DNabikiTHCh15 Nabiki 1/2 "A Very Scary Thought!" THE HONEYMOON HENTAI CHAPTERS! By Jim Robert Bader (Inspired by the works of Rumiko Takahashi & Others) Part Fifteen. (The following disclaimer is not intended to be offensive or to personally imply any fault on the part of the reader. Those taking offense, I do humbly beseech your indulgence.) HENTAI ALERT---PERVERSE SITUATIONS AHEAD! NOW ENTERING THE LEMON-LIME ZONE, WHERE STANDARDS OF GOOD CONDUCT AND TASTE DO NOT APPLY. IF YOU HAVE DIFFICULTY WITH ANY OF THE MATERIAL CONTAINED WITHIN, THEN WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON THIS WEBSITE, AND NEVER MIND ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL LIFE EITHER! I DON'T TALK ABOUT YOUR LOVE-LIFE, YOU DON'T TALK ABOUT MINE, SO THERE! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! "She's ready," Lao reported, "Stand by with those chains, she'll only be vulnerable for a few moments." "Understood, my lady," Dolmena, one of her mercenary lieutenants, reported, tensely gripping the Orichalcum and already well-briefed of the potential consequences of not doing her part promptly. "Martha, Lila," Lao noted without turning her head, "This is the last chance for second thoughts. Once the Kraken releases her, there'll be no turning back." "Understood," Martha exchanged looks with the other woman standing beside her, herself already wearing a set of the power-inhibiting manacles about her wrists and ankles, and as fully naked as the other women present. "Let's do it," said the strawberry blonde at her side, who was not herself manacled but was feeling awkward for very different reasons, not least because the woman she loved had just spent the past twenty-four plus hours in the belly of an inhuman tentacle-rape monster, and that she and Joan's mother had both allowed it. Lao spared a glance at Martha Kent and said, "By the way...you do look fetching in those, but if there's any question about it later, you know I couldn't have forced you to wear them..." "I know," Martha replied, "But I gave you my word, and I'm a woman who honors her promises. Besides, this way I can assure Joan that she isn't going to be suffering any worse than I am while we're in this program together." "I am honored by your trust," Lao smiled, then turned back to the open pit and said, "Behold...the Kraken rises..." Sure enough a huge swelling column of gelatinous substance rose from the depths of the darkened pit to curl in a semi-arch as it oriented itself directly over Lao's head. The pirate slaver reached out her arms as this pseudo-pod opened up at one end and dumped a naked figure into her arms, all covered in slime and yet somehow bearing a passing resemblance to a newborn baby. Lao cradled the figure and laid her down upon the wooden walkway upon which they stood then nodded to Dolmena and said, "Chain her." At once the dark-haired girl knelt down and applied the manacle cuffs to the semi-conscious woman's ankles, then clapped one cuff around a wrist, pausing to loop the chain around her waist until she could cuff the other wrist, thus sealing and rendering helpless the naked beauty cradled by her Mistress. "What happened to her hair?" Lila asked, noticing just then that the recumbent beauty was no longer blonde but had noticeably green tresses. "That's her natural color," Martha replied, "Joan dyed it blonde by some weird alien process, just like she got that star tattoo over her eye. Odd...the tattoo is still there...and so are those nipple rings that she's been wearing since her last birthday..." "The Kraken was able to restore her to her natural self, at least on a genetic level," Lao replied as she straightened up again, holding the six-foot tall Joan in her arms as though she were a mere baby, "I don't know about the eye tattoo...the Kraken wasn't able to remove that, and as for the rings...well...I'm not too sure how they were applied in the first place." "She said she got them during one of her missions with the Fem Force before I joined the team," Lila replied, "Maybe it was under a red sun, or some other such method, but she's...kind of proud of them...and her tongue piercing..." "She has a tongue-piercing?" Martha reacted with raised eyebrows. "And her ears were also pierced," Lila added, "And there's one more piercing in her navel. She didn't tell you about those because...well...it's kind of private." "I see," Lao mused, "A tongue piercing can permit the insertion of a small rod with two balls at either end which can, when applied correctly, cause a fluttering effect when performing cunnalingus..." Lila colored prettily and glanced down with a smile that was partially rueful, causing Martha's eyes to widen by more than a fraction before she, too, thought of the implications and abruptly colored. "This way, then," Lao turned and led the way from the Kraken pits, "We'll get her cleaned up in the seraglio, and then you three can have a private chat to help in her further revival. Remember what I said before, though...don't just think of her as your daughter or lover...she is a slave undergoing rehabilitation, and you are her Mistress and rightful owner of her body." "Oh my," Lila said, "That is going to take some getting used to..." "Tell me about it," Martha agreed, but dutifully the both of them fell in line behind Lao while Dolmena was dismissed to attend to other duties. Joan remained only semi-aware of all that was going on around her during this time, her mind still full of images and sensations too intense to be described, and some of which were highly charged and erotic, making her wonder if this were hell or heaven...or someplace else in between the two, which was the conclusion that she would draw when she fully revived within the next half of an hour... Standing and reflecting upon his present conditions, he found himself on a dark crossroads surrounded by darkness as thick as the blackest of nights, a stranger to all quarters and bereft without a compass. Turning his head to gaze in one direction and then another, his focus came back to a dark, oblong shape that rose up before him out of the twilight gloom, a towering structure that his mind and imagination could just make out as some form of building...a pagoda that loomed before him like a finger pointing at the ink black sky in undisguised accusation. A pall of doom surrounded him as he waited in silence, and then a bolt of lighting that shattered the tower and illuminated it against a cloud- filled background split the night. Suddenly those clouds parted and the moon exposed itself from between those clouds, and a star shone in the heavens, pouring down a ray of light that filled a quiet pool and caused it to ripple with the tides of fate. And then, over the tumult of the storm, he heard a voice murmur at his side, "It has always been like that...when did you first notice?" He turned his head and saw the boy named Breeze bending down to examine the pool...a Breeze who was both boy and girl reflected in the waters, twin selves staring back at one another, then looking up at him with a kind of anticipation, as though expecting him to give an answer. "I don't know," Ranma replied, "I just looked up and it was there." "You have to learn to see it all of the time," both versions of Breeze responded, their voices an eerie mimicry of one another, echoed and rebounded, "The tower has always been there...it always gets hit by lightning." "Then why does anyone bother to live there?" Ranma asked. To his further surprise it was Ryonami who answered, walking past him as if strolling through a park, "Because they know no other way to live...the Tower is home to them, and they are used to building back from each destruction." "Who'd be crazy enough to live in such a place?" Ranma asked. "The desperate and the mad," answered Lotus, appearing like a stage extra upon whom the spotlight had just been illuminated, a naked cherry pink-haired girl wearing a collar around her neck, the chain rising up to a darkened shape that lingered above her. At her side appeared an equally naked and chained Blossom, who added her own thoughts, "Those who have lost and found their way and made their peace within the Tower." "Can't they leave if they want to?" Ranma asked. All at once Madam Lao appeared...only a towering figure of Madam Lao looming over the smaller shapes of Lotus and Blossom, holding both of their chains in a single hand and smiling down in that smugly superior manner that she sometimes manifested, even as her voice was strong and clear in her reply, "Why should they want to leave? They can remove their chains at any time, but they choose to remain shackled." "That's no way to live," Ranma insisted, "If all they do is live in that Tower, then how will they ever find themselves?" "They already have found themselves," said Ryoga, who was passing him by leaning on a staff, wearing robes that made him look like something of a hermit, "They discovered themselves when they came to live within the Tower, but now they fear that they will lose themselves if they dare to leave it." "That's so sad," Ranma replied, "Was life so hard before they came to live within the Tower?" "It was hard enough that they gave up trying to live," answered Nabiki, who appeared at his side wearing the robes of a Shinto maiden, "They know what they lost, what they have given up, and they have renounced the world in favor of the Tower." "Nabiki," Ranma turned to regard his wife, "I...I don't understand...there's so much I don't understand about the Tower..." "What is Understand?" asked Shampoo right in front of him, who had somehow taken the place of Nabiki, only a Shampoo garlanded with a wreath of flowers about her head and draped around her otherwise naked body, "Tower is...no need look beyond for answers, silly Ranma." "You have to give up on your preconceptions, Saotome," said Perfume, causing Ranma to turn and see a naked Perfume standing beside an equally naked Ukyo with a radiant Kasumi hovering over both of them...a Kasumi with wings...one of a bat, the other of an angel. "Look beyond what you think you see for the answers, Ranchan," Ukyo supplied, "The truth is right before you if you know how to see it." "Listen to your heart, Ranma-kun," the winged Kasumi urged, "It will tell you what is right, you can judge from it the truth of your position." "It's all very simple, Boy," said his father, who suddenly appeared next to him, glaring sternly in a priest's habit, "You known all along who you are and what your life is all about...don't lose sight of that now, no matter what else happens." "Look to yourself for wisdom, Son," said a Soun Tendo who appeared upon an ivory throne wearing a crown and holding a scepter, "You know the truth, and you can rely on that knowledge to guide you through life, if you only trust your heart and do what you know is right." "But...what is truth, what's wisdom, Pop? Uncle Tendo?" Ranma asked, "I'm so confused...everyone keeps telling me stuff, and I don't know if I should believe them..." "Truth and Justice are two sides of the same sword-blade, my son," answered Nodoka, who was carrying her katana blade in the crook of one arm, unsheathed and held upward, yet not in a threatening manner, "They often cut both ways, but if you hold them right they will serve you when you need them." "But...when will I know when the right time is?" "You're asking me?" replied an Akane who was hanging by a rope tied around one leg, "I'm too busy trying to keep up with things as it is. Go ask somebody else for advice, Baka." "Over here!" cried a Keiko wearing a carnival barker's straw hat and holding a large candy-cane in one hand as she pointed to a wheel upon which was mounted a naked Kodachi, "Step right up and place your bets, boys and girls...where will the wheel of Fate wind up when it turns? Let's spin it and find out, shall we? I know you're as eager to learn the answer as I am..." "Life is a game of chance, Saotome," Kodachi called down as she began to spin around in a circle, "Sometimes you're a victim, sometimes you're a hero...what matters is how you play it..." "'Dachi?" Ranma asked, all but hypnotized at the sight of the beautiful Black Rose as she all but mesmerized him with her beauty, "How do I play the game if I don't even understand the rules?" "What rules do you mean, friend Saotome," asked Tatewaki Kuno, who appeared holding the reins of a chariot that was being pulled along by Natsume and Kurumi, "We make our own rules in this life, as we make our own choices." "If you haven't figured that out by now, Saotome..." said Kurumi somehow, in spite of having a bridle in her mouth. "...Then you haven't been playing it right," answered Natsume for her sister, also in spite of the metal bit between her teeth. "But if I've been playing without rules," Ranma began, "What good is my own judgement?" All at once he turned and saw Madam Lao standing close nearby, wrestling with a large tiger whose huge jaws she held apart with her bare hands, turning and smiling his way, "Don't you see, Boy? You play the rules you make up, the ones you discover in yourself by feeling how you react to a situation. See how I wrestle with the Tiger that's inside me? If I let it go it would devour me, that's why I keep on dancing." "Dancing?" Ranma repeated. "Isn't it obvious, Saotome?" replied Mousse as he appeared holding a Scythe in one hand, "You've been dancing with yourself all along. Here, let me show you..." And with that Mousse brought the scythe into play, swinging it at Ranma, who found himself unable to move or avoid the scythe as it cleaved him down the middle, leaving two Ranmas standing in the place of one, each experiencing a curious bi-focality of being in two places at one and the same moment. Both Ranma slowly turned to face one another...only the one on the right as male and the one on the left was redheaded and female. Both versions looked at each other and blinked, then each pointed at the other and said, "HEY---YOU LOOK LIKE ME!" "Now do you see the truth, Son-in-law?" asked Cologne...only it wasn't Cologne as Ranma knew her, but rather as her younger self, the ageless Juraian beauty, holding a pair of cups as she poured the contents from one into the other, "You've been there all along and never bothered to notice." "THIS IS NUTS!" both versions of Ranma said together, "HEY, QUIT THAT! MAKE ME, WHY DON'T YOU...?" "Talking to yourself again, Saotome?" Hinako asked as she raised her coin, "You are such a delinquent..." "HEY!" both Ranma-kun and Ranma-chan cried together, making frantic hand motions, "POINT THAT THING AT SOMEONE ELSE!" "That's the basic idea," Hinako responded, shining her coin at a graveyard and causing the bodies to rise up out from the earth, revealing themselves to be Lao's crew and concubines. "WE LIVE AGAIN!" the field of naked women cried in exultation, "ALL HAIL THE CHILD OF THE NEW MORNING!" And then both Ranmas turned to see an unfamiliar shape, that of a purple haired girl surrounded in a wreath of light, a child who seemed somehow familiar and yet was also something of a stranger, prompting Ranma to ask, "AND WHO ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BE?" "I am the child of the new tomorrow," the beautiful stranger replied, "I am heir to the future, a child of the past and the present. I am the one who will inherit from you, Father and Mother, if you but believe in your destiny and the love that all bear you..." And then Ranma felt light-headed, as though he were coming out of a daze, a faint and half-remembered daydream that started to vanish before he had a chance to catch it. He blinked his eyes and saw everything as though it were well illuminated...the wooden floor and timbers that surrounded him, causing him to look up and see a new presence sitting beside him, one he belatedly recognized as he gasped, "Latisha?" "You are still asleep, Mortal," the fire elemental (who once again appeared in the form of a beautiful redheaded woman) chided, "We need to talk, and your waking mind would not be able to perceive me. You in no immediate danger, but I do not care to see you reside indefinitely in this jaded prison." "I see," Ranma said, then promptly asked, "Are you all right? You weren't hurt when you were fighting with that other elemental, right? I was worried..." "You were?" the fiery woman seemed genuinely surprised by that statement, "Do you, a mortal, care what occurs to one of our kind?" "Of course I care," Ranma said automatically, "You're my friend, and I thought you might have been hurt by that water dragon..." "Ulqualsh?" Latisha arched a fiery eyebrow, "That was hardly the first time that the two of us have clashed, and I sincerely doubt that she will be the last. That exchange of energy blew the both of us back to our respectful dimensions, and I have been nursing my strength every since. We are...old acquaintances and rivals..." "Oh," Ranma said, and decided to leave it at that, "What was that again about me not being in any danger?" "I speak relatively, of course," Latisha replied, "That avatar of Ulqualsh is quite formidable, and I do not trust any child of water further than I can throw a tantrum. Salamanders and Undines are very bad blood cousins..." "I guess it comes from that Fire-Water thing, right?" Ranma guessed. "Partially," Latisha answered, "But the Universe itself is formed from such opposing elements as Fire and Water, Air and Earth, Wood and Metal, Hard and Soft, the Yin and the Yang. Opposition creates the dynamics of energy and change that powers the world and makes life as you know it possible. Your body is mostly composed of the elements of earth and water, but it is fire that gives you life and health, and air that fills your lungs. You must come to see yourself as the product of such diametrically opposing forces if you are to learn and progress in the Way of All Things, young Master. Opposition is a good thing when it can produce the evolution of life moving from single organisms to far more complex structures." "Uh...yeah," Ranma agreed, "I guess change is a good thing when you look at it like that..." "There is an element that links all others together as one force," Latisha instructed, "The Primacy of Ether, from which all other forces come into existence. It is Chaos, Prima Forma, the Breath of Life itself, which burns within you mortals like a bright flame and shapes itself to your will at the center of your Aleph. You will come to understand this in time, and how to bridge the gap between opposing forces. Already you are evolving to a higher level of consciousness, and each new challenge you face forces you to look beyond the pale of mundane self-awareness to the actual working dynamic that underlies existence." "You mean...like with me mastering the Senkens?" Ranma asked. "That was the opening of a door for you," the Salamander queen replied, "Already you have begun to see things that you never before even dreamed were possible. Change for you is good, it means you are on your way to becoming a more enlightened specimen of Man, one who can walk with all the elements in balance and restore harmony where there is only discord." "Uh...I guess," Ranma hesitated, then for some inexplicable reason he found himself asking the question, "But...what about entropy?" "A human term for the process by which hot things become cold and complex structures break down into their constituent elements?" Latisha sniffed, "It is Life itself that opposes Entropy. Without life, without the force that shapes and binds everything together, the Universe itself will fall back into anarchy and formless Chaos. Life is the flame that consumes and binds these elements together into the pattern that you can see all around you. If you like not one pattern, you have the ability to change it by changing your perception of its makeup. All magic really is nothing more than the power to alter your perceptions, to reach out and touch what underlies your existence and to form it in accordance with your imagination. Think well on that when you again confront the Avatar of Water and seek to overcome her in battle." "And what of...good and evil?" Ranma asked, again wondering why he was asking the Salamander queen such questions. "Human terms to describe the forces of harmony and discord," Latisha replied, "Good to a human is when life progresses within a state of balance with relatively little opposition between the forces...evil comes when this process is disrupted and thrown out of balance. Evil is not a thing of nature, it opposes nature and seeks to turn harmony into discord. It poses in many guises, some seductive and alluring, but it can always be known by the effect it causes, when harmony is broken and life itself is made to suffer. You have to look beyond human concepts of what is good for Mortals and understand the larger picture. Evil can be small or large, but it is never entirely what you think you perceive on the surface. Simple answers to complex problems will not suffice you here...you must see the truth that hides beneath the façade, only then will you be equipped to deal with the challenges that face you. That is why I appear to you now, to give you some hope in your quest to redeem yourself and your lover from a life as mere chattel. Beyond this I dare not venture...the rivalry between myself and Ulqualsh prevents me from doing more, though you may call upon me again when the need is greater." "Um...thanks," Ranma said, "You've been a big help...I think." "It is the bargain between us that makes me wish to help you, young Master," Latisha smiled in a way that made Ranma's pulse quicken, like when he got a similar look like that from Nabiki, "But more than a bargain inclines me to help you in your quest. You a fascinating mortal, a study in contrasts that I hope will blossom and mature into something even greater. At the moment, however, you have one challenge to face that I cannot do ought about...the temporary curse that the Water Avatar has inflicted upon you. For that you must look to...alternate means in order to cope, for it is your sense of identity itself that is under assault, if you but look down at your present outwardly condition." "Huh?" Ranma replied, and indeed his gaze went down to see a pair of large, jutting breasts hanging like pendulous fruit from his chest, and---further down- --a patch of reddish fur that was absent a certain member to which he was usually quite attached and... Ranma screamed, and all at once he sat bolt upright, fully awake and alert with his---um---HER pulse beating wildly like a triphammer. He---SHE---looked down at herself again and found that it was not a dream after all...rather it was a waking nightmare, and that she was indeed now female! This body was real...Ranma had lost his manhood! It took a moment for him to get a grip on herself, at which point she hesitantly touched herself to confirm what she had earlier discovered about the sensitivity of her breasts and nipples. They were amazingly soft and yielding to his touch, but with hard muscle reinforcing them, keeping them firm rather than sagging, rather like Perfume's own breasts when the Enforcer had encouraged him to learn how to handle them without any clumsy groping. After a moment of feeling herself over she started to calm down and relax, trying to make sense of the changes that had come over her body with a change in gender...the sense of what it meant to be a woman. He knew enough about the pleasure-centers of a woman's body that he could explore those areas now and affirm that they were sensitive and could easily arouse a sense of overwhelming pleasure in the body that--- momentarily---could drive away the sense of all of this being so foreign to his real nature. It, oddly enough, helped her to think more clearly about her present situation and bit back the tide of panic that had been rising before, in fact... Curiosity got the better of her once again and she allowed her fingers to explore...LOWER...finding the reddish thatch to be a lot more sensitive than she would have imagined. A man's crotch was always sensitive to the touch, but without the bulk of a penis in the way she could find the hooded slit and...gently...coax her lips apart to expose the nub that had replaced his manhood. Once she touched this she felt a wave of sensation shoot up her spine, causing her to almost double-over in surprise, not having expected that degree of a reaction. If anything her clitoris was even MORE sensitive than a penis, containing the greatest concentration of nerve clusters in the body. In fact... At any other time Ranma would have freaked at what she was doing, but given the nature of her present circumstances, simple curiosity got the better of her and she began to gently stroke along the nub of her sex, feeling the curious thrill of forbidden sensations rising up from her loins to electrify her whole nervous system. With her other hand she began to rub her tummy and breasts, relishing the odd way her own caresses stimulated such curious...pleasure...as if this were something she had dreamed about doing for years (all protests to the contrary, she **had** been curious about the effect her Senken maneuvers could have on a woman's body, judging by the reactions of her various wives when she pressed just the right combinations of... "Are we having fun yet?" a familiar voice asked, and Ranma-chan looked with a start to find Madam Lao standing there with a knowing twinkle in her eyes that as much as suggested that she had caught Ranma-chan doing something especially naughty... "EEP!" Ranma-chan yelped, yanking her hands away from what they had been doing. "Oh, don't let me interrupt you in your self-discovery," Lao made a pacifying motion with both hands, "I just came here to see if you'd like a bit of company to help you out with your current...situation." With that she made a motion with her head and Ranma-chan's attention shifted towards the blue-haired Blossom, who was leading someone along by a chain that was affixed to a leather collar, and that collar was worn by none other than Nabiki, who was chained and shackled with her hands cuffed behind her back, a ball-gag in her mouth and a pair of nipple-clips linked by a chain between her jiggling breasts. "Nabiki?" Ranma gasped, covering herself up as though to hide a private shame from the eyes of his even more helpless wife. "I thought you two should spend some quality time together," Lao remarked, "So I'm going to leave the both of you alone to get...re-acquainted. Of course to do this properly requires only a couple of minor changes. Blossom-dear, would you kindly unbuckle a few of her restraints?" "As you wish it, my Lady," Lao's second-in-command replied, moving behind Nabiki and removing the ball-gag, then unhitching her leash before un-cuffing her wrists, and hastily standing back before Nabiki had a chance to reach out and grab her. Before she could, however, Lao reached out a hand and splashed Nabiki with a summoned globe of cold water, causing Nabiki to sputter and shift into masculine state. "Not to worry," Lao assured them, "You still have a few more days before your sex-changing will cause your baby any problems. I'll leave you two alone for now...and do keep in mind my offer to help you out with choosing a surrogate to be its ultimate mother." "Bitch," Nabiki-kun snarled, clenching his hands together "Good of you to notice," Lao said by way of formal introduction, moving back through the doorway through which they had entered, "Take your time and do whatever you like. I'm going to be a bit busy with other responsibilities for now, so can I trust the both of you to behave for a while? Good. Just remember, if you need anything, feel free to call out for help. Ciao." With that the door was closed and locked behind them, leaving Nabiki and Ranma to sort things out between them. For a moment Ranma looked away and tried to will himself to become invisible, but she was too rattled to perform an effective Senken, and much too noticeable to Nabiki...especially now that he was Kaneda. "You look like...?" Nabiki-kun started to say, then hesitantly asked, "Ranma?" "Ah...yeah...um..." Ranma-chan winced, "How did you guess?" "You look just like that...that alternate universe version of you we met a couple months back," Nabiki-kun swallowed, then growled angrily, "That Witch! What did she do to you?" "She said it was temporary," Ranma-chan replied, "Instant Nyanniichuan...said she wanted me to know what you go through when you...change..." "And she turned me male just to leave me with you," Nabiki-kun snarled between clenched teeth, "No doubt she expects us to...do something about this...that...that...OOOOHHH!!!" In anger he lashed out at a wooden wall, but the reinforced timbers resister his effort, and it felt more like he was punching steel instead of resinous plant. In anger he sat down with a huff and fumed impotently, chaffing at the manacles that were still around his ankles and fingering them as though he wanted to tear them apart with his fingers. He scowled in vexation and stared angrily at the wall as though daring it to start something unpleasant. "Ah..." Ranma-chan said awkwardly, all too aware of the fact that their gender situation was currently reversed and that she was feeling vulnerable, being even more helpless than Nabiki, "Guess she did something else besides...the usual stuff, huh?" "The usual stuff?" Nabiki/Kaneda turned and glared at him, "You've got no idea, Ranma-kun! She...um...well...she...took advantage of me, and you know what that feels like for a woman?" "Uh...I...kind of think I do," Ranma-chan replied, "Was it...bad...?" "Define 'bad'," **Kaneda** scowled again, "In a way it was nothing less than I would have expected from her, but if I ever get my hands on her again, I'll...I'll..." "Kill her?" Ranma-chan finished for him, then paused before adding, "Did you ever think...maybe...that's what she wants?" "Huh?" Kaneda turned a mildly puzzled look in her direction. "Well..." Ranma-chan deliberately forced herself to relax by a fraction, "Think about it...ever since we came on board...hasn't it seemed to you as if captain Lao's been trying to push you to fight her? She seems to get off on pushing your buttons, rattling your cage and trying to get you mad enough to challenge her in front of everybody back there in the party?" "You think she's been doing this deliberately to pull my chain," Kaneda frowned, "Why?" "I don't really know," Ranma-chan replied, giving a mildly nervous chuckle, "But...you think it could be that she actually wants you to fight her and maybe beat her? That way you'd wind up with command of the POJ and she'd either be free or be dead...either way she might call that winning." Kaneda thought about that for a moment then shook his head, "No...that wouldn't make sense. Lao doesn't strike me as the suicidal type, and I can't see her wanting to give up command over this ship, not the way she has everything set up around here so she's the number one head honcho..." "But didn't she tell us over and over that this ship is a kind of a curse that she wears around her neck like an ox-yoke?" Ranma-chan asked, "Maybe to her it is some kind of a burden that she wants to pass off onto your shoulders. Maybe she thinks you could be her natural successor, just like the Old Woman back home..." Kaneda frowned but said, "Well...maybe there is a bit of that in it...but it doesn't justify what she's done..." "Who said it does?" Ranma-chan asked, "Maybe she thinks what she's doing is necessary...or maybe she's hoping that you'll stop her. I mean...doesn't it feel to you like she's even more of a prisoner on this ship than those girls she surrounds herself with? She got the responsibility of hundreds of lives to look after, and she's gotta support them through piracy and kidnapping and slavery and stuff like that. Didn't she say that she used to be a different kind of person before she arrived here? Maybe she's trying to show you what changed her and made her into what she is now..." "But why?" Kaneda asked, "What purpose would that..." he paused, "Unless...unless she isn't sure what her purpose is. Maybe she thinks she can turn me into someone like her, and that will prove that she really didn't have any choice but to be the dominant bitch queen that she's become..." "You see?" Ranma-chan asked, "Then doing all this stuff isn't just to make us mad at her, she's trying to see if we'll react the way she wants us to behave. Maybe the way to beat her isn't to fight her at all, maybe if we just ignore her taunts then she'll give up and let us go..." "And maybe pigs will fly," Kaneda sniffed, "She wants something from us, Ranchan, but I don't think she's planning to transfer the ownership papers to me just yet. Lao's clever but she isn't that subtle. She's trying to get me to do something...only what?" "I dunno," Ranma-chan shrugged, "Thinking about stuff like this ain't usually my thing. I mostly leave the thinking part to you, only..." "Only I haven't been doing much thinking lately, have I?" Kaneda finished for his...wife...? "Lao's been keeping me so rattled that I haven't been able to think straight, which I bet is the whole idea behind her yanking me around, doing one thing to me right after another..." "But if you stop and think about it," Ranma-chan said, "You can still outsmart her. She's tough and smart, but she's also way too cocky about it. That's gotta make her vulnerable in a lot of ways we ought to be able to exploit." "Right," Kaneda nodded, then paused as he studied his transformed husband for a moment, "It's weird...talking to you like this, Ranchan. I never thought you'd be so..." "Yeah?" Ranma-chan asked in a wary voice. "Um..." Kaneda glanced away, and though the light in the room was dim, Ranma- chan could almost swear that he was blushing, "Anyway...I've got to concentrate...think what Lao could possibly want...something that she doesn't already have, now that she has us..." "The Senkens?" Ranma asked. Kaneda blinked, "Not just the Senkens...the Kamasenken! Ranchan...she's after your system!" "Huh?" Ranma-chan asked, "Are you sure about that?" "Positive!" Kaneda insisted, "Ranchan...that combination of pressure-points and pleasure strokes is devastating! You used it on me and I felt my knees turn to warm butter! Any woman would be helpless to resist such an attack...in the wrong hands it would give someone absolute power over their lovers and turn even the staunchest renunciate into a quivering, pliant, obedient mold of jello...and Lao---by definitely---is exactly the wrong kind of hands for this powerful a system!" "You mean you think it could make it easier for her to turn girls into sex- slaves?" Ranma asked. "Not just any woman," Kaneda insisted, "Me! She knows I have no resistance to power of the Kamasenken, other than to block out nerve endings, and that only works as a temporary stopgap..." "Um...there's just one problem with your idea, Nabiki," Ranma paused, "I think she already saw me use 'em with both you and the others." "Huh?" Kaneda asked, "What makes you say that?" "Just a hunch," Ranma-chan replied, "But in the last two or three days I've had to use the Kamasenken almost non-stop, and since Lao's been watching us the whole time from her Undines..." Kaneda did pale as he thought on this, "Ranma, you baka! Why did you have to give it away for free like that? Don't you know what you've done? You've given her exactly what she wanted!" "Um...well...at the time, I was thinking something more like...'Help?'" Ranma- chan winced, "I've been called on to perform almost non-stop sex every other waking hour of the day, so what was I supposed to do? Leave you guys feeling unhappy?" "Um...well..." Kaneda conceded. "Look, it's not that I mind everybody wanting to screw me at once," Ranma-chan said a bit defensively, "But I'm just one guy, and I'm only human. So I...let myself get carried away a little...so did everybody else, so...I just did what came natural..." "That's it," Kaneda sighed, "We're doomed. And with everything about sex that Lao already knows..." "What did she do to you anyway?" Ranma-chan asked, frowning as she said this. "Um...well..." Kaneda hemmed and hawed a moment before saying, "Well...let's just say...that with everything I've been through, it's a wonder I can sit down straight..." "She spanked you?" Ranma-chan asked with rounded eyes. "Ah...that's...one way of putting it," Kaneda paused, then frowned again and said, "Of course I wonder if some of it isn't your fault after all, especially the way you keep nailing me in the ass, Captain Ecstasy. I can't blame Lao for getting...certain ideas about me..." "Oh?" Ranma-chan asked, then blushed as she considered the implications. They were silent for a long moment, but then Ranma-chan broke the silence by saying, "Nabiki?" "Yeah?" Kaneda asked. "If you're...upset about that...what I did to you in guy form," Ranma-chan hesitated before adding, "Then...if you wanna do it to me...it's all right...you can go ahead..." "HUH?" Kaneda's eyebrows shot up to the ceiling. "Who said that?" Ranma-chan hastily swallowed, "I mean...it wouldn't be manly to ask that kind of perverted stuff, right? Heheh...I ah...guess I kind of..." "Are you feeling okay, Ranma-kun?" Kaneda asked, "Because for a minute there it wounded like you were asking me to Ass-Fuck you...did you really mean that?" "Ah-ah-ah...well..." Ranma-chan began profusely sweating, "...It's this...body...I mean...being a girl...it's like I'm really, really sensitive in places...and as a guy I get these...feelings at times..." "If you're wondering if I find you attractive like that," Kaneda reluctantly said, "Then yeah...I think you're sexy. But...Ranchan...this isn't really you. It's just one of Lao's perverted tricks that she's trying to use to get me to..." he swallowed thickly. "Yeah, never happen, not in a million years," Ranma-chan said with increasing nervousness, "It's just...well...I can't help thinking...about Perfume..." "About...Perfume?" Kaneda's expression took on another level of perplexed consternation. "Yeah," Ranma-chan said, "Back when she temporarily swapped with your curse and turned into a guy and impregnated Ucchan. I...kind of resented her for that...like it was her fault, giving in that way, only now..." she swallowed again. "You mean...you understand her better now?" Kaneda hazarded a guess. "Oh yeah," Ranma-chan replied, "I mean...it was a one-shot deal, right? Never happen again, so she and Ucchan took advantage of what Lao did and...well...they seem pretty happy about having the baby. Funny thing is...I don't feel resentment now about Per-chan. She's a part of us, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Thing is...she's also a master of the Kamasenken..." "You think Lao will try to put the squeeze on her to get whatever she doesn't already know about the art?" Kaneda asked. "It's at least a possibility," Ranma-chan replied, "And with her low pain threshold..." "I definitely wouldn't put it past her to try that," Kaneda said, "Well...it's a good thing the both of us are thinking clearly. There's no way that we'll give in and jump through Lao's hoops just because she set us up to try things out in the opposite genders, right?" "Right," Ranma-chan agreed, then glanced down and said, "Then...why's that pointing at me, Nab-chan?" "Uh..." Kaneda glanced down and felt...awkward about the fact that he was sporting a full erection. "You're thinking about it, ain't ya?" Ranma-chan asked, "You wanna stick that in my..." "Ranchan!" Nabiki sounded shocked, "Are you saying you think I want to rape you?" "Well..." Ranma-chan replied, "What's so different about you doing it to me when I'm a girl? You jump me all the time when I'm a guy..." "I do not jump you!" Kaneda insisted, "You're the one who came inside of me from behind, remember? Besides...I'm not really...feeling up to it right now..." "You're lying." "Uh..." Kaneda felt along the edges of the studded leather collar he was wearing, "Well...maybe I am...it's this damned ambience...something about this ship just makes you real horny and..." "Tell me about it," Ranma-chan said with a sullen growl, "But you still wanna jump me...I can see it in your eyes, you're wondering what it be like to do me in this body..." "Ranchan," Kaneda all but pleaded, "You know I'd never take advantage of you..." "Why not?" Ranma-chan asked, "Ain't I good enough for you, big guy?" "But...what...?" Kaneda blinked, "Ranchan...are you telling me you want me to do you as a guy? But don't you think...?" "Don't matter to me whether you're Kaneda or not," Ranma-chan replied, "You're still Nabiki, an' that's what counts. Besides, when do you think the next time will come around that we'll have this kind of chance? Damn...I'm getting wound up just thinking about it! You're right about this damned ship doing something to make us act so..." "Horny?" Kaneda coughed to clear the tightness in his throat, "Of course we don't have to act on our impulses...we're not mindless animals who rut just because the urge is on us..." "You're right," Ranma-chan replied, "We don't have to give in and do it Lao's way...we can be strong and hold out...for the sake of the others, right?" "Right," Kaneda nodded, "I'm glad we've both got that decided, don't you?" "Yeah, right," Ranma-chan affirmed, and then the next second later she was embracing Kaneda, who reached out and took her into his arms, and before they both knew it they fell to the deck kissing and stroking one another. For the next several minutes all that could be heard was the sound of their moaning as they rolled around, ignoring their chains, letting their hands rove where they might as each one took in the other with the instinctual hunger that overcame a lifetime of conditioning and any confusion about their respective genders. "What are we doing?" Nabiki gasped as she felt Ranma-chan plant kissed down her neck to her hard, flattened chest, "This isn't like us..." "I know," Ranma-chan responded between affectionate licks, "So fuck me already, damn it! Like this!" and she took both of Kaneda's hands and brought them up to encircle her breasts, compelling Kaneda to fondle and mold them between his powerful fingers, pulling on her nipples and making Ranma-chan arch her back and utter a moan of approval towards the ceiling. She purposefully straddled Nabiki and pushed with her legs to grind her pelvis against his lower abdomen, then by inches found something hard and yielding between her ass-cheeks as she lightly pushed against him there and felt him respond with a stiffening of that member. "Are you sure about this?" Kaneda asked as she felt Ranma-chan moving her body into position. "No," Ranma-chan grunted back, "Are you?" "Kami-sama...you're so beautiful..." Kaneda moaned as she stared up at the sight of the redheaded girl working her loins to bring the tip of his cock-head up against her well-lubricated opening. "So are you," Ranma-chan replied, and then with a sigh eased herself down over Kaneda's manhood, pausing to grunt a little in pain as the member encountered unexpected resistance, and then a brief tearing inside, followed by a wonderful warmth that flowed through her as Kaneda pierced her hymen and took away the last token of her virginal status. No other words passed between them from that point onward as Ranma-chan began to "ride" Kaneda's love-pole up and down, following the motions that were by-now familiar from being on the other end with his wives. It was hot and sweaty business, and the longer it went on the hotter both of them got as Ranma-chan experienced the joys of full penetration with Kaneda's large cock spearing her petite little body. Up and down she bobbed, her breasts moving in time with her hip motions, while Kaneda steadied her and held her up in position...slowly increasing the tempo and rhythm until at last a threshold was reached and the floodgates were opened for both parties. For Kaneda it was the sight of pleasure and joy suffusing the face of her...wife...which made him come like a fountain deep inside her, while for Ranma-chan it was the sense of having a miniature explosion go off inside her, radiating outward like a warming tide that flooded her whole nervous system. It was a very intense sensation, entirely different from when she came as a man, and though some rational part of his mind was panicking at the possible implications of allowing this to happen, she silenced any qualms about her manhood by letting her feminine side take over...and take over it did, as though the curse itself provided a list of instinctual instructions. Not content to merely climax inside his sex-changed husband, Kaneda rolled Ranma-chan over onto her back and straddled her in earnest, bending down to plant a kiss oh her lips while the redheaded girl's feet projected towards the ceiling. Kaneda used his new position to press home his advantage by moving his already-flaccid member back and forth within the opening, gradually restoring it to life as the fires of his lust rekindled his ardor. Ranma-chan stared up at him with half-lidded, adoring eyes and allowed him to master her body as Kaneda build up a slow and gradual rhythm, causing Ranma-chan to wave her legs in the air as she took all eight inches of him in each time he thrust against her, and gradually she felt herself losing all conscious awareness of all else but being ridden by her...husband. Far from feeling emasculated by the experience, she gave vent to her approval and cried out in joy when at last his efforts yielded the results that they both were after... A while later Kaneda pulled out and spent the next several minutes lapping with his mouth at Ranma-chan's cream-filled "trough," like a starving man having a much-desired breakfast, delighting in the flavor of his own jism when mixed with her own juices. Ranma-chan was groaning and delirious with lust as Kaneda spent several minutes flicking his tongue and lips against her clitoris, then sucking the tiny member in as though performing felatio on the small scale, eventually giving Ranma-chan yet another intense orgasm. Clouds and rain indeed, Ranma-chan's mind thought incoherently as Kaneda nuzzled up against her breasts and began to lick and suckle her, giving himself a moment to recover his strength before trying again with his manhood. This was better than anything that Ranma-chan could ever have dreamed about, the perverse fantasies that she had never dared indulge in while a boy, not having been the sort to spend much time in such fantasies, even when they concerned someone like Kodachi, the girl he had desired before meeting Nabiki. Thoughts of Kodachi brought back memories of seeing the Black Rose getting it on with Keiko and Akane...and with that thought a brief spasm of jealousy...that Akane could enjoy something that he would have given an arm to experience, and for free! Then he thought about Akane herself and felt inexplicably horny...and then naturally thought of Keiko and swallowed, automatically contrasting her own body with that of the redheaded Kickboxer, and rating herself as the "small economy" version. Needless to say she felt a renewed sense of lust kick in right then and all at once responded by rolling Kaneda onto his back, intent on venting her lust in a surprisingly aggressive manner. "What...?" Kaneda asked when he felt Ranma-chan's hand playing with his balls and hardening his manhood. "Don't talk," Ranma-chan said, "Just push...I owe you this one..." And with that Ranma-chan positioned the head of her "husband's loins at the gate to her sphincter, biting her lower lip as she rubbed some of her own "lubricant" around the opening to ease the way in, then...she sat down on him and slowly forced him into her own rectum. About this point Ranma's mind would have ordinarily rebelled, but as far gone into the instinctual lust that was filling her with the desire for co-union with the woman inside the man she loved, she was determined to go the full distance. It was harder than taking her in the other opening...MUCH harder...and part-way she gasped and eased off, determined to gather her strength for the full effort, but soon she had him all the way inside her, fully mounted in the rear and coupled with her in the most intimate warmth near her spinal region. Kaneda gasped as Ranma-chan eased herself those final few centimeters, then stared up in amazement at the expression of his lover as Ranma-chan released a pent-up breath and relaxed all around him. He automatically held her up with his hands placed just beneath her ribs, but before too long he was fondling her breasts again, stroking and fondling the girl who was impaled upon his manhood and marveling that Ranma-chan did not gag at the mere thought of taking him inside her. And then...slowly...gradually...the two of them began to work at building a gentle rhythm as she eased him in and out again, doing it by stages until he was fully able to reciprocate, and then she began to ride him in earnest, heedless of any discomfort that came with having something so big ram deep inside her **there**...over and over again...until the both of them got into the spirit of the thing and just went crazy with the ecstasy of good, old- fashioned Bum-fucking. Sometime later, after Kaneda had his third consecutive climax, after Ranma-chan eased him out of her once again and the two of them could lay side-by-side panting with exhaustion from having spent the last two hours or so going at it like "Natural Born Hentai," Ranma-chan felt a wellspring of amusement rising up from within her and inexplicably chuckled aloud, "Was it good for you, too...Kaneda-chan?" "Oh yeah..." Kaneda said with his arm around her shoulders, providing her a cradle upon which to rest her crimson head, "Everything was good...you really surprised me there, Ranchan...I didn't know you had it in you..." "Me neither," Ranma-chan confessed, "Of course when I calm down and think about this, I'm probably gonna freak out about the whole deal. I mean...guys aren't supposed to do stuff like this...it's gotta be something in the air or the water..." "Probably both," Kaneda sighed, "Lao doesn't know what she's got here...if she could bottle and sell this stuff, then she'd never have to make slaves out of anybody. She could get rich just marketing the essence of whatever it is she's been using...the stuff's more potent than Viagra." "Man," Ranma-chan sighed to herself, "If the other guys could see us now...they'd think we both went insane or something..." "Who says we didn't?" Kaneda gave her shoulders an affectionate squeeze, "But...crazy or not, you were terrific, Ranchan. I never knew you could be so...aggressive as a girl..." "Hey, I'm a guy, remember?" Ranma-chan chuckled, "Guess I've always wondered what it'd be like to walk on the other side. This may be only temporary...but I think it's helped me to understand you better..." "And what being a guy means for me most of the time?" Kaneda asked. "That too," Ranma-chan responded, curling a leg around his leg and lightly stroking the inside with the instep of a bare foot, "Of course if anybody'd told me I'd be doing this with another guy, I'd have flattened them. Kuno would fall over laughing, and Ryoga..." "Let them have their own girlfriends," Kaneda said possessively, "You're already taken." "Heh," Ranma-chan laughed lightly, "'Course if Mom and Dad ever found out about this, they'd really freak. Stuff like this just ain't manly..." "What do they know?" Kaneda sniffed, "You're the most manly guy I know, Ranma- kun...hell, you'd screw just about anything with a hole attached, and I've got three of them...usually..." "Only two at the moment," Ranma-chan replied, "But that's more than enough. 'Guess maybe it's because I know that you're you, Nabiki, that makes this so much easier than it'd be with a total stranger. I can't help feeling this...turned on by you and horny...and it ain't important to me now whether you're a girl or a guy...you're still the same to me where it really matters." "The I guess the same goes for you, Ranchan," Kaneda leered, then gasped as he felt a hand play around his loins once again as Ranma-chan's sensitive fingers began to stroke his scrotum and shaft, rubbing that hand up and down the limp member in order to make it grow back to life, which it did like magic. "Y'know...I gotta thank Lao for whatever she did that's making me so horny," Ranma-chan remarked, "'Cause without it I just know that I'd never have the nerve to do...this..." "W-wha...?" Kaneda had thought himself beyond the point of surprise, but seeing Ranma-chan moved down and position her mouth over his cock-shaft really made his eyebrows climb to the top of his hairline. He looked down with amazement as Ranma-chan began licking the shaft and teasing the member to a full erection, and then amazement turned to astonishment as he saw those lips go around the head and take him in and... Kaneda arched his back and for the next few minutes lost all coherent awareness of everything but a velvety shaft down which his manhood traveled, as Ranma-chan performed orally her "wifely duties," and never once gagging as she slowly and methodically did her level best to drive her "husband" to distraction...and from distraction to a different kind of blissful surrender... ...Memories...a confusing jumble of images and impressions, of pain and yearning coupled with the horrified sensation of the mind and body going through the surges of withdrawal and satiation. Lifetimes wasted by the enslavement of the soul to a chemical substance that caused one to prostitute their will to their dependence. Lifetimes of degrading experiences, of things done in the name of their addiction came crashing down on her like a tide, driving out any pleasurable associations that might have linked her to her addiction, as pain replaced pleasure and ecstasy was driven away by a tide of unspeakable horrors... And then...a warming solace as she at last reached a "normative" state of self- awareness. She slowly opened her eyes and began to take stock of her present state of being, at once struck by how deaf and blind she felt, as though her senses were dampened down to a mere fraction of their normal threshold. Despite this she felt...surprisingly good, at least on a physical level...though there was a very odd taste in her mouth. She was sitting in a room with muted lighting, sitting at a table on which she could smell food, and her stomach at once began to grumble with inexplicable hunger. Then she opened her eyes and found Lila sitting there before her...a little off to one side of the table and leaning towards her with a highly concerned expression. "L-Lila-chan?" she automatically asked, not realizing right away that she was talking in a language other than English, "What...?" "Take it easy," her lover urged, "You've been through a lot, haven't you? Try taking a deep breath and relax a bit, and then we can talk about your...problem, Joan-chan." "Joan...CHAN?" Joan started to move, only to discover that her hands would not rise above a certain level, and the present of cold metal against her skin gave her a start as she glanced down, seeing her wrists cuffed and held about her waist by golden manacles, "Say---what???" "That's part of the problem we need to talk about," Lila said, "You see...you lost in a fight against Captain Lanocane and..." "My powers!" Joan cried, "What happened to my powers?" she tried to break the chains binding her, but all her efforts did was tug the chains and tighten them around her kidneys. "The same thing that happened to mine," said Martha, her mother, drawing Joan's attention to the other presence sitting with her at the table. "M-Mom?" Joan blinked, taking in the fact that her mother was naked. "You're wondering about these?" Martha raised her hands to show them similarly manacled, "They're made from Orichalcum...don't ask me to explain how, but they absorb the excess energy of our bodies, rendering us mortal. I'm in the same boat you are, Joan-chan, so don't try to break them...they're as tough as adamantium, and the locks are hard to pick." "Orichalcum?" Joan replied, "You've gotta be kidding me! That stuff is rare! Only wizards know how to find it..." "The captain is something of a wizard," Lila raised her own hands to show off the pair of cuffs that she was wearing, "Mine are made of plastic...some kind of acrylic-like substance, non-metallic and impervious to my magnetism." "You mean...we're prisoners?" Joan blanched, "Who the hell has done this to us? Who'd have the balls to try and take us captive?" "That would be me," said Lao herself as she came sauntering into the room, favoring Joan with a polite nod that was absent of her usual trademark smirk, "I'm the one you were attempting to kill a short while ago, remember?' "You?" Joan started to lurch out of her chair, only to find her legs were too hobbled to manage the stride that she attempted. She fell unceremoniously to the floor and bumped her hip, earning from her a nasty turn of invective. At once Lila was at her side, helping her to sit back up, while Lao folded her arms over her naked chest and said, "I understand that you are upset with me, young lady, but under the circumstances I suggest you don't attempt anything too hasty." "Who the fuck are you?" Joan spat, "And why the hell are you doing this...?" "Several reasons," Lao shrugged, "Not the least of which is that you came after me and attacked me on my own ship. You lost the fight, which means you are my prisoners, just as is your mother and your lover. But fear not, I am not here to taunt you with that fact...I am here because you have a problem that needs to be addressed...a problem that your mother and girlfriend now know about, and with their consent I am here to help you." "Problem?" Joan said warily as she allowed Lila to set her back in her chair, "I don't know what you..." "Joan-chan," Martha said quietly, "Why didn't you ever tell me about your V-45 addiction?" Joan froze, her expression at once resembling the proverbial deer caught in the headlight, staring first at her mother in shock then at Lila as she asked in an almost accusing tone, "You told her???" "No," Lila said, "I didn't have to. Madam Lao found out by her own means and told us all about it...how General Gordon addicted you, and the kinds of things you've done under his influence." "You...what?" Joan shot a hard glance at Madam Lao, "YOU HAD NO RIGHT---!" "I beg to differ, young lady," Lao replied, "On my ship, I am the one who decides who has rights and who does not. You attacked me and lost, that makes you my responsibility to deal with as I deem proper, and because I cannot abide having a drug addict on board this ship, I have taken it upon myself to detoxify you and purge the drugs out of your system." "You...what?" Joan blinked, "How?" "I have my means," Lao looked at her in a hard, unwavering manner, "Would you care to find out the hard way?" In Joan's mind the image of a mental and physical assault overwhelming her senses caused her to recoil from the stare of the captain. "You see where this is headed?" Lao asked, "Look into your mind, into those deep recesses that occupy your soul, the dark corridors that haunt your waking consciousness...you will find me there waiting for you, waiting to confront you with the truth should you even think to deny it." "Who...who are you?" Joan asked in dawning horror. "Who am I?" Lao did not smile as she came to stand before a quivering Joan, "I am appetite unlimited, I am pleasure, I am pain, I am the thing you most fear and what you most long to experience and cherish...I am ecstasy, I am carnality, I am flesh and blood which feeds on little girls like you. I am the Tiger Force at the center of your world, what causes you to rebel against authority and makes you strong when you are weakest. I am Lanocane...Lao Khan, the Sea Tiger, Queen of Bondage and Submission, and---at the present---your judge, jury and jailer. Have you any questions about that?" "Bondage?" Joan blinked, "You've got to be kidding!" Lao leaned forward, "Do I look like someone who would kid you about this." "No," Joan said, and suddenly lunged forward, only to find her wrists gripped and twisted to the side as she was flipped over and landed in the middle of the table, scattering food in all directions. "Ah, I see you have spirit," Lao smiled, "All the better, but your reflexes--- while good by human standards---are pitiably slow if you want to take me on. Nonetheless, it is a good place to begin, with you on your backside and ready to take it." "Is this necessary, Captain?" Lila asked, "You don't have to be so rough with her..." "You think so?" Lao replied, backing away, "Then I'll leave her in your care. I have other duties to attend, and she is yours to deal with as the both of you please. I'll leave her in your care until I return, be sure that she is ready...or the results will be most unpleasant." Lao turned to leave, but she did not get far beyond the door before she paused and opened her thoughts to listening to the events going on back in the room behind her. Having played the role of the "Tough Guy" to the hilt it was up to Martha and Lila to do the hard part of coaxing her along with the knowledge of her condition. Joan---being a reasonably intelligent person---picked up at once on the implications and said, "What did she mean...leave me in your care?" "Joan-chan," Martha said with a sigh, "Can you forgive me?" "Huh?" Joan asked, "For what?" "For failing you as a mother," Martha replied, "I should have been there for you when you were growing up, I should have built the confidence and trust that would have let you turn to me when you needed my guidance. I've been selfish and self-absorbed, and you've had every right to grow up angry and resentful..." "What?" Joan asked, "You're admitting that? Wha...who are you, and what have you done with my mother?" Martha actually smiled at that, "Have I changed so much in only a few hours? You're the third person to ask me that question...but, never mind...I'm not the real issue here. General Gordon is." "General Gordon?" Joan was on her guard again, but Lila shook her head to discourage her from continuing the evasion. "We know about what that bastard did to you," Lila said, "Feeding you those drugs to bolster your natural powers, making you into an addict, then having you do all those terrible things for the government..." "Gordon isn't really the government," Martha frowned, "He's a rogue operative doing the bidding of shadowy characters who operate without the clear authority of the Pentagon or the Executive branch of government. I...used to work with him when I was your age..." "You?" Joan stared in dismay, "Mom?" "It's true," Martha nodded grimly, "I've done...things for the government that I'd rather not talk about. Black Ops stuff, but only when I agreed with it on merits. It happened shortly after Infinity Incorporated went belly up and I was...at loose ends with my life. I was asked to do things that...I'm really not too proud about...and then father found out and hit the ceiling. It's one of the reasons he decided to move the family oversees, to make sure no one in our family could ever be used like that again. I...didn't agree with him...I wanted to stay an American and raise you in as close to normal a manner as I could. Then Hal...your father...left us...and everything fell apart. I buried myself in my work and stopped being your mother...and for that I am truly sorry. But I swear to you...I never thought Gordon would go to such extremes or use you like his tool for murder, assassination and political intrigue..." "No..." Joan cringed and tried to get off the table, but Lily stopped her with both hands, gently-but-firmly, "You can't know about that! Nobody's supposed to know..." "Joan," Lila said, "It's over. You don't belong to him, you no longer have the V-45 drug in you. You're clean, you don't have the addiction. The captain...removed it from your system..." "How?" Joan asked, "Nobody could do that! Even the scientists of planet RUR couldn't extract it from my DNA...you'd have to use..." "Magic?" Martha replied ruefully, "Yeah...tell me about it." "It's been done, Joan-chan," Lila said, "You're cured...at least physically and emotionally...but we have to make sure you don't relapse or go back to working for Gordon. The captain's been kind enough to offer us a chance at a new life...and while I don't agree with everything she does...not by a long shot...I'm willing to work with her if it means having you free of your addiction." "You're going to...what?" Joan asked, "And...what's this chan stuff? What...what language are we speaking?" "Japanese," Martha answered. "But I don't speak Japanese!" Joan protested. "Neither did I until now," Lila smiled, "But you learn something new every day." "But I'm American!" Joan protested, "I want to speak American, dammit!" "Hey, when in China, speak Mandarin," Lila shrugged, "It's the captain's ship, her rules, and besides...you have more important things to worry about." "Such as deciding whether you're going to work with us and accept our help," Martha insisted, "We know about what's been done in the past, we want to work with you to get you through this, but we won't let you relapse into old patterns and bad habits. I haven't been the mother you've needed in years, but that's about to change, and I'm laying down the law as of now. You may be of age legally, but here the captain of the ship is the law, and she's placed you in our care until further notice." "And I'm not going to stomach watching you destroy yourself either," Lila said quite firmly, "I've been powerless to do anything until now, and it's been tearing me up inside. You mean so much to me, and yet there's a part of you that I can't touch or do anything about. Well, that stops right now...now you're going to let me into that part of your world, and THEN we're going to have a long heart-to-heart chat about your work with General Gordon..." And---faced with the determined looks that she saw in the faces of her mother and her lover, Joan swallowed thickly and began to know the true face of terror, earning a smile of satisfaction from Lao, who silently congratulated Lila for playing her role as "fellow inmate" to the hilt, the better to make it seem as if all three women shared co-equal status of enslavement...and only later would it be revealed that Lila was not quite the innocent she pretended, but was in fact Joan's ACTUAL possessor. The better, of course, to work on Joan into a bright and wonderful future, but first one had to crawl before they could learn to beg, and Joan had a lot of learning to do, but learn she would under Lao's studious and benign guidance. Lila would have her lover, and Martha would have back her daughter, and everyone would be so much happier and the better for these exchanges... Everyone except General Gordon, of course, and Lao would not be in that man's shoes for all the tea in China, not even for her elusive freedom, but that would wait for another day and a very different sort of challenge... Continued. Comments/Criticisms/Chartered Drug Therapy ala Lao Enterprises: shadowmane@ridgenet.net Joan's ordeal has only just begun, but if you think everything has been going Lao's way, think again, gentle effendi!* This cruise is just starting to move into troubled waters as Lao herself finds out, while Ranma and Nabiki come to a serious realization, and Beatrice make a proposition of her own...all this and the birth of Alison's baby! Be here for: "Cruising for a Bruising," or "Slaver on the Seas of Slate!" Be seeing you! (*A kind of Arab Fruit Salad.)