yet another Bet storyline. (rd rough, also)
Ranma 1/2 characters/situations tm R.Takahashi
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	"Athena?" Toltiir was surprised. The goddess
of wisdom from two wards over, making a Bet entry?

	She nodded and looked for a timeline that 
was in the process of re-merging back into a major
line, since that was one of the rules of this game. Only
pick a timeline to alter that was about to "peter out"
with a quantum variance (ie the thing that made that
timeline unique) in the degrading stages. There were
more of these surrounding an individual named Ranma
Saotome than, for example, a young goddess named
Belldandy or the thief named Arsene Lupin III. 

	Besides, Athena had another motive.
"In one Mode, or set of universes, I am also a 
patron of amazons, it seems. Therefore, let me
adjust THIS event here and see what transpires."
----------------------------------------------
	Shampoo was lost, and for a six
year old girl who'd just lost her mother, this
was a bad thing. The trail ahead split into
two paths, and Shampoo didn't know which
one to follow.

	For a moment there seemed to be
two Shampoos. One taking the left fork that
eventually would have lead to her being 
found within a few miles of the Musk Citadel.
That one faded as the timeline changed.

	It wasn't too long before Shampoo 
was hungry, thirsty, and lost. She counted 
herself lucky when she saw pools of water
up ahead.
-----------------------------------------------------------
PURPLE haired MOUNTAIN MAJESTY.
  a Ranma fanfic by Gregg S.
-----------------------------------------------------------
	"<Shampoo, NO!>"

	Shampoo turned at the yell,
her feet sliding on the soft mud until,
arms windmilling, she fell.

	Shampoo felt a moment of
panic, the pool's bottom had been clearly
visible, roughly three feet deep, but the
water seemed to force her down to the
bottom.

	Cologne grabbed a hooked
pole from the Guide, dropping her staff
to use this other implement to pull
Shampoo free.

	"<That one fall in 'Spring Of
Drowned Big Bad Wolf. Very terrible 
tragic story of wolf that drown there,
14,500 year ago. Now whoever fall in
Spring...>"

	"<Yes, yes, I know! Now help
me get Shampoo out before it becomes
Spring Of Drowned six-year old girl!>"
Cologne had ahold of Shampoo's clothing
but lacked the leverage needed.

	"<Already have one of those,>"
the Guide commented, as he grabbed the
pole and helped anchor Cologne as she
moved Shampoo over the lip of the spring.
"<Every so often old cursed spring seem
to want make new template. Also, no spring
duplicate other spring's effects.>"

	"<She's not breathing,>" Cologne
pulled the girl away from the spring and
hit two pressure points. "<Okay. NOW she's
breathing. She didn't change, either.>"

	"<Checking something.>" The 
Guide muttered, finding a hair and dipping
it into the spring. The hair turned purple.
"<Spring succeed in changing itself. Now
is Spring of Drowned Purple Haired Girl.>"

	"<I'm not sure why she did not
get a curse,>" Cologne noted. "<You said
this was a Spring Of Drowned Wolf? Why
didn't she turn into a puppy?>"

	"" The Guide moved
back to his hut. "<Or maybe the spring lost the
template, and that was why it was so anxious to
make her the new template.>"

	Cologne looked at the cute little
girl, and was grateful. At least she didn't fall
in Spring of Drowned Man, which would have
been a horrible fate for an amazon.
------------------------------------
	Shampoo looked out over the springs 
with her great grandmother. "<So now there's a 
Spring Of Drowned Shampoo? And whoever falls
in the spring will turn into my twin sister? NEAT!>"

	"<No, child.>" Cologne sighed.
"<Shampoo, there are times when we must be
like an oak- strong and unbending, enduring
through whatever the world may throw at us.
There are also times we must be like a reed,
and bend with whatever blow has been struck
so that we may spring back again afterwards.
To be an amazon is to be like an oak, strong and
proud, yet we came to this area and became
amazons by being like the reed- being flexible
and adaptable.>"

	"<What you say, Great-Grandma?>"
Shampoo was curious, it was obvious that her
Great-grandmother was trying to say something
of great import to her.

	"<Quite simple, Great-grand-daughter.
Many amazons today are like the oak, rigid and
unflexible, proud in their strength. What you went
through today may indicate that the path I chose
for you is not necessarily the one you are fated to
have. Some people are born to Destiny, some have
it thrust upon them, others are merely screwed over
by it.>"

	Shampoo considered this. Cologne was
an Elder and known to be a stickler for the customs,
rules, and Laws of the community. Somehow her
falling in the spring made things...different.

	"<It MAY indicate that.>" Cologne
sighed. Whatever was going on, it bore further
study. She wasn't willing to bet that Shampoo
had miraculously avoided a Jusenkyo curse,
so something else was afoot. If it was what
she thought it was...then she may have to find
another Heir.
-------------------------------------
	"<You two, why you eat....my prize?!>"
Shampoo blinked. The panda was acting in a 
definitely non-panda manner, but that wasn't
enough to capture her attention as much as
the appearance of the girl.

	It was like looking in a mirror, 
except that the other girl's purple hair was
tied back in a pigtail and the clothes were
some foreign martial arts costume.

	Her own eyes blinked back at
her as she heard the Guide translating.
"<Guide! Did these two come from Jusenkyo?>"

	"<This one say if she challenge you
for prize, then this isn't a problem. These two
from Japan, island outside of China.>"

	"<Okay, fine. It's expected of me to
punish them. That's not what I meant, though.
Did these two visit Jusenkyo, that one looks like
she fell...>"

	The Guide nodded. "<Yes. These
two customers, they just visited Jusenkyo. The boy
fell into the spring you made. Now he turn into
your twin sister when splashed with cold water.
His father turn into panda. Is problem?>"

	"<Well then, I'll try to not to hurt
HER too much,>" Shampoo said with a grin.
"<Have to get even with them a little bit, I
think, for making mess of my prize.>"

	Shampoo moved to one end of
the log, knowing that if this was a boy, he
wouldn't be able to fight well in a girl form
if he'd just gotten cursed. She rushed in,
fully intending to pound her twin sister
then forgive her.

	Things did not turn out as she
planned, the other girl kicked swiftly,
and Shampoo felt herself slam into the
ground.

	Picking herself off, she smiled,
knowing that it was really a boy that had
defeated her. If nothing else, maybe this
would get Mousse off her back.

	She reached up, giving a gentle
kiss to the strange twin. There were startled
outcries from around the ring, only some of
whom had heard the conversation between
the Guide and Shampoo earlier.

	The Guide, unfortunately, freaked.
"OH NO! Sirs," he grabbed the purple haired
girl's arm and ran. "That one just give you the
kiss of death!"

	Shampoo blinked, watching the
three running out of the village. This was not
how it had gone in her plans.

	"<Shampoo, that was NOT how
you do the 'Kiss Of Death', and you should
know better.>"

	"<Great Grandma, I talked to the
Guide before the fight. The girl that looked 
like me was really a boy who fell in that 
Spring I cursed.>"

	"<Oh, so you DID use the Kiss
Of Marriage. How interesting.>" Cologne
chuckled. "<Well, child, maybe that 'Dirty
Stormy Destiny' of yours is finally upon 
you, eh? Go now, pursue. I must wrap up
a few things here, but I'll up with you soon.>"

	"<Did you hear that, Rei Ga?>"

	"<Yes, big sister, Shu Ga!>"

	"<If he beat Shampoo, then he
must get lots of practice. Strong opponents.>"

	A third amazon picked up on the
idea. "<Well, when Shampoo catches him, 
she'll need witnesses, won't she?>"

	A fourth amazon teenager smiled
and winked at her neighbor. "<And if we should
just happen to meet some cute strong warriors...>"

	Making sure there were no Elders 
listening, a sixth amazon clenched a fist and
grinned. "<A chance to meet some boys we're
NOT related to, however indirectly!>" A 
problem with having three amazon villages in
a secluded valley for more than 3000 years was
that almost everyone was related to everyone
else if you went back more than a few generations.

	"<Strong men!>" A seventh amazon all
but drooled. Her two flanking companions nodded,
making agreement noises."Hmm-Hmmm."

	"<Get out of village and visit the 
decadent outsider lands?>" A tenth amazon
speculated, checking to make sure her knives
were stowed appropriately.

	"<Exotic food and sights, and...>"

	"<No Elders along for the ride,>"
smiled Rei Ga. "<Oooh, Rei Ga like this idea.>"

	Cologne looked up from writing
her note. "<Shampoo? Hey, where's the 14
to 16 year division? Where's the over 17
unmarried division? Where did everyone
go?>" The crowded challenge ground 
was looking rather...empty.

	The over 17 married division 
pointed towards the gate. Cologne blinked
a couple of times, developing an odd twitch
as she contemplated what this meant. Maybe
segregating the women in the competition 
from men for the past year had NOT been a
good idea. She'd HOPED that Shampoo would
develop a couple more friends.

	Cologne sighed. "<Soap! I need
you to run this letter to the Council. So Pu!
Soap? Rai Da? Lu Pin? Bani Ra?.>" Shaking 
her head, Cologne knew she'd better get
moving. Shampoo would be on her own, 
doing damage control on the rest of these
amazons would be quite enough.

	"<You know, Rai Za?>"

	"<What's that Ah Lo?>"

	""

	"<So true,>" agreed Razor. <"And,
of course, if we happened to ACCIDENTLY
run into some cute, gentle, foreign girls and
we somehow or other got defeated in battle...>"

	"<Like what might happen from 
doing all the scutwork for all the warriors? Gee,
I'm already feeling tired and we haven't even
gotten underway. I'm SURE I won't be fighting
at full potential.>"

	Razor grinned at Aloe, who gave a
high five to Na Shu, who nodded at Gogo. Hei
Ga and Tao Lon grinned. Relatively nonviolent
foreign girls? Six males of the Nichieju packed 
supplies and carefully slipped off to altruistically
assist their various sisters in this little expedition. 
Mu Tsu was going for reasons of his own...
------------------------------------------------
	"Ranma, you have a guest."
Kasumi smiled from where she was sitting
at the table.

	"What is....Sh-Sh-Shampoo?!?
What are you doing in Japan?"

	"Uncle Saotome brought her.
Apparently she recognized him at Doctor
Tofu's clinic, isn't that nice?"

	Shampoo slowly brought her
teacup down onto the table. Target sighted.

	"So, Ranma, what's going on
with..." Akane's voice trailed off as she
watched a textbook example of the Flying
Amazon Glomp(tm). 

	"Wo da airen! Wo ai ni!"

	"Ranma, she looks like your
girl form..."
-------------------------------- 
	"Yes!" An amazon did a little
piroutte and high-fived another amazon.

	Sugar (Shu Ga) smiled at Soap
(So Pu) and leaned back against the building.
"<You score?>"

	"<Yeah,>" So Pu did a quick Chestnut
Fist out of sheer enthusiasm. "<Not only is he a
good fighter, but he beat me by using shiatsu 
techniques. He's a DOCTOR!>"

	"<Damn, Soap. You lucked out.>"

	"<What about that guy with the
wooden sword?>"

	""

	"<What about that one with the bandana?>"

	"<Now HE'S strong. Went one on one with
Tai Ni. He won.>"

	"<Against Tai Ni!>" Soap was amazed.
"<Damn. Tai Ni is much taller than he is.>"

	"<Yeah, but she's got a glass jaw. One decent
hit to the head and she's out of it. So Tai Ni has bandana
boy, you've got that Doctor with the glasses, Shampoo has
this Ranma guy. Razor was defeated by that Akane
girl...>"

	"<Sa Shu's brother got hisself a wife! All right!
Hey, this trip's not a total bust, at least.>"

	"<Hey, y'see that guy over there?>"

	"<Oooo. What a big spatula you have there,
my dear. Go for it, Shu Ga!>"

	""
----------------------------------
	Cologne looked at the results of this little 
expedition and reached for an ancient amazon headache
remedy.

	"Let me see if I've gotten this right," she said
in Japanese for the benefit of the various non-amazons
present. "Razor was defeated by Akane Tendo, so they
are married. Nabiki Tendo accidently knocked Aloe out,
thinking he was doing something to her sister, not 
realizing that Aloe is a healer and was just making sure
that Akane was all right after Shampoo attacked Akane
for being an obstacle with Ranma, which was before she
found out that she is now married to Razor."

	"This means I'm MARRIED?" Nabiki flinched
and looked over at Aloe, who was nodding happily.

	"Aloe now airen to Nabiki Tendo!" The bishonen
healer flipped his braid back. "Wo ai ni! Not to worry, Aloe
make Nabiki happy very!" <GLOMP>

	Nabiki exchanged a glance with Akane, currently
being glomped by the thin but wiry weaponsmith named Razor.

	Mousse was currently wrapped up like sushi and
hanging from a tree, or he would protest his engagement to
Kodachi Kuno under similar circumstances.

	Kasumi walked around serving tea, smiling a little
more obliviously than normal. Maybe she was just devoting
a lot of attention to praying that she got through the day without
knocking out someone's brother. That one young man kept 
trying to accidently bump into her...oh dear.

	"Sugar challenged some guy with a spatula, but
he turned out to be a girl, and now has to give the Kiss of Death
to her, except that Hei Ga has taken a liking to this Kuonji girl
and so she's going to marry into the family instead." Cologne
held up a fourth finger.

	"Plus this guy Tetsuo apparently knocked Rei Da
into the pool by accident, then managed to take breaths of air
down to her until she could walk out. She considers that to
have been a defeat, and is pursuing HER airen." Soap smiled
and hugged her husband, who was watching Kasumi with
a sad expression.

	"Ah yes, Rei Da." Cologne recalled the incredibly
strong but somewhat ditzy orphan girl. Looked normal but
weighed much more than one would expect. "You know, I 
can't remember ever hearing of a husband-hunting expedition
that went this well." Cologne smiled. She'd have to remember
this Nerima...
-----------------------------------------------
What could happen next?
           Nabiki + Aloe
         Akane + Razor
        Shampoo + Ranma
        Mousse + Kodachi
         Ryouga + Tai Ni (Tiny)
         Tetsuo + Rei Da (Raider)
         Ukyou + Hei Ga (Hagar)
and other strange couples. How will the various
groups assimilate? Will Nabiki find a way to make
a profit off a Chinese healer and herbist? Will
Akane beat on her husband? Will Ranma get used
to being glomped by a version of himself?			
	Not to mention that Immigration will
deport all these amazons. Isn't it nice that they'll
deport families all together?
	Sudden image of Aloe & Nabiki singing
the "Green Acres" theme...