At the risk of irritating the moderators, I've gotten so many requests 
for this that I'm
going to try one more time.  I'll try pasting it into the body of the 
message instead of
sending it as an attachment.

For those who have already received it, please forgive me for clogging 
your inbox.
Feel free to delete.
For those who have already given me C&C on this, thank you.  I haven't 
had time
to make any of the changes you have suggested.  Rest assured, I value 
your input
and will make every effort to clean it up.

Here is the latest installment of Nabiki-New Horizons in its raw form
.  All previous chapters are available at my web site:

http://home.kc.rr.com/sandborn

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


'Ranma 1/2' is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan, Inc.  and Viz 
Communications, Inc. 
Its characters are used without permission but with all the love and 
respect I can offer their
creator and copyright holders.
The story and original characters are copyrighted by G.L. Sandborn and 
are for the enjoyment of its readers only.

This story is not to be posted on any other Internet web site without 
permission of the author.

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



                     Nabiki - New Horizons
                   Chapter 30 - Family Jewels
                       By: G.L. Sandborn
                               
                               

     It was a dark night in Honolulu Harbor.  Thick clouds
covered the sky, obscuring the moon and trapping the soft lights
of the nearby city.  Gentle trade winds kissed the waves lapping
at the side of a Japanese freighter tied up to Dock 11.  The
aging, rusty tramp steamer, Mamazu Maru, rocked lightly at its
moorings.  It had arrived earlier in the day with a small cargo
of bootleg Anime products from Hong Kong.
     Two shadowy figures crept lightly along the shore-side deck,
hugging the bulkhead as they went.  Pausing behind a crate of
CD's carelessly left behind, they eyed a lone guard posted at the
gangplank.
     The guard appeared bored with his duties and not very
attentive.  The older figure smiled at the prospects.
     When the guard turned his back to light another cigarette,
the older figure silently swept along the deck like a manta
skimming the bottom of the bay.  A jab in the right place and the
guard slumped unconscious to the deck.
     Quickly, the two scampered down the gangplank and into the
shadows of a large warehouse.
     "Great-grandmother, why are we in Hawaii?" the younger woman
asked.
     For several seconds, the diminutive old lady scanned the
dock area with narrowed eyes that seemed to glow as she searched
for any sign they had been seen.  Satisfied, she sighed and
turned to her young companion.  "Until now, I did not think it
necessary to tell you where we were going or why."  She paused to
adjust her thin Chinese dress against the cool breeze blowing in
off the harbor.  "I was also a little embarrassed to tell you.
Do you remember back at the monastery when that old fool of a
monk... er... pawed me?"
     Shampoo nodded with wide eyes like she was about to learn
some deep secret. 
     "Well, he did more than feel my... aging charms.  He took
something.  Something special."
     "Special?"
     The old woman sighed.  "I cannot say just yet.  For now, all
you need to know is that it was something very important to me."
     "Oh, I see," Shampoo said with a smile.  "Pervert old monk
got both a handful and a prize."
     Cologne rapped her on the head with her staff.  "Idiot!  He
got more than that.  Do not make light of my violation OR my
loss."
     Rubbing the spot where Cologne had struck her, Shampoo
frowned at the worn dock surface.  "But why here, the home of the
middle Tendo girl?"
     "I traced the monks to this island," Cologne said with a
sigh.  "I don't profess to know why they are here but it matters
not.  They must be found."
     Shampoo swallowed hard at her great-grandmother's
pronouncement.  "And then?"
     "I care not what happens to the monks.  If they resist, we
kill them," Cologne replied with a hardness Shampoo had rarely
heard.  "But first, we need to find shelter."  She held up a
small bag that jingled.  "Fortunately, the good captain of our
ship was willing to part with our wages so eagerly.  Actually, he
parted with everyone's wages."
     Her gloating was cut off by the approaching lights of a
police car.  Together, the pair backed deeper into the shadows
and took cover behind a pile of crates.
     Moments passed as the car slowly approached, its spotlight
scanning the area they had just vacated.  Cologne gripped her
shaft tighter as the two held their breath.  Slowly, as if still
unsure about the dock being deserted, the car came to a stop.
Its spotlight swept the area once.... twice.... a third time
before suddenly switching off.
     Both women let out a heavy sigh as the police car motored
away.  Neither had proper identification to be hanging around the
docks at this time of night.  If the police had found them or
investigated further, their secret arrival would have been
exposed.  Their mission might have been compromised.
     "Come," Cologne said softly, leading the way from their
hiding place.
     Sticking to the shadows, they made their way past what
little security the dock offered and avoided any night workmen
until they found themselves on a street leading into the city.
It would be a few hours before they found a rundown motel in
which to stay, careful to not reveal their illegal status.  There
were plans to be made, plans that would assure the success of
their quest.


     Jeffrey Lawrence yawned and rocked back in his office chair.
It was still early in the day but he was already totally bored.
The only thing he had on his schedule today was stack after stack
of reports, summaries, and prospectuses.  He hated reading all
that stuff.  Why couldn't Mr. Gaffney just condense the reports,
summarize the summaries and handle the other stuff himself?  He
yawned again and stretched.  There was always the special feature
of his office chair to consider.  Moving a lever, supports swung
out from below his seat to elevate his legs while the back
reclined to a satisfactory angle.  Sighing contentedly, he
thought how smart his secretary was to pick this chair out for
him.  Rachel really knew how to make a guy feel comfortable.
     He was just dozing off to the muffled sounds of street
traffic outside when his respite was suddenly interrupted by his
secretary's voice from the intercom.
     "Mr. Lawrence?  There are three gentlemen here to see you."
     Jeff groaned.  What now?  If Rachel was allowing in another
group begging for a donation, he was going to have a serious talk
with that woman.  Didn't she understand that being married to a
woman like Nabiki was so exhausting?
     "Fine.  Send them in," he said triggering his chair to
resume its normal business position.  This had better be
important.  It was interrupting his nap.
     His office door clicked open and three bald heads poked
their way inside.  Jeff stifled a groan.  Not these guys.  He
thought they were in Japan.
     "Ah, Lawrence-senpai," Brother Toyota gushed as he bowed his
way into the office.  He was followed by Brothers Suzuki and
Honda, their bright yellow robes flowing as they bobbed their own
bows.
     Jeff forced a smile and returned their bows - several times.
"So, how are things at the monastery?"
     "Oh, things are much better now that all the damage has been
repaired," Brother Suzuki said with another bow.
     "I'm not surprised," Jeff mumbled.  He was still getting the
bills.  "How is the new dining room?"
     "Large enough for our growing membership," Brother Toyota
replied.
     "And the HDTV room?"
     "The picture is heavenly."
     "The ice cream machine, game room, lounge, and Olympic-sized
swimming pool?"
     "All are most satisfactory," Brother Honda said with another
bow.  "Lawrence-san has proven to be a most generous provider."
     Jeff couldn't argue with that.  When he offered to pay for
the damage Akane had caused to the monastery in her frenzied
search for Ranma, he had no idea the monks intended to turn their
home into the equivalent of a four-star hotel.  It was little
wonder their numbers had increased.  Spending time there must
have been like taking a long vacation in one of the finest
resorts in the world.
     Rubbing his chin, he wondered what happened to their vows of
simple poverty while they searched for the perfect awareness of
nirvana - or whatever it was they did in a monastery.
     "So, what brings you to Hawaii?" he asked.
     The monks exchanged nervous looks before Brother Toyota
smiled his way.  "It is to see our former master, the Abbot Ono."
     "Ono?" Jeff asked with a frown.  "That's a familiar name."
     "Yes, Ono," Brother Suzuki replied.  "Is that name important
to you?"
     Jeff began to answer but stopped himself.  Ono was a fairly
common name in Japan.  The abbot they were referring to was
probably no relation to Kasumi's husband - probably.  With a
renewed smile, Jeff just shook his head.  No sense bringing up
something that was just a coincidence.
     The monks returned his smile and added a respectful and
impressively coordinated bow.
     "So..."  Drumming his fingers lightly on his desk, Jeff
tried to think of what else to ask.  He really hated social
niceties and not just because he was no good at them.  They
seemed like such a waste of time when everyone could be getting
to the point.  "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
he finally asked, congratulating himself on remembering the
phrase his father so often used when HE wanted someone to get to
the point.
     The monks continued to smile and bow - enough that Jeff
wondered if they heard him.  He was about to ask again when
Brother Honda produced a small, 2-inch square box from his robes.
     "We were hoping Brother Lawrence could hold on to this tiny
box for a little while," Brother Suzuki asked with yet another
bow.
     Jeff's back was beginning to hurt from returning all the
bows.  So much so, he eagerly agreed to their request.  "By the
way, just how long is 'for a little while'?"
     "Just a couple of days, Lawrence-san," Brother Honda said
with a wide grin.  "We just want to make sure it is safe while we
are here in Hawaii.  We decided there was no place safer than
with our old friend and benefactor."
     Jeff sighed as he accepted the little box.  He supposed it
wouldn't hurt to toss it in the office safe for a few days.
After all, it wasn't like they were asking for him to hold on to
stolen merchandise or something.
     After a few further pleasantries, the monks quickly left.
Alone with the box, Jeff's curiosity got the best of him.  Taking
a small knife from his desk drawer, he cut the string holding the
box shut and looked inside.
     It appeared to be... a rock of some sort.  Dark red or brown
in color and oddly shaped like a heart.  It looked to him like
something one picked up in a curio shop in Arizona.
     With a shrug, he resealed the box and called for Rachel.
     "Would you put this in the safe," he asked when she arrived.
     "What is it?"  Rachel too the box between two fingers and
held it up to her ear as she shook it.
     "Some kind of rock those three Buddhist nut-burgers want me
to keep for them.  I suppose we can do that much for them.  After
all, it's only for a few days."
     Rachel nodded and left carrying the box like it was cheap
prize out of a McDonald's Happy Meal.
     "Well, that was certainly a waste of time," Jeff mumbled as
he fingered his stack of reports he was supposed to be reading.
"Naw, nap first and then I'll read this junk."
     He was just reclining his chair again when a woman's scream
from his outer office caused him bolt from his seat and scramble
for the door.  Throwing it open, he looked in the direction he
thought the scream had come from.  All he saw there was Rachel,
or at least it kind of looked like Rachel.
     "What happened?" he asked, approaching the desk. He jerked
to a halt when he got a better look at the woman.  Instead of his
twenty-four year old secretary, there was now a girl of no more
than twelve sitting at her desk and wearing Rachel's clothes that
were obviously much too large for her small body.
     "I just wanted to see what it was," the girl moaned, staring
in horror at the rock now out of its box on her desk.  "The box
was sorta already open, so I just took it out for only a second."
     "It's okay, Rachel.  It IS Rachel, right?"
     "Of course it's me!" she wailed.
     "Okay, okay," Jeff said, resisting the urge to pat the
little girl on her head.  "I'll... I'll get some help."  Turning
to the intercom, he hesitated at the number of buttons available.
"I don't suppose you could show me how to use this.  I need Sean
and Commander Wilde."
     With a plaintive whine, Rachel sniffed and punched a series
of intercom buttons before slumping back in the seat like she was
about to cry.  "It's not fair," she whined.  "I worked hard to be
an adult.  I don't want to be twelve again."
     "Okay, we'll... we'll fix it... somehow."
     "What is it, Rachel?" came Commander Wilde's voice through
the intercom.
     "This is Jeff.  I need you and Sean in here on the double."
Pushing a couple of random buttons, he was rewarded with a low
growl from the speaker before it suddenly squealed with feedback.
     Gritting her teeth, Rachel lunged at the box, smashing her
fist down on a red button and silencing the device.  Slumping
back in her chair, she glared at Jeffrey.
     "What?" he asked defensively.
     "You wouldn't survive ten minutes in here without me," she
grumped.
     "Yes, you're probably right."
     He was about to add something about how valuable she really
was to him when Sean walked into the office, reading the contents
of a thick folder.
     "Hi, Rachel.  New hairstyle?" he said without even looking
up.  He didn't even pause when she failed to answer.  Instead, he
flopped down in one of the chairs facing the desk and continued
to read.
     Commander Wilde was next to enter.  "Hey, Skipper.  What's
up?" he said with a friendly wave of his hand.  He froze when he
saw Rachel.  "Who's the kid?"
     "KID?" she yelled.  "You... you..."  Words failed her as she
launched herself at the former SEAL.  Only Jeff stepping between
them at the last minute and wrapping his arms around the flailing
girl prevented her from reaching her target.
     "She a relative of yours?" Jamie asked, taking a step back.
"She's not a Tendo, is she?"
     "Just tell her you like her hair and let's get on with the
meeting," Sean said, still reading the papers in his folder.
     Jeff sighed.  "Believe it or not, this IS Rachel."
     Jamie frowned at the girl for a few moments.  "What
happened?"
     "She changed her hair," Sean mumbled, just loud enough to be
heard over Rachel's continued growl.
     "I think it has something to do with a strange package three
monks left with me," Jeff replied.  "I asked her to put it in the
safe and she... well, sorta looked inside."
     "It was just a rock," Rachel moaned, going limp in Jeff's
arms.
     "A rock?" Jamie repeated with a confused expression.
     "Yeah," Jeff replied, looking around until he saw a heart-
shaped stone on Rachel's desk about the right size to fit in the
aforementioned box.  Scooping it into his hand, he held it up.
"It looks like this."
     Rachel suddenly screamed and threw herself into Commander
Wilde's arms, looking back over her shoulder like she had seen a
monster.
     Jeff's shoulders sagged.  "I just did something stupid
again, didn't I?"
     Jamie and Rachel slowly nodded.
     Quickly dropping the rock back on Rachel's desk, he began
frantically checking himself for signs that he was about to end
up like his secretary.  "Quick, how do I look to you?" he asked,
his voice barely above a panic.
     "Your hair looks nice," Sean said without looking up.
Rachel and Jamie slowly turned their heads to frown at the
oblivious Sean.
     After several agonizing seconds, Jamie turned back and
cleared his throat. "You don't look any different to me."
     "Really?"  Jeff scampered over to where some folding doors
hid a small sink along the wall.  Throwing the doors open, he
leaned in to look at his reflection in the mirror on the back
wall.  He still looked the same, a young man in his mid-twenties.
"I don't get it," he admitted.
     "Maybe you didn't hold it long enough," Jamie offered,
curiously regarding the stone.
     "I only held it a second," Rachel said in a tiny voice.
     "Then, maybe it only works on women,."  Noticing Rachel's
look of anguish at the suggestion, Jamie grimaced.  "Sorry,
babe."
     "Whatever the case, this thing is dangerous," Jeff said,
stomping over to the desk and scowling at the offending rock.
     Jamie sighed like he was really tired of all the strange
things that seemed to happen around his boss.  "Didn't those
crazy monks tell you anything about it?"
     "Not a word.  They just asked me to keep it safe for a
little while."  Jeff used Rachel's stapler to urge the stone back
into its box.  Closing the lid he crossed to the safe and chucked
it inside before slamming the safe door shut.  "I better find
those monks."
     "First, you might also try to find some help for Rachel,"
Jamie suggested, releasing the girl and watching her drift back
to her desk.  She picked up her stapler between index finger and
thumb and dropped it into her waste basket.
     "You can never be too careful," she said with a sigh as she
hopped into her chair.  Her feet barely touched the floor.
     The office door abruptly swung open, held by Julie, Rachel's
friend from across the hall.  "Hey, girlfriend.  You ready
for..."  Her voice trailed off as she stared at the girl sitting
at Rachel's desk.  "Oh, excuse me.  I didn't know it was 'Take
Your Child To Work' day.  Tell Rachel I'm ready for our coffee
and donut break."  Frowning as she left, she mumbled, "I didn't
know Rachel had a child."
     "That's it, I'm going home," Rachel growled, jumping to her
feet.
     Jamie stopped her with a raised hand.  "How?"
     "I have a car.  I have a driver's license.  You figure it
out," she snarled, trying to push past him.
     "Ummm, Rachel, considering your current condition, I don't
think that would be wise."  Jamie quickly shifted to block her
exit.
     "It's MY car!"
     "You won't even be able to see over the dashboard," Jamie
countered, shifting again to keep Rachel in the office.
     "Take a couple of phone books," Sean offered without looking
up from his folder.
     "You're not helping," Jeff replied.
     Sean just shrugged and turned a page.
     "I want to go home," Rachel insisted.  Jamie had shifted so
far that he now pinned her body to the wall.  She continued to
squirm, trying to squeeze her way between the burly Commander
Wilde and the wall.
     "Rachel, calm down.  I'll... I'll get you home," Jeff said.
     "Fine," Rachel replied, her voice partially muffled from
getting her head stuck, her face pressed against Jamie's waist.
"Wow, you're really solid."
     Tired of all the games, Jamie suddenly hoisted the girl over
his shoulder and walked over to her desk.  Plopping her down in
her chair, he wagged a finger in her face.  "Stay put," he
warned.
     Rachel just grinned.  "You took a shower this morning.  I
can tell.  You smell nice."
     Drawing a deep breath, he glared at Jeff.  "I'm going back
to my office.  I'll start looking for those monks."
     "Okay.  I'll see what I can do about Rachel," Jeff replied
before scowling at Sean.  "And take him with you."
     "Works for me," Sean said with a sigh.  "This was getting
boring anyway."  He calmly stood up without taking his eyes off
his folder and headed towards the door.  Jamie had just enough
time to open it before Sean walked through and out into the
hallway beyond.
     Casting one final look at Rachel, who was now leaning
forward with her chin in her hands, a scowl on her face, he
quickly followed Sean.
     Jeff shook his head and picked up the phone.  His finger
hovered over the many buttons.  "Uh... outside line?"
     Rachel sighed before reaching over an pressing the right
button.
     Dialing quickly, he was soon rewarded with his wife's voice.
     "Nabs, I need your help," he said, casting a worried look at
Rachel.  She was busy adjusting her loose-fitting clothes.
     "What's wrong, Jeffrey?" Nabiki asked.
     "Something's happened to Rachel.  It's kinda hard to
explain."
     "Try," Nabiki demanded.
     "Well, she sorta--"
     "MY BOOBIES ARE GONE!" Rachel screeched.  She had pulled the
top of her blouse away from her body and had her face half
stuffed down the opening.
     "Jeffrey, did she just say 'boobies'?" Nabiki asked
incredulously.
     Only half hearing his wife, Jeff turned to his truncated
secretary.  "We'll find them," he said.  "Just relax."
     "What's going on down there?"
     "We've had a little accident," he replied, having turned
away again and resisting the urge to see what else Rachel was up
to.
     "It took me forever to grow those," the girl whined.
     "Do you remember that monastery where we found Ranma?  Well,
those crazy monks are in Hawaii and stopped by this morning.
They left a small box in my care.  I guess Rachel's curiosity got
the best of her and she looked inside.  It was some sort of
heart-shaped rock.  When she touched it, she... well, she
regressed to a twelve-year old."
     "Mentally or physically?" Nabiki asked as if this sort of
thing happened every day.
     "A little of both."
     "A curse?" Nabiki asked.
     "Could be.  I need you to call Master Sato.  Maybe he knows
what kind of curse would cause this," Jeff replied.
     "I can't do that."  Nabiki sounded stunned by the
suggestion.
     "Why not?  We built him a house.  Didn't we have a phone
installed?"
     "Jeffrey, it's four o'clock tomorrow morning there."  She
paused for a moment.  "Or is it four o'clock yesterday morning?
I can't keep those stupid time zones straight.  Anyway, if he has
any sense at all, he's in bed asleep," Nabiki insisted.
     Jeff sighed, his shoulders sagging as he shook his head.  "I
don't believe this," he mumbled.  "Okay, then get down here.  I
need you to take Rachel home."
     He cast a worried look her way and almost choked when he saw
what she was doing.  With face full of apprehension, she was
carefully pulling the front of her skirt from her body, obviously
checking to see what else was missing.
     He quickly turned away and hunched over the phone.  "Nabiki,
PLEASE get down here."
     "Okay, okay, I'll be there in half an hour," she said with a
sigh.
     Jeff hesitated to look Rachel's way as he hung up the phone.
An abbreviated glance at her caused him to do a double-take.  She
was now sitting calmly at her desk with an odd expression on her
face.
     "Everything okay?" he asked, not sure he really wanted to
know the answer.
     "Yeah, I just remembered that it probably wouldn't look any
different," she replied with a sigh of resignation.  "I forgot
that I shaved this morning."
     Shave?  Surely, she didn't mean...  He swallowed hard.
"Uh... you stay right there.  I'm... I'm just going into my
office to... uh, to make some more phone calls," he stammered.
     "Okay," she replied in a tired voice.  "You know, I was just
thinking about what it would be like to live those twelve years
over again."  She sighed before burying her face in her arms on
the desk.  "I really hated puberty," she said, her voice muffled
by her arms.
     "I... I wouldn't dwell on it too much," Jeff replied.
"Nabiki is coming down to drive you home.  Commander Wilde is
looking for those monks and I'll find Master Sato - as soon as
it's morning in Japan.  We're going to find out how to get you
back to your right age.  I promise."
     "By the way, it's tomorrow morning in Japan."  Her little
girl voice sounded tired. 
     "R-Right.  You just relax.  Everything is going to be all
right."  He figured she really was tired of all the unusual
happenings that always seemed to surround him.  At least this
time she can't blame Nabiki for her problems.
     Jeff wasn't in his office for more than a minute when his
phone rang.  It was Commander Wilde.
     "Skipper, I've got a line on the monks.  One of my contacts
saw them down at the McDonalds about two blocks away."
     "Great!  Get down there," Jeff replied.  Maybe this problem
could be resolved before Nabiki got there.
     "No good, Skipper.  I called the McDonalds and they said the
monks left a half hour ago."
     "Any idea which way they went?" Jeff asked, his illusion of
a quick fix evaporating as quickly as it had come.
     "I'm afraid not.  Odd thing is that another of my contacts
saw them over at Kaaawa Beach."
     "That's not possible," Jeff insisted.  "That's out on
Kamehameha Highway."
     "I know."  Wilde chuckled.  "Those guys sure do get around.
You'd think somebody was chasing them."
     "Considering what they left with us, I'm not surprised."
Jeff rocked back in his chair and stared at the ceiling as a
thought crossed his mind.  "I wonder if that stone was stolen or
could be considered contraband of some sort."
     "Could be," Jamie said.  "Of course, having you hold it
would make you an accessory."
     Jeff wasn't sure if his security chief was putting him on or
not.  "That's not funny, Jamie.  We really gotta find these
guys."
     "Okay-okay, I'll keep checking.  You want me to bring in
help?"
     Squeezing his eyes shut, Jeff considered the suggestion.  He
couldn't ask the police to help.  Other than the stone, which
they weren't sure of, the monks hadn't done anything illegal.  In
any case, the police would want to know why he was looking for
them.  That could prove difficult to explain.  He needed someone
he could trust.  "Check with Palmer in California.  Maybe he can
tap into one of those Defense Department satellites and get some
high quality imaging.  Three little guys in bright yellow robes
ought to stand out like fireflies, even on the streets of
Honolulu."
     "Worth a try.  I'll check in with him and let you know if he
or any of my other contacts come up with anything."
     Jeff hung up and looked out the window.  Why was it so hard
to find three monks in Hawaii?  Could they really be trying to
avoid being seen?  If so, the McDonalds visit was rather foolish.
No, he concluded, this has to be a simple case of trying to find
three oddly-dressed Japanese in a major metropolitan area full of
Asian tourists.
     A half hour later, he was just going over the possibilities
again when he heard the office door open.  Not wanting a
potential business visitor to find only a 12 year-old child at
the front desk, Jeff scrambled for the outer office.  He relaxed
when he saw who it was.
     "Nabiki, I'm really glad you're here," he said, crossing the
office to greet her.
     Instead of her usual greeting hug, she waved him off and
regarded his juvenile secretary with a look of pity.  "So this is
what she looked like as a child," she said with a tiny smile.
"Kawaii."
     Rachel just glared at her.
     "Except for that look of hostility," Nabiki added with one
fist on her hip.  "We need to work on that."
     "Nabiki, don't antagonize her," Jeff said with a sigh.
     "Don't worry.  I'll be nice."  Nabiki bent over like an
adult taking to a child.  "You ready for a ride in the car?"
     "Nabiki!"  Jeff was used to his wife's taunts but really
didn't want her to use them on someone who had already suffered
enough.
     "It's okay, Mr. Lawrence," Rachel said, sliding off her
chair and hitching up her clothes.  "I suppose someone has to be
the adult here.  Let's go."
     With all the dignity she could muster, considering she was
holding her skirt up with one hand and constantly adjusting her
loose-fitting blouse with the other, Rachel slung her purse over
her shoulder and walked past Nabiki without looking at her.
     As Rachel stepped into the hall, Nabiki straightened up and
glared her way.  "That little--"
     "Easy, Nabiki," Jeff warned.  "She's been through a lot.
Considering we're not sure just what kind of curse we are dealing
with, she's taking it pretty well."  He paused when his wife
shifted her scowl his way.  "And don't look at me like that.  You
should know what that does to a person.  You remember Ranma and
all he's gone through?  He's done pretty good considering he
doesn't know if there is a cure for his condition either."
     Nabiki's expression softened a little at the mention of her
brother-in-law and his problem.  Drawing a deep breath, she
glanced at the door again.  "Very well.  I'll... I'll try to be
more... compassionate."
     "Spoken like a true Shinobi elder.  You know, I think
there's hope for you yet," Jeff said with a grin before it
suddenly dawned on him just what he had said.  Nabiki's narrowed
eyes confirmed his mistake.  "Uh... well, you know what I mean."
     "I'm waiting," came Rachel's voice from the hall.
     "All right," Nabiki called back before fixing her husband in
a steely glare.  "We will discuss this later."
     "Looking forward to it," Jeff replied with sick expression.
     With a continued glare his way, she stepped into the hall
and was gone.  Letting out a sigh of relief, he turned again for
his office.  As much as he once enjoyed his little mental fencing
bouts with Nabiki, it was gradually becoming less and less
stimulating.  He was especially growing tired of the whole
'Shinobi' business.  Why couldn't they just treat it like a
unique ethnic group and leave it at that?  All the threats he
knew of were either dead or neutralized.  Maybe it had to do with
something Master Sato said to him ten or twelve years ago when he
indicated that modern society just wasn't ready to know Shinobi
still functioned among them.
     Slumping into his chair, he stared at the stacks of reports,
proposals, and other business documents that seemed to surround
him.  They all seemed so unimportant in light of what had
happened this morning.
     "I'm going to lunch," he mumbled.  "I need to get out of
here."

***

     Rachel leaned on the arm rest in the front seat of Nabiki's
minivan.  Staring out the windows with unseeing eyes, she tried
to recall how it was the first time she was twelve.  That was
about the time her father died.  She remembered how much her
mother cried.  Even though her mother and father had divorced
when she was just a year old, her parents continued a fairly
friendly, if awkward, relationship.  Why they parted was never
clear to her.  The only reason she could figure was that her
mother objected strongly to his line of work. 
     Life had always been hard before her father died.  It turned
really bad when she got older.  Then her mother started drinking
and keeping company with men that were creepy.  It should have
come as no surprise six years later when one of them killed her
mother in a drunken rage.
     She was so involved in reliving the past that she didn't
notice the van had come to a halt in front of her apartment
building.
     "Hey, you okay?" she heard Nabiki ask.
     Blinking back to her current situation, she looked
questioningly at Nabiki.  The woman's expression could have been
concern but to her it looked strangely like the way a rich woman
would look at her hired help.  In normal times, she might said
something unfortunate.  But in her current situation, all she
could think of what a waste it was that this person had collared
such a prize as Jeffrey Lawrence.
     With a sigh, Rachel shrugged.  "I suppose."  She reached for
the door handle.
     As the door unlatched, Nabiki stopped her.  "Look, I know we
haven't always seen eye to eye about things.  I want you to know
that I think you have been a model secretary to Jeffrey.  I'm
certain he will do everything in his power to restore you to your
original age and form.  Good secretaries are hard to find."
     Rachel eyed Nabiki, unsure of how to respond.  If the woman
thought that what she had just said was comforting, she was badly
mistaken.  It almost sounded like condescension.  She really
hated condescension, especially when people directed it towards
her.
     Nabiki must have sensed she needed to add more.  "I will
help you, too.  If you need anything, let me know.  I can have
Jade or one of Jeffrey's people pick it up for you."
     "That's very thoughtful," Rachel replied, pushing open the
door.  "Are you sure you can squeeze me in between your trips to
Japan?"
     "What?" Nabiki gasped like she had been slapped.  "I was
just trying to be nice.  If that's not good enough --"
     The rest of Nabiki's indignant response was cut off when
Rachel yanked the door shut.  Scowling at her employer's wife,
she could feel the bands of her control snapping.  Her pent up
anger might have been easy to shelter behind her maturity when
she was in her real form but her 12-year old body came with
certain uncontrollable adolescent emotions.  "Just answer me one
question.  Why are you always running home to Japan when Jeffrey
needs you the most?"
     Nabiki's eyes went wide, more from the suddenness of the
outburst than the question itself.  For the moment, she appeared
speechless.
     "Do you have any idea what you've put him through?  Not to
mention what you've inflicted on that poor little girl of yours.
Can't you see what it's doing to her?  She wants a mother,
dammit!  Everyone needs a..."  She gritted her teeth an turned
away.  She tried but couldn't keep her jaw from trembling.  What
little Sodoshi had endured was all too familiar.  She blinked
hard to hide the first hint of tears.
     Shaking her head, Nabiki sighed aloud.  "You don't
understand."
     Between the sigh and the continued condescension, Rachel's
anger grew.  Snapping a lethal glare Nabiki's way, she growled,
"What don't I understand?  What could possibly be more important
in Japan than your family?"
     "I can't explain it to you."
     "What can't you explain?  I know just enough to feel like
you're hiding something."  She paused to gauge Nabiki's reaction.
The woman still looked like she had been slapped in public.
There was no turning back now.  Rachel knew she was in too deep.
"Over the past five years, you've abused me, belittled me, and
when that wasn't enough, you mocked me.  Through it all, I've
never questioned your loyalty or your love for Jeffrey.  And what
do I get for that?  You treat me like some servant unworthy of
your respect.  Why, Nabiki?  Why?"  Her fist slammed down on the
van's dash.  Her ragged breath came raw in her throat, her tears
of frustration rolled down her adolescent cheeks.
     "It's... it's not what you think," Nabiki gasped, her voice
strained.
     "Do you think I'm blind to everything around me?" Rachel
growled, her fists clenching and unclenching as her arms aborted
one gesture after another.  "I know about the brother-in-law that
changes genders when wet."
     Nabiki's face drained of color.  "That's..."
     "I know about your housekeeper's true identity."
     "She's..."  Nabiki's eyes darting from one side of the van
to the other, as if searching for some escape.
     "I survived an afternoon of attacks by strange creatures at
your house.  I'm still having nightmares about that one."
     Nabiki slumped against the car door, her mouth working
silent protests but none could escape.
     Rachel's eyes narrowed.  "I know about your ghost."
     "How...?" Nabiki gasped.
     "I met her in my apartment the night I had to go get Sodoshi
from school because her mother was in Japan again."  Rachel's
hands balled into fists and gripped the side of her head,
fighting to suppress the loneliness and fear she lived with for
ten years.  Her eyes squeezed shut as she screamed, "What kind of
mother are you?  How could you do that to your own child?"
     The mention of Sodoshi seemed to shock Nabiki back to
herself.  Her expression changed from stricken to firm resolve.
Her voice returned to a hint of its usual resoluteness.
"Clearly, you have seen more than you should.  Still, what
Jeffrey and I are involved in cannot explained to an outsider."
     "I'm NOT and outsider," Rachel moaned through her choking
tears.  "Stop treating me like one!"
     Nabiki's jaw trembled for a moment.  Her eyes grew wide as
if she suddenly realized how others saw her behavior.  "I'm...
I'm sorry," she gushed as she hung her head and tried to bow.  "I
shouldn't have been so weak to think...  I just wish..."
     "Oh, for Pete's sake, tell her already," came a voice from
somewhere in the back of the van.
     "What?  Sodoshi?" Nabiki gasped as she twisted around in her
seat and anxiously scanned the empty vehicle.  "I didn't call
you."
     In a flash, Sodoshi Tanaka appeared sitting cross-legged
inches above the second row seat.  "Yes you did.  When the little
girl mentioned me, you thought how it would be easier for me to
explain myself.  So, here I am."
     Nabiki's eyes darted between Sodoshi and Rachel.  With a
groan, she sagged into the seat and hung her head.
     "You really need to learn some mental control," Sodoshi said
with a mock look of disgust.
     "Well, if it isn't Spooky the Party Girl," Rachel said with
an angry huff.  "Still making time with anyone we know?"  She
remembered well the ghost's inadvertent admission of 'knowing'
her father.
     "Who do you think you..."  Sodoshi's voice trailed off as
her face grew a confused frown.  Leaning forward as if to examine
Rachel a little closer, the corners of her mouth slowly rose.  A
chuckle bubbled up, growing in strength until she was laughing
freely.
     "What's so funny," Rachel demanded, her hands trying to wipe
the tears from her cheeks.
     "You," Sodoshi replied between chuckles.  "Somebody got
you."
     "Yeah?  Well, at least I'm alive!" Rachel snarled, fixing
the ghost with the most lethal glare she could muster on her 12-
year old face.
     Sodoshi continued to laugh.  "One more dose of whatever it
is that got you and nobody will even remember who you were."
     "Does anybody remember you?" Rachel shot back with an
expression that rivaled anything Nabiki had ever used.
     The laughter stopped and Sodoshi's smile faded.  For a few
moments, the two glared at each other. 
     "You once called me a prostitute, a courtesan for Jeffrey.
Dammit!  I am NOT his mistress," Rachel growled.  "I'm his
secretary.  I do an honest day's work for an honest day's pay.
Jeffrey is just a friend to me."
     Sodoshi's angry expression slowly dissolved as she intently
examined Rachel's face.  "I must admit, I can feel no deceit in
you.  Perhaps... perhaps I was mistaken," she finally admitted
like it took a great effort to do so.
     "Look, nobody thinks that of you," Nabiki said, swallowing
hard and trying a sincere expression.  "I admit, I... was jealous
of you, at first.  I've always been overly possessive.  I forgot
that a good wife should trust her husband as well as love him."
Too embarrassed to apologize in English, in a hushed voice she
used Japanese and bowed as deeply as her car seat would allow.
     Sodoshi cocked her head and regarded Nabiki with a strange
expression.  "Well now, it appears my clan sister has learned
humility.  I'm impressed."
     For several long seconds, the van was silent.
     Rachel broke the tranquility with a deep breath and a sniff.
She had let her emotions run free again, something that had
gotten her into trouble before.  "I'm sorry, too," she said.
"It's just I see myself in your daughter and everything else
around her reminds me of some really bad memories."  She shifted
uncomfortably in her seat, adjusting her loose clothes.  "If you
want, I would really like it if you would come inside and let me
make it up to you.  I think I've got enough stuff for drinks and
snacks."
     Sodoshi's sudden laugh seemed to echo from everywhere at
once.  "Aren't we a strange trio.  Three motherless children."
The way she eyed Rachel was enough to cause the girl to shiver.
"You know, clan sister, I have seen the courage of this one you
call Rachel.  I think she would be a fine addition."
     "Addition?" Rachel asked, looking between the other two
occupants of the van.
     "Let's go inside and we'll discuss it there."  Nabiki smiled
with what looked to Rachel like a slight blush.  "Besides, right
now I could use a drink."
     "I thought you gave up strong intoxicants," Sodoshi
admonished with a sorry shake of her head.  Her long pony tails
wrapped at the ends with glowing silver ribbons seemed to take on
a life of their own, swirling slowly beside her glowing body.
     "That was before I ended up with a cursed 12-year old and a
ghost in my van."  She regarded Rachel with an almost apologetic
expression.  Her eyes roamed over Rachel's small form before her
lips drew tight as if making a decision.  "Maybe you're right,
Rachel.  Maybe you deserve to know what's going on.  You've
certainly earned it.  If you are interested after you hear what I
have to say, perhaps you should join us."
     As Nabiki turned to open her door, she was stopped by
Rachel's hand on her arm.  When she looked back, she saw the girl
wearing a relieved little smile.  "I want you to know, I've never
been your rival, Nabiki.  I like Jeffrey but only as a friend.  I
would really like it if we could be friends as well.  After all,
everyone needs a friend once in awhile."
     Nabiki chuckled and nodded slightly.  "Old habits," she
said, adding a sigh.  "I used to prefer controlling people over
trusting them.  It was easier that way."  She turned to look out
the windshield.  "Over the last few years, I've learned how
important it is to have friends."
     Pushing open her door, Rachel cast Nabiki a shy grin.
"Good.  We'll crack open a few and talk.  Uh, you do drink beer,
don't you?"
     Stepping out on her side of the van, Nabiki cocked her head.
"I can learn.  Are you sure you're old enough to drink?"
     "I'm older than you."  Rachel hitched up her skirt and
started for the stairs to her apartment.
     "You wear it well," Nabiki said.
     "Yeah, lucky me," Rachel flatly replied.
     Before following, Nabiki turned towards the back seat.
"Sodoshi, it's going to be tough enough getting a... someone who
looks like a child into Rachel's apartment without having to
explain you floating behind us like a tethered balloon."
     Sodoshi's eyes flashed red as she chuckled.  "Very well,
clan sister.  I'll wait for you inside."  With that, she blinked
out of sight.
     That afternoon, over all the beer in the refrigerator,
Rachel learned everything there was to know about Nabiki, the
Tendos, and especially the Cold Moon Clan.  There were still some
gaps but they no longer seemed as important as before.  She felt
like now she had two most unusual new friends.

*****

     "Brother Suzuki, I think I could grow to like it here,"
Brother Honda said between licks of his ice cream cone.
     "Yes, it is truly a paradise but we must keep our mission
uppermost in our minds."  Brother Suzuki paused to lick a few
dribbles of melted ice cream from his hand.  "The future of our
order is at stake."
     "Agreed," Brother Toyota noted with a satisfied nod.  "Once
the moon is full and we retrieve the artifact from Mr. Lawrence,
we can..."  His voice faded only to be replaced by a strangled
cry.
     Dropping his ice cream cone, he grabbed his fellow monks by
the arm and shoved them forcefully into the nearest shop,
Paradise Pets.  Their protests were restricted to complaints
about the rough handling and the loss of their own ice cream.
Toyota wasted little time in hustling is companions behind a
stack of animal cages full of barking dogs and nervous-acting
cats.
     "Have you totally lost your center?" gasped Brother Suzuki
as he came face to face with a growling poodle.
     "Across the street," Brother Toyota gasped.
     The three cautiously peered over the cages.  Walking slowly
up the sidewalk like she was looking for something was a small
little Chinese lady.  At first, the other two didn't make the
connection.  When a taller purple-haired girl joined the old
lady, the three ducked back behind the cages.
     "That's...," Brother Suzuki began.
     "Impossible," Brother Honda finished.
     "There's no mistaking her.  Somehow she's found us," Brother
Toyota said, his eyes darting about the shop in search of another
exit.
     "Can I help you dudes?" came a voice from behind.  The three
slowly turned to take in a tall, reedy-looking teen with a dull
expression standing a few feet away.
     "Uh..."  Brother Suzuki chanced another glance out the door
before quickly examining the lower cages.  "We were interested
in... uh, the orange cat in the bottom right cage."
     "Oh, good choice, dude," the youngster said with a toothy
grin as his head bobbed.  "That's like a common tabby.  Pretty
ordinary but really friendly.  His only problem is he won't use
the litter box.  Really gross, ya know?"
     "Yes, well, we thought it might be the reincarnated spirit
of one of our order but we were mistaken," Brother Honda replied.
     "Oh, I don't know," Brother Suzuki noted as he examined the
cat carefully through the bars of the cage.  "Brother Kawasaki
never seemed to hit the hole when alive.  Perhaps--"
     Brother Toyota was quick to correct his fellow monk.  "No!
It's not him.  The karma is all wrong."  He turned to the young
shopkeeper who's head was still bobbing like he was tuned into
some kind of rock music that only he could hear.  "Is there
another way out of this shop.  A back door, perhaps?"
     "Sure, man.  But why?"
     "There's..."  Brother Suzuki paused to check the far
sidewalk.  The two women were still there.  They appeared to be
discussing something.  "It's bad karma that direction," he
finished, pointing to the front door.
     The young man just nodded or bobbed or something that looked
like he understood.  "Probably that plant in the pot out front,
man.  I told old man Chang that pot was really bad karma but did
he listen?  Noooooo.  He kept saying how it was good for business
and stuff like that."
     "Yes... well, is there another way out?" Brother Suzuki
asked again.
     "We got a back door.  I'll just shut off the alarm for you
dudes."
     "Perfect," Brother Suzuki said, casting one last agonized
glance at the two women.  The short one appeared to be sniffing
the air as if she sensed their presence.  If they didn't get out
of there fast, she would most certainly home in on them.
     They young man reached over the counter and pressed a few
buttons on a small keypad.  Turning back to the monks still
hunkered down behind the cages, he grinned.  "You dudes are
monks, right?  Well, me and T-bone, that's, like, my bud, been
thinkin' about, you know, joining and stuff.  I mean, like, ever
since we got stranded here when we, like, ran out of money to get
home, he's gone all mystic on me.  He's shaved his head and
everything."
     "Excellent idea, young man," Brother Honda said, trying to
look through the cages at the women.  It was made difficult by a
small growling Boston Terrier who was in the cage.  "You will
find true enlightenment in the order."
     "Yeah, that's what T-bone said.  You got babes there?"
     Brother Honda only chanced a raised eyebrow the young man's
direction before shifting to the next cage.  It wasn't much
better.  A snarling Poodle blocked his view.  "A few."
     "They shave their heads, too?"
     "Yes."
     "Far out," the young man replied, his head bobbing with joy.
"You got room in your... uh, group?"
     Brother Honda let his two companions scurry out the back
door as he considered the question.  "Well, first you have to get
to Japan."
     For a few seconds, the young man appeared to be trying to
process what Brother Honda had said.  A concerned frown slithered
across his face.  "Bummer."
     "Yes, well, I'm sure you can find something local."  Brother
Honda started to duck-walk towards the back door.
     "That's what T-Bone said but they all want you to give up
chicks and stuff."  The young man appeared truly distressed at
the prospect.
     "The path to enlightenment is strewn with many obstacles."
     "Bummer."
     "Good luck to you, young man."  Brother Honda quickly duck-
walked out the back door and into a deserted alley.
     Certain they were unobserved, Brother Suzuki stood up with a
groan.  "That was close."  He rubbed his lower back and grimaced.
He hadn't walked like that since elementary school.
     "We need to find other clothes," Brother Toyota said,
grimacing as he tried to straighten up.  "These robes are a dead
giveaway."
     Brother Honda rubbed his bald head and looked around.  His
eyes caught on a red sign familiar to every inner city
neighborhood.  "I believe the solution is at hand," he said,
indicating the Salvation Army Red Shield Store sign.
     "Ugh," Brother Suzuki said with thinly disguised disgust.
"I've heard that somewhere between their brass bands and lousy
soup they try to convert you."  Brother Toyota adjusted his robes
and sighed.
     "I'm certain that won't be a problem.  I've heard such
stores are only outlets selling clothes to the less fortunate."
Brother Honda quickly counted their combined funds.  "Surely, we
can find appropriate attire for... twenty-three dollars and
seventeen cents."
     Brother Toyota started towards the store.  "Okay, but the
first sign of a brass band or bowl of soup and I'm outta there."

*****

     "Skipper, I just don't know what we can do that we aren't
already doing," Commander Wilde said with a sigh as he plopped
down on Jeffrey's sofa, extending his long legs onto the glass-
topped coffee table.  Jeff winced at the sound of shoe leather
impacting glass.  He really hated when Jamie did that.  "I've got
every source I know in Hawaii looking for those guys."
     Jeff leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.
Their weekly meeting was winding down and the talk had turned to
what they could do to find the missing monks.  "What about
Palmer?  Can't he still hack into those old Russian satellites
floating about up there?"
     Wilde snorted.  "Already tried.  They haven't changed the
security codes since Gorbachev.  It was a snap for Palmer to hack
'em.  However, all he found was that every one of those birds are
parked over a different nude beach.  It took me three tries to
get Palmer's attention.  I doubt they'll be much help."
     "Is he getting any pictures?" Sean asked, sinking deeper
into his favorite overstuffed armchair and pulling his brown
fedora over his eyes like he was about to take a nap.
     "Beats me.  Ask him yourself."  Commander Wilde duplicated
Sean's posture and folded his hands across his middle as if
preparing to take a nap himself.
     Jim Bateman, never one to nap in a meeting, paced the
opposite side of the room like he was making a pitch to a jury.
"In any case, we don't know for sure that they are even trying to
hide.  You said yourself that they had been spotted several
places on the island."
     "What my sources said was they had spotted three Buddhist
monks," Wilde replied.  "They could have seen three indigenous
monks and not the three we are looking for."
     "We have got to find those guys," Jeff moaned.  "We have to
help Rachel."
     Jamie groaned.  "That reminds me.  I promised to pick up a
few things for her."  He checked his watch and slowly sat up.  "I
told her I'd be by after the meeting."
     "She's really got you wrapped around her little finger,"
Sean said with just a hint of a grin beneath his fedora.
     Jamie nailed him with one of the sofa pillows.  "No way.
I'm just helping her out because of the trouble she's in.  That's
all."
     Jeff suppressed a grin of his own.  He knew the Commander
thought more of her than that.  He was just too much of a
professional to admit it to her or anyone else for that matter.
Besides, he knew Sean considered teasing the big ex-SEAL to be
one of his job's perks.
     "Lay off the guy," Jim Bateman said as he lined up a putt.
He had given up pacing and was now practicing his putting with
Jeff's putter.  "He's just being a gentleman."
     Sean snorted.  "Yeah?  Are you sure you don't just like 'em
young?"  That drew another pillow, this one knocking his fedora
askew.
     "She's like a little sister to me, that's all," Jamie
growled as he rocked to his feet and arranged his suit coat.
     Adjusting his hat, Sean shrugged.  "I stand corrected.  I
withdraw the question."
     "Sustained," Jim said, executing a perfect putt that settled
neatly into the putting machine.  "Yes!" he hissed.  A whir and
click later, the ball rolled back to him.
     Jeff rocked forward in his chair and dropped his hands
noisily on his desk.  "Well, we aren't getting anything done
sitting around here.  Let's hit it again and find those guys."
     Jamie and Sean quickly departed, each on their own mission.
Jim remained behind.  Sliding Jeff's putter back into his bag,
Jim paused, eyeing Jeff in a curious way.
     "You people sure attract some interesting phenomena," he
said.
     "Interesting is hardly the word," Jeff replied.  "Try
'weird' or 'strange' or sometimes 'terrifying.'"
     "Is this because of your wife?  Is she the cause of all
these odd happenings?"  Jim looked distinctly uncomfortable, his
hand idly picking at the heads of Jeff's golf clubs.
     Shoving his hands deep into his pockets, Jeff walked to a
window and looked out over the blue Pacific ocean.  "Jim, when
you started with us, I told you this was an unusual company.
Things happen here that don't happen any where else in America."
     "Like demons and curses?"  Jim duplicated Jeff's hand in his
pockets stance but stayed where he was.  "You know, I have a
Japanese wife, too.  Ever since that incident at your house, Kei
has been after me to distance myself from you."
     With a slight grimace, Jeff looked down at the street below.
He couldn't really blame Jim... or Kei.  He remembered how long
it took HIM to get used to all the strange things that seemed to
surround his wife and her family.  At least, he had the advantage
of his training to give him some frame of reference.  He could
just imagine what it must have been like for Jim and Kei to be
trapped in a house, in broad daylight, fighting for their lives
against beings that were not supposed to exist.  "What's stopping
you?" he finally asked.
     "I donno, maybe it's because since that day, sex with Kei
has been unbelievable."
     Jeff couldn't help but grin.  "I told you working here would
have certain benefits."
     "Yeah, well, ..."  Jim's voice trailed off, like he was
making a decision.  "Look, I know you can't tell me everything.
You probably don't know everything but if I'm going to keep you
and your motley crew out of trouble, I need to know what I'm
dealing with."
     Jeff thought about what to say and how much to reveal to his
attorney.  It was true the man deserved to know what he was faced
with but he didn't want to do or say anything that could lose him
a good legal mind.
     He looked at Jim, seeing concern on the man's face, before
deciding.  "Sit down, councilor.  What I'm about to tell you has
to remain strictly part of the attorney-client relationship.  You
can't breathe a word of this to anyone, even your wife."
     "Especially my wife," Jim corrected.  "Kei already thinks
you people are haunted or jinxed or just plain strange."
     For the next two hours, Jeff told his attorney everything he
knew about ninjas, clans, Amazons, and curses.  When he was
finished, he felt like he had been through a confessional.  Jim
looked like he had just gotten a glimpse of a parallel dimension.

*****

     Across town, in a rundown area of an ethnic Chinese
neighborhood, two figures, looking distinctly uncomfortable in
their worn Western clothes stopped in front of an old shop.
Their search for the three monks had not gone well.  The local
Chinese-American population had not been as helpful as Cologne
had hoped.  Either they had not seen the monks or were reluctant
to expose holy men to strangers.  The two Amazons were forced to
resort to more traditional means.
     "This is the place," Cologne said with a nod.  She lightly
tapped the door with her staff.  The latch clicked and the door
slowly swung open on its own.
     The two cautiously entered.  The little shop was barely
wider than its front door but seemed to extend deep into the
surrounding buildings.  Along one wall were aged and cracked
glass display cases or shelves that were stuffed with artifacts
from China.
     Cologne sniffed and shook her head as she passed deeper into
the shop.  "Junk," she muttered.  "Phonies, forgeries, and trash
that is supposed to come from a score of ancient dynasties."
     "Probably for the tourists," Shampoo added in a soft voice.
     "No doubt."
     When they reached the end of the shop, they encountered a
little old Chinese man, sitting behind a well worn counter,
smoking a traditional pipe.
     As they approached, he blew a fowl-smelling cloud their way.
Shampoo stifled a cough.  Cologne just scowled at the offender,
showing no signs of the smoke effecting her.
     "Young man, smoking is bad for your health," Cologne said.
     The old man removed the pipe from his mouth and grinned,
showing numerous missing teeth.  "You are probably right.  But
since I turn one hundred and two next month, I don't see how such
a minor vice can harm me any more than life itself," he replied,
adding a light cackling laugh.
     Cologne sighed in disgust at having to enlist the help of
such a vile person, especially a man young enough to be her son.
"I am here to purchase a dragon's whisker," she said.
     Her request only elicited more croaking laughter.  "A
dragon's whisker, is it?  My dear woman, there is no such thing
as a dragon's whisker."
     Cologne's eyes narrowed.  "Young man, my people revere the
four dragons of the sacred mountains to the south.  For
centuries, we have made sacrifices to them, we have honored them,
we have even, on occasion, sought their council.  Don't tell me
they don't exist when I have seen them with my own eyes," she
growled.
     "That may be, my dear woman but we have no such artifact
here."  The old man's smile was now gone.
     Cologne leaned closer, her eyes beginning to glow.  "I can
smell a dragon's whisker from a great distance.  This shop of
yours reeks of dragon.  It is here," she insisted.
     The old man said nothing.  As if he could sense Cologne was
trying to control his will with her own, the man slowly smiled
and returned her glare, his own eyes beginning to glow a deep
red.
     For several seconds, they battled in silence, each trying
to exert their own will on the other.  The room seemed to dim as
they both began to glow.  With a suddenness that caused Shampoo
to jerk with surprise, each projected what appeared to be thin
tendrils of electricity from their eyes, his a blood red and hers
a silvery blue.  The energy surged towards each other, then
hesitated like two wrestlers sizing up their opponent.  With a
hissing crackle, the bolts rushed forward and met above the worn
counter.
     The two fingers of pure chi power danced about, colliding,
receding, and entangling each other in an impressive display of
ancient Chinese psychic power.  Neither gave an inch but neither
could overcome the other.
     In a flash, both blinked and the mystical power disappeared.
Cologne gasped and hunched over at the exertion.  If she just had
her...  No, she mustn't revert to excuses.  Such would be a sign
of weakness.  Her Amazon pride wouldn't allow her to be defeated
by a mere man.
     Still facing the floor, she began to chant an ancient
incantation.  The old man countered with one of his own.  The
little shop soon filled with chants and counter-chants, each
invoking a power known only to themselves.  Shampoo slowly backed
away.  She didn't know what was about to happen but the amount of
chi power that was being invoked in such a confined space
couldn't be good.
     As the atmosphere hissed and crackled with tremendous
energy, Cologne suddenly determined she wasn't going to overcome
the wily old wizard from her home country with magic alone.  What
powers he held were equal to her own diminished abilities.  She
needed to end this battle of wills soon or risk defeat.
     Wielding her staff as if it were as light as a twig, she
struck at the man, aiming for a spot that would paralyze him.  To
her surprise, he easily countered with his long pipe, first
parrying and then entangling it with its bowl.  She barely had
time to retrieve her staff before it could be yanked from her
weakening fingers.
     The battle was turning rapidly against the tiring Cologne
when the little shop's door opened and a young woman entered
carrying a brown paper sack.  "Grandpa, I'm back with your
lunch," the woman announced.
     Shampoo, seeing a chance to aid her great grandmother,
seized the opportunity.  A cartwheel and full back flip later,
she landed next to the frightened woman.  Producing  a small
knife, she easily took the young woman prisoner.  "Yield or your
granddaughter dies," Shampoo shouted, pressing the blade to her
captive's throat.
     The old man's reaction was immediate.  Holding up a hand as
if to beg for his granddaughter's life, he seemed to sag into his
chair.  The very air in the old shop sighed and hissed at the
sudden release of energy.  "Very well," he said, gasping for
breath.
     Cologne leaned on her staff.  The exertion of the battle
being almost too much for her.  "Tell me where the dragon whisker
is hidden and the girl lives," she gasped.  Even speaking was
almost too much for her in her weakened state.  She had the
advantage for the moment.  She had only this one chance to get
the dragon's whisker and get out before the wily old wizard could
recover and finish her for good.
     The old man waved a hand towards the front of the shop.
"Top shelf.  In an old puzzle box," he croaked, while staring at
his granddaughter.  "Take it and be gone."
     Shampoo released the woman and quickly located the box.
"Got it," she said, holding it up for Cologne to see.
     The old woman began to slowly turn away from her adversary,
her steps hesitant and awkward.  She had what they had come for.
All that remained was to leave with her remaining life force
intact.
     "I never thought a witch of Joketsuzoku would be such a
fool," the old man growled, his strength obviously returning
faster than Cologne's.
     "How do you know where we come from?" Cologne asked without
turning to face him.
     "I know many things," the old man said as he slowly relit
his pipe.  "I know that Amazon's kill Amazon's.  In your
ignorance, you have stumbled into the ending of that which was
begun."
     Cologne knew that her strength was ebbing but her curiosity
was aroused.  "Why do I get the feeling I should know you?" she
asked, her voice cracking under the strain of her weakened state.
She could feel the chi being sucked out of her body by forces
housed in the ancient artifacts around her.  She had to leave
soon or she would not leave at all.
     "I believe it is written in your Book of the Four Dragons;
'Four will unite, three will survive.  Two will quarrel and one
will die.  Under sky so black, over land so green.  A thousand
will witness, the end of a dream.  Sisters will take arms, the
youngest will fall.  The oldest will flee from the judgement of
all.  The circle will turn, only one will return.  The mark of
the dragon on her skin will be burned.'"  The old man's eyes
glowed an unearthly red as he spoke.  Cologne could feel the
power behind his words but couldn't recall such a passage in the
holy book of which he spoke.  Her weakened state had made it
difficult to concentrate.
     There was no time remaining for further reflection within
the walls of the shop.  With a worried shake of her head, Cologne
turned to leave.  Her disordered mind was filled with trying to
fit the old man's poem into their reason for being in Hawaii as
she painfully shuffled past Shampoo and out the door.  There had
been many family quarrels among her tribe but none she could
recall at the moment seemed to fit the words.
     Her surprise at what she found outside the shop was hard to
disguise.  What had been a busy side street was now totally
empty.  No people, no animals, not even a breath of breeze
disturbed the eerie silence.
     "Great Grandmother...," Shampoo said softly as she hugged
the ancient wood puzzle box to her chest.  Her eyes were
continually moving in search of possible threats.  Whatever magic
caused this was powerful.  She could see the trees several blocks
away swaying in the wind but nothing moved in their lonely patch
of worn asphalt.
     "I know, child.  Just keep walking," Cologne replied as if
even those few words were a struggle.
     Together, the two Amazons from Joketsuzoku quietly departed
the silent neighborhood and returned to their cheap hotel room.
There was much to prepare and much more to ponder.  Alone in her
bed, Cologne repeatedly reran the old man's words and struggled
to fit them into her Amazon history.  Her sleep, when it came,
was haunted by scenes of dragons fighting to the death.  She woke
only once during the night, when a particularly vivid dream of
two dragons fighting furiously under a starry night sky.  The
grass was trampled as they battled without mercy.  The battle
abruptly ended with the death of one dragon.  In complete
silence, the dead dragon slowly dissolved in a cloud of red smoke
revealing the figure of a woman.  The woman was one Cologne knew
well; Shampoo's mother.


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