Nabiki 1/2

A Very Scary Thought

(An Altered Destiny)

Chapter 21, Part 1.

By
Jim Robert Bader

(Inspired by the works of Rumiko Takahashi and others)



The sea breeze wafted through the hair of Perfume as she stood at 
the bow of the forty-foot yacht watching the shoreline recede with 
a curious apprehension.  She was adjusting rapidly to the 
unsettling wave motion under her feet, learning to sway in 
counter-motion so as to not have her center of balance be so 
adversely affected.  She had never been to sea on a vessel such as 
this before and was finding the sense of being surrounded by so 
much ocean unnerving.  It was not simply the fact of her curse 
that made her wonder at the wisdom of this journey, it was the 
fear of being completely out of her element with minimal control 
over the circumstances of her existence.

The ocean was such a violent medium.  She had always assumed 
that the sea was a mysterious frontier renown through song and 
legend as something tranquil and infinite, but here she was 
discovering how vast and restless it could be, so powerful and 
unforgiving with mysterious depths that were beyond her 
understanding.  The harsh brine in the air was affecting her 
senses and there were so many sounds to focus upon as though 
her entire environment were one great crashing cacophony of 
vibrations.

Yet still she remained calm, practicing inwardly the techniques 
she had learned from Cologne through long and steady practice.  
There was a rhythm behind the seeming chaoticness of the ocean, 
and by attuning herself to this inner rhythm she was able to learn 
to move in counter-tempo.  By gently bending with the flow she 
managed to maintain her inner balance rather than hurl her lunch 
over the side, as she had at first been so strongly tempted.

Oddly enough she found it easier to filter out the vast majority of 
the sensory input her acute senses were bombarded with so that 
she could focus on the conversation going on behind her.  Ukyo 
was conferring with Nabiki on the presence of the Hinako 
woman, both lounging around in revealing bikinis, acting as if 
unaware that Perfume heard every word that they were speaking.  
She was also stealing coy glances over her shoulder whenever 
she thought that they were not observing, enjoying the leg show 
while comparing the figures of the two women to whom her 
destiny was bound by love and honor.

She envied her Airen and co-fiancee their freedom to expose their 
bodies to the harsh sunlight.  
Being pale even for an Amazon with a tendency to burn easily, 
she had to cover herself up with her normal Chinese-style 
clothing, even though the warmth of daylight made her already 
feel somewhat hot and cloying.  Better that than suffer the 
absolute agony of a sunburn, however, so she let the focus of her 
mind center on their words, ignoring the other discussions being 
held around on the boat by differing sets of parties.

She was not surprised when their conversation touched on her but 
kept her face composed and emotionless so as not to betray her 
attention and maybe discourage them from revealing things of a 
personal nature.

"You two seem to be getting along just fine these days," Nabiki 
noted with a tone that was almost wistful, "Hard to believe after 
the way you used to protest your lack of interest."

Perfume was not looking at them when Nabiki said this but she 
could almost feel Ukyo's blush and smiled a little in reflection.  
Perfume allowed herself a small smile as she recalled the 
awkward period during which she had courted Ukyo and tried to 
gain her interest.  The most Ukyo had been willing to share in the 
beginning was her friendship, and that was _almost_ enough for 
a time, but nothing to be treasured beside what she and Ukyo 
now shared.

Of course her Airen was modest about the matter, which was 
only to be expected.  Ukyo did not have her expressive nature and 
was always modest in showing her feelings, quite a lot like a 
man when Perfume thought about the matter.

"Yeah, well, you know how it is...or was," Ukyo finally sighed in 
a way that was both embarrassed and hopeful, "I had no idea 
what I was getting involved with at the beginning, but now, with 
the benefit of hindsight..."

"I see," Nabiki replied in that characteristically gentle-yet-smug 
way of hers that was equal parts sympathetic and knowing, 
"That's much the way I'd describe things between Shampoo and 
me, only at the time that we met I thought I had a pretty good 
idea of what I was getting into..."

"Yeah, but you had it easy," Ukyo snorted, "You were a guy 
when it happened, while I was afraid of loosing my womanhood 
if I got involved with another woman. The funny thing is that 
now I feel more like a woman than I ever felt when I was 
pretending to be a guy,  telling myself that I didn't need a man to 
make me feel fulfilled.  When I'm with Perfume...well...I feel very 
much like a woman...if you get my meaning."

"Oh, I get you," Nabiki chuckled softly, "Loud and clear.  Don't 
forget, I know what it's like to be on both sides of the pillow..."

"How can we ever forget?" Ukyo at once retorted, "You never let 
us."

"Well...I still haven't done it with Ranma," Nabiki's tone was 
filled with annoyance and regret on that point, "Or any other guy 
for that matter, so that's something else we have in common."

"Don't remind me," Ukyo sighed, "Before I met him I always 
thought all guys had one thing on their minds, which was more 
than they could handle."

"He's too nice for the two of us," Nabiki leaned back and 
stretched herself out, showing off her long, lean and entirely well-
curved body, "Cornering him is going to be a real challenge.  As 
much as I hate to say it, we're probably going to have to wait 
until the honeymoon to nail him."

"Depending on whichever one of us goes first," Ukyo pointed out 
with just a hint of her competitive spirit, "And don't you dare 
suggest we do it as a threesome."

"Aw," Nabiki feigned disappointment, "You sure you wouldn't 
like it better that way?  We'd give Ranma every other guy's 
fantasy, and if you'd prefer to do it with guys we could both gang 
up on you for a sandwich, I'd even bet you'd like that."

"Pervert," Ukyo replied with a chuckle, "You're as bad as 
Shampoo, you know that?"

"Oh, and Perfume there doesn't come up with some pretty 
scandalous suggestions?" Nabiki challenged, "I've heard you two 
make quite a bit of noise together, and that's not just the 
complaint of all the neighbors..."

Perfume could well imagine from her silence how Ukyo was 
blushing furiously and she smiled with a certain smug relish 
before her Airen continued, "Well...yeah we kind of...experiment 
a little after hours, nothing too serious, just a couple of naughty 
girls doing things that would shock even you if I let you get away 
with installing hidden cameras."

"Just think of the video rights," Nabiki pretended to lean towards 
her in a predatory whisper, "I happen to have it on good authority 
that Amazons are very...limber.  You could make a considerable 
fortune with the Echi crowd."

"And I suppose you've suggested this to Shampoo?"

"What, do I look crazy or suicidal?" Nabiki retorted, "She may be 
uninhibited but my wife does have her pride and standards.  Not 
that I couldn't make a bundle doing it with some other girl in my 
male form...only she'd probably geld me."  This latter part was 
spoken with a nervous whisper that implied that the idea was 
only slightly facetious.

"So," Ukyo said at last after another long pause, staring at her 
bare feet as she also stretched out with a sigh before turning up 
and gazing out at the ocean, "Here we are...two women, both 
trapped up in situations we'd never have believed possible if they 
were happening to someone else, trying to make the best of a bad 
deal, and actually doing pretty good all things considered.  I 
mean, life isn't always a bed of roses, but it could be a lot worse.  
I've got Perfume and you've got Shampoo and we're not even 
fighting about Ranma.  You ever think maybe things are a little 
too perfect?"

"Tendo Nabiki!"

Both Ukyo and Nabiki sat upright while Perfume tensed a little.  
She heard the footsteps coming up the ladder and sensed the 
presence of Hinako-Sensei approach them.

"I withdraw that last questions," Ukyo softly murmured.

"Tendo Nabiki," Hinako came to stand a short distance away 
from the three girls and adopted a tone that made Perfume almost 
believe that she could hear as scowling, "I have just spoken with 
your younger sister and she has informed me that your cousin, 
Kaneda, has been living with a foreign girl who is not yet of age, 
and I am given to understand that she is carrying his child?"

"She's his wife, Sensei," Nabiki replied in such a way that 
Perfume could imagine what she was thinking about the loose-
lipped nature of her sister, "They met when we were in China.  It 
was sort of hastily arranged by the tribal customs of her people, 
but they've since made it official."

"Scandalous," Hinako said in clear disapproval, "The behavior of 
you Tendos is quite shocking in the extreme.  I suppose this is 
partly why I have rarely seen Kaneda attending regular classes?"

"He's...not enrolled at Furinkan, Sensei," Nabiki explained, "He 
attends a different school...mostly involving home tutoring..."

"Then he has no business being on Furinkan school grounds," 
Hinako stated flatly, "Yet I have seen him harassing young girls 
and engaging in all manner of scandalous behavior with that 
Grandfather of yours.  That is hardly proper behavior for a 
husband with a pregnant wife.  I have a good mind to speak with 
him about this matter the next time I see him."

"Oh, believe me," Nabiki said with clear reluctance, "He only 
goes to Furinkan when it's absolutely necessary, and he wouldn't 
show up at all if he had any choice in the matter.  He's not a 
Pervert, and if anything he's tried to put a stop to Gramps and his 
antics."

"I'll believe that when I see more evidence," Hinako said, "Until 
then you're both on report as far as I'm concerned.  And you, 
Kuonji-san, I have told you repeatedly about carrying that 
weapon around with you everywhere you go.  It is not ladylike to 
adopt such mannish, aggressive behavior..."

"Yes Sensei," Ukyo responded, knowing well enough that it was 
pointless to argue with Hinako.

"And your friend here," Hinako at last turned her attention 
Perfume's way, "I have seen this young lady on school grounds 
several times of late, but I do not believe that she is a student of 
Furinkan..."

"Oh, she's going to enroll and take courses," Ukyo hastily 
explained, "She my w---my good friend from China," she hastily 
amended, earning an unseen smile from Perfume's direction, "Her 
name is Perfume and she's the adoptive cousin of Kaneda-sama's 
wife, who you saw back at the Tendo House."

"Perfume, eh?" Hinako asked, "I don't suppose she has a last 
name?"

"Ah," Ukyo hesitated, then said, "Not really."

"Perfume's people are the Nyanichiczu of China," Nabiki hastily 
supplied, "She comes from a small village named Joketsuzoku..."

"The home of the Chinese Amazons?" Hinako gasped, surprising 
Nabiki as she suddenly became more like the child that she 
resembled, "Are you really an Amazon, lady?"

"Yes, little one," Perfume answered, finally turning around and 
giving the diminutive teacher a friendly expression, "I am village 
Enforcer, and the Elder Cologne is my adoptive great 
grandmother."

Ukyo's jaw nearly hit the deck as she stared at Perfume in 
surprise, hearing her Chinese bride speak almost perfect Japanese 
for the first time since she had met her.

"You're very pretty," Hinako said brightly, "I'll bet you have a lot 
of boyfriends."

"Not really," Perfume lost most of her smile as she thought about 
Mousse, "No."

"Well," Hinako paused for a moment before smiling again and 
saying, "I guess I'll be seeing a lot more of you when you enroll at 
Furinkan.  You might even have me for a homeroom teacher like 
Kuonji here."

Perfume's smile returned, giving Ukyo a wicked look before 
replying, "I'd like that."

"Then you should know that you can always come to me if you 
ever have any problems that you'd like to talk about with 
somebody," Hinako turned around and said, "Well, that's what I 
came to say, so right now I think I'll go and see if they have any 
snacks to eat, I'm feeling hungry."

Ukyo waited until Hinako was gone before turning to Perfume 
and saying, "How...?"

"I practice," Perfume replied, "Perfume listen good to Airen 
speak.  It hard to use proper words, but I not stupid.  I get better 
the more I rehearse in private."

"Never knew you spent that much time away from Ukyo," Nabiki 
observed dryly, earning a withering look from both women.

"Ohiyo!" said Akane brightly as she and Kodachi came out on 
deck to join them, both dressed in bikini attire, Akane's being the 
more conservative in nature while Kodachi's...was practically 
nonexistent, "Mind if we come sun ourselves with the rest of you 
guys?"

"Be our guests," Nabiki replied, "It's a free deck," she paused 
before adding, "You told Hinako-Sensei about Kaneda?"

Akane winced before she sat down with Kodachi on the opposite 
half of the deck, "It...sort of slipped out while she was 
interrogating me.  I didn't mean to tell her about your relationship 
with Shampoo..."

"Well, I for one think it perfectly scandalous," Kodachi grinned, 
giving Nabiki a coy look, "Your cousin shacking up with a 
foreigner, whatever is the world coming to these days?  I certainly 
do hope he will continue to do right by the poor girl."

"He will," Nabiki stated flatly, "Shampoo is a part of his life and 
he will honor her no matter what happens.  She couldn't be in 
better hands, I assure you."

"I have no doubt that you do mean what is best for the girl," 
Kodachi mused, "But it must be awfully lonely for her, being 
away from her people, surrounded by foreigners who don't even 
speak her language.  Perhaps she would be happiest if she moved 
back to her village with her husband, not that I should much like 
to see your darling Kaneda-sama vanish off to distant parts, 
especially since it would mean that he would then experience the 
same daunting limitations."

"Ah..." Nabiki seemed to be thinking that one over while Ukyo 
decided to come to her rescue.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Ukyo said, "Shampoo seems happy 
enough to me, and Kaneda's a terrific guy who'd never do 
anything to make her feel unwanted or unwelcome.  I know it's a 
pretty big adjustment living in Japan, but outside of her 
immediate family I don't think Shampoo really misses her 
village.  It's not the same living somewhere without someone 
who honestly loves and cares for you, like Nab-chan."

Nabiki gave Ukyo a surprised and curious look, oddly warmed 
that her childhood friend had come to her defense with such 
welcome praises.  Then she looked up past Ukyo and saw 
Perfume smiling at the both of them before hastily glancing 
away, and from that glance she derived more than one implied 
meaning.

Perfume continued smiling to herself as she reflected on what 
Ukyo had just said.  It was true that living in Japan had been a 
difficult adjustment at first, but over time she had come to see 
that the people around her genuinely cared for one another and 
never tried to maliciously poke fun at another person's weakness.  
So very different from the village life she used to lead where she 
had always felt like an outsider, and no one seemed to much like 
her because of her weaknesses and what she represented.  Given 
all of that there was not much she really could miss besides the 
beauty of the countryside, and Japan had its own beautiful sites 
for modest compensation.

Besides which was the simple fact that Ukyo had stated for the 
both of them: without someone with whom you shared their level 
of intimacy a life in heaven would be as meaningless as the abyss 
that had once been her existence.

"So," Kodachi turned her attention towards Ukyo, "You find life 
is treating you well, Kuonji-san?  I understand that your 
restaurant business is a great success with your fellow students."

"Oh yeah," Ukyo smiled, "Hinako-Sensei may frown on me 
having a business to run, but my okonomiyaki is a hit with 
everybody.  Perfume helps me out a lot, and so does the old 
woman."

"And Mousse," Nabiki gently reminded.

"Yeah," Ukyo scowled, "Him too.  Somewhat."

"I heard that, Kuonji," Mousse appeared as if on cue, "And I 
resent the implication that I will do something to you on this 
voyage in defiance of the truce that currently stands between us."

"Do you deny thinking about it?" Ukyo asked him.

"Of course not," he said serenely, "I just resent it."

"Well, then, you can see my problem," Ukyo stated flatly, "It's not 
like I can trust you, even if you do work in my restaurant and I--
unfortunately--get to see you almost every day.  The fact remains 
that you still see me as an obstacle, and--how do you Amazons 
love to put it?"

Perfume answered without humor, "Obstacles are for removing."

"It is true that you stand between me and the woman that I love," 
Mousse replied, "But I hold no malice towards you, even if you 
do think little of me on account of what I am compelled to do by 
the laws of our people.  At first you were but a hapless victim of 
circumstances, but of late you have taken to heart that which I 
cherish, so it is inevitable that there must come a reckoning 
between us.  I do not relish having to take your life, but for 
Perfume to be mine you must be made to relinquish your claims 
on her now and forever."

"Not a chance," Ukyo glared at him, wishing she had her Bakers 
Peel on hand to smack him one.  Not that there was any chance 
that he would try something with Nabiki and the others close 
nearby, but Mousse's tone had an edge of desperation on it, and 
he was an Amazon with hidden weapons skills and the speed to 
strike faster than an eyeblink.  He was giving off no sign of a 
battle aura as yet, but that could change with hardly a split-
second of warning.

But he would not strike, she reminded herself, not with Perfume 
standing in such a way that her hands were flexing in preparation 
for calling forth her axes.  Fast as he was, Mousse knew that 
Perfume was much faster and would not hesitate to strike in the 
defense of her Airen.  It was enough of a deterrent to insure that 
he would keep his distance and not start any trouble.

Of course trouble started anyway, not from either her or Mousse.  
Rather it was Kodachi who turned on him and leveled an 
accusing stare that made the sight-blind Mousse react a little.

"You may have agreed to abide by a truce, but that does not hold 
with me," the Black Rose hissed from less than a meter's 
distance, "We have unfinished business between us, you and I, 
on the little matter of some cursed water you stupidly tossed.  If 
you had any idea of the pain and embarrassment you have caused 
me..."

"If?" Mousse turned to her with surprising heat in his expression, 
"If I know what you are going through, Miss Kuno?  I think that I 
very much do understand, in ways that you could begin to--
URK!"

This latter part was spoken just before he collapsed onto the deck 
like the proverbial limp rag.  Cologne hobbled over on her staff 
and ignored his body as she turned to the others and said, "It 
should be a while before he will trouble you again.  My apologies 
for not keeping better track of the blind fool, he slipped from my 
side while I was otherwise engaged in conversation."

Nabiki looked down at the slumped Mousse and asked, "Why did 
you allow him to come with us in the first place, Grandmother?  
Promise or no, you knew he would cause trouble."

"True," Cologne replied, "But as difficult as he is to manage, he 
can also be quite useful in a way.  His skills as a fighter--while 
not the equal to Shampoo or Perfume--are quite considerable 
nonetheless, and where we are going we could use as many 
assets as can be afforded.  He is...cannon fodder, if you will...a 
mere target for our enemies to direct their fire towards while 
those of your who require less range in your attacks can slip in 
closer while he distracts them."

"Them being?" Akane asked her.

"Lao's minions, of course," Cologne replied, "Perhaps even Lao 
herself, though I doubt very much that Mousse would pose her 
any sort of challenge."

"So we need him after all," Kodachi said in mild disgust, clearly 
tempted to suggest heaving the Chinese boy over the railing, if 
only to drag for fishbait.

"For now," Cologne agreed, and implied in her tone was the 
suggestion that now would not necessarily mean later.

"By the way," Nabiki said, deliberately changing the subject, 
"Where's Keiko gone off to?  I half expected that she'd remain 
with you two."

"She's down below talking with her father," Akane replied, "We 
thought we'd give the two of them some privacy.  The others are 
either busy or conferring over some charts and pictures about our 
probable direction.  Where's Ryoga?"

"Up at the front of the boat with Ranchan," Ukyo replied, "The 
boys are enjoying the view of the waves breaking over the bow..."

"Either that or they're spewing up their lunch where they think we 
can't watch them," Nabiki said slyly, "I don't think either one of 
them has ever been at sea before...or at least Ranma hasn't.  I 
never have been able to figure out how Ryoga gets to some of the 
places he's been to."

"Neither can he," Ukyo smiled, "If you ask me it's like he had a 
curse of his own, and it doesn't involve water."

"I don't see why you guys are always being so mean to Ryoga-
kun," Akane said crossly, "It's not like it's his fault he gets lost 
sometimes, it's just something he has to deal with."

"Why Akane-chan," Kodachi smiled, "Why be so defensive about 
it?  We all like Ryoga very well, but one might think with you it 
was something more serious."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Akane looked away 
with a nervous expression, "He's just a nice guy I happen to like.  
Why does everybody always make something more out of it than 
they have to?"

Perfume had to smile to herself at Akane's evasive denials.  If 
only she had hearing like mine, the Amazon thought, she would 
be able to eavesdrop on a very interesting conversation...

"Man...when are you finally going to tell her?" Ranma was just 
then saying in exasperation, "At this rate you two are never going 
to get together!'

"Don't push me!" Ryoga snapped before turning to look at the 
waves that were causing their boat to bob up and down in such 
an alarming manner.  In all truth he hardly noticed this, sunk so 
low into depression that he barely even felt when Ranma 
punched his arm somewhat harder than was called for.

"What is the problem?" Ranma asked, "You both like each other, 
right?  So why don't you just try telling her instead of getting so 
tongue-tied every time she tries to get a conversation going?"

"Oh, and like you have it easy talking to Nabiki?" Ryoga growled 
irritably.

"Huh?" Ranma blinked, "Hey, I talk to her all the time, and 
Ucchan too..."

"Have you ever told either one of them that you love them?" 
Ryoga asked, hardly noticing the confused and panicked look 
that crossed his friend's features as Ranma considered this, 
"That's how it is for me whenever I try talking to Akane.  She's 
so...beautiful...and her eyes...that smile she turns on me...it's 
just...I can't take the thought of her maybe telling me she doesn't 
like me that way.  You know, like some people say they just want 
to be your friend when you'd like it to be something more with 
them?"

"I...I don't...I can't say I know what that's like," Ranma admitted.

"Of course not," Ryoga said bitterly, "You just let yourself be 
walked all over by Kodachi, so maybe you're afraid of something 
like that happening with Nab-chan, only I don't think it ever will.  
She's crazy about you...and so is Ucchan.  You've got it lucky that 
they both don't need to be told how you feel, but if Akane doesn't 
feel about me the way I do about her...I'd have nothing to live 
for."

Ranma blinked again, then said, "Hey man, don't talk like that!  
You gotta know she likes you...a lot more than she ever liked me.  
You're just scared of admitting it, that's all.  I'll bet she feels the 
same way about you, and she's just as scared about you telling 
her to take a hike."

"I'd never do that!" Ryoga protested, "I could never stand to see 
her hurt, and I'd never do anything to hurt her.  I'd die before I let 
her come to any harm...I just don't know if I can stand hearing 
her tell me that she doesn't feel this way about me.  Even if she 
rejects me, though, I'll always love her and I'd do anything to 
protect her or make her happy."

Ranma looked sidelong at the lost boy, hearing the despair and 
dread in his tone and wondering how anyone could be so 
depressed when they had so much else going for them.  He had 
only known Ryoga a few months but he'd found the boy to be 
courageous and a competent Martial Artist.  The two of them 
trained together regularly, and for the past month they had done 
so under Cologne's close supervision, learning new tricks and 
new fighting techniques to add to their own distinctive styles.  
They knew each other fairly well by this point, even had made a 
few overtures towards a tentative friendship, but as yet they had 
not fully gotten over the initial rivalry they felt.  Training against 
Ryoga sometimes got pretty rough with both boys going all out to 
beat the tar out of one another on a regular basis.

That competitive spirit, however, did not apply to their respective 
private lives.  In that regard Ranma felt very much as Ryoga did 
and was trying to find courage to face his own relationship 
troubles by encouraging Ryoga to overcome his nervousness 
around Akane.  It was as if he hoped to draw strength in himself 
by using Ryoga to test out an approach, which he had to admit 
was not a very nice thing to do if there were to be any real 
friendship between them in the future.

"I think I know Akane pretty well," Ranma said at last, "We've 
spent the last ten years growing up around each other, and she's 
almost like my sister.  We don't always get along, but I know for 
a fact that she smiles differently for you than she does around 
other people."

"She does?" Ryoga asked with a hopeful note that was 
extinguished a moment later as he stared out at the horizon and 
said, "But what if it's just pity she feels, not real affection?  I don't 
know what to do when I'm around her...I...I want to hold her in 
my arms and..."

"Hey," a voice intruded on their consciousness, "What are you 
kids doing up here?  You could fall over the edge and wind up in 
the propellers before anybody knows what happened!"

"We're okay," Ranma glanced over his shoulder, seeing the huge 
black boxer standing on the forward deck with legs spread wide 
to maintain his balance, "We know how to keep our balance, so 
there's really no danger."

"Kid," the big man snorted, "You got a lot to learn if you think 
there ain't never any danger.  You sit up front like this and you're 
just asking for Ol' Father Neptune to come up along and smack 
you down one."

Ranma studied the other man a minute then smiled and said, 
"You're Tyrone Bison, aren't you?  You were the heavyweight 
champion in America for four straight years, undefeated."

"Hey, that's right," Ryoga said in surprise, "I thought you looked 
familiar.  You fought with Hideo Yogashi in that Tokyo match 
some six or seven years back..."

"You kids got a good memory," Bison nodded grimly before 
staring out to see, "But it was more like eight years back, feels 
more like twenty.  I was Heavyweight Champion of the world, 
once, had a good shot at beating Ali's record.  All gone now, 
thanks to that scumbag Vega..."

"Who's Vega?" Ranma asked and got a cautiously surprised look 
from Bison, as if the big man had not been fully aware that he 
had said the name aloud.

"Just forget about him, kid," Bison replied, "You're better off not 
knowing."

"Ah," Ryoga looked uneasy about something as if trying to find 
the right way of phrasing his next question, "Uh...what happened 
in your last fight...?"

"You mean about the ear thing?" Bison's expression darkened, 
but instead of getting angry he just smiled, "Another long story.  
Let's just say I wasn't myself when it happened.."

"What did happen then?" Ranma asked, "You had a perfect 
record before your last fight.  What made you do something like 
that and throw your whole career away?"

"You really want to know?" Bison asked, "Do you really want to 
know what happened to me?  What turned my whole life into a 
sewer and put me through a living hell for three full years of my 
life?  I'll tell you what happened to me, kid...Vega happened."

"Who is this Vega you keep talking about?" Ryoga asked, "Is he 
your enemy?"

"Oh yeah!" Bison laughed a hard, bitter laugh, "He's my enemy 
all right, he's everybody's number-one all time favorite kick-em-
while-they're-down kind of bad guy, and if he's still around I'll 
want another shot at him, a permanent shot at the title.  Of course 
I'm going to have to get in line for it since everybody on this boat 
who's a team player's got something against Vega.  Take Chun-
Li for example, Vega murdered her father."

Both boys just started, then stared at the brown-haired Chinese 
girl presently steering the yacht at the control station.  From 
where they were they could not make out much more than a 
general impression, but they could see the firm set of her lovely 
features, the hard fix of her gaze and the tell tale signs of a 
determined personality.  Each tried to imagine themselves and 
what they would be like if they had lost a parent to violence.

"Eight years," Bison said, sounding more than faintly amazed at 
the time lapse, "Eight years ago I was on the top of the world, I 
had everything you could want, and I wanted it all, baby.  For a 
kid who grew up in the Projects it was like running the Marathon 
and winning the Lottery several times over.  The Tokyo match 
was supposed to be a publicity stunt to generate interest.  I was 
looking for some new challenges, there weren't any challenges 
left in the boxing world.  The guys I'd fought in my last ten 
matches were bums.  My manager said if I wanted to meet a real 
fighter I should head to the Orient, so Tokyo was really supposed 
to be just my first stopover.

"Then Vega's goons approached my me with an offer that I didn't 
want any part of.  I'd lost my best friend and kid brother to drugs, 
and these scum wanted me to help them peddle their dope.  
When I told them no they said I should throw the fight instead to 
keep their backers happy.   I threw them out personally, and my 
manager with them, only I tossed him out a window.  Too bad 
there was a pool underneath to break his fall, I would have liked 
to see him bounce a little.  Would have served him right for 
selling me out like that to those Shadaloo jokers.

"Next day I'm in my room and getting prepped and ready when 
this...guy shows up from out of no where.  I don't remember the 
details too good, but he was one scary dude with a gaze like ice 
and a manner that'd scare Frankenstein speechless.  I think we 
fought and I lost, but it don't matter which way.  He did 
something to my head, messed me up pretty bad, made some 
kind of hypnotic suggestion or something then let me go again.  I 
didn't even remember he even paid me that visit until many years 
later, I just know I went into that fight with some kind of buzzing 
in my head, and then when things started to get rough against 
Hideo Yogashi I...well...I suddenly had this unbelievable urge to 
get down and dirty and forget all the rules of boxing.  I bit him 
like we was in a Street Fight, and that's how I got myself banned 
from the wonderful world of professional Boxing.  Next thing I 
know that scary dude is back again and makes me another offer, 
and I wind up serving Shadaloo the next few years without 
question."

"They brainwashed you?" Ranma gasped.

"Didn't take too much work," called the heavyset man gruffly 
chuckled with no real humor, "Guile and Chun-Li always say 
there ain't much in my head that needs washing.  Cammy's 
another matter...they did the same number with her bleach blond 
pate, only they used her as their own personal Assassin.  
Shadaloo's like that...they recruit Street Fighters and use us like 
pawns, make us into good little soldiers in their war against 
civilization as we know it."

"And now you're fighting them?" Ryoga asked.

"Oh yeah," Bison slapped his meaty fist against the palm of one 
hand, "Every way I can.  I may be just a big dumb brick from the 
Projects, but I never took nothing from nobody that I never 
earned before that Vega creep did a number on me.  Some days I 
can't even look at myself in a mirror without thinking on what I 
was..." he looked away with a pained expression, "Anyway it's 
probably moot.  We took care of Vega last time we met...stopped 
him cold, and maybe I hope forever.  Shadaloo's another 
matter...that work goes on even without the monster."  He paused 
another moment, then he snorted again, ""Course what have I got 
to complain about?  Compared to Blanka I've got it easy.  He 
used to be human until Vega used him like a guinea pig trying to 
make the perfect soldier."

"Telling tales out of school, mate?" asked Cammy White as she 
appeared on the deck looking like a gorgeous swimsuit model 
with her long legs and equally long blond tresses.  In spite of 
themselves both Ranma and Ryoga had to do a double take and 
were glad none of the other girls were present to take notice of 
their reaction.

"Just talking about what your hairdresser told me last time I 
asked," Bison returned a look of feigned innocence and said, 
"What do you want, White?"

"The Colonel wants you to recheck the gear," Cammy replied, 
"Says we may be going into action a lot sooner than we thought.  
He and Blanka have been going over the latest satellite photos 
and they think we may have a lead on our elusive pirate."

"So soon?" Bison looked skeptical, "That doesn't sound very 
likely."

"Know what you mean," Cammy shrugged, "I don't believe it 
either, but the latest reports do have these pirates operating close 
enough to this side of Japan that it's worth being prepared.  Once 
we're out in International Waters we'll start to do a full-spectrum 
sweep.  Lao's supposedly got some kind of Stealth technology 
that makes her ship almost invisible to radar.  We'll know soon 
enough when we get closer to our objective target zone."

"I don't like this," Bison turned around and maneuvered past the 
blond beauty, "Call me a Pugilist from the old school, but when 
somebody's got an ace like that up their sleeve they don't just 
hang out with a 'Come and Get Me' sign painted across their port 
bow.  This has got to mean trouble."

"Tell me about it," Cammy swept her glance towards Ryoga and 
Ranma, "You kids shouldn't sit like that while this ships in 
motion, you could both wind up as shark bait."

"Thanks," Ranma said as he started to stand up, "We were just 
about to leave anyway..."

"Hey, wait!" Ryoga reached out suddenly and grabbed him then 
pointed, "What's that up ahead?"

"Huh?" Ranma asked, shading his gaze with a hand as she tried 
to follow the other boy's gesture, "I don't see any...wait a 
minute...what's that cloud doing out there?"

"Cloud?" Cammy also shaded her eyes but did not seem to follow 
their gesture, so she called out over her shoulder, "Hey Chun!  
Toss me a pair of binoculars, will you?"

"Why don't you get them yourself," Chun-Li muttered in a voice 
low enough not to be caught by anyone but Perfume's sharp 
hearing, but just the same she reached over and took up a pair 
while steering with one hand.  Rather than give them to Cammy, 
however, she raised them to her own eyes and stared at a point 
where the boys were still pointing.

"Typical," Cammy growled, then shaded her eyes again as she 
tried to focus upon whatever it was that the boys had spotted.

Meanwhile Nabiki had left her companions to join Guile, Keiko, 
Ken Masters and the ogre-like Blanka who were presently 
gathered around a glass table surface staring at some liquid 
crystal image displays that looked incredibly modern and 
certainly implied a link to technological resources not available to 
an ordinary group of mercenaries.  Guile was looking very 
intensely at one image as she approached and she caught him 
saying, "That's definitely a ship of some sort, but I can't make out 
what kind.  I see three masts, which should mean it's probably a 
schooner, but..."

"Hull shape looks more like a Chinese Junk on the pull back," 
Ken replied, "The distortion's pretty heavy...whatever they're 
using to camouflage their hull must put out a pretty strong signal.  
I wonder why we can't get anything on the infrared though 
besides a bunch of gray-green shapes."

"Hi there," Nabiki smiled as she eased up alongside then, "I take 
these photo-images have something to do with Madam Lao and 
her pirates?"

"You could say that," Guile replied, "We've been tracking an 
anomaly on the high seas for the past several days.  It's located 
roughly in the area that we're headed for, but it wasn't this close 
to shore the previous day.  If I didn't know any better I'd swear 
that it was headed in this general direction."

"That is strange, Dad," Keiko remarked, "I know Lao pretty well 
and I can tell you she's full of surprises.  Fact is I've never really 
told anybody about everything that happened...I don't think 
anyone else would believe most of it, except Elder Cologne."

"Then maybe we ought to ask the old lady what she knows about 
this," Ken suggested.

"Just as long as you ask nicely," Cologne replied as she appeared 
quite suddenly between Ken and Nabiki, balancing on her staff 
so that she could see the table displays clearly, "Very interesting 
technology, far superior to anything I have ever seen.  It seems 
you have managed to obtain an image of an Elemental 
Inversion."

"A what?" said Guile, looking sharply at the old woman.

"Elemental Inversion," Cologne repeated as if explaining to a 
small child, "I thought you knew something about Chi 
manipulation.  There are a planes of existence where the elements 
of nature are gathered into separate concentrations along perfectly 
balanced correspondence frequencies.  Fire, Air, Water, Metal, 
Wood, Stone and Aether.  Lao's correspondence is with the plane 
of Water, that was the element that she is trained in and her skills 
at manipulation have apparently grown to be quite formidable.  
What you are seeing here is an entire field surrounding this ship 
that has been incorporated around elemental force lines of the 
universal fluid."

"I see what you're saying," said Blanka in his gravely voice, "An 
Elemental Inversion is a kind of Chi-force manipulation that 
warps the field around an area along magnetic force lines...like 
that uncontrolled experiment the US Navy did in the '40s.  Only 
how can they control the feedback that builds up along the 
subspace inversion lines?"

"You're thinking of a static field generator," Cologne replied, 
"But a stable field can be erected if you use the technique of 
multiple folding and draw upon the Elemental plane itself to 
empower the inversion, so one field cancels out the other and 
creates a static flux that is relatively stable."

"But what maintains it in a stable balance?" Blanka asked, "The 
resistance factor must be enormous..."

"It can be done," Cologne stated firmly, "But it does require a 
device to regulate the flow of unbalanced forces so as to maintain 
a perfect equilibrium..."

"I'm sure you two must find this a fascinating discussion," Guile 
said, "But would you mind filling the rest of us in on what you've 
discovered?"

"Forgive me," Cologne replied, "I had meant to say that Madam 
Lao, my former apprentice, knows enough about what you might 
term as magic to understand how to erect the type of barrier that 
you see here in these special images.  I suspect that she has 
obtained the possession of several rather powerful artifacts in 
order to mask her activities from normal outside detection.  I am 
rather impressed that you were able to find her at all...what I 
don't understand is why the progression of these sightings on 
your map indicate that she is moving towards us in a very 
specific direction."

"You think maybe she knows that we're looking for her, Elder?" 
Keiko asked.

"How could she?" Ken wondered, "This mission is classified.  
Even we didn't know we'd be heading out this soon until..." he 
froze in realization.

"Until the reports that so-conveniently got handed told us where 
to look to find our lady pirate," Guile finished for him with a dark 
expression, "Those ships were attacked but left surprisingly intact 
with most of their crews alive to report on their whereabouts.  
The profile for Lao is that she eliminates resistance and severs all 
lines of communication while leaving most of her victims still 
breathing."

"She just takes the women," Keiko finished for him, "Or more 
precisely she takes the ones who have the most market value.  I 
know how she works, Father...I was her...confidant for close to 
three full years."

"Do you think she would be laying a trap like this expecting 
someone to come after her, Kei-chan?" Nabiki asked.

"It's certainly possible, but why?" Keiko wondered, "Lao never 
does anything without a reason...at least a reason that makes 
sense to her."

"An enigma," Cologne replied, staring at the map with a curious 
focus, "She is coming this way as if she expects us to arrive and 
obligingly fall into some sort of an ambush."

"An ambush?" Guile frowned, "Are you certain?"

"It is almost certainly what I would do if I knew an enemy were 
seeking my capture," Cologne remarked thoughtfully, "But how 
would she know to suspect us...?"

"Colonel!" Honda called out from the front of the cabin, "We got 
something on sonar...it's pretty faint, but it's definitely an echo."

"Engine noise?" Guile asked.

"No outside engines, just our own, which I've calibrated into the 
Sonar," the huge oriental replied without looking up from his 
console, "This thing's making wave noises that are pretty 
huge...it's big whatever it is, and it's getting closer.  Nothing on 
the radar but..."

"Guile!  You'd better get up here!" called Chun-Li from above, 
"We've got trouble!"

"What now?" Guile grumbled as he headed out of the cabin, 
followed by the others, excluding only Honda who murmured, "I 
got a bad feeling about this..."

Guile climbed the ladder up to the control deck where Chun-Li 
was holding the binoculars out for him while maintaining control 
over the wheel with her other hand.  Guile took the binoculars but 
before he lifted them to his eyes he could already see what looked 
like a low-lying cloud passing a few miles off the horizon.  He 
brought the binoculars up to his eyes then slowly said, "Uh oh..."

"Uh oh is right," Chun-Li replied, "I think we won't have to 
worry about finding her...she's managed to somehow find us."

"What is that?" Nabiki asked as she beat everyone else in joining 
them on the top deck, "An island or a cruise ship?"

"That's not an island," Chun-Li replied, "I thought at first it was 
an atoll, but its been moving towards us at a steady speed and 
course."

"It's too big to be a normal ship," Guile said as he lowered his 
binoculars and stared at the obscure mass that was hidden 
beneath the rolling cloudbank, "It's at least a hundred meters 
long, it's got to displace over half a metric kiloton at least, but it's 
moving at a good twenty knots and at the rate we're headed 
they'll be on us in just under five minutes."

"Right about the time we cross into international waters," Chun-
Li noted in suspicion.

"Yet it's moving without engine noises," Nabiki murmured 
thoughtfully, "But something's powering it and generating that 
stealth cloud.  Colonel, I recommend we take evasive action, or 
whatever it is you do in nautical terms, and keep our distance 
until we know more about what we're dealing with."

"A good idea," Guile agreed, "Chun-Li, turn us around and take 
us back into Japanese territorial waters."

"I was just about to recommend it myself," Chun-Li replied, 
already turning the wheel while pulling back on the throttle.  The 
yacht made a full turn at high speed and began to point back 
towards the distant shoreline when of a sudden, without warning, 
the engine sputtered and died, prompting Chun-Li to gasp, "What 
the hell?"

"Bison!" Guile called out as Chun-Li tried and failed to get the 
motor started again, "Where the hell are you?"

"You rang?" Bison poked his head up from the compartment 
where he had been checking air tank pressure.

"Take a look at our engines and see if you can figure out why 
they won't start," Guile replied.

"Why am I always stuck playing the mechanic?" Bison griped as 
he moved to a panel and opened it, then pushed a few buttons 
that called up a display image on yet another liquid crystal 
monitor.  An image of the engine appeared as the Boxer ran a 
quick diagnostic, then his expression became animated, "Colonel!  
You're not gonna believe this!"

"Try me," Guile replied.

"The engine checks out just fine...except for the slight fact that it's 
clogged with some kind of interference."

"What kind of interference?" Guile wondered.

"Getting the info on that right now...oh boy!  Would you believe 
the valves are clogged with sea weed?"

"Sea weed?" Guile blinked, "Are you sure of that?"

"I'm going for a visual confirm," Bison said as he motioned the 
girls presently standing on the rear deck to clear away to the 
sides, then reached down and opened a floor hatch that had been 
barely noticeable upon the deck, exposing the engine to view.  
This time he was far from the only one to react to the 
incomprehensible sight that greeted him before he tersely said, 
"Yeah, I'm sure all right.  That's definitely seaweed."

"Nani?" Akane stared at a large-scale engine that had somehow 
gotten wrapped in the brown cords of the tough-fibred sea plant 
that had somehow wrapped itself entirely around the device as 
though it had miraculously grown there in the space of a few 
minutes.

"Seaweed doesn't grow naturally like this," Kodachi said at her 
side, "I should know, I've done enough tests on experimental 
horticulture using saltwater plants in my Marine Biology class."

"We've got to get that stuff off of it or we're dead in the water," 
said Cammy as she came around to see what was causing all the 
upset.

"Nice idea, White," Bison said, "You got any suggestions?"

Ukyo straightened up and said, "Think you can handle that, Per-
chan?"

"Is good possibility," Perfume replied as she flexed both arms 
and suddenly held up her two broad axes.

"What the...?" Cammy blinked, "Where did those come from?"

"Never mind," said Mousse, now fully recovered, "I can do this, 
Perfume.  It needs a fine touch or you might damage the 
engines."

"Say you," Perfume scoffed, "I no hit machine like some half-
blind fool I know."

"Why is everyone behaving like this?" Hinako herself asked as 
she appeared from her cabin, then blinked, "What happened to 
the engine?"

"UH, guys?" Ranma called out, "I think you'd better see this!"

"What now--KUSO!" Nabiki swore, as did everyone else save 
Hinako-Sensei (who looked at them all crossly).

"Oboy," said Ryoga as the wave of fog swept over their stricken 
vessel, at once concealing everything beneath a thick hazy mist 
that cut visibility down to less than thirty meters.

"Well, this is a fine mess we're in," complained Cammy, "Haven't 
seen fog this bad since I last went to London..."

"Would you shut up?" Chun-Li snapped.

"Make me!" Cammy growled.

"Both of you be quiet!" Guile ordered, waving his hands as he 
turned to say, "You hear that?"

"Oh my," said Cologne, angling her head as though to cock an 
ear at the sudden silence,  "I think we has best grab hold of some 
floatation devices..."

"Why?" asked Ryoga.

"Because we are all about to take an unscheduled swim," 
Cologne said ominously, inclining her head towards the 
starboard side of the vessel.

They all turned to see the cause for the growing sound of wave 
motion, as well as the strange stringed instrument sounds that 
were approaching from the given direction.  They all looked up as 
one and saw the looming mass slicing through the water on a 
collision course.  A moment later it crashed into the yacht and 
split its fiberglass hull asunder.  Amidst the groans and screams 
that followed there was the impression of something falling 
towards them, and then the cold, hard impact of salt water 
closing around them all in one terrible minute of agony and 
confusion...



Continued.

Comments/Criticism/ACLU funded lawsuits: 
shadowmane@ndti.net

Next: Madam Lao, Renegade Amazon, Pirate and Slaver...be 
there!

Nabiki 1/2:

A Very Scary Thought

(An Altered Destiny)

Chapter 21, Part 2.

By
Jim Robert Bader

(Inspired by the works of Rumiko Takahashi & Others)



Akane was barely conscious of having fallen overboard as the 
suddenness of events left her with half-formed impressions of 
something big crashing against their hull.  Almost instantly she 
found herself diving headfirst into the water with a jarring force 
that frightened her as she belatedly remembered why she had 
always avoided contact with the water.  She had no memory 
beyond the point when her lungs began to fill with the cold, briny 
liquid, but she had a vague impression of someone swimming up 
to her, then of soft lips pressed against her mouth, and of the 
definite sensation that this was the moment when she had ceased 
to be drowning.

Now she found herself upright but experiencing a slight chill for 
some reason that escaped her.  A moment more and she finally 
became aware of three very important things:

1.--She was alive, if naked, and obviously in no immanent danger 
of drowning.
2.--She was dangling by her wrists above the floor with her toes 
barely touching the deck, and
3,--Someone else was with her.

Make that more than one person, she mentally amended, 
discovering that another naked form was dangling at her side, 
and by focusing on her peripheral vision she was able, at length, 
to determine that this person was Kodachi.  Her friend was as 
nude as herself at the moment, and certainly as helpless, but she 
seemed also to be slightly out of it as though having trouble 
regaining full consciousness.  Akane wondered if Kodachi had 
been drugged or was merely in a semi-awake state, not yet fully 
aware of her surroundings.  With Kodachi you never really knew 
for certain about such things, she only knew that they were alive 
and together...

And that there was someone else in the chamber with them.

"Good, you're both awake at last.  Now we can get started."

"Huh?" Akane turned her head but found that she could not look 
behind herself to see whomever it was that had spoken.

"Begin by giving me your name."

"Who the hell are you?" Akane asked, only to gasp in surprise as 
something cracked against her rump, startling her as much at the 
suddenness of it all as because it was painful.

"I will ask the questions here," the voice replied, "Who are you.  
It is a simple enough question."

Akane grit her teeth and growled, "Tendo Akane."

"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" the voice faintly purred, "You 
two are among the last of those to finally wake up, and I've 
finished interrogating the others, so it's not as if I don't already 
know the answers to at least some of the things I will ask you."

"Then why ask me at all?" Akane said, then gasped again as she 
felt another crack against her bottom.

"I said," the voice repeated insistently, "I will be the one to ask 
the questions.  It is not your place to ask them.  I will ask and you 
will answer, that is the way of things inside this chamber, and if 
you have any doubts on that, take it up with our complaint 
department.  Now then, perhaps I will ask the same thing of your 
companion."

Kodachi seemed to come to life just then, lifting her head as she 
tried to look over her shoulder and remarked, "I take it then that 
we are not supposed to speak unless spoken to?"

Akane heard as much as saw the lash this time, only it was not 
her bottom that was swatted, nor her voice that yelped in pain, 
but Kodachi's.

"You are correct," the voice said, sounding surprisingly pleased 
instead of angry, "You seem to have a better grasp of the 
situation here, Miss Kuno.  Perhaps you might care to explain to 
your friend the significance of your mutual position."

"May I be permitted to ask if you are our captor, the dreaded 
pirate Madam Lao?" Kodachi asked in as humble a tone as her 
pride would allow.

A double crack this time, only it sounded against both of their 
bottoms with near simultaneous precision.  After their mutual 
yelp died down to a faint whimper the voice calmly replied, 
"Some have called me that...and far worse, I assure you."

"Then..." Kodachi said with great care, "We are not just your 
prisoners...you mean us to be your slaves?"

"Slave is such a harsh-sounding word in these modern times," the 
voice cooed pleasantly, "I prefer to think of you as valuable 
commodities for exchange and trade at fair market value.  You 
each have qualities that I find most appealing, even if at least one 
of you looks as though she could stand to lose a few more pounds 
and maybe take up swimming lessons."

"Hey!" Akane protested before she could think to stop herself, but 
this time the whip snaked around her body to flick against one of 
her nipples, causing her to gasp again at the unexpected stinging 
sensation.

"Just kidding," the voice assured her pleasantly, "I really do think 
you have a nice figure, and you are very cute as well, while your 
friend is undoubtedly a rare beauty, a dark haired queen amid the 
roses."

"That is my other name, Madam...I mean..." Kodachi hastily 
amended, only to receive a flick against her own exposed nipples, 
which made her gasp and tense her whole body in dismay.

"Yes, I know," Lao replied matter-of-factly, "Black Rose Kodachi 
they call you, a rather appropriate name all things else being 
considered."

"What...do you want with us?" Akane braced herself for another 
whipping, but the lash failed to come this time, so she started to 
relax a little, only to find it snake around and find her between 
the inner thighs.  Her yelp of pain this time was mixed with a 
wash of other, more indescribable sensations.

"I should think that this was obvious," Lao said in faint 
disappointment, "Two lovely girls hanging naked at the mercy of 
the terrible lady pirate.  Whatever is to become of you, your fate 
hanging in the balance?"

"By...what name shall we call you, your munificence?" Kodachi 
asked with a note of genuine fear in her voice, but instead of a 
whipping, this time a hand reached out to curl itself about her 
long, dark tresses until it grabbed her by the hank and tipped her 
head back and around so that she found herself looking into the 
face of a predatory beast with yellow eyes...

No, that had to be a trick of the light.  It was a human face she 
saw, one both attractive and yet chilling to look upon with a mad 
gleam of delighted hunger in her expression.  There was neither 
pity nor remorse in that face, yet there was a hint of desire and 
compassion as she smiled down at Kodachi then purred, "My 
lady will do for the present, but in time you will learn to call 
me...Mistress..."




Consciousness returned slowly to Nabiki, though her last 
memories were of the waves washing over her form, of the 
change that instantly came over her as she fought for survival, 
fear filling her lungs with the dread for the collective welfare of 
herself and her people...

She was aware that she was not currently having any difficulty 
breathing, nor did she feel even moderately damp.  She was 
aware that her hands were currently behind her back and seemed 
to be held there by some manner of restraint.  Her bare feet, 
however, encountered something coldly metallic, and as she 
opened her eyes she discovered the bars of the cage in which she 
was presently hanging.

Or rather she was hanging in a cage alongside several others, 
each dangling from the ceiling by a single chain and each 
occupied by a separate member of her party.  So far as she could 
see only the men were currently present, which led to a rather 
uncomfortable conclusion that a quick glance at herself helped 
clarify immensely.

Or rather a glance at HIM-self as the contours of his body were 
quite unmistakably male at the moment.

"Nab-chan, are you all right?"

Nabiki turned his head to find that the source of this imploring 
comment was Ranma.  The low hiss of Ranma's voice implied 
deep concern, but Nabiki was forced to reluctantly say back, "The 
name's Kaneda, and I'll let you know as soon as I figure that one 
out."

"Huh?" said Colonel Guile, who was hanging in another cage, 
"Where did you come from, and why are you wearing that thing?"

Nabiki glanced at himself again and realized that he was still had 
on the same bikini he had been wearing when their yacht was 
capsized.  The slender strings attached to three triangles were 
ridiculously inadequate cover for his now expanded dimensions, 
especially in regards to his nether regions.  It was a good thing he 
was partially curled up at the moment or Ranma might have 
gotten a better look at something that might have given the poor 
boy a bad case of envy.  As it was Ranma seemed to take the hint 
and smiled weakly in acknowledgement.

"Right...Kaneda," Ranma repeated, "Sorry I confused you with 
your cousin, the light's not too good here, right Ryoga?"

"Whatever," said Ryoga listlessly, sunk into a deeper depression 
than was his usual wont.

"You two know each other?" said a voice belonging to Bison, 
"How'd you get on board our yacht?"

"Uh, you didn't see me coming on board?" Nabiki asked with a 
rather weak smile, feeling enormously embarrassed at being 
surrounded by cute guys in a state of exposure that did not 
involve flirting, not even with Ranma, "Um...by the way, Ranma-
kun...where is my charming cousin?"

"Search me," Ranma said with a grim look in his eyes, "Ukyo 
and the others disappeared the same time we hit the water.  
When we woke up there were only guys here.  I think they took 
them off someplace.  Keiko seemed to think this Lao character 
was interested in the ladies."

"Oh, she's like that, huh?" said Ken Masters, "That explains 
Chun-Li and Cammy's absence, kind of a shame too.  Always 
seems to happen with the cute ones these days..."

"Like you should be interested," said Honda, "Aren't you engaged 
to marry that girl you're always telling us about?  Eliza 
something...?"

"Eliza?" Ken replied, "Well...sure...but that doesn't mean I can't 
look without touching.  I don't think she'd hold it against me, just 
as long as I wasn't really cheating..."

"Yeah, sure," Ranma scoffed, "And they call me dense around 
women."

"Good thing for you that she's a Doctor," said Bison in some 
humor.

"Why?" Ken asked.

"Because you're gonna need one with that kind of attitude," Bison 
grinned, "Trust me on that."

"You too, huh?" Ranma sniffed, then looked down at Ryoga, who 
still hung listlessly in his cage, and growled, "Come on, man, 
snap out of it!  I'm sure she's all right!  If we survived then there's 
a good chance they found her too."

"What's wrong with him?" Nabiki asked, "Is it Akane?"

"Yeah," Ranma nodded, "I kind of yelled at him while we were in 
the water that Akane can't swim.  That was before they threw the 
net on us, which prevented us from going to her rescue."

"She can't swim?" Nabiki blinked, "That's news to me.  Why 
didn't she ever tell me about that in the first place?"

"Oh, you know Akane," Ranma sniffed, "She never could admit 
to any sort of weakness--hey!" he suddenly cried out as Ryoga 
gripped the bars to his own cage and shook them violently, 
causing him to swing closer towards Ranma.

"Don't talk like that about Akane!" Ryoga growled, "Just because 
you didn't want her is no reason for you to always tease and 
humiliate her like you do..."

"Hey, I like Akane well enough," Ranma assured him, "We grew 
up together, remember?  She's like my sister, we just sorta say 
stuff to each other once in a while, no harm in that."

"I'll show you harm!" Ryoga declared as he tried to reach past his 
own bars as his cage swung closer to Ranma's.

Bison turned from the growing altercation and said, "What about 
Blanka, Guile?  You think maybe he made it too?"

"I'd count on it," Guile replied, "He's built for survival and could 
probably handle himself even better than the rest of us put 
together.  They must be holding him in a separate facility..."

"My, aren't you the bright one."

Everyone turned to see the figure standing somewhat farther 
down a ramp that Nabiki had failed to notice before now leading 
past the hanging cages.  It was almost as if a spotlight had fallen 
upon a half-shadowy figure posed dramatically as if entering 
from a stage, a figure that was noticeably feminine in outline, 
matching the equally feminine voice that was lightly accented 
with a distinctive Chinese flavor.  Nabiki tried to position himself 
to get a better view of this figure but could only half make out the 
general details of someone very tall with overly broad shoulders...

No, those were shoulder pads of some sort, and the figure was 
wearing a long-sleeved outfit that was slightly Chinese in basic 
cut, only styled more like some manner of tunic reminiscent of a 
seventeenth century sailor's outfit, complete with a tri-cornered 
hat set upon a head that had long, oddly colored hair that hung 
down to below waist level.  There was a leather whip coiled on 
one hip with chains trailing out from behind her back into the 
shadows.  There was confidence in her bearing as she remained a 
cool distance, then gradually approached, her step easily cat-lithe 
with the hint of a swagger.

"Lao?" Guile straightened up in his gage, "Madam Lao I 
presume?"

"Guilty as charged," said the figure as she came close enough 
now to see her features more properly, and now Nabiki thought 
she saw a face reminiscent of Shampoo, only somewhat older 
with harder, more mature features.  The hair color was a pale 
blue of some sort, or at least gave that kind of an impression 
(though if she did not know any better she would have thought 
the shade a bit greenish).  Her expression was predatory, eyeing 
them all with a sly sort of cat-like expression as she gave 
everyone a cursory study, then returned Guile's hard looks with a 
glance that betrayed her amusement.

"And you," she resumed saying, "Are Colonel William Guile, 
formerly of the American Air Force, presently the father of my 
very own dear, sweet Arigami Keiko?"

She tugged on one of the chains and a figure staggered out from 
the shadows, turning out to be none other than Keiko herself, 
dressed (if that was the appropriate word to employ here) in close 
to nothing but jewelry and ornamentation, with a collar around 
her neck and her feet making a faint clinking sound from a pair of 
golden manacles she wore about her ankles.

"Uh...hi Dad," she weakly attempted a smile as if literally trying 
to put the best face she could on her near-nude condition.

"What have you done with her?" Guile hissed in deadly anger, 
gripping the bars to his cage with such force that his knuckles 
turned pale, yet they failed to budge at all under the effort.

"Why, I've merely rescued you all from certain death," Lao 
smiled, "Is that any way to address your rescuer or show 
appreciation, Colonel?  I'm hurt, truly.  As if I would do anything 
to harm my dear, sweet pet now that she has at long last returned 
to her true and rightful owner."

"What about the rest of our team?" Ken asked, unable to help 
admiring the amount of flesh on display, (though a hard look 
from Guile made him force his eyes away) "Ah...you did...rescue 
all of them, didn't you?"

"As if I would allow such abundant talent to go to waste," Lao 
grinned in a way that hinted at much delight, and Nabiki almost 
swore that she could see yen signs reflected in the other woman's 
eyes, "Of course I rescued them, and gave them all a nice, hot 
bath to refresh and restore them to their proper health.  All but 
one, it seems...and in that regard I have been most neglectful."

She was looking right at Nabiki when she said this, which hardly 
put Nabiki mind at ease as she could not help but study Keiko's 
condition and draw from this a hint of what was to be expected 
for their female companions (and co-wives).

Ranma tried to come to her rescue by saying, "What do you want 
with us, Lady?  And just what kind of a place is this anyway?  
Are we still on that ship of yours or something?"

"What I want should be obvious, pretty boy," Lao replied, "As for 
where you are presently...well, that might be rather complicated 
to explain.  Let's just say you are on my ship and leave it at that.  
But I am forgetting my manners!  Please allow me to introduce 
myself properly."  She removed her hat and made a sweeping 
bow, "I am Lao Kung, Queen of the South Sea China Pirates and 
Mistress of this vessel, the 'Piece of Junk...'"

"Huh?" Honda blinked, "What did you call it?"

"'The Piece of Junk,'" Lao replied as she set her hat back atop her 
head, "It's sort of an in-joke around here.  This vessel, as you may 
have already guessed, was originally Chinese in nature, and very 
unique in the modern age with quite a long and glorious history 
behind it, most of which I won't bore you with at the present time 
since I'm sure you have much more immediate concerns on your 
mind, such as what am I going to do with the lot of you now that 
you are my guests of necessity..."

"Akane," Ryoga staggered over to the bars of his cage and 
gripped them tight, "Is Akane with you?  Did she survive?  Is she 
all right?  Please tell me..."

"Ah," Lao inclined her head with a pleasant look, "You must be 
Hibiki Ryoga, I presume.  You need not fear, your Akane is well 
and speaks most highly of you, as though you were some kind of 
protector or something.  I can't say that I know for sure what it is 
she sees in you, but it must mean something, so I suppose I really 
should be keeping an eye on you, and this other fellow who 
seems to think himself man enough to marry four women."

"Nani?" Ranma said in surprise as he was favored by some very 
curious glances from Ken, Honda and Bison.

"You seem to know a lot about us," Nabiki noted, "You also 
knew that we were coming to find you?"

"Obviously yes," Lao finally turned back to size up Nabiki with a 
very strange look that was more than slightly predatory, "But how 
is the question you would really like to ask, isn't it?  Forgive my 
staring at you...Tendo Kaneda is it?  I can't help noticing what a 
fashion statement that is that you are wearing.  I must that say 
that I approve in general principle, for there is nothing wrong in a 
man showing off as much as possible for the admiration of the 
ladies, but I think you'd rather be more comfortable if I did this..."

Lao's hand went to her belt and came up with a flask that she 
held up with one hand while unstopping it with the other.  With a 
quick flick of her wrist she sent the contents splashing over 
Nabiki, which caused Nabiki to gasp as he felt the hot water 
make contact with his skin and trigger the change so that in a few 
instants afterwards she was revealed as herself before the 
astonished stares of all the others.

"What the...?" Bison swore something colorful in his own 
language.

"I don't believe it," Ken gasped, equally amazed.

"What the hell is going on here?" Guile sounded incredulous.

"Ah...there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for this, guys," 
said Ranma with obvious reluctance.

"Indeed there is," Lao purred throatily, "I had a sense that you 
might be another curse victim after discovering the menagerie 
that we hauled on board, including my darling Keiko.  I take it 
you didn't feel like letting these boys in on the little joke Jusenkyo 
has played on you, Tendo Nabiki?  I can't say as I blame 
you...this is not the sort of thing you bring up in general 
conversation."

"You obviously haven't been to Nerima," Nabiki sighed, feeling 
exposed in more than one sense of the word in her thong bikini.

"I can't say that I've had that pleasure," Lao replied, "But I'm sure 
it is a lovely place to visit, if Keiko finds it homey enough to 
dwell there.  Well, now that we've settled the matter of your 
gender it's obvious that you don't belong in this sector.  I have 
strict policies concerning such things young lady, and this sector 
of the prison most definitely is not coed.  I'm afraid I'll have to 
insist on removing you from your cage and replacing you with 
this sorry fellow."

She tugged on yet another chain, and this time it was Mousse 
who came staggering into view, wearing little more than boxers 
as his hands were cuffed behind his back while the chain was 
attached to yet another collar.  He was staring ahead with a 
slightly glazed look in his unfocused eyes as though he were in 
some manner of drugged stupor.

"Male Amazon," Lao shook her head sadly, "And one I never 
thought would amount to much of anything.  Apparently I was 
correct on that according to the testimony of the others."

"He tries," Keiko shrugged, "A little too hard at times, my lady."

"They are like that in the village," Lao sighed, then smiled at 
Nabiki again, "While you, on the other hand, are of great interest 
to me, Tendo Nabiki.  One seldom encounters a Nyanniichuan 
victim with as many ready defenders as you seem to have..."

"You leave Nab-chan alone, you hear me?" Ranma growled as he 
shook the bars to his cage.

"See what I mean?" Lao just smiled more broadly, "Case in point: 
Loverboy over there is ready to hurl himself at me if he could.  I 
can certainly see what you find so interesting about him.  Perhaps 
I may make a private study of his...qualities at my leisure, do you 
think?"

Nabiki narrowed her eyes but forced herself to remain calm, 
"You obviously have us at a disadvantage, Lao Kane."

Lao's smile lost some of its humor as her eyes darkened, "So, 
Elder Cologne was that forthcoming about my past exploits, I 
see.  Again most intriguing.  She is usually among the most 
tight-lipped of the Council members, as I should well know.  
That speaks highly of the degree of trust that she must place in 
you, which only furthers my interest.  But enough pleasantries," 
she snapped her fingers.

The cage Nabiki was being held in began to sway slightly before 
a figure seemed to just flow from out of the shadows.  As Nabiki 
and the others gaped in amazement a translucent, shapeless 
figure hung down from the ceiling, coiling around to land upon 
the ramp nearest to the cage.  Almost instantly the figure flowed 
and resolved itself into a mass that grew upward until it assumed 
more human contours, and then solidified into the shape of an 
attractive female with large breasts and a voluptuous figure.  
Another moment after this and the figure became completely 
solid with a kind of makeshift clothing that looked to be 
composed of three strategically placed sea-shells bound together 
by strings of pearl with other shells that formed shoulder pads 
and implied a kind of quasi-armor.  A long translucent sword 
hung from this woman's side and there was something oddly 
fish-like about her features...and if you looked real hard you 
could almost see right through her.

The figure produced a golden key, which same it inserted into the 
lock of her cage, opening it before standing back with a hard, 
expecting glare in her overlarge eyes.  Nabiki sized her up and 
decided on the spot that it would not be a good idea to challenge 
this one just yet, so she instead took the hint and swung her body 
so that her feet could dangle out from the cage.  A moment later 
she stood clear on her own weight, hands still bound behind her 
back but otherwise quite healthy.

At Lao's direction Mousse aimlessly moved forward and soon 
took Nabiki's place in the hanging cage, his expression as vacant 
as though he were a sleepwalker.

"Now then," Lao smiled, "I trust you will be civilized and come 
along like a good girl, otherwise my servant here will be forced to 
get rather nasty...and you would definitely not like her when she 
is angry.  Her kind have the strength of water itself, which is far 
greater than human, and she is resistant to injury, being entirely 
composed of the element of her nature."

"I can take the hint," Nabiki replied, "Lead on, you have the 
advantage."

"I can see why the others say you are intelligent," Lao smiled in 
approval, giving Nabiki a thorough lookover, "And they did not 
mistake your beauty.  I see that we are going to get along 
splendidly... after you've had time to acclimate."

"Somehow I doubt it," Nabiki noted in a level tone of voice, 
recognizing that Lao was indeed a dangerous woman, and one 
not to be underestimated.

"We will see," Lao replied as she turned and tugged on Keiko's 
leash to encourage the redheaded Kickboxer's compliance, "Come 
along, my dears, there are a few things that I would like to show 
you..."



The trip through the interior of the ship was like the proverbial 
tour through the belly of the beast as a sense of great age, coupled 
with the general unearthliness of the place, made Nabiki shudder 
a bit for no discernable reason.  Keiko, who was trudging along 
at her side, gave Nabiki coy looks of a contrite nature but she did 
not seem inclined to say anything within earshot of her nominal 
Mistress.

Nabiki took stock of a series of room that seemed to go on 
endlessly in both directions.  Each door was featureless save for a 
dull brass handle, and she would have taken them for crew 
quarters save that there were some pretty unusual sounds 
emanating from behind each wooden partition.  Again she felt 
like shuddering, though for what exact reason she could have 
found it difficult to mention.

At last, after an unbelievably long time, they came to the end of 
the corridor and passed through a set of double-doors that opened 
at Lao's approach, revealing a brightly lit chamber beyond this, 
which same caused Nabiki to start in disbelief.  This room was 
decorated like something out of the Arabian Nights, only with a 
strong Chinese flavor with hanging silk tapestries, golden 
fixtures and a general atmosphere that was light, pleasurable and 
unearthly.

"Nani?" Nabiki involuntarily gasped, estimating that the size of 
this room was like the cargo hold on board a supertanker.

"Do not judge by appearances," Lao cautioned with a smile, 
continuing on into the room while Keiko and Nabiki followed a 
respectable distance, their silent warden keeping pace behind 
them, "And welcome to my humble abode.  Do make yourselves 
comfortable and feel free to sample the rations."

Nabiki was staring at groups of women lounging about or 
reclining in various positions on cushioned furnishings from 
pillows to divans.  Most of these were either naked or very close 
to the same thing, the majority sporting decorative ornaments 
much like what Keiko was wearing, while others had a style of 
clothing that seemed fashioned in much the same manner as the 
warrior elemental behind them.  Some glanced to take in the new 
arrivals, others hardly looked up from whatever it was they were 
doing at the moment.  More than a few were posed in intimate 
embraces with hardly anyone seeming to notice such shockingly 
brazen behavior, and everyone in such a tight clench was entirely 
and unmistakably female.

The Elder Cologne was also there, standing out amid this group 
like the proverbial sore thumb, studying the activities of these 
others with an inscrutable expression.  She was standing inside 
what looked to be some manner of large birdcage without her 
trademark staff at hand.  She looked up to see whom it was 
accompanying Lao as her eyes narrowed slightly.  Nabiki met 
that stoical expression and nodded by a fraction, then turned her 
attention back towards her hostess.

"Do sit down," Lao indicated a set of pillows within easy reach of 
the birdcage, if not for Nabiki's hands still being cuffed behind 
her back.  Nabiki studied her captor in the now much-improved 
lighting, seeing for the first time that her hair was indeed a pale 
powder blue, bordering on outright sea green.  Her eyes were pale 
pink and feral thought there seemed to hang an ever-present 
smile about her lips.  The analogy that came to mind was that of 
a dangerous predator, and that cat-like reference made Nabiki 
shudder as she tried to ignore the terrifying implications.

Lao sat down on a divan and posed with one leg raised as she 
reclined, still smiling.  She removed her hat to reveal an Amazon-
style pair of Odangos atop her head, then nodded towards the 
cage and said, "Again I must apologize, Elder, for your present 
accommodations.  I would much prefer to play the hostess in a 
manner far more suitable to one of your rank, but...you can 
understand my approaching you with a degree of caution."

"Hmm," Cologne said neutrally, glancing at the bars surrounding 
her before adding, "Orachalcum.  I would be much interested in 
learning how you came by such a rare substance."

"The previous owner used it to house a Jinn," Lao explained, then 
favored Nabiki with a wry look and added, "I suppose your 
young apprentice here would care to know something about such 
matters.  Tell me, Tendo Nabiki, do you know what Orachalcum 
is?"

"I do," Nabiki replied cautiously, "Supposedly it was a metal 
forged as an alloy of Gold and Copper by some forgotten ancient 
alchemical process.  It was reported in Plato's Critias, his trestes 
that sparked the search for the legendary lost kingdom of 
Atlantis."

"Very good," Lao smiled and nodded in approval, "You got a 
passing grade.  And what else do you know about this wondrous 
alloy which presently confines one of the greatest Elders who 
have ever ruled the Amazon people?"

"Just rumors and speculation," Nabiki shrugged, "It's supposedly 
near indestructible and can resist even the most powerful of 
magics..."

"It grounds Magic like a magnet," Lao corrected, "Absorbs and 
cancels even powerful enchantments.  Allegedly it can even be 
used to contain the powers of a God.  Hephaestus himself is 
reputed to have used this cage to house a Harpy many millennia 
ago.  It may almost be enough to contain one so powerful as the 
Elder Cologne, at least until we have arrived at a suitable and 
mutually beneficial arrangement."

"I suppose I should be flattered?" Cologne replied with extreme 
skepticism.

"Forgive me, Elder," Lao replied, "But no one has a better idea of 
what you may be capable should you decide to cause me some 
slight inconvenience.  I may well have grown in power from 
when I last saw you, but I am hardly stupid enough to let you 
roam loose for old time's sake.  By the way, don't bother trying 
the breaking-point technique.  By now I am sure that you are 
already aware that Orachalcum grounds Chi-force lines as easily 
as it does other forms of spiritual power."

"Indeed," Cologne replied levelly, "You were never stupid 
enough to trap me like this without taking such precautions.  I 
trained you well never to underestimate your potential opposition.  
A pity you did not learn this well when you joined yourself to the 
Musk."

"Ancient history," Lao studied her fingernails with an idle tilt to 
her head, "I didn't listen when it would have mattered, now we 
will never know what might have been if I had.  Life seldom 
gives us second chances to make up for the mistakes that have 
the greatest impact upon our lives.  That was something else you 
taught me, and I remember everything..." she paused and 
repeated the word as she looked towards Cologne again, 
"Everything.  That's why I am so glad to have this chance for a 
one-on-one interview after so many years apart.  I won't ask what 
you think of the person that I have become, but do you at least 
concede that I have done better than you anticipated?"

"Indeed," Cologne replied, "I would never have envisioned that 
you would come so far...or go to such lengths to abandon our 
traditions..."

"I have never abandoned what truly matters, Elder," Lao said a 
bit stiffly, "I may not be following the Amazon ways that you 
know and approve of, but in essence what I do serves the same 
essential purpose."

"And what purpose is that?" Cologne wondered.

"Liberation," Lao had a grin like a Cheshire cat, "After a fashion.  
Liberation from outmoded customs, morality and beliefs that 
inhibit us and deny us the right to explore our basic womanhood.  
Amazons seek liberation through strength, I seek it by creating an 
atmosphere of pleasure.  I believe the Outsiders have a quaint 
term for this: 'Make love, not war,' am I right Tendo Nabiki?"

"I have...no problems with the basic concept," Nabiki replied, 
"And as fascinating as I find this little reunion you two are 
having, I hope you don't mind that I do have a few basic 
questions that I'd like to have answered."

"Ask away," Lao gestured grandly, "I am at your service...in a 
manner of speaking."

"All right," Nabiki glanced down at herself then looked around at 
the Seraglio they were in, "This ship..."

"Magnificent, isn't it?" Lao had that cat-like grin once more, "Oh, 
it wasn't always like this, in fact you should have seen it before I 
renovated the place.  The previous owners had such atrocious 
living standards, no style at all.  Of course the saying also goes 
that this home is also my prison."

"Your prison?" Nabiki marveled.

"A gilded cage is still a cage," Lao smiled, "I am bound to this 
place in spirit and body.  I can leave it for a short duration but 
always it calls me back and binds me to its rotting timbers.  
There is a lot of my own life-force incorporated in its basic fabric.  
The Floating Piece of Junk has had many masters in its time, and 
none have died a quiet death from natural causes.  I, of course, 
hope to be the first, but in all likelihood I will be trapped here 
until the next would-be owner takes it from my dying carcass."

Nabiki saw Keiko wince a little but gave no outward indication.  
Instead she remained focused on Lao as she said, "You make it 
sound like some kind of a curse."

"Worse than a Curse," Lao replied, "A binding pact, oath-bound 
and sealed by blood.  The history of this vessel is a strange and 
forbidding one, bound to the legends of ancient China with its 
archaic history and long traditions of inscrutable culture.  You'll 
have to take my word on faith that what I tell you is the absolute 
truth or nothing will make sense to a rational sort, such as I 
perceive you to be.  Do you think that you can manage a leap of 
faith long enough to hear me out?"

"I could try," Nabiki conceded, not wanting to admit that her 
curiosity was definitely piqued.

"Good," Lao noted, then began, "You are aware, of course, that 
there is a legend stating how a Chinese explorer of great 
ingenuity and imagination once convinced an Emperor of the 
T'ang dynasty to fund an expedition to the east with the intent of 
discovering the mysterious lost empire of Lemuria using a 
specially constructed ship incorporating the best building 
techniques that were known to his generation?'

"Of course," Nabiki replied, "Twelve hundred years ago, more or 
less, but all he managed to find was Long Beach."

"Indeed," Lao smiled, "The remains of his ship were discovered 
decades ago, proving that the Chinese were first to discover the 
New World..."

"Unless you count the Phoenicians," Nabiki noted.

"That goes without saying," Lao waved the point away 
dismissively, "What matters is that the fledgling expedition 
failed, so no future expeditions were tried, leaving it to that 
Italian pirate to get all the credit for being the first to go both 
ways.  Anyway, what is not generally known is that the basic 
plans for the ship were preserved in the Imperial archive, along 
with a description of how it was rigged and outfitted.  A few 
centuries later it was a Eunuch in the employ of the Mongol 
Emperor Kublai Khan who found and revived these plans, 
reasoning that China would need a stronger Navy to establish 
commercial domination over the known world of that age.  The 
Emperor agreed and gave his blessing to the construction of the 
largest Chinese vessel of its era, the one we are presently riding 
in this very moment."

"You're saying this thing is over six hundred years old?" Nabiki 
wondered.

"More or less, at a guess," Lao replied, "Now, that courtier was 
named Han Bolo and he was a Taoist mystic and alchemist from 
a very old school.  He reasoned that this vessel could be made 
more sea worthy if it incorporated a few handy spells and a bit of 
archaic magic, perhaps a few dozen enchantments and the 
blessings of a God or Two, coupled with your basic pact with 
dark malevolent forces and...well, to put it bluntly, he went a bit 
overboard.  Actually I think he was a few sheets short of a full 
mast myself, but the upshot of it is that this vessel was crafted 
with enough Sorcery involved to open a chain of Alchemy shops 
from here to the end of the next millennium.  In simplest terms, 
this ship is saturated with elemental power and can constitute is 
own localized plane of pseudo-reality.  It is not altogether of this 
world, and that is why it is both a blessing and a curse to be its 
owner."

"What happened to his plans for trade?" Nabiki wondered.

"The project suffered budget cutbacks in the wake of the failed 
invasion of the Japan islands," Lao shrugged, "The Khan was a 
bit miffed over that Tsunami thing, so Han Bolo's project got 
shelved after the ship was close to competion.  Han did not take 
the news very well and saw to funding its completion from his 
own embezzled finances.  When the Emperor's Tax Collectors 
came knocking on his door he took to the High Seas with an 
unsavory crew of cutthroats he had recruited from the port of 
Shanghai.  He became known as the Eunuch Pirate and enjoyed a 
moderately successful career.  He also proved to be the first of 
many victims of his own ambitious dreams, and this ship has 
ever since passed hands from one Captain to the next.  I happen 
to be its one hundred and eighth Captain, and I got that way by 
losing a card game to the previous owners."

"Losing a card game?" Nabiki arched eyebrows.

"If you know this place as I do you would know that winning is 
losing," Lao replied, "If I had known it at the time I would not 
have palmed those Aces."

"So, this thing's ancient and magic," Nabiki replied, "How come 
it hasn't been discovered before?  It's not exactly inconspicuous."

"As I said, it is not entirely of the world you and I came from," 
Lao responded, "It is mostly invisible to the detection means 
employed in this century.  You can see it visually through a field 
of distortion, but unless you are looking for it you are not likely to 
see it.  It is a ghost ship, rather a lot like the legends of the Flying 
Dutchman."

"I suppose I can go with that," Nabiki said reluctantly, "Next 
question...how did you know we were coming?"

"Elementary," Lao smiled, "I used magic."

"Magic," Nabiki replied with a neutral expression.

"I have gotten quite good in managing the Sorceries that are at 
my disposal as Mistress of this vessel," Lao stood up and gently 
tugged on Keiko's leash, urging the redhead to stand with her 
before giving Nabiki a nod that compelled her to do likewise.  
Nabiki gave one quick look or reassurance to Cologne then 
followed as Lao led the way to the rear of the chamber where 
stood a curious tripod with a brass metal lid cupping over a dish 
like an egg standing on its small end.

Lao grasped the handle at the top of this covering and removed it 
to reveal an object that looked much like a looking glass set in a 
frame at a horizontal angle.

"Behold," Lao said with dramatic flourish, "The project of 
Chinese Alchemy, which someone long before me called the 
Lens of Magellan."

"The Lens of Magellan?" Nabiki asked as she stared at the nearly 
flawless lens, which was four inches in diameter and a quarter-
inch thick and had an almost prismatic quality.

"It didn't belong to him," Lao reassured, "It's just called that for 
some obscure reason.  It's really quite a remarkable device, let's 
you see through time and space.  All you have to do is think of a 
person or event you wish to focus upon and it gives you an 
image.  Of course it only works for me, the owner, and is attuned 
to my thoughtwaves."

"Of course," Nabiki replied, "How does it work?"

"I'm not really sure myself," Lao admitted as she tilted another 
object hanging on a small swing-arm, positioning this two-inch 
wide mirror so that it caught the light reflected by another mirror 
that was positioned where sunlight shown brightly, and then the 
light was cast through the lens and caused an image to be 
projected, one that resolved a moment later into the face and form 
of a beautiful teenager...

"Shampoo?" Nabiki gasped in amazement.

"My cousin looks well," Lao replied, "Pregnancy becomes her.  I 
can see why you are so proud of this aspect of your marriage."

Nabiki swallowed, unable to help feeling a desire to call out 
Shampoo's name, as if expecting her wife to hear her.  Instead 
she managed to say, "You've been using this to keep track of 
her?"

"I have watched my cousin grow up to be a beautiful woman for 
some years," Lao replied, "She is one of the few things that I 
actually missed about Joketsuzoku.  The old village was home for 
most of the years of my younger life, but now it seems too small 
and provincial.  I now have a greater appreciation of the size of 
the world and the diversity of people who live there.  Imagine my 
surprise when, one day, I see a handsome man come into the 
picture and defeat my cousin.  I have had many long and amusing 
moments since that time to reflect on the curious course my 
cousin's life has taken.  I am pleased to see that you have honored 
her in all ways, although until this moment I have not been 
totally able to reconcile you with the man I so often saw in these 
pictures."

Shampoo's image faded as Lao covered the lens up again, "The 
problem with this lens is that you need to have a clear mental 
image of the person or party you would like to see reflected in its 
projections.  It is also limited in that the present is much easier to 
see than the past, while the future is...difficult due to the 
crosscurrents of probability lines.  Always in motion is the future, 
and many things you see may or may not ever come to pass."

"So you saw Keiko in this lens and knew that we were coming?" 
Nabiki fathomed.

"I knew that my former ward had made contact with you about 
the same time that Shampoo arrived in Japan," Lao replied, "It 
was too much of a coincidence, and if I didn't know any better I'd 
almost suspect divine involvement.  The ship itself may be 
helping me in its own curious way.  It knows that I have missed 
having Keiko at my side, and that I have always regretted the 
circumstances that forced me to turn her over to that motherless 
bastard, Chu Wan Phat."

"And what does Keiko have to say about it?" Nabiki turned a 
meaningful look at her old friend, "Kei-chan?"

"I...wasn't exactly thrilled about it myself at the time," Keiko said 
reluctantly, "It was even worse than I expected it would be.  I 
don't entirely blame you, my lady, but I know you were only 
doing what you thought was best for your own welfare."

"If you call throwing my favorite pet to those wolves what was 
best for my welfare, then you must not think very much of me 
indeed," Lao sounded genuinely saddened as she said, this, "Not 
that I can blame you.  But I am here to make it up to you at last, 
my darling.  I knew that I had to find a way to lure you back into 
my clutches, so I set in motion a plan that I thought for certain 
would attract your notice."

"My mother?" Keiko's tone was suddenly very animated, "The 
reports said you had her..."

"Those reports..." Lao hesitated, "Were a forgery on my part.  I 
am sorry to tell you this, my dear, but I do not presently have 
custody of your mother."

Keiko looked deflated, "Then...she really is...?"

"Oh now, she is quite well," Lao replied, "In fact I do happen to 
know where she is at this precise moment.  That was why I 
wanted to see you again, to reunite you both in an atmosphere 
that will allow you to have every tender, intimate Mother-
daughter moment you have ever dreamed of experiencing.  All 
we have to do is...liberate her from a certain party."

"From whom?" Nabiki asked, already forming dangerous 
suspicions.

"From the one you no doubt already suspect," Lao replied, "He 
had briefly retired from his criminal enterprises to seek to make 
amends for his many sins as a religious man in a Buddhist 
Temple.  What brought him back out of retirement was the 
discovery of a way by which he hopes to achieve the vengeance 
he so desperately craves."

"Vengeance...on me?" Keiko's tone was chilled.

"On the both of you," Lao replied, "In fact he went to a great deal 
of trouble to inform me that he had possession of your mother, 
knowing that I would have the means of contacting the both of 
you to deliver you safe and sound in Hong Kong.  We will arrive 
in a few days to make the exchanges, Arigami Akiko for the both 
of you, of course."

"Wonderful," Nabiki said sourly realizing with grim fatalism that 
they were about to have an encounter with one of the devils from 
her darkest nightmare, and Chu Wan Phat was most likely very 
eager to see them, which was hardly surprising given what she 
and Keiko had done to the man at their last parting...



Continued.

Comments/Criticism/Ming Vases: shadowmane@ndti.net


Nabiki and friends are on the cruise ship from Hell (or some 
nether region where they lower community standards).  How will 
they cope with the accommodations, and will their sanity hold up 
under Lao's idea of First Class Luxury Accommodations?  Be 
there!


Nabiki 1/2;

A Very Scary Thought

(An Altered Destiny)

Chapter 21, Part 3.

By
Jim Robert Bader

(Inspired by the works of Rumiko Takahashi & Others)


WARNING: The following Chapter is of an Adult Nature &
May be considered Hentai in Most States;
You Have Been Warned!!!





"Tendo Akane!  Pigtailed One!  It is I, your devoted Kuno 
Tatawaki come to rescue you from the vile clutches of that Tendo 
Kaneda...AWP!!!"

Kuno halted in mid stride upon the path to the back porch of the 
home of his two beloveds.  As usual for him he had raced 
through the front gates with the ardor of his devotion fresh in his 
mind, heedless of the normal social rules of conduct that was 
supposed to apply to guests not normally of his stature.

This time, however, the path of his true love was blocked 
unexpectedly by what looked--on the very close inspection he 
was being offered--to be a large-sized rub beater, the kind 
normally employed to knock the dust off large throw rugs and 
tapestries.  This one was being held up like a polearm warding 
his path, and by slowly following its line he discovered a slender 
hand that gripped it, connected to an equally slender arm that--
wonder of wonders--had an even more comely young woman 
attached to it.

Said woman was presently eyeing him with a cross expression as 
she demanded in a level tone, "Who are you and what is your 
business with the Tendos?"

Kuno took a half-step back, not because he was afraid of the 
authoritative challenge in this woman's voice (he would most 
adamantly have insisted) but out of surprise and respect for 
someone who could have moved so swiftly to block his path that 
he--the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High--could not have seen her 
coming.

"One side, woman," Kuno instructed her as though it were his 
lordly right, "My business with the Tendos is of a personal 
nature, and for that matter, what cause have you to ask in such an 
impertinent manner?"

"My name is Tendo Natsume," she replied, "This home belongs 
to my family.  Do you have permission to be here?"

"I, permission?" Kuno straightened out, "I am Kuno Tatawaki, 
the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!  I do not need permission to 
come upon these premises as this is the home of my good friend 
Saotome Ranma and my two beloveds, Tendo Akane and 
Arigami Keiko!"

"You're their boyfriend?" Natsume eyed him skeptically.  From 
appearances this fellow had trouble written all over him, and 
while his claim was certainly plausible he did not seem the type 
for someone as independently minded as Akane was reputed to 
be.  She chose to err on the side of caution as she replied, "They 
are not here at the present.  They went on a field trip with one of 
the teachers from their school.  If you wish, then I will inform 
them of your visit upon their arrival."

"Not here?" something shifted in the slow gears of Kuno's mind 
as he took greater stock of the slender woman before him, then he 
murmured, "Tendo Natsume.  I do not recognize the name.  Are 
you, by chance, Akane-chan's cousin?"

"No," Natsume replied, "Her sister.  It's somewhat of a long 
story."

"Sister?" Kuno did some mental arithmetic, adding up all the 
known Tendos in his mind then carrying the five and subtracting 
the zero.  It took a very long moment, and the effect nearly 
overheated his brain, but at last he concluded, "I was informed 
that Akane had but two sisters, Kasumi and Nabiki.  You are one 
more than I thought were in existence."

"My, aren't you the clever one," Natsume sounded amused, but to 
Kuno's ear he heard a tone of mocking challenge.

"Is that a challenge I hear?" Kuno smiled as he stepped back and 
drew his bokkem, "Very well, I accept!  Prepare to defend 
yourself and prove to me that you are worthy of the name Tendo."

Something glinted in the other woman's eyes and she smiled, 
"Very well, I accept."

She took a step back and held her rug-beater at an angle as 
though it were a Naginata.  In spite of himself Kuno found that 
he was intrigued and voiced his curiosity aloud, "You would face 
Kuno Tatawaki with a common implement of household labor?"

Natsume smiled, "We make the most of what we have on hand.  
Whenever you're ready, Blowhard."

"That's Blue Thunder!" Kuno cried as he raised his bokkem, 
prepared to teach a lesson to this impertinent woman for mocking 
him with such brazen manner.

Meanwhile Kurumi looked up from where she had been 
practicing her punches and kicks against a cloth-wrapped post.  
She had seen Natsume move off to confront somebody in a 
Kendo-styled outfit, but now her sister seemed to be challenging 
the fellow to a duel and they were squaring off in the yard 
together.  Kurumi turned her full attention their way and watched 
the boy facing her sister, noticing his movements and posture, the 
expert way he held his weapon.  There was something about this 
that she did not like and she wondered if her sister had any idea 
of how skilled this guy was, and why she was even bothering to 
fight with him in the first place.

Meanwhile the fathers looked up from their Shogi board to see 
the brewing altercation.  Genma adjusted his glasses and sighed 
aloud, "Looks like the inevitable has finally happened, Tendo-
kun."

"Hai, Saotome-kun," Soun sounded so depressed that he actually 
failed to see Genma's hand steal towards the board until almost 
the last instant.  He sighed as his own hand intercepted Genma's, 
blocking the attempted illegal maneuver.

"Oh dear," said Nodoka as she came in holding a tea tray, "Is that 
boy picking yet another fight with a woman he has only just met?  
I really must have a talk with Tatawaki on his methods of 
dating."

"What wrong with method?" Shampoo asked as she looked up 
from her knitting, "Boy who test self against girl only do what is 
natural.  Too bad he only Kuno, Natsume make into chopped 
pork."

"Oh my," Kasumi looked up from where she had been perched on 
a chair adjusting some pictures that she had been dusting around, 
"I do hope they won't make too much of a mess this time.  Poor 
Kuno-san does tend to forget himself when he is up against a real 
challenge."

"Think we should put a stop to this, Tendo?" Genma wondered 
idly.

"No," Soun said as he watched his alleged daughter square off 
against the local bully with a mixture of sadness, weariness and a 
bit of admiration.  He was finding the whole matter of the two 
girls who claimed him for their father to be deeply troubling, not 
least for the fact that it cast him in a bad light and slighted the 
memory of his beloved late wife.  He was certain that he had 
never cheated on Kimiko, not even when severely tempted (and 
he had to admit that there had been a lot of temptations in those 
days).  There was no way that he could conceive of these two as 
being his daughters, but...he had to admit that they were very fine 
girls, the sort any father could be proud of.  Not his, just very 
admirable daughters of somebody, and until he could prove this 
to everyone's satisfaction he would have to put them up as he 
would any pair of orphans in need of a stable home environment.

He just wished Nodoka would stop eyeing him with daggers 
everytime she looked from the girls to him as though leveling the 
silent accusation of cheating on her best friend from childhood.  It 
was making him very nervous, and even Kasumi seemed to be 
regarding him differently these last two days...

Natsume, meanwhile, was finding this Kuno to be more 
formidable than she had at first estimated.  Not in her class as a 
fighter, of course, but he did know a fair amount of Kendo, and 
he used his sword as though it were a perfect extension of his 
arms.  She decided to play with him a bit rather than to finish 
him off swiftly, drawing him out into the yard where they both 
had greater freedom to maneuver and noticing that his pattern of 
attack shifted with his change of surroundings.  It was obvious 
that someone had taught him a little of the Anything Goes style, 
quite understandable if he were a friend of the boy named 
Ranma.

"You are quite formidable," Kuno said during a brief pause in 
their sparring, "If you lose perhaps I shall grant you the honor of 
dating me."

Natsume found herself reacting with irritation to this comment.  
Date with him?  Who did this fool think he was?  Or perhaps it 
was just a clever ploy to get her upset so that she might drop her 
guard and give him an opening.  Well, he would see that she 
knew how to keep her cool under that sort of a challenge.

"An intriguing offer," she smiled, "But why would you wish to 
date the likes of me when you already have my sister Akane and 
her friend to date you?"

"Alas," Kuno sighed, "Their shyness is so great that they cannot 
confess their love for me, so they must needs deny it with a 
passion, woe betide that pride should interfere in such a noble 
endeavor as romance."

Natsume looked at him as if the boy were trying to pull her leg 
with that line.  What sort of romantic interludes did her 
newfound sister have with this fellow, who seemed to think he 
had stepped out of a Kurusawa movie?  She circled around 
holding her weapon at a defecting angle as he moved his bokkem 
in steady counterpoint, then he came rushing at her with a 
sudden, swift movement.

Natsume was, of course, no longer where Kuno had struck, but 
the force of his blow was translated into a wave that traveled far 
beyond the reach of his wooden blade to cause a mild shockwave 
that split the water of the koi pond and went all the way to the 
recently repaired wall, shattered an entire section of the 
brickwork.  Natsume turned to look at him and his handiwork in 
shock, then faintly recognized the Ki attack as a modified version 
of Nampo.

Kuno struck again, giving her little time to recover and forcing 
Natsume to fight back in earnest as she kept away from his 
sword, now more fully aware that his attacks could be deadly.  
Until now she had been holding back in this fight, but it was 
looking as if she would have to resort to her own Ki attack in 
order to end it quickly before someone was either hurt or there 
was worse property damage to her new family's estate.

She was just summoning up her power when a fast-moving blur 
came between the two of them, then a fist rocketed up and 
knocked Tatawaki head over heals into near-orbit.

"Kurumi?" Natsume gasped.

"Hai," Kurumi turned an innocent smile and adopted a Kawaii 
pose as the sound of Kuno hitting the koi pond resounded some 
ten paces behind her.

Natsume looked from her sister to the semi-conscious form 
bobbing in the water then said, "Kurumi-chan...you really 
shouldn't have interfered.  This was my fight and I was never in 
any real danger."

"I know that," Kurumi said brightly, "But he really wasn't giving 
you that much of a workout."

"But...still..." Natsume hesitated, looking over Kurumi's head as 
she saw Kuno climb out of the pond as though his brain were too 
slow to realize that he ought to be unconscious.  He raised his 
sword high and said, "I'm not...beaten...yet..."

Kurumi's bare foot against his jaw argued differently, and this 
time Kuno was not so fortunate as to land on something as soft as 
the koi pond.  The short brown-haired girl spun around as if there 
were nothing unusual in what she had just done and said, "Yes 
you are.  Come on, Oneechan, let's go make Poppa some lunch, 
I'll bet he's really hungry."

Natsume was shocked at how casual her sister was being over 
the beating she had just given to the boy named Kuno.  She was 
about to upbraid her sister for being rude when she heard 
Shampoo say from close nearby, "No worry about Kuno, his head 
harder than stone.  You come in now, he be all right."

Natsume turned to see the cool look in the red-brown eyes of the 
purple-haired girl, who was wearing one of Kasumi's dresses, 
and thought she caught a look in Shampoo's features that was 
sternly disapproving.  Not wanting to alienate herself against a 
member of her new family, Natsume nonetheless sighed and said, 
"You don't like him very much, do you?"

"Him nothing but trouble," Shampoo's expression clouded, "Try 
always court Airen and Airen's sister, pick fights with Husband, 
never learn when he told they no want to date him.  Also remind 
Shampoo of other boy who always pick on Cousin.  I no like boys 
who no take hint, I pound him if he try that with Shampoo 
Airen."

Natsume was not exactly certain what this strange Chinese girl 
was talking about.  Shampoo had been very friendly and outgoing 
the first day of their arrival, but she seemed wary about Natsume 
and Kurumi for some reason.  Natsume was uncertain exactly 
who this girl was and what her relationship to the Tendo family 
was, outside of the fact that she was an Amazon and claimed to 
be married to the mysterious Tendo Kaneda they had heard much 
about their first day but had yet to actually encounter.  The fact 
that Kaneda's wife was over four months pregnant seemed the 
only subject they had been able to obtain on the matter.  Neither 
Natsume nor Kurumi had been able to ask questions about him 
from their father without provoking him to wail something about 
gaining a son and losing a daughter.  It was quite puzzling on the 
whole and Natsume wondered if they would ever gain enough 
trust to be allowed to know all of the family secrets that seemed 
to presently be kept from their knowing.

She gave a last glance towards the unconscious Kuno then turned 
and followed Kurumi and Shampoo back into their House.  She 
would have to talk with him again when the boy regained 
consciousness.  Perhaps there were things that she could learn 
from the fool, and it was not as if he was that bad to look at.  If 
only he came across as being just a little less obnoxious she 
might even venture to say that he was the most intriguing thing 
she had seen since coming to Nerima...



"Sorry if I have inconvenienced you," Madam Lao was saying as 
she handled her chopsticks and took her time deciding what to 
sample, "I know that we have some serious business to discuss 
and all of that, but I find it so much more relaxing to deal with 
people such as you this way.  Besides, one of the problems you 
usually have with prisoners is that they actually expect this sort of 
thing, as if they would be offended if you were not being 
tortured."

"I'd take a pass if it's just the same," Nabiki replied from her 
hapless horizontal position, "Can't we just say that you did and 
leave it at that?"

Lao's chuckle was brazen, "Now what would be the fun in that?  
You're not actually suffering very much in the moment, so you 
can hardly complain about rude treatment.  I haven't even 
bothered to gag you so that we can have this discussion both 
ways.  Isn't this preferable to what conditions might be like if I 
decided to get nasty?"

"Let me think on that one," Nabiki bent her head to look down 
the length of her body to where leafy greens and cottage cheese 
had been spread over her naked torso with ground up raw fish 
spread about with garnishes, turning her into a living salad bar 
from which Lao was picking her food with the chopsticks.

Sometimes those chopsticks would find something other than a 
delicacy, and sometimes they pinched and prodded very sensitive 
areas.  In spite of her attempts to ignore the treatment she could 
feel her breasts swell a bit as Lao played with and pinched her 
labia and nipples.

"I do so love Sushi in the Raw," Lao cooed as she ignored 
Nabiki's futile attempts to struggle against the chains that held 
her in pace, spread-eagle on the table in what passed for Lao's 
private office, "It's one of your country's nicest contributions to 
civilization, don't you agree?"

"Gee," Nabiki's tone dripped sarcasm, "I don't know, do you 
think so?  I thought only dirty old men went in for this stuff..."

"I am neither dirty, old, nor a man," Lao reminded, "But let's not 
quibble over these things, shall we?  I want you to know that I 
have only the highest respect for you, and while it may seem as if 
the purpose of having you this way is meant to compromise your 
integrity, let me assure you that this is simply my way of helping 
you to become more relaxed and at ease in my presence."

"That's a funny way of describing matters," Nabiki replied, 
glancing down at herself in a meaningful way, "And here I 
thought you were just lording it over the fact that you presently 
have me at a disadvantage."

Lao smiled without denying the point, and instead moved her 
chopsticks to pluck a bit of Sushi, which she proceeded to rub 
across Nabiki's sensitive nerve endings, eliciting an involuntary 
reaction that in turn triggered an unrepressed shudder.

"My, how tense you are," Lao remarked, as she continued to 
stroke her unresisting victim, "And here I was of the impression 
that you were fairly uninhibited.  Of course I forget that you are 
not an Amazon by birth...you have those silly Japanese morals 
and social conventions that you like to pretend are not part and 
parcel to your nature."

Nabiki grit her teeth and tried to focus her mind on something 
other than what was happening to her body, "What do you want, 
Lao?  My capitulation?"

"Heavenly Ancestors, no," Lao chuckled as she elicited the 
physical response she was after, in spite of Nabiki's silent 
protests, "That would be too easy, and I like a challenge as much 
as the next Hentai," she paused to bring the now-moistened Sushi 
up to her lips and made a production out of sampling the aroma, 
then swallowed it for show, "Ah...how deliciously flavorful.  I 
can certainly see what my cousin Shampoo finds so addictive 
about you.  You are indeed a quite tasty morsel..."

"Thanks for the compliment," Nabiki growled, "I think."

"Now, don't be that way," Lao chuckled, "I could be conducting 
this interview under far less pleasurable conditions, but I want 
you to appreciate the troubles that I have gone to on your behalf.  
I am doing this because of the respect and admiration that I have 
come to have over your accomplishments..."

"Respect?" Nabiki fairly spat the word, "This is your idea of 
respect?  Sexual exploitation isn't respect, Lao, it's a kind of 
mental and physical degradation..."

"Yes, yes, I know," Lao waved the point away, "I know all the 
current Pop Psychological terms currently in vogue.  I may not 
have spent as much time in the Outside world as you, but I do a 
lot of reading, and I am quite well educated, in spite of my early 
upbringing as a warrior.  There is quite a lot of free time on long 
sea voyages for doing little else but study the things that the 
outside world has to offer, and I have had many long discussions 
with other 'guests' that have come before you, so believe me when 
I say that I have heard it all before, and then some.  I hope you do 
not intend on boring me with a rehash of arguments that I have 
heard ad nauseum until I could recite them in my sleep.  It would 
be so refreshing if someone had an original idea that they could 
use to imply that there is something morally wrong with how I 
conduct my affairs.  You can't imagine what it's like being at the 
top of my profession yet always having to justify yourself for 
turning a dishonest profit while helping others to achieve their 
liberation."

"Liberation?" Nabiki asked dubiously.

"From their old tired ideals and preconceptions," Lao explained, 
"You mean to imply that what I do is in violation to the rules of 
civilized behavior and the Egalitarian ideal that every man and 
woman is a free and sovereign individual with inalienable rights 
that must be Universally respected.  As someone of Chinese 
descent I can assure you that this concept is far from the norm for 
human existence."

"And that makes it all right to enslave people and use them for 
your own amusement?" Nabiki asked her tormentor.

"In a sense," Lao replied, "What I do may not be sanctified by 
your ideals but it is justified by the circumstances of my current 
existence.  Piracy is not as easy a trade as it once was in the days 
of the Filibusters and those who flew the Jolly Roger.  Even the 
great Madam Ching, in whose likeness I have fashioned myself, 
never had to operate under the limitations imposed by organized 
navies and the advanced naval powers that rule the seas in these 
days.  You just can't pick and choose your targets at random, or 
do anything that might attract an undue amount of attention to 
my activities so that my enemies can unite against me.  It is 
necessary to operate under a lowered profile so that the 
authorities might pretend that they can ignore me."

"And kidnapping is low profile?" Nabiki snorted.

"Perhaps not low profile," Lao smiled, "But people disappear 
every day who are never missed or looked for in these waters, 
people like Keiko-chan and her mother...or like you, for that 
matter.  They vanish literally without a trace and are soon 
forgotten.  The Lost files of police records contain tens of 
thousands of names every year, some of whom wind up in my 
hands while the rest are simply a statistic.  Some may guess what 
becomes of their loved ones, but without proof or something to 
trace they have no means for waging a methodical investigation.  
It also helps that the suspicions and rivalries between the various 
sovereign nations of this region of the world work to defeat their 
ever pooling their resources and coordinating a search to find and 
put an end to piracy throughout this entire region.  Most pirates 
are small-time bandits loosely affiliated with one another, others-
-such as the Sang Brotherhood--have a long history of covering 
their tracks so that Politics and the general incompetence of 
corrupt bureaucrats allows an operation such as mine to elude 
even the most persistent of investigators."

"You think you're above the law because of that?" Nabiki asked.

"Not above," Lao corrected, "Outside of the conventions under 
which civilized people prefer to live.  I am perhaps the most 
liberated of souls because I acknowledge the existence of social 
inhibitions.  I recognize how we are all victims to our own 
upbringing.  We are products of the cultures that have molded 
our attitudes and philosophies into an obedient slave-mode in 
which we never ask the right questions or challenge the authority 
of self-proclaimed experts and authority figures who tell us how 
to behave, what to believe and just how far we may be permitted 
to function."

 "So we're just victims of society, huh?" Nabiki lobbed back.

"In one sense," Lao said matter-of-factly, "We also make choices 
that can have a profound effect on both ourselves and others.  It is 
fear of censure by our peers within a social group that can act just 
as firmly as any rule of law to regulate our conduct and make us 
slaves to our upbringing.  Not all of us take responsibility for our 
own lives, Tendo-san.  It's quite easy to sit back and let others 
decide how you are to live and operate, which is the passive-
aggressive mindset adopted by most civilized people.  
Theologians and Politicians make use of this mindset all of the 
time.  So long as we are afraid of doing something that can bring 
us censure or condemnation we are compelled to behave in 
conformity to whatever standards are upheld to be normality.  
The majority sets the criteria for membership, and woe betide the 
unlucky individual who does not fit in.  In that sense society as a 
whole can be far more cruel than anything that I practice."

"That's the price of civilization," Nabiki countered, "Some 
freedoms must be sacrificed in the name of mutual co-
existence..."

"Which is the justification of any and all Tyrannies," Lao 
responded, "The balance between the polar extremes of control 
and freedom requires more than just vigilance, Tendo-san, they 
require the occasional upstart like me in order to rationalize their 
continued existence.  Why else pass laws that forbid social 
practices for which there is no clearly definable or compelling 
need to regulate?  Take the Marriage issue for a prime 
example...the romantic ideal of two people bonding together in a 
blissful state of eternal matrimony has been used to sanctify such 
horrible practices as the Hindu custom of Sati.  Or what of our 
own Amazon traditions that hold that we should want to marry a 
strong fighter, which simply translates as the first man who can 
beat us up without compunction?"

"You...have a point there," Nabiki conceded with extreme 
reluctance.

"To put a finer point on the matter," Lao continued, "You have 
chosen to enter into a state of five-way marriage with one boy and 
three other women to whom you feel a deep mutual attraction.  
By law you could only marry the boy, yet what is the harm in 
recognizing by law what you five would willingly abide to join 
yourselves into?  I challenge anyone to justify a law forbidding 
two women to marry, such a law as you have willingly violated 
by using your Male aspect as a pretext for marrying my cousin."

"I won't argue that there aren't some pretty irrational laws on the 
books," Nabiki replied, "And not all marriages are a picnic, but I 
don't see how you can use that argument to justify what you're 
doing."

"Please," Lao smiled as she lifted her wine-glass then tipped it 
over to spill wine upon one of Nabiki's nipples, which she then 
bent down and began to suckle.  Nabiki grimaced in disgust but 
found it impossible to repress an involuntary shudder.  She was 
trying not to give Lao any hint that she was responding favorably 
to this treatment, but she had no doubt Lao knew and took full 
advantage of her bodily responses.  She was obviously rattling 
Nabiki's cage to keep her too distracted to think clearly, and 
unfortunately the tactic seemed to be working.

"Delicious," Lao almost purred as she looked up from the nipple 
she had licked clean with an unmistakable look of predatory 
hunger, "You see?  You may try to deny it, but you are not 
finding your status all that horrible, are you?  I am no casual 
rapist forcing myself on the unwilling, I am a professional at the 
pleasure trade.  I deal in the exchange of goods like any other 
form of business.  It is simply that the business that I deal in 
happens to be considered socially taboo that marks me as any 
different from the type of business woman you allegedly aspire to 
become."

"There is a difference," Nabiki tried to keep her voice level, "I 
don't force people to compromise their integrity or personal 
values..."

"Oh yes you do," Lao smiled as one hand snaked down to caress 
one of Nabiki's inner thighs, "When you took over the 
underworld of your campus you forced every student to tow your 
line in one sense or another.  Granted you were engaging in a 
kind of reform, but how many students did you force into drug 
rehabilitation programs?  How many parents did you contact to 
refer to counseling and/or the police in order to help families cope 
with their domestic crises, helping troubled students to 
concentrate better on their schoolwork?  How many people have 
you strong-armed or blackmailed into doing your bidding?  I 
believe it is a crime to gamble on a school campus, but that is one 
of your chief forms of outside income which you use to keep your 
family afloat while running a dojo in your spare time, which also 
is a compromise of school policy.  You are quite the budding 
criminal, Tendo-san, even if there is nobility in your actions."

Nabiki grit her teeth and tried to think on her balance sheets on 
this months latest budget but found her ability to focus there 
severely compromised by an abnormal sense of guilt that Lao's 
words were provoking.  She turned instead to the latest Tokyo 
Stock Exchange figures and tried to estimate the current value of 
her stock, all the while her body was tensing as she struggled 
with her manacles and wrist-cuffs.

"I, too, am a businesswoman of a sort," Lao continued as if 
ignoring Nabiki's silent entreaties that she desist in what she was 
doing, "I deal in a commodity that is highly valued by the 
wealthy and powerful, but these days I am extremely selective in 
choosing my clients.  It used to be enough that I recruit fresh new 
talent to feed the appetites of men and women of power, but 
experience has taught me that there is more than merely turning a 
profit to getting ahead in my peculiar profession."

"Is that what you call selling Keiko to that bastard?" Nabiki 
snapped and was rewarded with a guilty flinch that caused Lao to 
pause for a moment before resuming her exploratory finger 
exercises.

"That...was regrettable," Lao sounded sincerely troubled, "I don't 
allow myself to feel much guilt these days, and it is hardly an 
asset to have a conscience about my actions in such 
matters...but...giving Keiko to Chu Wan Phat was perhaps the 
one most regrettable thing that I have ever done in my life, 
excluding only my failure to heed my Great Grandmother's 
warnings about the Musk.  Believe me when I say that I have not 
had a moment's peace in well over a year since giving her up to 
that bastard.  That is why I intend to rectify my mistake and make 
Phat regret crossing me on that day.  I also owe him for what he 
did to my beloved Keiko-chan, and I will not suffer that he visit 
the same treatment on Keiko's mother.  On that you have my 
solemn promise."

"I wish I could say that meant much to me at the moment," 
Nabiki said, then gasped as Lao resumed her finger-probing 
onslaught, bringing her body to a level of excitement that made 
conversation that much harder to focus upon without betraying 
her arousal.

"It is always a mistake to place too much trust in a man," Lao 
sounded as though she were speaking to herself as much as 
Nabiki at this point, "Men have only one thing on their minds 
when it comes to us, I'm afraid.  It's not even really their fault, 
they just react that way out of biological imperative.  We are 
designed to perpetuate the species through consensual activity, 
and the Gods have indeed had their jest at our expense in making 
the imperatives of men and women so similar, yet so different..."

"Such as?" Nabiki gasped, hoping to distract Madam Lao while 
she sought for a new level of focus.

"Such as, of course, our need to mate," Lao continued sadly, "To 
find companionship and even love with someone who is special, 
someone to whom we can open up and relate on a level that we 
never find with casual strangers.  It is hard letting go of our 
defenses, of trusting someone to whom we can bare our souls and 
be the person we hide from the harshness of the outside world.  It 
is very hard to find that level of intimacy and trust, even harder to 
bear the risk when trust such as this is betrayed.  I know the 
crushing sensation that comes when discovering the lie when you 
learn that the man you thought loved you was never being 
honest..."

"Prince Julep of the Musk?" Nabiki asked as though exploring for 
an opening in Lao's mental defenses.

"Not quite a Prince," Lao replied, "But he called himself that 
often enough.  He was not of the Royal Dragon Line, but he had 
been promoted by Prince Garnet  to a position like that of a 
Minister of State.  He was of the Tiger Branch of the Musk, but 
far more intelligent than was usual for that line.  He had a hunger 
for life unlike any I have ever known, and I was completely swept 
up in his vision of a united China.  I...loved him very much, only 
I was not quite the compliant wife he wanted me to be.  He tried 
to teach me to be humble and I...failed to live up to his 
expectations."

"So you killed him," Nabiki said simply, sensing a slackening off 
in Lao's Hentai efforts.

Lao's smile was almost rueful, "I wasn't entirely myself at the 
time, so I suppose I did act rather excessively under duress.  I do 
believe that he cared for me in his own twisted way, but not the 
way I cared for him, and the discovery of that made me feel, 
perhaps, that I had loved in error.  I wonder now if, under 
different circumstances, I might not have handled things better.  
At the very least I would not have made my son an orphan."

"You did what you thought you had to," Nabiki found herself 
surprisingly sympathetic at this point, a sentiment that did not 
last as Lao resumed her intimate probing.

"I did what he compelled me to do when he gave me my curse," 
Lao spat the word with peculiar venom, then smiled again and 
said, "In a way he is the cause of his own destruction, every bit as 
much as me, but that's the Musk for you.  Too arrogant and 
prideful to realize their limits.  I understand that young Prince 
Herb is even more that way than his late, unlamented father."

Nabiki did not reply at this point as she was having trouble 
focusing at all as Lao expertly brought her to the edge and held 
her there, prolonging her state without allowing her to climax.  
She was waging an inner debate about whether to feel betrayal or 
self-loathing, then realized that such emotions were in themselves 
an admission of weakness and fought them off tenaciously.  She 
would not give Lao the satisfaction of hearing her grovel, no 
matter if she now better appreciated the fact that the woman 
exciting her was certifiably crazy.

"Ah yes," Lao seemed to recover herself as new thoughts caused 
her tone to harden, "And of course there is the betrayal of my own 
people, who turned me away in my moment of greatest need.  
Even the one I trusted and believed in turned her back on me in 
the end, and not just because of what I had done in ending the life 
of my own husband.  It was politics that undid me.  My people 
turned me away because they feared going to war against the 
Musk in order to help me regain custody of my son.  Only a 
handful of my people aided me in that endeavor, sharing my exile 
out of a mutual insight that the Amazon way had failed to serve 
our interests.  Two of them still abide with me and are officers on 
this vessel.  They are my right and left hands, trusted--to a point--
with the operation of this enterprise, and I shall be happy to 
introduce you to the both of them when time is permitting.  But I 
forget one very important detail...you have yet to ask me about 
the welfare of your female companions."

Nabiki could not help shooting a worried look at Lao as the 
Pirate said this.  Her imagination could form ready images all too 
well of what sort of conditions her sister and friends were 
currently experiencing, judging by what she had seen of the 
treatment of Keiko.

Lao clapped her hands and said, "Bring forth the new Pledges."

Nabiki detected movement out of her peripheral vision and turned 
her head to see the door to the Captain's cabin slide open.  Two of 
the semi-translucent women entered first, followed by a pair that 
Nabiki almost did not recognize at first glance but quickly 
discovered to be none other than Ukyo and Perfume, each moving 
in a somewhat mechanical manner.

At the behest of the pale women Ukyo and Perfume were directed 
to come to a halt no more than one meter away from Nabiki's 
table.  They were both completely naked save for some 
ornamented jewelry that adorned both women in a way that left 
them still exposed to view in every way important.  They had 
golden manacles around their ankles connected by chains that 
clinked lightly when they moved, restricting their stride to half 
that of normal.  Other chains were connected to the golden 
bracelets that they were wearing, and each had the trademark 
collars that seemed to be the only universal requirement for the 
slaves on board the vessel.  Both were staring straight ahead in a 
way so relaxed that it was clear to Nabiki that both were 
effectively operating like sleepwalkers.

"Ah," Lao said, as she looked these two over, "The okonomiyaki 
chef extraordinaire, Kuonji Ukyo, and her true lady love, the very 
Amazon who assumed my place in both tribe and family, adopted 
cousin of my cousin.  Yes indeed, quite a pair, and presently 
mine to command in whatever manner I see fit."

"What have you done to them?" Nabiki could not keep from 
hissing.

"Nothing bad, I assure you," Lao said soothingly, "I have simply 
used an Amazon technique that I have modified with practice 
called the Xi Fang Xiao.  You might have heard Cologne refer to 
it at some time during your training.  It is a kind of Shiatsu 
touch-exercise employing a specially made herbal shampoo that 
can be used to manipulate memory or...as in this case...shut down 
certain rational faculties to create a state of mind in which one is 
highly sensitive to suggestion.  You might say that these two are 
presently operating on automatic pilot."

Nabiki stared in dismay, seeing the unfocused gaze of both 
women as they stared listlessly at nothing.  No trace of the 
animated intelligence was there that she had come to know and 
respect from her best friend and fellow iinazuke to Ranma, and 
the courageous Amazon who devoutly loved her.

"You need not fear," Lao assured her, "I do not intend to leave 
them permanently in this state, I just thought they would be much 
easier to control this way.  I have followed the progress of my 
adoptive cousin and know full well of what she is capable, and 
with her inability to tolerate pain I can hardly apply my normal 
coercive methods to insure her cooperation.  As for the chef, I 
respect anyone who can capture an Amazon's heart so 
completely.  If anything, I intend to do them both a great favor 
with your cooperation."

"What do you have in mind?" Nabiki's tone was wary.

Lao just laughed before saying, "All in good time.  It wouldn't do 
for me to tell you everything in advance, it would just spoil the 
surprise, but let's us say--for the sake of argument--that you may 
even approve of what I have in mind.  You might even say that it 
is on account of your unique gifts that such a thing is even 
possible.  I will leave you to dwell upon that while I tend to other 
pressing business."

She stood up from her chair then pointed to Nabiki and gave both 
Ukyo and Perfume a compelling look, "I want her cleaned off and 
ready by the time that I return.  Leave her manacles in place and 
use only your tongues to do this task.  You," she pointed to 
Perfume, "Take that end," she pointed to Nabiki's legs, "Work 
your way up to her middle.  You," now she pointed to Ukyo, 
"Approach from the other end and meet your lady love half-way.  
Remember...use only your tongues, not your hands, except to 
steady her and your balance.  I will return within the hour, make 
certain that she is ready."

Both Perfume and Ukyo complied with these instructions, 
showing no doubt or hesitation as they positioned themselves at 
opposite ends of Nabiki's prone body.  Nabiki was looking at 
them both with alarm as Lao strode casually to the door and said, 
"It may interest you to know that you are a very popular item of 
discussion with these two.  When I applied the Xi Fang Xiao to 
activate their truth centers they could not stop singing your 
praises.  You have made quite an impression with both women, 
so try to think of this as their way of acting out a sincerely held 
impulse."

"It-It's not real," Nabiki shuddered as she saw Perfume bend 
down and begin to kiss and lick her bare feet while Ukyo leaned 
forward until her breasts covered Nabiki's entire field of vision, 
"This isn't really their choice..."

"Oh yes it is," Lao leered at the attempted denials, "You may be 
familiar with the old saying that you cannot make someone who 
is Hypnotized do something against their nature?  There is no real 
need to compel them to act this way, they both want to do you 
and will do so now that I have removed the doubt and self-
restraint that has inhibited them until now.  I have given them the 
permission to do the thing that mentally they were steadfastly 
denying.  Kuonji-san there has a great deal of admiration for you 
as both a woman and a potential lover, while Perfume has even 
less restraint in expressing her desire for a closer union.  Enjoy 
this for what it is, and try not to judge yourself too harshly.  After 
all, this is fate, and what could be more natural than to give and 
receive pleasure with those who sincerely love you?  Take your 
time and do not rush things.  I will be back for you after I pay my 
respects to your sister."

Nabiki could not answer at this point, could barely even hear the 
words as her focus dissolved under a wave of unending pleasure 
that defied both comprehension and reason.  Perfume was giving 
her feet and ankles a bath and slowly bringing her attentions 
upward while Ukyo had one hand on either of Nabiki's breasts 
and was kneading her like the dough of an okonomiyaki.  Her 
loins were brushing against velvet lips, and at last Nabiki 
surrendered, unable to help but curse her weakness as she prayed 
that her friends would one day be able to forgive her...



Continued.

Comments/Criticism/Sexual Harassment Hotline: 
shadowmane@ndti.net

My apologies if this one sounds overboard, but I did not know 
how else to describe what happens between Lao and Nabiki 
without trespassing on community standards.  I trust you will be 
here for the next impending chapter...