Back in Nerima, it had been about a day since they had 
performed the ritual.  Ukyou, Ranma, and Akane had been playing 
cards and wishing they could leave the magic circle, although 
eating Dr. Tofu's cooking wasn't too bad.  

         "I see your fifty and raise you sixty yen," Ukyou said.  She had 
a straight, nine high.  

          Ranma looked at his cards and his face fell.  He only had a 
full house.  Wait, I can bluff, he thought.  "I see you and raise you 
twenty!"

          The door swished open and Kasumi walked in.  "I brought you 
all some snacks."

           Dr. Tofu's glasses fogged up.  "Why, it's a pleasure to be 
seeing you, Kasumi!"  He walked over and guided her over to Betty-
chan, his skeleton.  "Would you like a cookie, Ranma?"  He asked the 
skeleton.

         "We're over here!"  Ranma said.  "FOOD!"  Not that Dr. Tofu's 
cooking was bad, but Kasumi's was better.

          "Ranma, not while he's whacked out,"  Ukyou whispered.

          Kasumi walked over.  "Oh my, the runes around the edge of 
the circle are glowing.  Is that good?"

          Dr. Tofu followed her.  "Now, we must dance the Jig of 
Dionysious along the edge of the circle!"

          Kasumi blinked.  "Really?"

          Akane said, "Can Ranma and I dance it too?"

          "Yes!  Let us sing and dance for joy!"  He grabbed Kasumi and 
got into a dance position with her, straddling the circle.   

         Ukyou stood up.  "I really think this is a bad idea."

         Kasumi blushed and began to waltz with Dr. Tofu around the 
edge of the glowing circle, which was beginning to fill with light.  
"You dance very well, Dr. Tofu."

         Ranma somehow found himself dancing around the edge with 
Akane, which really hacked Ukyou off.  "RANCHAN!"

        Akane smiled at Ranma.  "Hold me tight, Ranma-kun."

         Ranma laughed nervously.  He knew a riot was almost 
certainly about to ensue.  

         The brightest flare of light struck them just as Dr. Tofu spun 
Kasumi around right through the middle of the circle.  He stumbled 
and fell out of the circle, rubbing his eyes.  

          When the light cleared, everyone was gone but him.  His mind 
cleared.  "Urk."

          He got up and ran over to the shelf to get the book with the 
ritual, then realized he'd sent it with Ukyou and Ranma.  I think Mr. 
Tendo isn't going to be happy, he thought.  

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

         Akane-kun had gone to find Alyssa, while Ukyou-kun and 
Ranma-chan talked to Mai and Tyr to try to figure out if that 
mountain actually existed somewhere in the area.  Mai and Tyr had 
been surprised, but happy to see him back so soon.  They had no clue 
where Alyssa was, though.

         He roamed the 'streets', looking for her, without much luck, 
trying to figure out what to say...what he really felt.  What he felt 
for her seemed to be the same as before.  But would it stay that 
way?  Will I go back to only liking boys?  And what about Ranma?  
He loved Ranma, he knew that now, but it felt...muted.  Academic 
almost.  More like a brother than a lover.  Thinking about Ranma 
didn't arouse any desire at all, and not because he was refusing to 
admit it...he was TRYING to feel desire for Ranma.  

          He ducked into an 'alley' to do an experiment.  He had to 
know, before he found Alyssa.  A little use of the power turned 
some snow into hot water, although getting it onto himself was 
harder.  Instant Akane.  

          She tried thinking about Ranma and felt a warm, yummy 
feeling of the sort that she hadn't felt in hours/months.  She shook 
her head slightly.  An odd side-effect of her regeneration.  Her 
memories before the split were pretty clear, but trying to think 
about the period of the split made her head hurt, because her mind 
was trying to believe simultaneously that it had been a week and 
that it had been seven months.  But one thing was clear.  What she 
felt about Ranma was far more than academic, and far more than 
just her mind.  She tried thinking about Alyssa.  Love filled her 
heart, but it was a sisterly love.  A very intense sisterly love, but 
she didn't feel desire, although she did get a strong impulse to turn 
into her boy form.  

          The cooling water she had used on herself easily turned her 
back to boy form.  It was like a switch flipped in her head.  His 
feelings about Ranma muted, while physical desire for Alyssa 
switched on.  Akane-kun frowned slightly.  It was an eerie feeling.  
So now what do I do?  

          The sound of running feet shocked him out of his reverie.  
Alyssa stood at the edge of the 'alleyway'.  "I...Corwin found me and 
said that you were back already."

          Akane-kun's heart sang to him, and he smiled, walking 
towards Alyssa.  "We need to have a talk.  I..."  He gulped.  "No more 
secrets.  It's time for me to tell you everything.  I need...I love you, 
I need your help, and you deserve to know everything."

**********

          Alyssa was nervous and excited and scared as Kaneda took 
her to their bedroom to talk.  He was finally going to tell her 
everything.  She'd wanted that for a long time, but she was afraid 
of what it was that he hadn't been able to tell her.  She was also a 
little confused as to why he brought a bucket of water, a ladle, and 
a hot tea kettle into the room, placing the kettle over the fire.

         She sat down on the bed.  "So tell me everything."

         "I'll start with the hardest part.  I suggest lying down so you 
don't bang your head when you faint."

          Alyssa laughed and laid down on her stomach.  "Okay."

          Kaneda took the bucket, and filled the ladle, then dumped the 
cold water on himself.  The water rushed over him, and to her 
shock, he changed.  The hair on his arms retracted, growing 
shorter, then vanishing.  The slight scruff on his face fell out.  He 
shrank slightly, and his shirt was now filled bulging with a pair of 
breasts.  He was now a she.  "I'm Kaneda, but I'm also Akane."

         "..."

         "Hot water makes me a boy; cold water makes me a girl."  She 
demonstrated with the hot water, transforming back into a boy.  

          Alyssa was in shock.  "This..this never happened before."

          Kaneda walked over and sat down by Alyssa on the bed.  "It 
all started with...Hmmm...this is going to take a while."  It took a 
long while.

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

         Alyssa didn't know what to think.  She would have thought 
that Kaneda had finally gone mad, but she could see the change 
with her own eyes, and it made sense of so much.  "So Ranko is 
really a boy?"

          Kaneda nodded.  "She seems to be stuck in girl form now, like 
I was stuck in boy form."  He turned and gazed at Alyssa nervously.  
"Do you...do you still...want to be my...love?"

         Alyssa gulped.  She still loved Kaneda, but now she was 
scared and confused and didn't know what to say.  Was he going to 
be a girl a lot of the time now?  Could I love a girl?  Is he going to 
still love me after he's been back to normal for a while?  "I...I love 
you, Kaneda, but I'm scared.  What's going to happen to us?"

         "I don't know.  But then, I may go mad in a few months, 
anyway...But I want to give you all the love I can, while I can."  He 
took Alyssa's hands.  "I love you right now, and that's all a person 
can really promise, anyway.  I will love you as best I'm able for as 
long as I can."

          "Are you...going to be a girl sometimes now, then?"

          "I don't know.  I think it would be better to wait to tell 
everyone...I think some of them would freak."  He sighed.  "It 
shouldn't be too hard to keep my secret.  Even though I don't want 
to lie to them, but...I don't know.  What do you think?"

          Alyssa tried to come up with an honest answer, rather than 
the one she wanted to give to keep Kaneda a  boy as much as 
possible.  She wasn't sure what the right idea was.  "It'll come out 
sooner or later, I think.  You don't need to tell them right away, but 
best to make sure it comes as you revealing it, and not them 
finding out by accident."

          Kaneda nodded.  "I think part of why I love you is that you're 
a wise person, Alyssa."

         She blushed.  "I'm not very wise."

         He leaned closer.  "And modest."  He pulled her into a tight 
embrace and kissed her hesitantly, then more firmly.  "And 
beautiful."

         She could feel her heart speeding up, and a wave of desire 
washed over her.  "Do you want to..."

          "Yes.  Just make sure the hot water doesn't get anywhere 
near the bed, okay?"

           Alyssa laughed very nervously as he leaned forward and 
kissed her fiercely.  Nervousness gradually was replaced by 
excitement, and excitement by pleasure, and pleasure by joy, but 
she had strange dreams that night anyway.  It would be a while 
before she would sleep entirely well again.

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

       Life was not looking good for Kasumi,  Ranma, and Ukyou.  The 
fact that they were all very hungry was only a minor problem.  The 
fact that they were dressed for summer in the middle of winter 
was the big problem.  Luckily, the mountains were full of caves, 
and they found one that was apparently regularly used by someone 
or someones human, since it had a stockpile of fuel and an 
apparently regularly used firepit in the middle.  

        The little group huddled around the fire, shivering silently.  
Finally, Kasumi said, "Do you have any idea where we might be, 
Ranma?"

        He thought a minute.  "Well, either this is the mountains of 
mist or the Dragonwall.  If we're really lucky, it's the Mountains of 
Mist, since hardly anyone lives near the Dragonwall.  If we're really 
unlucky, we're not even in the same universe we sent our other 
sides to."

        Kasumi said, "Well, if we take shifts, we can keep the fire 
going all night, then look for food in the morning.  It'll be just like 
a camping trip."  

        "Yeah, just like the Donner Expedition,"  Ukyou muttered to 
herself.  

        "And we'll need to sleep close together for warmth,"  Kasumi 
said.  

        That was rather more pleasing to Ukyou.

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

        Another night in the 'guest house'.  Ranma-chan tossed and 
turned all night, but Ukyou-kun slept well, then had another 
strange dream.  He woke up, and everyone in the castle was gone.  
It had the same feel to it as his dream where he had visited the 
castle before.  

        I wonder how I dreamed about this place before I visited it, 
Ukyou-kun thought.  Maybe this is some kind of special power I'm 
getting in this world.  The mountain!  I should see if I can go to the 
mountain!  Take me to the mountain!

         The world flickered, and he found himself standing on a 
mountainside, near a cave.  Looking out across the mountains, he 
could make out the one that held Castle Mist on the horizon to the 
south.  Tyr and Mai were right, he thought.  It won't be too long a 
trip to this mountain.

         I wonder how far I can go in this dream...He thought for a 
moment.  Take me to...Tar Valon!  The world flickered again, and he 
found himself standing outside the White Tower.  Wow, he thought.  
Too bad I can't do this while I'm awake.  I wonder what else I can 
find...Take me to something that can teach me more about this 
place! he commanded the dream.

        The world flickered, and he found himself inside a huge 
cavern.  It was pitch dark, except for a single faintly glowing light 
nearby.  The floor was tiled in alternating blue, yellow, orange, 
red, green, brown, and white.  Too bad I don't have a flashlight, 
Ukyou-kun thought, and suddenly, he had one.

       Hey, alright!  Ukyou-kun turned the flashlight on and looked 
around.  He seemed to be in some sort of crumbling building, buried 
in a cave somewhere beneath the surface.  Nearby, there was a 
keyboard embedded in the wall, with a monitor embedded over it, 
and the faintly glowing light over that.  Ukyou-kun idly punched a 
few keys, and the monitor suddenly flared to life, turning a 
pleasant yellow with black lettering.  Unfortunately, he couldn't 
read it.  "This isn't much use," he muttered.  "I wanted something I 
could learn from, not a busted computer in a ruins."

         The light now flared to life over the monitor, and swept 
around, focusing on Ukyou-kun's head.  He heard a faint voice in his 
mind.  <Hello, Citizen.  How may I be of service?>  The voice was 
female, and a little childish sounding in tone.

         "Uh...hi.  Who are you?"

         <I am Linear Instructional Node Alpha #56.  You may call me 
LINA.  I have been in idle mode for the last 2,956 years.  I was 
constructed by Hari Modele in the year 5,296 at Modele Industries.  
My purpose is to dispense information and to teach certain skills.   
My last maintenance was performed by...>

         "Um, that's enough.  So...uh...how am I having this dream?"  
What's a computer thing doing in this world anyway? Ukyou-kun 
wondered.  This must just be a really silly dream.

          <You are in Tel'Aran'Rhiod, the world of Dreams.  It exists in 
parallel to our world.  Living creatures, with a few exceptions, do 
not appear in this world; only the inanimate is reflected, and only 
the more permanent objects among those are reflected.  I exist 
here because I have been in the same place for thousands of years.  
Also, I was designed to exist and function both here and in the 
normal world at once.  Should I begin my basic Tel'Aran'Rhiod 
instruction module, citizen?">

          "Um, sure.  I could stand to know what I'm doing."

          Ukyou-kun didn't get much sleep that night.

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

       Kasumi woke up early.  She could hear wolves howling off in 
the distance.  I wish I could tell what they're saying, she thought.  
Wolves are so cute, just like big happy dogs.  They probably know 
where to find food, too.  

        Ukyou was sitting quietly by the fire, watching it.  "Done 
sleeping already?"  

        Kasumi nodded.  "I slept pretty well.  Catch some more sleep 
while I watch the fire."

       "I think I'm gonna go try and do a little hunting.  That way we 
can have an actual breakfast."  Ukyou got to her feet.  "See you in a 
while."

        "Isn't it pretty cold out there?"
   
        "We can't stay in here forever."

        "Be careful.  I can hear wolves howling."

        Ukyou cocked her head.  "Wolves?  All I hear is the wind."

        Kasumi frowned.  I hope I'm not beginning to imagine things.

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

       Dora called the other two Aes Sedai over.  Dora was tall and 
skinny, with scraggly blond hair and a large nose.  Her light blue 
eyes usually were bloodshot since she rarely slept well, but they 
saw far.  "They've sent an expedition out of the castle.  A wagon, 
two horses,  four men, and three women.  One of the men matches 
the descriptions we've had of Kaneda, and I recognize two of the 
women."

        Karla sighed.  "Would you like to enlighten us as to who the 
women are?"  She got up and peered off across the mountains at 
the tiny line of figures coming down out of the castle.  While she 
knew how to do Dora's telescope trick in theory, in practice it 
never quite worked for her.  Dora would never equal Karla's talents 
with water, on the other hand.  

       "A washed out Novice who failed to try to take her Accepted 
test three times named Alyssa, and that runaway Accepted, Ranko."  
Dora said.  "Didn't you have some run in with her, Karla?"

        Else laughed.  "She put the fear of herself into Karla's cats, 
alright.  I once saw one of them jump out a window to get away 
from her."

         Karla frowned.  They'd heard rumors of an Aes Sedai lover of 
this false Dragon.  It could be either of the women, but the 
presence of TWO failed trainees made her suspicious.  The Tower 
had its share of washouts, but if Ranko was here, it was likely her 
partners in crime might be here as well, although if the rumors 
were true, one of them was now the 'Amyrlin' of the Salidar Aes 
Sedai.  She spat at the ground.  Karla was proud, but she wasn't 
stupid.  If this Dragon really channelled, and he had Ranko, and 
Ranko's friends, Elyane and Nynaeve with her, this was going to be 
difficult.  

         Surely, he would have brought the other two with him if he 
was going somewhere, though.  Unless they were doing something 
else for him.  Well, this is our best chance, she thought.  "Get 
ready.  We're going to follow them."

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

       Ukyou and Ranma tromped through the area around the cave, 
doing some scouting and firewood collecting.  They hoped to find 
some signs of civilization.  Ranma looked over at Ukyou again, 
worried she was going to go totally girly the way Akane had.  Ukyou 
finally noticed this.  "Ranchan, why do you keep giving me funny 
looks?"

        "Nuthin."  He said.  

        She frowned.  "Do I have dirt on my face or something?"

        "Nuthin.  Just looking around and your head gets in the way."  
If she starts worrying about chipping a nail, I'm taking her back to 
the cave, he thought.  

         Ukyou laughed.  "Do you think Akane got put back together?"

         "Yeah.  If she hadn't, she shoulda showed up where we were.  
Unless maybe she got left behind, but I remember her starting to 
vanish with us."  Ranma-chan scrambled up a tree and looked out 
across the mountains.  "Hey, I just spotted a buncha people with 
wagons.  Let's go get Kasumi and try and catch 'em.  I bet they have 
warm clothes and stuff."

        "Right."

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

         Ranma-chan and Ukyou-kun took point, since Ranma-chan was 
champing at the bit to get to the mountain, and Ukyou-kun wanted 
to be with Ranma-chan.  Kaneda sat next to Corwin as he drove the 
wagon along down the mountain paths.  Alyssa was sitting in the 
back of the wagon with Mai, while Tyr walked alongside the wagon.  
It was snowing, but only very gently.  "So how long do you think 
it'll take to reach the mountain?"  Kaneda asked.

        Tyr grinned.  "You're almost as impatient as Ranko Sedai there.  
I told you, it'll take us most of the day."

         Alyssa started.  Mai said, "Is something wrong?"

        "I thought I felt channeling for a moment.  I must have 
imagined it."  She looked back along the path.  "I guess I'm just 
jumpy."

         Kaneda looked back along the road.  "Tell me if you feel it 
again."

        "I will." 

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

         Ukyou-kun recognized the cave entrance when they found it, a 
little before sunset.  "This is it."  

         Kaneda nodded.  "Ranko, Alyssa, Ukyou, Mai, we're going in.  
Tyr, you and Corwin stay here and guard the wagons."  He hoped 
down from the driving seat.  "Mai, cover Alyssa.  Ukyou, cover 
Ranko.  Alyssa, Ranko, I suggest you two grasp the source and link."

        They nodded and did so.  Kaneda took the lead as they headed 
into the cave.  He conjured up a small ball of light to enable them 
to see.  The cave was natural, though it showed signs of 
workmanship that had not been completed.  About three hundred 
feet in, there were a pair of huge stone doors made of some sort of 
solid royal blue stone.  The doors swung open as they approached, 
which made Kaneda nervous.  He looked for any sort of One Power 
traps, but couldn't see any; not that he really knew what to look 
for.  "Look safe to you?"

        Ranko nodded.  "Let's get a move on."

        They did.

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

        Dora, Karla, and Else sat on a handy rock and waited for 
Tomas, Else's warder, to finish scouting.  It wasn't really 
necessary, since Dora could see farther than them with the Power, 
but it made them feel good.  Also, it lessened the risk of the 
renegade Accepteds realizing they were being stalked.  

        Tomas returned just as the sun was setting.  "They've entered 
one of the mountains.  There's just two guys guarding the wagons.  
However, there's another group approaching the mountain as well."

        "Go on."  Dora said.  Tomas tended to pause for no apparent 
reason and wait for you to acknowlege he was alive.

         "One male, two female, around 16 to 20 in age.  They're all 
wearing summer clothing, and I'd guess they're probably not gonna 
be long for this world unless one of the women is a channeler, 
which doesn't seem likely.  They're wearing really weird clothing 
and one of the women has a six foot long shovel with a huge 
squared off head.  She's also wearing a bandolier with a dozen or so 
little spades."

        Karla cocked her head slightly.  "Hair colors?"

        "The two women have dark brown hair, and the male has black 
hair in a braid.  Kandorian possibly.  He and the woman with the 
giant shovel carry themselves like warriors, while the other 
woman looks fairly helpless.  The man is carrying that woman.  
They are moving rather quickly through the  snow."

         "Are you sure you've never seen them before?"  Dora asked.

         "The man bears some resemblence to the runaway Accepted 
Ranko Tendo.  One of the members of the False Dragon's expedition 
also was carrying a giant shovel and bore some resemblance to this 
woman.  The other woman is completely unfamiliar to me, except 
for perhaps a tiny resemblence to Lorel Sedai before she became so 
fat."

         Karla frowned.  "Strange.  What direction did they come 
from?"

         "The north."

         Not likely to be from Castle Mist.  "Well, no matter.  Let's 
move in and take them out and then we can camp for the night and 
wait for the False Dragon to come out of his hole."

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

      Kaneda and company felt like they had been walking forever.  
The tunnel beyond the door spiraled ever downwards through an 
endless array of repetitive tunnels with rough ceilings and walls, 
but smooth floors.  "Geez, how deep is this stuff buried?"  Mai 
asked.

        "I have no idea,"  Ukyou-kun said.  "I just know it's in the 
mountain."  He yawned.  "I need some sleep.  Didn't get much sleep 
last night.  

         Alyssa nodded.  "Me either."  She blushed a little.  "Maybe we 
should go back and wait for tomorrow to explore."

        "We've been walking for three hours,"  Ranma-chan said.  "Not 
much point in backtracking that much.  We can sleep here.  It won't 
be comfortable, but I'm used to sleeping on the ground."

        Kaneda nodded.  "We should have waited for the next day, but I 
didn't think it would take this long."  

        They laid down to get some rest.  Mai took the first watch, 
watching as Alyssa curled up with Kaneda and Ranko curled up with 
Ukyou.  She could tell Ranko didn't look too pleased.  I hope the Aes 
Sedai don't end up having a duel in the middle of this little quest, 
she thought.  

       Ukyou-kun, on the other hand, was quite pleased to have 
Ranma-chan curled up close with him.  He drifted off to sleep and 
tried to put his lessons from the weird thing he had found the 
previous night to use.  In T'A'R, he found himself in the tunnel.  
Take me to the treasure, he thought, and found himself in a small 
room with shelves with various items scattered about.  There was 
a door, which he opened.  It lead into a tunnel that curved several 
times and then passed into the tunnel they were going down, but 
way back, just inside the entrance door.  Looking behind him, he 
could see the tunnel he had just came through, but there hadn't 
been any such tunnel in the real world.  Or had there been?  Maybe 
it was concealed, he realized.  We walked right past it into this 
endless tunnel.  

          Having found what he needed to know, Ukyou went back to 
real sleep, so he could tell the others in the morning.

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

         Ranma frowned.  Facing channelers when he couldn't channel 
was no fun at all.  For once in his life, he desperately wished to be 
in his girl form.  The three channelers had overcome him and Ukyou 
and Kasumi right after they had approached the two people 
watching the wagons, and now all five of them were hogtied with 
the power and tossed into the wagon.  Well, four of them were.  
They hadn't bothered to tie up Kasumi, having correctly assessed 
that she was harmless.  She was sleeping peacefully on the ground, 
wrapped in a nice warm cloak while the rest of them had to share 
one blanket, although their inability to move helped.  He could tell 
the warder had taken a bit of a shine to Kasumi; it was his cloak 
she was sleeping under.  I would meet the only women in the 
universe who don't find me charming while freezing, he thought.

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

         Kasumi slept, and in her dreams, she danced through the snow 
with some birds and cats, and frogs, and puppies, and bears, and 
tigers, and wolves.  It was a wonderful frolic, especially since 
they all talked.  She had lots of dreams like this.  It was her animal 
friends who kept her sane in a house full of lunatics.  Many 
evenings, she would want to rip out the throat of her own sisters 
with her bare hands, but then she would sleep and her friends 
would come and steal away all her cares and worries and make the 
world bright and shiny again.

        All her worries about the mean people who had captured her 
and Ranma and Ukyou were melting away as she sang a happy song.  
The song reached a crescendo, then finished.  She hugged them all 
and got ready to move on to the next dream, when she realized 
something was watching her.  It was a scruffy looking wolf with 
little sticks snarled in his fur like he had been running through 
hedges at high speed.  He was staring at her with what passes for 
surprise among wolves.  

        She walked over to him.  "Why, hello, Mr. Wolf.  Let me get 
those nasty sticks out of your nice shiny fur."  He watched in shock 
as she picked out the sticks one by one, then began to brush his fur.

        "You're not afraid of me?" he asked.

         Kasumi smiled.  "You're just a big sweet furry carnivore, just 
like me,"  Kasumi said.  "Except my hair is longer and I eat 
vegetables too."  She sat down and brushed him as thoroughly as 
she could.  "Do you know the song 'Starlight Express'?"

         "Umm...hum a few bars and I'll try to howl it."  Scruffy Cub 
Falls Down the Mountain and Bangs his Head on Many Rocks and 
Whines a Lot Afterwards, said.  "It has been long since we have met 
a two-legs who could talk to us."

         Kasumi pulled out some conditioner.  "Now THIS will make 
your fur shiny."  

         Scruffy looked dubiously at the bottle.  "I'll believe that when 
I see it."  

         Kasumi went to work, having to use up most of the bottle.  
"You wouldn't happen to know where I could find more people like 
me around here?"

        Scruffy thought a moment.  "Well, Likes to Roll in Mud Until He 
Becomes Incredibly Disgusting, So It's No Wonder He Can't Find a 
Mate, says that there's a big pile of stones that the two legs use 
for a den near here.  But aren't you with a group of two legs 
already?"  He cocked his head.  "And several of them are shes who 
throw fire."

        "They're holding us captive."  She said, sighing.  "Could you 
take a message to the other two legs?"

         "You're the only one I've met who can talk to us, although I've 
heard stories of another one in the land full of big green plants 
that two-legs use to light fires inside their heads."  

        Kasumi finished with the conditioner and used a handy tea 
kettle to wash it off the wolf, then started up with her hairdryer.  
"Well, could you tell him we need help?"

         "I'll...uh...see what I can do."

         Kasumi soon finished drying him off.  She held up a mirror.  
"There you go."

        Scruffy was stunned.  His coat was a nice shiny black and laid 
flat instead of going off in twenty directions at once.  All the 
sticks were gone, and he looked great.  "Wow, I look ready to 
challenge the Alpha Male."

         She yawned.  "Good luck!"

       He smiled.  "Thank you, two-legs."

        "You may call me Eldest Sister Who Does All the Work and 
Occassionally Wishes Her Ungrateful Siblings Would Fall on a Stake 
and Die, but Usually Forgives Them,"  Kasumi said.

         "May you have good hunting and find a good mate, Eldest 
Sister.  I will send your message along as best I can."

***********

         Later that night, Perrin woke up, trying to figure out what 
exactly the wolves had been trying to tell him.  Clearly this was 
one of those times that  the differences between wolf minds and 
human minds became truly annoying.  Apparently, someone's older 
sister was cleaning wolves in the mountains and needed to be 
rescued from Aes Sedai.  Luckily, the wolvish name for the 
Mountains of Mist was the Old Gray Mountains That are Foggy All 
the Time So You Bang Your Head on a Rock and the Alpha Male 
Laughs At You, which wasn't far removed from the human name.  

        Well, I'll tell him in the morning, he thought.  If Faile wakes 
up and finds I'm gone, she'll probably carry out that threat to 
tattoo 'Taken' on my chest in five languages.   With a spoon.

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

         The next morning, Ukyou-kun reported his discovery and the 
group backtracked.  With some effort, Alyssa and Kaneda and Ranko 
broke the weavings that hid the tunnel and headed down it.  "This 
seems too easy,"  Mai said.

         Kaneda shrugged.  "It's been thousands of years.  Probably all 
the traps have broken or run out of Power."  He reached the door at 
the end of the tunnel.  It was made out of some kind of soft, white 
soapy substance, with a knob carved to look like a potato.  

         He, Alyssa, and Ranko tried probing the door with everything 
they could think of.  No traps.  No apparent weaves.  Just a door.  He 
tried to open it.  It was locked.  "..."

        Ranko shrugged.  "Get back.  We'll level it."  She was leading 
the link.  A gout of lightning erupted from her fingertips and she 
pretended she was the Emperor from Return of the Jedi.  

        The door was unharmed.  They tried fire, cold, more lightning, 
pounding it with air and trying to shred it with earth.  It just sat 
there and hung out.

         "There has to be some way to open this,"  Ranko said.  "Why 
make an unopenable door?"

        "Maybe there's another way in,"  Mai said.

        "There has to be SOME way to open this door,"  Ukyou-kun said.  
She walked up to it.  It was carved with vines and leaves and 
grapes and pomegranetes and figs and dates and potatoes.  All 
apparently growing from the same vine.  There were melons and 
cantelopes and squash down at the bottom, and corn and rice and 
wheat and rye and oats at the top.  "Let's see...whoever made it 
liked vegetables..."

        "OPEN SESAME!"  Ranko shouted.  Nothing happened.  "Had to 
try."

        "Friend,"  Ukyou said.

         Everyone stared at her.

        "Geez, didn't any of you read Tolkein?"

        "Read what?"  Mai asked.

         Ukyou sighed.  "I wouldn't have bothered leaving myself a note 
to find this place if I wouldn't be able to get in."  She tugged on the 
door idly and it opened.

         Mai frowned.  "It's too easy."

         "Let's not attract the Universe's attention to that fact, 
okay?"  Ukyou requested.  "I LIKE easy."

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

       Perrin sat on a chair on the balcony and tried to figure out how 
to best approach Rand about this.  It's all so vague and fuzzy...I'm 
going to sound crazier than he may become if I go up to him 
and...what exactly am I going to request, anyway?  That he send me 
to the mountains?  I wish the wolves gave better directions.

        Well, enough procrastinating.  Time to go see Rand.  He went 
and found Rand, who was practicing sword forms with the help of 
some cannon fodder^H^H^H^HH^H^H^H^Hexperts.  Rand was humming a 
little tune that evoked the words 'Kung Fu Fighting' in Perrin's 
mind, though he didn't know why.  Min was nearby, half-reading a 
book, and half-cheering every time Rand clobbered someone.  She 
looked up.  "Hi, Perrin."  She cocked her head and stared off to one 
side of his head.  "What the..."  Shrugging, she said, "How's life?"

        Another poor fool went flying as Rand knocked his sword away 
and swept his legs in one fluid motion.  Perrin dodged, then said, "I 
have to make a request of Rand, but I don't know how to put it."

        "Well, Rand's in a pretty good mood today, so I'm sure you 
won't have any trouble."

        The last sword practice living dummy went down with a 
thump.  Rand walked over and said, "Hey, Perrin, don't suppose you'd 
be willing to go a few rounds?  These guys were too easy."

       "Rand, I...need to go to the Mountains of Mist."

        He smiled.  "Excellent.  I'd been meaning to send someone to 
check into those reports about that Kaneda fellow.  Thanks for 
volunteering."

         Perrin blinked.  He needs to put up 'Ta'averen at Work' signs 
or something.  "Good.  I'm going to need help with channelers 
involved."

          "I'll drop by the farm and borrow ten Asha'man,"  Rand said.  
"And maybe a few of my sworn Aes Sedai.  I don't really have a lot 
for them to do here."  And the farther away they are, the safer I'll 
feel.  "You can take your Two Rivers men.  I'll make sure you get 
someone who knows travelling so you can get back."

         Perrin nodded.  If this isn't enough to do the trick...although a 
False Dragon...I really don't want to meet one.  One Dragon is enough 
for me.

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

       "Who are you?"  Karla demanded.

       "Ranma Saotome, just like the last time you asked,"  Ranma 
said, getting a whack to the head for a reply.  "That hurts, you 
know."

        "We can do a lot worse,"  Karla said.

         "I've survived having hungry cats cover my entire body with 
scratches,"  Ranma said, shuddering.  "But it doesn't matter, 
because I'm telling the truth."

        "What you've told us makes no sense whatsoever and sounds 
like a total pile of lies,"  Dora said.  

        "Look, you could give me the Oath Rod if you had it, and I'll 
still tell you the same story."  Ranma hadn't bothered lying.  He 
couldn't think of a good lie.  He stunk at it.

        "We're seriously supposed to believe this tale?"  Else said.  

        "He must be delirious from wandering in the cold too long."  
Dora said.  "Surely if he was lying, it wouldn't be such a totally 
unbelievable story."

        "Unless we're supposed to believe that and not probe deeper,"  
Karla said.  "I think he's lying."

        "Ranma isn't lying,"  Kasumi said.  "You can always tell when 
he lies because he puts his hands behind his head."

        Dora said, "Well, that would be hard to do with them both tied 
behind his back."

        "Oh.  Well, he might be lying then,"  Kasumi said.

        Ukyou tried to will her hands free so she could crush Kasumi's 
head with a rock.

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

        The room was full of various nicknacks:  statuettes, small 
bottles of liquids, a very nice sword with a name written on the 
blade in the Old Tongue, several books, a long blue rod, and a weird, 
free-standing archway which was bent and twisted, looking like 
MC Escher had made it.  It caught Ukyou-kun's eyes as she looked 
around the room.  

       Everyone else wandered around picking things up.  All the 
writing was in the Old Tongue, which they couldn't read, except for 
the words 'Aes Sedai' on the cover of one book.  It looked like some 
kind of manga collection about Aes Sedai when Ranma-chan opened 
it.  

       Kaneda found himself drawn to a small figurine of a man 
holding up the world.  There was something about it.  "I wonder 
what all these things do?"

       Alyssa found a small folder.  "I think this is the Inventory, but 
that's about all I can make out.  It's full of pictures of all this 
stuff."

       Kaneda took a look at it.  "Well, if we could read it, this would 
help."

     Ranma-chan took a look at the potion bottles, and the jewelry 
around it.  For a moment, she picked up a white gold ring that 
caught her eye, then put it down and picked up a packet and stared 
at it.  "Hey, there's writing in Chinese on this!"  

       Ukyou-kun spun around.  "What?"

       Kaneda hurried over.  "Lemme take a look."  It was a paper 
packet, blue in color.  It felt like there was some kind of powder in 
it.  

       Mai said, "What is Chinese and why is it so important?"

        "It's a language from near our homeland,"  Kaneda said.  "But 
how did this get in here?  This place was sealed off thousands of 
years ago, right?"

        Ukyou-kun nodded.  "As far as I can tell."  He turned and looked 
at the archway.  "I wonder what this thing does."

        Alyssa walked over to it.  "It looks sort of like the ter'angreal 
they use for accepted tests, but with only one arch, right, Ranko?"

        Ranma-chan walked over.  "Right.  I wonder where it goes."

        Ukyou-kun looked at it.  "Only one way to find out."  He stepped 
through it.

        "Wait, Ucchan!  The one in the test..." It was too late.  "...was a 
really horrible experience."

         Kaneda said, "Should we go after him?"

         "If it's like the one in the Tower, ya gotta make it out on your 
own,"  Ranko said.  Sighing, she stared at the twisted doorway.  The 
way back comes but once...no one even got to tell you that...

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

          Ukyou-kun followed the foxy little man nervously.  He kept 
wondering what the leather strips he wore were made out of.  The 
hungry looks he kept giving him made his skin crawl.  He was led 
into a room full of pillars, not quite sure why he hadn't simply 
turned back.  Maybe it was his curiosity.  Surely, my past life put 
this thing here for some reason.  

         Atop each of the pillars, a foxy man or woman with red hair 
sat cross-legged, staring down at him.  They grinned with a 
toothsome joy and spoke in a language he did not know.  The guide 
translated.  "They bid you welcome.  What are your desires?"

         "Umm...where am I?"

         "In the realm of the Aelfinn."

          The name tickled faint memories in Ukyou's mind.  Elves, 
that's it.  No wonder they didn't want anyone carrying Iron.  Good 
thing my spatulas are steel.  Or maybe not such a good thing.  Let's 
see...if you catch a leprechaun, they have to give you cereal 
...umm...leave them milk...Don't cheat them...ahh, cost.  "What's this 
gonna cost me?"

         The foxy man laughed a little and translated for the stylites.  
They replied to him.  "What are you willing to pay?"

         "Uhh...I have about 500 yen on me."

          The man translated.  Ukyou-kun could tell from the laughter 
that 500 yen wasn't gonna cut it.  The man gave their reply.  "Would 
you be willing to be a man forever?"

         "But I wanted to wish to get rid of my curse!"

         The man gave her reply.  "How about your left leg?"

         "I need my left leg."

          "But you already have a spare."

          "How about if I cook you some okonomiyaki?"

          The man conferred with the other fox men and women.  "We 
can count that for one wish.  We don't get it much here, but it's not 
THAT valuable."

          "How about if I throw in my family's secret recipie?"

          More conferring.  "Two wishes."

          "Well, what do you want?"

          They conferred back and forth.  "Do you have a functional 8 
track player?"

         "No."

      "Damn."  The foxes yammered back and forth, and finally, the 
translator said, "Can we turn you into a shambling mound of 
vegetable matter?"

        "No!  Ask something that isn't stupid!"  Ukyou-kun shouted.  

        "Shave you bald and spraypaint your head?"

        "How about if I just settle for two wishes?"

        "Can't do that.  How about if you owe us a favor we can collect 
later?"

        "What kind of favor?"

         "We need a statue destroyed.  We can't get to it.  Deal?"

         "Deal."  Ukyou said.  "I get my wishes now?"

         "Yes, then you can pay us."

          "Okay, first wish is for me to be a girl again!"

          A gong sounded and suddenly, Ukyou-kun was a she.  Ukyou 
staggered as her brain tried to integrate conflicting memories.  
Her brain wobbled back and forth as the square peg wouldn't fit in 
the round hole.  "I wish I could think straight!"

         With a second ringing of the gong, Ukyou's mind became 
clearer than it ever had before.  She realized first off that she had 
just mostly wasted a wish, although being able to think clearly 
wouldn't be all bad.  Secondly, she realized that her female side 
had been being held captive by three Aes Sedai and their warder.  
Third, she realized that her first wish had been poorly worded and 
might not have cured her curse like she wanted.  Fourthly, she 
realized that she had best wish for something besides a cure, since 
there were more possible cures than ways to get broad wishes like 
this.  Fifthly, she set to work thinking of a good wish.  I shouldn't 
get too greedy...greedy wishes backfire in stories.  Ahh...if I had the 
gift of tongues, I could read all those labels...wait, maybe I should 
wish to be a really powerful channeler with my girl side...no, that's 
probably too greedy.  "I wish to have the power to speak, read, 
write, and understand any language ever created by any sentient 
being."

        The gong sounded, and Ukyou understood what the fox people 
were saying to each other now.  "Your wishes are granted.  Now, 
someone get her a grill."

         She whipped out her porta-grill.  "Okay, now watch closely..."

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

        Karla was about to interrogate the heavily armed girl again 
when she vanished in a spray of light.  "What the..."

        Else looked around and frowned.  "I didn't sense any 
channeling."

        "It must have been male channeling,"  Dora concluded.  They 
turned and looked at the three men present, who all began to 
sweatdrop in unison.

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

         Ukyou walked out of the archway a few seconds after she had 
left.  "Well, that could have gone better, but..."

         Ranma-chan boggled.  "You're a girl!"

         Mai boggled more.  "YOU'RE A GIRL!"  She backed as far away 
from the arch as she could.  

         It's all true, Alyssa thought.  Then Ranko really is a...a boy.  
She had been able to half deny that until now. 

         "Yeah, I was able to turn back to normal with a wish I got 
from the..."

        "A wish?  COOL!"  Ranma-chan sprinted into the doorway 
before anyone could stop her.

         "Foxes, but you have to pay...Oh great, Ranma-chan left before 
I finished."

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

         "What do you desire?"

          "I want to be back to normal again!  I want to never have 
another lustful thought about boys EVER again!  I want..."  Ranma-
chan slowed down.  Okay, two problems out of the way.  I could 
wish for martial arts skills...naah, that would be cheating.  I can't 
waste a wish on that.  I could make Akane stop liking girls.  Yeah, 
I..wait...if I phrase that wrong, she might not be able to have any 
female friends.  Okay, wish for Akane to not love anyone female.  
No, wait, that would stop her from loving her sisters.  Or her Mom.  
Well, her mom is dead.  Okay, wish for Akane to not love anyone 
female, unless they're a blood re...ahh!  Okay, wish for Akane to not 
romantically love anyone female.  Yeah.

          Wait, what if that means she can't love...no, I'm cured now, 
right?  Wait, what if my first wish doesn't work?  Ranma looked 
down at his body and suddenly realized he was male.  It worked, he 
thought.  I'm a boy again!  Suddenly, his brain dove into chaos as it 
tried to reconcile two sets of memories.  Ranma stuck it out, 
keeping his mouth shut, knowing he would say something stupid if 
he wasn't careful.  

         Finally, the chaos in his mind slowed in its spinning.  Wait, 
we still don't have  a way to get back home, he realized.  And I need 
some way to keep from going nuts if I do go home and can't channel.  
His memories also informed him that Kasumi was still being held 
captive along with two guys working for Akane.  Okay, that doesn't 
need a wish.  I shoulda been more careful about my wishes.  "If I 
wish for something impossible, do I get another wish?"

        The fox nodded.  "Yes.  Impossible wishes don't count.  Neither 
do ones beyond our power to grant.  You can't wish the Dark One 
dead."

         "Can I wish for channeling Talents?"

         "If you so desire."

          Oh bugger, I can't channel because now I'm a boy!  "Can I wish 
for an item?"

         "Yes."

         "I wish to have a fully charged D-hopper with an instruction 
manual that I can actually read and understand!"  After a moment's 
thought, he added.  "That won't explode or dump me in volcanoes or 
junk like that."

         A bell gonged.  In fact, he dimly remembered it ringing 
before.  The D-hopper and instruction manual appeared in his hands.  
"This is great.  Thanks."

         The translator grinned broadly.  "There remains the matter of 
price.  Since you did not set a price, by the ancient covenant, we 
may set it."

          Urk.

          "Your life will be a roiling sea of chaos in which you will 
dance for our amusement.  You will never know peace and stability, 
but you will never be bored.  When you eliminate one problem, 
another shall arise to take its place.  We look forward to watching 
you struggle.  Good day, and I shall show you out now."

         "Hey, you didn't say nuthin' about no price!"

         The fox man began to hustle Ranma down the corridor.  "By 
right, we could take your life, but this will be much more amusing.  
You said you knew the ancient covenant."

          Ranma tried to protest as he was dragged.  "I thought it was 
one of those 'If they ask you if you're a god, say YES!' kinda things."

         "No."

         Ranma sighed.  "So now that I no longer turn into a girl, I'm 
gonna get another problem to replace it?"

         "No."

         "But you said..."

         As the man booted Ranma out the door, he said, "You wished 
to be back to normal, and your normal state is to have one body, one 
mind, but to turn into a girl when wet.  Good day, and feel free to 
recommend us to your friends."

        That wasn't too likely.

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

         Kaneda and Alyssa listened carefully to Ukyou's account.  Mai 
said, "No way I'm going in there.  I've heard stories about those 
people, and they always cheat you some way.  There's nothing I 
want that badly."

         Ukyou looked nervously at the door.  "Shouldn't Ranma be out 
by now?  You said I was only gone a few seconds."

         "Ranma-chan probably is trying to fight her way to the 
Aelfinn Nyanichuan,"  Kaneda muttered, then laughed a little.  "I 
will take the chance.  I have a heavy...need."

          "So will I,"  Alyssa said.  She took Kaneda's hand.  "Let's go 
while I still have the courage."

          Ukyou watched them go.  "Well, I guess I'll start translating 
that inventory."

          "You can read them now?"  Mai asked.

          Ukyou nodded.  "They didn't cheat me on that, anyway."  

         "Do you think I should go?"

          Ukyou shook her head.  "Not unless you've got a really clear 
idea what you want.  And something to offer them."

          Ranma suddenly tumbled out of the doorway.  Mai looked 
nervously at him.  "Are you sure that thing doesn't change 
everyone's sex automatically?"

         "Yes."

          Ranma got up.  "I have a D-hopper!  I think I screwed up my 
other wishes though."  He looked around.  No guys to test whether 
the second one worked.  It  HAS to have worked, he thought.  "Hey, 
where's Kaneda and Alyssa?"

         "Gone to risk making wishes."

          Ranma shook his head.  "They cheat."

         "I could have told you that if I'd known who lives in there,"  
Mai said.

         "We gotta go rescue Kasumi,"  Ranma said.

         Ukyou started.  She had forgotten.  "Right.  When Kaneda and 
Alyssa get back, we go kick Aes Sedai butt."

         Mai said, "WHAT?"

          After they explained everything, Mai wished she had been 
left in the dark.

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

         "Name your desires."

         Kaneda was worried.  Alyssa had vanished when they came 
through the portal.  Were they going to use her against him 
somehow?  Stick to the plan, he thought.  I'll just revise one wish.  
"Should we not set the price I will pay first?"  Don't forget, 
Kaneda, he thought.  Think before you speak.

         The foxy man grinned.  "Someone remembers the covenant in 
truth.  Name what you will pay."

         "I will accept being bound to this world until the end of this 
age, to risk myself in Tar'mon Gaidon and what leads up to it."

         The foxy man's eyes widened slightly, then he grinned again, 
but his voice was a little less arrogant and hungry.  "Add that we 
may observe all that you do, knowing your thoughts, feelings, 
sensations, pains, pleasures, and actions."  

          "Acceptable."  The thought of being spied on wasn't too 
pleasant, but he knew it would take a heavy price for what he 
wanted.  "My first wish is that I want the knowlege and power 
necessary to move my people to safety without having to march all 
the way across the lands."

        "Done."

         The gong rang.  Kaneda suddenly realized he had gained the 
knowlege of how to do Travelling, the art of opening gates between 
portals, and had gained knowlege of many places he could travel to.  
Now one for the world, he thought.  "I wish for the taint to be 
removed from Saidin."

          The foxes' eyes widened.  "Are you SURE?"

          He blinked.  Why on God's green Earth would I NOT want 
this?"

        "Is there some reason I shouldn't want it?"

        "We don't answer questions," was the reply, but he sounded 
scared.  

         Surely this can't be a bad thing, Kaneda thought.  They must 
be trying to bluff me.  "Do it."

         The Foxes gulped.  They conversed back and forth.  Finally, the 
translator said, "We can see no other way within our power to do 
this but one.  We must grant your wish, so..."

         "What are you so worried about?"

         "We don't answer..."

         "Why are you being such IDIOTS?"  Kaneda's temper flared and 
a mallet appeared in his hands.  "FOX NO BAKA!"  He whacked the fox 
in the head, and he fell down, assuming the standard demon ward 
hands position.  Stupid, stupid, stupid, he thought.  I can't afford to 
be violent.  I haven't done anything like that in months/days.  

         The Fox sat up.  "Perhaps in your case, we can make an 
exception.  The division of labor is not quite absolute between us 
and our kin.  We do answer certain questions.  The only way to 
carry out your wish is to break the remaining seals on the Dark 
One's Prison so he can no longer touch the Source through it."

         Kaneda boggled.  The wish he had been least worried about 
had nearly unleashed the Dark One.  "How about if I wish for all 
male channelers to henceforth be protected from the Taint while 
retaining the ability to channel as they did before?"

         "We're not omnipotent.  We don't even know who every 
channeler is."

         "How about, I wish for the power to protect every channeler  
I meet and choose from the Taint on Saidin, including myself, 
without causing them to lose the ability to channel."

         "Done.  You can protect up to twenty men."  

         The gong rung.  Things didn't seem to have changed, but then, 
Kaneda wasn't channeling.  He opened himself to the Source, and it 
was...different.  Still violent.  Still trying to eat him for breakfast.  
But no longer was there a sheen of nausea hanging over it.  He 
couldn't feel the taint.  Twenty men, he thought.  But how do I pick 
which twenty?  Twenty to be saved from going mad, while all else 
do...and no one else will know they're free of it...He could feel the 
weight settling onto his shoulders.

         Okay, third wish.  Do I use it on Alyssa, or trust her to get 
out okay.  Well, might as well try asking first.  "Where is Alyssa?"

        "All must enter and face us alone.  Such is the ancient 
covenant."

        "Is she safe?"

        "We are not holding her hostage to use against you."

        I wonder if they read minds, Kaneda thought.  "I wish for 
myself, my followers, and my friends who can channel to possess 
permanently, the full training that would have been recieved by an 
Aes Sedai in the Age of Legends."  The same training that enabled 
someone to bore a hole in the Dark One's prison, a tiny voice in his 
head said.  Suddenly, he didn't feel so good about this one, either.

        "Done."  The gong rang.  "Your price has begun to be paid."

        Knowlege flooded Kaneda's mind.  The Old Tongue.  Channeling 
methods.  A lot of mostly useless history, geography, economics 
and politics.  How to drive a Jo-car.  Hundreds of facts, methods, 
techniques and trivia chased each other around the inside of his 
brain.  "I can tell."  They let him go without further ado.

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

        "Name your desires."

         Alyssa twitched.  "I name a price too, right?"  I hope I'm 
doing this in the right order, she thought.  Kaneda had vanished.   
Was he in danger?  The guide hadn't said anything when she asked 
him.  

        "Indeed."

        "I wish...I wish...Oh yeah, price.  Ummm...Do you need some 
channeling done?"

         "Yes, that would be acceptable.  We have a ter'angreal that 
requires someone to channel into it to activate it.  We do not 
channel and cannot turn it on.  We will show you how to tie the 
weave in place so that it stays on."

         "Okay, sounds fair to me."  Wishes.  Okay, let's do this right.  
"My first wish, is that no matter what happens, even if I screw up 
the rest of my wishes, that Kaneda won't get hurt."

          "We cannot grant invulnerability to everything."

          "Umm...right."  Alyssa tried to think clearly, but she was 
getting more nervous.  "I wish, first of all, then, that I be changed 
in whatever way is necessary for me and Kaneda to be happy 
together.  That's all I really want.  Even if I have to turn into a boy 
or whatever."

           The fox cocked his head slightly, then smirked.  "Done."  A 
gong gonged.  Nothing seemed to have happened.  "I don't feel any 
different."

         "Were you expecting your mind to be altered?"

         She nodded.  "Yeah."

          "Technically, it was not necessary for US to alter your mind 
to grant your wish."

        "What, so my wish was for nothing?  I don't understand."

        His lips quirked.  "We did change one thing.  Next wish?"

        "This is my second one?"

        "Yes."

        She thought hard.  "I wish for Kaneda to not go mad from the 
taint or suffer any unwanted physical effects from it, ever."

         The fox laughed.  "Granted."

         "Can I wish for the Forsaken to never be released from their 
prison?"

         "Too late."

         Okay, last wish, she thought.  This one...I gotta do it right.  
The way he was laughing, I musta made a mistake on my second 
wish, somehow.

         "I wish to become a strong and skillful enough Aes Sedai to 
beat all the Forsaken by myself without burning out in the 
process."

         "Any Aes Sedai wielding THAT MUCH power alone would burn 
out."  The Fox said flatly.  

       "Then I want to become a strong and skillful enough Aes Sedai 
to face down any one of the Forsaken and win a fight against them, 
without burning myself out.  I know THAT has to be possible or 
they'd be ruling the world right now."  I think.

        "Done."  The fox smirked and Alyssa had a sinking feeling.  
"Now, come with us and power up this ter'angreal."

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

          Ukyou, Ranma, and Mai finished sorting through the artifacts.  
"I wish my past self had thought to include TWO farspeakers,"  
Ukyou said.  "This is like having a ham radio in the Nara period."

        "In the what?"  Mai asked.

        "It's like having a horse and plow when you live on a boat,"  
Ranma said.

        Mai nodded.  "Okay."  She was a little bit nervous being near 
them.  She didn't think gender changing was infectious, and they'd 
tried to explain what was going on, but she couldn't quite 
understand how it was possible.  "These shocklances might be 
useful, but they'd probably be more useful if we had enough of them 
for more than three people."  The shocklances were in one corner, 
leaning against the wall.  They were about nine foot long with 
crystaline tips.

          "This book on channeling could be useful, though,"  Ukyou 
said.  "At least for those of us who channel."  She saw Ranma 
twitch slightly, and she could feel his agitation through the warder 
bond.  What's he so worried about?

         Mai nodded.  "This medical book could be a lot of use once we 
figure it all out too.  And the history book is interesting, if not 
very useful."

         Ranma looked a little hungrily at the five statuettes, two 
rods, and three rings.  "And three angreals, a male angreal, and six 
ter'angreal.  Including three for entering the dream world like 
Ucchan does."

         "And an Oath Rod, a ring that compels truthtelling, and a rod 
that makes plants grow.  Not a bad haul.  Whatever an Oath Rod is,"  
Ukyou said.

        "Aes Sedai swear the oaths on one,"  Ranma said.  Suddenly, he 
felt like his brain was going to explode, as if someone had pulled 
open a hatch on it and poured massive amounts of knowlege into it.  
He staggered, and the little bit of his brain that wasn't going into 
the spin cycle for the second time that day noticed that Mai was 
doing the stumble around and clutch things thing as well.

         Ukyou seemed blissfully unaffected, however.  She looked at 
the two in concern.  "What's wrong?"  She could feel Ranma's utter 
confusion through their bond.  She didn't really need it to tell, 
however.  

       Ranma recovered faster than Mai, who was still staggering 
around when Kaneda stepped out of the gate.  "Ucchan, I think either 
Kaneda or Alyssa just made a wish...did you get a bunch of stuff 
about the Age of Legends in your head?"

       She shook her head.  "Not me, Ranchan."

       "I did,"  Mai said.  "All this stuff about channeling, and vehicles 
and history and how to find a good deal in Paaran Disen and..."  She 
looked around as if she was trying to find something.  "I feel weird.  
Like there's...like something is..."  Her eyes widened as little 
tumblers fell into place in her mind.  "The source."

        Ukyou blinked.  "You can channel now?"

        Ranma's mind, now clear once more made several 
breakthroughs.  "Oath rods were used to bind criminals?"  The 
thought that the Aes Sedai were using a tool of punishment on 
themselves made him want to laugh, so he did.  Serves some of 
them right, he thought.  

        Kaneda stepped out of the archway a few seconds later, 
looking worried.  He looked around, "Alyssa?"

         "She's not out yet,"  Ukyou said.  "Did you like zap knowlege 
into Ranchan and Mai's heads?"

         Kaneda blinked, then laughed.  "Good, it worked."  He paused, 
and thought a moment, remembering the wording of his wish.  I 
suppose this means Ukyou definitely can't channel.  

         Mai said, "I...I can channel now."  Her mind was still reeling.  
Me...an Aes Sedai.  

         Kaneda nodded.  "One of my wishes was to give everyone with 
the potential to channel the full training of an Age of Legends Aes 
Sedai."  Wait...they built these things, he thought, looking back at 
the Archway.  Why didn't they use them to stop the Breaking of the 
World?  Surely they knew what they do, right?  He shoved his 
worries away for the moment.  "I also wished...for the ability to 
protect people from the Taint so they won't go mad or die."

         Ranma's eyes widened.  "That's great!"  He felt a very large 
worry sprout wings and fly away to go bug someone else.

         "And now I know how to get e...oh blast it!  I wasted a wish.  
My third wish covered the same ground as the first one..."  Kaneda 
turned and punched the wall.  "Damnit, damnit, damnit!!!!"  The wall 
cracked.  

        Mai said, "What did you wish for also?"

        "A way to get all of us to where Rand is without having to 
march all the way there.  It's just a channeling weave."  He sighed.  
"Well, two of the wishes worked."

        "Whaddya have to pay them?"

        Kaneda tried to decide whether to tell Ranma or not.  I have to 
tell him eventually.  "I must remain in the world until this age 
comes to its end.  And they get to watch."

        Ranma got big eyes.  "What,  you mean until after Tarmon 
Gai'don?"

        "More or less.  I guess,"  Kaneda said.

         "But that could be YEARS!"  Ranma said.  "What kinda crazy 
idea was that?"

        "Better than a lifetime of chaos."  Kaneda said.  "Maybe."  He 
sighed.  "That doesn't mean you have to stay, Ranma-kun."

        Ranma twitched.  I shoulda wished for Akane to stop liking 
girls, he thought.  That's why she's staying.  I can't believe that I'm 
losing to a girl, damnit!  A surge of anger and jealousy hit him.  

        Alyssa stepped out, looking a bit haggard.  "Well, that was 
harder than it looked."  Why is Ranma looking at me like I'm some 
kind of Trolloc, she wondered when Ranma glared at her.  Not being 
an idiot, she put two and two together and got four.  Ranma wants 
the girl Akane, and I want my boy Kaneda, and we can't both have 
what we want.  I'm sorry, Ranko, she thought.  But I'm not going to 
give up my Kaneda without a fight.

        Kaneda turned to her.  "Are you okay?"

        "I had to do some work for them, and now I'm too tired to 
channel much more than a spark or wipe the sweat off my brow."  
Did my wish work, she wondered.  Will Kaneda and I really be able 
to stay together?  

         Kaneda stepped forward and kissed her.  Ranma made 
strangling noises until Ukyou came over and put a hand over his 
mouth.  Mai continued to boggle over being a channeler.  This went 
on for a while.

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

        Wolves howled in the distance as Else, Dora, and Karla 
continued to tried to get the truth out of their prisoners, who 
continued to claim despite thorough beatings that they had no clue 
at all what happened to the prisoners unless maybe Kaneda had 
done something.  One of them even claimed to not know who Kaneda 
was.  

        Finally, Dora said, "This is getting us nowhere.  I think they 
really don't know."

        Karla nodded reluctantly.  "This annoys me."

        Kasumi was crying.  She hadn't been beaten since she was nine 
and had gotten sick of housework one day and had started breaking 
everything so she wouldn't be able to do any more housework.  She 
had gotten a thorough spanking for that, but her father had scared 
himself while doing it, and hadn't spanked any of his children again 
after that.  Indeed, his efforts to discipline them had effectively 
ceased in the wake of that incident, not that he had tried very hard 
since his wife died.  They had had to learn to discipline 
themselves.

        Kasumi had gone past the limits of what she could endure.  
She kept wobbling back and forth between impotent rage and utter 
terror.  People didn't hit her.  Ever.  She'd walked through the 
middle of all out combats and not been touched because she had 
learned what part of her mind regarded as a magic formula.  If 
you're nice to people and don't hit them, they won't hit you.  She 
was also terrified of her own anger.  She didn't get angry, and on 
the few occassions she did, she didn't know what to do about it.  

        She wanted to kill them for beating her just because they 
didn't like the entirely truthful answers she gave them.  She hadn't 
lied or even bothered to cover up anything at all.  But they had 
beaten her anyway, and now she wanted to hurt them back, which 
scared her.  Wobbling back and forth between the desire to rip out 
their throats and the urge to curl up into a ball and die, she 
compromised by crying a river like her father.  Even the time an oni 
had possessed her, she hadn't felt this angry.  Only when her 
mother had died had she felt so helpless and scared.  

        And then she heard the voices in the forest.  {Eldest Sister 
Who Does All the Work and Occassionally Wishes Her Ungrateful 
Siblings Would Fall on a Stake and Die, but Usually Forgives Them, 
why are you so unhappy?}  She recognized the voice.  It was the 
wolf from her dream.  [The people who captured me that I told you 
about beat me!  I'm going to die!]

        As much as a wolf's voice can sound nervous, his did.  {Don't 
worry.  Young Bull is coming.  He will help you.}  If he gets here in 
time.  Scruffy was worried.  

        {They are out to take my sister and lock her up and my friends 
as well.  I want to chew them up and slit their throats and oh God 
what am I thinking?}  Kasumi paused in her crying to breathe 
heavily and feel a wash of horror.  I must be hallucinating if I'm 
thinking I'm talking to wolves...although that can't be any weirder 
than a guy who turns into a girl, I suppose.  {I'm so angry and it 
scares me and I can't do anything and...}

        [We will help you.]  Wolves howled in a chorus in the distance.  
[If Young Bull does not arrive soon, we will come and slay your 
enemies or die trying.]  

        Kasumi found the thought of her enemies being eaten by 
wolves so appealing that she nearly threw up.

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

        Perrin and his team were now in the mountains of mist, which 
were snow covered and reasonably trackless.  Now we just have to 
wander mindlessly until we find what we're looking for.  Maybe the 
wolves can help.  [Anyone out there?]

        {Young Bull, Eldest Sister Who Does All the Work and 
Occassionally Wishes Her Ungrateful Siblings Would Fall on a Stake 
and Die, but Usually Forgives Them needs you!  Three shes who 
throw fire and touch the wind have been beating her and her 
friends.  She rages against them, but can do nothing.}  She was a 
wolf named Glimmer of the Morning Star at the Crack of Dawn on a 
Clear Night Without Clouds, Seen From a Hillside as You Prepare to 
Sleep, more or less.  The name was an image of course, and hard to 
put into words.  {Come quickly.}

          [How far is it?  Is there a place where two legs gather 
around here?]  

          {The Two Legs have a big stone den towards where the sun 
rises from where you are.  Come, quickly}  An image of the path 
appeared in his mind.  {We must hurry before she is eaten.}

        Surely they're not cannibals, he thought.  [We come.]  He turned 
to Rys, one of the strongest of the Ash'aman that Rand had sent 
with him.  "We need to head about ten miles northwest."

        Rys cocked his head.  "A little bird tell you that?  I see smoke 
rising to the east.  People that way, I think."

        Several of the Asha'man grinned, and so did several of the 
Two Rivers Archers.  Faile said, "Do you desire that THIS little bird 
tell YOU something?  I guarantee you won't like it."  She and Rys 
locked gazes for a minute, then he turned away.

        "Whatever.  As LORD Perrin Goldeneyes commands in his 
omniscience."  He gestured and opened the gateway.

         Faile smiled and tweaked Perrin's arm, then whispered, 
"Aren't you glad I came along?"

         "Yes," he whispered, and meant it, even though he STILL didn't 
like taking her into danger.  However, by now he'd learned that 
trying to protect her simply meant she would find a way to put 
herself in more danger than if he'd just given in in the first place.  
It was a knack she had.

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

        Ukyou slipped back to the group, still invisible and silent.  
They had hidden her with the Power so she could scout ahead.  
"Okay, there's three of them still and one warder.  Kasumi and 
Corwin are in the wagon, and Tyr's lying up in the driving seat."

         "I think we ought to all just link and shield them all,"  Ranma 
said.  "Well, if we can figure out some way for me to turn into a 
girl since we don't have any water handy.  Then we can taser them 
with the shocklances."

         "I can melt snow,"  Kaneda said.  "Getting water is easy. And 
they can't sense me channelling.  Ukyou could bring us some snow."

        "You want me to do that?"

         The conversation continued, and suddenly Ukyou realized they 
couldn't see or hear her...which had been the intent, but not in this 
context.  She had to noogie Kaneda before they finally clued in and 
made her audible and visible again.

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

        Karla, Dora, and Else were on the alert now.  They had sensed 
quite a bit of channeling inside the mountain.  It was all a fair 
ways away, but best to be ready for trouble.  They had hidden 
Thomas near the entrance, both invisible and inaudible.  

        Dora and Else were concealed as well, while Karla had 
volunteered to take the risk of being sacrificial victim.  Things 
didn't go quite the way they planned.  The group they planned to 
capture suddenly appeared in the wagon.  One of them, the pole-arm 
carrying woman, leaped into the driver's seat and set it in motion, 
while the other women, linked, slammed down a shield hard before 
Karla could do more than blink.  The man who Karla believed was 
probably the Dragon knelt to untie the prisoners, then stopped, 
staring in shock.

         Karla recognized two of the women.  Ranko and Alyssa.  A 
runaway and a failure.  Both despicable.  The third was unknown to 
her.  A wilder, she thought.  Karla had no prejudices against 
wilders, only against people who would not play by the rules.  "So, 
my Lord False Dragon.  Quite a collection of failures and washouts 
you've collected.  Some of your friends seem to be missing.  Did you 
kill them in a fit of madness, perhaps?"  She was stalling to give 
Thomas time to get into position, and waiting for Dora and Else to 
do something.

         Then Kaneda howled like an animal and Karla felt a chill of 
fear.  Maybe he has snapped, she thought.  "WHO DID THIS?"  he 
howled.

         Karla could hear the girl, Kasumi, croaking something out, but 
didn't hear what it was.  She didn't need to.  Her mental discipline 
cracked and a bead of sweat ran down her brow.  Do something, you 
idiots!

         Kaneda was inches from Karla by the time she took three 
more breaths.  "YOU MONSTER!"  His fist slammed into her nose, and 
she felt it break.  She toppled, cursing.  

        "Dora, Else, do something you IDIOTS!"

         They did.  Suddenly, Alyssa crumpled from a blow from an 
invisible assailant.  Ranko spun and unleashed a hail of kicks and 
blows on whatever had attacked her.  Unfortunately, this 
distracted her from keeping the shield on Karla, who tried to shield 
Kaneda.  The two of them struggled for the Source without moving.  
Mai, who was still linked to Ranko couldn't do much when Else 
shielded her, but Ranko, carrying one of the angreals like Alyssa 
and Mai, was able to easily shield Dora when Dora tried to shield 
her.  She tried to tie it off, but then the still invisible Tomas 
unloaded on her, sending her flying.  She started looking for Else, 
but Else was still invisible.  Mai crumpled when Else cut off her air 
supply.  However, Ranko was able to follow the flows back to Else, 
and with the angreal, she managed to shield Else, only to get 
clocked by Tomas again.  A burst of wind blew Tomas away from 
her, but now Else was loose and then Dora burst her shield as well.  
Ranko began to back up, barely able to keep Else and Dora from 
shielding her because she had to put some of her attention into 
listening for Tomas, which she quickly learned didn't work when he 
sent her flying again.  She could feel them clamping down on her, 
slowly cutting her off from the source.  She could have fought them 
or Tomas and won, but not both.

        Karla and Kaneda glared at each other.  He was substantially 
stronger, but she had forty years experience, and he had months.  
She forced him to keep on his toes, while he struggled to fend off 
all the assaults at once.  For several minutes, they glared at each 
other, but Karla was beginning to suspect she was going to lose.  
Then she spotted the Kasumi girl charging at her with a knife.  She 
looked entirely crazed.  Karla swore mentally.  She took the chance 
of hurling a huge chunk of snow at the oncoming girl, sending her 
flying.  Kaneda slammed a shield into place, then suddenly realized 
the girl had been hurt.  He lost his concentration, and turned to look 
at her.  She managed to snag his feet with hers and trip him.  He 
crashed into the snow, and the shield broke.  She called up fire and 
tried to boil him with melted snow, though she ended up mainly 
getting hot water.  The result shocked her.  "Blood and ashes...he 
turned into a girl!"  Before the girl could do anything, Karla had her 
tied up with air.  

         He looked up at the girl, Ranko and thought about the boy they 
had captured earlier.  Surely not..but what if?  She hurled some of 
the hot water at Ranko, who suddenly turned into a very surprised 
guy.  Seconds later, he was hogtied with air.  Dora and Else became 
visible again and sauntered over.          

        Dora plucked the angreal out of the boy's hands.  "Interesting."

        Else turned to Karla, looking very surprised.  "Amazing.  I 
would not have thought such a use of the Power possible."

        The boy, Ranma, swore.  "You bastards.  I can't believe you did 
that to Kasumi.  Is everyone in the Red Ajah a torturer, or are you 
three just special?"

        "I am a Brown,"  Else said frostily.  "And you are but a 
runaway Accepted."

        "With a cowardly warder.  What kinda man beats a defenseless 
woman?  Or lets her be beaten.  Then attacks people invisibly.  
Chicken!"  Ranma started letting out chicken cries.

         Dora raised an eyebrow.  "You're rather obnoxious for someone 
who is utterly at our mercy."

         "Compared to that damn accepted test, this ain't nothing.  
Compared to a typical day with Pop, this ain't nothing.  I've 
survived being thrown in a pit of cats sixty times with sausages 
tied to me.  I get woken up by having a giant panda roll over on me.  
I've fought maniacs who thought they were gods.  I've fought 
dragons in human form.  I've helped kill some of the Forsaken.  
You're NOTHING."  Ranma grinned at them.  "And my female form is 
better built than all of you put together."

        Dora said, "No way.  My Domani beauty puts yours to shame!"

        Karla sighed.  This is worse than novices channeling up ice to 
put down each other's dresses.  She watched Dora and Else bicker 
with the boy as if the three of them were fourteen year old girls.  
She went around to make sure each of their captives was secured, 
making sure to tie up the psycho girl especially securely.  

        Half of her brain was listening as they started arguing about 
who was a better channeler as well.  She turned Tomas visible and 
got him to start moving the bodies while she headed over to stop 
this ridiculous argument.  Wolves howled in the distance, but she 
ignored them.  Wolves rarely attacked humans unless the humans 
struck first or they were extremely desperate.  

        It looked like Else and Dora were hanging colored lights all 
over Ranma, trying to show who had more fine control.  Dora was 
clearly winning.  Else should have known better than to compete.  
Of course, the boy was bragging he was better.

        The wolves howled again.  They were closer now.  "You two, 
why are you wasting time arguing with this idiot?"

         Else and Dora blushed.  "Ummm..."

         "Our work is done here.  Once we collect everything they 
found, we can leave mopping up the castle to the locals.  Now, come 
with me.  We need to search them."  She thought a moment.  "Tomas, 
strip the boy and see what he has in his clothing.  Else, Dora, you 
examine the channelers.  I'll see what the warrior girl can tell me."

          They nodded, but then a voice cried from down the slope of 
the mountain.  "HALT!  In the name of the Lord Dragon!"

         Karla cursed mentally.  His goon boys showed up.  Her goon 
boys...whatever he/she/it is.  She turned to the others, who nodded.  
They began to stride forward, weaving air to block arrows and 
using a nice trick that made them seem to grow with each step.  
"LEAVE THIS PLACE.  THIS IS AES SEDAI BUSINESS."  Her voice 
bellowed.

         Suddenly, the illusion snapped.  She now spotted the ten black 
clad men who stood near the small army's leader.  All ten were 
grinning like madmen in their uniforms, and she suddenly realized 
what they were.  Male channelers.  There had been stories of 
Al'Thor collecting and training such...but why would he send nearly 
half of them into the mountains?  They knew from their last report 
there was likely not more than twenty or thirty at most.  It 
surprised her that he had found so many.  One of the men crowed, 
"We'll make you kneel like the others!  DOWN!"  She could feel the 
weaves of air, if not see them, and she sliced them to ribbons.  No 
one would make her kneel.  

        The shaggy haired man on the huge horse cried out, "This is 
your last chance to surrender."

        Karla would sooner die than surrender.  She unleashed a storm 
of shielding attacks, as did Dora and Else.  She herself only 
shielded one.  With the Angreal, Dora shielded four.  Else got one as 
well.  Unfortunately, this left four black clad men.  While they 
couldn't find her arrow blocking weaves, which saved her from 
becoming a pincushion, the ground suddenly exploded under their 
feet, sending Karla, Dora, and Else flying.  Then the pack of wolves 
closed in, charging up the mountainside.    
        
          The last thing Karla saw before she blanked out was a very 
scruffy looking wolf charging her.

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

        Akane shook hands with Perrin.  "Nice to meet you.  I'm Akane 
Tendo, also known as Kaneda."  She noticed that the hawk-nosed 
woman by him was giving her a suspicious look.  Must be his 
girlfriend, she thought.  The idea of herself making someone else 
jealous made her grin just a tiny bit.  

        "The...Kaneda is a girl?"  Perrin boggled.

        Akane sighed.  "This is going to shock you.  I suggest you sit 
down."

         The woman gave Akane a funny look.  "I think my husband," 
she emphasized the word, "has seen much worse than anything you 
might do."

         Akane grinned.  "Ranma, Ukyou, c'mere."

         They did.  Ranma said, "Oh no...you're NOT gonna do this."

         "Mai, do the honors, please."

          Mai flinched in advance, but did so.  Turning snow to water 
was easy.  Watching them change sex wasn't.  This had better not 
happen to all channelers, she thought.  No wonder Aes Sedai don't 
get married much.  

          Perrin stared in shock.  "Urk."

          Faile's eyes opened wide.  She looked around at the snow and 
pulled her legs as high up on her horse as she could.  The various 
archers stared nervously at the ground and the Asha'man suddenly 
were surrounded by a patch of ground clear of snow.  

         "Ranma, Ukyou, Mai.  You explain everything.  I need to see to 
my sister."  He went over to Kasumi, who was lying with her head 
in Alyssa's lap, crying.  Alyssa had easily healed her wounds and 
removed the pain, but that wasn't enough.  

         Kaneda quickly turned some snow to hot water and reverted 
to normal.  Akane picked up Kasumi and hugged her tightly.  "You're 
safe, sis."

         "I wanted to kill them...I was so angry...I wanted to rip out 
their throats...I think I'm going mad..."  Kasumi was babbling 
incoherently.  

        "But you didn't,"  Akane said.  "I would have been mad if I was 
in your position too."

        "I called the wolves to kill them...I wanted to hurt them...to 
make them pay.  It wasn't right.  It wasn't right.  Akane...I wanted 
them DEAD!"  Kasumi banged her fist on the ground.  "I feel dirty."

         "You're the cleanest of us all, Kasumi.  I have killed people 
here."  It was hard to admit.  She'd tried to avoid it, but back when 
she first learned to use the Power, she'd buried a group of 
Whitecloaks under an avalanche.  She couldn't be certain they'd 
died, but she never saw them again.  "Compared to me, you're 
spotless."

         "It's not true.  You couldn't kill anyone, Akane.  You're just 
trying to make me feel better."  Kasumi cried for a very long time, 
and Akane sat and held her through it all, doing her best to be 
soothing.

         Alyssa watched quietly, not knowing what to say.  I feel 
pathetic.  All this knowlege I got from the foxes, but I got knocked 
out before I could use it.  The man...woman...I love is trying to help 
her poor sister and I don't know what to do.  Akane seemed so 
natural as a girl as she comforted her sister, doing everything 
Alyssa would have done for her own sister.  And yet...when he was a 
boy, he seemed natural as that as well.  

         Alyssa didn't know what to think.

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

        The victory dinner was a resounding success, although rather 
plain and overcrowded.  Still, everyone had a good time eating and 
celebrating the victory, although many of the people at Castle Mist 
didn't quite know what they were celebrating.  Afterwards, they 
split into various groups to discuss things.  Kaneda went walking 
with Kasumi.  They still hadn't told most of the inhabitants of the 
castle about his curse; he wanted to announce it properly before 
they left.  He wanted to make plans with Perrin, but they could do 
it tomorrow.  Ranma had gone off with Perrin to talk.  Alyssa found 
herself with Faile and Ukyou, up on the walls, looking out across 
the countryside.

        "You remind me a bit of Min,"  Faile said to Ukyou.

        "Is that good or bad?"  Ukyou asked. 

        Faile thought a moment.  "Good question."

        Ukyou laughed.  "Dresses kinda masculine, eh?"

        Faile nodded.

        "Try pouring cold water on her and see what happens."  Ukyou 
laughed heartily.  Faile stared blankly for a moment, then began to 
cackle.

         "Rand would just DIE if something like that happened," she 
said.  "She's his lover."  Faile shook her head.  "The rising ruler of 
the world is a shepherd and his lover a barmaid.  Like father says, 
scratch a ruler and you'll find a farmer three generations back."  
She turned to Ukyou.  "Do you have a lover?"

         Ukyou grinned.  "I'm engaged to Ranma.  And his warder."

         She thought a moment.  "The girl who..."

         "Ranchan's a guy who turns into a girl."

         "And you're the opposite.   A good pair, I suppose."  Faile 
blushed for no apparent reason.  "Did he really train in the Tower?"

          Ukyou nodded.  "How he kept his secret...I dunno."  She turned 
to Alyssa.  "You met Ranchan there, right?"

        Alyssa was glad to have her cycle of worries broken.  "Yeah, 
we were novices together for a few months.  I washed out, and she 
didn't.  I've done a lot better since then."

         Faile started to open her mouth then shut it.  She thought a 
moment, then said, "Are you..."  She shut up again.

         "I'm not even an Accepted,"  Alyssa said.  

          Faile yawned.  "I'm getting tired.  I believe I'll go sleep.  
Goodnight."

         Alyssa started to leave, but Ukyou caught her hand.  "Don't go 
yet."

         They bid Faile farewell, then after she got out of earshot, 
Ukyou said, "You're worried about losing Kaneda, right?"

         Alyssa nodded.  "I wanted to use one of my wishes, but I think 
I bollixed it up."

        "What, you wanted to wish he'd love only you?"

         "I tried to wish that I'd be able to accept all this and make it 
work, but as far as I can tell, nothing happened."

         "Nothing happened?"

         Alyssa nodded.

         Ukyou thought carefully.  "Well, do you think he's going to 
leave you, or that you'll leave him?"

        "That...I mean...Ranko is so pretty, and Ranma is so handsome, 
and they are engaged and...I mean, like you said.  Someone who 
changes sex...maybe they need someone who changes sex to really 
have a...a marriage."

         Ukyou laughed.  "I loved Ranchan before I was ever cursed.  I 
don't think you have to worry about YOU not being able to love 
Akane.  And I can tell she loves you.  I think nothing happened 
because you already had the ability to love him.  I think what you're 
REALLY worried about is that he will leave you."

         Alyssa nodded quietly.  "That worries me more."

        "You gotta fight for your love, Alyssa.  You've got Akane's 
heart.  Now you just gotta make sure you keep it.  You're the one 
who's gonna be in bed with Akane tonight, not Ranma."  Ukyou 
grinned.  "Cause he's gonna be with ME."

         "But he...he..."

         "If I thought I didn't have a chance, I'd give up.  I love Ranma 
and only Ranma.  I know Ranchan has feelings for me."  She sighed.  
"I know he has feelings for Akane too.  But I won't give up and 
neither will you, right?  This way, we can all win."  Flashing a 
reassuring grin, she did a V-sign.  "Victory!  It WILL be ours!"

        "How can you be so confident?"

        "I'm Ranchan's warder.  I can tell how he feels.  He's 
comfortable with me, happy.  And when he looks at me...I can tell he 
likes what he sees."  She grinned.  "So...is Akane good in bed?"

        Alyssa blushed horribly.

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

       Ranma was in a real bed this night.  He lay on his back, staring 
at the ceiling.  I can't believe Akane's left me for some girl.  I 
mean, Alyssa's not bad as girls go, but I'm better looking and a 
better channeler and probably more feminine if I really HAD to be.  

        Introspection fell on Ranma's list of priorities just above 
"learning Sanskrit", but tonight, it had moved up the list.  

         I can't believe I'm trying to list ways I'm more feminine than 
someone.  Jeez, do I really...I mean..why am I throwing such a fit?  
I'm better off without that uncute tomboy.  No wonder she likes 
girls.  Opposites attract.  The words rang hollow in his mind.

        What has happened to her?  Was she always like this?  She 
musta hit her head or something...At least it can't happen to me, 
anymore, Ranma thought.  My wish took care of that.  I hope.  He 
sighed.  I shoulda wished for everything to go back to being the way 
it was before.  

        He rolled over onto his stomach.  Ucchan was coming.  He 
could sense her growing nearer.  She was in a good mood, and it 
was a little infectious.  As he thought about her, he started feeling 
better.  Maybe I should just forget about Akane, he thought.  I...I 
don't really know her anymore.  Ucchan...Ucchan loves me.  I...like 
Ucchan a lot.  I think I could really love her once I got over Akane.  
Maybe we could really make it work.  At least we get along.

        Actually, the new Akane and I get along pretty well, he 
suddenly realized.  We haven't had one stupid fight this whole time.  
We did have a real fight, but I mean...we had good reasons to argue 
for once.  No stupid insults.  Maybe...we could make it work too.  
This isn't getting me anywhere.  Ranma frowned.  Neither his 
trickery nor his fighting skills could solve this problem, and it 
frustrated him.

          The door opened, and Ukyou walked in.  "Hi, Ranchan.  
What'cha worrying about?"  She dropped her mega-spatula and took 
off her bandolier, then walked over and sat down on the bed.  

          "Nothing."  I wish I had somebody I could talk to about this, 
he thought.  This isn't the kinda thing you can discuss with your 
fiancees.

         "Ranchan, I can feel how you are.  You're worried.  Whatcha' 
worrying about?"

         "Ucchan...I just...I need to talk to a guy about this, ya know?"

         She grinned.  "I can be a guy if you need one."

        Ranma groaned.  "Please don't make fun of me, Ucchan."

         "I'm sorry.  But if you won't say what's bugging ya, I can't 
help.  Did Perrin tell you some bad news?"

        "Well, I'm glad Pop never met Faile to make her one of my 
fiancees..."  They both laughed.  "Man, I wish Ryouga was here...no, 
he'd probably freak."

         "You're thinking about Akane."  Ukyou sighed.  "It's over, 
Ranchan.  Even if she does love you, she's made a commitment to 
Alyssa, I think, and she's not gonna break that.  She's changed.  A 
lot.  She's not going back to Nerima, either.  Not until this is all 
over, and that could be months or years."

         "I know.  I just can't believe she's in love with a GIRL!  It's 
just...It just..."  It turned Ranma's stomach.  He wasn't sure if it 
was the girl part in general or the him losing to a girl part.  Do I 
really love her or do I just hate losing, he wondered in a burst of 
rationality.  

         "I love a girl,"  Ukyou said quietly.

         Ranma froze in place.  "What?"

         "I love you," she said, blushing horrendously.

         "I'm not a girl!  I'm a boy!  I just...get a girl body sometimes."

         "Ranchan, my love for you doesn't change when you do.  Does 
the way you feel about me or Akane change when we change sex?"  
Ukyou couldn't quite bring herself to explicitly ask how he felt 
about her.  She was pretty sure from the way he was acting that he 
must have felt something for Akane.  His pride alone wouldn't make 
him act like this.  She hoped.  

         Ranma rolled back over and looked at Ukyou.  "You're my best 
friend.  I woulda come all the way here to save you too.  I 
just...Alyssa is never a boy, though.  It'd be different if she was 
really a guy who turned into a girl.  I could understand that.  I 
wouldn't like it, but I just...I mean...why'd she start liking girls?  
Was it 'cause she was split in two?  Are we gonna start..."  No.  No 
way.  My wish fixed that.  It had to.

         "I think that was caused by us being split too,"  Ukyou said 
quietly.  "I know I was starting to...you know.  You really were a 
girl, and just a girl, and I was a boy and that was it.  Or maybe we 
just don't spend enough time in our curse bodies for it to effect 
us."  He said I'm his best friend.  Is he just afraid to say more or is 
that all?  I mean...we've kissed.  Even if we were the wrong sex at 
the time.  And both hid afterwards.  Maybe it wasn't just being 
stuck in one form.  Maybe it's inevitable.  That scared her.  The idea 
of being bisexual didn't bother her as much as the idea of changing 
sexuality without any control over it did.  Not that she'd actually 
gotten to CHOOSE her sexuality in the first place, but if that could 
change...what else might the curse do to her?

         Ranma looked up at Ukyou.  She was beautiful, though he could 
barely see her by the light of the guttering fire in the fireplace.  
She looked a little sad, and he could sense her feelings.  I didn't 
want to drag you down, Ucchan.  While Ranma was sometimes a 
moron, for once, his brain kicked into high gear.  She said she loved 
me, and I didn't say I loved her.  No wonder she's sad.  He sat up and 
reached over and took her hand.  "Ucchan...I...I..."  Not only was he 
scared to say it, he wasn't quite sure what to say.  The feeling that 
was growing in his heart was something he had rarely felt.  It 
might have been love, though it certainly wasn't the same as his 
feelings for Akane.  It might have been a mixture of strong 
friendship and desire.  It might have just been his nerves on edge.  
Ranma had had very few romantic moments in his life to try to 
make any kind of comparison.  "Ucchan...you're very important to 
me."  He could say that truthfully.  "And you've been more loyal to 
me than I could ever have expected."

        Ukyou blushed.  Is he...Is he going to say he loves me?  
But...with the way he was carrying on about Akane...could he really 
love me?  The old Ukyou would have assumed it was the latter, but 
her mind was clearer now, though she wasn't sure why.  She 
seemed to be picking up on subtleties she had normally ignored.  My 
wish, she thought.  To think clearly.  "Ranchan, you know you're the 
most important person in my life."

        He gulped.  "That sc...sc...scares me, Ucchan.  How I feel scares 
me.  I dunno nothing about love.  I never had no girlfriends or 
nothing before I came to Nerima.  When I look at you, I feel so 
strange.  I dunno if I love you like you love me.  You're very 
important to me, and I care a lot about you, but I just...I wanna tell 
you I love you, but I don't wanna lie.  I think...I think I could love 
you...if I could just get my mind straight.  I wanna be honest with 
you, Ucchan.  No lies, no insults, no being stupid.  I mean...we're 
engaged and stuff, and I want...I want to make it work.  I screwed 
up bad with Akane."  The words were coming out faster and faster, 
as Ranma talked to keep from thinking.  His body was starting to 
become excited from her presence, which scared him more.  And 
she was responding.  He couldn't really tell from looking at her, but 
through the bond, he could sense her tension and the kind of tension 
it was.  For a moment, he wondered if he had screwed up something 
when he made the bond.  Surely most Aes Sedai didn't go through 
this with all their warders?  Then again, maybe the Reds had the 
right idea not bonding any men.  Probably explains why the Greens 
tend to shack up with their warders too.  

         "So you...you want to try and ... make our engagement work?"  
Her voice was scared and hopeful at the same time.  She leaned a 
little closer.  

         Ranma leaned a little closer as well.  "Yeah.  I mean...I'll be 
honest.  I know you love me more than I love you, but...I just...I 
think...I hope...we can be happy together.  Cause we're good friends 
and I think we're compatible and I really think...I hope...Sometimes 
you really turn me on too, so it's not like I don't think you're pretty 
or some junk, cause I've always known you were cute."  His blood 
was pounding, and he was babbling.  "I just...I wanna be honest with 
you, Ucchan.  You know...I've never kissed a girl.  Not when she was 
a girl.  My first kiss wasn't even a girl who turns into a guy."

          Ucchan smiled.  "I think I can fix that."  

          Eyes closed.  Lips met.  Bodies touched.  Arms hugged.  Desire 
rose.  Clothing fell.  Pleasure mounted.  Release came.  Sleep 
followed.  Pleasant dreams.

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

         Alyssa walked into her bedroom, wondering if Kaneda would 
be there.  He was, still damp and drying himself off.  "Hello, 
Alyssa-chan," he said quietly.  "How was your talk with Lady Faile 
and Ukyou?"

         "It was okay.  How about you and your...sister?"  She began to 
strip for bed, fumbling with her clothing.  

         "Kasumi's asleep now.  I had to use the power on her to knock 
her out."  He sighed.  "Or I'd still be there.  I hope I didn't over do it.  
She's hurting so bad, and I don't know what to do."

         Alyssa walked over and hugged Kaneda.  "She'll get over it, 
with you to help her.  Are you...going back with her?"

        Kaneda blinked.  "Didn't I tell you?  Part of my price to the 
foxes is that I will stay in this world until after this age ends.  I'm 
going to stick it through.  But even if I hadn't made that bargain, I 
wouldn't abandon you and my...everyone here at Castle Mist.  They 
trust me.  They're depending on me.  I won't let them down."  His 
voice was firm.  "And I love you, Alyssa."

         "I...Kaneda...I...do you love me when you're a girl?"

         "It's not the same as when I'm a boy, but yes, I love you.  I 
wouldn't make love to you as a girl, though."  He paused.  "Do you 
love me when I'm a girl?"

          "I...I think so.  But like you said."  She blushed.  "I don't want 
to make you be a boy just for me when you're really a girl."

         "It won't just be for you.  I need to be able to channel, and 
only my boy body channels.  And I like being a boy now.  And a girl, 
too."  He laughed faintly.  

         A tiny switch clicked in Alyssa's mind.  "I think I need a 
bath."

         Kaneda grinned.  "That could be fun."

        Alyssa blushed.  

         They had built a Japanese style bath on their house and the 
other houses, since that didn't require any running water.  Kaneda 
liked bathing frequently.  They both stripped down and headed into 
the bathroom, then doused themselves with some handy cold water.  
Kaneda also grasped the source and created a weave to heat up the 
bath tub at the far end of the room.

         Alyssa's scream threw off his chain of thought however.  He 
looked over and saw she had turned into a guy.  He blinked and 
Alyssa said, "Well, I see the Foxes DID do something about that one 
wish..."  Alyssa quietly fainted.
  
*************

         Kasumi couldn't sleep.  Even her dreams hadn't comforted her 
as they usually did.  Images of her desired revenge kept flitting 
through her mind.  She felt wretched.  Now she was up on the castle 
walls in the bitter cold under the stars.  She looked down the slope. 
It would be so easy...no.  I didn't do anything that bad.

         She could hear animal noises off in the distance and a far 
muttering of wolves.  Somewhere in the castle, she heard the 
steady thump of hammering, and near her, footsteps.

          She spun around, then relaxed when she saw it was only the 
leader of the people who had saved them.  His name was Perrin, and 
he had shaggy brown hair and a rather silly looking beard.  He 
looked worried, and stared at her with his golden eyes.  "You're 
thinking about jumping."  It wasn't a question. 

        She shook her head.  "No.  Not at all."

         "It's hard, isn't it.  Hearing the wolves."  He stepped closer.

         Kasumi turned and stared out across the mountains.  "I didn't 
hear anything."

         "I know you did, because I hear them too," he said quietly.  
"They call me Young Bull, and unless I miss my guess, you're the 
one they call Eldest Sister Who Does All the Work and 
Occassionally Wishes Her Ungrateful Siblings Would Fall on a Stake 
and Die, but Usually Forgives Them."  He took a deep breath.  "Mind 
if I just call you Kasumi?"

         She laughed just a tiny bit.  "Sure."  Staring into his eyes, she 
said, "I...I'm scared.  I have these...I want to...I wanted to kill them.  
Kill them all. I'm not a violent person, normally.  I mean, I just..."

         He nodded.  "I understand.  You can lose yourself in the rage 
sometimes."

          They talked for a long time.  It was not the end of Kasumi's 
problems, but it was a great help.
        
**************

         Ranma woke up earlier than Ukyou the next morning.  She was 
naked in his arms with her head nestled under his chin.  He ran a 
hand through her hair and tried to understand what he had done.  I 
shoulda waited, he thought.  Geez, what a slut I am.  Get dumped by 
one person and leap right into someone else's arms.  

          It had felt right, though, at least at the time.  Even now, he 
felt a warm glow when he looked at her.  It had probably been the 
most incompetent sex in the history of the universe, or at least 
Ranma felt that way.  Neither of them had known more than the 
very basic principle of it all.  He'd had nearly fired off a ki-blast in 
the middle of it.  And he came too early and had to rely on other 
methods to bring her to orgasm.  When she did orgasm, it nearly 
scared him to death.  For a moment, he had thought she was going 
to die, that somehow he'd caused her to have a heart attack.  She 
looked so peaceful now, and it made him smile.  

         I'm an idiot, he thought.  But right now...I don't care.

***********

          The sun rose over Castle Mist.  The day was cold, but clear.  
Celice had gotten stuck with what would have been Tyr's shift, if 
he hadn't been busy recovering from his trip.  She wasn't alone.  She 
had Alya with her.  She watched Alya pace back and forth, 
practicing a kata.  You've changed a lot, Celice thought.  Alya had 
gone from a nervous, terrified herbalist to a strong, confident 
warrior.  She was one of Kaneda's best students.  He's a good 
teacher, Celice thought.  And he's willing to teach women to fight, 
which suprises me.  It was a pleasant surprise.  

          Her other recent surprise was...well, she wasn't sure what to 
make of it.  She could channel.  Not just channel, but her mind was 
stuffed full of information on how to channel.  What's happened to 
me?  Is this some side effect of the things they found?  Are we all 
going to start channeling?  What about the men?  She'd seen some 
of the other women looking nervous around the castle.  You know...I 
could warm the air with the power, she thought.  Instead of 
shivering.  She followed the instructions in her mind.  It was easy, 
and wonderful.  

        Alya started and turned around.  "You too?"

         Celice grinned.  "Maybe it's infectious."  

        Alya laughed.  "Maybe we'll have to start calling this place the 
Misty Tower soon."  They both laughed at that.

        When someone shouted from just outside the castle, they both 
nearly fell off the wall from surprise that someone had gotten that 
close.  "Can you tell me the way to Furinkan High School?"  It was a 
dark haired teenager with short hair and a yellow and black 
bandana in his hair.  He was dressed in a the Tairen style, though 
simply.  

       "What's a high school?"  Alya asked Celice.

       "Don't ask me."  She leaned over the edge.  "What's a high 
school?"

        Ryouga boggled.  "I'm not in Japan, am I."

        "You're in the Mountains of Mist, at Castle Mist, home of 
Kaneda, the Lord Dragon,"  Celice said.  

        "So which way is Japan?"

        "Never heard of it."  Alya said.  "Hold on, and we'll see if we 
can let you in to ask people."



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/

War is the way of the Wyrm.  And War is easy.  Peace is the way of Gaia.
But Peace is the hardest work there is.  So why not fight an all-out war
against the Wyrm?  In the shadow of the Apocalypse, why not win at all
costs?  Because that's what the Wyrm wants.  Because in winning we will
lose.  If we triumph in the Apocalypse through terror, suffering and
betrayal, we will create a world of terror, suffering and betrayal.  And
the Wyrm will win.  The only solution is Peace.  But how do we wage Peace?
We must win by healing the world.  We must win by changing ourselves.  Or
else our salvation becomes our damnation.
--Children of Gaia Tribebook (WW Storyteller system)