Elessar was an Elfinn, ancient and grizzled, a 
collector of toys and games.  He especially prized ones 
which could bring him new experiences.  Today, however, 
he frowned as he stared at one of his oldest, but most 
inscrutable possessions.  It was old, older than him, and 
that couldn't be said of many things in the world.  It was 
indestructible, made of Cuendillar, and unique, for he had 
never found another one, never found anyone who knew 
exactly what it was, never even found a hint of where it 
originated.  Its heart was a white tube from which 
protuded three bars, each of which supported an eight by 
eight grid of red and blue squares.  The tube was about 
two feet tall with four protuding bars at its base as 
supports so it stood up on its own.  If you touched the top 
of the tube with a thread of spirit, spectral pieces 
appeared on the board.  By various experiments, he had 
discovered hand gestures that would move the blue 
pieces (How it percieved the gestures, he had no idea).  
The red pieces would then make a move on their own; he 
guessed that the game, whatever its name was, had some 
way of making decisions as to which ones to move.  
Slowly, over years, he had managed to piece together the 
rules; he liked games of strategy and he liked puzzles.  
He liked to make things move at his command.  

       The game played a piece of music if you won, 
different each time, always different; if it had ever 
repeated itself, Elessar had forgotten.  Some of the tunes 
he knew, others he did not.  At least he assumed it 
happened when you won; one of the problems of dealing 
with the game was that sometimes it seemed to decide 
he had lost when he was fairly sure he had won under 
similar conditions.  Part of the problem was that you 
couldn't play the same game twice; the game would 
change its own actions even if you didn't; it seemed to 
learn from its mistakes, although sometimes it made 
new ones and apparently unlearned things.

        Some things he knew for sure.  There were seven 
different standard configurations of the game, and it 
cycled through them.  You played out the first one, then 
the second, then the third, etc., whether you won or lost.  
Usually you lost; the game seemed rigged in its own 
favor, although he attributed that to the game knowing 
the rules and him not knowing them for sure.  Also, the 
rules seemed to be somewhat different with each 
configuration.  There was one constant; each piece on the 
board was linked to a twinned piece.  When you moved 
one, you had to move the other.  One of the twins was 
powerful on the top board, the other would be powerful 
on the bottom board.  They were usually equally powerful 
in the middle, and very weak if they went to the other 
piece's homeground.  Red and Blue each had identical 
pieces to start with, but if you could trap a piece long 
enough, you could turn it into one of yours.  Some pieces 
could move through all three boards; others could only 
move between two, and some could only move between 
boards if they reached one of the four squares on each of 
the boards which were marked with a little spectral 
pillar when the game was active; they were portal 
stones, he knew now.  His theory was that the same 
society that had created the portal stones had created 
this game.  

        One of the things that had slowed his learning 
process was that he couldn't channel.  He was grateful 
for this, but it also meant that he needed someone to 
channel for him to play, for the game only continued as 
long as spirit Power was fed into it.  

        He had cajoled the Council into giving him access to 
the two channelers it had acquired some time back; if he 
could finish learning the game, then he could teach 
others and let them play.  New experiences and the 
promise of such were a valuable commodity in their 
society.  

        One of them was watching avidly, studying the game 
as much as he was.  The other, who was actually stuck 
doing the channeling, was bored out of her skull.  Both 
wore collars which prevented them channeling unless he 
willed it; he would not have his head exploded like Shalin 
the thrice cursed.  The interested one, who was very 
short with dark brown hair gathered back into a bun, 
said, "So you always have to play the blue side?"

         "Yes.  But both sides are identical, just as each of 
the blue pieces has a twin.  So effectively, there's four 
versions of each piece.  Basically, you have 64 pieces 
total; 16 kinds of pieces, with each player having two of 
each kind."  Elessar stared at the board for a moment.  
"Watch, Polgara."  

        That wasn't her birth name; the Council of the Elfinn 
had renamed her that after she fell into their hands.  It 
amused them greatly, but baffled her both as to their 
choice of it and why they found it funny.  Then again, they 
called her companion Rita, which made just as little 
sense.  Polgara glanced over at Rita, who was probably 
fantasizing about revenge again.  "I am watching."

         He raised his left hand and she memorized the 
gesture.  His index finger was curled to touch his palm, 
while his pinky stuck up in the air and the ring and 
middle fingers pointed roughly parallel to the ground and 
the thumb stuck off to one side.  When he did this, a 
woman riding a wolf moved onto a portal stone space and 
jumped from the bottom board to the top one, while its 
parallel piece moved three spaces diagonally across the 
middle board.  

         Polgara frowned.  "Why didn't you send the piece to 
the top board that would be strongest there?  Either of 
them could have been moved to the top."

        A red catapult slid across the bottom board, then 
its counterpart slid four squares to the right on the 
middle board.  Another gesture from Elessar sent the 
wolfrider back through the portal stone and down to the 
bottom board.  Its counterpart moved back to where it 
had started from.  "Now I can move up to four pieces from 
the bottom to the top without having to obey their 
normal movement rules, although I have to do it within 
the next six turns."  He laughed.  "The rules are incredibly 
complex, but you will have plenty of time to learn them, 
Polgara.  While you dwell here, you will not age.  And if I 
can teach you, then I can teach anyone.; it will take time, 
but that is something you have more than enough of now."

         "What, you plan to make me be a human battery for 
this thing?"  Rita said, outraged.  She was beautiful, 
graceful, and generally in a bad mood, with long black 
hair, a slender figure, and a foul attitude.

        "If you prefer to go back to slowly breaking down 
rocks into smaller rocks for Rimmisa, I can arrange 
that,"  Elessar said.

         "Hmm.  If one piece gets turned by the other player, 
does it turn both pieces?"  Polgara asked.

        "It becomes much easier to turn the other one.  But 
it doesn't happen automatically.  However, the two pieces 
still have to move at the same time, so you can no longer 
move either until one player controls both.  And, oddly, 
you can only kill a piece if the same player controls both.  
However, killing one won't kill the other, but it can 
sometimes turn the other one to your side, depending on 
where on the field the twin is.  It can make things 
complex in the endgame."

          Polgara was quite used to complex endgames.  She 
was still trying to figure out if she had won the last one 
she had played through.

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

Parallel Lives
A Ranma/WOT crossover
Chapter 7:  Games People Play

by 

John Biles

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

        Ranma-chan lay on her bed in the suite she shared 
with Ukyou.  Her skin was still tender from being healed; 
Alyssa had put her back together again quite well.  She 
was mostly naked except for her pants; she was waiting 
for water to warm up.

       "You should have channeled this hot,"  Ukyou said.  
"This fireplace loses all the heat somehow.  Or 
something."  He put more wood on the fire.  

        There was a knock on the door.  "Come in!"  Ranma 
shouted, then coughed. 

        "Ranchan, you're..."  Ukyou started to say.

        Alyssa walked in, then started at the site of 
Ranma-chan half-naked.  "I'm sorry, were you two about 
to..."

        "No!"  Ranma-chan shouted.  "We don't have sex like 
this!  I'm a guy!"

         Alyssa shuddered slightly.  She and Kaneda hadn't 
done it like that either, but she suspected he wanted to.  
It's not like I haven't seen Ranko with her top off, she 
thought.  I just..I can't quite think of her as a guy.  Not 
after all we went through together at the Tower.  "Need 
hot water?"

         "Yeah.  I'm feeling too wiped out to channel.  Damn 
Ryouga.  If I blew up everything every time I got bad 
news, Tokyo would be in rubble."  Ranma-chan rolled over 
on one side to face the water pot.

        It was simplicity itself for Alyssa to heat the 
water.  "I'm surprised you...spend so much time in girl 
form if you...don't like it."

        Ukyou doused himself and became herself, then she 
passed the water to Ranma-chan, who didn't bother 
getting off the bed first.  "Hey!  We have to sleep on that, 
you know!"

        Ranma sighed.  "Dammit.  Can you dry this, Alyssa?"

        Alyssa experimented a bit, nearly setting the bed on 
fire, but soon it was dry and warm.  "I came by to...see if 
you were okay."  Noticing Ukyou was giving her an odd 
look, she wilted slightly.  

        "I'm fine.  You're a damn good healer,"  Ranma said.  
"A lot better than me.  I'm mostly good at blowing things 
up.  And from what I heard, you did a lot of building 
Castle Mist."

        She blushed a little, taking a chair and sitting down.  
"I just linked with Kaneda and he drew on my power."

        "You gotta stop being so modest,"  Ranma said.  "If 
you're good at something, be proud of it."  She had 
successfully distracted herself to this point from 
thinking about how she had...lost Akane to Alyssa, but 
now it all came back to her.  What does Akane see in 
Alyssa, he wondered.  How could she love two people 
who...I mean, I'm nothing like Alyssa.  She's just so...I 
mean, Gosunkugi could push Alyssa around.  Does Akane 
want someone she can push around?  The thought 
bothered Ranma.  It didn't ring true to him.  She could 
have had a lot of wimpy people if she wanted them.  
There had to be something...He had to understand why 
Akane loved Alyssa.  He had to.  If he didn't understand 
that, he would never...really be able to accept her choice.  

         He looked over at Ukyou, and wondered again if he 
had made the right decision.  Being with Ukyou felt good.  
In a lot of ways it felt better than when he had been 
engaged to Akane.  They didn't have stupid fights.  Well, 
not as many stupid fights, and he usually understood 
afterwards why they fought.  But it wasn't the same 
either.  Do I love you enough to marry you, Ucchan?  He 
wasn't sure.  Making love to her had been wonderful, 
although clumsy.  But there was more to relationships 
than that.  Do we share the same dreams?  He had the 
impression Ukyou wanted to settle down, while he wasn't 
so sure he wanted to do that.  And more importantly, 
there was the whole problem of channeling.  It hadn't 
just been ta'veren effects that made him swear the oath 
of the Hall.  It wasn't just the fact that he hadn't been 
ready to leave Akane, or that she had asked him.  It was 
that he was increasingly sure he wasn't going to be able 
to live outside this universe for very long.  If you 
couldn't reach the source, you died unless you found 
something else to fill your life.  Maybe his martial arts 
could fill that hole.  Maybe I'm just being a coward, he 
thought.  The idea galled him.  But whether he could or 
not...he didn't want to stop channeling.  It 
was...wonderful.  And useful.  But...it bound him to his girl 
form.  If he wanted to channel, he had to be a girl.  It 
made it attractive, and to him, that was an argument 
against it, but...

        Ukyou nodded.  "Take pride in what you can do, 
Alyssa."

        She laughed faintly.  "I may be the only modest Aes 
Sedai in the entire pattern.  If...if we can call ourselves 
that.  I never even took the Accepted test."

        "We're the Hall of the Servants,"  Ranma said.  
"We're the REAL Aes Sedai, not these obnoxious people 
who know nothing while we know everything,"  He made a 
dismissive gesture at some invisible target of his 
contempt.  "You know more about the Age of Legends in 
your toe than the entire brown Ajah knows in their entire 
library."  He stood up and stretched.  "I wish Siuan Sanche 
was here.  I'd string her up with her own fishing nets and 
give HER a lecture for once."  

        "She meant well,"  Alyssa said.  "I hope she didn't 
killed in the...whatever happened to the Tower.  There's 
been rumors of a coup or a civil war or something, and 
she was deposed.  Elaida is the Amyrlin now."

         Ranma gagged, while Ukyou tried to pretend she 
understood any of this.  "ELAIDA?"

         "All the blues were driven out and there's rumors of 
there being two Amyrlins now or something."  Alyssa 
thought hard.  "Rand thinks Egwene is the Rebel Amyrlin."

        Switching from gagging to shock, Ranma said, 
"EGWENE?" At least it wasn't Nynaeve, he thought.  She'd 
braid everyone's hair and...a memory of her arguing with 
Egwene about whether Egwene should have her hair 
braided brought on by Nynaeave spotting Ranma's 
hairstyle made him laugh.  "You're joking."

         "Nope.  There's some Aes Sedai she sent to help him.  
Or something."  She knew there were some Aes Sedai 
sworn to serve Rand and some others who were being 
punished for having tried to haul him off to the Tower to 
be stilled, but she wasn't perfectly clear on what was 
happening.  "I dunno why they made Egwene Amyrlin, 
though.  I mean, she had a lot of potential, but..."

        Ranma sat back down on the bed and stared at the 
ceiling.  "Egwene the Amyrlin.  I wonder what she'll think 
of us...the Hall of the Servants, I mean."

        "Either laugh or be mad," Alyssa said.  "And you 
know how she gets when she's angry."

        "Don't remind me,"  Ranma said, laughing.  He and 
Alyssa launched off into a line of reminiscence that left 
Ukyou utterly confused.
  
************

       "So you're going to Caemlyn tomorrow?"  Kaneda 
asked Rand.

       Rand nodded.  "Once I settle that, I'm going to take 
you and some people of your choice to Tear.  I can think 
of a few good questions we can try to get the Snakes to 
answer.  We need to know about your ...power...before we 
make a general announcement, but if I don't go soothe the 
Andorians..."

       "I understand,"  Kaneda said.  They were in Rand's 
apartments, basically alone, although several Maidens of 
the Spear were just outside the door.  "Are there really 
three women after you?"

        Rand blinked.  "Uh...er..."  he blushed, turning red and 
losing his composure.  Usually, he had the attitude of a 
haughty lord, born to command; it reminded Kaneda of 
Cologne or Mikado or even Kunou a little.  Now, he looked 
like Ranma right before he got socked one for saying 
something stupid.  "Um...well, there was..uh...and 
she...and..."

       "Well, my old fiancee had four women after him.  I 
told you all about Nerima, right?"

       Rand nodded.  "It's hard for me to believe, but yes, 
you told me.  Ranko...Ranma, just seems so natural as a 
woman, but I can see..."

       Kaneda laughed.  "If you say something like that in 
front of her, even being the Dragon Reborn and ta'veren 
won't save you from a beating.  And I'm really a woman, 
even though you've mostly seen me in my boy body."  She 
had transformed in private to prove it to him; he'd likely 
have heard the rumors from her followers soon enough, 
anyway.

        "Anyway, why do you ask?"

        "Do they get along?"  Kaneda asked.

        Rand stared at the floor, perhaps in the hope of 
finding the best way to win Tarmon Gaidon written on it 
by a passing scholar.  "None of them have ever been in my 
presence all at the same time.  Umm...I mean, no two of 
them...Although Elayne and Aviendha are probably in the 
same place, I think.  Elayne should be on her way to 
Cairhien by now.  I wish she'd hurry up and arrive before 
the nobles finally spontaneously combust.  They're better 
off away from me; it's too dangerous to be near me."  He 
frowned.  "Why do you ask?"

        "I...I find myself...I have romantic problems.  They're 
not the same as yours, but..."  Kaneda stared at the 
ground, also apparently searching for universal wisdom 
in the weave of the rug.  "How do you know if you really 
love someone?  Or what to do if you...love two people?"

         "Well, if you're Aiel and male, you marry both of 
them."  Kaneda started, and Rand laughed.  "I'm not saying 
you should do that, although it might come down to that 
for me, although I really...I shouldn't marry anyone.  I 
have nothing to offer a bride but trouble and the prospect 
of my death.  My blood spilled on the rocks of Shaol 
Ghul..."  His voice turned more sombre.  "But then I'm with 
one of them and I just...I thought I could be strong, that I 
could stand alone, that I could send them away for their 
own good, but...well, none of them really take no for an 
answer, although Elayne...Well, really, I don't understand 
how any of them think, except sometimes I can make 
myself believe I understand Min."  He looked over at 
Kaneda.  "Am I rambling?"

        "I don't understand women either, and I am one,"  
Kaneda said, laughing.  "Or men.  Or myself."

        "I wish I didn't understand myself,"  Rand said 
quietly.  "I suppose you're thinking about Ranko and 
Alyssa."

         Kaneda nearly jumped out of his skin.  "Uh...yeah."

         "Ranko is from your homeland, right?"

         Kaneda nodded quietly.

         "I was in love with a girl from my homeland.  We 
grew up together, and everyone, including us, thought 
we'd be married one day.  But we fought a lot; it wasn't 
ALWAYS my fault."  He laughed.  "Not that either of us 
would ever admit we were the wrong one.  But then our 
lives changed and the Pattern pulled us apart.  It wasn't 
exactly that we stopped loving each other; it was more 
like the way our lives were going, we could never be 
together, and we recognized it.  I thought...I thought it 
wasn't safe for me to love anyone, and Egwene...I'm not 
sure what motivated her, but she actually initiated 
the...umm...I'm not sure what word to use for it.  
Sometimes...Sometimes I think she traded me to Elayne, 
but..."

        Kaneda interrupted.  "My parents arranged Ranko and 
I's engagement.  We fought like mad weasels all the time.  
Over whether I could cook, who was better looking, who 
fought better, who liked who and went where with who 
when and...God, we had some incredibly STUPID fights.  
And we wouldn't even admit we liked each other but...I 
mean, we've risked our lives for each other.  We just 
couldn't...get past our pride.  But now...I thought she was 
dead.  I feel in love with someone else and...It's not just 
that I love Alyssa, although that drives Ranma nuts, I'm 
sure.  It's that I can't go back to my old life.  I can't be 
just Akane anymore.  She's part of me, but I can't go back 
to being a schoolgirl looking forward to one day running a 
martial arts school."  He paused for breath, waiting to 
see if Rand was going to say something.

        Rand didn't say anything, just listened quietly, so 
Kaneda continued.  "I'm a girl named Akane, but I'm also a 
boy named Kaneda, and Kaneda is...I've killed people."  His 
voice dropped lower.  "I don't think Ranko's ever killed 
another human.  Certainly not as many as I've had to.  I 
dropped a mountainside on an army of whitecloaks and 
killed fifty or more.  The first time I really used the One 
Power."  The guilt was muted now, but it still stabbed at 
him.  "And I know that if I stay, I'll have to kill again.  
Tarmon Gaidon is coming.  It's not going to be the Last 
Tennis Tournament; it's going to be a war and that means 
death.  And I can't go back; I need the Source to live."

        "I understand,"  Rand said, his voice compassionate.  
"I've killed too.  And sent people to die.  So much blood on 
my hands..."  He shook his head.  "Ranko might understand 
better than you think.  She's been part of killing as well.  
We fought Bel'al and Ishmael together at Tear."  He 
paused.  "Should I call her..him...Ranko or Ranma?"

       "Ranma's his real name.  He took the name Ranko to 
hide from his mother."  Rand blinked at Kaneda, who 
continued.  "Long story.  Anyway, also, Rank...Ranma can't 
handle that I like...that I could love a girl.  Romantically 
and ...  Ranma hates his curse.  Totally.  I used to hate 
mine, but now...I kinda like it.  I don't want a cure.  I'm 
comfortable with what I am, but Ranma hates his curse, 
and doesn't want to love a boy.  Which I am, sometimes.  
But I'm not going to give it up.  And Alyssa doesn't care."  
He paused.  "At least, I think she doesn't."

        Rand cocked his head, thinking, then said, "You were 
originally a girl, right?"

        "Right."

        "Then why do you channel Saidin?  Only men can 
channel Saidin.  It's...built into our nature.  Our soul.  Or 
can you channel both sides because of your curse?"

        Kaneda frowned.  "Not as far as I 
know...Maybe...Umm...I should have Alyssa try to help me 
figure out if I could."

        "And Ranko is a boy, but channels in girl form...does 
Ranko's warder channel?"

        "Nope.  But she can get into that world of dreams 
place."  Kaneda said.  "What are you getting at?"

        "I'm not sure.  I thought for a moment maybe your 
curse gave the recipient the ability to channel.  Are there 
many channelers in your world?"

        "There aren't ANY as far as I know.  Ranma says you 
can't touch the Source or even sense it in our world."

       "Like a stedding."

        Kaneda nodded, shifting a bit in his seat.  "Our 
world's magic doesn't work like that.  You have to find 
magic places or magical items or spend years studying 
spells which usually don't even work.  We both had some 
skill with using chi, but that's different.  It's not just 
knowing how to use chi; Ukyou would be a good channeler 
if that was it.  I mean, for why Ranma and I channel and 
she doesn't or why we do it in our curse bodies."

         "Ukyou's better off not being able to channel in her 
cursed form,"  Rand said.  "So how does she fit into...you 
and Ranma's situation?"

        "She's one of my old rivals.  There were four of us.  
She was a childhood friend of Ranma's."  Kaneda paused.  
"This is going to be a long tale."

         "We still have  an hour or two before I must sleep,"  
Rand said.  

        "Okay, here we go..."

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

         Min was reading a book, 'Swords of the North', a 
historical romance about doomed love in the last years of 
the Trolloc Wars.  The author had clearly never seen a 
trolloc, but it was enjoyable anyway.  She had just 
gotten to where the heroine was trying to escape her 
house, which was on fire, when there was a knock on the 
door.

        "Come in."  It's probably Rand, she thought.  Come to 
make sure I'm okay.

         It was Ranma.  Min knew about Ranma's curse now, 
but had not actually SEEN Ranko's boy form before, and 
she hadn't known about the curse for very long.  It still 
seemed strange to her.  He was clad in a simple white 
tunic and the black satin pants he favored.  "Hey, you 
okay?"

        "You got hurt worse than me,"  Min said.  "I'm fine.  
Just a little tired."  She got off the bed and went over to 
a chair, pulling another one by the fire for Ranma.  

        "I shoulda made you stay back at the palace."

         Min threw back her head and laughed.  "Been taking 
lessons from Rand, I see."

         Ranma blinked.  "Huh?"

         "Men are all alike, sometimes,"  Min said, smiling.  
"So where's Ukyou?"

        "She and Alyssa are talking about something or 
another.  Some girl stuff thing I'm not privy to, but which 
is apparently my fault.  Or something."  He sighed, turning 
to face the fire.  "I was just trying to convince Alyssa to 
take more pride in herself.  I just...she's so...I mean, I 
ought to be glad she's not snotty like most Aes Sedai, 
but..."

         "It aggravates you that you lost Kaneda to someone 
who isn't like you,"  Min finished for him.

         Ranma's eyes widened.  "You read minds?"

         "No, but I'm not blind.  Unlike you and Rand."  She 
laughed faintly.  "He couldn't even tell how I felt even 
after I started sitting in his lap every day and kissing 
him.  I could hardly believe it.  I mean...it doesn't get 
more blatant than that."

        Ranma put his hands behind his head and leaned back 
in the chair a little.  "Yes it does.  Shampoo used to climb 
naked into the bathtub with me.  THAT was more blatant."

         "An old girlfriend?"

         "Wanna-be girlfriend.  You see, she came from this 
crazy Amazon village where if you beat one of them in 
combat, you had to marry them.  The Amazons have all 
sorts of crazy laws."

          It wouldn't surprise me if the Aiel had a law like 
that, Min thought.  "The Aiel are worse.  You can end up 
being someone's servant for a year for mentioning their 
mother-in-law.  Or something like that."

          Ranma boggled.  "Did all those white robed Aiel do 
that?"
      
         "I hope not.  So she wanted to marry you because 
you beat her in a fight?"

          "I...ummm...accidentally ate the prize at a 
tournament she had just won.  Me and Pop.  So I had to 
fight her.  And because I won, she thought I had to marry 
her.  The only reason she isn't here trying to get me to 
marry her is that she can't cross dimensions.  I hope."

        "So why didn't you want to marry her?  Was she 
ugly?  Mean?"

        "She thinks using mind-control drugs on people is 
okay.  And killing her enemies.  And I don't want to live in 
some backwards village in the middle of nowhere ruled 
by women who live by a bunch of totally psychotic rules.  
She's too ruthless and...I just didn't love her.  I didn't hate 
her, and sometimes she can be nice, but...I couldn't marry 
Shampoo.  Plus, she turns into a...a...c...c...cat."

        Min's eyes widened.  "I can see your problem.  You'd 
probably accidentally kill her."

        "Yeah, if someone hadn't snapped me out of it, I 
could have killed everyone in the Tower.  Well, I guess 
they would have just bound me with air, but..."

        "So how did you keep your secret in the Tower, 
anyway?  Or did Siuan Sanche know?"

        "She knew.  Almost no one else did, and since even I 
don't get accidentally splashed with hot water much...as 
long as I bathed in secret, I was okay."  Ranma sighed.  
"Even you and Egwene and Alyssa and Nynaeve and Elayne 
didn't find out.  It was really hard when I was with the 
two Es and Nyn.  I should have told you guys, but...I was 
afraid of what everyone would think and...I was afraid of 
the Reds."

        "Well, I never would have guessed you were male.  I 
just thought you were kinda like me; a bit on the mannish 
side,"  Min said.  "In fact, I thought you were more 
feminine than me."

        Ranma laughed nervously.  "I'm a good actor."  He 
stared at the fire again.  "I just wish...I wish I knew what 
Kane...Akane sees in Alyssa.  But I just can't...I mean..."

        "You can't just ask,"  Min said.

        "Exactly.  I mean, Akane used to not even like girls.  
Well, not romantically.  You know what I mean."  Min 
nodded affirmatively, so Ranma continued.  "I think it had 
to do with him being stuck as a boy for so long."

        "Stuck as a boy?"

        "Okay, this is what happened..."

*********

        Kaneda finished explaining, then said, "So what do 
you think?"

        "Does Ranma love Ukyou?"

        "I don't know.  I mean, I know he likes her and 
they've...slept together and he said they've decided to try 
and make their engagement work, but..."

         "You think he picked Ukyou because he couldn't have 
you."  Rand congratulated himself on his perceptiveness.  
Normally, he didn't understand much about this sort of 
thing, but somehow he was just making all the right 
deductions.  Maybe it was because of how thoroughly 
Kaneda explained things.  Or another ta'veren effect.  Or 
having Merana around had rubbed off on him.  Ahh, there's 
an idea.  Perhaps she can help them settle this.  She 
seems to have a good grasp on how people think.

          "I just...I just...I wish I could just stop...how I feel 
about Ranma, but I can't, and I'm afraid it's going to...lead 
to trouble.  Do you think I did the right thing?"

        "So why do you love Alyssa?"  I wish Mat or Perrin 
was here, Rand thought.  He knows more about this sort 
of thing than I do.  Or Nynaeve.  She used to counsel 
people about love.  I think.  

        "Because she's so caring.  When I was lonely and 
alone, she reached out to me and comforted me.  After I 
came here, I thought all my friends were dead.  And while 
my followers were friendly, they all...They all kept a 
distance.  Like I was a god instead of a human being like 
them.  But Alyssa was different.  She talked to me and 
listened and tried to cheer me up and...she treated me 
like a human being.  And I needed that.  Desperately.  It's 
lonely, being in charge, sometimes."

         Rand nodded.  "I know.  Light, I know."

         "And I don't have to compete with her, either.  
Ranma and I always fought over who was better at 
things, and it was usually him.  Alyssa's better than me 
at a lot of the same things that Ranma was, except for 
fighting, but...we don't fight about it.  It's just a totally 
different kind of relationship than Ranma and I had."

        "So why do you love Ranma?"  It does sound totally 
different, Rand thought.  Then again, Aviendha and Elayne 
and Min don't have a whole lot in common.  Other than 
being able to confuse me, Rand thought.  

         "It's like...like wrestling with the Source.  We'd try 
to destroy each other, but then...we'd join as one and be 
more powerful than either of us was apart.  We pushed 
each other to...get better.  And Ranma is brave and loyal 
and always fought to defend me.  Deep down, I knew I 
could count on him when it was really important.  And 
he's...he's got integrity.  He could have had as much sex as 
he wanted from Shampoo and Kodachi and probably Ukyou, 
but he didn't, because he...because he wouldn't take 
advantage of the situtation and I think...because he loved 
me too.  And even when I attacked him, he was too gentle 
to hurt me back.  Ranma doesn't pick fights with people.  
Except for Ryouga.  He and Ranma fought even more than 
Ranma and I did.  He got in other fights, but it was the 
ones with Ryouga that were usually his fault.  So, you 
see, what I see in Ranma isn't what I see in Alyssa and..."

        "So which one do you love more?"

        Kaneda fidgeted in his chair.  "Well, it varies.  For 
one thing, it varies if I'm male or female.  When I'm a 
girl, I think I love Ranma more, and when I'm a boy, I love 
Alyssa more, but...that's starting to change.  They both 
change sex and now my boy body is starting to want 
Ranma's girl body and my girl body wants Alyssa's boy 
body and...yeesh, I must sound like a pervert."

         Rand agreed, but had enough politeness not to say 
that.  "But Ranma doesn't like your boy body."  Just when I 
thought my life couldn't get any farther away from what 
it used to be, he thought, I have a discussion like this.

        "Yeah."

        "Does Alyssa?"

        "I'm not sure.  I don't want to press her...I didn't 
start liking girls for months after I started changing."  
Kaneda sighed.  "But I don't want to have to be a boy all 
the time for her.  I'm Akane too, not just Kaneda."

        Rand thought for a minute.  Maybe I should have him 
talk to a...no, sending him to a Wise One probably wouldn't 
be wise.  I just...I don't know what to say.   "Well, 
whichever one can love you however you are is best, I 
think.  Other than that, I just...I have no idea what to tell 
you."

        "Well, thanks for listening."  Kaneda yawned.  "I'd 
best get some sleep.  I'm ready to go to Tear whenever 
you want me to go."

        "The sooner the better."

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

         "So you think she wants you to be a boy and a girl.  
For her."  Min stared thoughtfully at the fire.  

         "And I'm just a boy.  Who sometimes turns into a 
girl."

         "But if you stop turning into a girl, you'll die 
because you can't touch the source.  Or if you go back to 
your world."

         Ranma's eyes widened.  "Uh...yeah.  There's got to be 
SOME way to get around that."

         "Well, it didn't kill Siuan Sanche or Leane as far as 
I could tell, but you have to find some kind of overriding 
goal.  They both wanted to get even; that kept them 
alive."  She thought for a moment.  "But you love Akane, 
even though she turns into a boy."

         Ranma blushed a bit.  "I just...yeah.  But I also, I 
mean...I think I...I care about Ukyou too.  Sometimes I 
wish I could..."  He fell silent.  "It's weird.  Ukyou and I 
never used to fight, but now that we're together, we've 
started having these fights.  I mean...does that mean we 
shouldn't be together?"

        "Rand and I have had fights that would break the 
world if words could smash things.  Every love affair has 
epic fights; it's if you don't care about what each other 
says that you have to worry.  I suspect it's because you 
have to deal with things together you didn't have to deal 
with before, like what you're going to do in the long 
term."

        Ranma nodded.  "Ukyou wants to go home to Nerima, 
but I can't."

        "Because Akane is here?"

        "Because I might die.  Because I'm...I'm needed here.  
My life didn't have much purpose except to cause stupid 
fights back home, but here, it means something when I 
fight.  And channeling...it's just so...wonderful.  And 
useful.  And...so Ukyou and I had a big fight about it.  I 
won, but...I don't think she feels as useful here as I do."

        "Then make her feel useful.  If she can travel in 
dreams like you said, then she ought to be learning about 
that.  I think the Wise Ones could teach her."  Min paused.  
"Although their teaching methods get kind of...forceful."

        "It can't be worse than the Tower.  I'll talk to her 
about it."

         An idea popped into Ranma's head.  "So what does 
Ukyou think about...your girl body?"

         "Ucchan's not like that," was Ranma's somewhat 
frantic response.  "I...think."  I hope, he thought.  I just...I 
can't do that.  Even if I wanted to, because of my wish.  

         Min yawned.  "I think I need to sleep, Ranma.  Are 
you going to be around tomorrow?"

         "I'm going to Tear with Akane, whenever she goes."  
Ranma said.  "I'll probably go see if I can find anyone I 
know from the Tower hanging around here.  And get a feel 
for how the city is laid out and stuff."

         "I think I want to properly meet Ukyou and see 
what's she like.  Will you introduce us tomorrow?  So I 
can drag her off for a while?"

         "Sure thing."

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

       'Rita' laughed to herself in her sleep.  While she had 
long been expert in the ways of Tel'aran'rhiod, it was not 
easy to slip into it from the lands of the two tribes of 
'finn, the Aelfinn and Elfinn.  Not if they didn't want you 
to, but she knew more about Dreaming and Tel'aran'rhiod 
in her toe than most of the so-called experts of the days 
of her youth had in their entire soul.  It helped that she 
was not seeking out the dreams of those who dwelt 
within the world of her birth, but those in another world, 
one of the many worlds of if.

         She had stumbled into the wrong mind the first 
time, nearly ended up the plaything of a deranged child 
who she was now sure was Graendal's twin.  The girl had 
possessed almost all of Graendal's flaws and none of her 
strengths, except for determination.  She had the spark, 
but in her world, it would never awaken, for which Rita 
was thankful.  Dark and stained as her own soul was, she 
still had enough compassion to be glad the mad girl did 
not possess the Power.

        Not that the person she sought was much better.  It 
disturbed her to see how twisted the dreams of her own 
parallel was, and for a moment she faltered.  The creepy 
laughter, the sleeping bodies everywhere, the crocodile 
eating some mallet-bearing girl over and over, the 
surreal wedding in which Lanfear wasn't entirely sure 
that the groom was live...it wasn't evil, it was 
just...warped.  Bent.  Wrong.  The deranged ravings of a 
lunatic mind.

        Her mind was weak in some ways, stone cold iron in 
others.  It would be easy to nudge her in the proper 
directions, but very hard if it ever became necessary to 
use her in certain ways; ideally, that would not be a 
problem.  And if it was...well, Rita would look for another 
tool.  But using this one, that would please her sense of 
aesthetics much more.

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

        Kaneda sat in his new quarters in Cairhien with his 
'council'.  "So what's the damage?" he asked.

        Vanin stroked his scraggly black beard which he had 
grown to hide his scarred, ugly chin, then said, "About 
fifty percent of those who dwelt in Castle Mist have 
either gone over to the Lord Dragon's service or departed 
for greener pastures.  Many of them either felt betrayed 
by your revelation or feared it was infectious.  And some 
of them didn't want to be around a lot of male 
channelers."  He looked a little nervous himself.  "Most of 
those were people who joined us later; almost no one 
who came out of Amadicia and Tarabon with us has left.  
We can still muster fifty men and women you've trained 
to some degree in fighting and most of whom have other 
skills as well, another fifty or so children, and eighteen 
Aes Sedai, counting yourself and Alyssa Sedai."  He 
paused.  "Nineteen if we count Ranko Sedai."  He glanced 
over at Alain and Mai, who could now count themselves 
among that number.

       Mai said, "Ranko Sedai swore the oath as well.  It's 
nineteen."  She turned to Kaneda.  "What exactly happened 
with her, anyway?  There was some kind of explosion or 
something and...well, I've heard a lot of crazy rumors."

        Kaneda tried to figure out how to explain about 
Ryouga without explaining about Ryouga.

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

       "She's WHAT?"  Soun said, boggling.

        Supressing a twinge of irritation and the vague 
impulse to bounce the D-hopper off his head, Kasumi 
repeated herself.  "Ranma and Akane and Ukyou are all 
staying in the other world a few more months to wrap up 
loose ends and such.  Akane wanted to make sure her 
followers got to safety."

        Confused, Genma said, "Followers?"  He and Soun had 
been playing shogi when Kasumi had popped out of 
nowhere and made her announcement.  Dr. Tofu had come 
by a little earlier to announce there had been setbacks, 
but they shouldn't worry.  He had seemed more nervous 
than usual, but they were used to setbacks in their lives.  
Genma's whole life seemed like one big setback to him at 
times.

        "She became Daimyo of Castle Mist in her boy form,"  
Kasumi explained.  "She took her followers to swear 
fealty to the Dragon, who is sort of like a Shogun, I think.  
She couldn't leave until that was all taken care of, and 
Ranma decided to stay with her, and Ukyou stayed with 
Ranma.  And Ryouga was there, but he got lost."

        Soun blinked.  "Akane became a Daimyo?  In a few 
hours?"

        Kasumi frowned slightly.  "You were aware that she 
got split in half and half of her, her boyside, was trapped 
in this other universe?"

       "I had noticed she had been acting nicer the last few 
days.  Is she going to be back to being cranky again?"

        Kasumi's frown deepened.  "She was dying because 
she was split in half."

        "She seemed much nicer than usual,"  Genma 
helpfully pointed out.  "We want to know if that's going 
to continue."

        Trying to tamp down her swelling anger, Kasumi 
said, "Not unless you start DESERVING good treatment."

        "Can you cook us dinner, Kasumi?  We haven't eaten 
while you've been gone.  Not that you've been gone very 
long."

         Not even a question as to how I've been doing, she 
thought, shaking a little.  I've been through HELL and they 
don't care.  They don't even care what Akane's been 
through.  I nearly...I...The impact of what she had done 
earlier, what she had wanted to do, hit her.  She'd 
managed to hold off thoughts of what she had gone 
through after her talk with Perrin; she hadn't wanted to 
think about it, better to focus on the future, not the past, 
but now...fear and guilt and anger and tears all chased 
each other around in her head.  I...I should go see Dr. Tofu, 
she thought.  "Cook it yourself."  She ran out, half 
storming, half fleeing.

         Soun blinked.  "What's with her?"

          Having taken advantage of the distraction to turn 
the shogi board around, Genma said, "Beats me."

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

         Dr. Tofu sat by the spell circle, pouring over his 
books, trying to figure out what had gone wrong.  He was 
frantic; something horrible might have happened to 
Kasumi, and if that was the case...certainly it would have 
odd psychological effects; the spell was intended to 
reunite a person's halves; what it would do to someone 
who wasn't split...or was she?  Akane had become eerily 
Kasumi-like when she was split into halves.  What if 
Kasumi had repressed some side of herself and now had 
been forcibly reunited with it?  It would be traumatic to 
say the least.

        Running feet and sobs drew him out of himself, and 
he fell out of his chair as Kasumi crashed into him.  She 
was crying and almost screaming, making odd animal 
noises of fear; her body pressed to his, her arms gripping 
him as if he was an amulet of protection against a cruel 
world.  "Help me...help me...I don't know what to do, why 
am I so angry, why is my father such an idiot, no one 
cares, and I just...I can't stand it!  I wanted to kill her!  
Am I going to go mad?  How do I fight it, help me Doctor 
Tofu!"

       Only her need saved him from himself.  His brain 
tried to fuzz out, but she needed him, needed him 
desperately.  Struggling, he fought off the mental fog 
that normally clouded him, ignored his love for her 
because he loved her.  He made soothing noises and patted 
her back until she fell silent, reduced to sobs, then 
pulled both her and him to their feet.  "This is all my 
fault, Kasumi.  I don't know what happened, but I messed 
up the rite myself.  I should have controlled myself, but I 
just...I messed up."

       She pulled back, leaning against his desk, rubbing her 
eyes.  Her golden eyes.  He blinked.  They were blue 
before, he thought.  Right?  "Kasumi...your eyes haven't 
always been golden, have they?"

       Her eyes widened.  "You noticed.  Father and Mr. 
Saotome didn't notice.  Or didn't care.  It's not..I'm not 
really going to go mad, am I?"

        Bits of a half-remembered story floated through his 
head.  Silver eyes to see the wind.  Red eyes to master 
fire.  Golden eyes to...no, it was all jumbled up.  
Wait...ahh, golden eyes were the mark of someone who 
could talk to animals.  "You hear animals talking to you?"
   
        Her eyes widened.  "You...you've heard of this?  I 
talked...to some...wolves, and then I..."

         He racked his brain, but could remember little of 
what happened to such people.  "Vaguely.  I have some 
books I can study to learn more, I think.  Is anything else 
wrong?"

        She shook her head.  "I just...I feel so...What I wanted 
to do was wrong.  I feel dirty."

        His brain started to try to fuzz over again.  He 
fought it off.  "I'm not a confessor.  Maybe you should talk 
to a priest for that, but...you've been through a lot.  And 
you didn't actually DO anything bad, did you?"

       "The wolves I called...ate someone who had hurt me.  
But I didn't do anything myself."  Kasumi's face clouded 
with anger for a moment, then guilt returned.  "I 
just...wanted to."

        The shock of hearing that drove away his brain fuzz.  
"Tell me what she did to you."

        By the time Kasumi finished, Dr. Tofu wanted to do 
much worse than eating to Karla.  He was trembling more 
than her.  How could anyone do something like that to 
Kasumi?  No wonder Kasumi was feeling so bad.  "I...I'd be 
as mad as you if that happened to me," he said.  "I'm 
almost that mad just hearing about it."

        "There has to be something I can do...to atone."

        "I know a good buddhist priest,"  Dr. Tofu said.  "I'm 
sure he can help you find a way to atone.  If you want to.  
I just...I'm..."  Nervously, he took her hand.  "I still think 
you're a good person.  No one could go through what you 
did and not want to really hurt the person who did that to 
you."

        "But I...she..."  Kasumi stared at the ground.  "I 
just...Perrin said...some of the people who go through this 
lose themselves to the Wolf and the wolves 
wanted...they..."  She shuddered.  They're not like nice 
dogs at all.  But Scruffy was my friend.  He liked me 
and...The tears started to come again.  Doctor Tofu held 
her while they lasted.

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

       "So you're one of the mysterious men in Ranko's 
life?"  Min asked.  She was quite curious about Ukyou; 
Ranko had told her a million stories that had never quite 
made sense about her fiancee problems.  He was certainly 
handsome, although too androgynous for her tastes.  
Because he was really a woman, Min reminded herself.  

        Ukyou sized Min up with an odd look.  Men had given 
her many kinds of looks in her life from good to bad, but 
this one was unique.  She looked like someone sizing up a 
potential rival; men had seen Min as many different 
things, but never a rival.  Does she think I'm after Ranko? 
Min wondered.  She had to force herself to think of Ukyou 
as a woman, just as she kept thinking of Ranma as Ranko.

       "THE...man in her life,"  Ukyou said.  "And the woman."  
He shifted a bit, looking like someone on the verge of 
springing into action.  Or perhaps spontaneously 
combusting.  "The only other sort of real fiancee Ranko 
had was Kaneda, and that's over."  His voice was 
emphatic, but a little strained.  "We've been engaged 
since we were six."  His voice softened, turning a little 
wistful.  "It's been an uphill road."

       "I guess you weren't too pleased when she got 
dragged off to the Tower,"  Min said.  "Although she did 
really well there; everyone was impressed at how she 
could see just about any weave and duplicate it instantly.  
Her and Nyneave and Elayne and Egwene spent all their 
time showing off and getting in trouble for it.  Then they 
all ran off together."  She sighed.  "I wish they'd taken me 
with them."

       "Why?"  Ukyou asked, his voice sounding like 
someone pretending to be casual.  

       "I got stuck in the middle  of a civil war in the 
Tower and I hated being there anyway.  Aes Sedai don't 
treat people who can't channel very well.  My talent 
helped, but..."

        Ukyou leaned over the balcony and looked out across 
the countryside, staring at the endless Aiel and refugee 
camps.  They were up on a palace balcony, where Min had 
dragged Ukyou off to. "Talent?"

        "Didn't Ranko tell you?"  Ukyou shook her head no.  "I 
can see auras sometimes that can tell me things about 
people or their future."

        Ukyou turned to face Min.  "Do I have one?"

        "Not everyone does, but Aes Sedai and their warders 
do."  She stared at Ukyou, rubbed her eyes, then got a 
confused look on her face.  "Weird."

        "Like what?"

       "You in a wedding dress."  When she said that, Ukyou, 
much to her surprise, suddenly smiled brightly and began 
jumping up and down, apparently for joy.  "Some chubby 
woman in a filmy dress forcing you to cook for her.  You 
smashing a statue.  You running away from a giant head.  
You playing some kind of giant game with a woman in 
brown robes with Ranko and Kaneda and..."  Now Min's 
eyes widened.  

       "And?  And?"  Ukyou asked.  "Ryouga?  Perrin?  Faile?  
Mousse?  Shampoo?"

        "Rand."  She turned on one heel.  "I've got to tell 
Rand!"

         Ukyou grabbed her shoulder.  "Didn't he pop over to 
Caemlyn to go browbeat the nobles again?"

         She frowned.  "Yes.  I should have gone with him."

         "Well, you wouldn't have seen this if you went, now 
would you?"  Ukyou asked.

         Min frowned.  "He gets these fits where he thinks 
he can best protect me by not taking me places, but I 
can't help him if I'm not there."

         Ukyou sighed.  "Ranko's exactly the same way.  I'm 
supposed to be her warder and future...husband, but...I 
mean, isn't a warder's job to PROTECT he...his Aes Sedai?  
Not her protect him?"  His voice sounded odd, like he kept 
stumbling over what he was saying.

       Min looked at the giant spatula on Ukyou's back.  "Are 
those common as weapons where you come from?"

       Ukyou grinned.  "Not very, but I've seen a lot weirder.  
Mousse once attacked Ranko with a giant wooden duck."

       Min boggled.  "A...giant wooden duck?"

       "Mousse uses a hidden weapons style."  He pulled his 
giant spatula off his back and twirled it around far more 
nimbly than any huge six foot hunk of metal should be 
swung about.  "I wish he was here; I'd give you a 
demonstration of my skills by stomping on him."

        Min tried to figure out how giant wooden ducks fit 
into a 'hidden weapons' style and failed.  "Well, I do knife 
fighting, but I don't think I'd want to take on you with a 
knife against that.  But I know some Aiel who might be 
willing to spar with you."

        Ukyou grinned.  "I hear they're good."

        "The best."

         "If I had any money, I'd bet you I could beat one in 
five minutes."

        Min grinned.  "You can just owe me a favor if you 
don't."

        "Fair enough."

**********

        Elessar examined the location of the pieces on the 
board.  "So, Polgara.  Do you think I should move my 
Priest to the middle board or take the Farmer with it on 
the top board?"

         She stared at it and frowned.  "He can reach the 
last rank and be promoted if you don't take it."

        He shook his head.  "See my Mayor?"  He pointed to a 
tiny figure of a man in ceremonial robes holding a key.  
"If he moves forward, the Mayor can take him.  Then..."

        "Then his Top board Aes Sedai will move to your 
final row at that corner and be promoted to Queen.  And 
the Queen has more range than the Mayor, which will have 
to leave or die,"  Polgara said.

        Rita laughed.  "But if you don't move the Priest to 
the middle row and protect your king, one of his Dragons 
will take your King, turning it and paralyzing your other 
King, which will wreck you on the bottom board.  Why did 
you move it to the middle board, anyway?"

        "To protect it from attack."

         "It can't get out by itself.  Seemed like a foolish 
strategy to me.  Why protect something by making it less 
able to protect itself?  It can only move one space per 
turn in the middle.  Why put it where it is weaker?"

        "Because its enemies will be weaker as well.  I'm 
hoping I can lure both of his Dragons into the middle 
world.  Sometimes it is worth weakening one of your own 
pieces in order to lure your opponent's pieces into 
following to where they are weaker."

       Polgara frowned.  "Even if it puts one where it can't 
get out under its own power?"

       Elessar gestured and moved the Priest to the middle 
World.  His opponent's Dragon retreated, and he moved it 
back.  "As long as I still have my last Wolfrider, I can get 
him out."

        The Top board Queen darted across the board, killing 
Elessar's last wolfrider.

         "You were saying?"

**********

        "You would dance the spears with me?"  Bain asked 
Ukyou.  Chiad stood nearby, grinning in amusement.  

       "Just a friendly match.  I need a good workout.  
Nothing lethal."  Ukyou said.  

        Bain nodded.  "With or without weapons?"  The 
Maiden of the Spear fingered her knife idly.  

        "I'm not much good without a weapon, so with."  
Ukyou said.

         They faced off in the courtyard, soon attracting a 
crowd of on-lookers; Aiel, Cairhiennin, and others.  The 
two combatants circled warily, sizing each other up, 
then Ukyou switched her mega-spatula to her left hand 
and unleashed three mini-spats in a row at Bain, who 
dodged by rolling to one side, followed by a charge and 
vault with her spear that sent her feet into Ukyou's 
chest.  Ukyou fell backwards, rolling and keeping her grip 
on her mega-spatula, though it wasn't easy.  

        Ukyou jumped to his feet, then advanced, trying to 
feel out Bain's defenses with a series of attacks.  He 
frowned a little when he couldn't find any blatant 
weaknesses, however it was also obvious that Bain didn't 
have the speed to keep this up forever, although she did 
have a lot of stamina.  He settled into a steady series of 
attacks to wear her out; this was a mistake.  Falling into 
too predictable a rythym, Bain was able to slip in and 
prick Ukyou's chest with her spear.  

     This proved, however, to be Bain's downfall.  Ukyou 
managed to grab the end of the spear and a brief tug-of-
war proved that Ukyou was substantially stronger than 
Bain, although Bain was quite muscular.  Her spear soon 
went flying into the crowd.  "Yield?"

       "You dance well.  But I am not yet finished."  She 
dropped into a ready stance that reminded Ukyou of 
Ranma.  When Bain flipped Ukyou across the courtyard at 
the start of Ukyou's next attack sequence, he almost 
landed on top of three people who had to scamper out of 
the way.  

        Time to show off, Ukyou thought.  He charged 
foward, and Bain moved into her combat stance again.  
Then he leaped high into the air, his muscles effortlessly 
sending him over two dozen feet into the air with the 
help of his chi, a trick he had learned long ago.  
Murmering ran through the crowd, and just for a second, 
he could see shock on Bain's face.  His rise and fall was 
slower than it should have been, and his speed 
heightened.  He unleashed a barrage of mini-spats at 
Bain, who rolled and dodged, but ended up pinned to the 
ground by three of them.

       It didn't hold her more than the few seconds it took 
for her to tear her clothing loose, but that was enough; 
Ukyou was back down on the ground with his spatula to 
her nose.  "Yield?"

        She rolled away from him and stood up.  "I had heard 
rumors of the preternatural fighting skills of your tribe, 
but I had not believed them.  Are all of Kaneda's men and 
women this good?"  Bain was smiling as much as any Aiel 
ever did.

        "I'm one of the best,"  Ukyou said.  "Ranko's better."

        Bain blinked.  "Ranko Sedai?"

        "Just about everyone learns to fight this way back 
in my homeland."

        "It must be an interesting place,"  Bain said quietly.  

        "Indeed, it must."  Rand said.  Ukyou nearly jumped 
out of her skin, and Min ran over to him.  "An impressive 
display, although I only caught the end.  And none of it 
through channeling."

        More whispers ran through the mob.  Min ignored 
them and said to Rand.  "Ukyou had a...I mean, I had a 
vision when I was looking at Ukyou.  It went like this..."

***********
       
        Rand, Min, a small army of maidens, Kaneda, Alyssa, 
Ranma, and Ukyou stood in the room full of now clean and 
shiny ter'angreals in a basement room in the Stone.  
"Remember, three questions, and don't ask anything 
touching on the Shadow," Rand said.  "And nothing too 
frivolous, although I'm not sure what counts as 
frivolous."  He looked over at Min.  "Are you going in too?"

       "Not yet.  I don't have three questions worth asking.  
Yet.  One question..." she trailed off.  "But not three."

        "Well, I'm going to ask about that vision you had, 
Min,"  Ukyou said.  

        "I'm going to find out if it's a good idea to go back to 
the Foxes and get enough people my ability to block the 
Taint,"  Kaneda said.

       "I'm going to find out what I need to do to prepare 
myself for the future,"  Alyssa said.

        "I'm gonna...umm...straighten some things out,"  
Ranma said.  He sprinted off through the twisted arch 
before anyone could ask him what.

         Ukyou frowned after him.  "Ranchan no baka," she 
muttered, following him.

        "Can we all go in at once?"  Alyssa asked.

        "Hmm...Well, more than one ta'veren at once is bad, 
but since...I think it will be okay."

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

         Ranma stepped into the center of a round hall with 
a ceiling shrouded in darkness, supported by spiraled 
yellow columns that rose up into the shadows.  Spheres 
that he assumed were probably lightbulbs shone atop 
coiled white metal stands, lighting the room with a soft 
glow.  Probably flourescent, he thought.  I wonder where 
they got them.  White and yellow stripes spiraled on the 
floor towards the distant walls.  A tall, thin, barefoot 
man stood nearby, clad in strips of yellow cloth.  He 
looked almost human, but his body was sinuous and too 
thin for its height, and his eyes had slitted pupils like a 
snake.  "Good.  You have brought no lamps, no iron, no 
music."

         "Right.  I'm just here for the questions."  

         The walk that followed was long and confusing; 
Ranma did his best to memorize the path through endless 
round doors, curved hallways and archways.  Everything 
was curved and rounded; apparently they hadn't invented 
the angle yet.  A huge doorway led into a room paved with 
red and white tiles in a spiral.  The Snakes seemed to 
love spirals.  Three of them sat on cross-legged atop 
three thick, coiled pedestals.  He wasn't sure if they 
were male or female.  His skin crawled as he looked at 
them and idle thoughts of past experiences kept drifting 
to the surface of his mind for no particular reason.

         "Do I..."  No, don't ask any unnecesary questions.  
"I'm ready."

         "We seem to have more visitors of late than in 
times past," one of them said, who might have been 
female.  If the Snakes had such distinctions.  "Ask and we 
shall answer."  They looked a little tense.  

         Ranma gulped and tried to get his mind straight.  
"What...How can I return to my own world to live there 
without dying from being cut off from touching the 
Source?"

         "Dedicate yourself fully to your martial arts or 
some other cause that can provide meaning to your life.  
The key is to simply not sit around and wait for death to 
come to you," the first of the Snakes said.  Ranma 
guessed he was a male.

        "Why does...Why does Akane love Alyssa now?  
What...changed her?"  Ranma's skin was crawling worse 
now, and he shifted back and forth on his feet.  Am I 
nervous or am I getting sick, he wondered.

         "Most of the victims of Jyusenkyo were attracted 
to people of the opposite sex.  The part of your capacity 
for love which is physical rather than mental is heavily 
shaped by your body.  They provide the template for the 
cursed form of anyone who falls in; although some 
characteristics of the person's normal form are 
preserved.  If you spend enough time in cursed form, the 
sexual orientation and other physical quirks of the 
cursed form's template tend to assert themselves.  While 
the process can be resisted by force of will, it is no 
more in your control in the long term than your original 
sexual identity was.  However, the change in orientation 
only actually applies to the cursed form because the 
curse doesn't change your original body.  In the case of 
Akane, she now likes girls because the split of herself 
into male and female forms greatly facilitated the 
process of the template's sexual orientation asserting 
itself.  If the person who had fallen in the pool of 
drowned man had been gay, then she would have remained 
only attracted to men in her cursed form.  Thus a 
relationship which would not have become sexual 
without her curse became sexual."  The second snake 
paused for breath.

         Ranma's head was swimming, although he got the 
gist of it, he thought.  She spent too long in boy form and 
the boy who drowned in the pool liked girls, so now she 
does.  He started to ask another question, then waited, 
hoping the snakes would answer it without him having to 
ask.  

         "To finish the answer, Akane loves Alyssa because 
she meets Akane's needs better than you can."  Ranma 
turned beet red.  "When Akane needed love, she was there 
to offer it, and she can be Akane's partner in ways you 
will not allow yourself to be."

         "DAMMIT!  I'm A GUY!  A GUY!  Just because of this 
damn curse, I shouldn't have to...to...sleep with guys!"  
Ranma clenched his fists.  Dammit!  This is ridiculous!

         "In more ways than simply the sexual.  Akane is not 
the girl you knew; her needs have changed, and at the 
current time, you are not adequate to them.  Especially 
because you wished that you could never love a boy, and 
since she has no intention of ever getting rid of her 
curse, this would be destructive of any relationship in 
the long term; especially as she will have much need of 
her boy form in the years to come."

         Ranma twitched.  Dammit, that wish wasn't 
supposed to do that!  I just didn't want to turn gay!  
Especially since I thought I was cured!  Only one question 
left.  He thought hard, trying to make the most of it.  The 
feeling that his skin was going to turn inside out didn't 
help him concentrate.  "What should I do about my love 
life?  I mean...I...Wait...is Ukyou going to...like Akane?  I 
mean...is she going to end up liking boys?  Like Akane?  If 
that would get in the way of me and Akane then for me 
and Ucchan..."

          "There are several distinct questions there," the 
third Snake said.  

        "What do I gotta do in order to get my love life 
straight?"

         "Because of your deal with the Foxes, your curse 
will never be cured.  If you choose to pursue someone 
who is cursed, you will have to renounce the wish you 
made to the Foxes to never desire a man.  If you choose to 
pursue someone else, then you need not bother, as your 
deal you made with them will prevent you from being 
distracted with thoughts of men.  As to who you should 
pursue...that is a question you must answer for yourself, 
unless you wish advice as to what the Pattern desires of 
you."

         "The Pattern can bite me."

         "It is not wise to ask the Pattern to bite you," the 
third Snake said.  "Good day.  This session is over, though 
you may stay longer if you desire.  Your sensations are 
quite interesting."

          Being rather less infatuated with his sensations, 
Ranma soon departed, wishing he had chosen a different 
set of questions or been able to ask more.

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

        Kaneda stood before the Snakes.  I wonder what 
Ranma asked them.  Probably where he could find a cure.  
"For my first question, what are the full consequences of 
my ability to protect people from the taint?  Why didn't 
the ancient Aes Sedai go to the Foxes?"

       "The more people are shielded from the Taint, the 
worse it becomes for those not protected.  They will go 
mad faster and die faster.  Secondly, it attracts the Dark 
One's attention to you.  He won't know exactly what he is 
feeling, but eventually, something will come to 
investigate.  Thirdly, if you are balefired, the Taint 
you've been blocking would flood into the victims, 
depending on how powerful the balefire was.  Fourthly, 
the Foxes simply weren't powerful enough to protect a 
majority of channelers.  They could save a few hundred, 
but the price to save that many was more than the 
Ancient Aes Sedai could afford."

         He thought hard.  No questions touching the Shadow.  
Too many things he wanted to ask touched the Shadow.  
He hadn't been sure that they could even answer the first 
question; apparently the Taint wasn't close enough to the 
Shadow to count.  Or something.  Or maybe the old lore 
was incorrect.  Another thing on his mind.  Well, two 
other things.  One was curiosity as to why his arms felt 
like they had insects crawling around inside them.  And 
the other... "Have I made the right choice in...Where Ranma 
and I have come to in our relationship...I mean...What 
should I do about Ranma?"

        "To accomplish what?"

         "What should I do in order for all four of us to be 
happy?"

          "There are many things you could do in order to be 
happy, for there is more than one possible happy ending, 
for the four of you."

          "Can you be more specific?"  Dammit, I just 
wasted my third question, Kaneda thought.  I meant to 
ask what I should do to help win Tarmon Gaidon and I 
wasted it on my stupid love life.

          "You must be more specific.  Are you asking for a 
list of all possible ways in which you could all be happy?  
Or how to reach a specific state of happy affairs?"  the 
third Snake's voice was sharp; he or she or it sounded 
annoyed.  

        Kaneda thought hard.  "What course of action would 
maximize the amount of happiness and spread it evenly 
among us?"  

        "Because you cannot control the actions and 
reactions of others, there is no perfect answer to your 
question, except the use of Compulsion to make them all 
happy, all the time, no matter what happens to them."

         This was not the sort of answer Kaneda wanted.  
Might as well try for a third one, he thought.  "Now for 
my third question."

        "Your request for the clarification was your third 
question.  Indeed, you effectively got four, but I felt 
generous," the third Snake said.
        
           That wasn't the sort of answer Kaneda wanted 
either.  

***********

         Alyssa stood nervously before the Snakes.  She felt 
goosebumpy.  "How can I best prepare for Tarmon 
Gaidon?"  I'll get this one out of the way first, she 
thought.  Since Kaneda recommended I ask.  

        "Practice your channeling skills and work on ways 
to fight other channelers, as you will likely fight many 
of them," the first Snake said, muttering something to 
itself about finally getting a sensible question.

         "How do we beat the...oh wait, we can't ask about 
the Shadow."

        "Correct."

        "What is the best way to beat a channeler?"

        "Poisons which prevent them from channeling."

         That won't help me much against the Forsaken; I 
don't think I can invite them to tea.  "What is the best 
thing I can do to improve my love life?"

        "Stop trying to get other people to solve it for you 
and take action of your own."  The third Snake's voice 
was sharp, and Alyssa winced. "You have someone's heart.  
Treat her well and give her your love."

         Alyssa slumped out, feeling cheated.

**********

         "What exactly is the meaning of the vision Min had 
about me and Ranma and Akane and so on?"  Ukyou asked.  
Think clearly, she thought. Only three questions, so don't 
waste them.

         "You will have to play against Mesaana in a game of 
'War of the Wheel' in Tel'aran'rhiod in order to save Rand 
and her other captives from her."

        What the hell is War of the Wheel?  Ukyou frowned.  
"But I don't know how to play it!"

        Silence.  

        Okay, that wasn't a question.  "Okay, how do I learn 
to play War of the Wheel well enough to beat Mesaana?"

        "You must rescue Moraine, who can teach you how to 
play it.  Your past self knew, and in fact, beat Mesaana 
eight times.  Once you have been reminded, it will all 
come back to you."

        "Okay, how do I rescue Moraine?"

        "You will need music, iron, and fire to defeat the 
Foxes and rescue her.  To get in, since you have already 
used the front door, you must find the Tower of Ghenjei 
in Tel'aran'rhiod and defeat its guardians.  Then you must 
find Moraine and get her out of the Tower and back into 
the physical world, which will take a channeler."

       Feh, I'm out of questions, and I could keep this up all 
day, she thought.  "Ummm...thank you."  She rubbed her 
arms.  I wish I could ask why I feel so...my arms feel 
funny.

       "Good day."

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

        After watching Ranma mope around for the rest of 
the day, Ukyou finally got her chance to corner him and 
find out why when they both went to bed.  He lay on his 
back, staring at the ceiling.  She cuddled up to him, 
resting her head on his chest, hoping he would 
reciprocate.  He did, wrapping his arms around her, 
although he continued to stare at the ceiling instead of 
her.  "Ranchan, what's on your mind?"

        "Damn Snakes,"  was his reply, his voice getting 
more vehement.  "They had to be lying to me, but..."

        "I don't think they lie, Ranchan.  And they were 
pretty helpful to me, although kinda vague."

         "Well, it wasn't ALL bad.  We could go back to our 
world eventually, without me dying.  I just would have to 
be really dedicated to something.  Like my martial arts.  
The key problem is most Aes Sedai just lie down and die 
because they don't have anything else.  Or something."  
His voice perked up a bit.  "So once we kick the Dark One's 
ass, we can go home."

         Ukyou frowned.  "That's going to be years, Ranchan."

        "I never liked high school, anyway.  We'll only miss a 
few months back there, anyway.  I mean...it takes a month 
here for a day to pass back home.  Plus...Akane's right.  
We're important here."  He smiled a bit.  "Didn't you ever 
dream about being a hero, Ucchan?"

        She sighed.  "I was too busy dreaming about killing 
you, then about marrying you, Ranchan."  Well, I'll get my 
chance...Rescuing Moraine and all that...playing a game I 
don't even know...I'd like to be a live heroine, not a dead 
one.  "Ack...I should have asked about that statue I'm 
supposed to dispose of.  I know it's in some castle 
somewhere, although I suppose the Foxes won't be too 
happy with me anyway after we save Moraine."

        Ranma finally turned and looked at Ukyou.  
"Ucchan...would you...I mean...if I...do you...are you...could 
you...I mean, they said that...I'd have to...to..."

        "Peel carrots with your nose?"  Ukyou babbled, 
hoping for a laugh.  She didn't get one.  "Spit it out, 
Ranchan.  I don't read minds."  This must be what he's 
worried about.

        "I...asked them what I needed to do for us to be 
happy together."  She could read his face; Ranma had a 
lousy poker face.  He was hiding something, she could 
tell.  "Cause of the wish I made of the Foxes.  I wished 
that I wouldn't like boys like Akane likes girls."

        Ukyou frowned.  "But I turn into a boy."

        "I wasn't thinking about you or nuthin'!  I just didn't 
want to turn gay or something!"  Ukyou could feel his 
agitation and fear through their link.  He was really 
troubled, but she couldn't tell what it was about.  "I 
mean...I'm a boy and I wanna be a boy and like girls 
and...stuff.  I mean, that's not wrong for me to want that, 
is it?"

       Ukyou relaxed a little, although she was tense now.  
"Did they tell you you had to like boys or something?"

       "Not exactly.  But if I wanna...be with someone who 
changes sex, then yeah.  They said I had to."  He closed his 
eyes.  "Cause unless you came up with some way to stop 
it, you were gonna start liking girls in your boyform 
and...it would make trouble and stuff.  But they didn't say 
why.  And since you and...since you change sex, if we're 
gonna make it work...I mean, if they're telling the truth 
and stuff...do you...do you want me to..."  She could feel his 
fear.  Why does it terrify him so much, she wondered.  I 
mean, I've gotten lustful thoughts about women in my 
boyform sometimes, and it scared me a little, but not 
this much.  

         "I love you, Ranchan.  I don't want to make you do 
something just because the Snakes said it was the right 
thing to do.  I love you whatever your body is like.  When 
I'm a boy, I still love you, even when you're a boy.  Does 
that make me gay when I'm a boy?"

        "So you don't want to sleep with my girl form?"

         When I was split in half I did, she thought.  And I've 
had some stray thoughts that way while following you 
around in boy form.  "Well, I have thought about it...Ranko 
is pretty attractive to men, you know."  This was not the 
right answer to soothe Ranma, who she could see and 
sense become more agitated.

         "Then you DO want me to like boys...in my girl 
form."  Ranma was starting to twitch.

       "I didn't say that!  I want you to be happy, Ranchan.  
I'm not going to make you want to have sex with me in 
your girl form!  You being a boy and me being a girl is 
good enough for me.  Maybe Akane needs someone to make 
love to both ways, but I'm fine."  Just fine, she told 
herself.  I can just supress any desire I get for Ranchan's 
girl body.  And if I stay a girl as much as I can, that'll be 
easy.  

         "Are you sure?  I..." he began to relax.  "I just...They 
said..."

         "Trust me, Ranchan.  You love me, right?"

          She expected an evasive answer; he'd been honest 
at the start about how he wasn't sure about what he felt.  
"I care about you, Ucchan.  And when we...when we made 
love, it felt right.  Just to hold you in my arms and listen 
to you breathe.  Just once, I felt like I'd done the right 
thing, but I'm still...I was confused before, but talking to 
the foxes made me more confused.  I mean the Snakes.  
Whoever they were."

        "I have an idea for a way to get rid of your 
confusion," Ukyou said, smiling.  As she brought her head 
up within an inch of his, she continued, "You can show me 
how you feel.  Maybe this time we won't nearly blow up 
the bed."

        While they didn't blow up the bed, they did fall out 
of it at a critical juncture, but being used to hardships in 
the pursuit of their art (if not this art), they bravely 
soldiered on to a pleasant conclusion.

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

        Kaneda finished changing into his nightclothes.  
Alyssa was sitting on the bed in her nightgown, which 
was made of rough, but modest and warm wool.  He often 
wondered why she slept in wool; it tended to be too 
warm and itchy for him at night.  I ought to make her 
some linen pajamas, he thought.  

        As he walked over, he noticed she was staring at 
the wall without moving.  At first, he thought she might 
have fallen asleep sitting up; she'd done that once at 
Castle Mist after a hard day's work.  "You alive there?"

        She started to a degree that was rather silly for 
someone who knew another person was in the room.  "Oh, 
I kinda drifted off, thinking."

         He sat down by her, putting an arm around her.  
"About what?"

        "Trying to figure out why I still think of 
Ranko...Ranma as a girl.  And why..."  She stared at her 
hands.  "Do you think she and Ukyou...I mean he and 
Ukyou...umm...Ranko was half-naked when I went to see 
them and..."

         Kaneda's eyes widened.  "Were they making out like 
that?"  Surely not, he thought.  

         She shook her head.  "No, she was just waiting for 
hot water.  I think.  Although she denied it so hard, that I 
got kinda suspicious.  Like maybe she was thinking about 
it, but didn't want anyone to know."

        "She's always been like that.  So was I, until I came 
here."  He leaned over and kissed Alyssa on the cheek.  
"But then you corrupted me."  Alyssa blushed bright red, 
and Kaneda laughed.  "Just teasing you, dear.  I think it 
was because of how I was split in half.  I'm pretty sure 
Ranma and Ukyou don't use their other forms for..."  Now 
he blushed a bit.  "Anyway, don't worry about it."

         "Ukyou really loves her a lot.  Him."  Alyssa said.  
"But I'm not sure if she...he...really loves Ukyou.  I mean...I 
think she's..."

        "Jealous of you?"  Kaneda asked.  

         Alyssa laughed nervously.  "No one's ever been 
jealous of me before.  I don't know what to do.  I 
mean...Ranko is my friend.  I like her.  Him.  And she 
helped me a lot in the Tower.  I just..."  She made a face, 
closing her eyes for a moment, then said to Kaneda, "Why 
did you pick me over her?"

         "I had given up on Ranma.  I thought he was dead.  
And then I fell in love with you.  I love you, Alyssa.  And I 
wasn't going to dump you for my old...for Ranma.  Maybe if 
we'd had the same kind of relationship that you and I 
have, it would have been different.  It wasn't an easy 
decision, but..."  He took her chin with his fingers and 
turned her to face him.  "I had to choose someone.  I 
couldn't let it drag on, not like Ranma always did.  Or 
like..."  I'd best not violate Rand's confiding in me, he 
thought.  "Other people I've known.  I couldn't be with 
both of you, so I chose you because we'd made a real...a 
real commitment to each other.  Of our own choice."  And 
because Ranma can't accept my boy side, he thought.  Of 
course, whether Alyssa can accept my girl side...

        "But why do you love me?"  Her voice was worried.  

        "Because you are kind and loving and gentle.  
Because when I was alone, you gave me the love I needed 
desperately.  You soothe my fears and take away my pain.  
And because you treated me as a human being.  I needed 
someone to love me, not the Lord Dragon or Lord Kaneda 
or Lord Whatever."  He smiled at her.  "Being beautiful 
doesn't hurt either.  Or smart.  I'm not much of a thinker, 
and neither is Ranko, which is one reason we got in so 
much trouble."

         "You're not stupid!"

         "I'm not stupid, but I tend to act before I think.  
Often without thinking.  You, on the other hand, spend too 
much time thinking before acting, so between us, we can 
think and act."

         Alyssa stared at the floor and blushed again.  
"That's what the Snakes said.  That I relied too much on 
other people to solve my problems."

         "Well, I got only one good answer and two stupid 
ones.  For asking stupid questions, I suppose.  So I'm sure 
you did better than me."

        "I'm still trying to figure out how I'm supposed to 
con the Forsaken into drinking tea with me."

         Kaneda boggled.

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

       Cologne stared at the Amazon Edition of the I Ching 
again.  The omens were not good, for the pattern 'Great-
Grandmother falls down the stairs' had come up.  She 
would be staying away from the basement for a while.  
That wasn't all, though.  Mousse had reported that Ranma, 
Ukyou, and Akane had gone into Dr. Tofu's and vanished.  
Something strange was going on.

       "Shampoo, you do this," she said to Shampoo, who sat 
nearby.  "Ask where Ranma and the others have gone."

       Shampoo cast the coins and Cologne consulted the I 
Ching.  It was the pattern 'Wheel of Time Keeps On 
Turning'.  "I was afraid this would happen," she said.

        "What is it, Great-Grandmother?  Is Airen in 
danger?"  Shampoo looked worried.

       "Grave danger."  She got up and walked over to a 
nearby dresser-drawers, pulling a box of jewelry off the 
top of it, then rummaging through it.  Three items came 
out.  One was a small figurine of an amazon standing on a 
rock holding a sword aloft.  Tiny flames burned along the 
blade, and the figure was carved from a white soapy 
substance.  The second was a ring of white gold, a 
serpent eating its tail with tiny gemstone eyes, one a 
ruby, the other an amethyst.  The third was an earring of 
some painted metal, one side embossed with a white tear 
shaped, curved flame, the other with a black flame 
oppossed to it in such a way that together they almost 
formed  a circle.    "Do you want to help him, Shampoo?"  
She knew Shampoo would say yes.  Shampoo could be lead 
by the nose very easily if you knew how, and Cologne 
knew how; she had made sure of it.  

        "Yes.  Shampoo would do anything for her airen!"

        Cologne smiled faintly, then handed the three items 
to Shampoo.  "Wear the ring and the earring.  Put the 
figurine where you will NOT lose it.  You will need it in 
the other world because it will help you draw upon more 
magic there."

        Shampoo blinked.  "Draw upon magic?"

        "I am sorry Shampoo.  We do not have time for me to 
explain everything.  I thought I would have more time to 
prepare, but I was mistaken.  You will be able to be a 
sorceress there, I believe.  If I am wrong, then it will be 
a VERY valuable trade item.  It is a thing called an 
angreal.  You must arm yourself and travel to the place on 
this map," she pulled a map out of the top drawer of the 
dresser drawers," and touch the pillar there with the 
earring.  It will take you to that world.  Once there, you 
must find a woman named Amys.  She can help you."

        Shampoo nodded.  "Shampoo is going to another 
world?  Does it have Amazons?"

        "No.  But there are similar nations.  I wish I could go 
with you, but I cannot.  I will try to come to you in your 
dreams, if I can.  It is not easy.  If I survive."

         Shampoo frowned.  "Survive what, Great-
Grandmother?"

         "I have to kill Kodachi now, before it's too late."



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/

 "I would not mind you in my head, Lews Therin said, sounding almost
sane, "if you were not so clearly mad."