DNabikiTHCh24 Nabiki 1/2 "A Very Scary Thought!" THE HONEYMOON HENTAI CHAPTERS! By Jim Robert Bader (Inspired by the works of Rumiko Takahashi and a host of others who I might very well name here, but what did they ever do to me that I should punish them with the blame and credit?) Chapter Twenty-Four. HENTAI ALERT---NAUGHTY SITUATIONS AHEAD! CONTAINS SCENES WHICH MAY BE LEWD AND HIGHLY SUGGESTIVE, IF OUT OUTRIGHT PERVERSE, AND SOME PEOPLE GET REALLY FUNNY IDEAS OVER THAT, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING. THIS STUFF IS MEANT TO IMPLY CONSENSUAL GROPING, KINKINESS AND GENERAL TOMFOOLERY; ANY RESEMBLANCE TO THE WAY PEOPLE USUALLY BEHAVE IN REAL LIFE IS PURELY COINCIDENTAL. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Shampoo was feeling frustrated, and not for the usual reasons. It had been in her mind to go and assist Ukyo in liberating Perfume from the clutches of the one who had abducted her cousin, but by the time she got there matters had already been resolved in a satisfactory manner. Perfume had a semi-conscious Ukyo in her lap and was gently "reviving" the chef through some tender loving affection, which Shampoo had decided was strictly their own business...at least for the moment. Then a loud explosion and a burst of Chi that went literally off the dark end of the scale had drawn her immediate attention, but by the time Shampoo had arrived and the battlezone (easily determined by the absence of one wall in the corresponding chamber) matters had once again been firmly taken in hand, and Akane was applying some remedial Tender Loving Care to a battle-weary Ryoga. Again not wanting to intrude, Shampoo had quietly left them to sort things out and went in search of someone who might genuinely need her assistance. That was when she had stumbled across Keiko and Kodachi...well...the less said there the better, though Shampoo had to allow that those two did seem to enjoy playing games of domination a lot, and how odd that someone as self-aware and assertive as Arigami would so willingly submit herself to being affectionately "punished" by a crazy girl like Kodachi. Sometimes she truly wondered about those two, and those rare times when she thought she did understand them worried her deeply. Almost desperate to find something to do at this point, Shampoo had next come across her former fellow countrywomen, Lotus and Blossom, but again they seemed to have resolved whatever difficulties they had been facing and were off in their own private world, eyeing each other like newlyweds while making lewd suggestions. In fact the mere sight of them gave her a childhood flashback to her own fond memories of time spent in innocent frolicking with her first female lover, Lotion. Of course the net result of these encounters was that Shampoo had a sudden desire to seek out her Airen and do something other than run around blindly all about this preposterously designed palace! That idea in mind, she did what came natural to any Amazon who got particularly horny, she did exactly what her instincts demanded and followed the trail left by Nabiki and Ranma, also easy to spot for the number of unconscious bodies they left sprawling in their passage. After climbing yet another flight of stairs she at last came to a level where she did indeed find her missing Nabiki, but much to her surprise she saw her Airen sitting down on a bench with her back to a wall, and close beside her was none other than Shampoo's renegade cousin, Lanocane. Shampoo checked her forward momentum and opted instead for stealth as she approached these two, seeing the both of them were engaged in serious conversation, which intrigued her to no end and prompted Shampoo to play the eavesdropping spy...just to be sure Cousin Lao did not try anything too perverted with her Airen. At the same time, unknown to Shampoo herself, yet another set of eyes were focused on the pair sitting quietly on the bench, with ears perked up that were infinitely sharper even than Perfume's own catlike hearing as Martha Kent eased into a position of concealment and watched with curiosity, having already caught a portion of what was being exchanged between the Martial Artist and the Slaver... FIVE MINUTES BEFORE SHAMPOO'S ARRIVAL... It was truly a bizarre situation that Nabiki found herself in as she and Lao sat down together, watching Ranma go charging off for a private confrontation with Prince Toma. Nabiki was very conscious of the fact that neither she nor the Pirate Slaver were dressed in modest wear, and the thought immediately crossed her mind that Lao might try to pull something on her without her invitation. Though Lao had conceded their recent battle, the war between them was a long ways from truly ended. "Are you serious?" Lao looked at Nabiki with a sidelong expression of frank amazement, "You think Ranma's recent bout of femininity might be a permanent curse instead of a temporary one?" "That's what we figured," Nabiki shrugged, "Given what Lotus said about you keeping a bottle of the permanent stuff in your cabin..." "Which Blossom might have mistaken for the permanent kind," Lao finished for her, resting her head for a moment in the palm of one hand as she massaged her temples and murmured, "Blossom...I do love her like a sister, but there are times when she and Lotus both try my patience. Still, there might not be as much to be concerned on here as at other times. It is true that I store the Temporary Instant brand of Nyanniichuan in its powdered form to preserve its potency, I had brewed a batch of the stuff the previous night, so there is at least a fifty-fifty chance that my First Officer took the correct one..." "You think so?" Nabiki sat upright. "Well...this is Blossom we are talking about," Lao conceded, "And that may skew the odds a bit against your husband's favor, but we can determine the particulars of this when we see Lord Ranma again in a few more minutes. I am sufficiently confident of his prowess to assume that he will smoke Prince Toma's ass and be back here before we have time to finish this conversation." "Oh," Nabiki remarked a bit blandly as she absorbed this, "But...what then will we do with the man-changing water?" "I'm sure we'll think of something," Lao patted Nabiki on the knee, "Assuming he doesn't waste it by dousing himself immediately with Toma's personal supply of the stuff." "Um..." Nabiki glanced down at the hand that had just patted her, wondering if she should make it into an issue. "Now then," Lao resumed in a conversational tone of voice, "I suppose you are also wondering why I wanted this chance to talk with you alone, given all the momentous things that are presently going on around this palace, not least of which being the welfare of my son-turned-daughter." "Ah...I don't really see what else there is to talk about," Nabiki replied, "Unless you're going to try and convince me once again that you're really a nice guy and that slavery is for the health and well being of your women..." "Your sarcasm is duly noted and appreciated," Lao replied, "But I am done with self-justification and rationalizing my life style for you. I am more interested in knowing about the state of your feelings and what your plans are for the future." "Huh?" Nabiki blinked, "What do you mean...?" "Well, take for example the child you carry," Lao pointed out, "Assuming you have chosen to have it carried to term, who have you selected as yet to be the one who actually does the hard work of delivering your baby?" "Huh?" Nabiki winced, "Are you kidding? Who could I ask to do a thing like that? Ukyo and Shampoo are just recovering from their own pregnancies, Perfume is out of the question, and if anybody even suggests that Ranchan should be the one to do it, I'll go hard up against the side of their fool heads..." "Are you certain about this?" Lao asked, "You should at least consider that as an option. After all, he is biologically compatible with his own baby, and while the idea may initially shock him, I think he has proven to be highly adaptable and might even come to enjoy the experience of being a mother." "That isn't funny," Nabiki said flatly, "I'd rather be the one to carry my own kid...but...that doesn't seem too likely, huh?" "I wish that I could tell you otherwise," Lao made a placating gesture, "I was able to lock Breeze into her female form because that just meant intensifying the degree of her curse, and I could unlock that spell at any time of my preference. But you are probably right to be concerned about the proposal of Ranma being the one who carries your baby. No man can be expected to understand the hardships involved with pregnancy, it is counter-intuitive, even allowing that a curse can modify one's state of mind to make the cursed state feel perfectly normal." "But that's assuming he still has his curse," Nabiki pointed out, "And if it turns out he's only got the temporary kind..." "Then we'll have to think of someone else who can have your baby," Lao paused, eyeing Nabiki sidelong, "You do want it, right? I mean...you are adjusted to the idea that you are going to be a mother at the tender age of eighteen, which might seem like middle age to an Amazon, but must seem to be occurring at the prime of your youth, right when you could reasonably be expecting to move on to college." "Ah...that I'm not so sure about," Nabiki ran her fingers through her hair, "I mean...sure, I want to have a baby with Ranma, but the timing could be better. I mean...there's a lot involved in having a kid, and having little Lylac alone has taught me a lot about what it means just being a father. Ranchan was even starting to feel a little bit neglected about the time I was spending with Shampoo, but between this kid, Ucchan's Fragrance and my first daughter...it's looking like I may need to get a good family financial planner just to set them up for their own college years, and here I'm not even graduated out of High School!" "Do you resent your friend Beatrice for imposing this decision upon you?" Lao asked. "A little bit," Nabiki conceded, "But...looking back on it, I guess she was trying to do me a favor, like the one she did herself with Alison. I mean...using Nano-technology to counteract the effects of my curse didn't cause me to become pregnant, it just made it possible for me to stay pregnant when I turned into Kaneda. So...I guess I may have to let her off the hook for this, even if I wish she had consulted with me before she did it." "Ah...friends," Lao smiled, "They can be the benefit or bane of our existence, but they mean well, unlike our enemies who deliberately WANT to cause us mischief. So...what do you think about one of your sisters having the baby...or even Beatrice herself, who did make you the offer." "Akane?" Nabiki shrugged, "I guess she might do it if I asked her, but she's got enough problems with her relationship to Ryoga, and I'd rather not complicate things by having her carry my baby. Beiko...I would be less than honest if I didn't admit the idea is tempting. I mean...despite what I just said, let the punishment fit the crime, know what I'm saying?" "Of course," Lao nodded, "But I suppose we could take it for granted that her beloved would be irked if she agreed to carry another woman's baby. That does cut down the list of possible candidates, but if you were to consider one of my women, I know any number of them who would gladly volunteer and have no qualms about being a surrogate mother." "But having a baby isn't like borrowing somebody's dress, Lao," Nabiki sniffed, "I'd be asking them to sacrifice a part of their body, and you really think they'd just give the kid up when I came to collect them? The same thing holds true if I asked Keiko or Kodachi to carry my baby...what's to keep them from feeling like they're the actual mother?" "Point well taken," Lao nodded, "And for all that I may have done many a dirty deed in my career, I have never had much stomach for separating a mother from her child, even if conceived by another woman. I just wanted to make the offer in case you were interested in a neutral third party." "I guess it all just comes down to me," Nabiki sighed, "Having a baby is a really female thing, something I expected I might do one of these days, and I guess now is as good as any time for it, but...but I can't really have this baby...not unless I cancel out my curse altogether..." "Or find a way to temporarily neutralize it," Lao stroked her chin with a thoughtful expression, "Not an easy task to be sure...one I've never quite been able to master...but...I wonder...it might be possible to freeze your curse if we could somehow affect its temporary nature..." "What are you saying?" Nabiki asked with a puzzled expression. "Perhaps I am not saying anything," Lao seemed unusually thoughtful as she stared off into the distance, "I would rather not get your hopes up over a false matter...but it just occurred to me that, whereas I do not know how to stave off your curse, nor is a method known to Amazon Lore, there is someone else who might know of a method...the Kraken." "The Kraken?" Nabiki blinked. "He is the vast storehouse of lore and knowledge," Lao pointed out, "I'm sure somewhere in his vast memories he might have a reasonable suggestion. You would have to trust me on this, but the alternative is to ask your husband to sacrifice his own manhood for the next several months, and I will offer a dose of permanent Nyanniichuan if it comes to that. But...until we know for certain...I think it would be a very good idea to capture a sample of the Prince's Nanniichuan water." "Huh?" Nabiki said, "Why?" "Just an idea I had," Lao made a dismissive gesture, "It might turn out to be nothing." "Spill it," Nabiki frowned, "What are you thinking?" "Well..." Lao smiled, "We have a pair of powerful sorceresses currently residing as guests on my ship...perhaps one of them is strong enough to change the polarity of the water so that, instead of turning one into a man..." "It could turn me permanently into a woman?" Nabiki blinked. "I said that I didn't want to falsely raise your expectations," Lao replied, "But that is, conceivably, a way that might cure you of your curse altogether." Nabiki stared straight ahead with a frankly dumbfounded expression. A permanent cure? If such a thing were possible, then it went against all her fears and might answer the secret hope and longing in her heart, to say goodbye to Kaneda altogether. But thinking that suddenly brought to mind the thought of Shampoo losing her husband. Was this really a sacrifice she wanted to make? Would losing the ability to turn into a man potentially affect her wife's legal status, both in Japan and China? After all, she had married Shampoo in a civil ceremony as Kaneda and had given Shampoo legal status as a Japanese citizen through that marriage... "Think about it, just in case it proves to be an option," Lao remarked as she read the younger woman's expression, "But the time is rapidly approaching when the choice may be taken away, when we will have to do with what seems like your best chance of having a baby of your own with Ranma. In fact, I'd avoid turning into Kaneda altogether in the near future...the next time you change might cause a miscarriage." "Yeeesh!" Nabiki reeled at that, not knowing that Shampoo had just overheard the last few exchanges between them. (Not to see Kaneda again?) she thought of her virile and incredibly handsome husband, the man who had defeated her on the challenge log and won her heart that day, only to later discover the truth behind her marriage. How would she cope with having to say goodbye to her husband? She loved Nabiki and delighted in girl-girl sex with her, true enough, but it was Kaneda to whom she had given her vows, and a husband as well endowed as him was a treasure to be cherished! She would do whatever Nabiki asked of her, true enough, but---dutiful wife that she was---as an Amazon she felt compelled to voice her own two yuan about the matter! She was about to do so when her cousin, unexpectedly, changed the subject and said, "By the way...that was a good fight you gave me just now. I'm proud of the way you've improved, and in such a short time, coordinating your attacks in perfectly harmony with Ranma." "Ah...well..." Nabiki was herself flustered by the change of subject, "Actually...that was Ranma's idea, and I agree it was a good strategy, using the Senkens to harmonize..." she almost cursed herself as she realized that she had let that last part slip out, but Lao only smiled as if having already having known about the matter. "The Kamasenken," she mused, "A good use for such a powerful form. I admit that I am especially impressed with that husband of yours, what a War Master he would make with a little more Amazon training!" "You knew?" Nabiki asked in amazement. "I suspected," Lao replied, "I knew that something like the Kamasenken would be needed to serve as a linking form to bring your two distinctive styles in closer synchronization. Never fear, I won't press you on that matter. I merely state the fact that you have a true prize in your husband, for which I envy you greatly. Don't ever let that one get away, you can learn a lot from studying with him, and I don't just mean about fighting." "Well...yeah...I know Ranchan's one of a kind," Nabiki shrugged, "But the last thing I need to do is inflate the guy's ego..." "Do I detect a note of sour grapes in that?" Lao mused, "The boy was suffering from low self esteem not too long ago, but now you think he's too full of himself? Make up your mind, which do you prefer, a husband who is confident of his prowess, or one who lives in constant uncertainty of his standing?" "Neither of course," Nabiki replied, "It's just...ever since he became a Senken Master he's been lording it over me, making such a fuss about his knowing something about fighting that I don't..." "As opposed to the other way around, which you assume to be the natural order?" Lao asked in amusement. "I didn't say that," Nabiki said testily, "But do you have any idea what it's like being at the total mercy of somebody who knows how to turn your own nervous system against you, to make you cum on command like your body was an organ that he could play on at his leisure?" "Gods of the White Mountain, you are making me SOOOO envious," Lao shook her head with a soft chuckle, "I would dearly love to find a man like that, or even a woman, for that matter, but I must abide with being the best lover on my ship until such a time as I find someone who will stay with me and become my true and proper Master." "Your master?" Nabiki stammered. "What, you don't think that I could enjoy being dominated by the right sort of fellow?" Lao eyed her knowingly, "You forget...behind the cool exterior of many a Dominatrix lays a woman who wants to be disciplined. I found that out about myself the hard way when I was taken as a slave in Shanghai, before I worked my way around to becoming the ship's Mistress. Only one time have I met a man who could satisfy me in that manner, but he was not interested in staying on board my ship, and I had to let him go. But if he asked me anything...I could not refuse him." "Frank?" Nabiki blinked. "Oh yes," Lao grinned, "He was Made to be my Master, if only he didn't refuse it." "Whatever," Nabiki shrugged, thinking of the Big Man and how intimidating he could be in person. "Tell me something," Lao continued, "Is your feeling of inferiority to Ranma's Senken mastery actually a fear of losing control while in the midst of lovemaking, a fear of being dominated by him, or is it because you subconsciously believe that you should always be the one on top? If the latter, then you are a great fool, if the former, then you do not truly know your husband." "I'm not afraid of being dominated by Ranchan," Nabiki insisted, "It's just...disconcerting for him to have one up on me..." "In other words to be a stronger fighter," Lao mused, "It must nettle you that he was the one who actually defeated me this time around, even if he did it with your help. You'd rather it have been your victory, or that your contribution could have been more impressive." "Hey!" Nabiki protested. "Be honest, that is what is bothering you, correct?" Lao replied, "The fact that you know that I could still have won if it had been a straight one-on-one fight, instead of having to divide my energies to deal with the both of you. Of course I think that Ice Frost maneuver Ranma used was a pretty good one, and I'm going to have to think hard on working up a counter..." "Are you saying I'm that petty?" Nabiki reacted, "I'll have you know that I'm very proud of Ranma for what he accomplished...it's just..." "It's just that now you have to work hard at catching up with him," Lao deduced, "And carrying a baby might interfere with your training, correct?" "Well..." Nabiki faltered before grudgingly admitting, "Maybe..." "Don't be upset," Lao replied, "You're a very impressive fighter, and I have every confidence that you will continue to improve, so the next time we face each other in a fight the outcome will be much less of a given. You've already improved at such a rate that I'm sure my great grandmother is impressed, even if she would be reluctant to tell you so outright. Besides...you have a set of great sparring partners in my cousins, you should learn to use every resource in your arsenal in order to train yourself to be the best that you can be. But...life isn't all about training, you know...there is also family to be considered." Martha frowned as she heard these words, thinking to herself that family might have been more important in her life than she had understood at the time it would have most mattered. "Ah...yeah..." Nabiki glanced away, "Family...it always comes first with me..." "See that it does," Lao replied, "Just be sure never to make the mistake of thinking of your husband as a rival and not an ally. And do not mistake pride for ambition. I've done that on more than one occasion, and I've learned from the folly it breeds. Pride is good for self-assertion, but to be truly the best, you must first work upon being a better person." "Fine speech coming from you, Coach," Nabiki sniffed, "But with your track record...I think I'll look somewhere else when it comes to personal training." "As you will," Lao conceded, "I must say, for all the hardships we've undergone of late, I have very much enjoyed having you young people along for the ride. It has been a most educational experience, and very entertaining, to say nothing of it being...unexpectedly profitable..." "Profitable?" Nabiki arched a suspicious eyebrow. "Ah...yes..." Lao nodded with a faintly wistful expression, "Among other things, you've given me a chance to meet with some people who I find very profitable to be with...and...then again, there is a personal side to our relationship that has been rather productive..." "What relationship?" Nabiki asked with even deeper suspicion. "Don't you remember?" Lao asked coyly, "When the both of us were...snuggling together?" "SNUGGLING???" Nabiki all but sputtered, "You were RAPING ME!" "Well...kind of half Snuggle and half Rape anyway," Lao replied, "Not that I blame you for what you did in your Neko form, and while I started out the matter as a Tiger to deliberately trigger this state, when you did on a purely animal level..." "That wasn't me!" Nabiki protested, "I wasn't trying to..." "Rape me?" Lao gave her a saucy look, "When will you learn, Nabiki-chan, that you cannot rape the willing. The point is that...I know my body, I know every inch inside me, and I know when I am in the right gestation cycle, and I chose to have you mount me...so..." "WHAT?" Nabiki gasped, "NO WAY!" Lao seemed to take great interest in polishing her nails, then examining them critically before responding, "Where there is a will there is always a way...and my, did you have a lot of will! I rather imagine you've subconsciously wanted to do something like that to me since the moment I first met you." "DID NOT!!" Nabiki protested. "As you will," Lao kept on smiling as she seemed to lightly dismiss the matter, "Of course it does hurt my feelings that you never even once considered having me be the surrogate mother of your baby...but never mind, that's academic. What matters is where do we go from here? I mean...seriously, I have no bad feelings towards you whatsoever...in fact, I very much admire you and think you would make a wonderful addition to my Harem, but as I promised you before, I will let you go when the time is right and allow you to return to the world outside, which you so cherish. The same goes for your family and friends, but...always know that you leave a little piece of yourself behind when you next come to visit." "You're sick!" Nabiki insisted, "And why tell me a thing like that anyway? Do you think it'll make me feel more sympathetic to your twisted world outlook?" "Not particularly," Lao replied, "But I confess that the idea of having your baby has appealed to me for quite a while now. Like it or not, we are a part of each other's world, and though we may never see eye to eye on certain matters, there is no reason for us to be enemies. I would much rather have you for a friend and potential ally...and it might even be that we will at some point have need of one another in the near future." "Fat chance!" Nabiki huffed. "Once again, as you will," Lao replied, "But I'm not surprised at your rejection. When you are young you see the world as having such possibilities, and you can afford to be idealistic. So long as the world does not blunt or taint that idealism, you will continue to be the person you wish to be...and I pray that you never lose yourself to cynicism, as I have. I can recall what it felt like when I left China, depressed and an outcast, but still full of such hope that the outside world might heal my wounds and restore my faith in humanity. Instead I came to see a side of human beings that few people should have to see up close...but with you I am reminded that not every person in the world is a shameless opportunist or hopelessly naïve and blind to the darker side of life." "I'll never be like you," Nabiki vowed. "Not even when you use people to suit your own needs?" Lao mused slyly. "Not even then," Nabiki shook her head, "If I have to manipulate people to do what I want, it's because I have valid needs, not because I enjoy it." "A fine distinction," Lao replied, "But I fear that you will discover in this world that there are very few examples of pure black and white, good and evil, right and wrong decisions. There is a right way of doing almost everything...and far too many wrong methods whose undertaking can lead to sometimes tragic circumstances." "Maybe so," Nabiki replied, "But they won't be tragic because I intended them to be that way." "Exactly," Lao countered, "Tragedy will happen from unintended consequences, much like following your Uncle into China has had both good and bad karma attend to it. Turning into a man proved not to be the worse curse imaginable, eh? But then again, you still regret shedding even a part of what it means to be a woman." "Yeah," Nabiki glanced away, "Okay...maybe you've got a point there...but I still say I won't turn into you when I get to be your age." "We will see about that," Lao replied, "Now...in the meantime, what could be keeping that husband of yours? He should have slung that brat over his knee for a good paddling by now." "Maybe he's run into a snag," Nabiki replied, "Hey...tell me the truth...did you lose that fight legitimately or were you deliberately throwing it to get out of your obligation to defend Prince Bratty?" "I lost legitimately," Lao replied, "But...if you want to know the truth, my heart wasn't into victory with quite the same verve as on our previous battles." "That's what I thought," Nabiki replied, when all of a sudden the entire palace shook from the force of a massive explosion, "What the---?" Lao turned an alarmed look towards the upper part of the stairway, then abruptly gripped Nabiki by the arm and threw her to the floor, spreading herself on top of the smaller woman while summoning up her powers and erecting a wall of water to surround them. Shampoo also felt the rush of heat coming their way, but with nowhere to run or hide she had to brace herself as a wall of flame came roaring her way. All at once another body landed in the space between her and the flame, and then Martha Kent cried out, "STAY BACK!" and like that the force of the plasma wave rolled past their position, broken by the presence of the Demi-Kryptonian whose managed to shield Shampoo from being fried to a cinder. Nabiki's first instinct upon finding the Pirate straddling atop her was to tense up and expect the worst from her nemesis, but instead she saw the distorted heat and light of a flame curtain passing over their watery envelope and realized just how close she had come to being par-broiled like a chicken. Lao had actually saved both their hides from some manner of fireball that had sprung up out of nowhere... Fireball? "Ranma!" she gasped, frantically attempting to crawl out from underneath the slaver. "Stay still!" Lao ordered with a crisp tone of command in her voice that brooked no disobedience, and---much to Nabiki's own surprise---she would up obeying. A moment later something else passed over them, a wave of mental force that swept over their minds and stripped bare their conscious and subconscious selves, probing deeply beneath the shell of personality to expose the hidden depths of their mutual beings. [W-What...?] both minds asked as one as Lao and Nabiki stared into each others eyes and in that moment their mutual consciousness expanded... ...All at once Nabiki found herself in Lao's arms as the two of them began groping and writing together, mouths meshing against one another as their hands worked their will, breasts fondled and thighs rubbing against one another, bare feet running along the tracks of nerve and sinew, stimulating pleasurable centers that shot wonderful sensations jolting up both spines, tingling in the back of the mind as they meshed their bodies and grew ever closer together... Nabiki and Lao emerged from the brief, overwhelming dual trance that had a very different Lao and Nabiki at play with one another. They had not moved, but their counterparts had been doing something so intensely erotic that it shook them to their mutual cores, so intense was the sense of duality where one set remained still, the other set was entirely too active... That other Lao commanded the situation as she painted a trail of kisses down from neck and shoulder, slowly working her way towards those succulent breasts that tantalized and enflamed her passion, the maddening desire to possess the other woman while the other Nabiki yielded willingly and allowed herself to be taken like a prize of infinite value... ...The Nabiki laying beneath the Lao who was not groping and fondling her like a ripe piece of fruit stared at the Pirate atop her, aware of her counterpart's eagerness and enthusiasm. The sense of being willingly dominated by a Lao who all too eagerly claimed her possession was immensely disturbing to Nabiki's sense of integrity and well being, and yet her other self expressed no alarm, only desire and a reveling glory in the domination that she was experiencing at the hands of the older woman. They were the sort of things which she might have enjoyed were it not for her moral reservations, and basic antipathy for Lao's enslaving practices, if not merely Lao herself, whom she found far too smugly satisfied for the most part... ...The other Nabiki gasped as she felt her hips being raised by the powerful hands of the lady Pirate, her weight being shifted onto her shoulders while her bare legs and feet dangled in a "V" in the air above her. Lao lowered her mouth to enfold the vulnerable loins of the younger girl with her mouth, her tongue instantly going to work probing the softness of an unfolding vagina, the succulent petals yielding a sweet nectar that was intensely satisfying... ...Again the sense of duality between them, of the one set of women going at it with lewd abandon, of the other merely sharing eyes as they drank a deep star, mesmerized by the sense of a passion kindled on another plane of existence... ...The Nabiki currently crying out and groaning was not fighting her ravisher but willingly being ravished. She was a prized possession and loved her status intensely, reveling in the ardor of her Mistress as she yielded willingly the pearl of her womanly passion... "AIREN!" The voice of Shampoo's frantic call broke the spell that held the two of them immobile, and as one both Lao and Nabiki turned their eyes up to stare at the purple haired wonder, who was only just then coming to their side in the presence of a less disturbed looking Martha. "Are you all right?" Martha asked, "What was that? It felt like something was in our minds for about half a minute..." "Airen?" Shampoo knelt down beside Nabiki and Lao, "You no play around with cousin and tell Shampoo what you doing?" "Ah...um..." Nabiki visibly sweated. "Not to worry, Cousin," Lao said as she hastily rolled off of Nabiki, "It was my fault, really...I was attempting to shield us both from the blast and...my hands kind of...slipped..." "Yes," Martha mused dryly, "I kind of noticed that." "Ah..." Nabiki tried to get her thoughts back in order, but then she looked sharply up at Shampoo and said, "Ranma! That blast must have come from the top of the Palace..." "Breeze!" Lao exclaimed, suddenly just as concerned for her son-turned-daughter. "Aiyaa!" Shampoo exclaimed, suddenly sharing the concern of her wife for their mutual husband, "We must go to him and find..." "No need," Martha said as she glanced up the stairs, "That husband of yours is quite a young man. If I didn't know any better, I'd almost think he has Kryptonian genes in his makeup." "Eh?" Lao turned in time to see several figures come staggering out from the haze and smoke that choked out the top part of the stairway, and then one of those figures resolved itself into the distinctive form of Ranma, flanked at his side by Breeze and Toma, both of whom appeared to be choking on fumes between them. "Ranchan!" Nabiki gasped. "N-Nabiki?" Ranma coughed, trying to clear his eyes so he could see them better. "Aiyaa, Ranma!" Shampoo vaulted forward to his side, while Nabiki was still struggling to get back on rubbery legs, not completely recovered from the vividness of her passionate vision. "Hey, Shampoo," Ranma paused to clear his throat as the Amazon placed a hand to his smudged face in order to check him over, "I'm all right...I managed to deflect the blast, but it kicked up a heck of a lot of dust and soot..." "...To say nothing of blowing a hole through my roof..." Toma wheezed, "...Damned hussies..." "Mom?" Breeze gasped, clearing her eyes just enough to make out the details of which person could be properly addressed by that title. "Breeze, you're all right?" Lao said as she gathered her daughter into her arms. "What happened?" Nabiki asked, touching Ranma on the arm to be sure she had his attention. "Don't really know," Ranma responded, "I had the kid here disarmed and ready to talk reasonable like when one of those two Sorcerer ladies cut loose with a spell that nearly blew out the whole room. I think it was a Fireball, or something like that...and then...the weirdest thing happened...like someone went into our minds and made us see stuff together." "We had the same phenomenon," Lao replied, "Obviously you survived the blast, and you rescued my son, which puts me further in your debt, Saotome.' "Hey, I blunted the blast with some help from Latisha," Ranma shrugged, "The rest was just instinct and improvising..." "Ranma do good job improvi...in adapting so quickly," Shampoo congratulated. "Yeah, good thinking, Ranchan," Nabiki approved, albeit with less intense enthusiasm, feeling disquieted as she was by her experiences with Lao and her sense of awe at the forces now wielded by her husband. "And what of the Mages themselves?" Lao wondered, "Did they survive their own handiwork?" "Yeah, I think they did," Ranma replied, "But the blast caved in part of the floor and sealed off the pit they were hoping to get at. Good thing, too, or that water might have flooded out and gotten at everybody." "But you find gourd of Prince, yes?" Shampoo asked, indicating the object Ranma carried in his hand. "Oh yeah," Ranma grinned as he held up his prize, "Wouldn't want to go anywhere without this, only chance to keep my manhood---hey!" "Just one moment before you try and use this, young man," Lao remarked as she snatched the gourd our of Ranma's hand, then used her other hand to form a globe of water as she added, "Let's test whether or not you need it." With that she splashed Ranma in the face, causing him to sputter and gasp out a startled, "What did you do that for?" "Well, just as I suspected," Lao smiled, "Not the permanent curse after all, though I do detect a residual trace of the temporary kind hovering about your makeup." "Huh?" Ranma looked down at himself then said, "Hey, I didn't change! I'm not cursed anymore!" "I believe I just said that," Lao replied before glancing down, "However, I would suggest a change of wardrobe at your earliest convenience." "Huh?" Ranma glanced down, and only then became aware of how badly his wardrobe had suffered from the blast, to which he quipped, "Oh." "Aiyaa," Shampoo glanced down with an appreciative glance, then put her arms around Ranma and impulsively hugged him, "And you still man! Oh Airen, we still have husband!" "Yeah, so I see," Nabiki allowed herself to smile with more affection, "Guess you won't be needing the water after all...but...what are we going to do with it?" Nabiki asked. "That all depends on whether our two Mage friends are still alive or not," Lao replied, "And with those two...I am willing to bet on their survival." "Good bet," Martha remarked, "I can see them digging themselves out of the rubble. Shall I give them a hand?" "Better let them dig themselves out of their own handiwork," Lao remarked, "It will make a fine moral example about lighting fires in someone else's house." "So," Toma declared with less than his usual haughty manner, "It would seem that your side has the upper hand for the moment, Lady Lao. What happens next?" "Well, why don't we retire to my ship where we can decide things more...equitably," Lao smiled like the Tigress that she was, then made a point to sniff the air and wrinkle her nose in distaste as she added, "No offense to you, Prince, but it would seem that your servants will be busy digging out from the rubble for the next several days. Saotome-san...what say we both gather our respective forces and convene a meeting on the POJ at our earliest convenience?" "Sounds fine with me," Ranma shrugged, "That okay with you, Nabiki?" "Ah...yeah," Nabiki more reluctantly conceded, "Only...where do we go to find our wayward family members." "Shampoo know way," Shampoo brightly volunteered, "Lead Airen to Airen and others." "And I'll go spread the word to the rest of your motley crew," Martha smiled, "See you in a little bit," and with that pronouncement the Demi-Kryptonian became a blur, kicking up a wind in passage. "Ah," Lao smiled as she turned to Nabiki, "That's why I do so enjoy having you around, Nabiki-chan. Life is never dull around either you or your husband." "Look who's talking," Nabiki grumbled back, but was willing to abide by a truce on the immediate matter... Less than an hour later the total combined group of Tendo Posse and Lao's Raiders were gathered on the beach waiting for launches to deliver them back aboard their ship. Lao nearly had a mutiny on her hands when she told her people that they would have to give back some of the prisoners they had taken (even if in slightly used condition) but her strict policy concerning men---plus an agreement with Prince Toma---required that at least a few of their citizens would be repatriated (even if more than a few of Toma's subjects expressed a curious reluctance to leave the company of their nominal captors). As a concession to her loyal crew, however (and to stave off said potential mutiny, plus a possible lynching) she allowed those of her women who wanted to do so to have another day and a half of shore leave, instructing them to report for duty around noon the day after. With that potential mini-crisis headed off, she prepared to return to her fortress/castle/ship, but first a few residual matters needed resolving, not least of which was Toma's insistence on Breeze remaining on his island. "Absolutely not," Lao insisted, "Your well may have been sealed off by that blast, Prince, but those waters still affect the water table of your whole island. If Breeze remains for longer than a month the risk will multiply that-- -at some point---their magic will cancel out her Nyanniichuan spell and revert her to full male status..." "Yeah," Breeze remarked, "And if that happens, you can kiss goodbye to us having children." "But what can I do?" Toma asked, "I must have a Queen to rule beside me...that is the law." "Actually, my Prince," Seratoru---who had one arm in a sling---raised his good hand for attention, "The law specifically states that you must provide an heir to succeed you when you reach your age of ascension...that usually gets taken to mean that you must have a bride, but if you were to father an heir, it would be just the same, even if the girl doesn't reside here with you." "Hey, that's right!" Breeze brightened, "And since I'm too young to even think about having a baby right now, wouldn't it be better to put it off for a few years, and then see if you still want me then, Prince? We could be like pen- pals and fiancées!" "But...don't you want to spend time with me?" Toma asked, "We were getting along so well before these harridans interrupted us..." "Who are you calling a harridan?" a disheveled Lina griped, but Nagha just smiled tiredly and refrained from making comment. "Hey, I like you, don't get me wrong, Prince," Breeze replied, "I think you're a pretty nice guy, and maybe in a few years we'll know if we're right for each other, but...like Momma said, it's too risky for me to be here...or any girl who doesn't want to get turned into a man. That doesn't mean we can't still see each other from time to time whenever we pass by your island, and we could write...isn't that right, Momma?" "True enough," Lao acknowledged, "And my servants could see to it that messages between you would be conveyed back and forth regularly. And...then again...there is always the Internet. If you had a wireless service, you could chat together at long distance." "But it's not the same as having someone here who can make my days pass by and be less boring," Toma sounded almost plaintive. "Well, if you are wanting for companionship," Lao mused, scanning the ranks of Toma's guards, "I believe that there is someone here who might volunteer for the task, and who has a far better right to play your parent than I ever would. Would the warrior who was formerly known as Sujenko please step forward?" There was a moment of hesitation before one guard---more Bishonen looking than the others-stepped forward and said, "I am...I was Sujenko...but now I am known as Rongar." "There you have it, Prince," Lao smiled, "That is your real mother." "My...what?" Toma turned to the guard in question, "You?" "Me," the warrior bowed his head and sighed, "Your father wanted to banish me entirely from court, but I begged him not to separate me from you. I only wanted to see you grow into a man, even if I could never embrace you. Please forgive me for not coming forward sooner, my so---I mean...my Prince." "Father...?" Toma gasped, "He never told me you were so close to hand! My...mother?" "In a manner of speaking," Lao answered for him, "Now, I'm sure you two will want to have lots of time to get better reacquainted...that is, if there are no objections from the rest of your loyal servants?" "Who, us?" the bird man exchanged looks with his fellow beast-men, all three of whom looked as though they had seen better days than this one. "Whoohoo?" Wonton remarked, not understanding what the fuss was all about, but glad that people were shaking hands and becoming friends all over. "What a muzzle on that guy," Nila noted softly to Xiong-Fu, "Think he's paper trained?" "I'm not sure if he's housebroken," Xiong-Fu sniffed, "He probably broke the house that tried it." "Who cares?" Jezebel smirked, "There's a lot of man in that hot-dog...I wonder if he's a Knockwurst or a footlong?" "Uh...whatever," mused a somewhat disquieted Akane. "A pity to be leaving so soon," Beatrice remarked on the sly, "I myself would have relished the opportunity to obtain a sample of this water for later study...it might have turned up some interesting uses." "And have you turn into a guy for real?" Alice sniffed, "Not a chance, Beiko! You may be a pain in the rear some times, but I like you just the way you are." "My love," Beatrice smiled benevolently, "You are such a romantic." "Maybe so," Keiko mused, "But I'm with the Powerhouse. Some things just should not be messed with, especially guy-changing un-holy water!" "Amen to that, Darling," Kodachi agreed with a sly smirk at her pigtailed companion. "Now then," Lao said as she looked directly at the Prince himself, "I am willing to go so far as to allow you to see my daughter on a semi-regular basis, and I'll even entertain the notion that the two of you are engaged...at least provisionally...but I will insist on one requirement before I give such a union my official sanction." "Which is?" Toma wondered. "When you are a man past eighteen and my Breeze is sixteen, you will face her in battle to decide the issue," Lao replied, "In six years you must defeat Breeze honorably, and only then will I judge you to be married. It is the Amazon way of determining that my daughter has a strong husband." Toma smiled, "On that I will agree...I will naturally be victorious and proclaim her as my bride on the day in question." "Oh really?" Breeze smiled back, "Care to make a wager on that?" "As for the rest of us," Lao smiled, "It is time to be going back on board our ship. Lotus, Blossom, secure for departure. You shall each lead one of our launches and be responsible for the safe delivery of our people...assuming no one here wishes to voluntarily remain on this island?" "Aye, Ma'am," Blossom saluted, "Will you take the first launch out?" "Yes," Lao agreed, "I've had enough of stretching my landlegs for one day, and I still have yet to fulfill my promise of taking Nabiki and her party to Sydney for the rest of their honeymoon..." "Mistress!" one of the blue skinned Undines spoke up, "We are receiving word that we have...other guests already on board the POJ." "Say what?" Lao spun around, "Other...guests?" "Our apologies, Captain," another Undine replied, "The Kraken was not around to prevent a boarding...and besides...these guests are ones who could not be refused if we had wanted to prevent it. HE is among those who are presently awaiting you on board our vessel." "He?" Lao suddenly became very pale, and fear was written plain in her expression, "Oh no...not him! Now?" "What's wrong?" Martha asked, "You look like you've seen a ghost." "Worse than that," Lao swallowed, "Come along, people...we had better not keep our...guests waiting for too long...not if the other ones are who I think they are..." "What's the matter?" Ranma asked, "You look really scared, lady." "Scared?" Lao's voice quavered as they boarded the launch and prepared to push off from shore (Nabiki being careful to avoid setting foot in the ocean water, with Ranma giving her some timely assistance), "Don't be ridiculous, why should I be scared? I am Lao Kung, I laugh at danger, I sneer at death, I scoff at misfortune..." "You're petrified, aren't you?" Nabiki asked, glancing nervously at the water while feeling her abdomen. "Yes," Lao conceded, "And you would be too if you knew our guests like I do." "Who in the heck could that be?" Ukyo asked. "What man would put the fear of the Gods in you, Cousin?" Perfume asked. "In truth I fear not man, beast nor gods," Lao replied, "But he is neither...he is my HUSBAND!" "Husband?" Martha blinked. "Oh...him," Nabiki suddenly understood Lao's behavior implicitly, and once they were on board again---sure enough---she saw the towering form of a seven-and-a- half foot, craggy-faced giant awaiting them on the main deck, arms folded over his chest, dressed incongruously in what looked like a well tailored business suit that oddly fit his massive proportions. "Hello, Kitty," he growled in faint disapproval as Lao and the others climbed up the ropes and stepped onto the deck. "Husband," Lao surprised everyone by suddenly going down on one knee and bowing her head before the giant, "It has been quite a while since you last graced us with your..." "Save it," Doctor Franklin Nathaniel Steinberg gruffly cut her off in mid- grovel, "I've had quite a lengthy report filed about you, and what's this business about you going back against my word and involving yourself with the Saotome and Tendo clans? Didn't I tell you expressly to leave hands off the poontang?" "Poontang?" Nila arched an eyebrow, "I like that..." "Husband," Lao kept her head downcast, "You have every right to be angry with me..." "Damned straight," he rudely snorted, turning to Ranma and Nabiki, "Bet you kids have been having quite a wild time of it. Never expected anything like this on your honeymoon, eh?" "Uh...yeah...you could say that," Ranma conceded. "We've...had some...interesting exchanges," Nabiki replied without elaboration. "Who is this?" Martha wondered, "He looks...oddly familiar..." "Are you kidding, Sis?" Alison replied, "Ain't you never been to the movies?" "Doctor Steinberg is a well renowned philanthropist and industrialist and is known internationally by both his professional and unofficial name." "Oh yeah," Nila averred softly, "You could say that again...he and my old man are in pretty much the same line of business." "Parts and software exchange," Xiong-Fu elaborated, "Lord Frank here is the best in his profession. "Frank? You mean...?" Martha's eyes got very wide as she started to put all of the clues together. "Sir," Ryoga spoke up, "It's true that Captain Lao is responsible for picking up Ranma and the others at sea, but we've been told that it wasn't really her who sank their ship..." "Maybe not, kid," Frank replied, "But that ship that fired on you was really aimed at Lao...and what have you got to say for yourself over that one, Kitty?" "Um...yes, Airen," Lao replied meekly, "I did try to make up for rescuing them at sea...but...I suppose I might have...overextended my invitation for them to stay with us a bit beyond what was seemly..." "Hah," Nabiki scoffed, "You're got that right." "Never mind the details," Frank said dismissively, "There's someone else here who wants to have a few words with you over kidnapping his daughter." "Eh?" Lao risked glancing up and saw a pair of forms hovering in the air near to the ship, not touching foot on deck but remaining sufficiently above the wooden planks that they drew everyone's immediate notice. "Omigawd," Nila murmured, "It's...him!" "I don't believe this," Keiko murmured in disbelief. "That makes two of us," Kodachi murmured, appropriately awed by the costumed pair before them. "Mom?" Alison gasped, "Dad?" "Alison," the man wearing a bright blue, red and yellow uniform replied, his manner stern though his expression was gentle, "Martha." "Father?" Martha gasped, "What are you doing here...with lady Diana?" "Couldn't you just once call me mother?" the equally colorful woman sighed, "Alison...I want you to know that your father and I aren't all that upset that you made off with my invisible airplane without our permission..." "Eep," Alison winced slightly. "...But we wish you had made contact with us sooner," her father continued, "It's been forty eight hours since you left us and not so much as a phone call." "Hey, I'm sorry, Dad!" Alison protested, "It's just...well...like...I've been really kind of busy..." "We both have," Beatrice smoothly took Alison by the arm and said, "By the way...would you care to meet your granddaughter? We left her sleeping in the arms of an attendant down below decks." "Our...?" Diana's eyes got very rounded. "Granddaughter?" replied her impressive looking husband, who seemed equally dumbfounded. "I'll have her brought up from below decks at once," Lao assured them, "They have been treated well as guests on board my ship and have been afforded every courtesy...Airen." This time it was Clark's turn to wince, to which Frank just arched an eyebrow, which was nothing compared to the reaction of both Alison and Martha. "AIREN???" both daughters of the House of El replied together. "It's...kind of a long story," Clark replied somewhat uneasily, "You see...a couple of years ago, back when your mother and I were enjoying our fifteenth honeymoon together, we ran into the POJ in the middle of a storm, and...well..." Martha turned to Lao and said, "You...and my Father?" "Actually," Lao replied, "It was a bit of the other way around. You see...you're not the first Kryptonian whom I've entertained as a guest on the POJ, and Lady Diana...well...turns out she's quite a talented submissive and..." "ARGH!" Alison reacted, "Too much information! EEP!" "We...came to an understanding," Clark resumed, "Which is why we've allowed Madam Lao to operate with a free hand on these waters, against our strong moral reservations..." "Ah...yes..." Diana seemed somewhat sheepish as she added, "After we learned the full story regarding her and the mysterious Kraken who serves her we...decided that the lesser of two evils involved letting her remain at large, not that either of us approve of her form of doing business." "But you still put up with her poaching young girls and turning them into sex slaves?" Nabiki was incredulous at this revelation. "We never said that we approved," Clark explained, "But since the alternative is to take over this ship and assume the responsibilities of being its new Master..." "And since we both have a certain vulnerability to magic," Diana added, "It just...seems like the more expedient thing to do. After all, neither one us can think of a single human being upon whom we would inflict such responsibility of protecting a spirit being who could well destroy the human race if he were to get loose." "Speaking of which," Frank spoke up again, "Where is the tentacled bugger at the moment? I don't sent him under the boat like his usual haunts." "Ah...a good question, Airen," Lao turned to one of her Undines. "Oh," that blue skinned lady responded, "The Kraken said that he would be busy for the next few hours, my lady. When that explosion went off it caused some sort of reaction that may have partially awakened the Great Turtle, but before she could fully achieve consciousness the Kraken began singing to him and lulling the Turtle back to sleep." "She?" Ranma asked, picking up on the peculiar gender reference. "Wait a minute," Nabiki said, "You mean...the Turtle is female?" "That is correct," the Undine replied in her quavering, watery voice. "And the Kraken is male?" Perfume seemed disquieted at the implications. "Yes," the Undine replied, "In point of fact, he was responding to the call of loneliness that the Turtle manifested in her sleep, and part of the way in which he has soothed her back into a dormant state has been to attend to the Turtle's needs by stimulating her ovaries and..." "I agree with the kid," Frank cut in, "Too much information." "So that was what happened back there," Martha remarked, "The Turtle started to come to life..." "...And the first thing he did was mentally scan us," Nila reasoned. "Perhaps that is why the island has no women," Beatrice mused, "Unconsciously the Turtle has been seeking a mate...and no doubt she is the type who seeks to reproduce through finding a male who might fertilize her eggs." "But...do you think that Kraken guy has what it takes to do that?" Alison wondered. "Who knows?" Akane shrugged, "But I sure don't feel like hanging around to find out!" "By the way," Diana spoke up again, "Not to change the subject, but...wasn't there another member of your party who was supposed to be with you?" "Two somebodies," Martha replied, glancing down through the deck and smiling, "But not to worry, though...they're much too busy with their own private affairs to pay the rest of us much notice." "Huh?" Clark followed his daughter's gaze, then blinked, "Great Suns! Is that...Joan...with Lila?" "The very same, Father," Martha replied, "But don't worry, they're here voluntarily...well, at least Lila is. Joan's in rehab training. It's a private arrangement that I've worked out with the Captain." "You don't say?" Frank said archly, eyeing Lao with obvious suspicion, "Your idea, Pussycat?" "Actually...I did make a suggestion," Lao conceded, "But I didn't mind-wipe them to make them agree with my proposal." "Exactly," Martha stepped forward, "And I have another arrangement between myself and Captain Lao, one that obligates me to remain here for...at least a few more weeks." "What?" her father gasped. "Are you sure about this?" her stepmother blanched. "Yes," Martha said decisively, "Captain Lao has called to my attention the fact that some of my East Asian holdings are not being properly managed to my satisfaction. She is going to show me where the worst offenses lay and I am going to personally inspect these branch offices of my company portfolio to see that they conform to my highest legal and ethical standards. In point of fact, I owe it to Madam Lao for opening my eyes to certain...things which I have been ignoring...and I confess that I have learned a great deal about myself these last few days, which is why I ask that you forgive the Captain for any and all transgressions...Doctor Steinberg?" "Call me Frank," he said, glancing down at Lao, "You have been busy." "Are you honestly asking us to stand back and ignore what Lao may have done to you and Joan?" her father asked. "What she has done for Joan is beyond any price that I would gladly have paid, Father," Martha replied firmly, "She has given me back my daughter, and after I foolishly abandoned my own child to the government and the machinations of a bastard named General Gordon..." "Gordon?" Clank's handsome face scowled, "I warned him against involving himself with members of our family...has he been up to his old tricks?" "You mean worse than turning Joan into an addict and forcing her to do his dirty work?" Martha replied, "You'll pardon me, Father...I know you have a strong aversion to killing, but do not expect me to show him any consideration the next time I see that worthless martinet." "You won't have to," Clark replied, "I've had the goods on him for years, but when I tell what I know to the press, he won't ever see the light of day again, which is a mercy since even I'm half tempted to turn him into a grease spot." "We all know what Gordon is like, and how he's abused the powers of his office," Diana replied, "You have our promise, Martha...we will see that justice is rendered." "Thank you...Mother," Martha half-smiled as she studied the other woman's reaction. "You...she called me mother!" Diana turned an incredulous look towards her husband. "I think I...may owe you an apology, Diana," Martha winced, "But...let's save it for another time, all right?" "Agreed," Clark turned to Alison and Beatrice, who only just then were receiving a baby into their arms, to which the hovering man's eyebrows climbed closer to his hairline, "Is...is that...?" "Eileen, Dad," Alison held her daughter up with a proud expression, "Doesn't she look just like me?" "Eileen?" Diana lowered herself down to where she was almost touching her feet on the deck and examined the baby, then looked at Beatrice and said, "She has your eyes." "Doesn't she now?" Beatrice beamed happily, "Genetics are a wonderful thing, don't you agree...Mother-in-law?" "Oh yeah," Frank noted gruffly, "You definitely have been busy." "I try, Husband," Lao could not avoid smirking. "Guess that's our cue to go find our own rugrats, Shamchan," Ukyo noted to her purple haired companion, only to brighten up considerably as more attendants appeared form below deck bearing their two daughters. "Guess that's it then," Frank noted gruffly, "What about it, Saotome? Ready to blow this dump and leave?" "Leave?" Ranma asked, "Leave where?" "And how?" Nabiki seconded. "Same way we got here," Frank nodded towards the side, "In a submarine...the most powerful in the world. It'll ferry us back to the Main Islands in a matter of hours, or anywhere else you feel like going." "A submarine?" Kodachi asked with an incredulous expression. "American or Japanese?" Keiko asked. "Neither," Frank replied, "It flies no flag, it bears the color of no nation. You'll understand when you come on board and I introduce you to the owner. Hell, he's been in this business a heck of a lot longer even than I have." "You don't say?" Perfume remarked, surprised on hearing this from a man who was as old (if not older) than the vast majority of her tribal elders. "Ah..." Nabiki hesitated a moment then said, "I'd...like to come along, really...but...there's one thing that we haven't quite settled just yet..." "Ah," Lao mused from where she remained kneeling, "I was going to bring that up myself, if it is permissible with you, Husband." "Yeah?" Frank asked, "What's this all about?" "Ah...well..." Ranma ran his fingers against the back of his head and said sheepishly, "That's right...we ain't figured out yet how to help Nabiki keep her baby." "Baby?" Diana asked. "You mean another one?" Clark marveled. "Oh yes," Lao straightened up and glanced sidelong at Nabiki (who noted in turn how even the statuesque Lao seemed dwarfed before the man she named her husband), "I was just about to make a suggestion about that...and once the Kraken is done with his...business...then I propose we retire down below to the appropriate chamber, whereupon I believe I can provide the solution that you are seeking, Nabiki...if you will trust me." "That's asking a lot for you," Nabiki sniffed, but this time she lowered her eyes and said, "What the hell? I'm open to suggestions..." "Watch your footing," Frank warned as he led the way down the stairs leading into the conning towel that was parked up alongside the POJ, "It's a bit less cramped on this boat than it would be with a regular boomer, but even the inertial compensators won't totally cancel out the rolling of the deck while we're this close to the other ship." "Impressive," Beatrice mused as she and the others followed the big man into the artificially illuminated vessel, which proved to have a surprising amount of headroom (even if Frank still had to duck low when going through hatches), "And you say this submarine belongs to no flag and no nation?" "Just the way his Nibs likes it," Frank replied as he paused to hook a thumb at an engraved wall placard, "When it comes down to it, he's been at this longer than anyone born a human being on land, and he knows how to build 'em. In point of fact this sub's the seventh generation in its class and the most modern to date, years ahead of what anybody else topside even has on the blueprints." "Really?" Nabiki paused as she studied the wall in question, then she blanched as she read the words, "NAUTILUS VII," which she read aloud in tones of disbelief. "Nautilus Seven?" Alison repeated. "Not too original for a title," Kodachi mused, "The first Nautilus was built prior to the First World War, and its later predecessor was an atomic powered sub that was the first to successfully navigate the polar ice caps..." "They weren't the first," Frank corrected, "That one was built back during the American Civil War. A guy named Verne even wrote a book about it..." "That was real?" Akane sounded incredulous. "Who could build something like this?" Ryoga asked as the giant led the way through broad interior decks lined with ultra-modern equipment, uniformed crewmembers snapping to attention at their passing. "Who else but the original designer?" Frank replied before coming to a halt in what obviously passed for the command deck, addressing himself to a woman sitting in a chair near to the center, "Captain, here are those passengers I mentioned." The woman was blonde and very handsome, if not quite thirty, with bright, intelligent eyes that took them in as she swiveled around in her command chair, then she crisply stood to attention and bowed in proper Japanese fashion, addressing herself with an authoritative presence at Ranma and Nabiki. "Konichiwa," she said in perfect Japanese, "I am Captain Janice Land, commander of the Nautilus. And this is my first officer, Lieutenant Commander Pierre Sauvignon. I trust your belongings have been brought on board to be stowed away, because will be leaving almost immediately. I trust Doctor Steinberg has briefed you on the pertinent details, and his Excellency will be awaiting you in his stateroom." "His...Excellency?" Ranma repeated, "Who's that?" "The real owner of this vessel, of course," said a handsome man with a distinctive French accent, the aforementioned Second Officer, who waved a hand and said, "This way. Temporary accommodations have already been prepared for you. Our apologies if things might seem a bit rushed, but we would like to be on our way before the Kraken makes an issue of our presence." "Small chance of that," Frank replied, "Big boy's been busy with a lady." "Really?" the captain arched a golden eyebrow, "I hope she was worth it." "This way please," said Lieutenant Commander Sauvignon with an elegant gesture, and once again Frank took the lead in showing them to a stairwell that took them down a deck and brought them into a much larger and grander chamber. Of course the thing which immediately chilled Nabiki to the marrow was the sound of an organ playing a hauntingly familiar tune...one she could almost place with its chilling association. "I don't believe it," Kodachi murmured, "I know this music..." "Yeah," Frank snorted, "Who doesn't?" The stateroom proved to be lavish enough for a small-but-elegant sized party, and at the far end a man was playing at the organ, his hands gracefully pressing the keys with the ease of long practice, his back to the Tendo Posse as he seemed momentarily absorbed in the strains of his melody. But then he eased his instrument to a restful state and slowly turned around...to reveal a man of indeterminate age, clean shaven, almost six feet tall with mahogany colored hair and eyes as black as night, almost handsome but for a kind of craggy depth that suggested much weathering. "Forgive my indulgence," he replied, "I'm told I have something of a flair for the dramatic." "Huh, got that right," Frank replied, indicating the party with a nod, "There are the kids I told you about, Magnus. That one's named Saotome Ranma, and beside him is his senior wife, formerly known as Tendo Nabiki." "Charmed," the man stood up and bowed to them, again in Japanese fashion. "Magnus?" Nabiki asked with a raised eyebrow. "A name like any other," the man replied, "And I have had so many names in my time, it is as good as any other." "Interesting," Beatrice mused, "I believe I recognize you by at least one of those names...you're the Chairman and President of Richardson Industries, one Benjamin Richardson by name." "So, you've heard of me," he smiled, "Well, it is true that I have had some dealing with Daitokuji industries in my time, but I am happy to see that you are a vast improvement over your father and grandfather." "I do try," Beatrice nodded. "Um," Akane felt disquieted as she murmured, "One of those names of yours...wouldn't happen to be...Nemo, would it?" "Who?" Ryoga asked. "Really, Ryoga-kun," Keiko smirked, "You have to try and read some books more often." "And what of it?" Magnus asked, "What is in a name? A rose by any other name..." "Would smell just as sweet," Kodachi concluded for him, "Curiously enough, the name Nemo is Latin for 'No one.' How appropriately mysterious. You well live up to your reputation." "I shall take that as a compliment," Magnus nodded, "Now, I imagine you are all quite famished. I took the liberty of asking the chef to prepare a Japanese style meal, and I adjusted the furnishings accordingly. You and your children will be given ever accommodation as we ferry you on your journey homeward." "Ah...actually, Sir," Nabiki spoke up, "We weren't planning to head home right away..." "Oh?" it was the turn of the dark-eyed man to raise an eyebrow. "If it's all the same to you, Sir," Ranma replied to that unspoken question, "Doctor Steinberg here said you could take us to Sydney, where we have hotel reservations." "Did he now?" Magnus eyed the giant, "Well then, if that is what you wish, then consider it our pleasure." "Thank you, but...excuse me for asking this," Nabiki said, "But...why are you helping us out? I mean...someone like you, who must have a thousand other things more important to do with your day..." "A fair question," he replied, "Let us just say...some interesting things about you people has come to my attention, and I am nothing if not inquisitive. Besides, you people have, of late, been traveling in some very interesting circles. I thought it best if I take this opportunity to meet with you first hand in order to determine what it is that is so exceptional about you young people that you should attract so much unusual attention." "Hey, it ain't exactly like it's our fault or nothing," Alison protested. "He knows that, darling," Beatrice smiled as she busied herself taking turns holding their baby. "Well...I can't really account for that myself, Sir," Nabiki said to the dark eyed man, "It just seems that weird stuff always happens when we're around...must be a jest of the fates or something..." "Most probably you are correct in this," Magnus replied, "But then again, a young lady such as you, cursed to become a man at odd intervals, must certainly realize that the fates have plotted for you a great purpose. By the way, my congratulations for the safe delivery of your offspring." "Ah...well..." Nabiki patted her stomach and blushed a profuse crimson color, "Thanks...but...how did you know...?" "I read auras," Magnus replied, "It is but one of...several peculiar talents which I possess. A woman who is with child casts a certain radiance that I may perceive even at this early phase, but...are you not concerned that your...condition...might be adversely affected by your curse?" "Not to worry there," Frank replied, "Lao did something to help her out. For once the Pussycat was as good as her word about something." "Indeed?" Magnus replied, "How was this effected?" "She locked out her curse for the duration," Frank replied, "Don't ask me how, but somehow she was able to fool the curse into ignoring the trigger for cold water. It's a temporary deal, should last long enough for the baby to get delivered, but after that it should revert back to normal. I think it has something to do with the way Lao can work her own curse on command and even remain human in the middle of a rainstorm." "Impressive," Magnus replied when he paused to study the rest of their group, then he murmured, "And what is this? I believe more than one of you may be expecting. The young lady with the lavender hair...I believe your name is Xian Pu?" "Yes," Shampoo brightened upon hearing her name be pronounced correctly for a change, only to blink her eyes in delayed reaction, "Aiyaa...?" "She's pregnant too?" this time it was Frank's turn to look surprised. "What?" Ranma turned to Shampoo and gasped, "But...by who?" "One of us obviously," Nabiki replied in the same tones one might used when stunned into incredulously bland surprise, "You've got to be kidding!" "I am rarely mistaken about such things," Magnus assured her, "Nor is your companion the only one...Miss?" "Huh?" Akane blinked, putting hands to her abdomen, "You mean...ME??" "Way to go, Ryoga-kun," Keiko complimented, only to blink as she saw the boy's eyes roll up in his head before he slowly toppled over. "Oh my," Kodachi mused with faint hesitation, "Anyone else?" "I am...not too certain," the dark eyed man frowned slightly, "But...there is a possibility that you are yourself...Miss Kuno, it is?" "WHAT?" both Keiko and Kodachi cried together. "Hey," Alison declared, "What gives? How can half of us get pregnant at the exact same time?" "It does defy the law of averages, to say the very least," Beatrice noted. "Three guesses on that one," Perfume said, "And the first two don't count!" "You mean...?" Ukyo blinked. "LAO!" Nabiki balled her hands, "I don't know how, I don't know why, but somehow that lunatic Pirate lady has done it to us AGAIN!" "Shampoo have another baby?" Shampoo blinked, turning with a sudden smile and saying, "Maybe this time is Ranma's?" "Hah?" Ranma exclaimed shortly before joining his brother on the floor and in dreamland... "So...they're finally away," Martha remarked as she stepped out from behind the dresser, once more dressed in next to nothing while wearing chains of Orichalcum. "So they are," Lao remarked, as she drank in the sight of her gorgeous Demi- Kryptonian sex-slave, "Your parents have taken away their invisible plane, and the Tendo Posse are by now at sea and headed to some new and exciting adventure." "You must be awfully proud of yourself," Martha smirked as she put hands to her hips and flaunted herself in front of her nominal hostess, "You've had your way in nearly everything that matters." "Nearly everything," Lao sipped on the wine cup in her hand, "There were a few disappointments, but what is life without something worth striving towards? I am certain that one of these days Nabiki and I shall cross paths together, when we will have a true and proper accounting." "Well, she can wait her turn," Martha mused as she sidled up alongside the Slaver, mincing her steps to accommodate her shackles, "So...what's next on your agenda? Will you have your way with me, force me to submit to your will, try and convince me to be your slave forever?" "I'd like nothing better," Lao replied as she smiled back, "But it would be a violation of our agreement, and...sadly...you must sooner or later return to the world outside...but for now...let us enjoy the time we spend together....unless, that is, you have regrets and wish to reconsider your position?" "No thanks," Martha replied, "I may have my doubts about you and your ways, but I'll honor my side of our bargain. And besides...you've done such a wonderful job of helping Joan to overcome her problem..." "Right this way," said a leather-clad Lila as she appeared from down the hallway, drawing a heavily chained Joan along on a leash while flashing a riding crop to assert her dominant positions, "You've had enough rest and recreation for now, my Pet, now...back you go to the playroom for a bit more positive- negative reinforcement training." "Help," Joan whimpered softly as she dutifully allowed herself to be led down the way to the adjoining chamber. "Hey, wait up for us!" Xiong-Fu urged as she drew an equally bound and helpless Nila behind her, who was followed in a train by a gagged and naked pair of sorceresses, only one of whom was struggling in protest. "Ah," Lao mused, "It's so nice to see the children playing together. Indeed, your daughter is making excellent progress...though I think the bulk of the credit should go to her beloved." "They do make a nice couple," Martha mused, "I wonder why it took me so long to see that?" "Sometimes we never see the obvious until it is in our face and demanding our attention," Lao replied, "It helps to get a different perspective...of course I would be lying if I pretended that everything which happens on board the POJ is exactly according to my intentions." "Oh?" Martha mused, "You're saying it's not?" "This ship is ancient, my Dear," Lao replied, "Sometimes I suspect it of having a mind all of its own. Magical objects tend to be like that, you know...the longer they last, the more cunning and devious they become...and nothing is so perfect in this world as a good intention that bears unexpected consequences. But...ah well...that is enough philosophizing for now. With Kraken satisfied and well rested, and this ship underway at last, things are finally returning to a state of semi-normalcy around here, just the same dull old routine every day..." "You mean sex, sex, sex and more sex?" Martha replied as she snuggled into the arm of her beloved tormentor. "Exactly, my Pet," Lao replied, as she slipped her arm around the Demi- Kryptonian and held her tightly, "It's not easy being the Mistress of my own Ship, dealing pleasure and pain in equal measure, but someone has to do it. Speaking of which, what say we join the children in the play room for a little mother-daughter interaction?" "But isn't that a little bit too much like incest?" Martha wondered. "There is an old Chinese proverb that applies here," Lao replied, "Incest is always best, just so long as you keep it in the family...relatively speaking..." To be Continued... (In Chapter Forty-Two, Part 107) Comments/Criticisms/Caesarian Delivery Service: shadowmane@ridgenet.net And so concludes this Honeymoon Adventure, but this is far from the end of the adventures of the Tendo Posse itself! While Ranma and Nabiki enjoy the bliss of a fruitful marriage with their close circle of intimate loved ones, meanwhile back in Japan a certain remaining Tendo daughter is faced with a dilemma of an entirely different nature. Can Kasumi cope with the discovery that she may not have entirely escaped the curse of Dimitri altogether, and if so, then who will she turn to for counseling, advice and special kitchen tips on how to get blood out of a turnip? Find out as the regular series returns in: "The Vampire Strikes Back!" or "Blood is Thicker than Tofu!" Be there!