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-- File: Slnib9.txt
-- Desc: Slnib9.txt

	Principal Kuno was not, as some might suppose, insane.

	Rather, he possessed a specialized form of sanity that
honestly thought everything he did was really for the good of 
everyone he did it for. Haircuts for all? It made you feel like
part of a group. Punishing delinquents? Why, if one child were to
run amok and not be punished, ALL the children would do the same!

	If the road to hell was paved with good intentions, 
people like Principle Kunou would be the highway maintenance 
crew, always ready with a "Keep Left" sign, a sadistic grin, and 
a new layer of asphalt...

	And with his new friend to help him...

	He looked down at the ballpoint pen he clutched loosely
in one hand. Really, it wasn't nearly as impressive as his old 
scissors had been, but hadn't the famous Barber Kenneth the 
Lightning Trim once written that the Pen was mightier than the 
Shears?

	He glanced up at the sky, remembering the Voice that had
spoken to him as he'd lain bleeding after his son had finished.
"You an' me, brudda, you an' me... togedda we's gonna teach my 
son a lesson he ain't neva gonna forget!"

	After all, hadn't the Editor told him so?



Slayers NIBUNNOICHI
Part the Ninth: 
OLD ACQUAINTANCE SHOULD BE FORGOT...


	Akane awoke... to a sharp poke in her side. 

	Poke. 

	It nagged at her senses, not letting her get a moment's 
peace, making her want to...

	Poke. Poke. 

	She rolled over, seeking an escape from the annoyance, 
not wanting to wake up...

	Poke. 

	"WILL YOU QUIT THAT!?!?" Akane reached out and grasped
the offending object, snapping it off in a fit of rage... then 
woke up fully when she realized that she'd driven a splinter into
her thumb. She looked around her still-dark room and saw Ranma 
standing about six feet away, clutching one end of a staff. 

	"Um... Akane..." 

	"And WHAT are you doing in my room, Ranma?" She set the 
broken end of the pole to one side and started counting on her 
fingers. "Five... four... three..."

	Ranma dropped the pole he'd used to poke Akane and waved 
both hands frantically. "No! Wait! I've got a good reason!"

	Akane stopped counting, but didn't lower her last two 
fingers either. "I'm waiting to hear it..."

	"I..." Ranma lowered his head. "I've... gotta go away for
a while."

	Akane arched one eyebrow dubiously. "And this means what 
to me? It isn't as if I care what happens to you." _At least, 
that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!_

	Ranma didn't rise to the bait, strangely enough. "I... I 
dunno if I'm comin' back, all right?! I just... well..." He 
coughed nervously and stared down at his hands. "Wanted to tell 
you that... I didn't really think you were THAT uncute. Um..."

	_Was that supposed to be a compliment?_ "I guess that, 
well, when you wanna be..." Akane felt her cheeks grow hot. 
"Um... where are you going?"

	Rather than answering right away, Ranma looked out of 
Akane's open window and sighed, his face taking on a noble mien. 
"Y'know... Pops useta say all kinds of stuff about a 'martial 
artist's duty' and a 'martial artist's honor.' I thought it was 
all just a buncha crap until about half an hour ago. I gotta do 
this 'cause I gotta do this..."

	Akane grabbed his shoulders. "JUST SAY WHAT THE HELL YOU 
HAVE TO DO INSTEAD OF BLABBING ON AND ON ABOUT IT, IDIOT!!!"

	"Ow ow ow ow..." Akane released his shoulders, and Ranma 
thought for a moment. Then, he suddenly grinned and said cockily, 
"I'm gonna go save the world, of course!"

	"Riiiight..."

	Ranma dropped his grin and said seriously, "You didn't 
see Kuno two nights ago, Akane. He was... Evil. Wrong. I could 
'feel' somethin' wrong about him..."

	Akane sighed. "This isn't just because he beat you, is 
it?" _Honestly, he's _such_ a poor loser!_

	"Naw. I mean, if he'd beaten me, that'd just mean that I 
could train some more and get stronger, then twist him into the 
Samurai Pretzel he deserves to be. But he... he... _he didn't 
even fight me_, Akane! It was like... like... like that first 
time I fought you, remember?" Before Akane could get too angry, 
Ranma hurried on. "An' after swattin' me like a bug, he put the 
smackdown on two people that shoulda been able to cream him 
without raisin' a sweat!"

	Akane began to see just what he was saying, but it just 
made her even angrier, if only for a reason she didn't want to 
admit... "If he's _that_ far above you, then why are you going 
to challenge him again? This time, he might kill you!"

	"Yeah? So? It's that duty thing I was talkin' about 
before. We got responsibilities ta go along with all the 
abilities being a martial artist. An' if I just get all scared 
of Kuno, what kinda martial artist does that make me?" He shook 
his head slowly. "Not the kind that _I'd_ want ta take over my 
dojo, that's for sure."

	Before Akane could say anything, Ranma jumped to the 
window. He gave one glance back; a glance that Akane could 
easily imagine was out of a bad novel where the man was trying 
to memorize every detail of his beloved before he went to war...

	And then he leapt out the window, and was gone.

	"Bwee?"

	Akane looked down at the floor and saw P-chan sitting 
there with the same look she thought was on her face. She picked 
him up and cuddled him close to her chest. "I wonder... do you
think he meant it, P-chan?"

****

	Naga looked down at the burning town, her face 
uncharacteristically solemn. "Kodachi my dear..."

	Kodachi stood beside her. "Yes, Naga my hetero life 
partner?"

	"We will never, NEVER tell anyone the events of the last 
few days. It would be just too, too..."

	Kodachi nodded as Naga trailed off. "Yes, I understand." 
She kicked at a small burning sign. "Besides, who would believe 
us? I mean, if what we found out down there is the real Question
of Life..."

	"The Universe..." Naga added.

	Kodachi glared once before finishing, "...and Everything? 
Even if it was the real thing, what could the answer possibly 
be?"

	"Forty-two?" They both shared a brief chuckle, and Naga 
picked up the small sign and brushed off the bits of dirt and 
soot that clung to it. "SQUAREville, population 9,000... truly, 
this town held a terrifying secret that is best left 
destroyed..."

	She put the small sign in her cloak as a memento, knowing 
that without something to prove to herself that she had been 
here, she'd never believe it herself...

****	

	Loxim was starting to have doubts about the wisdom of 
trusting these two girls to lead him where he needed to go. 

	Actually, 'starting' was the wrong word. 'Continuing' 
might have covered it, but still wouldn't have done justice to 
the sheer feelings of doubt and anxiety that assailed him every 
time they started moving faster, shouting "It's this way! It's 
this way!" only to be confronted with another dead-end street.

	And Loxim had the disturbing feeling that there was some 
subtext in the glares the two girls tossed back and forth, a 
feeling heightened by the rise of dark, tasty emotions inside 
both of them... 

	As has been mentioned before, the Mazoku as a race only 
feed on the... less noble emotions of the human race. The Mazoku 
as in one individual named Loxim had problems dining on those 
emotions, so he avoided the process unless absolutely necessary, 
and then he only took enough to keep the hunger down, as it were.

	The emotions of these two girls, however, were almost too 
much to resist. It was as if another Mazoku had already nurtured 
these two carefully, priming them for maximum reaction and 
flavor...

	Distracted by so many things, it wasn't too surprising 
that he failed to notice the magical war going on until he was 
practically on top of it. 

	"I'm sure it's right around this corner! I'm sure of it!"

	Loxim raised one hand. "No! Wait!"

	In defiance of all the laws of drama, Ling-Ling actually 
stopped before turning the corner. "What?"

	Then the building fell on top of her.

	And the rage, pain, and fear that both of them suddenly
released in a copious flood were too much for the Mazoku to 
bear...

****

	Gods are well known for possessing two things in 
infinite (or so near as to make no never mind) quantities.

	This is not, in fact, true.

	But the third isn't one they like to talk about...

	The first is omnipotence, infinite strength and power.
As anyone who's been on the wrong side of a plague of boils or a
thunderbolt can tell you, gods have a LOT of power to toss 
around, and they aren't shy about doing it. 

	The second is omniscience, infinite knowledge, but just
because they HAVE it doesn't mean they can make use of it...
sure, the god may see the sparrow suffer a spontaneous cardiac
arrest, but He's usually too busy to make more than a note of it
and move on with something a bit more important, like forcing
statues to leak perfectly useful blood.

	The third (and far from the least) is omnipuerilisence, 
the infinite ability to act childish. A god can make a two-year 
old who's just been told "NO!" seem a paragon of self-restraint. 
A god (the real thing) is a combination Big Beard in the Sky/ 
Whiny Voice Around Your Knees...

	Right now, the God of Order was throwing one heck of a
tantrum.
	
	"I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE DID THAT!!!"

	Why not?" Author casually looked up from His pad of paper 
where He was doodling images of Order with spikes driven through 
His head. "A betrayal at this point is only to be expected; after 
all, it fits in the..."

	Order leveled one finger. "Don't You _dare_ bring up your
'Metastory', Author, I'm in no mood for it. We are GODS!" Had 
there been a roof above Them, it would have shook with the force
of His shout. "We are not part of a Story, We are ABOVE the 
Story!"

	'Whatever You need to believe,' Author most carefully did
not say. It would be too early for the temporary pantheon that He
had spent many, many years in the crafting to risk breaking it
up over a petty dispute... 

	After all, He had an obligation to His Stories, just as 
the stories had an obligation to Him.

****

	Luna gritted her teeth in rage, frustration, and pain as
she barely deflected another bolt of scarlet energy from Dighe
the Corrupt. 

	Most of the time, she could have picked up a low-level 
Mazoku like this one and broke it across her knee, even without 
calling directly upon the might of sleeping Ceipheed. Being the
official Knight of Ceipheed grants one a few... perks... here and
there, and those powers only added to her own natural abilities 
as a sorceress.

	But right now, she was nursing wounds that no one around
had possessed magic powerful enough to heal immediately. While
Doctor Tofuu did have some unique skills that had set her to 
rights temporarily, he'd proscribed several days of bedrest;
bedrest that had been interrupted.

	Luna sincerely hoped that he hadn't been hurt when the
Mazoku had attacked...

	And ever-conscious of her duty, she'd set Ceipheed back
into His healing sleep. He'd resisted, of course, but even if
she died, He would simply move to the next vessel... as long as
He weren't awake when she died.

	At least, that's what she thought.

	Dighe sneered at her, tentacles waving in a dizzying 
pattern. "Come now, is this it? No attacks? Nothing but shields,
deflections, and spot-healing? This grows boring."

	Then, a lance of pure black energy that assaulted Luna's
senses even from a distance of five feet pierced Dighe's body.
He looked down at himself for a moment in shock, then screamed in
agony as half his tentacles tore away. His form shivered and 
wavered as he lost control of it, and he fell to the pavement
in the form of a man with wings... well, wing, at least. His left
arm and wing were torn away and the stumps were leaking a black 
mist. 

	Luna looked around and spotted another Mazoku, this one
wrapped in a glamour. He was supporting one girl who was covered
in rubble, and another was standing close behind him. Knowing 
that she didn't have a Dragon's chance on Wolfpack Island of 
being able to fight this one off, she bowed politely. "Thanks."

	Suddenly, a roar sounded from where Dighe had fallen,
and Luna turned around to see him standing there, still leaking 
black mist. From behind her, she heard the other Mazoku say, "I
have no quarrel with you. Now stand aside, please."

	Dighe spared a glance for his shoulder. "Tis but a 
scratch."

	"A scratch? Your arm's off!"

	"No it isn't."

	"Then what the hell is it that you're leaking?"

	Dighe looked again at his shoulder. "I've had worse."

	"You're lying!"

	Dighe motioned with his remaining hand. "Come on, ya 
pansy!"

	The other Mazoku flashed into Luna's line of sight and
another line of energy, this one much less intense, flashed into
being. Dighe managed to deflect it, and the fight was on...

	Until Dighe screamed again as his other arm flashed into 
black mist.

	The other Mazoku smiled. "Victory is mine!" Then, he 
turned to Luna and asked, "My name is Loxim. Do you know where I 
could find the Restaurant of..."

	"Come on!" 

	"What?" 

	A lash of energy hit the side of Loxim's head, making him
stagger a bit. He turned around, a ball of blackish energy 
dancing above his left palm. "You are indeed brave, my fellow
Mazoku, but the fight is mine."

	Dighe grinned. "Had enough then?"

	Loxim scowled. "You stupid bastard, you haven't got any
arms left!"

	"Course I have!"

	"Look!" Loxim pointed.

	"At what? Just a flesh wound." 

	Another weak lash of energy dove at Loxim, who snarled
out, "I'll rip off your leg if you don't stop." Another lash 
appeared, but this one he caught in his free hand and snarled, 
"RIGHT! THAT'S IT!"

	He threw the ball of energy, and it did indeed take 
Dighe's leg. He remained standing on the other with difficulty.

	"Right, I'll do you for that!!"

	Loxim blinked, then said slowly "You'll... _what_? What
are you going to do, bleed on me?"

	"I'm INVINCIBLE!!"

	"You're a loony..."

	Dighe lunged... er... hopped for Loxim. "DIGHE THE 
CORRUPT ALWAYS TRIUMPHS!"

	With a contemptuous, backhanded gesture, Loxim took the
last leg off, and Dighe fell to the ground perfectly upright.

	"Right, we'll call it a draw."

	Loxim turned back to Luna, who'd been watching this with
an incredulous expression on her face, and asked, "Do you know
where the Restaurant of the Cat is?"

	"Three blocks th't way, turn left, keep goin' til you
see it on th'right."

	"Thanks." Loxim turned to the two girls that he'd come 
with and gestured. "Let's get going."

	For a moment, neither of them moved, but then Luna 
watched amusedly as the left one's mouth started moving 
soundlessly for a second. "That... was... COOL!"

	The Mazoku looked uncomfortable at this sudden praise,
which was no surprise to Luna. "Umm... right. Let's go." 

	As they walked away, Dighe shouted, "Running away, eh?
You yellow bastard! Come back here, I'll... bite... your..."

	Luna looked down at Dighe, grinned, and cracked her 
knuckles. "Time t'learn some manners... D'you feel lucky, punk?"

****

	Amelia sat three feet from where an invisible wall 
prevented her from leaving the springs, rubbing her nose 
ruefully. "Owie... why does this always happen to me?"

	*Got me, kid.*

	Amelia smacked the side of her head. "I wasn't talking
to you!!" Just because she couldn't get rid of the voices (well,
voice) in her head didn't mean she had to take insults from them.

	"Excuse me, fair maiden..."

	Amelia looked up... 

	And should have fallen in love.

	He was tall. He was handsome. His muscular frame was 
contained in a blue practice outfit of some kind, and he held 
loosely in one hand a wooden sword. He had a shine in his eyes
that made Amelia glad she was already sitting down, because it 
made her knees feel weak.

	But...

	What was this sudden feeling of fear that came over her?

	"Dost thou know any way that a noble samurai such as 
myself could cross this barrier?"	

	*Don't tell him ANYTHING!!*

	Not about to mention that she agreed with the voice in 
her head, she looked at the warrior and said in her brightest,
most absent-minded voice, "Not a clue! I wanted to get out, 
but..."

	In a flash, the warrior suddenly slammed his wooden sword
into the invisible wall. Magical energies flew up from the point 
of contact, both white and blue warring with each other as the
warrior leaned into his blow. 

	Amelia jumped back. "What the..."

	"I WILL take the Keys from you!!" The warrior's once-
handsome face was twisted in a snarl of insane hatred. "My Master
desires them, and He will have them!!"

	Amelia backed away slowly, then suddenly ran away, not
knowing what else she could do...

****

	Lina tapped her foot impatiently, shifted the weight of
her cloak again, and glared at Xelloss. "She isn't here yet."

	"I know."

	Ranma shifted the weight of his backpack, glared at 
Xelloss, and leaned against a nearby tree. "You said she'd meet
us half an hour ago."

	"I know." 

	Zelgadis didn't move at all. "So where is she?"

	"I... DON'T... know!" All three of the people there took
a step back as Xelloss got angry for the first time that they 
could remember. "And I'm worried, dammit!"

	They could all see something else in his eyes too, 
something that Lina and Zelgadis didn't like remembering the last
time they'd seen it glimmering in those seldom-open orbs.

	Fear.

	Fortunately, someone chose that moment to appear out of
the darkness. 

	"Hey, Xelchan, howya doin'?" Luna glanced around the 
small group and smiled. "See ya managed to get 'em all t'gether."
She reached out and touched Zelgadis on the shoulder. "Gotta 
talk t'you." She guided him slightly away from the other three,
and the two started talking in low tones.

	After a moment, the two separated, and Zelgadis walked
over to Lina. "I'm... going to take care of things here, Lina.
Don't you worry about anything."

	"WAIT FOR MEEEE!!!!" 

	A second later, Gourry appeared in a cloud of dust. He
faced Lina and said loudly, "I'm coming with you!"

	Everyone's reactions were predictable.

	Ranma couldn't care less.

	Luna couldn't care less.

	Xelloss just smiled. 

	Zelgadis couldn't care less.

	Lina freaked out.

	"No WAY!"

	A sudden ray of light from the near-full moon struck
Gourry's face, and he looked years older; a solemn warrior with
lines of hardship and experience etching his face as he spoke
softly and seriously. "Lina, I swore to protect you always. You 
can't tell me to stop doing it now."

	Lina said softly, "Gourry..."

	Gourry continued, just as seriously, "Besides, I can't
risk letting you loose on the countryside without someone to 
glrg!"

	Lina removed her fist from Gourry's stomach. "Fine, you
can come."

	Ranma shrugged. "Whatever. So, how are we leaving?"

	Suddenly, a wind swept the road they were on, blowing 
dust up. A giant shape that glimmered golden in the moonlight
settled onto the open field, and a voice that was familiar to 
everyone but Ranma spoke. "So, these are the people I'm 
carrying, Lady Luna?" 
	
	Lina spoke first. "Filia!"

	"Lina!" 

	Lina peered more closely at the shadow. "What's with the
saddle on your back?"

	Filia shifted self-consciously, trying to hide it. "Umm..."

	Then Luna spoke up, earning a glance of thanks from the 
dragon. "We gotta get goin'." She turned back to Zelgadis. 
"Y'know what t'do." The chimera nodded, and Luna motioned towards 
the dragon. "Everyone on!" 

	It went without incident until...

	"Xelloss!"

	The Mazoku shrank back a bit and smiled nervously. "Ah,
hello, Filia-chan."

	"DON'T 'FILIA-CHAN' ME!!!" She turned to Luna. "Do I have
to carry this... this..."

	"Yeah..." Luna turned to Xelloss. "Xelchan, where d'you
know Filchan from?"

	"Oh, here and there, here and there...."

	Filia peered down at Luna. "Lady Luna, where do YOU know
Xelloss from?" 

	Luna visibly winced at the title, then said a moment 
later, "Now tha'sa secret."

	Xelloss whined, "Aw, c'mon, will you stop stealing my 
lines..?"

	Lina grinned as she called down from her perch, "If you 
three are done down there, _Lady Luna_, maybe we should get 
moving!"

	Luna glared up at her sister. "Y're never gonna let me
live that down, are ya?"

	Lina's grin widened. "Funny you should mention it..."

****


	The Jusenkyo Guide never wondered how he knew the names 
and locations of all the pools he tended.

	Sometimes, this struck him as a bit odd; it wasn't as if
there were a map to have learned all the locations from, and he
certainly hadn't even known were MOST of the pools were before 
becoming the official Guide, but...

	Now that he was the Guide, he only had to look at a 
spring to tell what had drowned within. 

	Also, there was this pouch of signs that always produced 
the right sign for a spring whenever he reached into it.

	Had the Guide before him, old... old...

	What had his name been?

	What was his own name, come to think of it?

	That was about the point that he started to get the 
feeling of... disconnection, as if it would be a bad idea to 
think further...

	And so, he was sitting, watching the pools in the setting 
sun, and trying very hard not to wonder about anything, just as 
Amelia came running down the path that led to the outside world.

	"Ahh!!! Mister Gui-"

	Then, the girl tripped over a rock in the path and went 
flying.

	The Guide watched her trajectory with some interest; he
made a personal bet with himself as to which spring she would 
fall in....

	And lost as she splashed into the Spring of Drowned Water
Buffalo.

	He stood up and moved to the side of the spring. "Ah, too
bad! You fall in..."

	At that point, Amelia's head broke the surface of the 
water, and she glared up at the Guide as she pushed her wet hair 
out of her face. "Could you _please_ give me a hand?!"

	The Guide's mouth worked for a moment, then he finally 
managed to say, "Oh my..."

****	

	Lina loved flying.

	Really, it was such a rush! The wind in her hair, the smell 
of the sea in her nose, the glint of the moon off the waves, the 
crushing pain in her arms as Ranma clenched his fists a bit 
tighter...

	"Will you RELAX?!?"

	Ranma's grip did indeed relax for a moment. "Sorry 'bout 
that... I hate flying; it reminds me of falling... couldn't we 
just've SWAM through the ocean?"

	Luna shouted from her position at the front of the five-
person saddle, "Naw! We've got no time!"

	Lina grinned again. "Sure thing, _Lady_ Luna! Now, where 
are we going?"

	"T'visit Grandma!"

	Lina slumped down in her saddle. "Aw, man..."

	Gourry turned around and looked down at her. "I didn't know
you had a grandma, Lina."

	Lina waved her hand irritably. "Everybody has a 
grandmother, melon-brain!" Xelloss cleared his throat, and Lina
added, "Well, almost everybody. It's just that... well..."

	"Well?"

	Lina muttered, "Shpnchsm'..."

	Gourry leaned closer. "What?"

	"Shpnchsmchks..."

	"I can't hear you..."

	"SHE PINCHES MY CHEEKS!!!" Gourry reeled back at the sudden
shout, and Luna barely managed to grab him before he fell off.
Unnoticing, Lina went on, "I hate it I hate it I hate it!!! I'm
not a little kid..."

	Ranma patted her head. "Of course you're not..." he said 
with a silly grin.

	He almost lost that arm as Lina grabbed it and started 
pulling. "OWOWOW!!"

	Xelloss said, "Come on, this is no time to be rough-housing
around!"

	Luna shouted, "Yeah, stop it or I'll turn this dragon
aroun' right NOW! I mean it!"

	Gourry asked, "Are we there yet?"

	"No," Luna said, trying hard not to sound angry.

	"Oh." After pondering this for a moment, Gourry asked 
again, "Are we there yet?"

	"No!"

	With a sadistic grin (does he have another kind?) Xelloss
started singing, "This is the song that never ends, it just goes
on and on my friends! Some people started singin' it, not knowin'
what it was, and soon they couldn't stop, simply because..."

	"Are we there _yet_?"

	"ARGH!!"

****

	Zelgadis sighed as he stopped in front of the Restaurant of 
the Cat. 

	It was all well fine and good of Xelloss to have said to 
meet two little girls that would show up soon, gather the best 
warriors of this small town (and there were more than a few, he 
had to admit) and bring them to someplace called Jusenkyo, but...

	The only person that he knew in town was Ryouga. 

	Amelia had disappeared who-knows where, and the rest of 
their small group had left just an hour ago a-dragonback. 

	No one around, no one that he had to depend upon, no one to
depend upon him...

	It felt good.

	REAL good.

	Yeah. 

	For a fleeting moment, he seriously considered just... 
walking away. 

	After all, this land was filled with magical treasures; he
could spend the next few years seeking out a cure and quite
possibly find it.

	But then, on the other hand, there was his promise to 
Xelloss. And if the Mazoku had been serious about what might 
happen...

	His resolve firmed, he nodded and pushed open the door...

	Into madness.

	Loxim, the Mazoku from the _Millennium Balton_, was standing
nearby. Well, Loxim had a glamour over him, but that was nothing 
to his chimera senses. The lady who ran the restaurant was buried
under the attention of two young girls, and Xellos's words 
flashed through his memory. "What I need you to do is go with
two little girls that will show up soon..."

	Zelgadis put his hands together and sighed. "Well, I guess
I have no choice now..."

	He strode forward to do his duty and fulfill the promise he
had made to Xelloss and Luna.

	Strangely enough, that felt good too.

****

	The mighty Lord Dynast Grauscherra was seriously 
contemplating the mass destruction of all his incompetent minions
simply for the dubious pleasure of starting over from the 
beginning, and doing it RIGHT this time!

	First, there had been the total failure of ANY Mazoku to 
pierce the barrier around the puny Human village from whence had
come the warriors who had humiliated him (HIM! Dynast of the 
North!) and then managed to flee.

	Fine. He could accept that there were magicks out there 
that only time and long, long effort could pierce; when they had
to be, Mazoku were the most patient beings in the universe.

	Second, there came the total disarray of his forces from
someplace called the 'Scent' castle. Or... something like that, 
at least... 

	Fine. He could even accept that some powers were beyond his
minions. Of course, HE could have taken the field at any time and
crushed his foes like the insects they were, but THAT'S what 
minions were for. He had better things to do...

	Now, in a seemingly minor side note to the whole thing, but
one that Dynast had the nagging feeling was far more important 
than it seemed, the power he had granted Dighe had returned to 
him. Which meant, of course, that he was dead.

	Couldn't ANYBODY do ANYTHING right around here?!

	It was at that point that he received a Holy Mission from 
God.

	Well, the Lord of Nightmares at least, which made Dynast 
shake in rage and fall to his knees in worship at the same time.

	Most beings venerate their Creator, sending praise and 
worship in abundance as a gesture of thanks or fear.

	Out of those two, the Mazoku only felt fear. 

	You see, they have against their creator a few... grudges (to 
put it mildly), for what they considered very good reasons. 
First and foremost was the fact that they even EXISTED at all. Your 
average Mazoku hated everything, himself first and foremost, and the 
self-hatred only increased the more power that he obtained. 

	Of course, they didn't look at it that way, but if it barks
and sheds fur all over the furniture and humps your buddy's leg...

	_dynast grauscherra_

	"Yes, Lord?"

	_I have a duty for you_

	"What is it, Lord?"

	_you must pierce the barrier around the springs of jusenkyo_

	Dynast considered that for a moment. "But Lord, what ARE the
springs of..."

	_DO NOT QUESTION ME!!!!!!!_

	Lord Dynast Grauscherra, one of the most powerful beings on 
the world, was driven against the floor by the force of his 
Creator's anger. "I... will... obey..."

	_good_

	After a moment, the pressure started to lift, but just when 
Dynast was raising himself off the floor, he was pushed down again.

	_do not fail me_

	Then, he was released, and he lay on the ground for a moment
before standing. He glared at the sky for a moment, then called to 
his general. 

	He had orders to give.

****

	Jenni, Kawaii Incarnate, looked over at Her sister/daughter.
"Are You sure that was the right thing to do? It wasn't... very 
nice. Couldn't You have simply broken the barrier Yourself? It is 
Your dimension, after all..."

	The Sea of Chaos sighed deeply. "It... isn't possible. That
area belonged to Jusenkyo, and if I broke the barrier Myself, it 
would leave Me exposed to the being that stole Jusenkyo's power. I 
must conserve Myself for the battle against Him...

	Then, She rubbed Her hands together. "This way, I will 
weaken Him and keep Myself strong. When the time for confrontation 
comes, I will crush the being that dared to steal My roommate's 
power and kill Him. Then, vengeance will be Mine."

****

	"Achoo!"

	*Are you all right?*

	Amelia rubbed her nose. "I think so... but being dunked in 
that spring must've given me a cold..."

	*A-CHOO!!*

	"Now, are YOU all right?"

	*I suppose so... maybe I'm linked more strongly to you than 
I thought...*

****

	Naga sat at the bar, lost in thought, nursing a tall beer. 
Finally, she said, "Well..."

	Kodachi set down her mug of apple juice and said at the same 
time, "You know..."

	They both looked at each other for a moment, then both said
in chorus, "You first."

	Naga chuckled and waved one hand. "Fine, then. I think that
we are on the mainland somehow."

	Kodachi nodded. "Yes, I would say that the... town... 
somehow brought us to the mainland. But how?"

	Naga shook her head. "Why, it's no mystery; magic does 
things that not even one as experienced and powerful as I can..."

	Suddenly, the front door to the inn banged open, and a 
woman's voice said angrily, "Okay, we'll stop f'TWENTY minutes, 
but that's IT!!"

	Kodachi didn't even bother to turn towards the door, but a
few seconds later, she heard Naga gasp. "It's... Ranma-sama!"

	"WHAT?!" Kodachi turned to look for herself, suddenly 
joyful at the prospect of seeing her love, but as she looked at 
the doorway all that joy turned to hate. Her hands hooked into 
talons as she spat, "What is SHE doing here?!?!"

	For standing in the doorway, shaking water from her hair,
was that despicable wench, that foul stealer of Ranma's name, the
pig-tailed girl! "You're DELUDED if you think that's Ranma, dear
heart! That foul... _woman_ has dared to sully the name of fair,
fair Ranma, and she must pay for it!!"

	Kodachi stood up, fully intent upon making the girl pay
right then and there, but she felt a hand upon her arm. Looking
down at Naga, who was still seated, she said, "Let me go!"

	"No. I have never seen Ranma-sama before, but I knew that I
would know him the moment I saw him. That is the love of my life,
and I will greet him with the token of my love." Naga reached into
her cloak and removed a white rose.

	Kodachi hissed, "Have you gone _mad_?! That's a woman, just
in case you haven't noticed!"

	Naga said airily, "A minor setback. RANMA-SAMA! OHOHOHOHO!"

	Not one to be left behind, Kodachi leapt into the air with
a shout of, "PIGTAILED GIRL, PREPARE TO DIE!!!!"

	To say that Ranma had not been expecting something like this
right now would have been an understatement. To say that she'd 
sooner have expected Genma to bust down the door and say, "Ranma,
I'm not your real father. You see, there once was a mighty samurai
named Anakin Skywalker. I was a friend to him..." would... 

	Well, it would have been an understatement too, because 
there was ABSOLUTELY NO WAY to cover the sheer shock of two leather-clad women bounding towards him, one wanting to kill him, 
one wanting to... well, you know... aside from one simple 
exclamation:

	"Meep..?"

AUTHOR'S NOTES

No doubt you are wondering what mysteries the title of this story
conceals...

^__^ Well, so am I! 

*ahem* Anyway... 

I'm sorry I didn't write the Naga/Kodachi side story, but... hey,
you can't have everything... I tried writing it, really! But it 
just didn't come together like I wanted. Oh well, I'll try writing
it some other day, I suppose!

I can't think of anything else that might need explaining. Sorry.

Aaron Bergman
iamfanboy@uymail.com
"A dain that is bramaged think cannot..."
	

	


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