yet another Bet storyline. rewrite #1
Ranma 1/2 characters/situations tm R.Takahashi
     sincere thanks to my prereaders for helping to fine tune
this puppy...
---------------------------------------
	"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.

	"<She's fallen in the 'Spring
Of Drowned Big Bad Wolf.' Supposedly
there was a wolf that drowned there 
14,500 years ago. However, nobody has
fallen into that particular spring in some
time.>"

	"<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 to pull her
clear of the spring's slope.

	"<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 an old cursed spring seems
to want make a new template. Also, no spring
duplicates another spring's effects exactly.
There is a 'Spring Of Drowned Girl' and there
is a 'Spring Of Drowned Little Girl', for 
example.>" The Guide shut his mouth, after
all the amazon wasn't listening to him, nobody 
EVER listened to him.

	"<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. Think
maybe it is now the 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 do you mean, 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, even
if it was just a possibility that was being mentioned
now.

	"<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. A "gi"
she thought it was called.

	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 challenges you
for prize, then this isn't a problem. These two
are from Japan, an 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 turns into
your twin sister when splashed with cold water.
His father turns into a 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 a 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 out 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 from someplace called
Japan 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 catch up with you
soon.>"

	"<Okay, great grandmother!>"

	Cologne smiled. Shampoo had
her hopes up, and there was a light in her
eyes that Cologne hadn't seen in entirely
too long. She hoped this would work out.

	"<Aloe! Tao Kun! Sugar! Spice!
Come here, I have work for you.>" Cologne
watched as the four gathered. Aloe, a male
but a skilled healer, and one who spoke the
Japanese language. Tao Kun, big and strong,
and not too bright, but he was a good patient
farmer who had helped to keep an eye on
Shampoo while Cologne was working on
meeting potential new Heirs. Sugar, who
was good with a sword but she was also the
second best tracker they had. Spice, the
exotic looking woman, who had taught 
Shampoo how to deal with her new role.

	Shampoo had not come back
from Jusenkyo unchanged. She retained
a wracking cough that made her weak when
the weather turned cold and damp. While
she was still good enough to be the 
Champion, she was not good enough to
be Cologne's Heir, and never would be.
All it would take is some wet, cold, weather
and Shampoo would be confined to a warm
room and those smelly pastes that helped
her breathe.

	Lorekeeper, though, that was
a distinct possibility.

	"<You four, keep an eye on
Shampoo. Stay far enough back that
you don't interfere, but close enough
that you can reach her if her health takes
a turn for the worse. Aloe, she's likely
going as far as Japan. Stock up what 
medicines you think you'll need. >"

	"<Many pardons, Elder,>"
came Tao Kun's deep rumble. "<Why
us? I mean, normally this is a solo
operation, isn't it?>"

	Cologne drew a deep breath.
She wasn't used to males questioning 
her decisions, but one had to make...
allowances for Tao Kun. He wasn't 
of more than average intelligence, and
was slow. In more than one way he
resembled a mountain. 

	"<Because, since Shampoo
started training to be a Loremaster instead
of the Matriarch and my Heir, you four
have been some of her staunchest friends.
Unlike Rei Ga, I can count on you four
to not do anything frivolous that will
cause problems.(1)  Now please ready 
yourselves and go.>"
--------------------------------------------
	"Hey, pop, maybe there's
a place we can get a meal up ahead!"
Ranma was so hungry that the chickens
in the yard might not make it to the
frypan first.

	"Yeah, we might be able
to do chores or something for a meal,"
Genma shrugged, they'd done it before.

	"Is good idea. Shampoo 
have better one!"

	Ranma and Genma stopped
in mid-step. They turned to look at each
other, a large sweatdrop appearing on
each head.

	Ranma, still in girl form,
turned around to see an almost mirror
image of her cursed form flipping 
wildly through a Mandarin-Japanese
phrasebook.

	Shampoo finally found the
page she wanted. "Ah. Town up ahead
have all you can eat..." Shampoo looked
at the old man and his daughter running
down the road as if a demon were after
them. Shampoo blinked. "RUNNING 
AGAIN?! Shampoo get really sick of
this."(2)

	"<Uhm, Shampoo.>"

	"<Tao Kun, you told me
you're supposed to watch from a 
distance. I appreciate you wanting
to help, but this is something I'm 
supposed to do on my own.>"

	"<I'm sorry, Shampoo.
I just worry about you. You're like
a little sister to me.>" 	

	""

	Spice leaned against a
tree and grinned. It felt SO good to
get a break from village life. Now if
she could just get her brother fixed
up with some foreign woman that
didn't look like Dowel or had some
talents that the village could use...
----------------------------------
	Ranma was trapped,
there was no way out. Her father 
had quite abruptly vanished, in
panda form no less. Now the door
she had ducked in had turned out
to be a meat locker.

	"Now you trapped,"
Shampoo said, closing the door
behind her. "You sit down and
listen to Shampoo now, not go
running away again."

	"Uh, look, I'm really
sorry we ate your prize, and I
didn't mean to..."

	"You be quiet and
listen to Shampoo! I no give you
Kiss Of Death, you understand?"

	Ranma blinked, looking
into that face that looked so close
to her own. "No? But the Guide said..."

	"Guide not understand.
Shampoo not here to kill boy with 
curse who look like Shampoo's twin
sister. You understand? Shampoo
not speak Japanese goodly, just
learn some this week."

	"Really?" Ranma relaxed
a little at the woman's nod. She wasn't
carrying any weapons, after all. "So
why are you chasing me?"

	"You promise you no run
away? Give Shampoo chance?"

	"Well, yeah, I guess."

	"Your word?" Shampoo thought
about Aloe's coaching on this, he had
speculated that these were travelling 
martial artists so there was a chance that
they had a code similar to the ancient 
chinese shih.

	Ranma was so relieved. "Well,
yeah, as long as you're not trying to kill me
or nothing. Sure."

	Aloe and Tao Kun brought the
father out from concealment and removed
the gag. They'd transformed him to human
form first as the panda had just proven too
unmanageable.

	"What? Pop!"

	"Not hurt your father," Shampoo
noted with a raised eyebrow to the young 
man. "Airen tell me what name is?"

	"She means you," Aloe prompted
Ranma.

	"Ranma, Ranma Saotome."

	Shampoo nodded. "Aloe, you 
please explain Ranma, Amazon Law?"

	Aloe spent some time going
over the basic details, what the law said,
the penalties for noncompliance, etcetera.
During that time, some hot water was 
brought from the kitchen and Shampoo
got a good look at the male Ranma.

	 "So, this girl, er, she's got
to marry or kill me. She's some kinda
warrior-princess, huh?"

	Aloe held a hand up. "Her
name is Shampoo, if you prefer. Yes 
and yes, sort of. She's actually in 
training to be a Lorekeeper(3),
which is distinctly different from a 
Lore Master. Sort of a scholar-warrior,
like the ancient shih, if you don't take
the analogy too far."

	"Ranma, you can't do this!
Trust your father on this one, son!"

	Aloe stared at Genma with
the sort of expression one studies a
bug with, when deciding whether it is
worth the effort of crushing it underfoot.

	Shampoo smiled at Ranma.
"So we go to your homeland, yes?"

	"<Shampoo, why not return
to the village with him?>"

	"<I've never seen the outside
world, Spice, besides- haven't you always
told me that Lore is where you find it, that
wisdom can be found anywhere, if you but
know where to look?>"

	"<I'd qualify that as ALMOST
anywhere.>" Spice wasn't really unhappy
with the concept, just because they didn't
have a lot of technology or money in the
valley, didn't mean that they didn't want to
keep abreast of developments in the outside
world. Besides, Aloe was still single, and at
his age, that was worrisome in itself.
--------------------------------------------
where can this go? 
	Shampoo is in training to be
a Lorekeeper, and has been since she got
sick after falling in Jusenkyo. She's still the
village Champion, still an impressive fighter,
but the pressure has largely been lifted from
her and she's developed more than the amazon
killing machine first depicted in the anime.
She's not quite as good a fighter as in the orig
timeline, but more apt to find solutions. She's
also interested in finding and bringing back
various bits of Lore (information, techniques,
and developments) that can help the villages
thrive.

	Shampoo and Ranma. Shampoo is
a LOT more subtle, in keeping with her new
role. Ranma knows that Shampoo considers 
him to be married to her, and that she's just
giving him time to get used to the idea. At
this point, neither know about the deal to
engage Ranma to a Tendo. She's still as
affectionate and bouncy as ever, but wants
to be loved for herself, not because of the
Law. Shampoo is also the first girl to be nice
to Ranma, cute, affectionate, and (in her role
as a Lorekeeper) one of the few amazons who
actually listens to what a male has to say.

	Cologne. Will view Ranma as a 
second chance, particularly as her new Heir
isn't working out. (May detail Reikei later, 
the trainee whose lack of control gets her
dumped, becoming a rival to Shampoo
similar to the Ryouga-Ranma rivalry.)
Will only make brief appearances though,
as it would be better if she could find an 
Heir this generation instead of waiting 
for the next one (ie:the daughter of Ranma 
& Shampoo.) Will tend to be the wise and 
supportive elder as she detects that Shampoo
has already hooked Ranma, and what is 
needed now is to play out the line and reel 
him in when he stops fighting. In the meantime
is looking for Reikei's replacement by about 
Chapter Five.

	Genma. One morning Shampoo
looks out the window and sees Genma 
running off with an unconcious Ranma
draped over the panda's shoulder. He
still plans on uniting the two schools,
and Shampoo gives chase, though she
loses them initially due to the humidity
causing problems with her breathing. 
Ranma escapes. Genma goes on to the
Tendo dojo, letting Soun know that 
Ranma has been delayed, but will soon
be here- he's just been hit in the head
and is delusional. Genma finds and knocks
Ranma out and goes through most of the 
first episode (anime) with an unconcious
male Ranma/purple haired girl. "Now watch,
the amazon he imagines will exactly match
his cursed form."

	Akane. How will she react to
this purple haired girl suddenly brought
to the dojo? Not to mention the young
girl protesting that she's already got one
engagement she didn't ask for? Will she
buy this "temporary hallucination brought
on by the shock of having a curse" line
that Genma's spinning?

	This is fully intended as a
Shampoo gets Ranma storyline. She 
may also get someone else, but i'm not
telling at this point. No, it's not Mousse.

	As for the four friends: Aloe
wants to stick around and make sure that
Shampoo will be okay. After all, it is VERY
humid in Japan. Akane AND Kasumi both
think Aloe's quite attractive: he's mature,
compassionate, the gentle healer archtype,
doesn't act silly (a plus to Kasumi), isn't in
love with Kasumi (big plus to Akane). He is
NOT a fighter, has an aversion to causing 
other people pain, which is one reason he
hasn't been able to find a wife back among
the amazons. Good healer, but weak fighter.

	Tao Kun, archetype:gentle giant
farmer. Like a mountain: big, strong, slow
both physically and mentally, stamina to
match his strength. Knows the Breaking
Point manuever and the Iron Skin technique.	
Has trouble with the idea of hurting anyone,
though he's not as averse to it as Aloe. If
someone threatens little sister (no bloodline
connection) Shampoo, THAT can  get him
moving.

	Spice sees two possibilites for
Aloe's happiness, and she loves her brother,
even if he is a bit weird. Kasumi has the
gentle nature and nurturer's heart that Spice
sees as a perfect match to her brother's. 
Nabiki has intelligence, craftiness, and 
an understanding of business practices
that could well improve the standard of
living among her people. Maybe...	

	Sugar, the tracker, probably does
leave to report on the situation. She may
return, though, especially when the pet pig
she found wanders off at an odd time.
----------------------------------
(1)           Cue ominous thunder.

(2)           Maybe this is OOC. Maybe not.
i don't care, i think it's amusing.

(3)	i have no problem with the idea
of all women of the amazons being trained
to fight. Just as with any similar group, though,
some aren't going to be especially interested
or good at HTH combat. It's not canon, but
it's human nature. Not all of the noncombat
roles would be considered suitable for the
various males. The shih, by the way, were
real, though accounts of them vary wildly.