girl with pink stripes in her blond hair. She had wide brown
eyes, and was waring a flowing blue dress with pink dots. Beside her
was a cute little black pig.

 "Thinking only of himself like that," she continued. "But that's
typical of Saotome Genma, isn't it?"

 "You!" exclaimed Genma. "I recognise you from my Visions!" He
thought hard. "AKARI!" he shouted at last. "Akari the murderer--you
killed and ate that poor boy--Ryouga? Who loved you!"

 "No. No, I didn't," she replied. Suddenly the pig morphed into
the smiling figure of Ryouga. He put his arm around Akari and kissed
her tenderly on the cheek.

 "Where I come from, we fell in love and eventually got married,"
she smiled. "Ranma was partially responsible for us meeting." She
stopped, suddenly, as Ryouga faded away from her, a sad look on his
face. She turned to look at Genma, eyes moist.

 "But because of you, that won't happen," she accused. "Our
children won't be born; our destiny's have been irrevocably
altered!"

 "Subject to the will of The Lord," replied Genma, "Destiny is what
we make it." Akari shook her head angrily.

 "Selfish. Selfish," she spat. "The Saotome's always think of no one
but themselves, and when things get too hot, they run away with their
tails between their legs!"

 "Not true," said Genma calmly. "I had no choice in the matter--the
visions would not have allowed me to continue my life as I had known
it. And had I been able to do so, millions might have died--is your,
is my, is *anyone's* happiness worth that?"

 "Oh, Genma, Genma, Genma," said a beautiful young woman wearing
an apron. He recognised her as Kasumi, one of Soun's daughters. "In
my world, no one died horribly--in fact your son and Akane became
close straight off, and married when they left college." She walked
over to Ranma-kun, still weeping on his knees for a future that would
now never be. "Did you even consider that those tragic fates you saw
might not ever happen?"

 "Oh, yeah, right--like I'm gonna take *that* kind of a chance with
the future of the whole world!" Genma retorted. "Sorry, people--The Lord

*knew* you were not ment for this earth, and He made me His Terrible
Swift Tool of Divine Celestial Mechanics! So if y'all don't like it--
TOUGH! I only wanted to do what I thought was right!"

 "What you thought was *right?!*" said another young woman. She was
waring the traditional costume of an oknomiyaki chef, and had a huge
spatula strapped to her back. "You jackass! Those visions weren't from
God! You never ever considered the positive things that could happen!!"

 "HEATHEN LYING BLASPHEMOUS WITCH!!" screamed Genma. "What positive
things?!"

 "How about my wedding, Pop?" asked Ranma-kun.

 Suddenly Genma was in a huge, western-style church. A wedding was
going on, and there was Ranma--as an adult, in a tuxedo, arm in arm
with a beautiful short-haired brunette wearing a full sequined wedding
gown.

 "Because of you, I won't get married!" Ranma-chan said. "You
remember, don't you--the pact you were supposed to make with Tendo
Soun?"

 "The Pact from Hell!"

 "No. Not a pact from Hell," said the brunette, turning to look at
him. Her eyes were filled with an infinate sadness which tore at his
soul. "An agreement which would have resulted in a happy marriage,
filled
with love and hope," she continued. "A union of two souls which would
have given you four beautiful grandchildren. But because of you, Genma,
that won't happen--because of you, I won't be married. Because of you,
I am DEAD."

 Before Genma's horrified eyes, the wedding scene vanished. The
brunette threw back her head, and with an agonized scream decomposed,
rotting into a stinking, worm-infested, fly-blown corpse before falling
in a heap to the ground. Ranma-kun could only moan like a wounded
animal.

 "Oh. . ." Genma's hand covered his mouth.

 All white. Everywhere. A blinding light filled the room, and Genma was
alone in the strange glare which somehow did not hurt his eyes. There
was
a voice--

 "Justice."

 Genma turned to see a man clad in black, with reflective chrome placed
about his shoulders, arms and legs. His silver eyes, cold and unfeeling,

bored into Genma's.

 "Soon, very soon, Genma," the white-haired man spoke, "You must
decide."

 "D-Decide?" Genma asked.

 "Indeed."

 "On what?"

 "Justice. Pure--"

 --one of his arms shot forth into a gleaming blade--

 "--Simple--"

 --the other arm snapped into another blade-like weapon--

 "Justice."

 Genma was suddenly snapped awake by the sound of his alarm clock.

 "Oh-oh, Brian," he muttered. He stroked his forehead, feeling
nauseous from the graphic scenes in the nightmare, and deeply troubled--

he'd not had such a vision in years! And--what they'd said--

 <Is it true?> he wondered, appalled. <Is it really all a lie, a
ghastly mistake?> He shook his head to clear it.

 <No,> he told himself, <no. It can't be--the Lord would not allow
me, his loyal servant, to be deceived like this for this long. It-it's
just Satan, trying to fool me-->

 --in his mind, Ranma, on the floor, sobbing in dispair--

 <--trying to lead me into perdition.> Beside him, Washu yawned as she
awoke, stretching her back and arms.

 "Morning, honey!" she said. Washu turned to see her husband's
troubled face. "What's wrong?"

 "N-nothing, shugah-plumb," Genma smiled.  "Ah--ah just don' feel very
well today. That's all."

 "Hmm, well, you have to eat breakfast, dear. Maybe if I cook you
up some nice scrambled eggs."

 As Washu exited the bed, Genma turned away, deep in thought.

 "Ohayou!" Washu returned a few minutes later with Genma's breakfast
floating in on an anti-gravity tray. "Feeling okay, now?"

 Genma grinned at his wife.

 <Yeah. Just the Devil, trying to stear me off track,> Genma thought.
<Well, away from me, Satan--I have a beautiful wife and five promising
children. I have to think of their well-being as well."

 "Much bettah, Washu-chan," Genma said assuringly. "Yo' always knew
how to make me happy."





  FALL, 1997
  JOKETSUZOKU AUTONOMOUS REGION
  UNITED REPUBLIC OF CHINA:
  Stepping out of the Tower, Silver inspected the area around
him coldly, logically. He then threw his head back, absorbing a flood
of past memories: His/her previous life on this alternate Earth. . .

 . . .as an Amazon warrior from Joketsuzoko, pure and brave,
sacrificing her life for her queen. . .

 A wave of chrome rippled up Silver's body and he dropped to his
knees.

 "Silver!! Roar dashed from the Tower doors towards her leader.
"Silver! Are you okay?"

 "Y-yes," Silver muttered as he rose to his feet. "I am fine. I also
know what to do about our lack of a reserve team."

 Silver turned to Roar.

 "We shall go to a village a hundred miles from here. If we are
lucky, we shall get the aid we need there."

 Roar nodded and then ran back to the Tower.





 Jesus straightened up
 and asked her, "Women,
 where where they? Hast no
 one condemned thee?"
 She said, "No man, Lord.
 And Jesus said unto her,
 "Then nether do I condemn
 thee: Go and sin no more."
               --John 8:11


  1997
  HENTAI WARD,
  TOKYO, JAPAN:
     Kasumi lay in bed with one of her clients. He was sound
asleep after a mere ten minute blow job, but Kasumi couldn't sleep:
she had too much on her mind. Such as her family. And her career.
She had to choose. But which one?

 She blamed Happosai for estranging her from her family. Even
though he did train her to be a formidable martial artist, Happosai
had started molesting her alomst from the moment she hit puberty.
The constant sexual abuse from Happosai forced Kasumi to hone her
martial arts skills even further, until one day she developed her
dreaded chi-based Sex Bomb finishing move. During one particularly
odious session with Happosai, she killed him with it.

 The power Happosai seemingly absorbed from Kasumi and the other
girl's shapeliness overloaded him, vaporizing him into a fine red
mist.

 But even in death, the old pervert had won: for though he was
hentai, he was still a human being. And with the killing of Happosai,
Kusumi had lost the remnants of her innocence. She soon discovered
that, in a twisted way, she enjoyed all the sexual perversions, and
decided to become a professional dominatrix. Weeks later, she was
approached by the Yakuza with the job of enforcer/protector for their
prostitution establishments. She eagerly accepted, and was so good at
her job that she was soon pulling down approximately US$400.00/hr
for these services, as well as being promoted to chief procurer for
the Yukuza itself, not to mention the other rich and powerful all
over the earth.

 Life became a whirwind of sex, violence, training and the
occasional heroin hit. The cloths she wore cost tens of thousands
of yen; her car was a custom-built Pontiac G.T.O. Dragon and her
apartment was located in the very exclusive Lexcorp Sakura Gardens
Tower downtown--a gift to her from Luthor himself, "for services
rendered." She smiled at the memory; kryptonite was *not* easy to
come by, these days. . .


 But then one day, she was reunited with her family.

 Nabiki and Akane showed up at her door. They had heard from their
father about the pact he'd been required to make with Happosai; it was
why their mother had divorced him, after all. Now, their mother was
ten years gone to the land of the Kami, and they wanted Kasumi back,
wanted to return her to her family and undo, if possible, all the
damage that had been done. It was a bittersweet reunion. Soun thought
Kusumi was too corrupted by Happosai; Nabiki, in the meantime, was
already calculating the uses to which she could put a world-class
martial artist with strong Yakuza ties.

 And Akane. . .
 <Ah, sweet Akane,> Kasumi remembered. <You never gave up hope
in me. Even when I did terrible things to those disloyal to the
Yakuza, you still believed I was a good person.>

 Kasumi clasped her hands over her eyes.

 <I'd like to think you were right, my oneechan,> she thought. <But
I've done too much; seen so much; done too many evil things.> Kasumi
rolled out of bed and headed toward the bathroom.

 Turning on the light, Kasumi just stared in the mirror at her
naked body. Her well-muscled arms and legs. Her washboard stomach.
Her large, shapely breasts. The end result of at least seventeen years
of hard work and dedication to The Art.

 <No wonder I'm asked for by so many people--men and women alike--and
 not just for my fighting skills,> thought Kasumi sardoniclly.

 ". . .there are some things more important than money!" Nabiki's
words, and she was just beginning to realize how true they were.

 She stared silently at her own face for a moment, at the face in
the mirror, and wondered, not for the first time, who it truly was.

 With a scream she threw a punch in the mirror, shattering it to
pieces. The man in the bed came awake with a start.





 "O tiger's heart wrape'd
 in a woman's hide"
               --William Shakespeare.



     "Wh-Woah. 'Baywatch' meets Jackie Chan," muttered Rocker as
he and his fellow Clansmen entered the Amazon village. "Power Apex,
this is station!"

  "Yeah, I suppose," Roar said. "I haven't seen any men yet!"

 "You will not see them, Katherine," Silver explained. "This is
Joketsuzoku, the Village of Amazon Women. Men are generally second
class citizens here."

 "I won't ask how you know this," Moonhowl said. "I am NOT
going to ask. See me not asking."

 "I was one of them once," Silver explained. "My name was Kim
Lei--"

 "Didn't I just say I DIDN'T want to know about this?"

 "--and two centuries ago, I selflessly sacrificed my life for
my queen, Ku Lon, in a war with a neighboring village."

 "K-Ku Lon?!" Technique asked. "As in the stuff you put on your
FACE?"

 "Oh, BROTHER!" WyldKatt moaned. "Talk about ridiculous!"

 "Hmm. . .It appears we have caught their attention," Silver
stated.

 Many of the Chinese women were now staring at them. Many more
were exiting Urts and houses, and most of them were armed.

 "Yeah, with the way we're dressed, and look," Roar nodded as she
stroked the fur on her arms, "I'd say we caught attention. Oh yeah
we did."

 Three Amazons wielding large swords, nunchucks, and a glaive,
respectively, rushed at the Clan, stopping within several feet of
them.

 "Outsiders!" Shouted the lead Amazon in Chinese. She was the one
with the swords, and bright pink hair. "State your business in
Joketsuzoku or you will die!!"

 "The welcome wagon it is not," MercyKiller said.

 "Greetings and salutations, my sisters," Silver spoke in
Chinese. "I wish to have an audience with the Queen Ku Lon. It is of
the utmost importance."

 "And why should we trust you?" the blond with the glaive said.
"You and your entourage could be demons of some kind!"

 "DEMONS?!" Lei Kung was nonplussed, to say the least. Thunder clouds
began to form in the sky. "Mortal wench, do you have ANY idea who I--"

 "Power down, Lei!" said MercyKiller. "We're not here to make
enemies!"

 "All right, all right!" said a new voice. "What's going on here?"

 A two foot white haired old woman wearing a green robe and holding
a gnarled cane walked from her nearby cabin. Approaching Silver, she
leapt up onto the head of her cane, demonstrating astounding balance.

 "Nihao, my queen," Silver said, clasping his hands together and
bowing his head. "It is good to see that you are well after so long."

 "Am I supposed to know you?" Ku Lon asked.

 "Not in this appearance, no. But two centuries ago, in another
incarnation, I was an Amazon sister, under the name of Kim Lei."

 For a few seconds, dead silance. Then all of the Amazons nearby,
save for Ku Lon, burst into raucus laughter.

 "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHtoo ridiculous," one Amazon muttered.

 "A. . .MALE Amazon? Impossible!!" another exclaimed.

 "Silence!" Ku Lon shouted. Instantly, the Amazons quieted down,
albeit with a few giggles scattered about.

 "I expected this," Silver said to Moonhowl.

 "Anyone *would,*" Moonhowl agreed.

 "All right. 'Kim Lei,'" Ku Lon remarked, "Can you prove you're
who you say you are?"

 "I can," Silver said. "On the battlefield, when we were engaged in
a war with a rival village, that village's queen shot an arrow aimed
toward you. But I leapt in its path, and it pierced my heart."

 Ku Lon recalled the event in her mind, and found every word Silver
said was exact. Still, he could have heard about it from somewhere; it
was a tale fairly well known in the region. But there was one thing Ku
Lon knew which *no one* else knew.

 "What were your last words?" she asked Silver.

 "There were none. I was killed instantly," Silver said. "But my
blood had spread out on the ground before my lifeless body in the
pattern of a yin-yang."

 "Oh my God. . .you. . .you are Kim Lei!"

 "Were," Silver corrected. "I am Silver, now. I lead this team of
superhumans--" Silver gestures, indecating his companions.

 "--The Clan Justice."

 "I am in your debt, Sister," said Ku Lon, bowing deeply. "What do
you need of me, Silver?"

 "Your aid."

 "Well, then, Perhaps we should discuss this in my cabin," replied
Ku Lon.

 "Yes, we should." Silver turned to his Clanmen. "Moonhowl,
Technique. You shall accompany us." He turned back to Ku Lon. "Those
two are my second and third in command. They should be present for
this."

 Ku Lon nodded her head. "Agreed."

 Silver looked back to his Clansmen.

 "The rest of you should return to The Foresti Tower," Silver
advised. "The Amazons here usually do not like men and I would rather
not have any of the female Clanmen accidentally crossing these women.
That includes you, WyldKatt."

 "What??" WyldKatt asked, all shocked innocence. "I wasn't gonna
to do nothin'! Really!"

 ". . .Indeed," Silver was skeptical.

 "We'll leave, Silver," Roar said. Tapping her comm-symbol, she
spoke, "System, teleport by 9, homeward bound."

 As System said, "Acknowledged," from Roar's comm-symbol, Arsenal
noticed something going on off in the distance: a crowd of Amazons
with the familiar sounds of martial arts combat in the epicenter.

 Before he could investigate, however, Arsenal and the other eight
Clansmen disappeared in a flash of light, leaving Silver, Technique,
Moonhowl, and Warhunter in Joketsuzoku.

 "Impressive," Ku Lon remarked. "Well, let's talk, shall we?"

 "Yes," Silver agreed.

 Moments after the three Clansmen and Ku Lon entered the queen's
cabin, a single flash of light appeared revealing Arsenal.

 "I've have GOT to check this out," he said to himself as he jogged
over to the crowd of Amazons.


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

 My, my--*what* has Arsenel got himself into? And what of Silver's
mysterious past as an Amazon woman? And is Kasumi actually showing
pangs of a conscience?
 C+C, everyone!


    --Paul & Kenny