Notes : This fic starts six months after the end of the manga, which

means characters are a little more grown up, especially Ranma, and there

are things that happened in-between that you'll find out as the fic goes

on. C&C is greatly appreciated and can be sent at ranma_666@hotmail.com,

or ICQ# 45118495, and flames can go at someone@who-cares.com.



For previous chapters, check my webpage:

http://members.nbci.com/Kuraiko/



Wordwrapped at 72 characters, and terribly sorry for taking so long. ^^;;



*******



Disclaimer



Ranma is not mine.

Sliders is not mine.



*******



What happened before:



Prologue :

Ranma gets the timer from another sliding team, and Nabiki unexpectedly

tags along.



Chapter 1 :

On a world devastated by nuclear warfare, Ranma and Nabiki are forced

into marriage. Ranma learns the breaking point by an enslaved Mousse

before escaping.



Chapter 2 :

On a world where Ukyo was taken over by a demon early on, Ranma and

Nabiki strive to stop her and prevent further deaths, while wondering

what their relationship is becoming.



Chapter 3 :

A force from China is invading Japan in the latest world, and Ranma and

Nabiki are mistaken for their pilot counterparts. Their flight goes

wrong as the enemy is unexpected.



This chapter starts on the thirteenth day of Ranma and Nabiki's travels.





"  "  spoken

'  '  thought



*******



   Slider Ranma



   Chapter 4 : Heaven in Earth's Hell



*******



   The beach was strangely silent, even the waves seemed to come and

go without sound. A woman was sitting on a fallen tree, a few feet

before the sand, her long brown hair flowing in the gentle incoming

wind, looking sadly at the lights in the illuminated sky. She closed her

eyes and lowered her head, her eyelashes shining with tears, one hand

going over her heart as it clutched a tissue.



   The woman sighed deeply and sadly, from the heart, shoulders

heaving with the motion. One tear freed itself and fell, sliding down

her cheek to the edge of her mouth. She brought her tissue and wiped it

off, it alone. Wiping her eyes would seem like a betrayal to the one in

her mind, the one in her heart, the one in her soul. She bit her lower

lip, choking back a sob as she thought of him.



   She looked up, back at the sea, in time to see the sun rise behind

her, illuminating the far waters with shining bright white light as the

waves rolled, as they did as they do as they will, forever onward, not

caring for the affairs of man.



   Another sigh escaped her as she looked at the shining sea in the

distance, the line separating light blue from dark blue water slowly

approaching the beach as the sun rose. She began to calm herself,

focusing on her tasks for the day. She knew that he wouldn't want her to

simply break down, but to continue on living, if life in this world

could be called such in these days.



   Getting up, she brushed away a bang of long brown hair, looking at

the cliff to her left as the sunshine lowered on its facade, its uneven

surface sporting shadows and light, bird nests hidden in the dark while

the parents watched vigilantly, white feathers shining in the sun's

rays. She looked down at the sea, the eternal ocean, mother of all life,

its waters sparkling brilliantly as more and more waves entered the dawn

of day.



   Slowly approaching the rolling white waters, feet trailing in the

white sand, leaving uneven marks of her feelings inside, she stopped

just before wetness reached her toes. Ears filled with the rolling

thunder echoing off the rocky walls surrounding her, one hand wiping her

eyes brimming with tears, crumpled tissue in her hand, she silently made

a wish as her world was suddenly engulfed in the pure light of the

morning rays.



   Blinking her eyes, a sudden gust of offshore-bound winds caught her

tissue to fly away, her hand instinctively reaching for it, one foot

stepping forward slightly, stopping herself despite. Her eyes went wide

as she felt a wave roll on shore, its warm waters going around her foot,

filling between her toes, caressing with its salty and sandy wetness her

exposed skin.



   One hand going to her mouth in slight shock, she looked down as her

foot was engulfed in another wave, the wet sand shifting around,

creating an impression. A single tear rolled down, left alone as it

trailed down her cheek and fell on the side of her sandal, and absorbed

by the ocean. She could almost follow it, as if that one drop shone from

all the others around it, slowly being washed away from her.



   As her head rose, she could see two lumps in the water, like big

rocks that the waves went around yet just barely covered. As the waves

receeded, she could see the lumps were dark blue, and not grey or light

green, and there seemed to be some red on the bottom of one. Her eyes

went wide, worries dissolving, as she recognized what they were.



   Washed-up people.



*******



   Dim light filtered through the curtains, acquiring a deep rose-red

color, tinting the rich, natural wood of the room. The early morning sun

outside shone radiantly, nature all around awakening to its shine, birds

chanting and chirping their happy songs of the morn, squirrels running

about in games, a cat lazily yawning as it stretched on the grass, the

green sparkling with its accumulated dew.



   And into this heavenly morning of sound and light, came a piercing

cry of pure fright and terror. "AAAAHHHHH!!!!! WHAT THE HELL AM I

WEARING?!?!?"



   Ranma Saotome backpedaled quickly into the wall, sheets and futon

sent away in a bundle, her face an expression of the most basic and

animal fear and horror as she looked down at herself, entire body

shaking. Her breath came out raggedly from her throat, eyes wide and

shimmering, hair standing on end.



   Next to her, another figure turned to face the redhead, awakened by

the scream, and looked. A deep intake of breath accompanied widening

eyes, then the corners of the mouth went up as Nabiki fell back on her

bed, eyes closing as from her belly came roaring laughter.



   "That's not funny!!!" Ranma screamed, scowling deeply at her wife,

part of her glad she had been shaken out of her initial reaction at her

clothing, but very far from admitting it. Both hands reaching to her

back, she grabbed the pink nightgown with embroidered floral designs and

frilly white borders and took it off, cramming it without formality into

a ball then throwing it at the now giggling girl next to her. "Would you

stop it?!?" she hissed, teeth clenched in anger.



   Nabiki took a deep breath, her back arcing as she calmed herself,

then she turned to look at Ranma again, mouth open to speak. Seeing the

redhead, her eyes closed as she started giggling, letting her body

rotate completely to lay belly first on the floor, only the lower part

of her still on the futon, her forehead coming to rest on her forearm,

body shaking with giggles.



   The pigtailed girl sighed in frustration. "Would you quit it

already?" she asked, head lowering, tired of being mocked. Her eyes

widened as she saw what she was still wearing. "Ack!" she exclaimed,

hands going behind her back to unclasp the bra, a small, very small part

of her stating that the rose silk and lace undergarment was providing

the best support she had ever had for her large mammaries. That voice

was quickly squashed, however, when her hands found no way of undoing

the bra, the redhead starting to panic, which provoked another fit of

giggles from the brunette.



   Taking a deep breath to calm herself only reminded her of the

garment around her chest, and reluctantly her gaze lowered to stare at

the hated piece of clothing surrounding her flesh. She cursed loudly at

whoever put her in this thing while undoing the clasp between her

breasts, then throwing the bra across the room at the wall.



   A wall which revealed itself as a door as the panel slid open, the

long- haired brunette standing behind blinking in surprise as a bra flew

to her and landed on her head, one cup covering her right eye. She

blinked a few times in confusion, looking at the staring girls, who

stared back.



*******



   Silence. Stillness. Patience. Waiting. The very portrait of

statues, deep in thought, unmoving. The decor ancient, aged, shining

with tradition, inspiring respect in all who behold it.



   "Is that the Master?!?" one suddenly pointed.



   "What?!?" the other looked.



   The first quickly rearranged the board in front of him before

returning to his previous, deep-in-thought position. "Hmm..." he faked,

eyes calculating strategy.



   The second sighed, seeing no one, and returned to the game. And

blinked. Raising one finger, mouth opening to speak, he was cut by his

adversary making his move, and his eyes darted left and right as he

examined his new situation. Closing his mouth, his raised hand went to a

piece, and made it travel across the board. As the black queen stepped

in front of the white king, blocking the only exit, the winner licked

his lips slowly before speaking.



   "Truly, old friend, I admit we do not play chess often, but you are

playing far worse than usual... what is bothering you?" he asked,

concerned, looking at his friend intently, crow marks appearing beside

his eyes.



   The loser stopped in his motion of returning the pieces in their

starting position and looked down, taking his time to swallow, spreading

wetness to his suddenly dry throat. "I... am simply worried about the

children." he started. "I am not sure if letting them go--"



   "The girls will be fine." the other interrupted. "They are going

after Ranma, as they should." he nodded to himself, sure that things

will go the way they are meant to go.



   He shook his head. "This is not like past adventures, old friend.

This is not Ranma going against another rival to rescue a fiance." He

sighed, not seeing the tint of worry creep into his friend's face at his

words. "This is..." he trailed off, words dying in his throat. He licked

his lips, aware of the expectant gaze on him.



   "You don't know my son like I do, Tendo. During those ten years...

When he wants something, he fights for it. When he gets it... nothing

can take it away. If he has indeed chosen Nabiki and taken off with

her... the girls, your own daughter Akane, are not going AFTER Ranma...

they are going AGAINST him."



   Silence returned to the ancient home, both players staring at the

playing table in contemplation. Both faces wore mirrored looks, creased

brows, lips thining, jaws tight. Neither spoke, incredibly still but for

their breathing, thoughts tumultuous inside.



   "And Ranma never loses." one finished.



*******



   Mornings. Akane usually loved mornings, unless Ranma disturbed it.

This one, Ranma was only indirectly disturbing. If he hadn't run off

with her sister, Akane would never have had to wake up in an

uncomfortable tent in the middle of the forest, sun lighting up the

orange plastic around her like a neon light, alone but for the lovely

company of a certain okonomiyaki chef and a gaijin amazon. She grumbled

in a very lady-like fashion as she got up, did a quick change of

clothing and left her tent, squinting under the harsh sun's rays.



   The small clearing the trio had chosen for the night was strangely

still, undisturbed but for the playing of birds and fluttering of

butterflies. The campfire was silent and black, unmoving, yet still

respected, a butterfly giving it a wide berth as it flew across the

sweet-smelling air of the morn. Dew shone everywhere the sun reached,

bringing the clearing to life, making Akane smile as she took in a deep,

calming breath. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all...



   Chatter shattered the dream, and Akane turned to see her two

companions, happily chatting together, the flourishing trees and bushes

perturbing the sound just so, Akane unable to hear. One was holding a

small stack of wood, although moving as if holding leaves, the other

carrying carefully something bundled in her raised shirt. Food, she

supposed. She clenched her jaw, mindful of her anger. She was capable of

helping, dammit, she could gather food or firewood, she could cook!

Those two bimbos didn't think she could help on the road just because

she grew up in the city! It just wasn't fair! Fists clenching, Akane

started to see red, until... a sigh. It was no use, getting angry. Being

told by Kasumi that her anger drove Ranma in her own sister's arms went

some way into telling her that...



   The conversation in the woods abruptly stopped, hearing the short-

haired girl, and it was a silence unbecoming of their surroundings that

fell until the three young women stood together. The two looked at the

one, who looked back, and in continued silence Ukyou set about the

campfire while Shampoo used a few leaves to deposit her gathered bounty

on the ground, separating it in three. Akane looked, lips closed,

unmoving but for the sinking feeling growing inside...



   Old habits die hard.



   Brow furrowing, fists clenching, Akane abandoned her despair for

something more familiar; anger. Not looking at the hussies who were

insulting her so politely, Akane turned on one foot, grass underneath

crushed and twisted, and started undoing her tent with a little more

strength than was good for the tubes.



   "What's with her?" Ukyou whispered to the purple-haired girl,

leaning her way, eyes crooked to look at Akane's back. She could hear

the girl's small grunts when undoing the tubes, and grew more wary at

each.



   Shampoo, on the other hand, looked completely calm and collected -

not unlike, Ukyou noted, a cat ready to spring on its prey - and didn't

even look up from her triage of the various berries and nuts she had

collected as she replied, "Shampoo not know what goes through Akane's

head, and not care, as long as no get in way of getting Ranma." Her

voice was soft as if she had stated the weather, and said how fine and

dandy the day was.



   Eyes slowly turning away from Akane, now folding her tent, to

Shampoo, Ukyou didn't know which one was more dangerous - the unattended

pot threatening to burst out of its cover at any moment, or the one that

didn't make a sound, cover safely shutting the inside from prying eyes,

yet heated by the same flame as the first. Returning to building the

campfire, Ukyou safely decided not to utter a word, so not to add oil to

either burning hearts.



   Fifteen feet away, Akane finished cramming her tent in her pack,

not quite the way the company had folded it, but it still fit, and Akane

wasn't quite in the mood to care. She quickly closed her backpack and

hefted it on her shoulders, sighing as she placed the straps more

comfortably. Was she really going to do this?



   Her face hardened with her resolution. Was there any other

solution? No one believed in her abilities; she had to prove herself,

and if that took going off alone to find Ranma, so be it. Turning

towards the trail, she started on her lone journey, not saying a word to

her companions now turned rivals once more.



   Ukyou opened her mouth to comment at her departure, but stopped

herself. Like any girl after Ranma, being stubborn and not very open to

reason was a prerequisite. Sighing silently, she returned to the fire,

setting up the sticks to hold the pot.



   Next to her, Shampoo wordlessly continued her triage, not even

having seen Akane leave to know to separate her part between the two

girls left.



*******



   The first thing Nabiki did once realizing that being mistaken for

military pilots, forced to fly an experimental plane and crashing it

into a giant flying cat monster wasn't a dream, was hit her husband.



   Hard.



   Ranma surfaced the pond, eyes already glaring at her wife through

the red hair partially covering them, and growled, an eery sense of

familiarity rising inside of the girl. She slowly got out, squeezing the

water out of her pigtail. "It's not my fault." she shot back, almost

sulking in a low voice. "How was I supposed to know there'd be flying c-

c-c- monsters!" she continued, totally losing seriousness with her

scared stuttering.



   Their host, who was just coming back with a tray of tea and

biscuits, suddenly stopped as she entered the family room, managing an

"Oh, my!" of surprise as she saw the dripping redhead in the way too

large blue jumpsuit coming out of the pond. She took the few quick steps

needed to deposit the tray on the coffee table, then looked with worry,

fist over her chest. "Are you alright? What happened?" she asked.



   Ranma only glared at Nabiki for awhile, but was unable to stay

angry for long. "I'm alright," she replied, "just fell in the pond..."

She glanced at the hated pool behind her.



   "Oh, okay..." she smiled, a tad on the oblivious side. "Do you want

a towel?" she offered, already taking a step towards the hall.



   The redhead squeezed her pigtail, then shook her head. "No, I'm

fine. Rather used to it." she added with a rueful smile, walking over to

sit down next to Nabiki.



   The woman blinked. "I see..." she only said, sitting down with the

others, serving tea. "Well, my name is Belldandy." she smiled.



   Ranma, having expected Kasumi in front of him from the start,

blinked to herself, muted for a moment. Nabiki, on the other hand, had

thought this over a bit more. "Pleased to meet you, Belldandy. I'm

Nabiki Ten-" she stopped, about to correct herself, then simply nodded

to herself, "Tendou, and this is Ranma Saotome." She tried to ignore the

weird look she was getting from her traveling companion.



   Belldandy gave a small nod. "Pleased to meet you." she returned.



   "So," Nabiki continued, taking a sip of tea, "can I assume it was

you who found us?" she asked.



   She nodded. "Yes... I found you two washed up on the beach not far

from here. You were mostly fine but unconscious..." Both could hear just

how much she cared in her voice. "Are you sure you're fine? You haven't

rested for long..." she added, tilting her head a bit.



   "Oh, we're fine." Ranma replied nonchalantly. "It's not a little

thing like that that'll kill us." He stopped waving dismissively once

feeling Nabiki's glare.



   "Speak for yourself, Ranma, but you're right about the feeling fine

part. Not what I'd expect after barely escaping an exploding plane,

falling into the sea, getting washed up and only resting for one night,

but I have no reason to complain." she smiled.



   Belldandy acquired the tiniest of frowns. "Hum, Nabiki-san, I'm

afraid you've slept more than one night." she said, one hand half-

closed, nearing her chin, while putting down her tea in its cup.



   Both dimensional travelers froze in place, eyes wide, looking at

Belldandy. "H-h-h-how long?" Nabiki managed to ask.



   A thoughtful look crossed Belldandy's face as she looked upwards,

one finger tapping her chin. "Well, assuming I've found you the morning

after you fell into the sea, I would say you've been unconscious for

about two days and a half." she answered.



   Nabiki's shoulders slumped upon hearing the news. Two days and a

half unconscious meant they missed the slide by some forty hours. Which

also meant they were stuck on this warring world. Unless... "The timer!"

she shouted, rising from her position to lean over the table and grab

Belldandy by the shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes. "Where's

the timer?" she asked, dead serious.



   The woman blinked. "The what? I don't understand..." she replied,

somewhat shaken.



   "The timer! It looks like a TV remote!" she explained, shaking

Belldandy a bit (but not too much, the woman did look like Kasumi after

all).



   Comfortingly putting a hand over Nabiki's own, the long-haired

brunette sadly shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I didn't find anything

else, only you two." she answered, feeling sad, lowering her eyes.



   Nabiki fell back on her seat limply, then fell sideways to lean on

Ranma, who was in a similar state. "Y-y-you mean we're stuck in this

crazy world?" she asked to no one in particular.



*******



   'I'll find Ranma and get him back home, I'll show you all.' Akane

thought, still ruminating on her anger after what had seemed like hours

of hard walking, but was probably closer to only forty-five minutes.

Trying to ignore a rumbling stomach had the tendancy to make the passing

of time seem faster than it truly was. And gods was she hungry. She

should have stormed away *after* eating breakfast.



   The turn in the road showed her her salvation; a town, small,

fitting in the depression of the valley, with a shrine up the northern

mountainside. A quaint and quiet little town, Akane mused, where

everything was simple and life ran smoothly. Inwardly sighing, she

marched down the dirt road to find a restaurant open for breakfast.



   Even if she was pressed to find food, Akane found herself slowing

down a bit to admire the view of the valley and of the old wood houses,

without a doubt dating back from before the Meiji Restoration, if not

the turn of the century. As she entered the village proper, the scenery

gave her some kind of home away from home feeling, that cozy feel that

made someone feel like they could live here. Despite her situation, it

made Akane smile a bit, sighing happily.



   Up ahead, where the road to the shrine crossed the main road she

was walking on, Akane could see a small restaurant, more like a stand,

really, open to the street, with five or six stools, two occupied. She

practically ran to a stool and jumped on it, swinging her backpack aside

to lean on the empty stool next to her. She quickly scanned the crudly

written menu on the far wall and ordered. "I'll have a #3, Tonkatsu

Teishoku, please." she asked the chef with a smile.



   "Certainly." the man replied, leaving the rag he had been wiping

his heating plate with aside to gather the order of the little lady.



   Two seats to Akane's left, an old man with short white hair and

beard turned towards the new arrival, leaning back a bit to better

examine her, lacking his glasses. "Why, hello there, little girl!" he

greeted. "You seem to be traveling, what are you doing coming through

these parts?" he asked, taking a glance to her rather large backpack.



   Akane lost some of her newly cheerful attitude. "I'm... looking for

someone. The last clue I have put him in this direction..." Her lips

tightened, gaze lowering to the counter in front of her, where her arms

lay.



   The man nodded. "I see... and who is this young man to you, for you

to go off all alone in the middle of the school year, hmm?" he asked

with a toothed grin, leaning forward.



   The traveler promptly blushed. "He's... he's..." She took a breath

that returned her face to normal, and let it out in a sad sigh. "He

*was* my fiance... he left on a trip two weeks ago and hasn't come back.

At this point, I only care to know why he left like that instead of just

telling me..." she trailed off, and was saved from continuing by the

chef bringing in her food. "Itadakimasu." she thanked, nodding, and

immediately started with a mouthful of rice.



   The friendly senior let go of a small hum as he thought of the

girl's situation, one hand coming up to scratch his sparse white beard.

It didn't take a genius to figure out, by the girl's emotional state,

that her ex-fiance had taken off with another girl. His own daughter

having experienced something similar, he felt inclined towards this

girl. He calmly sipped his tea, letting her eat her breakfast in peace,

so she could gather herself up again.



   When all that was left was her cup of tea, the old man spoke up

again. "You know, little lady, maybe I can help you. If your fiance did

pass through here, I'm sure I would have seen him. What does he look

like?" he asked.



   Akane smiled. "I was about to ask you if you had seen him... one

minute." She put her tea down and bent to ruffle through a pocket of her

pack, coming up soon with a picture of both Ranma and Ranma-chan. It was

obviously doctored, made by Nabiki on a whim some time ago, on some

money scheme regarding Kuno, but came in handy to search for the boy

sometimes girl; while Akane was looking for male Ranma, girl-type Ranma,

if seen, was bound to be recognized.



   Taking the picture, he leaned backwards again, holding it at arm's

length to squint at it better. "Hmm... that does look like a fella I

know, but he hasn't been here in awhile... oi! 'Toshi!" he calls,

leaning to offer the picture to the other client of the restaurant

stand, to Akane's right. "Does this look like who I think it is?" he

asked, apparently not wanting it to be.



   The other man took the offered photograph and looked, squinting as

well but not as badly. "Hmm... yeah, I think so." he nodded. "Looks like

Amelia's boyfriend... hasn't been around in over a year, visits

rarely..." He looked closely at Akane. "You say he was your fiance? Are

you sure?" he asked.



   She chose to ignore the question. "Who's Amelia?" she asked, jaw

already tightening.



   Giving back the picture, 'Toshi nodded over to his friend. "She's

the shrine maiden." he answered, sticking a thumb towards the shrine up

the mountainside.



   Akane paused for a second, losing just enough anger to regain her

mental focus. "Shrine..." she repeated under her breath, the word losing

the respect usually associated with it. Her head looked up. "The shrine,

you say? Maybe I should visit her to clear things up..." She downed her

remaining tea, and turned to look at said building. "Yep..." She got up

and got out her wallet, counting money to pay.



   The old man to her left stopped her, putting his hand over hers.

"Let me, little lady. You have other things to worry about." he said

with a sympathetic smile.



   Somewhat shocked, Akane looked at the man for a second, then

relaxed into a smile. "Thank you." she acknowledged, really grateful.

She put her wallet away and hefted her backpack to her shoulder before

going up the road to the shrine.



   'Toshi looked at the girl go. "Are you sure you don't want to be

there, old friend? That girl seems... angry." he observed.



   The old man nodded. "Yes... much anger in her... but I'm not

worried, 'Toshi. Amelia can handle herself, even now." he calmly

replied, nodding to the chef as his tea cup was refilled.



   Down the road, Akane made her way to the large oaken door, and

knocked, hard to be sure to be heard. Twiddling the picture in her hand,

she tried to calm herself, preparing what she was to say so she wouldn't

explode in anger. Finally, she heard the door open with a sweet feminine

"May I help you?", the dark shape of the girl hidden inside.



   Akane raised the picture. "Hi, I've been told that you had seen--"

Her prepared speech fell short in her suddenly dry throat as she took in

the girl in front of her, frozen in place. Large robes aside, the shrine

maiden could easily pass for Akane herself, over a year ago, when she

still had long hair. The eye color was blue instead of brown and the

shape of the face was slightly different, but the resemblance was

uncanny.



   But what truly stopped Akane was the girl's incredibly round belly,

visible even through the robe's ample folds.



*******



   Belldandy tilted her head ever so and raised a curious eyebrow no

more than half an inch as she looked at the shocked Nabiki in front of

her. "Excuse me, but what do you mean by 'stuck on this world'?" she

repeated, omitting the adjective, "Are you saying you're not from this

one?" she asked, seemingly only curious, not afraid nor cautious.



   Nabiki, already leaning on Ranma, simply turned her head to bury it

in the smaller girl's shoulder. "Your turn." she moaned/mumbled,

sounding and looking very tired - which was very promising at nine in

the morning.



   Eyes looking down, for she couldn't very well move her neck, Ranma

was pretty much wanting to just drop back to sleep herself, but only

sighed. "The other worlds thing or the whole thing?" she asked the mind

of the two.



   A hand went up to grab her cup of tea and it was upended over the

redheaded girl. "Does this answer your question?" she mumbled into

Ranma's shirt, readjusting her position in his shoulder, not bothered by

the small amount of tea dripping on her.



   "Oh... oh my!" Belldandy exclaimed, bringing a hand to her mouth as

she leaned forward slightly to look at the boy. "Ranma, you're a boy

now!" she observed.



   Another sigh, this time sounding deeper. "Yeah, I'm really a boy. A

year and a half ago I got this curse that has me change into a girl with

cold water, reversed with hot water." he explained.



   Belldandy looked at Ranma a bit more, then smiled fondly, somewhat

amused. "I guess that explains your reaction to the sleeping clothes I

put you in." she said. "But how does that explain your other world

comment?" she looked at him again.



   Ranma scratched the back of his head with his free hand, the weird

feeling he had been getting back there since waking up now having

amplified when he changed back, too strong to be dismissed like before.

"It doesn't, it's just being honest, and I've been itching to change

back since I got up." A small shiver ran up his spine, recalling his

awakening. "Anyways, some two weeks ago I got a device that allows you

to travel to other worlds from a group that had just came home. I

decided to try it and Nabiki here unexpectedly tagged along." He glanced

down at the girl on him, which gave a sniff.



   "On this world we were mistaken for our doubles, and forced to

pilot a plane to go against the enemy... and when..." He took a

steadying breath. "And when I saw just what the enemy was, I kinda

freaked and crashed the plane in one of 'em." he finished, voice

lowering as he went, never happy to reveal a weakness.



   Nodding, Belldandy put her tea cup down. "I see... you lost the

device when you fell into the sea." she said sadly.



   "Yeah... but even if we hadn't, we missed the delay we had to go to

the next world, and we'd be stuck here some 29 years anyway." he sighed.

"So either way, we're..." he stopped, somehow feeling that completing

his sentence wouldn't be right in the presence of the girl before him.

That, added with his already tingling sense of SOMETHING coming from

her, caused Ranma to take another, longer look at the woman before him.



   The incredible Kasumi look-alike smiled softly, nodding sadly. "I

see... I'm very sorry. Don't you have some other way of getting home?"

she asked, wondering at the same time if there was anything she could do

herself.



   Ranma narrowed his eyes a bit as he looked more closely. Trying to

see past the appearance that was so much resembling Kasumi's that it

simply could not be what was triggering his senses. Yet even with deep

observation, there was nothing he could find outside of a simply

naturally cheerful and happy woman. Having known Kasumi, this wasn't

that much out of the ordinary, but it was no reason for his warning

alarm in the back of his head to be flaring so.



   "We don't." Nabiki answered, raising from her position in Ranma's

shoulder. "Unless you know a way to get the timer out of the middle of

the Japan Sea and know someone good enough in theoretical physics to

make another one for us to use." she sighed.



   Belldandy frowned. She had been thinking along the same lines, and

was coming up with only one answer, one that didn't really satisfy her.

She wasn't about to say no to them, that would be lying, but she

couldn't say her idea before consulting with someone. Thankfully, she

was saved from answering as something triggered her own senses.



   Having exhausted all possibilities, Ranma finally decided to shift

his chi to see the woman's aura, even though he hated doing that as it

felt like invading her privacy. He had barely begun when the brilliance

blinded him, and he immediately stopped. "Ack!" One hand went up to

shield his eyes as he looked away.



   "Ranma?" Nabiki blinked at him, unsure of what he was doing or

reacting from.



   'He was trying to look at... my real self? My aura? How could a

mortal do that?' Belldandy wondered, a hand raising to her mouth but

only covering her chin as she looked at the man before her.



   Ranma shook his head, eyes shut, trying to get rid of the sparkles

in them. He finally turned to Nabiki. "She- She's *powerful*!" he hushed

strongly to her. "Stronger than Saffron!" He turned to look at

Belldandy. "What are you?" he asked, the slightest touch of fear in his

voice, uncertain as to what a being capable of hiding such power could

do.



*******



   The picture fell from Akane's hand as she fully registered what was

in front of her. This girl... this girl was her! Ranma hadn't run off

with Nabiki, he'd run off and taken Nabiki to help cover his track! It

all made so much sense now. The reason why Ranma called her a tomboy and

unfeminine and insulted her skills as a martial artist and cook. He had

a girl that looked just like her and  that was incredibly traditional,

maybe more so than Kasumi, except for one little thing that seemed to

suit that perverted Ranma just fine.



   Her heart constricting, Akane just turned and left without a word,

at first a brisk pace but soon began running away, eyes shimmering with

tears. By the time she crossed the shrine gates, those tears were

rolling down her cheeks and sparkling like pearls in the air as they

fell.



   The shrine maiden blinked in surprise, and raised a hand as she

called to the running woman, but stopped as she saw it was to no effect.

Looking down at the picture, she wondered just what would be so shocking

for the girl to just take off wordlessly, though she admitted they had

some resemblance. Carefully using the doorway to lean on as she lowered

herself, she managed to get the picture without losing her balance.



   Her eyes suddenly widened. "But that's--" she stopped, frowning.

"No, that's not Hichiro. Resemblance is strong, though." She looked up

again, in the direction the girl left. "Wonder why she was so upset."

Shrugging, she pocketed the picture and closed the door.



   Down the road, Akane ran, not looking exactly where. She just ran,

wanting to go away from this place that had first promised peace and

tranquility, but proved to be a source of hardship and heartbreak.

Tripping on something, she planted face-first on the dirt road.



   'Toshi turned to look at the woman, replacing his out-of-balance

stool. "Are you alright, miss?" he asked, extending a hand to the fallen

girl.



   She either didn't see or didn't acknowledge his offered hand. Akane

raised a foot to stand again, but faltered as it slipped in the dirt,

her hands slamming on the road to support her. A pained sigh escaped her

as she bit her lip, her left hand shaking a bit as she balanced herself

on her other three limbs.



   Ignoring the repeated offer of help, Akane brought her foot up

again, and once she stood on one knee, removed the the small rock lodged

into her left palm, fist closing over the pooling blood. "I'm fine." she

said with a snarl, teeth clenched as she tried to ignore the pain as

much as she ignored the help, and looked around to orientate herself,

getting up. Without a word, Akane went down the road that brought her

there.



   One old man looked at another at the restaurant stand. "I somehow

don't think she liked whatever answer she found." 'Toshi said, having

the priviledge of looking at the departing girl some distance away and

towards his friend at the same time.



   The other man calmly sipped his tea, not looking up from it. "I

don't think she found any kind of answer at all." he replied. He had

barely glanced at the girl when she had tripped in 'Toshi's stool and

fell, and now he didn't need to look to know what she was doing.



   Akane's temporary anger soon faded, and her brisk angry walk slowed

to a crawl on the upwards trail leading out of the valley. Her mind was

a confused mess of images and feelings, leaving her with nothing but

questions, doubts, and a deep aching in her chest where her heart used

to be.



   The path was starting to flatten and the forest was too thick for

the morning sun to shine when Akane's internal struggles took too much

energy for her to keep walking, and her feet dragged to a stop as she

simply stood there, eyes unfocused and her thoughts primarily resting on

the desire for a walking stick for nearly a minute. Finally, she was

saved from numbly staring at the dirt at her feet when four other feet

entered her vision.



   "Akane, you okay?" the halting Chinese-accented voice asked, as a

slender hand reached over to Akane's shoulder.



   Shrugging the hand away, Akane took half a step backward as some of

her old self resurfaced. "I'm fine." Biting her lip, not liking how weak

and trembling her voice had sounded despite having willed it strong and

angry, she just looked away.



   "Your hand! It's bleeding!" Ukyo pointed, taking two steps forward

to grab Akane's hand and open it. Having forgotten herself, Akane was a

bit surprised and let the okonomiyaki chef take her hand as she looked

at it herself. Accumulated blood left her now opened fingers to splash

on the path, quickly mingling with dry dirt, at this point flowing more

from the cuts her own nails had dug in her palm than from the hole the

sharp rock had made. Akane blinked again, not remembering feeling

anything of her nails on her skin.



   "Akane should get bandage before wound fester." Not waiting for a

response, Shampoo's pack dropped to the road, dirt swirling in the air.



   One strap came off before Akane found her voice again. "No." Hard

and cold, she quickly closed her bleeding hand, slipping out of Ukyou's

grasp at the same time. "I can do it myself." She took a step back,

letting out a sigh of deep sadness that didn't last long as she hardened

her heart, looking up at the two girls. "And you might as well just give

up on Ranma. I found why he left and he's sure as hell not coming

back..." The bitter edge was obvious as Akane bit her lip.



   "You found Ranma/Ranchan?!?" two voices chorused.



   She shook her head. "No, I didn't." She quickly continued so not to

be interrupted in spite of her reservations to breech this subject again

so soon. "I found the girl he's running to." She raised a hand - the

unhurt one - to silence them. "There's no way to win, don't bother..."

she sighed deeply.



   The ensuing snorts were almost in chorus as well. "Honey, just

because YOU were beaten by that girl doesn't mean that we will." she

said seriously, fingering her unusually large kitchen instrument.

Shampoo could only nod at the sentiment.



   Akane hit them with a glare. "I didn't FIGHT her! I'm not that

cruel!" She sniffed. "Honestly. We've ALL already lost! That was what I

was saying, not that she beat me in a fight!" She crossed her arms,

biting down a hiss of pain from her hand, trying to keep her pride.

There was at least a bit of consolation in that fact... that none of the

Nerima girls had won.



   "What you mean, already lost? Shampoo no lose." The Amazon warrior

copied Akane's movement, crossing her arms below her chest.



   Fighting the urge to beat common sense into the foreigner, Akane

grit her teeth, glaring at the girl. "You stupid bimbo! It's never been

about which girl is stronger than the rest!" She pushed past her ancient

rivals, none too gently, determined to just walk away. A few hard steps

and she stopped, hanging her head. "You want to go ahead? Fine! She's a

maiden at the local shrine." she said, not looking back. "You can

recognize her easily. She--" Akane stopped, hearing rushed footsteps

behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she could see the two girls

running down the path, towards the village. "Baka." she muttered, before

continuing down the road, anger quickly dissipating.



*******



   Belldandy sighed. This was not how she had envisioned telling them,

if ever. Yet, somehow, that mortal caught a glimpse of her self, and

chance didn't leave her the time to talk things over with her sisters,

and/if with her father. Taking a steadying breath, she offered her

friendliest smile, and although she desired to apologize or try to

reassure her guests of her good intentions, she knew that blunt honesty

worked better in situations like these. "I am Belldandy, Norn Goddess of

the Past." she explained, voice devoid of pride or boasting.



   The straight honesty and answer took the two travelers a bit by

surprise, and they glanced at each other. "Goddess?" Ranma asked, a bit

disbelieving. "Never met a goddess befo--" Nabiki's tap on his chest

stopped him.



   "Nice one," she said with a smirk, "but what would a Norn Goddess

be doing in Japan? You could come up with something better." she

deadpanned.



   A blink, one hand coming up to her mouth. She had expected some

kind of disbelief, but she had not heard that one before. "Hum, well, I

do suppose it is a bit odd... my presence here is a long story, one that

I..." Her voice trailed off as her eyes looked down, her entire attitude

emanating longing, but only for a second. "... do not wish to go into

right now, but if some proof of my origins and good intentions can help

you believe me, I would gladly offer it." she said, smiling expectantly.



   Nabiki opened her mouth to speak, stopped by a hand on her

shoulder. "Nabiki, if she says she's a goddess, I believe her, she has

the power to prove it." he said dead serious.



   She gave her husband a strange look. She knew Ranma was gullible in

some aspects, but such a thing would be under his sphere of knowledge,

and he was better equipped to determine someone's power. Still, she had

her doubts. "Okay then... being a goddess, there's bound to be a way for

you to help us, no?" she asked, a bit haugthy and demanding.



   Belldandy sighed, having desired to inform herself of that before

deciding to tell them of her true nature. "Well, I am unsure of that,

but I will try my best... I need to talk to a few people before I can

give you an answer..." She looked down and away, a bit ashamed at her

inability to offer more assurances.



   Ranma nodded in thanks, however. "That's more than we had five

minutes ago. Thanks for whatever you can do for us." he smiled. Not

minding the blink he received from Nabiki, Ranma got up, pulling on her

arm to indicate to do the same. "We'll leave you to do the calls you

need, we have to talk about this between us..." With a small polite bow,

Ranma half-lead and half-dragged his barely standing wife outside.



   Also a bit surprised, Belldandy smiled and nodded in lieu of a bow

at the departing Ranma. Finding her guests so nice and understanding,

she rose and went to the kitchen to make the appropriate calls, wishing

there could be a way to help the lost travelers.



   Once the two reached the pond, Ranma let go of Nabiki, who hadn't

stopped looking at him strangely. "What's with you, Ranma?" she asked, a

bit confused.



   "Nothing, Nabiki dear. Nothing at all." he smiled. "I'm just..." He

sighed. "I dunno, really. There's just something about this place, and

after what happened..." His eyes lowered to the still waters of the pond

in front of him.



   Nabiki didn't quite know what to make of Ranma's answer, if not

admit that this place and situation was somewhat particular. But she

happily put such considerations aside when a more urgent question rose

up. "Ranma, what do you remember of the accident?" she asked, at the

same time letting him know that she didn't blame him for it.



   He shook his head, one hand coming to his forehead. "Not much...

after I saw the... the..." He swallowed. "The monsters, it's all a

blur... All I remember is a feeling that I was gonna die then a sudden

rush of wind before it all turned black..." he sighed.



   A quick nod. "Same for me... I guess a bit of panic and fear of

dying can shake someone a bit. I'm not even sure how the ejection system

was triggered, I just know I blacked out right after." It wasn't an

outright lie, but she wasn't about to mention that little thing again if

she didn't have to.



   "Yeah... all the good my martial arts training did me, blacking out

after seeing those things..." he sighed.



   His wife patted him on the back. "Now, now, Ranma, it's not like

martial arts were made to handle situations miles in the air, you know.

It's not like you could have flown out of the plane to fight those

things yourself, after all." she smirked. A little humour would probably

cheer Ranma up, as always, or at least distract his mind long enough.



   Instead, Ranma acquired a thoughtful look. "Flying... now, that's

not a bad idea..." he mused.



   Nabiki acquired a sweatdrop or two. "Now, now, Ranma, this isn't

Dragon Ball, you can't fly..." she said, waving a hand to dismiss it.



   He blinked. "Dragon what?" His face lit up. "Dragon! Of course!

Herb! His Ryuu Sei Hishou technique had him floating in the air! If I

could duplicate and modify that... it's pure genius!" He smiled widely.

"Thanks, Nabiki!" Grabbing her head with both hands, he delivered a big

kiss on her lips.



   Not understanding what Ranma was refering to, since she hadn't been

there, added to his surprise kiss at the end, caused Nabiki to be more

than a bit confused. Luckily, she did not have to reply to Ranma's

outburst.



   "Ano..." came the soft voice of their darling hostess. "I don't

want to disturb you, but breakfast is ready..." she smiled sweetly.



   Ranma's eyes lit up, if possible, even more so than at the idea of

a new martial arts technique. "Breakfast!" His stomach made itself now

at the same time. "Haven't eaten in awhile, hope you made alot!" With

joyful eagerness, Ranma sped inside.



   With a shake of her head and a smiling sigh, Nabiki followed.

"Thank you, Belldandy." she smiled. "And I do hope you've made alot of

food..." she commmented as she passed the goddess.



   Belldandy could only blink.



*******



   Amelia let go of a tired sigh as another knock came from the shrine

main door just as she had sat down. "Of all the times..." Sighing again

to regain her cheerful attitude, she slowly got up and returned to the

door, opening it with a smile. "Can I help you?" she asked.



   Ukyou and Shampoo, who had been about ready to attack and maim

severely the woman as soon as she answered, now stood frozen in place,

eyes wide as they saw just who was answering and her condition. They

somehow couldn't do much else than lower and hide their weapons.



   'Travelers... again. Maybe they're with that first girl?' She

smiled sweetly and took out the picture the other girl had dropped. "If

you're looking for that man, though he does look like my Hichiro I

haven't seen him before..." She offered the photograph to the nearest,

an odd girl with a large spatula.



   The girl took the picture and offered it a quick glance to confirm

who was on it before turning it around for the shrine maiden to see.

"You haven't seen him?" she asked, just to be sure.



   She shook her head. "No... my boyfriend doesn't have a pigtail.

He's in the Self-Defense Force, so he can't have long hair period..."

she smiled, a bit wistfully as a longing look entered her eyes.



   The two travelers seemed to relax and sigh of relief at the words.

Of course their Ranma couldn't have been that girl's boyfriend, it was

just ridiculous. He had been well within their eyesight when the obvious

would have happened, and if a complete stranger could look like Akane,

there certainly could be a boy looking like Ranma as well.



   Still...



   "Excuse Shampoo, but does maiden girl have picture of boyfriend?"

the foreigner asked respectfully, mindful of her great-grandmother's

advice about badmouthing certain people while in Japan. Ukyou could only

nod, having been beaten to the question.



   Amelia only smiled before reaching inside her robe and taking out a

picture. As promised, next to herself in some oddly fitting fatigues,

was a young man in uniform, helmet under one arm, with a fighter and the

air strip behind them. And the boy looked oddly like Ranma, without

pigtail and a bit less wild hair. If one looked closely, it was apparent

that Hichiro's eyes were brown, not Ranma's grey-blue.



   "Well I'll be..." Ukyou muttered as she looked. The boy did look

like Ranma, and with that uniform on he seemed even more attractive.

There was just something about hi-- Ukyou pulled her head back, shaking

herself back to reality. What had *that* been all about? She was in love

with Ranma, for God's sake, she didn't have a schoolgirl crush because

he looked cute! She looked at Shampoo for her own reaction, just in

case.



   The picture would probably be mere atoms by now if Shampoo had it

in her abilities. She was glaring at it so much Ukyou wasn't sure if the

photograph wouldn't burst into flames anyway. The girl lost some of her

angry attitude as she straightened and looked at the shrine maiden

again. "Thank you." she said through somewhat clenched teeth, then gave

a quick bow before turning rather brusquely and walking off, if it

wasn't called stomping.



   Ukyou gave a quick deep of apology, her flat hand in front of her

face, and managed a quick "Excuse my friend." before hurrying after

Shampoo. Amelia, after blinking and looking a bit in confusion, merely

shrugged and closed the door as she replaced the picture near her heart.

Such strange travelers, but then again all outsiders were strange.



   Down at the gates, the chef finally managed to get a strong enough

hold on the amazon to stop her and twirl her around. "What's with

you?!?" she glared.



   And received the glare right back. "Shampoo sure this not Ranma.

Shampoo continue search." she said, dead serious, before wrenching her

arm free and walking off. Ukyou could only blink. What was with her? She

saw the same picture, what the hell could be wrong? She thought this

Ranma look-alike was rather handsome in that army uniform.



   Shrugging, Ukyou readjusted her backpack, and after giving one last

glance to the temple, followed Shampoo down the road.



*******



   Ranma sighed with contentment as he leaned back, clearing his teeth

with a toothpick. In front of him, the dozen or so plates were almost

cleaner than before they had any food in it. A few more were gathered in

front of Nabiki, while Belldandy had a single one, still not empty.



   "You certainly have quite the appetite, Ranma." Belldandy said with

a smile, putting her chopsticks down to take some tea. "Do you want

more?" she offered.



   He waved a hand to refuse. "Nah, I'm full, thanks. You're a

wonderful cook." he smiled, completely missing the glance his wife gave

him.



   Belldandy managed a shy blush with a large smile. "Thank--" she

started, but was interrupted with a sudden flash of light and the sound

of electrity sparks flying around coming from another room.



   Ranma was in the middle of getting up to check on the intrusion

when he noticed the growing expression of happiness on Bell's face, and

decided to stop until he got more information. He was not mistaken.

"That must be my sister!" the goddess exclaimed happily, getting up

quickly. "I'll go get her, wait here please." With a quick bow, she

hurried down the hall.



   Letting himself down with a bit of a swing, the blinking boy

settled next to the blinking girl. "Sister?" the latter remarked. "That

would mean... another goddess?" A sigh, then a glance to her husband.

"Only with you." she muttered, half-annoyed, half-amused.



   "What?" he replied, confused.



   "Nevermind." she answered, this time smirking. To think, Ranma

wasn't even aware that these kind of things weren't exactly normal.

After the initial surprise, he seemed to be able to simply shrug off

just about anything. The only thing she knew of that could shock him for

more than a few seconds was... better not think about that for now.



   Then, from the turn in the hallway, following Belldandy, came a

woman Nabiki could only feel jealous of in spite of her own self-

assurances.



   Sleek black shoes started the journey up incredibly long tanned

legs and full thighs that barely hid inside a tight jet black mini-skirt

just long enough to only show leg. A slim waist was still hugged by a

loose white business blouse that seemed to have exactly the right

numbers of buttons undone at exactly the right height, revealing the

tanned flesh underneath as well as the rise of the two mounds hidden

under the blouse, voluptuous yet firm.



   Long silver white hair flowed behind as they curled softly all the

way to softly swinging hips, framing a delicately beautiful face and

enhancing the slender figure. Sunglasses hid drawing, bottomless eyes,

modernly sleek and curvy, finishing touch to an already stunning and

powerful presence, commanding the attention and respect of anyone,

telling any onlooker that the woman was powerful and sexy.



   And that she knew it.



   Even someone who managed to brush off Shampoo's more than amorous

advances on a semi-daily basis had practically no resistance to such a

sexy aura. Thus, Ranma's jaw was following the laws of gravity has much

as it could, hanging loosely, eyes wide and looking straight at the

*woman* in front of him.



   That is, until an elbow decided to check if it could fit between

two of his ribs.



   Ranma winced, pulling away as he glanced at Nabiki. And pulled away

a bit more at the death glare he was receiving, a few sweatdrops

appearing on the back of his head. He nervously looked at the two

goddesses; one was smiling almost blissfully while the other was

smirking amusedly, lowering her glasses a bit to look over them. "So,

sis, those are the two you want me to help?" she asked, voice also

amused.



   "Yes. They're stuck here, and Father agreed that we should help

them." Belldandy smiled ever-so-helpfully.



   The visitor's confident demeanor suddenly changed to one of doubt

as the goddess took her glasses off to look at Bell. "Father?!? You

didn't tell me He was with this!" she replied, enerved slightly.



   Somehow, the two mortals present could clearly hear the capitals,

and were more or less frozen in place as another element settled into

place. Who would goddesses refer to as Father but... Kami-sama? When

they were asking for help a cheerful and happy woman, they hadn't

expected for their plea to go this far...



   Belldandy smiled in her usual way at her sister. "Oh, I'm sorry,

didn't I tell you? Father is most interested in the well-being of these

mortals." she said in a voice too casual for the words' implications.



   Dropping her head, the other goddess sighed deeply. "I thought

getting to first class meant no longer being tested..." she mumbled,

sounding weary and tired. Taking a deep breath, she let it out quickly

as she straightened. "Well, let's do this." Brow furrowed, a grin

forming on her lips, she looked ready to kill and sexy as ever.



   Ranma and Nabiki gulped.



*******



   Noon was soon coming, and Akane was still walking away from the

village, blood dripping from her hand in small droplets now and then.

She was barely advancing, taking small steps that sent dirt swirling in

the air as her feet dragged on the dry path. Her mind was as blank as

her expression, eyes staring off in the distance, unable to feel even

the most basic of emotions, like the throbbing pain her hand left kept

sending, unaware that for some reason her fist kept clenching and

unclenching, nails constantly preventing her wound to close completely,

stretching the skin and breaking the crust of dried blood.



   All that kept her going was her rapidly beating heart, seemingly

ready to explode at any second as all the emotions contained inside

battled with the cold and empty feeling inside her chest, adrenaline the

only thing giving strength to her muscles as she slowly continued down

the road.



   Then, as if lightning had struck, Akane's eyes closed as she simply

fell forward, limply crashing on the ground, surrounded by majestic

trees, singing birds, and the caress of the wind. And as her mind shut

down, all Akane could feel was a strange sense of peace, a feeling of

detachment from the world as everything turned to welcoming blackness...



*******



   Ranma looked doubtfully at the odd metal construct in front of him,

an odd round shape slightly hidden in the sand. It was a nice day to be

at the beach, even at this time of spring, though Ranma had no desire to

see how cold the sea was. Urd, Norn goddess of the Future, as their

visitor turned out to be, was half-hidden inside the machine, tinkering

with some 'last minute adjustements' for the past hour or so. Ranma

didn't find odd that the mechanical goddess hadn't changed clothes,

staying in her white blouse and black mini-skirt, but that said clothes

never got dirty, no matter how much grease and oil he could see inside

the contraption, was something to wonder about.



   "And how long is this gonna take again?" Nabiki asked once more,

more than tired of looking for seashells and then throwing them back,

even if at first she had been pleasantly surprised of how far she could

throw them - side benefit of a week of Cologne's training, she mused.



   Urd pulled out of her machine, closing the panel she had been

exploring with one hand as she brushed her long hair over her shoulder

with the other. "Done!" she exclaimed proudly.



   "Wonderful!" Bell exclaimed happily, gently clapping hands. "And

what is it?" she then asked in the same breath, smiling as she tilted

her head.



   Not even phased, Urd took out a remote control out of somewhere and

dramatically pressed on its main red button. The metal object vibrated

to life and started rising, panels opening as the oval shape started

sprouting appendages.



   "What the hell..." Nabiki muttered as she saw the thing slowly turn

into a giant, metallic and shiny red crab, facing the open sea. She

blinked, once, though she found the idea surprisingly inventive; a crab

was the perfect animal to go around the depths of the sea and search for

their belongings.



   Slowly walking around the crab, Ranma looked it up and down, left

and right. "A crab, eh? Not bad..." he reached and knocked on one of the

large pincers, getting a hollow metallic resonance. He raised an

eyebrow.



   "Of course it's 'not bad'," Urd replied proudly, trying not to

sound annoyed, "*I* built it!" one hand pointing to the sky. "Now, stand

back!" All three bystanders quickly rushed to her side, away from the

metal animal.



   Nabiki hmmed. Something didn't seem right in her mind, though she

couldn't quite put her finger on it.



   Urd pushed a few more buttons on the remote, eliciting pincers to

close and open rapidly, and the two orbs passing for eyes turning

around, facing forward out to the sea. Then, with a dramatic pose,

finger pointing to the sea horizon, she let out a war cry. "Kani I,

GO!!!" as she pushed the stick on the remote forward.



   The crab did as ordered, and with incredible speed for its size,

cloud of sand rising as it went, rushed sideways, slamming into the

cliff some two hundred feet away. The impact caused some large rocks to

dislodge and fall, crushing the metallic crab, and after a few large

crackles of electricity, a loud explosion signaled the buried demise of

Kani I.



   All four onlookers acquired sweatdrops.



   Suddenly remembering, Nabiki spoke her thought. "Don't crabs walk

sideways?" she commented to no one in particular.



   Ranma and Urd facefaulted.



*******



   Kojiro hated his job as much as he loved it. He found incredibly

joy and happiness with what he could do, but hated the situation there

had to be for him to do it. And for some reason, there always had to be

blood, too. He sighed again, walking up the trail, following the red

pools mingled in the dirt and the coppery scent mixed with the fresh and

pure odor of the forest. Blood always made him uneasy.



   "I'm getting too old for this." he muttered, leaning on his walking

stick for a break. He wiped his brow, pushing his white hair out of his

eyesight. That girl couldn't have gone far, he mused, looking ahead on

the trail. His eyes widened as he spotted a shape on the ground some

distance away.



   Forgetting his tiredness, he rushed to her side, kneeling in the

dirt. The girl looked pale, and her left hand was in the middle of a

large pool of blood. He frowned. This was bad. A small wound properly

tended didn't cause a loss of blood big enough for the body to be

affected, but a wound left bleeding, no matter how small, over a long

period of time, could drain the body beyond a recuperable state.



   Wishing he wasn't too late, Kojiro quickly bandaged the girl's

hand, and put his belt around her upper left arm tightly to lower blood

pressure in it. From his pack, he took out a make-shift stretcher, and

once assembled rolled the girl on it. And after attaching the rope

around his waist, Kojiro tiredly began the trek back to the village.



   "Next time, 'Toshi's grandson is coming to help me." he muttered to

himself. "This is not something for a soon-to-be great-grandfather."



*******



   'You have to admit, this is far from any vision of Heaven ever

conceived.' Nabiki mused to herself as she watched Urd assemble Kani II,

helped by Ranma who was recovering old parts from the buried Kani I. 'So

goddesses can make brainless mistakes too... kinda satisfying in a way.'

She smirked as Urd banged her head as she was getting out of her

machine. 'Really satisfying.' she added.



   Belldandy sat next to Nabiki, putting a holding tray on the sand in

front of them. "Tea?" she offered sweetly, already pouring herself a

cup.



   "Please." Nabiki replied, smiling at the ever-so-happy goddess. She

graciously took the offered cup and took a satisfying sip. "Delicious as

always, Belldandy." she complimented.



   "Thank you." Looking at the working pair as well, the goddess of

the Past could only marvel at Ranma's abilities; the big rocks covering

the first experiment had either been easily put aside or broken into

pieces, and the heavy metal parts seemed no problem for him to carry.

Urd seemed more than happy with her temporary assistant - as long as she

didn't go into too technical terms.



   "So, what is your world like?" she asked, curious. "Is everyone

there like Ranma?" she wondered.



   Faced with such a notion, Nabiki could do only one thing; she

reared her head back and laughed as loud as she could. "Oh, that's

rich!" she exclaimed to the surprised-looking Belldandy. The two workers

some distance away stopped and looked, but soon just shrugged and

returned to building their machine.



   "Did I say something wrong?" the peaceful goddess asked, blinking.



   Nabiki shook her head, still chuckling. "No, no... only something

real funny." She giggled. "No, Ranma is rather unique... our world is

more or less normal, though I'm not well-placed to tell you, our part of

the world is somewhat unique too." She sighed, smiling, but soon

frowned. "The only thing I can see that is different is the war going on

- every other difference I've seen would be a consequence of it..."



   Belldandy nodded. "Yes, the war with China has been going on for

some time..." she sighed, obviously saddened by it. "Although the bit

you've seen is not China attacking... it is something else." she said,

now looking a bit distressed.



   "Oh? What do you mean? Those monsters came from where, then?" she

pressed.



   A shake of her head. "I'm not supposed to tell mortals of this

world..." she gently refused.



   She smirked. "But I'm not from this world, Belldandy, and if

everything works out I'll be leaving soon." she countered. "Besides,

it's not like we can tell anyone." she added, waving her hand to the

surroundings - Belldandy herself had said that the nearest village was a

day's walk away.



   Thining her lips for a moment as she thought, the goddess then

nodded. "Very well. I suppose there would be no harm." She took a deep

breath, let out some of it to relax herself, and answered. "The monsters

come from China, yes, but not from the United States of China..." She

didn't notice Nabiki raise an eyebrow. "They came from the mountain

range in mainland China, from a small valley called--"



   "Jusenkyo." Nabiki breathed out with wide eyes, interrupting the

goddess.



   Blink, then nod. "Yes, how did you know?" she asked, surprised.



   "That's where Ranma got his curse, as well as a number of his

friends... so someone used Jusenkyo to make armies of monsters?"



   "Yes... although it's not the only magic involved. I'm not sure of

the details myself, but a powerful mystical being suddenly acquired

power some time ago and has been accumulating magic ever since... it

seems you've come to our world just as this being decided to take the

world." she said sadly, sounding sorry for the travelers to have come at

such a time.



   "And what happened at the battle two days ago?" Nabiki added.



   Belldandy shook her head and looked down. "The sudden demise of the

scouting plane, which I assume was you two, caused the Japanese army to

attack without restraint and with no concern over their troops on the

Japan Sea." Her voice had been tightening like a vise was applied to her

throat. "They struck with neutron and fission bombs... the attack was

repelled, but all troops at sea were--" Her voice suddenly caught.

"Were--" She buried her face in her hands, unable to continue, crying

freely.



   Caught unaware for a second, Nabiki quickly went to the girl's

rescue, comforting her and rubbing her back. 'Was she... *Is* she in

love with one of those navy men?' she wondered, trying to soothe the

woman.



*******



   Nearly two hundred feet away, Ranma looked up at the goddess of the

Future, face dirty with a number of oil or grease spots, not bothered by

the perfectly clean girl in front of him though she was doing dirtier

jobs. "Are you sure it's gonna work this time?" he repeated for the

twenty-sixth time.



   Urd swallowed her growl and just glared at the boy. "Yes." she

answered, voice tight. "I'm sure." She threw the extra bolt at him for

good measure.



   Catching the incoming object easily, Ranma allowed a smirk. "Okay

then. Well, I attached all eight legs like you asked me to, anything

else?" he asked, throwing the bolt away.



   Stepping away, closing the panel she had been in, she shook her

head. "No, that should be it..." She sighed. "I hope, at least. I really

want to get my hands on this dimensional travel device of yours..." she

smirked.



   Ranma had the strangest feeling that it wasn't the best of ideas to

let Urd work on the timer... but it couldn't be helped, could it? "Well,

alright then, let's give it a shot... can't go any worse than the

first." he finished muttering.



   Suddenly at his side, Urd bonked him on the head with her fist.

"Don't say that, you idiot, you're gonna jinx it!" she angrily berrated

him.



   Rubbing his head, Ranma slowly distanced himself from the sexy

godddess. "Yeah, yeah, sure..." he grumbled. "Let's just get our things

back, okay?" he tried to say nicely with a forced smile.



   "Right." Urd nodded. She didn't care much for her help's comment,

but she'd be damned if she didn't do the job right when He was looking

over things. She took out the remote and activated Kani II. "Everything

seems to be working... let's try only a small nudge forward." She gently

pushed the stick on the remote. Kani II took a few steps forward, the

surf gently lapping at its metallic legs. Two sighs could be heard.



   "Alright then, let's go find that timer device." With grim

determination, Urd sent Kani II forward, slowly disappearing in the

Japan Sea. After a few seconds passed, Urd sighed of relief; no

explosion meant that her invention was waterproof. Unless it simply

short-circuited with an unseen puff of smoke...



   Hurriedly, Urd activated the small screen on the remote and

checked. The crab was going forward rapidly... everything was normal.

She sighed again. With a satisfied smirk, Urd turned on the sensors and

let the thing do its work.



   "So everything's working?" Ranma asked, next to her.



   She nodded. "Yep. Just a question of time." she replied

confidently.



*******



   Amelia sighed as she changed the girl's cold compress. She was near

giving birth, for gods' sake, this wasn't the time to give her such a

hard duty as watching a sick and weak person! What was her grandfather

thinking? So what if they looked the same? That girl obviously didn't

have the thirty pounds she was carrying all the time!



   Sighing angrily, Amelia gave a glance at the girl she was

supervising. She quickly lost her frown. She was much too pale to be

healthy, and according to her grandfather wasn't doing any better

mentally either. So sad...



   Amelia looked up, through the small window, looking at the rose and

red sunset. She hoped... no, she wished that things could go better for

this lost girl. It just was so sad for such a pretty girl to be in such

a situation. Amelia then bit her lip, resisting a giggle. Complimenting

herself indirectly like that was not really appropriate.



   Sighing, the shrine maiden put her hands over her round belly,

leaned back in her chair and looked at the sunset. And hoped that when

the sun returned, the world would be better for this girl.



*******



   Ah, rain. Who doesn't like the rain? Bringer of life, of

revitalization? Who doesn't like standing in the rain, walking, letting

himself be soaked to the bones under the falling water, marveling under

the touch of nature?



   It's a rhetorical question, of course.



   Ranma grumbled as she quickly gained the protection from the hated

water under Bell's house's roof, sighing as she realized it was already

too late. Oh well. Squeezing the water out of her pigtail, Ranma made

her way to the living room, sitting down next to Nabiki, facing Bell.

"Any news from Urd yet?" she asked casually.



   "Nope." Nabiki smirked. "And I told you not to go too far. Didn't

you see the same clouds that I saw?" she teased.



   She hmphed. "Well, the rocks that I needed to practice were at the

beach, so I had to go there." she explained, nodding in thanks to Bell

as she took the offered tea cup.



   "Oh dear, would you like some hot water Ranma?" Belldandy offered,

sounding concerned as she started to get up.



   Ranma shook her head. "Nah, not necessary, I'm used to it." she

replied.



   Chuckling a bit, Nabiki opened her mouth to comment, but was

interrupted by the door sliding open. Urd stood there, somewhat wet and

holding a large pile of clothes and other things in front of her.

Nabiki's eyes widened. "You found it?" she asked excitedly.



   Urd nodded, stepping in. "Yep! And not only the timer, either." She

shook herself of water before sitting next to her sister, putting the

pile on the table. "This is what I found that didn't look too

damaged..." There was Ranma's two outfits, Nabiki's clothes, her laptop

in its plastic bag, though it was clear the bag had been breached and

water had flooded inside, and on top the timer and a golden ring.



   "Oh dear god... my computer!" Nabiki grabbed it from the pile, not

caring if the rest fell. Urd quickly caught the timer before it was

damaged further, and raised an eyebrow as she saw the girl worriedly

check her computer. Then she noticed, and turned to Ranma. "Who are

you?" she asked, confused a bit.



   Ranma rubbed the back of her head. "Err... hehehe." she laughed

nervously. 'I should have accepted Bell's offer...' Sighing, she went to

explain when a wail of absolute sadness rose from Nabiki's throat.



   "Nooooooo!!!" the girl cried, clutching her computer. "We'll never

get home now!" Not caring anymore, Nabiki started crying.



   All three witnesses blinked. "How do you mean?" Ranma asked.



   "The number for our home dimension was on my hard drive! We'll

never get home now!" Grabbing the shorter girl, Nabiki cried on a

blinking Ranma's shoulder.



   Urd sweatdropped. "Hum, if the computer wasn't running when it got

soaked with water, it's salvageable..." she stated like if it was

obvious to anyone, not just her.



   Suddenly stopping, Nabiki looked up at Urd in surprise. "It is?"

she asked.



   "Yep!" Urd beamed. "It's not a little water that can stop the great

Urd!" she modestly praised.



   "Cool then! So you can fix both the timer and the laptop, and we'll

be on our way home!" Ranma summed up everything with a smile.



   Nodding, Urd suddenly realized something, and lost her smile. "And

who are you?" she asked Ranma again.



*******



   Morning came, and just about everyone was happy as could be, except

for one particular redhead. Who, after explaining to Urd the concept of

her curse, found herself practically blackmailed into doing a little

modeling in more 'appropriate' clothes. It hadn't helped when Belldandy

happily added that Ranma *would* look good in more feminine clothing,

nor Nabiki commenting Ranma's previous experiences with such attire.



   And so, Ranma was now sporting the very same nightgown and

underwear as her previous night, though this time it was in a more

'willing' sort of way. Which meant more grumbling, less screaming, and

much, much darker thoughts.



   The lovely redhead flopped on her cushion at the dining table,

sleepy and grumpy, trying to ignore the equally lovely goddess in front

of her, reading the paper. Which promptly folded forward, revealing an

amused smile and shining eyes. "So, Ranma, how was your night?" she

casually asked.



   Ranma answered with a glare. "It's not funny." she grumbled,

forcing out of her ears the chuckle that followed. "Have you fixed

everything yet?" she shot angrily, wishing more than anything to change

the subject.



   "I have." Urd responded calmly, returning the paper to its upright

position as she continued to read. "All that's missing is a small gem

inside the timer, we only have to wait for it to arrive." she said.



   "Really???" Ranma threw the paper away, tearing it from Urd's grip,

looking her straight in the eyes. "For real???" she pressed on, looking

desperate.



   Urd nodded. "Why would I lie?" she replied, smile turning into a

grin. "And now that we only have free time ahead of us, I hope last

night didn't tire you because I have alot more outfits for you." Her

grin was almost feral now, like a predator.



   The model immediately backed away. "Nononono! No need for that! I

have other things to do, hehehe!" she said as she rubbed the back of her

head nervously.



   Raising an eyebrow, the sexy goddess of the Future leaned forward.

"Oh? And what would that be?" she asked.



   "Humm..." Ranma pressed herself for an answer, looking around for

any clue. Nabiki grogginly came into view from the hallway, dressed in

one of Ranma's outfits, expertly cleaned by their generous hostess; the

clothes she had at the start of all this, jeans and sky blue shirt, had

been torn beyond repair. Her eyes lit up. "Nabiki!" she pointed.



   Said girl looked up confusedly when her name was spoken. "Huh?"



   Ranma got up and almost ran to Nabiki's side. "I have to keep up

Nabiki's training, else she'll lose what she's learned on the last

world!" She glomped Nabiki's arm.



   "Huh?" Nabiki repeated, Urd smirking and crossing her arms.



   Pulling her wife outside, Ranma smiled lopsidedly to Urd. "Gotta go

train! See ya later!" she waved, dragging the still sleepy Nabiki.



   "So you're going to train in THAT?" Urd pointed to Ranma's flimsy

pink nightgown with white floral embroidery.



   After looking down at herself, Ranma laughed nervously. "Hehehe...

I, huh, forgot..." Still dragging her bewildered wife, she went back to

her guest room to change.



   Shaking her head, Urd retrieved her paper and returned reading. The

latest war news made her frown. 'It all just means more bugs up there.'

she sighed.



   Down the hall, Nabiki finally regained enough of her senses to work

without a cup of coffee, and looked at the changing Ranma confusedly.

"Are you serious about this training thing?" she asked, frowning a bit

at the idea, though she couldn't refute its apparent usefulness.



   "It's better than posing for Urd again." Ranma only replied,

sighing happily once back into her favorite red and black outfit.



   Nabiki could only shake her head in response. "Can I at least have

breakfast first?" she smirked.



   She gave her a look. "Nope." she told a suddenly confused Nabiki

before taking her arm again and dragging her outside.



   "Err..." She wasn't feeling up to this, but standing against a

determined Ranma was not something she knew to be a smart thing to do.

And Ranma deserved something for last night. "Well, let's go slow,

okay?" she offered.



   She only had a grin as an answer.



*******



   An incredible throbbing pain from her left hand suddenly seemed to

wake Akane, and she grogginly opened her eyes, looking for the reason

why she couldn't move her hand to check. Slowly, her eyes focused,

revealing a small spartan room lit by the early afternoon sun, her

clothes and pack on a nearby chair. Using her right hand, she pushed the

small blanket covering her as she tried to sit up...



   And immediately fell back down, feeling suddenly dizzy as the room

started to spin, her muscles so very weak and tired. "Whoa..." She

closed her eyes, trying to refocus herself.



   "Oh my! Please, don't get up!" A distressed voice came from her

right, followed by rushed footsteps then hands on her shoulders to keep

her down. "You need to rest, you haven't recovered yet." the voice

continued, this time gentle and soothing.



   Akane let herself relax in the bed, nodding a bit though the

movement made her head hurt. "O- okay... what happened?" she managed to

whisper, her mind drawing a blank on how she got there...  or how her

hand was hurt for that matter.



   A surprisingly comforting feeling washed over her as she felt a

cold compress against her forehead, and against her will a slow moan

rose from her throat. "There... you've lost alot of blood, it'll take

time for your body to replace it." the voice said, Akane could hear a

friendly smile in it.



   Slowly managing a swallow, Akane tried a small smile. "Thank

you..."



   "Shh, rest now." the voice replied.



   Akane nodded a bit, and let herself relax to drift to sleep. Even

after being in bed for over a full day, her body happily made way for

her request, and she fell asleep soon after.



   Caringly looking at the weak girl, Amelia sighed as she changed the

cold compress again. She couldn't help but feel sorry for her look-

alike, even if she knew most people did not like that. It also added to

the fact that Amelia had heard many things about childbirth, one of them

being major bloodloss. She feared ending up like this girl.



   "Amelia?" a stern voice rose to her left, and she nearly jumped out

of her skin, caught off guard.



   She quickly turned her head to look, and a sigh of relief passed

her lips. "Yes, grandfather?" she politely replied, having the good

sense of looking a bit shamed.



   "You shouldn't stress yourself, my dear, not in your condition...

go rest, I can take care of her." he gently berated her, walking near.



   Amelia opened her mouth to retort but closed it as she saw the look

on his face. "Yes, grandfather." she finally nodded, and with his help

to get up made her way to her room.



   Kojiro smiled and took the chair once she was out. Amelia was a

nice girl, but tended to forget herself when others were in need.

Looking at his guest, he lost his smile. The girl was recovering, but it

would be a long process. Hopefully, he could help her obtain mental

strength as she regained her physical strength. Hopefully...



   Sighing, Kojiro installed himself for a long watch over the young

girl.



   'I'm too old for these things...'



*******



   After a tiring workout, a much-too-late breakfast and coffee, and

another round of exercises and katas, Nabiki was more than tempted to

call it a day without bothering with a late lunch. However, all her

aches seemed to disappear when she heard the magic words.



   "The timer's repaired?!?" she almost screamed in happy surprise,

looking at Urd with a big smile and large eyes.



   The goddess nodded with a large smile. "Yep! Piece of cake. It was

barely damaged, only had to replace a few short-circuited wires and get

the countdown going again, since it stopped. You're sliding out tomorrow

morning." she explained as she handed the device to its owner.



   Nabiki confirmed the time as she looked at the ticking counter.

"Yes!" she weeped to the heavens, clutching the object of her freedom to

her breast.



   "Yeah, thanks." Ranma added with a honest smile.



   Urd nodded, waving a hand. "No problem." she smirked. "My

pleasure." She passed her hand through her hair. "Your computer's

restored too, by the way." she added. "So, Ranma, how do you like being

a girl now?" she asked, amused.



   Glaring, Ranma hmphed. "You know I'm a guy." she said angrily,

though the statement was odd coming from a girl in a blouse and

miniskirt; Urd had managed to drag her for a quick change right after

breakfast, and she hadn't seen the point in changing for practice

afterwards. 'At least I managed to get her to back down about the high

heel shoes.' she thought, annoyed.



   "Well, you can keep the clothes." she grinned. "I have plenty more

where they come from." She chuckled at Ranma's growl.



   "Oneesan, please." Belldandy frowned the tiniest bit. "Remember

that Ranma is originally male." she told her.



   With a smirk, Urd nodded. "Oh, of course, of course." The amusement

in her eyes didn't leave for a second. "I just thought I'd help Ranma be

comfortable in his female body." she replied.



   "Oh, well in that case--" Belldandy started to say, but was

interrupted.



   "Ahem." Nabiki cleared her throat loudly, fist over her mouth. Once

she had all three's attentions, she allowed herself a smirk. "As much as

teasing Ranma and dressing him up is fun, there is a more pressing

issue. As I understand, this place is a good distance from Tokyo, and

I'd like to be close to home before I slide tomorrow morning. Okay?" she

finished with a smile.



   "Oh, of course." Belldandy nodded. "But it is no problem

transporting you tomorrow morning. My sister and I can manage a

transportation spell to take you then." she smiled.



   Urd perked up. "Huh? Hum, sis, I can't stay here 'til tomorrow

morning..." she sweatdropped. "This war is creating a number of bugs up

there, like always,  and I have to return before they destroy the

place." she smirked a bit, waving an upward finger.



   "Oh... well, in that case, perhaps we should take them now?"

Belldandy looked at her sister, then at the two travelers.



   "Hum... if neither of you mind, I'd much rather travel there

physically." she offered, a few sweatdrops behind her head from seeing

her fate decided so easily by others.



   Ranma looked at Nabiki. "What's wrong, you don't trust them?" she

blinked.



   The short-haired brunette shrugged. "No, it's not that... I guess

I'd just like a nice relaxing trip, after all that's happened..." She

put her hand on her right shoulder and rotated it. "Not to mention I'd

like to unwind a bit..." She winced.



   "Oh, well, certainly then! Oneesan, do you think you can make a

vehicle for them to take to Tokyo?" Bell smiled, sounding happy as ever

even if she was a bit sad to lose her guests so quickly.



   Urd nodded. "Yeah, sure, easily done." she answered seriously.



   The goddess of the Past smiled. "Perfect! Now, would you two care

for lunch before leaving?" she asked sweetly.



   "You bet!" came the synchronized reply from the two mortals.



*******



   The sun was giving its rosy hue to the temple as Amelia went back

to check on her guest. When she noticed the door was open, she quickly

rushed down the hall to look inside, but found the room and bed empty.

'Where can she be?' she wondered as she looked up and down the hall,

then saw the door to the bathroom slightly ajar.



   "Miss?" she called, coming up to the door and knocking gently, not

looking inside. "Are you in there?" she asked, rising her voice a bit.



   Getting no response, Amelia peeked in, slowly opening the door. She

gasped, eyes widening, as she saw; the girl seemed unconscious, probably

from the strain of getting where she was, and in a somewhat compromising

position. 'At least it's not grandfather who found her.' she mused as

she went to help the sitting girl.



   Five minutes later, Amelia herself was sitting down and quite

tired, almost panting as she held her belly with one hand. "On the other

hand, I'm not much better than her." she told herself, closing her eyes

to rest a little. At least she had gotten the girl decent.



*******



   Ranma stretched as she put both feet on the ground. "Ah, geez! Urd

could have given something better than that!" she complained, rotating

her right shoulder, a few pops could be heard.



   "I don't know, Ranma," Nabiki replied, looking at the large

metallic scooter-like vehicle Urd had loaned them, "I think it was a

pretty smooth ride." she smiled. Of course, not having been the one

driving, the trip had been much more comfortable for her.



   "Yeah, yeah." the redhead grumbled, waiting for her wife to get off

their little flying vehicle. "Let's just go, we still have some distance

before getting into town." she countered, hitting the recall button on

the scooter. It soon started shimmering with white light, and vanished

into a bright flash.



   Blinking the spots out of her eyes, Nabiki muttered, "I'll say one

thing about Urd's inventions; they aren't as perfect as their origin

would suggest." shaking her head.



   "I'll say." the well-dressed redhead replied, rubbing her eyes.

"I'd rather forget about her wardrobe, though." she added on a dark

tone.



   Putting an arm around the shorter girl, Nabiki started the two of

them down the path towards Nerima. "Ah, come on, Ranma dear. You have to

admit that blouse and skirt really look good on you." she teased,

smiling.



   "I'd prefer a dress." she shot back. "You just put that cap on."

she added, glancing at the brunette.



   Not liking it, but stuck since it had been her own idea, Nabiki

reached in her new schoolbag, courtesy of Belldandy, and took out a

baseball cap, cramming her short hair under it as she twisted the thing

in place. "How do I look?" she asked once done.



   Ranma gave her an up and down look. With Ranma's red and black

outfit, slightly loose on her body, and what appeared to be a very short

haircut under the cap, Nabiki could pass for a guy... just about. "You

know, if you hadn't those bumps here," she poked, "everyone would think

you're a guy." she smirked.



   Promptly dismissing the blush she acquired at the touch, Nabiki

returned the smirk mischievously. "So, that would make you the wife in

this relationship?" she countered.



   The cute redhead froze for a second, then as she continued walking

looked down at her left hand, shining golden band on her ring finger.



   "Huh?" Grabbing the raised hand, the pants-wearing girl looked at

it closely. "Ranma, that ring fits! Where did you get it?" She knew

Ranma's ring had been found by Kani II, but it was way too big for

Ranma's delicate fingers.



   Rubbing the back of her head, embarrassed, Ranma shyly answered,

"Well, it's a gift from Bell... she made the wedding ring change size

with my curse so I wouldn't lose it." She took her hand back and closed

her fist on her side.



   Nabiki nodded in understanding. "So that's why she asked to talk to

you privately before we left." she mused.



   "Yep." she nodded. 'Plus another private thing...' She looked up at

her 'husband'. "What did Bell tell *you* when she took you aside?" she

returned.



   One hand went up to her left ear. Bending forward, Ranma could see

a small earring, looking like a pearl. "She gave me this." the brunette

answered. "She said it could help us if we had a major problem, but only

once." she explained.



   The redhead raised an eyebrow. "More magic, huh? I wouldn't depend

on it too much, though, even if it's Belldandy's." she said.



   Shaking comfortingly a bit her current 'wife', Nabiki smiled. "Now,

now, don't be mad that she didn't cure your curse." Ranma's darkening

expression only made her smile grow. "She told you she can't directly

intervene, even if we're not from this world." she repeated.



   "I know, I know..." Ranma kicked a small rock down the road.

"Still... what irks me is that she COULD have done it." she grumbled.



   "Ah, be nice." she sermoned. "We're almost in town, try to remember

your act. We don't know if your counterpart has a curse here, even if

it's unlikely." Up ahead, the buildings she could see weren't that

different from the ones she knew back home, at first glance at least.



   Ranma hmphed, straightened, checked her blouse, and held her head

high. "But of course, dear." she smiled fakely at Nabiki.



   "I told you to be nice." She shot a dark look at the shorter girl.



   Ignoring it, Ranma continued, her smile now genuine. "Now, now,

airen, you take wife to restaurant and hotel now, right?" she said in a

sing-song accent, sounding slightly chinese like Shampoo. And quickly

lost her facade to laugh as Nabiki grabbed her hand and, taking large

steps, hurried forward.



   "Hey hey hey hey hey! Watch it!" Ranma complained, barely managing

to keep up. "Damn Urd, why'd she make me put on high heels?!? Slow down,

will ya?!?" she demanded, pulling back on Nabiki's hand.



   "Now, now, airen, be good and follow husband." Nabiki countered in

her best imitation of Ranma's voice, and soon laughed herself at Ranma's

dark glare. She rolled her eyes theatrically and let go, turning to face

the redhead. "Come on, Ranma, the money Bell gave us is going to turn

into paper once we leave here, so we should make the most of it." she

pressed.



   Ranma blinked. "Sliding can turn money into simple paper?" she

asked obliviously, thinking of white strips of blank paper.



   The true woman of the two sighed exasperately and grabbed the

other's hand again, starting down the road with more speed than before.



   "Whoaaa!!!"



*******



   A dinner later, somewhat more relaxed, Ranma was feeling better,

and was a bit swifter in her high heels. The couple was walking down the

street to a nearby motel, side by side. "You know, I can't shake a

feeling that I knew the waitress at that place." she said, rubbing the

back of her neck as she looked upward in contemplation.



   And received a snicker. "I was wondering when you'd show signs.

Geez, I knew you always thought of her as a boy, but to not recognize

her when she's a real girl..." Nabiki shook her head.



   Ranma stopped, and blinked. Then quickly reached to grab her wife's

sleeve to get her close. "Are you saying that that waitress was

Ucchan?!?" she whispered hoarsely.



   A smirk. "Obviously. It took me three seconds to notice because of

the unusually cheerful attitude and the dress uniform, but there's no

doubt in my mind it was her. I'm pretty sure you were seeing the same

things I was, so why didn't you notice?" Sporting her usual confident

smile, Nabiki looked like her old self, clothing aside.



   "Why didn't you *tell* me?" Ranma shot back through gritted teeth,

letting go of the now wrinkled sleeve forcefully.



   Nabiki rolled her eyes and grabbed Ranma by the upper arm, pulling

her forward. "For the simple reason that I didn't want you to start

feeling angsty or acting weird in the middle of the restaurant." She

gave her a look. "I know as much as you do what happened to Ukyou in the

last world, and I'm ready to bet it affected you alot more than it

affected me, so I just wanted to make it easier for you for awhile." she

explained, sounding oddly business-like despite the caring feeling

underlying it all.



   "Th- thanks..." Ranma said after a few moments of consideration,

following best she could, hurrying on those blasted high heels. Her mind

wanted to feel pity and sympathy to the girl she saw, hugging and

comforting her... but the Ukyou back in that restaurant was *not* the

girl who had been corrupted by an evil presence and done all those

horrible things. It was confusing, thinking of alternates as separate

yet they were the same people for the outside observer.



   The two arrived at the small motel, and Nabiki parked Ranma just

outside the door to the office. "Stay here, I'll get us a room." she

said before getting inside, leaving Ranma to her thoughts.



   Slowly mulling over things, Ranma didn't notice someone approaching

her until she was right in front of her. "Ranko-chan! I didn't think I'd

meet you here!" a voice so familiar it made chills run up Ranma's spine

as she looked up...



   "A-A-A-Akane?!?" Ranma blinked in utter surprise, looking in shock

to the girl in front of her. Large traditional kimono, long black hair -

not a shade of blue in them, and makeup on the girl's face, more than

Ranma had ever seen on her.



   The girl nodded. "Yep!" She looked at the redhead up and down. "My,

Ranko, I never figured you one to wear clothes like that, being the

tomboy that you are..." she smiled. "You always looked like a female

version of your brother." she added, giggling.



   That last comment stopped Ranma cold. Brother? That would mean...

"Hum... so, hum, what are you doing here?" she asked hesitantly, not

knowing how to approach this girl so unlike the one she knew.



   Akane giggled. "Oh, silly, you know what I do!" She playfully

batted Ranma on the shoulder, ignoring the person coming out of the

motel office. "The same thing I've been doing for the last two years,

ever since your brother rejected me." She let out a small sigh, sounding

more wistful than sad, sporting a small smile. "Then again, I can't

really blame him, I didn't know as much as my sister back then." Another

giggle from the kimono-clad cheerful creature passing for Akane.



   "So, what *do* you do?" Nabiki asked, stepping close to Ranma,

looking at Akane with much surprise.



   Looking at the stranger, apparently very familiar with 'Ranko',

Akane smiled, and gave a small bow, "Excuse this one, missss-ter," she

said softly, sounding a bit like a serpent, "this one is but an humble

geisha..." The bow seemed more for amusement than true politeness, fact

proven by the giggle that shook Akane once she straightened, hand coming

to her mouth.



   Nabiki froze. 'She said she was... was...' her mind couldn't finish

the phrase, while Ranma next to her was oblivious, not knowing the

word's meaning.



   Giving a quick look around, Akane suddenly perked up. "Oh! My

customer is here!" She bowed to both Ranma and Nabiki quickly. "I have

to go now." She looked at Nabiki. "And you, take good care of Ranko for

me, okay?" she glanced at Ranma and giggled again, before turning and

walking away. "Bye!" she waved.



   "Bye..." the couple chorused, both raising one hand halfway to wave

back, looking at the girl walking away.



   After a moment, Ranma looked up at Nabiki. "Um, what's a geisha?"

she asked a bit embarrassedly, hoping not to sound too stupid.



   Biting her lip, not wishing to be reminded of that, Nabiki grabbed

Ranma by the wrist and pulled her towards their room. "Be happy that you

don't know." she answered. "What irks me is that she didn't recognize

me, even if she knew I was a girl. My own sister." she grumbled,

stopping at one door and fumbling with the key.



   Ranma grinned. "You really look different in those clothes, you

know, and besides..." she trailed, then poked Nabiki's chest. "I told

you those would give you out." she added.



   Starting to blush, Nabiki then got an idea and acquired a wicked

grin instead, pushing the door open and pocketing the key. "Oh really?

I'm not man enough for a girl like you?" she teased, pulling the shorter

girl in, closing the door after.



   Blinking at the sudden turn of events, having expected another

blush, Ranma could only stagger inside, finding balance somewhat

difficult again with the blasted shoes. Which Nabiki took advantage of

to make Ranma fall on the bed with a good push.



   Turning around on the bed, Ranma looked with surprise at her wife.

"Nabiki, what are you--" she was interrupted by Nabiki getting on top of

her, face to face. "Nabiki?!?" this time shocked.



   "Now, now, I was just asked by my own sister to take good care of

'Ranko'... you wouldn't be asking me to break my word, would you?" she

said sensually, leaning her head down to Ranma's until their lips were

but one or two inches apart.



   Ranma's eyes went very very wide. "But like this?!? We ca--"

Ranma's protest was soon cut off. Turns out she didn't really mind, this

once.



*******



   The following morning, it took much probbing and a reminder they

only had half an hour to eat before sliding that took Ranma out of bed.

Nabiki had already showered, and Ranma's own was quick and welcome,

turning him back to male. He quickly put on his outfit, absentedly

noting Nabiki seemed rather fond of his other one, and that it looked

good on her.



   "Alright, let's go eat, I'm starved!" he exclaimed, certainly not

to Nabiki's surprise, and the two quickly got out of the motel room...

to bump into a kimono-clad figure.



   Akane's eyes widened as she saw Ranma and Nabiki, but she quickly

took control of herself and bowed deeply, first to Ranma, "Saotome-san,"

then to Nabiki, "Saotome-san," she greeted both in a soft and very

polite voice, and not straightening completely from her bow, keeping her

head lowered a bit with downcast eyes.



   "Hum... hello Akane." Nabiki tentatively returned, one hand on

Ranma's shoulder telling him to be quiet.



   "This one is pleased to see you both." Akane continued, still in

her soft and polite voice. "The papers did not mention you had returned

to Nerima..." she said, her posture not wavering in the slightest.



   "It's, hum... to allow us some time to rest after what's

happened..." Nabiki explained off the top of her head.



   The kimono-clad girl nodded slightly. "Of course... this one is

pleased to see you both well and in good health..." she commented.



   Nabiki frowned a bit, seeing Akane act like that with her own

sister. What is because of Ranma? In any case, it was very disturbing,

and she could tell Ranma was worried too by the fidgeting he was doing.

"Thanks for your concern..." Movement in the corner of her eye made

Nabiki look, and she almost sighed aloud when she saw a man looking

angrily their way, crossed arms and foot  tapping. She chided herself

for feeling relieved at it but shushed herself. "Akane, I think your

customer is waiting..." she pointed.



   The smallest trace of shock seemed to pass over Akane's face as she

straightened. "This one is sorry... please forgive her..." she quickly

said, bowing low, and taking a few steps backwards before rising and

turning around, doing a few hurried steps before she bowed as deeply to

her customer, apologizing again at his harsh words and gestures.



   Frowning, getting angry, Ranma went to go speak his mind to the

man, but was stopped by the strong grip on his shoulder. "Ranma, don't

bother. Akane chose that life... and we slide in twenty minutes, barely

enough to eat a quick breakfast. Come on." She pulled at him.



   "But..." Ranma tried to counter, looking at Akane disappearing in

another room with the man. "Oh, alright..." He started to go but was

stopped again. "Hey! Make up your mind, will ya?" he complained.



   "I just thought that we should change again, to avoid questions

like Akane's for the little time we have." Out of her bag, she took out

the cap, and then gave the bag to Ranma. "Go change back like yesterday,

I'll order you a breakfast at the diner just ahead." she pointed.



   "What?!? I'm not--" Ranma just sighed, seeing the look in Nabiki's

eyes. "Fine, fine..." he said, going back in the motel room.



   Nabiki smirked, and as she walked to the small restaurant, started

pushing her hair back into the baseball cap. Time was short, she just

hoped the place wasn't packed.



   It wasn't as bad as she had thought, and just over five minutes

later, she was sitting with a newspaper, food paid for and on the table.

She opened it right off to the business section, wondering how this

world was faring on war economy.



   Ranma soon joined her, in the skirt, blouse and high heels of the

previous day, and quite unhappy about it. She immediately began to eat,

not exchanging one word.



   Not bothered by this state of affairs, since they had about ten

minutes left, Nabiki started eating as well, not as fast as Ranma,

evidently. Although, having less food for herself, she ended about at

the same time.



   "Well, we still have a few minutes, so enjoy that tea, Ranma dear."

she smiled widely, reopening her paper.



   "Don't mind if I do." Ranma replied, sipping it carefully, looking

up as she did. Then, in true comical fashion, sprayed said tea out of

her mouth and unto the paper luckily protecting Nabiki.



   Putting the paper down, Nabiki gave Ranma a dead stare. "What do

you think you're doing?" she asked dangerously.



   Taking the paper from Nabiki's hands, the redhead closed it then

showed the tea-stained front page to her wife.



   Nabiki bug-eyed. "What the--?" Grabbing the paper herself, she

stared at it. "But that's impossible! Bell said that the power had been

growing for years, and for us it only happened just over six months

ago!" she said, as much for herself as for Ranma.



   The redhead shrugged. "I dunno... different world?" she offered.



   "Hmm... well, this world HAS been at war for the last forty years

or so... Japan and China, at least." she thought aloud. "That could

explain a faster timetable from certain parties..." she mused.



   "Err... okay..." the redhead replied, not really getting it.



   Nabiki sighed. "Just finish your tea, we're running out of time."

she said, getting up.



   Nodding, Ranma swallowed her tea in one gulp and followed her.

"Can't wait to see what the next jump has for us." she commented

casually.



   Leading the well-dressed husband to a back alley, Nabiki shook her

head. "Home, I hope." she replied. "I'm entering a possibility for home,

and you won't change my mind." she said, sounding dead serious.



   "What? But it's only been two weeks! We can try another random

slide or two!" she tried, but soon abandoned at Nabiki's expression.

"Fine, fine..." she backed down, sounding defeated.



   "Thirty seconds... care to pick a number?" she asked as she entered

the long string of numbers. As soon as her computer had been safely in

her hands and in working order, she had taken the number from it and

written it down - she was NOT going to take another chance with the

possibility of not going home. Carefully pocketing the precious bit of

paper once done, she looked at Ranma expectantly. "Well?" she demanded.



   Giving a shrug, Ranma answered randomly. "Seven." she said out of

the blue, and Nabiki quickly entered it. "Might bring us luck." she

smirked as Nabiki activated the timer, the portal forming in its usual

brilliance of white and blue energy.



   "Don't say things like that!" Nabiki berated her husband, but only

too late. "You might jinx us." she sniffed. "But, oh well, what's done

is done. Here goes!" With a courageous smile, Nabiki launched herself

into the blue vortex, vanishing into white light down the swirling

energy.



   "Here goes..." Ranma repeated, sounding less confident, and with a

silent curse to the creator of high heels, in whichever dimension he

might be, Ranma jumped into the portal as well.



*******



End Chapter 4



*******



   Tonkatsu Teishoku is a japanese breakfast consisting of rice, miso

soup, pork cutlets and shredded cabbage. A more traditional breakfast is

rice and pickles, miso soup, grilled salmon, raw egg, laver and spinach

(so much for wanting to live in Japan...).



   Itadakimasu is said at the beginning of a meal, more or less

meaning "Thank you for this food I am about to eat".



   One might wonder, why waste such a perfectly good plotline as a

pregnant Akane look-alike when the reader knows that Ranma isn't going

to her or has nothing to do to her from the very beginning? Well, it's

because the plotline of this chapter is not about the Akane look-alike,

but Akane herself.



   Spoiler for the next chapter to anyone who can point out all, and I

do say ALL, the differences between mainline Ranma and this world.



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