Disclaimer: All characters that are used belong to their respective
creators. I do this for fun and do not take any money off of it. Please
don't sue me. The stories are mine, so please don't use them without
asking me.
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Inside a small cave, the wizard Hazid was furious. He was so close in
claiming his genie, but a fit had cost him his chance. He grabbed a
breifcase that was on the floor and threw it against the wall, causing
the contents to spill out.
"Why, Lord?" Hazid asked of a bust of Elvis. "I was so close to
spreading your worship."
The statue didn't answer.
"I see. It's a test. I have to put up with the pain until I claim the
genie for my own and wish the pain away. Then I can spread your worship
throughout the world."
Hazid grabbed a small book from the pile of stuff that fell out of his
breifcase. He flipped through the pages quickly.
"Shan-pu a cat, Mu Tsu a duck, Ryoga Hibiki a pig, Genma Saotome a
panda, Pantyhose Taro a whatever, Rouge a Shiva. Hmmm. I should
prepare more storage items. But what use are animials such as a pig,
duck, cat, or panda? If I knew where those other two were...."
Hazid snarled and threw the book against the wall. He waved his hand
over a pool and an image of Akane and Kasumi appeared in the water.
"Where are they?"
Hazid caused the image to pan upwards to get a better view of the
countryside where Akane was at. The area didn't look like any part of
Japan that he could see. The mountain range the two were traversing was
proof enough of that. He panned the view east until he spotted a very
long wall that seemed to stretch forever.
"China." Hazid muttered. "I must go after them, before they figure
out how to free my genie."
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Materializing inside her ring, Ranma thought about the revelation about
her form.
"I can become a guy, but if I fall asleep or return here, I'm a girl,"
Ranma said to herself.
She thought back to when she first saw her female side and recalled
everything that she had went through.
"I guess its not too bad. I can control the change now, instead of
water triggering it."
Ranma sighed and wne back to practing the three forbidden styles. She
was going to be ready for when that kook Hazid showed back up.
"Fiancees, rivals, idiots, kooks. They all want to ruin my life.
Why?"
A lead ball appeared in front of the genie's foot. She kicked the ball
about seventy-five meters. She shook her head when she saw that.
"At least I'll be able to clobber Happosai the next time he shows up.
I'm just not sure how a style designed to kill one specific person will
hold up against everyone else though."
Ranma looked at her clenched fist and pondered.
"Magic is my life now, but it was Martial Arts. There has to be a
place where I can go to learn how to use my magic, without the others
showing up."
Ranma dropped her fist and headed to her bed. She wasnted to be ready
for whatever tomorrow would bring.
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Kasumi stayed awake and watched over her sleeping sister, while using
her android brain to recall everything she knew about Cutey Honey. She
wanted to be ready when Hazid made his next appearance. As she thought,
she also brought up what she knew of Hazid.
"A wizard who can cast spells. This isn't something we're really
prepared to deal with. What can he do? Why is he doing this?"
Kasumi looked down at her sister's hand and spotted the ruby ring that
held Ranma.
"The why is more important. When Akane wakes up, I'll ask to see if
she can wish for Ranma to tell us why Hazid is doing this. This doesn't
feel like a vendetta."
*Maybe I should tell Akane that her wish turned me into an android.
No. Not yet. Until this mess is taken care of, I'm going to have to
stay one. Besides, it gets me away from the drudgery for awhile.
Later... I'll decide then.*
Kasumi shook her head and waited for the dawn.
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As morning came, Akane woke up in a panic.
"Kasumi, why didn't you wake me?" Akane quickly asked. "If Hazid had
shown up while we were both asleep...."
Kasumi interrupted. "He didn't show up and I didn't go to sleep. One
of the side affects of the wish you made for me was that I didn't need
sleep."
"Er. Oh," Akane meekly said.
Kasumi shook her head. "Let's get to that temple you saw."
Akane just nodded.
The two of them set off and in a couple of hourse they were at the
front doors of the mysterious temple.
"Er. Akane? I think you'd better let Ranma out. We are here to fix
his problem."
Akane rubbed her ring and released Ranma. After the fammiliar smoke
and greeting, Ranma came out of her trance and looked at the building.
"What is this?" the genie asked.
"What you couldn't transport," Akane said. "The item that was too big
for you to bring to Japan."
Ranma looked at the structure with curiosity and desperate hope. "So
now what?"
As if in answer the double doors of the temple swung open. The trio
looked at each other and entered. As they did so, they were greeted by a
man in deep blue robes.
"Greetings, Kasumi Tendo, Ranma Saotome, and Akane Saotome. We have
been expecting you."
Ranma was instantly suspicious. "How do you know our names?"
"We have our ways," the man said smiling. "You came here seeking a cure
for your curse. This is a temple of truth. To be free of your problem,
you must face the truth about yourself."
Kasumi was confused. "How can a temple dedictaed to truth help with a
curse?"
"A curse that changes people into what they are not? Magical
falsehood?" The man said. "The power of Truth can eradicate the
Jusenkyo curses on almost everybody."
"Almost everybody?" Akane asked.
The man nodded. "The one you know as Pantyhose Taro has accepted his
curse long ago and is part of the truth that makes him up."
Akane shook her head, as if to clear it. "Oh."
The man turned to Ranma and said, "Prepare yourself Ranma. To be free
of your problem, you must go through the maz under the temple. It will
show you the truth about yourself and others. While taking the test,
you need not worry about your strength diminishing becuase of lack of
food or, in your case, needing to return to your prision."
Ranma just nodded and folllowed the man to a staircase leading down.
The man pointed at the stairs and looked at the genies.
"This is the entrance to the maze. Good luck."
Ranma took a deep breath and descended the stairs.
The man held out his hand to prevent Akane and Kasumi from following
Ranma.
"He must do this himself, or it won't work. Besides, you two need to
practice countermagic spells for the upcomming fight."
"You know of that?" Akane asked.
"As I said, we have our ways."
Akane took a look at the stairs and thought. *Good luck, Ranma.*