Ranma 1/2: Grand Tour 4b (the Bet)
	R.Takahashi owns the Nerima bunch. Aramar and
the Ninefold Worlds are my creation. No money made on
any of these though i may eventually try to do 
professional stories set in Aramar. My other works can
be found at the RAAC or on my website at 
http://members.aol.com/Metroanime/main.html
                   just to keep track of 'em:
Grand Tour, World 1: World of Sorrow/World Without Ranma
Grand Tour, World 2: World of Love/Happily Ever After
Grand Tour, World 3: World of Conflict/RIFTS Earth 
Grand Tour, World 4: World of Nightmare/Gravesite Nerima
Grand Tour, World 5: Dragon's Destiny
Grand Tour, World 6: Neutral Ground
---------------------------
Story so far: a short time after the failed wedding attempt,
Akane takes out some frustration and knocks Ranma into
a Mirror Of Travel. Shortly thereafter, Ukyou, Shampoo and
a very unwilling Nabiki get sucked through as well.
In a dimensional nexus set in the very far future, the group
learns that they may be returned back home but it'll take a
lot of time, and that they'll merge with their other selves in
worlds where other versions of them exist, their Analogues.
 FIRST WORLD, where Ranma died in childhood, each of the
characters has found that Ranma DID have a positive effect
on their lives after all. They also gained that world's Kasumi
as a travelling companion. 
SECOND WORLD, they learned that there are alternatives
that may not be obvious, but could turn out better than their
original choices/plans, if they can but give up their past to
embrace a future. They also get knocked off to an unscheduled
visit to:
THIRD WORLD: Rifts Earth. Another companion joins, Shyla
Montgomery, a high tech "Ms Fixit." They escape after a year
trapped in this world, having picked up some additional skills.
FOURTH WORLD: Whodunnit? Whatever they learned of this
world is to be revealed in this chapter.
FIFTH  & SIXTH WORLD: Powerups all around.
NEXUS: Before this chapter, they've spent 9 3/4 years 
subjectively, most of it in Aramar. Ranma spent five years
as an Imperial Courier before becoming a "honorary Amazon"
of House Southern Cross. Shampoo has been on patrol duty
for six years, with a brief hiatus in the Courier service. Ukyou
has been slinging okonomiyaki most of that time, but also
training as a psi-warrior. Nabiki's been an apprentice sage,
and has actually made it to Topazrank as a mage. Both the
dragon Frostbite and Kasumi are spellcasting healers.  
-----------------------------End of the line
	Cologne made an abrupt stop on the ledge,
making a gesture for the others to stop as well.

	"Do you see them," Lu Fa asked in as
quiet a manner as she could considering the winds here.

	There was a shriek behind Cologne as a
form abruptly roared past them, flying at great speeds
and almost hugging the mountain.

	Cologne would chastise Lufa later. Right now,
her attention was taken by the dragon. "Hmmm. I'd 
place it within the fifty foot range, maybe a little more.
Odd coloration, I've never heard of pewter colored 
dragons before. Speed, fairly impressive for a winged
animal, maybe 90mph..."

	"He's heading towards the village," one of
the warriors growled.

	"No. He's looking for something." Aloe's
voice suggested he was less afraid than curious.

	"The male speaks out of turn, but he speaks
correctly," Cologne noted. "Ah, see, he's circling. I'm
betting THAT is where Shampoo is."

	"I hope the beast does not find Rei Ga."
Lufa still sounded nervous, normal foes she was
ready to face, but that thing was BIG.

	Cologne frowned. They'd have to hurry,
and Lufa had been politically appointed to the 
search party. She didn't care for this at all.
------------------------------------
	Rei Ga had been listening to some
VERY interesting conversations. This boy
knew Shampoo, apparently very well from
the way they greeted each other. The panda,
on the other hand, looked like he was about
to freak out.

	Rei Ga was a tracker and a hunter,
and she felt she was the best at both in the
entire Valley, despite being a mere fourteen
summers old. She was able to remain motionless,
so undetectable that even when an Amazon 
Elder was looking for her, she could remain
hidden.

	A campsite had developed before
Shampoo's arrival, and she walked into it as
if she knew exactly where everything would
be placed. Again, the easy familiarity between
Shampoo and the boy caught Rei Ga's attention.
She filed it away for later reference.

	The boy also apparently spoke a
different language that he had in common with
Shampoo, and it was not one that Rei Ga had
ever heard before. She frowned, not liking how
this cut down the information she could glean.

	Then the dragon came, the panda
fled, and Rei Ga gave an involuntary gasp. The
creature was huge, radiated power, and seemed
to know she was there judging by the way that
one eye focussed directly on her location briefly.

	*Ranma, Shampoo, I bring good news
and bad news from Kasumi and Nabiki.*

	Rei Ga suppressed a second gasp. The
beast spoke in her mind!

	*The good news is that this is your
home reality. The bad news is that you're in your
own past.* A pause before the mental voice 
resumed. *Yes, they were certain.* Another pause.
*You did WHAT?*

	Rei Ga watched as Shampoo covered
her face with her hands and very clearly seemed
upset by something. Rei Ga smiled. Whatever was
going on, this "Shampoo" wasn't infallible.

	*Be that as it may, do you want to go
back to your village now, Shampoo?* The dragon
paused, and seemed to look directly at Rei Ga. 
*A little late for that. Had I realized what you had
done, I wouldn't have used a general broadcast. I
thought you had said that your plan was to come 
clean when you arrived back home, to share the
information you'd gained with your sister Amazons.*

	Another pause. *No, it's Rei Ga, the self-
styled 'Best Tracker Of The Nichieju' or as your 
great-grandmother puts it, 'Best Nuisance Of The 
Nichieju.'*

	Rei Ga did her level best to become one
with the rock her back was against.

	*Well, come on then, we might as well
rejoin the others. It's a long trip, even taking that
feng shui to sidestep the distance. Oh yes, did you
want to take Rei Ga along and spare her the wrath
of certain Elders?* Another pause as Shampoo said
something in that strange language to the dragon.
*Well, of course, I like Rei Ga. She's not always so
uptight and overreactive like some other amazons
I could name.*

	Rei Ga watched Shampoo slam a couple
of kicks onto the dragon's hide, who merely ignored
her. Rei Ga blinked. The dragon was literally radiating
a certain amusement.

	*You are SUCH an uptight, overreactive
princess.*  Pause. *Yes, I like you too. Just try not
to be TOO violently ill all over me, this time.*

	Rei Ga watched Shampoo repeatedly hit
the dragon, with rather less effect than if she were
striking a mountain, before climbing up and straddling
the beast's neck. The boy joined her a moment later.

	Rei Ga grinned as the group left, they having
apparently forgotten about their runaway panda. The
thought that made her smile though was the concept
that here was a dragon that needed rescue from a 
princess.
----------------------------------
	Akane watched, trying to make sense out
of what was going on. They weren't demons. Kasumi
was wearing her cross again, and she hadn't actually
hurt her when they'd had her helpless, she'd done
SOMETHING though. Akane felt more at peace than
she had in years.

	Someone knocking on the door, brought
Akane's attention from the latest martial arts magazine 
to the door. Seeing that Kasumi was making something
complicated in the kitchen, Akane discarded Theory #47
(Space Aliens Sent Here To Observe The Secrets Of 
Japanese Homelife) and went to answer it.

	"Oh, hi!" A young boy with really long hair
greeted her. "Is Nabiki in?"

	"Uhm, yes," Akane hesitated. Was it another
one? She was sure she'd seen some secret code flash
between the mailman and Kasumi, and if Doctor Tofu
were actually one of the aliens, wouldn't that explain
why he acted like that around Kasumi?

	"Oh, Ukyou! I was wondering when you were
going to show up." Nabiki watched as Akane jumped and 
slammed her head into the doorframe. "Oh, sorry, Akane.
Did I startle you?"

	"Gee, no, sis, I just love slamming my head into
various blunt objects." Akane rubbed her head, glaring
at her sister. 

	The strange boy seemed to think this was 
funny for some reason.

	"Oh, who is this?" Soun Tendo walked past,
wondering what the heck was going on with Akane
anyway. He had found her going through his closet
earlier, looking for something. At least Kasumi and
Nabiki were normal, maybe it was just a phase Akane
was going through.

	"My name is Ukyou Kuonji," the boy said
with a bow. "I'm here to consult with Nabiki about the
possibility of going into business together. I'm an
okonomiyaki chef and could use a competent 
bookkeeper. You know, so I can concentrate on the
product and not the business details."

	"Oh," said Soun, nodding. That made sense.

	"Yeah, and it'll look good on my resume, as
well as bring some much needed money into this
household." Nabiki winked at Ukyou. They'd worked
these little details out back in that world where Ryouga
turned into a version of Akane.

	"Oh," Soun shrugged. "Well, in that case,
I'll leave you to your business. Good luck, Kuonji-san."

	"Why, thank you, Tendo-san!" Ukyou grinned
at Mr Tendo. This was much better than the accusatory
glares he usually directed her way.
-------------------------------------
	"<Are you sure that is what was said?>"
Cologne thoughtfully stared off into space. "<You
could not be mistaken?>"

	Rei Ga was hurt. She always had problems
with the Elders but professional criticism was not
something she received very often. "<It is exactly as
I have relayed to you, Elder, I have changed no word
nor inflection.>"

	"<Well then, we know the WHO, and that 
is the HOW and the WHAT, but does not give us the 
WHY, and the question remains of the WHERE.>"
Cologne still was deep in thought. "<Also we need
to start considering what to do when we find them
again, in light of this new information. First, Rei Ga,
track down this panda. I think it likely that one is a
victim of Jusenkyo as well as the boy. Even if not, 
perhaps there will be some clue there.>"

	"" 

	"<Rei Ga, I would suggest you spend
more time doing, less time talking.>"
-------------------------------------------
	Akane snuck into the dojo and waited.
The young boy and Nabiki were still talking about
something strange.

	After a few moments, Nabiki and Ukyou
entered. Akane's eyes narrowed as she saw Nabiki
take something that looked like a chalk stick out and
start marking up the dojo floor.

	"~So we can get our stuff? We don't have
to wait another bloody year for everything to 
stabilize?~"

	Nabiki nodded, but was quite obviously
concentrating on the task at hand. "~Yeah, it was an
idea of Kharon's. Instead of keeping the various
gadgets and toys and techie items around, we'd just
put 'em in sort of an extradimensional 'storage space'
so that we could pull them out when we decided 
we were home.~"

	Akane blinked. They were both speaking
English. Better even than she did and she was one
of the best students in that language at Furinkan.

	"~I see. That way you only have to worry
about the intervening dimensions between here and
your storage area. Sounds about right. Now, how are
we gonna store this stuff if we can get it here?~"

	"~Oh, ye of little faith. I'm not a powerful
wizard, but I can manage a warding that will cause
eyes to slip away from our little stockpile. Then, I
suddenly go from being the 'ice-queen & master
of blackmail' to 'Nabiki Tendo, techno-genius' who
starts working out some of these little babies. We
move most of 'em to a garage next to your Ucchan's
tomorrow morning before the traffic picks up.~"

	"~I haven't had a chance to GET the
Ucchan's yet!~"

	"~You sign the papers tomorrow at
8am. I've been busy since I found out that this
was home, but we're in our past. There are a 
lot of mistakes I am not going to make.~"

	Ukyou snorted. "~That just means
we'll probably make a lot of new ones, you know.
What was it Sjul said? 'You can change the past
a lot easier than you can change your karma.' Or
words to that effect.~"

	Akane watched as Nabiki finished 
drawing a complicated design, then clapped
her hands. The white lines on the dojo floor
abruptly changed to a light bluish glow. 
"~Stand clear, Ukyou. I'm going to do the
summoning now, and you don't want to 
break the circle.~"

	Akane watched as the strange boy
leaned against the dojo wall, Nabiki started
chanting some odd liquid syllables, and the
air started to thicken and glow within the 
confines of the circle.

	They were summoning something?
Akane gritted her teeth from her position in the
rafters. She had to do something, anything,
it could be their plan to destroy the world!
Well, that wasn't what it had sounded like
they were talking about, but they had been 
talking too fast anyway.

	(In her defense, she'd been watching
entirely too many late night horror fics 
of late.)

	Akane dropped, her leg striking 
out to scuff one of the glowing marks on the
floor.

	"AKANE! DON'T!" Nabiki reacted
a moment too late.

	The dojo floor creaked ominously
under the weight of the vehicles and various
"souveneirs" they'd acquired.

	Ukyou was the first to speak. "Where
do you suppose she's gone?"

	Nabiki rubbed her temples. "Letsee,
she could have ended up in that crossover world
we picked up the hovertruck in, or Lijra's tower
back in Shadar, or any world between here and
there."

	Uykou was silent a moment more.
"Kasumi's got some divination spells, right?"

	"Sounds good to me," Nabiki said.
"At the very least she's got something for a 
headache."
-------------------------------------------------
	"You want me to WHAT?!?"
Frostbite, in his usual silver haired human
guise, covered his face with his hands. He
couldn't have heard right.

	"Look, it's only for a year and
a half. By then Lijra can send Akane back by
homing in on your signal." Nabiki shrugged.

	"Besides," Kasumi put in, "it IS
your fault that she was tipped off that we
weren't quite the sisters she was used to."

	"But..." Frostbite looked around
at the assembled group in the empty 
okonomiyaki restaurant. "Oh, come on!"

	Shampoo started laughing. "Oh.
This is a good one, and that means that
you'll be..."

	"You are NOT going to be
my fiancee," Ranma shook his head.
"Even if he has to impersonate Akane
for ten years, ain't no way. Oh, Shampoo,
you stepped out of your pidgin again."

	"Oh yeah." Shampoo sighed.
"Shampoo know she have to practice."

	"Better."

	"I have to be a sixteen year
old Japanese tomboy for a year and a
half?" Frostbite twitched. "I'm a dragon,
for crying out loud. I'm a MALE dragon.
What do I know about being Japanese,
a girl, or even Akane's personal history?
There's no way I can pull this off."

	"No?" Nabiki said with a 
raised eyebrow.

	"NO!" Frostbite leaned back
against the wall. "I am NOT Akane and
it would be blatantly dishonest to go 
about impersonating her. I will NOT
do this. No."
-----------------------------------
	"Akane" grumbled as she
followed her "sister" to school. "Why,
why do I have to be a pushover for
girls with a sob story, and certain 
pushy amazons. Why?"

	Nabiki smirked and almost
said that it was because he was a MALE
dragon, and his shapechanges went a 
little deeper than just the outer appearance.
Also he took matters of honor seriously,
as all dragons of his breed did, and they'd
made it a matter of honor.

	Now, at least, Akane's grades
wouldn't slip TOO much. She expected 
Japanese history to suddenly become
Akane's worst subject.

	Nobody wanted to think of
what might happen if the synch rate
between universes proved to be a 
problem.

	"Akane Tendo, I love you!"

	"This is for you, Akane!"

	Nabiki's eyes widened. They'd
forgotten to tell Frostbite about this.

	Akane blinked and stared at
all the attackers, doing nothing more than
blocking the shots until a wrestler grabbed
her from behind, grasping one of her breasts
firmly in his hand.

	Nabiki watched as Frostbite very
nearly lost control of his shapechange right
there, lost in shock at what had just occurred.
Then the eyes changed. Pupil and iris vanished,
and the whites glowed.

	"ENOUGH!" Frostbite roared in 
Akane's voice. Frostbite was not a martial artist,
but he had most of the strength and durability
of his natural form even when shapechanged 
into Akane Tendo. His natural form being that
of a 55ft long dragon, this was considerable.

	Boys were being grabbed and thrown.
Weapons were being sliced apart as if by the claws
of some great beast, and the wrestler who had 
started all this found that he had been aimed at
an open window on the third floor of the school.

	"You want a piece of me? Take my
foot!" Suddenly Frostbite was standing alone,
panting, in the midst of an open area. Some of
the boys were limping away rather unsteadily.

	A rose landed on Akane's blouse,
and the transformed dragon just looked down
in horror at it.

	"Ah, Akane Tendo, my love, my Venus,
how you rise above the petty concerns of..."

	Tatewaki Kuno's speech was abruptly
caught off by a scream of horror from Akane,
who entered the school building a moment later.

	Kuno blinked and noted that Akane
had not bothered to open the doors before running
through them, and that the parts of said doors were
lying strewn about as if explosive charges had been
used.

	"Methinks that my love is not feeling
herself today. What a perfect opportunity it is for
me to show my nobility and love for her by offering
to care for her during her convalescence."

	Nabiki chuckled. Kuno, now THERE was
someone who could have been thrown into Shadar
and probably not learn a damn thing.
--------------------------------------
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