Well, recent discussion helped me finally write the next chapter of this.
:)

Looks like this will go to four chapters.  

      Ranma-chan stared off into the setting sun.  Finding Akane was 
going to be a lot harder than she had thought.  Even with more 
power than she had ever had on any of her past quests to find 
Akane.  She sighed and tried to figure out how they would ever 
actually find AkaneÕs trail.  All they knew was that Akane had 
headed east with some people.  Maybe someone in the next village 
will recognize her.

       Ukyou looked up from his cooking.  ÒWhatÕs wrong, Ranchan?Ó

       ÒNothing,Ó  Ranma-chan said automatically.  Instincts acquired 
in the Tower were reasserting themselves, made stronger by the 
fact that not talking about her problems came naturally to her 
anyway.  She had had only her father to confide in before she came 
to Nerima, and she knew better than to confide in him.  Every time 
she ever had, something bad had come of it.

       It wasnÕt manly to foist off your problems on other people, 
anyway.  I got us into this, she thought.  IÕll get us out.  Living in 
the Tower, where she had to conceal even being a guy, had made 
matters worse.  She still wasnÕt quite sure how or why she had 
consented to go there during her previous trip to this world, though 
the warnings about accidentally killing herself without proper 
training had played a big part.  

       She had had to lie a lot and be silent about her past even more 
to get by in the tower.  For a variety of reasons, it had been 
difficult to make friends, though she had made a few.  She had 
befriended a shy girl named Alyssa who was having a very difficult 
time of it and was constantly picked on by the other apprentices 
and treated abominably by the Accepteds and full Sisters.  Of 
course, the Accepteds and full Sisters treated everyone pretty 
abominably, but RanmaÕs heart had gone out to the poor girl and she 
had done her best to try to protect her.  It hadnÕt surprised Ranma-
chan very much when Alyssa Ôwashed outÕ, but that was because 
Alyssa had confided to Ranma-chan that she WANTED to be thrown 
out.  

        Ranma-chan had been the only person who came and said good-
bye when Alyssa left.  Alyssa had tried to convince her to come 
with her, but Ranma-chan couldnÕt leave until she either reached 
Accepted status or burned out or been thrown out, and Ranma-chan 
knew that if she wanted to find a way back home, it would almost 
certainly be in the tower.  Two weeks later, Ranma-chan had 
passed the test to become Accepted.  That had been a disturbing 
experience in itself, followed by some bad mistakes in Tear she 
made as a result of it.  I nearly got everyone killed because I was 
worried things would come out like in my test, she thought.

*****************

        Ranma-chan stood confidently, looking at the triple-arched 
ter'angreal through which she would have to pass.  Most candidates 
were nervous at this point, but she wasn't.  Ranma-chan had faced 
down gods and won.  At least they had claimed to be gods.  Anyway, 
she wasn't afraid of anything, or at least she'd never admit it.  

        Four full sisters stood around the ter'angreal--a red, a blue, a 
green, and a brown.  A fifth stood by him, another blue, Sheriam, 
the mistress of novices.  Ranma-chan liked her, but at the same 
time, she had been ready to get out from under Sheriam's 
responsibility for a long time.  In fact, she wanted out of the tower 
as fast as possible, but the Amrylin had woven her in a net of 
reasons to not go that she wasn't even sure she fully understood.  
In fact, she'd been tugged along by things beyond her control ever 
since she'd landed in this world or time, or wherever she was this 
time.  Next time, Nabiki can go throw away the cursed objects 
herself, Ranma-chan thought.

       The red spoke.  "Whom do you bring with you, sister?"

        Sheriam replied, "One who comes as a candidate for 
Acceptance, Sister."  Their voices had a soothing musical tone to 
them, a sense of a ritual performed many times.

        It continued.  The red asked, "Is she ready?"

        "She is ready to leave behind what she was, and, passing 
through her fears, gain Acceptance."

        "Does she know her fears?"

        "She has never faced them, but now is willing."

        "Then let her face her fears."

        As she had been told to do before the ritual began, Ranma-
chan now stripped.  Having women see her female form naked didn't 
bother her.  What bothered her were the four cups of water being 
held by the four aes sedai around the ter'angreal.  She feared that 
one of them held hot water.  Or Jyusenkyo water.  Or worse.  
Ranma-chan had had too many bad experiences with water. 

       The red sister, who Ranma-chan thought might be named Karla, 
said, "The first time is for what was.  The way back will come but 
once.  Be steadfast."

        Ranma-chan stepped through the portal.  The world flashed 
white around her.  

                                     *        *         *

       The way back will come but once, the voice whispered into 
Ranma's head.  Ranma blinked and shook his head.  The way back to 
what?  He stood at the top of a narrow path leading down into a 
valley in the mountains.  Mists shrouded it, but he recognized it.  
Akane, Ukyou, Ryouga, Shampoo, and Mousse were with him.  Ryouga 
looked incredibly nervous.  

       Ranma couldn't blame him.  They'd hiked for months to get 
here, but Akane still didn't know about Ryouga's curse.  I'll just 
splash him, 'accidentally', Ranma thought.  That way, he won't have 
to explain why he's bothering to douse himself.  

       Shampoo said, "Shampoo be glad to get back girl body for all 
times."

       Mousse nodded.  "Then we can be married!"

       Shampoo slugged Mousse, who went flying off the 
mountainside, plunging through the mists into some unseen pool.  
SPLASH!  She then glomped onto Ranma, triggering the usual brawl.

        When the smoke cleared, they were all on the edge of a pool 
from which an angry wombat wearing glasses was crawling.  
Everyone crawled away from the pool, then stood up.  Akane said, 
"That was close."

        Shampoo idly shoved Ryouga in, then winked at Ranma, who 
laughed faintly.  Even better plan than mine, he thought.  Now 
Ryouga has an excuse and Akane will never know he was P-chan.  
Nice thinking of her.

         The angry bandana wearing wombat soon surfaced and 
charged Shampoo, who scampered away laughing.  The glasses 
wearing wombat sighed and ran after both of them.  Ranma, Akane, 
and Ukyou began trudging across the valley to the guide's hut.

       The guide was in the process of nailing up signs to the poles.  
Ukyou cheered.  "It's about time!"  Far off, they saw two wombats 
pull Shampoo into a pool after them, and three men surfaced.  
Ranma began to run towards that pool.  

         A voice whispered, the way back will come but once.  A silver 
archway formed near him, shimmering.  No, he thought.  All I need 
is just a few more minutes.  The archway began to fade.  He looked 
over at the pool where Ryouga and Mousse were frolicking and 
Shampoo was trying to strangle them both, and sighed.  He lept 
through the portal.

         Ranma-chan was back in her girlbody.  She shuddered.  Maybe 
that wasn't so bad after all, she thought.  If I had walked out of 
that thing a guy...I'd be in trouble now.  There's probably a hidden 
clause for beating up naked men in the oaths.  

          Karla, the red sister, said, "You are washed clean of what sin 
you may have done,"  then poured a silver chalice of water over 
Ranma-chan, who shivered, and continued, "and of those done 
against you.  You are washed clean of what crime you may have 
committed and of those committed against you.  You come to us 
washed clean and pure, in heart and soul."

        Sheriam escorted Ranma-chan around to the second arch.  "The 
second time is for what is.  The way back will come but once.  Be 
steadfast."

         Ranma-chan stepped through a second time.  Flash.

                                     *        *         *

       The voice came again.  The way back will come but once.  
Ranma-chan blinked and looked around.  She stood in a huge 
chamber with a high vaulted ceiling held up by elaborately carved 
pillars.  A glowing crystal sword hung in the air, apparently 
waiting for someone to take it.  A tall handsome man, more than a 
foot taller than Ranma-chan, dressed in torn and battered clothing 
was staring at it.  Like Ranma-chan he had red hair, though his was 
darker than her bright hair.  He was confronting a second man, who 
was dressed in red and black clothing cut in the style of a lord, 
with a sword in his hands.  The outfit reminded Ranma disturbingly 
of her favorite red satin jacket and black pants, although the man 
had short white hair and looked nothing like Ranma's boy form.  
"Take it, Lews Therin.  Take it, Kinslayer."

        The first man stared at the second.  "You put them in a cage,"
 he said.  "Egwene, and Nynaeve, and Elayne.  In my dreams.  You 
kept putting them in a cage, and hurting them."

       Ranma-chan frowned.  If the first guy was right, she was going 
to make the second man regret the day he had been born.  Even 
Nynaeve didn't deserve that.  Much.  

       The second man shrugged.  "They are less than nothing.  
Perhaps one day, when they have been trained, but not now.  I 
confess surprise that you cared enough to make them useful.  But 
you were ever a fool, ever ready to follow your heart before 
power."  He continued babbling, but Ranma-chan ignored him.  She 
began circling around behind him.  Where am I, anyway?, Ranma-
chan asked herself.  And who is that red haired guy?

       "A name!"  Rand demanded.  "What is your name?"

       "Call me Be'lal."  He scowled at the redhead for no apparent 
reason.

       Ranma-chan paled.  Be'lal was one of the forsaken.  She didn't 
know much about them, but she knew they all made Happy look like 
Kasumi.  She grasped the source.  Here's where we see if all the 
garbage I've had to put up with in the Tower has been worth it.  
Whoever that red haired guy is, there's no way he can fight one of 
the Forsaken.  I guess his name is Lews Therin.  That's what Be'lal 
keeps calling him.  The name tickled her mind, but she couldn't 
quite place it.  

        Be'lal spun on his heels, looking surprised.  "La..."  He paused.  
"Who the hell are you?"

        Lews Therin looked confused as well.  He muttered something 
about Aes Sedai.

       Ranma-chan grinned confidently.  The power was flowing 
through her and she felt ready to fight ten thousand Forsaken.  "My 
name is Ranko Sedai of the Saotome School of Anything Goes 
Martial Arts.  You want a fight?  Fight me."

        Be'lal stared at her for a moment, then looked at Lews Therin 
and grinned.  "One of those pathetic children who call themselves 
Aes Sedai."  He gestured and threw lightning at her.  Seconds later, 
she was landing on his head, wrapping her legs around his neck and 
falling behind him, pulling him down.  She rolled and flipped him 
over her, sending him across the room, then hurled a weave of 
spirit at him, trying to shield him, although she really wasn't sure 
how it was done.

        He sliced her weave to pieces and staggered to his feet.  
"Impressive.  But not good enough."  Fire, lightning, ice, and stone 
all exploded at Ranma-chan, who dodged like a maniac, while trying 
to fend off his simultaneous effort to shield her.  

          Lews Therin suddenly pulled a flaming sword out of 
somewhere.  At first, Ranma-chan thought he must be related to 
Akane, but then she realized he must be another male channeler.  
"Leave the girl alone. I'm the one you want, Be'lal,"  he said.

        "I'm not a girl!"  Ranma-chan shouted, then sighed when they 
both stared at her as if she was insane.  

         Be'lal gestured and a shimmering wall of glowing light cut 
the room in half, putting him and Ranma-chan on one side and Lews 
Therin and the glowing sword on the other.  "Perhaps if you draw 
the sword you'll get through that in time to save her.  I doubt it, 
though."

        Ranma-chan frowned.  Is the sword trapped?  I think he wants 
Lews to draw it.  She lept high, then used her skills and the power 
to change direction in mid-air to try to land behind him, so she 
could take him from the rear.

        He was good.  She found herself heading straight for his sword 
and half-shielded at the same time.  Using what little strength she 
could still draw, she shoved the sword with flows of air so it 
twisted in his hands, landed on it, and kicked Be'lal in the face.  He 
went flying into his own glowing shield, which Lews was trying 
desperately to hack through with the flaming sword.  Pretty soon, 
he was going to succeed, Ranma-chan thought.    

        Be'lal swore and got up, but Ranma-chan was too fast for him.  
She unleashed a hail of kicks and punches, going all out.  He was in 
too much pain to channel very well, and soon he passed out.  There 
was an audible pop and the glowing shield vanished.  Lews walked 
over slowly to Ranma-chan, watching her nervously.  "Is he dead?"

       "I'm too good a fighter to have to kill someone to beat them.  
So your name is Lews Therin?"

        He frowned.  "My name is Rand al'Thor."

        Ranma-chan boggled.  "You're Egwene's boyfriend, right?  The 
guy from the Two Rivers that she and Elayne and Min and Nynaeve 
talk about all the time."  No wonder they all like him, Ranma-chan 
thought.  Well, all of them except Nynaeve, who I don't think likes  
anyone.  "Does she know you can channel?"  She looked over at the 
sword.  "And why did Be'lal keep trying to get you to draw the 
sword?"

       Rand laughed.  "Egwene and I have been...close for a very long 
time if that's what you mean by 'boyfriend'."  He relaxed a little and 
smiled.  "It's nice to know they think of me.  So you're a friend of 
theirs from the Tower?"

        The Tower.  The way back will come but once.  Ranma-chan 
frowned for a moment.  "Yeah."  She paused.  "Where are we?"

       Rand stared at her for a moment.  "You don't know where you 
are?"

       "I...I can't remember how I got here.  I was in the Tower and..."  

       She suddenly sensed huge amounts of channeling going on.  Ten 
portals opened up around the chamber and each spat forth a man or 
a woman.  Ranma-chan could tell all of the women were channelers 
and frighteningly powerful.  Nynaeve was the only woman she'd 
ever met who she thought might be a match for any of them, though 
she herself came close, she thought.  

       Rand swore.  "Blood and Ashes.  All of them at once."  He ran 
for the sword.  

        Ranma-chan tried to move to help cover Rand, although she 
still didn't know why he wanted the sword.  All of what at...the 
Forsaken, she realized.  

        Their leader was the most frightening looking man Ranma-
chan had ever seen.  He had black flaming pits for eyes and horribly 
burnt and scarred flesh.  Darkness roiled around him, and just 
looking at him scared her more than Akane's cooking.  

        Ranma-chan instinctively tried to shield him, but three of the 
women cut her shield to ribbons, then shielded her.  One of the 
women, tall and beautiful with long dark hair, laughed.  "He will be 
mine, not yours, child.  Whoever you are."

         The men did nothing, which worried Ranma-chan.  She stood 
still as the tall woman walked over to her.  "Hmm.  Perhaps I will 
give you to Graendal.  Would you like her, Graendal?"

        Graendal, who was short, but lushly built and quite pretty 
though unable to match the woman who now stood within Ranma's 
reach, laughed.  "I think I could find a use for her."  She was 
wearing some sort of filmy dress which was red, but now turned a 
deep orange.  

        Rand reached for the sword, but his fingers stopped an inch 
from it.  He struck at the air unsuccessfully.  The disturbing man 
with flaming pits for eyes turned to one of the women and said, 
"Semirhage.  No."

       "It's too dangerous!  What if he beats us?  We can live without 
the sword!"

        Ranma-chan tried to muster the willpower to attack the 
woman who stood by her.  She couldn't do it.  The woman was 
unarmed, and even though Ranma-chan knew she was evil incarnate, 
she couldn't make herself strike a girl.  Not for just shielding her.  
Not unless the girl struck first.  

        The Forsaken all started shouting at each other, and Ranma 
laughed faintly.  Just like home, she thought.  She began to slowly 
sidle towards Rand, hoping no one would notice.  

        Suddenly a bar of white fire tracked across the room, striking 
the woman who had been contemplating giving Ranma-chan to 
Graendal.  She winked out of existence and suddenly the shield on 
Ranma-chan collapsed.  Ranma-chan didn't even look to see who had 
done it.  She summoned her chi, knowing they couldn't sense it 
coming.  As the Forsaken began to open fire on Rand and the woman 
who had hurled the fire, Ranma-chan faced Mr. Flames for eyes.  
"MOUKO TAKABISHA!"  She combined every ounce of the Power she 
could draw with her own chi in a mighty blast at the horrid being, 
who blinked and vanished in the explosion, leaving only smoking 
boots behind.

         For a moment, they all stared at her and the room fell silent.  
The woman, Graendal, whispered, "The True Power.  She wields the 
True Power.  It cannot be."

        More chaos.  Bolts of lightning, fire, razors, and enough spirit 
to shield half the White Tower surged across the room.  Rand 
somehow punched through whatever had blocked his first try and 
drew the sword.  Another Forsaken, this one dressed in what looked 
suspiciously like Aes Sedai garb died by the same white fire of 
oblivion that had claimed the beautiful woman.  The Aes Sedai who 
had first weilded that power was pinned to the wall by one of the 
men, who then left her there, shielded, her clothing on fire.  

       Ranma-chan hurled a second blast of mixed Power and Chi, this 
time dusting a short man clad in the garb of a lord.  The remaining 
women came after her now, keeping her physically away with Air 
and slicing her flows to pieces.  Rand was hard pressed as well, 
fighting several men at once.  

       Suddenly, a doorway flickered nearby.  A silver archway 
formed.  The way back to the Tower.  This was but a test.  Or was 
it?  Ranma-chan hesitated.  I can't leave Rand here to fight all the 
Forsaken!  

         The archway began to gutter out.  Ranma-chan swore loudly 
and lept through it.  I'm sorry, Rand, she thought.  I swear I'm not 
running away!  This was my only chance.  

        Flash.  She was back in the chamber again, shuddering.  I 
killed two people, she suddenly realized.  I blew them to dust.  I 
KILLED them.  And I left Rand to die.  Egwene and Elayne are going 
to kill me.  No.  It wasn't real.  It couldn't have been real.  

        Sheriam put a kindly arm on her shoulder and whispered, "Only 
one more to go."

        Ranma-chan gulped.  "Was it.  It wasn't...I mean...if 
I...uh...Nothing I did was real, right?"

       "We do not know.  I do not believe it is."

        Please let it be false, Ranma-chan thought.  I don't EVER want 
to meet the Forsaken.  Anyway, the real Rand is just some farmboy.  
Why would the Forsaken want to kill him?

        Karla poured a second chalice over Ranma-chan.   "You are 
washed clean of false pride.  You are washed clean of false 
ambition.  You come to us washed clean, in heart and soul."

        She didn't feel that way.

                                     *        *         *

        Things went differently, of course, when she actually went to 
Tear with Nynaeve, and Elayne, and Egwene, hunting the Black Ajah. 
The others got captured while she was shopping for food, and only 
the luck of getting incredibly lost in the streets and stuck in the 
mud had saved her from their fate.  She had broken into the Stone 
with Mat and the thief-catcher, Jules or Julio, or whatever his 
name was, but then got seperated from them as they fought their 
way through the Stone.  

        She recognized the vaulted chamber when she found it.  The 
Heart of the Stone, and thanks to the research she had done after 
her test, she knew what Callendor was and why it was important.  
When she saw the man, Be'lal, fighting Rand, she shuddered.  I've 
got to warn him and Moraine so they know what we're going to be 
up against.  I won't run away this time, she thought.  No matter 
what happens.  "Rand!  His friends are hiding and watching, waiting 
to pop up and kick your ass when you go for the sword!" she 
shouted, then launched herself airborne at Be'lal.  

        He lept out of the way just in time and she crashed into Rand, 
who fell and struck his head, passing out.  Ranma-chan swore, then 
swore again as Be'lal shielded her.  "Foolish girl.  You will suffer 
for interfering."  His voice was tight with rage.

       A plan popped into her head.  "So you think you're a great 
swordmaster, eh?  Then fight me without the power. Kick my ass.  
After all, you're one of the mighty Forsaken, eh?  Nothing to fear 
from me.  I don't even have a sword."

       He glared at her.  "I have no need to prove myself to you."

       "Oh, so you're afraid of an unarmed girl? Is  that it?  CHICKEN!"  
Ranma-chan began making faces at him.

       Be'lal snarled and went into stupid male mode.  "You'll look 
like a plucked chicken when I'm done with you."

       He was good, Ranma-chan had to admit, as she began to slowly 
circle the room, dodging blow after blow.  Better than Kunou, but 
he wouldn't last five minutes with me if I actually attacked him.  
If I do that, he'll wise up, though.  Slowly, Ranma-chan spiraled 
towards the sword.  I'll pray that I'm right and he can't draw it 
himself.

       He could see Be'lal's battle aura, his chi flaring with rage as 
Ranma-chan slipped away from every blow.  "Stop running and 
fight!"  Be'lal shouted.

       Ranma-chan laughed.  "You call those attacks?  A five year old 
could do better."

        The aura flared brighter.  The spiral tightened, and soon, they 
were right next to the sword.  She could see Rand was getting back 
up.  Maybe the rest of the Forsaken aren't going to come, Ranma-
chan thought.  Please, don't let them come, she prayed, though she 
wasn't sure who she was praying to.  Be'lal's battle aura flared a 
deep red like his coat and his flushed face.  Ranma-chan smiled and 
unloaded a single cool punch into the heart of the aura, the final 
step of the Hiryuu Shutenha.  

        Be'lal howled in surprise as his battle aura exploded, hurling 
him skyward.  He slammed into the ceiling.  Rand bathed him in fire 
as he fell, and the flaming remnants of his corpse rained down in 
pieces.  Rand turned to Ranma-chan and stared at her.  "How...he had 
you shielded.  How did you do that?"

        "I learned to do that before I had ever even heard of the White 
Tower,"  Ranma-chan said quietly.  "Be ready. He's got friends and 
they're gonna show up and try to kick our ass pretty quick."

        Ranma-chan was right.  Whips of black lightning suddenly 
erupted across the room and flung her against the wall.  She 
reached for the Source, but she had been shielded again, twice as 
strongly as before.  Her whole body erupted in agony.  

        Only one being appeared, instead of ten this time.  The 
horrible man, wreathed in darkness, howling with a deep voice.  
"Twice in this life I have offered you the chance to serve me 
living."  His mouth was full of fire too.  In a very brief lucid 
moment, Ranma-chan wondered how he could eat.  "Twice you have 
refused, and wounded me.  Now you will serve the Lord of the Grave 
in death.  Die, Lews Therin Kinslayer.  Die, Rand al'Thor.  It is time 
for you to die!  I take your soul!"

       Ranma-chan could do nothing but scream as he raised his hand 
and fired more of the strange black lightning at Rand, who was 
leaping for Callendor.  He isn't going to make it, Ranma-chan 
thought.  I tried, but I just buggered things up.  No!  This can't 
happen!  I can't die like this.  Elayne, Egwene, I'm sorry.  Akane, 
Ucchan, Mom...I'm sorry.  

         Time seemed to slow to a crawl.  Rand was screaming, but he 
was still going, his hand beginning to close on the sword's hilt.  
Suddenly, a bar of white fire corruscated across the room, striking 
the horrible man and his darkness.  The blackness turned white, 
then faded, leaving only sparkles behind. The black lightnings 
ceased to exist and Rand's hand closed on the sword.  

         He held it aloft and Moraine stepped out from the pillar she 
had been hiding behind.  "What are you doing here, Ranko?"  She 
paused.  "And what on earth did you do to Be'lal?"

        "Showed him who's boss."  Ranma-chan quietly passed out.

*************

       Ukyou frowned.  He knew RanmaÕs ÒNothingÓ was the sort of 
nothing that really meant Ôsomething I donÕt want to talk about.Ó  
He sighed.  IÕve known you for so long, Ranchan, but you still wonÕt 
let me inside your head.  You donÕt let anyone know what you think 
deep inside.  ÒDinnerÕs almost ready.  Can you get some more fuel?  
I think the fireÕs going to go out.Ó

       Ranma-chan got up and walked over.  She opened herself to the 
Source and let it rush through her.  It was getting easier again.  At 
first, after her return, she had almost not been able to remember 
how to do it, which was strange since she had been gone less than 
a week.  It came easily now, and she guided the flows to form a 
little perpetual flame under the grill, tied the flow in place, then 
reluctantly let go of the Source.

       Ukyou started.  ÒNice trick.Ó

       Ranma-chan smiled and held her hands near the flames.  ÒThis 
cold is really starting to annoy me.Ó

       ÒCanÕt you just make heat around yourself to stay warm?Ó

       ÒUsing the power all the time is dangerous, because you risk 
drawing too much power.  I did it before, but I was showing off.Ó  
She rubbed her hands together and continued.  ÒThere are five kinds 
of threads you weave to create various effects:  air, water, fire, 
earth, and spirit.  Aes Sedai tend to be best at air and water.Ó  She 
didnÕt want to mention that male channelers were best at fire and 
earth.  The fact that her strengths were largely the same as most 
female channelers bothered her, as did the fact that her male form, 
as far as she knew, couldnÕt channel, unless you counted her chi 
abilities.  It hinted at possibilities she really didn't like one bit.

         Probably it's just because men and women do it differently, 
she told herself.  I was trained by women, so of course I can't 
channel as a male...I really didn't get many opportunities to try.  
And...I'm probably better off this way, anyway...I don't want to go 
mad.

       Learning to open herself to the Source had been hellishly 
difficult.  It didn't come naturally to her, which had been 
reassuring and frustrating at the same time.  At least I didn't have 
the same problem as Nynaeve, she thought.  I bet Akane would be 
like that if she could channel.  Akane can't even do much with her 
chi, so she'd probably have an even harder time than I did.  I bet 
Ukyou could learn...not that I could teach her like this, with her a 
guy.  

       Ranma-chan stared at Ukyou's chest, which was quite flat, 
since Ukyou was currently male.  Ukyou looked down at his shirt.  
"Do I have a stain or something?"

       Ranma-chan quirked her lips in a smile.  "No, no stain."  She 
looked down at the grill and laughed faintly.  "I bet you have  the 
only okonomiyaki grill in this universe."

       Ukyou laughed.  "I bet I have the biggest spatula in the universe 
as well."

       "I think you had the biggest one in OUR universe too."  

       Ukyou pulled dinner off the grill and spread some sauce onto 
it, then added the rabbit meat.  "Well, I guess we'll see how well 
my extra-special rabbit okonomiyaki works out."

        Ranma-chan waited a little while for her dinner to cool.  
"What makes it extra-special?"

       "I brought some of my best sauce with me. I don't have very 
much, but I thought we'd uh...celebrate eating rabbit for the first 
time?"  Ukyou came over and sat down by Ranma-chan.

       Ranma-chan got tired of waiting and decided to just munch 
out.  "You've never had rabbit?"  It was very good, as always, 
although she burned her tongue a little.

       "Nope.  I've had deer, and caribou once, and Dad took me to this 
weird place that served emu of all things, but never rabbit."  Ukyou 
was a little more patient, letting his food cool off.  

       "If it moves, I've had it at some point.  Dad and I ate just about 
anything we could catch during our travels."  She shivered a bit.  "I 
really wish we'd known to bring some warmer clothing.  She pulled 
the cloak they had bought in the city closer around herself.  "And I 
wish I knew what happened to my friends."

       "I'm sure they're fine, Ranchan.  They were all Aes Sedai 
right?"  Ukyou didn't know much about Aes Sedai, but from the 
casual way Ranma-chan tossed amazing powers around, he doubted 
they were likely to be in any danger.

       Ranma-chan laughed nervously.  "I'm sure they're fine.  We 
could really use their help."  Even if Nynaeve acts more like Akane 
than Akane does sometimes.  I hope the rest of the Blacks we were 
hunting didn't get them.  Ranma-chan told herself to stop worrying.  

       Far away, Nynaeve sneezed and didn't know why.

***************************************

      Kaneda stood on the walls and looked out across the mountains.  
They were ready for winter, and the coming snows would protect 
them from any incoming armies, so he would have until spring to 
fret about what to do next.  

      I have to do something, he thought.  I can't just stay here and 
wait for an army too large for me to show up.  Maybe I should try to 
get us to Tear so we can throw in with the Dragon there.  From the 
stories I've heard, he sounds more likely to be the real Dragon than 
I am, whatever everyone here may think.  

     A voice interrupted his meandering thoughts.  "Thinking about 
the future?"  Cerise asked.  She was dressed quite warmly, not 
being a channeler like him.  

      Keeping himself warm was child's play, and good practice.  So 
was practicing with his students like Cerise.  "Having any luck 
with that special maneuver yet?"  He had been trying to teach 
Cerise how to make a mallet with her chi.  It wasn't working.  It 
was the only conscious chi maneuver that Kaneda knew.  

      The whole business of trying to teach chi moves to his 
students was rather frustrating.  They couldn't grasp the concept, 
and he found it harder to explain than it should have been.  The men, 
especially, seemed to think it must have something to do with 
channeling and were afraid of it.  Cerise, however, was now 
capable of short bursts of superhuman strength.  She had more 
aptitude than the men did, or perhaps she simply wasn't afraid.  Or 
maybe it's because she's as cranky as I am, Kaneda thought, then 
laughed.

      Chi was not the One Power.  Kaneda was quite certain of that.  
He and Alyssa had experimented, and even shielded, he could still 
tap his chi.  He had also figured out how to combine his chi with 
his channeling to duplicate one of Ryouga's special maneuvers:  the 
Breaking Point.  He could find the weak points in just about 
anything with the One Power, then shatter it with a chi-enhanced 
blow.  If he could just figure out how to find the weak points 
without the One Power, he could teach the others.  

      "No.  It doesn't seem natural to me.  I don't know if I'll ever get 
the hang of it.  But, I've been watching you do that rock trick...and I 
think I've figured out how to do it."

      Kaneda smiled.  "Show me."

      They went down off the wall to the practice ground, where a 
lot of rocks were lying around by one side.  Kaneda picked up a fair 
sized one and brought it over.  "Show me."

      Cerise closed her eyes for a second, then began to glow very 
faintly.  Kaneda knew only an experienced user of chi would 
actually be able to perceive it being used.  He'd always suspected 
this, but his experiences here had proved it to him.  Her hand 
suddenly glowed a bright blue and she stabbed it down at the rock, 
which shattered into a dozen pieces as she drove her index finger 
into it.  "Like that, right?"

      They're learning so fast, Kaneda thought.  Then again, Ranma 
learns this fast.  I guess it's just a matter of dedication.  "You'll be 
a master of Anything Goes Martial Arts in no time, at this rate."

      "I still can't beat you."  Cerise said modestly.  "You must be 
renowned as a great warrior in your homeland."  Wherever that is, 
she thought.  I still have no idea where the Lord Dragon comes 
from.

      "Actually, I was the worst fighter in the place,"  Kaneda said 
quietly.  "Well, better than most people, but I could name probably 
two dozen or more better fighters in my hometown alone."

      Cerise stared in silence for a moment.  "You're kidding, right?"

      "I'd name names, but they wouldn't mean anything to you."  
Kaneda sighed and stared off into space, thinking about them.  
Daddy, I miss you and Kasumi and Nabiki so much.  Ryouga-kun, I 
wish you were here.  I could use your smile and your fighting skills.  
Heck, I'd be happy if Shampoo crashed through the wall of the 
Castle right now.  Images began to form around Kaneda.  It was a 
flaw he had developed of sometimes illustrating his thoughts.  A 
potentially dangerous flaw, and in his most rational moments, he 
considered it a sign of the dangers of being a channeller and 
worried about the insanity said to come from it.  

      Cerise watched quietly as Soun, Nabiki, Kasumi, Ryouga, and 
Shampoo appeared, still lives frozen in action poses.  Mousse and 
Cologne followed, then Happousai, Genma, and Ranma, all people 
Cerise had never seen.  Kunou, Kodachi, and Kouchou followed, then 
Miss Hinako, Sayuri, and Yuka.  Nodoka and Ukyou appeared, then 
Gosunkugi, Sasuke, and many others.  A legion of memories 
surrounded Cerise, clad in strange clothing, many of them in 
fighting poses, Kasumi sweeping an invisible floor, Nabiki holding 
a camera, which was totally alien to Cerise.  Finally, she said, 
"Wow, these are all warriors of your town?"

     Kaneda started, and swore softly.  "Yes."  He pointed to Soun, 
then to Kasumi and Nabiki.  "My father and my sisters."  He went 
around, naming people and trying to explain who they were without 
having to change too many things to fit this reality.  Finally, he 
stopped by Ranma, not knowing what to say.

      "And who is this?"  Cerise asked, looking at Ranma. "Your 
brother?" 


      Kaneda laughed loud and long.  Finally, he calmed down and 
called up an image of 'Ranko'.  "They're twins.  Ranma and I used to 
fight all the time.  He didn't like ...his sister being engaged to me."  
He sighed.  "Ranma is the greatest warrior I know who isn't 
ancient, insane, or both."

      "Better than you?"  Cerise asked.

      "Ranma could beat you, me, and all my students by himself with 
one hand cut off."  Kaneda said quietly.  "He also learns much faster 
than any of us.  He learns in hours, what takes us days, in days, 
what takes us weeks, in weeks what takes most people years."  
Where are you, Ranma?  Are you even alive?  The worst possibility 
was that Ranma didn't care what had happened to him, but Kaneda 
couldn't quite bring himself to believe that.  Even if Ranma is 
looking for me, he's got an entire world to search, he thought and 
sighed.

      "Is he Aiel?"  Cerise asked.

      "No.  He'd eat the Aiel for breakfast."  Or at least Kaneda 
assumed he would.  If the Aiel can take Ranma, they're the scariest 
people who ever lived, he thought.  "And even if they beat him, he'd 
learn their moves and come back and trash them in the rematch."

      "Perhaps we should send for all your old friends,"  Cerise said.  
"They would come to your aid, would they not?"

      Kaneda looked around at them.  "They weren't all friends.  Some 
of them would come...if they knew where to find me and I knew how 
to contact them."  He sighed.  "If any of them are alive."

      "Why wouldn't they be alive?"

      "I was trying to go home with them when I ended up stranded in 
Tarabon.  They might all be dead...at least the ones who actually 
like me."

      Alyssa walked out onto the practice grounds and stared at all 
the people.  "What are you doing, Kaneda?"

      He sighed.  "I let my attention wander while grasping the 
Source.  Always a STUPID idea.  These are friends and enemies of 
mine from my hometown."

      Alyssa wandered through the picture 'gallery'.  She stopped at 
Soun.  "Your father."

     "You can tell?"

      "There's a family resemblance."  She moved on.  "Your sisters?"  
She pointed at Kasumi and Nabiki.  Kaneda nodded.  She paused in 
front of Ryouga and frowned faintly.

      "Is something wrong?"

      "I could have sworn I've seen this man.  He was asking one of 
the Brown sisters the way to Furinkan High School...they never did 
figure out how he got inside the Tower without going past the gate 
guards...or how he got out."

      Kaneda laughed.  "Ryouga is the ultimate lost boy."

      Alyssa stopped in front of Ranma and 'Ranko'.  "This must be 
Ranko and her brother."  She thought for a moment.  "Ranma, right?"

      Kaneda nodded quietly and walked over to Alyssa.  "I wish he 
was here.  We could use him."  I could use him, he thought, then felt 
guilty.  He looked over at Alyssa.  I shouldn't love a girl, he thought.  
But I do.  I love you.  I...I don't know what I'll do if Ranma comes.  If 
he comes.

      The thought suddenly struck Kaneda as he looked at Ranma 
standing by his girl-side, a thing that could never happen in reality.  
What if...what if Ranma has an Akane?  Maybe that's why he hasn't 
shown up...what if there's an Akane with him who thinks her curse 
is gone?  What if I'm living parallel lives in two different 
worlds...he might never learn what really happened.  He shuddered 
and Alyssa took his hand.

       She looked into his eyes with her gentle smile.  "Were you 
close friends?"

       "Ranma and I couldn't go a day without having a horrible fight.  
The same applied to Ranko and I.  But I owe them both my life and 
my freedom a hundred times over."  He sighed.  I have so much 
power, but I have no way of telling if he's alive...


*****************************************

       Ranma-chan sneezed as she prepared her blankets inside the 
tent. Ukyou sneezed as well a few seconds later.  "I guess someone 
is thinking about us,"  Ukyou said quietly.  

      Ranma-chan nodded.  She wove a ward around the tent, to warn 
of any creatures of Shadow, and a weave of fire and air to keep the 
tent warm all night.  She then shucked off her cloak and crawled 
into the blankets.  Ukyou clambered in next to her, and they laid on 
their stomachs, heads turned towards each other.  "I've warded the 
tent, so try not to turn evil before sunrise,"  Ranma-chan said, 
laughing faintly.

      Ukyou gave a mock-sigh.  "Ruin all my fun."

      They both laughed, then Ukyou turned more serious.  "Is there 
anything you can do to augment me or my skills?"  I need more 
power to keep up, he thought, then revised the thought, to be able 
to help Ranchan better.  This isn't a competition, he thought, but 
deep down, part of him was treating it as one.

       "Well, I could bond you as my warder,"  Ranma-chan said.  
"Assuming I can remember how to do it.  I've seen it done, but they 
frown on anyone below the rank of Full Sister doing it."  She 
twisted the ring on her right hand without thinking about it.  "Not 
that I'm likely to have to worry about Tower rules, I guess."

      "What is a warder?"

      "Warders are the elite warriors who bodyguard some Aes Sedai.  
What you get from the bond is heightened strength and endurance, 
faster healing, and you can sense how I'm doing and what direction 
I'm in."  Ranma-chan thought about it.  "And I can sense you as 
well."  She frowned faintly.  "There's something else, but I can't 
remember what."

      "I think you should do it, Ranchan.  Those sound useful."

       Ranma-chan nodded and sat up.  She opened herself to the 
Source again and tried to remember how it was done.  Ukyou sat up 
and watched Ranma-chan staring at nothing.  Then suddenly, he 
could feel Ranma-chan's presence.  It felt almost like a tiny 
Ranma-chan was sitting in her head.  He could feel Ranma's state 
of mental calm, the strange nirvana-like state that she entered 
when channeling.  Ukyou closed his eyes and he could still sense 
where Ranma-chan was.  Physically, he felt the same, but clearly, 
it had worked.  "I think it worked, Ranchan."

      Ranma-chan stared at Ukyou.  She let go of the Source as 
Ukyou's presence flooded into her mind.  She could sense Ukyou's 
excitement and joy, along with a few random twinges of desire.  
Suddenly, she became hyperaware of Ukyou's presence and how easy 
it would be to do something foolish.  No one would show up to stop 
them.  They could do anything, and her mind started conjuring up 
things. She stomped on the thoughts with big mental combat boots 
and tamped them away, applying her old meditative techniques.  

      I should have realized this would happen, she thought. If we can 
sense each other's feelings, if one of us gets horny...this could be 
bad.

      "What's wrong, Ranchan?"  Ukyou asked.  She could tell 
something was worrying Ranma-chan.  "Is something wrong on your 
end of this?"

      "It's nothing,"  Ranma-chan said, lying back down.  "I just had a 
mental image of some squirrel trying to cook acorn okonomiyaki on 
your grill.  I guess the inside of your head is pretty weird, eh?"

      Ukyou grabbed his pillow.  "I'll show you weird!"

      The pillow fight left Ranma-chan too worn out to have to worry 
about doing anything naughty, and tomorrow was another day.

*******************************


     The first snow fall blanketed Castle Mist with a carpet of 
white that left Kaneda feeling strangely exhilarated.  I guess we'll 
have a white Christmas, Kaneda thought, then laughed.  As if I had 
any way of telling when Christmas comes.  Wait, he thought.  It's 
three days after the solstice, so I can celebrate it then.  I wonder 
if Santa Claus delivers to this universe.  He laughed again.  

      Alyssa looked over at him.  "What's so funny?"  She and he and 
Corwin were working on fixing the wagons that Corwin had been 
making.  Not that they really NEEDED wagons, but it kept Corwin 
happy.  He had been a teamster once, and apparently expected to 
take up the occupation again.  Unfortunately, knowing how to 
operate a wagon didn't mean you knew how to make one.  Their 
three carpenters were busy making sure everyone's house wouldn't 
leak and fixing the ones that did, so Kaneda had decided to see 
what they could do with the Power to help.

     It was great for fixing broken things, but not so good for making 
sure of stuff like keeping all the wheels the same size.  "I don't 
suppose you've ever heard of Santa Claus?"

      Corwin thought for a moment.  "He was a king of Manrethen, I 
think."

      Alyssa thought hard.  "I think I heard someone mention some 
ancient book they found that mentioned that name.  When I was in 
the tower, that is."  She tried to remember.  "He was some sort of 
beer maker, right?"

      "Let me tell you about Santa Claus.  I think we ought to have a 
Christmas party when Christmas comes."  It took a while to tell 
the story, especially because Kaneda started to feel ridiculous 
halfway through it.  The children of the castle, however, loved the 
story when they heard it, and Kaneda had a feeling there would be a 
lot of stockings waiting on Christmas Eve.  He decided to make 
sure there would be something in them.

**********************************

      Ranma-chan finished changing into the dress.  It wasn't as 
warm as her red satin jacket and black pants, but she knew if she 
was going to impress the peasants as an Aes Sedai, she would have 
to look the part.  Certainly she didn't WANT to wear the dress, she 
told herself.  She wasn't going to show off just because she could.  

      Ukyou smiled faintly.  You can be so vain, Ranchan, she thought.  
But you'll never admit it.  "Ready, your highness?"

       Ranma-chan laughed.  "Time for the Aes Sedai and her warder 
to shake down the town looking for suspects."

      Everyone looked curiously at the pair that walked into their 
town.  They didn't get a lot of visitors, since they were off the 
main trade roads and close to the Amadician border.  Within a few 
seconds, they spotted the gold ring on her hand and an invisible 
bubble opened up around the pair.  No one in their right mind wanted 
more to do with an Aes Sedai than they had to.

      Ranma-chan and Ukyou headed into the local tavern.  The 
barkeep was a bored looking old man who was busily going bald 
when he wasn't busy trying to keep his bar clean.  He looked up.  
"Ah, greetings, noble travelers."  He then spotted the ring and paled 
slightly.  "How can I be of service?"

      Ranma-chan walked over to the man and smiled at him, while 
Ukyou lurked nearby and tried to look scary.  She pulled out a 
picture of 'Kaneda', not thinking about the fact that it was a 
photograph and this man had never seen such a thing before.

      He stared at it in awe.  It was the most lifelike painting he had 
ever seen.  "Amazing...I...I suppose you made that with the power?"

      She nodded.  "Something like that.  I'm looking for this man.  
Have you seen him?"

      He nodded.  "He had some men and women with him.  I think the 
Whitecloaks were after them."  He sighed.  "With all this anarchy in 
our land, the Whitecloaks have been running amuck."  He put down 
the glass he was cleaning.  "I told them this too.  I can't afford any 
trouble with them."  He was clearly scared.

      Ranma-chan sighed.  "Which way did they go?"

      "I don't know, but..."  The man trailed off.

      Ranma-chan cocked her head and thought for a moment.  Why 
won't he tell me?  "But what?"

      "I've heard stories of a False Dragon in the mountains, a man 
named Kaneda."  The man paused.  "The only other time I've heard 
that name was listening to this man talking to his followers.  He 
looked so young, but he must have been older than he looks, I 
guess."  He looked over at Ukyou.  "Would you like a drink?"

      Ukyou nodded.  "Yes, please."

      "Is he...the same person?"  The man asked.

      "I don't know,"  Ranma-chan said.  Surely Akane wouldn't be 
crazy enough to do that...then again, from some of the rumors I've 
heard, there's a false dragon in Tear named Rand al'Thor...and I 
seem to remember Egwene and Elayne talking about some farm boy 
by that name...and if a farm boy could declare himself the Dragon...  
"He's one of my warders.  We were separated during a battle a 
while back and I've been looking for him."

       The man blinked.  "So you're a Green sister?"

      Ranma-chan laughed faintly.  "Matches my dress, eh?"

      The man concluded it was appropriate for him to laugh and so 
he laughed as well.  "It's probably just a coincidence then.  Still, 
this Dragon Kaneda is up in the mountains of Amadicia, somewhere 
between Amadicia and Ghealdan.  We've gotten a few people going 
through here on the way to find him.  He's apparently destroyed 
armies from both Amadicia and Ghealdan. Of course, the stories are 
probably exaggerated, although there is that one rumor..."  He fell 
silent.  Best not to make the Aes Sedai angry.

      "What story?"

     "There's rumors that he has an Aes Sedai lover.  Probably a total 
crock, though."  The old barkeep got nervous.  I should have just 
kept my mouth shut.

      Ranma-chan wasn't holding anything, so nothing got broken, but 
she certainly wanted to break something as a knife of jealousy 
stabbed through her.  How could he do this to me?, she thought.  A 
few seconds later, rationality returned.  It's just a rumor, she 
thought.  Probably not true at all.  Akane would never take a girl 
for a lover.  She glanced over at Ukyou, who looked back at her, 
clearly worried.  What about you and Ucchan?, a voice in her head 
prompted.  Who are you to talk?  She stuffed the voice down into a 
mental box and locked it.  She grabbed her jealousy and stuffed 
that in another box.  I'll cross this bridge when I come to it.  "No 
Aes Sedai would take a false Dragon as a lover,"  she said icily.  I 
can't let this rumor circulate, she thought.  No one should be telling 
such lies about us.

       The man nodded nervously and got Ukyou a glass of wine.  
"Would you...like some wine?"

      "Yes."  Ranma-chan got rip-roaring drunk that night and ended 
up sleeping on the floor because she tossed and turned too much to 
stay in the bed of the room they rented.

*****************************

     Kaneda laid in bed, listening to rain patter against the roof.  
Alyssa was cuddled up to him, deep asleep.  He envied her ability to 
sleep anywhere, any time on the nights when he could not sleep.  He 
ran his hands through her long blonde hair, twining it around his 
fingers.  They had made love that night, and he always had trouble 
sleeping after they did.  This bothered him for two reasons.  One, 
he had always heard it was guys who passed out immediately after 
making love, but he always got insomnia, and she would pass out 
within a minute or two and not wake up until morning.

      The second reason was the more important one, and the one 
that was probably giving him the insomnia in the first place.  He 
always felt guilty after they made love, and he wasn't sure why, 
though there were several possibilities.  The one he considered 
most likely was that he was making love to a girl.  He'd never found 
girls attractive before he was stranded here--well, not sexually 
attractive anyway.  He'd been able to tell if a woman was pretty, 
but he hadn't wanted women the way he did now. It wasn't just 
Alyssa.  He was starting to notice lots of women that way.  Kaneda 
wasn't as homophobic as Ranma was, but it bothered him.  Why was 
this happening?  Was it a side effect of being a boy?  What if I turn 
back into a girl and it doesn't stop?  I wonder if Ranma would start 
liking boys if he stayed a girl for too long, he wondered.  Did this 
mean it was all a result of his body?  Kaneda had never really 
thought about sexuality before...not its origins, anyway.  

      Am I going to stay a boy forever?  What if I start turning back 
into a girl with hot water again?  Why am I stuck as a boy anyway?  
Is there a girl Akane wandering around thinking she's cured?  What 
am I?  

       Kaneda's thoughts went round and round.  What if I do start 
turning back into a girl?  What's that going to do to my relationship 
with Alyssa?  I mean...I guess she could handle it if I was male 
normally...but I want to be Akane again...that's who I am...I think.  
How would everyone here react if they knew I'm really a girl?

       They're all counting on me...they think I'm the Dragon, that I'm 
going to save the world.  I can't even save myself.  He looked down 
at Alyssa.  She loves me.  That's the one thing I know is true.  Two 
things actually.  I love her, he thought.  I don't know what I'm going 
to do about it, but I love her.  She's tangled me up and turned me 
inside out.  What am I going to do if Ranma shows up?  He'll hate 
me.  I don't want him to hate me...but I can't live my life waiting 
for him to show up.

        Exhaustion tried to take him away from his problems but his 
worries were too stubborn to quit.  He had a feeling of living on 
borrowed time, that he was building a house of cards with his life.  
All his worrying didn't bring him any closer to a solution.

****************************************

     The snowfall caught Ranma-chan and Ukyou in the mountains.  It 
didn't help that they didn't really know where they were going.  
Everyone had told them firstly that they didn't know where exactly 
to find the false Dragon Kaneda, and more importantly, that only a 
maniac would go into the mountains in winter.  

       Normally, Ranma-chan would have agreed, knowing all about 
being trapped in the wilderness in winter, since that had been how 
she has spent far too many of the winters of her life.  However, she 
couldn't afford to wait months.  She had to find Akane as soon as 
possible.  It had already taken longer than she had hoped for.  

      Unfortunately, while the One Power was really good for 
blowing things up or making things, it wasn't much use at finding 
someone you didn't have some kind of link to or who wasn't 
channeling near you.  It was good for weather control...if you knew 
how.  Unfortunately, Ranma-chan hadn't stayed in the Tower long 
enough to learn how.  The best she could do was to turn up the 
temperature around herself and Ukyou, so they simply got wet 
instead.  This also didn't prevent snow from building up and getting 
in the way, and waiting for the heat to melt it was far too slow.

       Ranma-chan cursed.  "I hate winter."

       Ukyou nodded.  "Me too, Ranchan.  We'd better find some shelter 
and wait for this to pass."

       Ranma-chan sighed.  "We don't have time to wait for it to pass!  
This is winter...it could be like this for months."

       Ukyou looked at the wall of white just beyond the tiny bubble 
of warm air.  "It won't snow all day every day though.  And without 
any visibility, we could probably walk ten feet from Akane and not 
notice."  Assuming we find her at all...she could be anywhere in the 
mountains.

       Ranma-chan gave up and started looking for a cave.  By chance, 
or so they thought, they found one.  It was cold, but Ranma-chan 
soon warmed it up, and they both took off their drenched cloaks.  
Ranma-chan made a little fire and they put the cloaks near it to 
dry, then Ukyou started working on dinner, which would have to be 
fairly meager.  They had stocked up on portable food, but without 
horses, which Ukyou didn't know how to ride and Ranma-chan 
wasn't very good at riding, they hadn't been able to bring a lot of 
food with them.  Hunting was pretty easy when they could actually 
find anything. They'd bagged a rabbit earlier that day, and the 
aroma of roast bunny soon filled the room.  

      Ukyou shucked off his shirt as well and hung it by the fire to 
dry.  "You probably ought to take off your top too and dry it off,"  he 
said, then turned his attention to cooking.

      Ranma-chan shucked off her jacket and the damp undershirt.  
While her jacket looked good, it didn't stop water very well.  She 
laid down by the fire and started trying to think of something 
clever she could do to find Akane with the Power.

      For a while, all was silent, as Ukyou focused on cooking and 
Ranma-chan focused on the power.  Ukyou's problems started when 
he glanced over at Ranma-chan and noticed her bare chest.  Some 
part of his brain had been expecting this of course, since he knew 
she had taken her shirt off.  It was the thrill that ran through his 
body that took him off guard.  He suddenly felt himself getting 
aroused and blushed.  

      It's not like I haven't seen this before, he thought.  I've seen 
Ranma naked as a girl before.  Girls don't turn me on.  Ranma-chan, 
however, was turning him on, though she seemed utterly oblivious 
to the fact.  Probably she's forgotten she's even female at the 
moment, whatever she's thinking about, Ukyou thought.  Why is she 
turning me on NOW?

      Ukyou could almost feel a mental pressure to do any of a 
variety of things that would probably be foolish at best.  I'm not 
going to seduce her, he thought.  Not when I'm a boy and she's a 
girl...if it was the other way around, it would be different.  We are 
engaged, so it doesn't matter if we did something...like that.  Of 
course, I'm really a girl, no matter what my body may look like 
right now, and he's a boy, so it wouldn't be so bad...no!  I won't!  

       The smell of rabbit starting to overcook snapped him out of 
his reverie, along with Ranma-chan saying, "You won't what?"

      "I...uh...I won't burn the food if I can help it."

      Ranma-chan cocked her head and stared at Ukyou.  Why is 
Ucchan acting weird?  He keeps turning his head away and won't 
look at me straight.  Do I look scary for some reason?  No way.  
"You okay?"

      "I'm fine."

      They discussed several ideas with their dinner, and 
afterwards, Ranma-chan put her shirt back on, which helped Ukyou 
finally spurs his state of arousal.  Finally, they decided to go to 
sleep.  They laid out their blankets and clambered between them 
together, as had become their habit.  Ukyou fell asleep faster than 
Ranma-chan, who was still going over plans in her head.

       Ranma-chan's trouble started when Ukyou rolled over in his 
sleep and laid an arm on her back.  The physical impact was slight; 
the sensations that began to bother her were not.  Their mere 
existence bothered her as much as the sensations themselves did.  
No guy, not even one who is really a girl, should be turning me on 
like this!  She was familiar with the sensations...the few times 
she'd had them in this form, they'd all been caused by girls, except 
for two previous occasions she'd chosen to forget.  One of them had 
been the time that Akane, after acquiring the boy-curse, had been 
hit in the head and thought he was 'Kaneda', Ranko's fiancee.  That 
had been the origin of the name Akane used on the occasions when 
she needed to hide her curse.  'Ranko' and 'Kaneda' had come very 
close to having sex.  The other occasion had been during an accident 
that turned into a making out session with Ukyou, after which both 
of them had tried to never mention it again, since they had both 
terrified themselves with their own feelings.  

      So really, Ranma-chan shouldn't have been as surprised as she 
was, but Ranma-chan had always been good at hiding from truths 
about herself.  It must be because Ukyou is really a girl, she 
thought.  This isn't just any guy.  This doesn't mean I find guys 
attractive.  But this isn't a guy, it's Ucchan.  Ranma-chan told 
herself that over and over again.  It didn't make the feelings go 
away, but it did, eventually, enable her to sleep, though not very 
well.

***************************************

      Kaneda, Alyssa, and three men from the fort with some 
experience in cutting down trees wandered up and down the 
mountainsides through light snow, looking for a good tree to set up 
as a 'Christmas' tree in the fort.  While the three men thought the 
whole idea was kind of silly, it beat waiting around for winter to 
end.  

     Alyssa said, "This really isn't the best part of the world to go 
looking for evergreens, you know."

     Kaneda sighed.  "Well, given that I can't trick an oak tree into 
sprouting leaves again and a barren Christmas tree just isn't 
right..."

      Padan, one of the men, said, "Well, Mai claims there's some 
evergreens this way, though I've never seen any in the mountains."

      They moved further along the mountain trail, and reached a 
small plateau, covered with evergreens.  Padan sighed.  "I'd almost 
think that Mai planned this somehow."

      Everyone laughed.  Kaneda smiled.  We'll have a tree.  It was 
reassuring, a tiny little piece of home.  Though where we're gonna 
get decorations...

*************************************

      Mikel, the man of the house, looked up at the young Aes Sedai.  
At least he thought she was young.  "You're looking for that false 
Dragon?  I thought the Reds didn't have warders."

      Ranko Sedai laughed.  "I'm not a red.  I'm a green and we can 
have all the warders we can stand.  I'm looking for one of my 
warders.  I think this 'Kaneda' person has him."  There was 
something odd about her voice, but Mikel wasn't sure what.  She 
turned to Mikel's wife, Sarai.  "Can I have some more potatoes, 
please?"

       Sarai, who was hugely tall and unbelievably skinny, passed the 
bowl of potatoes.  "I've never cooked for an Aes Sedai before.  I 
hope the food is acceptable."

       The Aes Sedai's warder, a young lad named Ukyou, said, "It's 
great cooking.  We haven't had a decent meal in weeks."  He and his 
Aes Sedai were certainly eating enough to prove the truth of that.  

       Arno, Mikel's little five year old son tugged on Ranko's arm.  
"How're you gonna get your other boyfriend back from the Dragon?"  
He stared at her with big eyes.

       Ranko said, "I'll cross that bridge when I get there."

       "I can tell you how to find those Dragonsworn lunatics, if you 
really want to go there,"  Mikel said, "But if you don't mind some 
advice, I wouldn't risk it.  He may or may not be the Dragon, but 
he's powerful.  He destroyed two entire armies with the Power this 
past fall."  He paused and bit off a hunk of his roll and ate it.  "I'm 
sure the losers exaggerated it, but I know that he's pretty strong in 
the power, and everyone claims he has a...a female channeler too."  
Mikel knew better than to repeat some of the rumors he had heard.  
Maybe he is working for the Tower...this girl has no fear of him.  
Then again, I've heard Aes Sedai don't know the meaning of fear.  
Who can tell?  

       "You know where they are?"  Ranko asked.  Her eyes lit up.  "I'd 
really appreciate the directions."

       Mikel told her, but he was certain she would regret it.  

*************************************

       Kaneda sat and slowly molded wood with the power.  He was 
trying to make some little toy carts and toy soldiers with the 
power, since his whittling skills were minimal.  They had plenty of 
wood, though.  His floor was littered with warped humans, bent 
wheels, and carts that were lopsided.  He was starting to get the 
hang of it, however.  The trick was to go slowly and methodically, 
rather than to try to simply instantly mold the wood.  Making little 
images to guide his work helped as well, and fixing mistakes was 
easier as well.  He could do big messy things with the power, but 
doing something as fine-tuned as this made him feel proud of his 
skills.  

     There was a knock on the door.  "Come in," he said.  

     Mai walked in. "How's the toy making coming along?"

     "I think I'm finally getting the hang of it. Now I just need to fix 
all my first tries."

     "May I ask you a question?"

     "You just did,"  Kaneda said.  He always wondered why people 
bothered to ask that.

     "..."

     "Go right ahead.  What's up?"

     "I just...well, I've been...What are we going to do when Spring 
comes?  Everyone's been wondering what the next move is going to 
be.  I'll follow you, whatever you decide, but..."

      "You're wondering how we'll deal with all our enemies, not to 
mention Rand Al'Thor, right?"

      Mai seemed uncertain of what to say.

     "I hope he is the Dragon.  I don't want the job...I don't know what 
to do.  I don't know how we're going to stop the Prophet plus the 
Whitecloaks.  We can't hide here forever, either.  My current 
operating plan is to move north in the spring and try to reach 
Andor.  From there, we can reach Cairhien and try to confront 
Al'Thor and find out one way or another who is the real Dragon."  He 
sighed.  It was a lousy plan, but he didn't have a better one.  This 
world seemed to have a lot of fate...let fate settle the issue 
between them.  "We'll need to build real wagons so we can 
transport everything.  That's one reason I'm doing this.  If I can 
make a little one, I can make a big one."

      Mai sighed.  "It will be slow going."

      "Unless I learn some way to teleport, it's the best we can do.  
If I had longer, I could build this group into a fighting force that 
could hold out forever, but I don't have longer.  I don't want to live 
here in the mountains forever, either.  We'll go and confront Al'Thor 
and let the Wheel weave as it will, I suppose.  A better plan, of 
course, would be eagerly accepted."

      Mai didn't have a better plan.  

************************************

       Snow covered the ruins of an armed camp.  Ranma-chan 
guessed that the camp had been abandoned weeks or months 
earlier, but the remains of tents and abandoned crates and barrels 
poked up through the snow.  There were signs of fire as well.  No 
traces of any recent use of the One Power, though.

       Ukyou looked around, "There were a lot of people here.  Looks 
like they got stomped on."

     "They sure wanted to leave in a hurry, anyway."  Ranko made her 
way across the camp.  "We're getting really close.  If we press on..."

      Ukyou looked at the setting sun.  "I don't want to march through 
this after dark.  Better to sleep now, and we should get there in a 
few hours tomorrow, if that family was right.  Not that I can 
foretell the future, but..."

      Ranma-chan suddenly cocked her head.  Her eyes seemed to 
glaze over and she barked out, "Three eyes gaze on a yellow dog.  
The quick brown fox must jump over it.  Thus will come the day of 
destiny."  

      Ukyou jumped at the weirdness of it all.  "I...is that some kind 
of prophecy?"

      Ranma-chan laughed.  "I had a friend in the tower who liked to 
pretend she was foretelling the future.  She would say something 
about not predicting the future, then suddenly cut loose with that 
act.  It always creeped me out."  She laughed.  "Malinda is probably 
still doing that to all the new novices.  I saw one of them run 
screaming when she said something about the shadow devouring all 
green eyed girls."

       Ukyou pretended he understood what Ranma was talking about.  
"Well, you scared me."

       Ranma-chan channeled a little fire and cleared away the snow 
near some of the wreckage.  "Let's make camp."

                                    *         *         *

     Mikel was quite surprised and honored to have yet another Aes 
Sedai visit him in such a short time.  In fact, it wasn't just one 
Aes Sedai, it was three.  Their names were Karla, Dora, and Else.  
Else had a warder who looked like a cleaned-up Trolloc, while 
Karla and Dora either didn't have one or were keeping theirs hidden.  
Within three minutes of meeting them, Mikel realized it wouldn't 
suprise him if they had hidden their warders deliberately, just so 
no one could be sure if they had one or not.  

      Else, on the other hand, couldn't stop talking, and she was the 
only one who didn't make him nervous.  Well, the one who made him 
the least nervous.  "So, are we technically in Ghealdan, Amadicia, 
or Tarabon here?"  she asked.  "Or do you owe allegiance to no 
lord?"

      "I think Amadicia claims this, but after what happened to that 
Whitecloak army, it may be a while before we see any more tax 
collectors.  We hadn't seen one in the five years we've lived here, 
anyway."  Mikel said.  

       "So this False Dragon has a sizeable army?"  Dora asked.  "How 
does he feed them in this wilderness?"

      Mikel shrugged.  "Who knows.  He blew up the Whitecloaks with 
the One Power, so I heard from the stragglers.  Could just be him 
and a few dozen people, or he might have thousands of people in his 
castle.  No one knows."

       "So he does have a castle?"  Else asked.  Karla sat impasively 
and listened, staring at Sarai in a way that made her intensely 
nervous.  

      "Built with the power, unless he's got thousands of workers 
squirreled away in there too."  Mikel said.  "I guess you've been sent 
to put him down?"

       "If practicable,"  Karla said.  "Our task is to measure his 
strength, subdue him if possible, and go get help if we cannot."

       "You really think three of you is enough?"

       Karla gave him a look that made him want to crawl under the 
table and cry.  He wouldn't make that mistake again.  

                                   *         *         *

       Ukyou woke up in the middle of the night.  He heard bells very 
faintly in the distance.  He staggered out of the tent, wrapping his 
cloak around him.  The sky was perfectly clear with a full moon and 
bright stars that gave the landscape an eerie, but beautiful 
twilight effect.  Everything was covered with a blanket of sofly 
glowing white.  There was something up in the sky, making the bell 
noises, which almost seemed fainter outside the tent than inside 
it.  

         Something was circling over the camp.  It was large and 
somewhat snakey, Ukyou thought, then realized it actually looked 
more like a line of people playing 'crack the whip' on the ice or 
with rollerskates.  There were several...somethings...lashed 
together with ropes, pulling something.  Silently, a projectile 
arced upwards from the end of the 'whip', falling downwards 
towards Ukyou, who instinctively dodged.

       He could hear bells again, very faint, from the flying thing(s).  
The projectile was a nicely wrapped red package tied with a green 
ribbon and a tag that said, 'Ukyou Kuonji'.  

       He stared up at the retreating object.  No way, he thought.  
Santa Claus is just a fairy tale.  Then again, I used to think curses 
were fairy tales too.  He walked over hesitantly, and picked up the 
package.  Nothing bad happened, so he took it over to the tent.  
"Ranma, wake up!  You're not going to believe this!"

        Ranma was gone.  Ukyou suddenly realized he couldn't sense 
her with his warder sense either.  Her stuff was still there, and 
her blankets were still laid out, but there weren't even footprints 
leading away through the snow.  It was as if she had never existed.

       "RANMA!"  Ukyou screamed, running out into the snow.  "WHERE 
ARE YOU!???"

        He was back inside the tent, suddenly.  He blinked.  What the... 
Looking around, there was no Ranma in sight.  An idea struck him.  
He walked outside and shouted, "AKANE, WHERE ARE YOU?"

        The world blurred around him, and he found himself inside a 
crude stone building.  There was a nice bed, and a bearskin rug on 
the floor.  A table with chairs sat in one corner, and there were 
papers on it.  He walked over and tried to look at them, but they 
flickered as he tried to read them.  They seemed to records of 
supplies, and lists of name.  One hung in his vision longer than the 
others, a map with a tiny x in one of the mountain ranges with the 
fresh scribble in Kanji, 'We are here?', and a route plotted out 
through the mountains, off to some place called 'Andor'.  

          He put down the papers.  What is this place?  Did I somehow 
wander into another world while I slept?  Maybe this is just a 
funky dream...I mean...let's face it, I thought I saw Santa Claus.  
Why are there no people?  He tried going outside and found himself 
inside a little village of clumsily built stone and wood buildings, 
inside a larger, somewhat more solid wall.  An owl perched on the 
roof of one of the buildings and looked down.  It hooted, then took 
wing and flew away.  "Hey, come back!"  

         Ukyou chased the owl, feeling vaguely silly.  Owls can't even 
talk, he thought.  "TAKE ME BACK TO RANMA!"  

        He was back in the tent.  The present was still there, so he 
opened it. Inside it was a letter, from someone named 'Sherin Loys 
Delerini'.  

        "If I am reading this, then it means that I have been reborn 
and reawakened to the talent I possessed in this life.  It also 
means that my skills were sufficient to create a messenger 
capable of lasting however long that might take."

        Ukyou stared at the letter.  This is from a past life of mine?  
No way.  Jeez, this is a crazy dream.  He read on.

       "A great disaster is coming.  While everyone argues about how 
to stop the Dark One's armies, whether Lews Therin or Latra Posae 
is right, I know it will not be enough.  I have seen my death, and her 
name is the Daughter of the Night.  She will come for me soon.  
Perhaps I shall be lucky and slay her.  I do not know.  Yet I do know 
one thing.  All we have created, all we fight for, is doomed.  Yet, I 
know too that some shall survive.  I have hidden away a cache of 
things, books, tools, and a few trinkets I could not bear to see 
destroyed.  Guided by my dreams, I have placed it where it will 
weather the cataclysm, and yet not be lost forever.  You will know 
where to find it when you finish this letter.  I beg you, find it.  
Take it to the Dragon.  I know that he too will be reborn one day.  
Some of the items may aid him in his battles, while others...I have 
no more time.  I hear the drums beating.  My doom is coming.  Pray 
that you never must match wits with one of the Forsaken.  Pray 
hard, my future self.  And I pray this will not fall into the wrong 
hands."  The letter was signed in a flowing script, 'Sherin Loys 
Delerini'.  

      It was her own handwriting, she suddenly realized.  He dropped 
it as an image flooded her mind, a fuzzy vision of a mountain.  
There was a cave within the mountain, and deep within that, was 
the cache, sitting in a stasis box.  He knew the combination.  

       The world flickered, and suddenly, he was awake.  I did dream 
it all, he thought.  Looking over, he saw Ranma-chan, sleeping 
peacefully and muttering something about jingle bells.  What a 
crazy dream, Ukyou thought, but the image of the mountain lingered 
in his mind.  
 
                                   *         *         *
      It was Christmas Eve.  Kaneda was nervous and didn't know 
why.  They had set up the tree and decorated it in the 'town square'.  
Alyssa had even figured out how to make little twinkling perpetual 
lights for it.  It was beautiful in the darkness.  All the children of 
the town had put up stockings in their houses, and now, he and 
Alyssa, and Corwin, and Mai, and a few of the other adults were 
creeping around delivering presents to the houses, feeling quite 
silly in improvised Santa suits that wouldn't really fool anyone 
over age five who wasn't blind.

       I could fool Mousse, Kaneda thought.  Of course, he'd just 
mistake me for Shampoo or Ranma.  He slipped into little Alyce's 
house and put a handmade doll into her stocking.  The doll looked 
sort of like Nabiki, and sort of like Rainbo Brite and sort of like 
Scooby Doo.  Kaneda was good at the power, but he'd never been 
good at sewing, even with Alyssa helping.  She'd been surprised he 
had known anything at all about sewing.  Some jacks, a thimble, 
and some sweets went in as well.

       He tucked a few gifts into Alyce's parents' stocking as well, 
then slipped out of the house.  Alyssa emerged from the next house.  
"I think we're done."  She smiled.  "Time for me to give you your 
present."

       Kaneda laughed and walked over to her.  "Do I get to unwrap it 
tonight or in the morning?"

     "Up to you."  They came together and kissed, slowly and deeply.  

     For a moment, a song about Mommy kissing Santa Claus burst 
into Kaneda's head.  He laughed and picked Alyssa up.  "Let's go have 
our private party before the big one tomorrow."

      It wasn't a very long party, but it was quite enjoyable.

**************************


John Walter Biles :  MA-History, Ph.D Wannabe at U. Kansas         
ranma@falcon.cc.ukans.edu       
rhea@tass.org              http://www.tass.org/~rhea/falcon.html
rhea@maison-otaku.net      http://www.maison-otaku.net/~rhea/

     The Moon Hill Gymnasium was crowded with students, most from Moon 
Hill, but some from other schools.  The special committee to pick the 
theme for the first spring dance had argued for weeks over a theme.  Many 
ideas had been suggested:  Love--American Style, Spring Sock Hop, Can't 
Stop Doing the Monkey, The Black Plague, Enchantment under the Sea, Zinc 
Oxide and You, Space Viking Vixen Women from Venus, The Progressive Era, 
and The First Spring Dance.  After extensive argument, the sole remaining 
conscious committee member had selected the theme "Our Gym Covered in 
Crepe Paper."  
--Sailor Moon Z #7