Yeah, yeah.  I KNOW how long this one has taken.  :P  First,
this fic is not associated in any way with any other fic with 'Twisted'
in the title, nor 'Destiny'.  Second, all previous parts are available
on my web page at: http://www.emich.edu/public/llb/fanfic.html
C&C and stuff welcomed.

Lara
'Please remind me never, ever, EVER to goad Richard Lawson into dancing
again.  Please!  It's not pretty.'  :)



{Apply all disclaimers abotu ownership, fair use, copyright, and all
that way cool stuff.  This stuff doesn't belong to anyone except those
who created it (but I can still complain if you steal it from me).}

Dedicated to RpM - here's the damn story already!


			Twisted Destiny 18
			  by Lara Bartram


"I can't handle this!"

"Now, Ranma, you know Akane wouldn't want you to get like this."
Kasumi set down a cups of tea in front of her father and Genma.  They
were as stoic as ever at the shogi board.

Ranma paced fervently across the yard in front of the pond.  Every so
often he would exclaim loudly about how he was going crazy, or how he
was going to kill Kuno, or how he couldn't take it anymore.  He looked
up and started to glare at Kasumi, but quickly shifted his gaze to his
father and Mr. Tendo.

It was impossible to believe that Mr. Emotional could sit there so
calmly while his daughter was missing.  With Kuno, no less.  "Come on,
Pop.  Let's spar!"

"Now, now, boy..."  The truth was that Ranma had pummeled his father
so thoroughly that Genma was done sparring until Akane had returned.

Genma gulped down his tea.  IF Akane returned.  That was not an idea
he really wanted to consider though, as much for Ranma and Soun as his
own health.  He moved his piece, which brought a triumphant cry from
Soun.

"Aha!  I've got you now, Saotome!"  Soun slapped his piece down and
folded his arms in victory, smiling smugly.

Genma looked at the board in amazement.  Soun had actually won.
Without cheating.  And worse, he hadn't done anything to prevent it.
'I must be getting old,' he thought, sighing in defeat.  "You've
finally beat me fair and square," Genma said, trying to sound
light-hearted.  "Now all you have to do is make up for all the times
I've beat you."  Genma got his own smug smile.

Soun looked at him critically for a moment.  "Challenge accepted."
They replaced all the pieces and started a new game.

Ranma stared at them, not quite able to believe what he was
witnessing.  A bomb could drop in the backyard and they might comment
on the noise.  "You two are impossible!" he yelled.

"Ranma, it's not nice to yell like that," Kasumi said.  "Would you
like some tea?"

Ranma shook his head, eyes blinking rapidly.  "No!  I would not like
some tea!  I'd like for someone to care what's going on!"  The tension
was getting to be too much; he felt completely useless.

"I care," Nabiki said, stepping into Ranma's vision.

Looking a little stunned, Ranma didn't say anything.  The others
seemed to be blissfully ignorant.

"Come on.  If you want to talk, it's on the house this time," Nabiki
said with solemnity.

Ranma looked at her skeptically, then nodded.  He headed back into the
house, Kasumi holding a tray with two cups of tea and a plate of
cookies on it.  He took one cup and the cookies while Nabiki took the
other cup.

"My room," she offered, and headed for the stairs.

Once they were both sitting in Nabiki's room, the door closed and
latched, Ranma looked around nervously, licking his lips in
anticipation.

"Ranma, relax.  I don't have any traps that I'm going to spring on
you; I'm not recording this.  I just want to talk, and it looks like
you need to."  Nabiki reclined on her bed somewhat, watching Ranma
slowly start to pace.

He stopped suddenly and looked at Nabiki.  "I don't like this.  I
don't like it at all," he said quietly.

"You're worried about her?"

"Of course I am!  Why wouldn't I be?  You're the one that seems to be
taking this all a little too calmly!"  Ranma's voice had risen to a
shout.  "Are you sure all of that thing is outta you?"

Nabiki flinched openly at Ranma's accusation.  "So you think that just
because I don't go running around the house like a chicken with my
head cut off that I don't care?  You think I want to see her dead?
You think that just because it's ME that I don't care at all?  That's
really it, isn't it?"  The calm look on Nabiki's face did not match
the tone of her voice.

"You think you can just conveniently insult me just because you don't
like me.  It's so easy to accuse me of not caring even though I cared
long before you even knew we EXISTED!  You, Ranma Saotome, are a
complete asshole and not worthy of my sister."

Nabiki stared at Ranma, a single tear having already made its way down
her face.  "You are a coward.  You hide behind your father and your
martial arts bullshit.  If you want to start slinging insults, watch
the heat because the kitchen can get pretty hot.

"You're the bully and coward, afraid how to say how he feels, afraid
of the consequences if you make your own decisions in life, afraid of
what will happen if you're not the center of attention...  I was wrong
about you, Saotome.  You're not a nice guy.  You're just like your
father."

Nabiki's voice had turned colder than any arctic wind could have
aspired to be.  "Goodbye, Ranma, and please take your holier than thou
shit with you.  I don't need it."  She turned her attention to a
magazine that she picked up from her bedside.

Ranma looked at her a little stunned, but not angry.  For some reason,
he couldn't get angry at what she had said.  Maybe because it was...
it was the truth.  He turned and left the room, leaving his unfinished
tea and the cookies behind.

Avoiding Kasumi, he went outside and jumped to the roof, relaxing on
the sun-warmed tiles to think.  How could Nabiki think he was a
coward?  He wasn't afraid of anything except cats.  And he never hid
behind his father, though the old man was certainly wide enough for
it, or martial arts.

Ranma was coming to the conclusion that Nabiki had no clue what she
was talking about.  If she really was that opinionated, why didn't
she ever make any sense?  Definitely too much of a smart-ass.  But was
that her, or him?

Sighing, Ranma turned his thoughts back to Akane and what she might be
doing if she was still safe.  There was no way he actually trusted
Kuno to take care of her.  He wasn't even sure if Kuno could be
trusted not to start pawing her every chance he got.

If only he had been the one to take care of Akane instead of Kuno,
none of this would be happening.  Of that, Ranma was sure.  Then
again, Ranma wouldn't have been dumb enough to get himself killed in
the first place.

***

Nabiki flipped through the magazine, not really looking at it, then
suddenly threw it against the wall.  She flopped back on her bed and
stared at the ceiling.  How dare Ranma say those things to her!  He
wasn't even related, and he had the nerve to use something like that
against her.  And worst of all, it had hurt.  That made her madder
than anything.

He had the nerve to use that incident against her when he KNEW it
wasn't her fault, when he knew how bad it had been.  There was no
forgiving that.  There was no forgiving him covering up his own
insecurity by targeting a very frightening event in her life.

The only thing that would have been worse, not that Nabiki wouldn't
put it above him, would have been if Ranma had said something about
her mother.  That would have been grounds for murder.

That little grain of self pity gnawed at her.  When would people
realize she was a person inside, no matter how much they disliked her.
When would they realize it was impossible to live up to the standards
her mother and Kasumi had set.  And since Akane was the baby of the
family that their father seemed to worry about so much, where did that
leave her?

Trying to find a place in the family, a place in the world was left
completely up to her, and no one seemed to care.  And it was as simple
as that; it always had been.  Eye for an eye and all that.  They
didn't care about her, and she didn't care about them.  But...

She did care.  She cared about Akane.  She cared about her father and
Kasumi.  In a strange way, she cared about Kuno.  And as reluctant as
she was to admit it, she cared about Ranma too, even if he was selfish
and short-sighted.

So much for her day.

***

Five men, all dressed conservatively, made their way to the Tendo 
dojo.  Their orders were simple.  Kill the youngest girl, and if she
wasn't there, make use of anyone who was for when she did return.
After all, she couldn't stay away from her family forever.

The other people out avoided them curiously.  Many gave the men a wide
berth, and some even crossed the street, unsure as to why.  When they
looked at the men, there wasn't anything strange about them; they were
just unpleasant to be near.

The men paid the people no heed, making their way to the Tendo dojo
in silence, matching each other's strides.

***

Kasumi was just wondering where the teacups and plate of cookies were
when she heard, very quietly, the sound of someone at the gate.

Not expecting anyone else to get it, she hurried out of the house,
drying her hands on her apron.  Reaching the gate, she opened it
without hesitation and the smile froze on her face.  "May I... help
you?" she asked timidly.

"Akane Tendo," answered the man in front.  "We want her."

"She's... she's not here now," Kasumi replied slowly.

"Where is she?" the man asked curtly.

Kasumi shook her head, staring at the man.  Something in her was
telling her to run, but she couldn't.  That would be most improper to
run away from guests like that.

"Kasumi, who's..."  Nabiki's voice trailed off as she saw the men
standing at the gate.  Something about them, something in their
eyes...  She knew what it was then, and backed away quickly, into the
house.

Having turned to see what it was Nabiki had wanted, Kasumi faced the
men again.  "Akane's not here.  She's gone off..."

"With her wu.  We know.  But you can be of help anyway, even if your
sister isn't here at the moment."  Kasumi watched with wide eyes as
the man brought his hand up in an almost innocent gesture.

She whimpered slightly and closed her eyes.

There was a whistling noise that she expected to be the man's hand,
but the blow never came.

"I think you guys should just leave," Ranma warned, his voice edged
with steel.

Kasumi opened her eyes slowly to see Ranma holding on tightly to the
man's wrist.  The stranger looked quite perturbed.

"Kasumi, get back inside with Nabiki," Ranma said, his voice very
calm.

There was a flicker of recognition in the man's eyes.  "Her.  The
sanjiyan's sister.  She was serviceable until the boy destroyed our
tool."

Ranma's eyes narrowed.  If that's who these clowns were, then it was
time to get serious.  "Yo, Pop!" he yelled.  "We got some trouble out
here!"

A few moments later, both Genma and Soun came out to see what was
going on.  Neither of them liked what they saw.

"Boy, what's going on out here?" Genma asked, eyeing the men
suspiciously.

"Mr. Tendo, get Kasumi back inside; these guys are after Akane," Ranma
said, still holding the man's wrist.  It was like holding onto a low
electric current and made his fingers tingle unpleasantly.

Never breaking eye contact with the man, Ranma heard Soun usher Kasumi
away.  He could feel his father's presence at his back, and when he
heard the front door close, he released the stranger.

"It matters not.  You all can be of use to us.  We always enjoy
welcoming those back to the fold who have left.  The process is much
easier the second time," the man said, getting a chilling smile on his
face.

Genma paled.  The men.  From before.

"You ain't welcome here, and you can't have Akane!  So why don't you
just get the hell out of here!" growled Ranma, just waiting for the
attack to come.

"Yes, you will welcome us.  You can't resist us."  The yes of the men
seemed to grow luminescent for a moment, and Ranma couldn't manage to
tear his gaze away.

Genma, seeing Ranma's suddenly loose posture, put his hand on his
son's shoulder.  "Boy, what are you..."  He was cut off by a quick
backhand from Ranma.

"Yes, very useful.  With you, the sanjiyan won't be able to refuse any
demands we make.  Kaiyanwang will be so pleased," the man said, the
smile still on his lips, his voice carrying the barest undercurrents
of a hiss.  To his companions, he said, "Get the others; they should
put up little resistance."

The four men nodded simultaneously and walked through the gate.  One
stopped by Genma, while the others continued on their way to the
house.

Inside, Soun and Kasumi were hiding upstairs.  "I don't hear anything.
What could Saotome be doing?" Soun asked quietly.

Kasumi shrugged, knowing that if anyone was doing anything, it was
probably Ranma.  And they hadn't been able to find Nabiki.  She had
either run off, or was hiding somewhere else in the house.

Downstairs, Nabiki was cowering in the pantry, a knife clutched in
her hands.  The first person to open the door, she was going to use
the knife on them.  And if that didn't work, she was going to use it
on herself.  There was no way in hell she was going to allow what had
happened before to happen again to her.  She would rather die than...

The door started to open, and Nabiki prepared to stab whoever was
doing it.  Except, when she saw the face, her hand froze.  She
couldn't do it.  Suddenly turning the knife around, she prepared to
stab herself, willing to do anything to escape the awful voices and
hatred.

Instead, Ranma's hand lashed out and caught hers, forcing the knife
from her hand, and pulling her from the pantry.  She struggled
silently against him, knowing that crying out would do no good.

Actually avoiding the man's gaze behind Ranma, Nabiki pulled with all
her strength, trying to break free.  It was then that Ranma suddenly
released her hand, and she fell back, hitting her head against the
door.

Slumping to the floor in a daze, she had no chance of resisting them.
The man's gaze drew hers and she felt herself being pulled in.

There was a loud cry from behind the group, and one of the men
crumpled to the floor, dissolving into nothingness.

Nabiki immediately felt her mind snap back to normal as she looked at
the place where the man had been standing only to see her father.

Soun wasted no time, moving to the next man and attempting to punch
him hard in the kidneys.

Ranma moved quicker though, stopping Soun's fist from hitting the
man's back.  "Not quite, old man.  We got use for you."  He squeezed
and twisted Soun's arm painfully.  Ranma grinned at the look of
anguish on the older man's face.

They had ignored Nabiki, thinking she was too stunned to do anything,
but...  She reached for the knife where it had fallen not too far
away.  The idiots had their backs to her.  That was one thing that
bothered her too: being underestimated.

No surprises this time.  She stood slowly, her legs slightly wobbly,
then jabbed the six inch blade of the cooking knife into the back of
the man's neck.

There was a spurt of blackish ichor and the man screamed in rage.  His
body dropped to the floor, and with a flash of white light,
disappeared, leaving a black mark on the floor.

Ranma released Soun and fell unconscious, released from the mental
control he had been under.

Gasping from the pain, Soun stumbled backwards just in time to avoid
being seen by the third stranger entering the kitchen.  This one had a
horribly marred face, skin hanging off in loose flaps, black drool
staining his lips.

Cursing inwardly, Soun knew he shouldn't have assumed the monster was
simply incapacitated.

The stranger turned his attention to Nabiki, who was wavering on her
feet.  "You again.  You failed us once, along with the worthless
demon.  Not again," the monster in disguise said, devoid of any
emotion.  "Kaiyanwang doesn't like failure."

Nabiki raised the knife, her hands shaking quite badly this time.
"Someone help me," she said pitifully.  "Ranma, Daddy, help me."  She
stared into the dead eyes of the monster, knowing she was beyond help.

"Don't you touch her, you monster!" Soun yelled, and quickly executed
a leaping kick.  His wrist and hand hurt like hell, but his feet felt
just fine.  Soun's fit hit squarely on the lower vertabrae of the
man's back, and with a sickening pop, the man fell forward, impaling
himself upon the knife Nabiki was holding.

As he fell forward, pushing Nabiki back, his body became
insubstantial, disappearing like the others.

"Nabiki, wait here and take care of Ranma while I get Saotome."  Not
waiting for her reply, knowing time was against him, Soun rushed out
of the kitchen and house to take care of the last invader.

He was out in the yard with Genma, and each of them glared at Soun.
Without any words, Genma rushed forward in attack.

Assuming a defensive stance, Soun knew that if he could just get at
the monster controlling his friend, then Genma would be fine.  Yet,
Genma was keeping him away from the man, staying between them, not
giving Soun a clear path.

Swearing to himself again, Soun wished he had kept up on his training
so it wouldn't seem so impossible to defeat his old friend.  There was
no way around the fact that sparring excessively with Ranma had made
Genma a superior fighter.  But this had to be done.  Soun had to
protect his family and friends.

Intensifying his efforts, pushing himself harder than he had ever done
before, Soun threw himself into the battle.  It was really quite odd.
He couldn't hit Genma, but Genma wasn't really trying to hit him
either.  In fact, Genma was leaving rather large gaps that would
easily allow him to slip inside his attacks.  Slip inside and...

Soun moved inside Genma's outstretched arms to get a hold of the front
of his gi, shifted his weight, and threw Genma in the direction of the
pond.  If he was lucky...

There was a resounding splash that Soun didn't spend his time worrying
about because the man controlling his friend was suddenly vulnerable.

***

Soun returned to the kitchen, carrying Genma, to find Kasumi taking
care of both Ranma and Nabiki.  Setting his friend down carefully,
Soun vowed that Kaiyanwang would pay for what he had done.

***

The phone rang, shaking them all out of their malaise.  Nabiki, a
haunted look in her eyes, answered the phone, her voice giving away
none of what she was truly feeling.

If the call had come before, there would have been trouble for them
all.

***

"I'm sorry, Nabiki.  I didn't mean it."

"Yes, you did, Ranma.  Just go, leave me alone."  She didn't look at
him, preferring to keep her attention to the magazine she had been
staring at.

Ranma sighed.  Another boneheaded thing.  He wasn't sure if he would
ever learn.  He turned and was about to leave when Nabiki said one
more thing.

"Now you know."

And from the look in her eyes, he knew what she meant.  More than he
wanted to.