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."