Ranma-kun ambled zombie-like to his sleeping mat and collapsed to his knees. He grumbled quietly to himself, "That was a dirty trick Akane pulled--using my own cursed body against me." _But then again, it IS a curse._ Ranma fell back and stared up at the ceiling. "Why does she always have to do something like that to me? All I said was that if she wore her gi, people might mistake her for one of the martial artists--or at least that's what I thought I said." He clasped his hands behind his disheavaled hair and sighed. _Then she just had to haul off and hit me. Not even a warning. And to think that I almost told her she looked cuter in a dress. Hmmph. What a tomboy._ Akane's threatening voice echoed through his head as if in retaliation: 'Who are you to judge me, Ranma? You're not even a man!' Ranma winced and rolled to his side, then felt something digging into his thigh. He sat up and started fumbling around in his pants' pocket. He began muttering again, "Yeah, some man. I have Kunou tryin to date me, Kodachi tryin to kill me because she thinks I stole her boyfriend or somethin, and the old freak...." Ranma shivered, not wanting to find a reasoning for Happousai's actions. His fingers finally closed around a small, round object wedged at the very bottom of his pocket. He brought his hand up to his face to find that he was holding a shiny, silver marble--the same marble he had been carrying around for days without knowing why (NOTE: If you don't know where the marble came from, read HELLCATS.) (CHEF'S NOTE: It was given to him by Happousai's son.) (NOTE: Hey! Don't ruin their incentive to read!) (CHEF'S NOTE: And finding out who Happy's son is isn't an incentive?). He looked at it curiously, wondering for the first time why he was keeping it, and continued talking to himself. "And now everbody in school is findin out about my secret, and they think I'm some sort of freak or pervert--I get enough of that from Akane." He tightened his fists in frustration. "Oh, it seems like my girl form is the cause of half of all my problems, and I have enough of em as it is. Why did I have to get cursed like this anyhow?" Ranma quickly glanced at the panda sleeping on the next mat, realizing that his voice was getting a little loud, but his pop was still snoring with his back turned and didn't seem to notice. Ranma shook his head and stared once again at the marble in his hand. He yawned and tossed the marble to the side. _It was a stupid question anyway. What's done is done, and I just have to live with it--for now." Ranma fell back on the mat, turned on his side, and made himself comfortable. Soon, he was asleep. The 'marble', which had nestled itself in Genma's fur, began to glow faintly and slowly increase in intensity, awakening to respond to the question it was posed. "Aaaaiiii!" Ranma-chan was startled awake when a familiar, high-pitched scream pierced the air, followed by a low rumble of thunder. She instantly pushed herself to her hands and knees to find herself in the middle of a grassy meadow with a light but steady sheet of raindrops assaulting her back, soaking her already tattered clothes to her skin. Cold beads of water dribbled down to her nose and chin as she stared at the ground in blank shock and confusion, trying to consider whether or not she was dreaming. Finally, she pushed back a clump of red hair matted against her forehead and slowly glanced to one side, then the other. "Where the heck am I?" Ranma sat back onto her knees and widened her field of vision. The rain had pushed the clump of hair back over her left eye, but she took no notice. Directly in front of her stood the treeline to a jungle. Something about it seemed familiar. She grasped her shoulders and shivered slightly. "Nooo-oo-oooo-ooo!" The familiar scream filled the sky once more, but this time, it hovered across the landscape for several seconds like a passing train. Ranma froze. It definitely wasn't Akane, but something about the voice struck too close to home--and it was quivering as though it were... crying. With all of her protective instincts now taking control, Ranma quickly jumped to her feet and dashed in the direction of the distress. Moving away from the jungle, she found that the meadow abruptly became a steep cliff, which ran parallel to the jungle as far as she could see. And over that cliff, not too far down, were dozens of (maybe even a hundred) ponds grouped closely together. Ranma eyes grew wide in recognition, and she muttered to herself, "It can't be." "Plee-ee-ee-ease! Don't hurt him!" The voice brought Ranma back to her current mission. It was right below her! She dropped to the ground and peered over the edge in awe. A tall man wearing an intricately-designed, blue-and-orange robe and a similarly painted theater mask was restraining a much shorter, red-headed girl from behind; he had one arm slipped firmly around her waist, holding her slightly off the ground, while his other hand was gripping a wad of her long, crimson hair, forcing her to keep her head still. Furthermore, her soft blue robe was pulled over her shoulders down to her elbows, exposing her entire naked body and successfully pinning her arms to her side. Even so, she squirmed in her captor's grasp as though she could still give him the thrashing of his life. In front of her paced another man, shorter than his comrade but dressed the same way. One hand was resting on the hilt of a sword scabbarded on his right side while the other hand was gripping what appeared to be a small, unconscious black piglet. Tears were streaming down the girl's face, almost completely masked by the persistant raindrops falling from the sky. She made a futile effort to throw herself forward, but her formidable restraint only tightened his grip and yanked her head back. She screamed in pain, but the two men did not care. In a choked, quivering voice, she cried, "Why can't you just leave us alone!?!" The pacing man ignored the plea. "Emperor Fang is very displeased! Your father has failed him for the last time!" The tall man grunted as if in agreement. The shorter man stopped pacing, but did not turn to face her. "The Emperor had been generous in allowing your father to continue living on his royal land. All His Majesty asked for in return was that he tend and harvest his personal rice plantation. But now, it seems that YOUR FATHER is incapable of the task." The girl tried to speak, but the man behind her pulled tighter, and her words stuck in her throat. The man in front of her drew his sword so swiftly that it seemed the blade had just winked into existence. "Your father is a disgrace! You are a disgrace! You both do not deserve this land!" He made a sweeping gesture through the air with his sword, finishing the movement by gently tapping the sharpened point onto her left breast, drawing a bead of blood. "You don't even deserve your dignity." The man looked her up and down and chuckled with some small satisfaction. "And this..." He held up the pig and pointed to it with his sword. "You don't need this." The red-haired girl tensed and tried to shout something, animal on his sword, the man took a few steps to one of the pools, dropped to one knee, and dunked it under the water. The girls eyes flew wide in helpless horror. "NIKO!" "Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" The tall man looked up in time to see a foot flying toward his face--then stars. Ranma sprang off of the guy's mask and landed flawlessly on the soft ground; the big man stumbled backward with his hands clawing in front of him, and the girl he was holding deliriously fell face-down in the mud with her arms still pinned to her sides. The man executing the pig in the pond looked up in surprise to see his taller friend staggering a bit while a red-haired girl in odd, tattered clothes and a yellow ribbon assumed a battle-ready stance. The shorter man stared at the newcomer for a moment, then shouted, "Lon! Kill her! Aaaaarrrgghh!" He quickly pulled his hand out of the water to find an angered, black piglet with its jaws clamped around his first two fingers. Ranma stared coldly at her much-taller opponent (nearly twice her height) as he reoriented himself--she was surprised that the brute was still standing after she slammed into him. She heard his friend bark an order to him. She spat, "Lon. That's your name, is it?" Lon planted his feet firmly onto the ground and glared forward at his challenger. There was a long, diagonal crack down the middle of the mask--as well as a few small chips around the eyes. He balled his hands into fists and appeared infinitely more menacing. Lon took a step forward and thrust his fist at Ranma, who dodged it easily. She then grabbed his arm and attempted to throw him over her shoulder, but he stepped forward and locked his foot behind hers. Abandoning the throw, Ranma pounded her opponent's chest and stomach with a quick chestnut fist, landing at least seventy good blows. Lon stumbled back in pain and stunned disbelief, but he remained standing and seemed more pissed off than anything. Ranma's eyes flew wide. Meanwhile, Lon's companion was flailing his arm in desperation, trying to throw the vile beast from his hand (CUTE VOICE: But is only pig.) (CHEF'S NOTE: Sure. The obnoxious pig FROM HELL!). He couldn't knock it off with his sword because his target had swung itself fully onto his hand--and he would most likely hack his hand off before finishing the creature. Dropping the sword, he pulled out a fairly large pouch and drove his injured fist into it. There was a slight *crack* as well as a *clunk* as the pig's head collided with some wooden object inside. He withdrew his hand and eagerly pulled the drawstrings tight. With a heave, he sent the pouch sailing through the air and into one of the pools. Lon and Ranma circled each other, neither giving nor gaining ground. Ranma was still stunned that her opposition had barely been affected by her attack and felt a bit wary of initiating another. Lon finally decided to try to grab her; he reached out with his powerful arms, but Ranma ducked with no problem. He followed his attack by thrusting his knee at her head, which barely missed. Ranma grabbed one of his arms and his knee, fell backward, and sent Lon hurtling through the air. He flew several yards and hit the side of the cliff Ranma had descended from. The remaining masked warrior picked up his sword and rushed at Ranma, but a sturdy kick sent him flying through the air into one of the pools (CHEF'S NOTE: Oh, too bad. You fall in Spring of Drowned Jackass. Very tragic story of jackass what drown in spring just now.). Lon started to get up and prepare another attack, but then noticed a wolf noiselessly dredging itself out of one of the pools (CUTE VOICE: Oh, too bad. You fall in Spring of Drowned Wolf. Very tragic story of wolf what drown in spring one thousand... wait. Minus fifteen, carry three, add two... hmmph. When stupid wolf drown?). His friend was nowhere to be seen, but Lon had his suspicions as to what had happened. Ranma's back was turned, but Lon would rather deal with such a powerful foe--even a girl--when the odds were more in his favor. He got to his feet, and he and the wolf sprinted quietly around the cliff. After shrugging off his second attacker, Ranma ran over and knelt beside the red-headed girl who was still lying face-down and half-naked in the mud. She picked the girl up and held her at arms' length, asking, "Are you alright?" The dizzied girl steadied herself on her knees, but her head was still spinning. Ranma was shocked at how much the girl was a mirror image of herself; even with all the mud caked across her face, Ranma could see a striking resemblance in the eyes. She reached over and wiped away some of the filth covering her mouth and nose, leaving the rest for the pouring rain to wash away. The girl came to her senses and stared curiously at Ranma with a mixture of excitement and fright. Ranma met her gaze and held it for a few seconds, then shifted her eyes downward and blushed when she became aware that the rain had already washed most of the mud from her chest. The girl made no motion to fix her robe, but was fixated on staring at her living reflexion; so Ranma hesitantly reached over and pulled the garment back over her shoulders. The girl instantly threw her arms around her savior's neck and pulled her close. "I knew you would come for me someday, My Guardian Spirit!" Ranma gasped, unsure of what to do. Ranma shivered as she slowly became aware again that the icy rain bombarding the area was getting worse, drenching them both thoroughly--and the girl latched onto her neck was hardly dressed for such weather. Ranma gently pushed her away and closed the front of her robe, and the girl held it together with her arms. Ranma said, "You really should get out of the rain. You'll catch a cold out here." The girl shivered, becoming fully aware of her surroundings as well, then nodded dumbly. A second later, her eyes flew wide as she remembered her travelling companion. "Niko! Where's Niko?!" Ranma watched her chest suddenly start heaving insanely fast; her eyes shimmered sightlessly and her bottom lip quivered. Ranma, worried because of her sudden hysterical bout, anxiously agreed to stay and look for her pet and told her to calm down. It didn't take long for Ranma to spot the brown, cloth bag half-floating just beneath the surface of the water two pools away. She grabbed a stick from the ground and dashed over to the spring, taking care not to fall in one of the adjacent springs. Breaking the surface of the dancing pond with her stick, she prodded for the drawstrings and fished the bundle out. After hastily retreating back to the shore, Ranma pulled the top open to make sure she had actually found Niko. She looked inside and paled slightly, then muttered miserably to herself, "P-chan?" The other red-headed girl stiffened when she saw Ranma's expression, gripping her robe even tighter around herself when her blood ran just a little colder. She pleaded, "What? What is it? Is he alright?" Ranma closed the bag and solemnly walked up to her. Handing it to the girl, Ranma's voice sank, "Sorry 'bout this." The girl didn't even look in the pouch; she just clutched it tightly to her chest. She threw her head back and howled in pain as if she had been stabbed in the heart with a knife but was unable to die. She once again became oblivious to the chilling rain washing across her face and beating her flesh into hundreds of goosebumps, threatening to wash her whole body into the damp earth. Ranma knelt down beside her, trying to shield her from as much of the torrent as possible. The rain steadily picked up. "C'mon. I've got to get you out of here."To Nyannichuan, Chapter one, Part 3