RanWarp16 Realities Warped! By Jim Robert Bader (Inspired by the works of Rumiko Takahashi and other artists too numerous to mention. The Characters Chakar Shadowmane and Garimel Shalestar, however, were created by me, while Trella (RA Curtis) provided some of the characters and ideas that appear within this chapter, based on her series "Aiyaa, My Goddess!" and inspired by the fanfics authored by Gregg Sharp, Steve Thesken, Andy Kent and other such creative talents to whom no blame and/or credit can be attributed. Use is prohibited by the Gods of Law, Chaos, on the other hand, won't give a hang, though you still might get you flamed by certain of my pre-readers, and that is a fate to be avoided, believe me! You have been duly warned!) Chapter Sixteen. Dangerous Laisons LEMON WARNING! HENTAI MATERIAL AHEAD! CONTAINS SCENES OF A HIGHLY ADULT NATURE BETWEEN TWO CONSENTING ADOLESCENTS (BOTH AGED 17) ENGAGED IN GRAPHIC BEHAVIOR... YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Continuum #52413783 Gate of Ashkalon Timetravel's a funny thing. One minute you're here, the next minute you're somewhen else, and it can get awfully confusing trying to keep track of the ins and outs and vagaries that attend continuity errors. Reality can literally change on you at a moment's notice, and you might slip laterally through the parallel lines separating one Quantum Dimensional Jump from the next, all with a whim since it's your mind and will that keeps everything in focus. Reality is literally what you make of it, which doesn't necessarily mean that we have god-like understanding of how to use it. Heck, even the gods can be pretty clueless at times with the way they mess up probability lines almost haphazard. We Starlords have been practicing the careful art of blending light and shadow through the Paratime dimensions and even we get screwed up and turned around every now and then. Travel from one instant to the next is not a feat to be undertaken lightly, though those Bill and Ted guys---not to mention a certain Doctor I could refer to by name---make it look too simple for the uninitiated. It's like my old buddy Peabody says, they let anybody these days have a time- and-dimension-hopping license. Needless to say, however, Farhan has been doing this a lot longer than any other Starlord living, longer than most gods, if you want to know the truth of the matter. That's why our arrival is so perfectly timed to coincide with the moment when Celestine is the most distracted with trying to hold his construct all together. He's punching one of those light-created holographic control keyboards with multi-processing RAM that I don't even want to take a guess at, but the important thing is that he's distracted big time, so when Me, Saotome and the two goddesses appear it's with a clear shot and an easy take-down strategy forming in my mind, perfect to capture and containment of even a high level multi-dimensional being like him. So what goes wrong? Need you ask! Saotome can't control himself it seems, big overgrown kid. He's not much for sneak attacks anyway, he's more the type to shoot first and maybe question survivors and next of kind after. Maybe it's the general cussedness that's been in him since High School and the collapse of his former life and marriage, or maybe it's the sight of the guy who ticked him off before...or it could be the fact that his wife is hovering in mid-air suspended in the center of an energy vortex that used to be a pyramid and now looks more like an experiment in modern art gone to hell. Whatever it is, the guy takes off without a plan, without strategy and totally without a clue while I stand there like an idiot and wonder why it was that I never saw this coming! Or maybe it's just the code of Budo to which he was raised to believe, and by a guy who did everything in the book to violate it no less, no doubt the main reason why he fights so hard to be what his father only pretended to be. Whatever the cause, attacking a multi-dimensional being head-on is about one of the most un-smart things you can do in my book, and naturally it gives Celestine sufficient warning time to react to his charge, and even with hands on the keyboard he still had time enough to react with a counter as I see Ranma go slam into a translucent energy wall that gets thrown up into his path. I wince a little, but I know that Saotome can take it if, anyone human can, so I turn to my own devices, which are considerable in themselves and extend my hand to draw my sword from out of shadow, grasping the Greystar Sword in my hand with its Burgundystar pommel, a Minor Starstone linked to the power of the Greystar itself and as formidable a weapon as has ever been called into existence. With my saber in hand I feel whole again, and I surge forward ready to meet this new challenge even as the goddesses fan out and stare in dismay at the disruptive forces that have been unleashed here. Celestine turns to see our expressions and then he makes a play for sympathy again, one---under the circumstances---that is not entirely unexpected. "Let me finish my work!" he pleads with genuine conviction in his voice and expression, "I can still save the structure from collapsing..." "Too late," I reply, "You had your chance and you blew it." "But if I fail now then the result could be catastrophic!" he insists, "A rupture will be created in the fabric of the timestream...!" "Should have thought of that before playing God," I counter as I once again feel him out for an opening, fully aware of how ironic my statement must sound under the circumstances, "No one being can control such forces without a time-tested formula to fall back upon..." "What is happening?" I hear Belldandy cry, "How can this be? This gateway...it's collapsing!" "The hell with the gateway," Peorth replies, "I'm more worried about what's hiding under the stairs when the building falls down, and it won't be your standard-sized roaches." I know exactly what the Rose Goddess means, I can feel them crawling at the edges of the cosmic abyss, those things that dwell beyond the realms of light and shadow, who hate all life and exist to terrorize the cosmos. There are far worse things than Demons dwelling outside the threshold of our finite existence, and they do not sleep nor dream as we do. Madness extends beyond that boundary, and the swirling column of energy is like a dinner bell calling them to this domain. So I attack, having nothing better to do in order to put a stop to this at its source, and Celestine sees his danger, having too much of his energies already diverted into preserving what is left of his construct. He tries the same trick with me that he used on Saotome, but I effortlessly shred through the planar dimensional walls that he throws up and aim the tip of my blade for the pendant that he is wearing, knowing that to be the source of all his power and his ultimate weak area. If I can get that without hurting the kid that he's using as his pawn I can end this fight before it really gets started. Unfortunately for me he's too smart to obligingly stand still and let me skewer him, and instead he deflects my thrust by shredding time itself into wafer-thin slices and using them to push me away. I divert energy of my own to throw off this effective counter but now I'm standing too far away to press my attack again, and he's had time enough to rally enough power to hurl back in my face, curling waves of energy that arc around and strike at me from a dozen sides at once. I draw on shadow and absorb them against my cape, but the time this takes gives him exactly what he needs as he traps my heels in some kind of living plastic, immobilizing me and forcing me to waste time trying to hack free with the Greystar. Saotome meanwhile is struggling to break free of his energy prison, and ye Gods if he isn't pouring it on like only he can. Guy's more stubborn than a team of mules and doesn't quit for anything, which is sort of what makes him the Avatar of Destruction that he is today. I only catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye but that's enough to tell me that if he gets his hands on Celestine the guy is toast big time. Of course there is a third player in our little group who prepares to make her stand, and unlike Saotome and me she isn't limited by our immediate surroundings, in fact she can tap into and draw upon them since her ties to the Yggdrasil system are impeccable, being that she's currently a System Coordinator. "Listen here, you renegade!" Peorth snarls as only she can when fully aroused, "You started all of this, now you're going back to your prison so we can undo the damage you caused before your structure collapses and brings the Things into our dimension...!" "Didn't I teach you better than this?" Celestine replies, "Once a spell is set into motion it cannot be undone with the snap of your fingers. It must be unwoven carefully, with artistry and tact, elements in which you are sadly lacking, I fear, for though you are powerful you lack the refined touch that made Belldandy an ideal apprentice." "All right, Buster...that tears it!" Peorth declares as she curls her hands and summons the power into her body, "Now you're going to find out just how powerful I really am!" And with that declaration she hurls a spell towards her former mentor, only to have her spell caught and intercepted by a form that moves into the way, blocking the path. I guess I'm about as surprised as Peorth to find Belldandy standing there looking calm and serene, and then in a strangely calm tone of voice she says, "I cannot let you harm Celestine-sama...he is important to me and his work must not be interrupted." I'm sure Peorth's expression is about as dumbstruck as my own, but the next instant I get a really nasty hunch about what just happened, and before you ask, no, I definitely did not like this... Continuum #31413215 Ranko knew that something weird was happening even before consciousness returned to her, an odd feeling that was very familiar, like a tingling sensation lodging about her groin area, and growing more familiar by the second. In fact, it was so familiar that by the time her eyes finally obeyed her command that they stay open she was already well aware that she would find a head bobbing up and down over her dick, and a pair of warm lips wrapped around her stiffening member... Wait a minute. HER stiffening member? With a start Ranko realized his fundamental error. Somehow he had shifted into his male aspect while he had been sleeping, and now there was a girl giving him a blow job, a girl whose long brown mane of hair obscured her identity and left him in doubt as to exactly who it was that was doing him this favor. Of course the sensation caused by the girl bobbing up and down on him made rational thought somewhat problematic, but Ranko was aware enough to study his surroundings in some detail, trying to make sense of the perfume-like scent in the air and the silken tapestries that adorned various walls, along with the pillowed divans and other examples of fabulous wealth worthy of a Turkish seraglio. He could make out the wooden walls, floor and ceiling and from that construed that he was in some sort of structure like a ship's cabin or stateroom, and that the rolling sensation that he was feeling was not just the product of his senses reeling. That meant a ship of some kind...and there was that which was disturbingly familiar about the architecture that brought nagging suspicions to the foreground. "Oboy," he murmured faintly, sensing instantly that he was in a LOT of serious trouble! The girl giving him head paused just long enough to say, "My words exactly," then she climbed up off of his lap and started to crawl over and straddle him, giving Ranko a full look at her tiger-striped body, fully naked now with no shorts and vests to obscure the beauty of her fur-coated body. "H-H-Huh?" Ranko gasped, "Chesh---MMMPH!" he gasped as the Pokegirl blocked off further speech with a kiss that was both passionate and horny, a tongue soon thrust into his mouth to give testament as to just how turned on and aroused she was, and how much she needed him to respond to her like a lover. Ranko considered refusing the offer...after all, she had only just met this strange cat-like girl, and she was also a sister, however screwed up the timeline or dimensions. Of course Ranko was no stranger to making it with a Paratime sister, and this girl obviously needed it bad, so he pretended like he was back in the house of the Miroku, where screwing a sibling was considered nothing more than practice, and soon he was giving this hungry, passionate and altogether DESIRABLE girl his best efforts at pleasuring her...and it did not take long to discover that just about everything he tried was pleasing to her system. Another time, and given a pause to reflect upon his actions, Ranko might have realized the mistake that he was making, but as he could think of no good way to turn down the heat at this point he did as the Pokegirl urged him and was soon rolling her onto her back so that he could mount her directly, plunging his stiff cock into her and pumping her like an oil well. He made sure to caress the sensitive nerve clusters that he had been taught to use to bring a female lover to heightened arousal, but it was like throwing kerosene on a fire as this girl needed no encouragement to wrap her legs around Ranko and trap him in her embrace. Damn but she was strong! Riding her was like riding a literal tigress, and she was so sensitive to everything he tried, her fur acting to intensify the effect of his caresses as he skillfully played her into an intensive state of maximum feminine pleasure. Being part girl himself, Ranko knew exactly how much pressure to use, how hard to stroke and thrust with his loins, and just when to give his hips an extra pivot to swivel his "stick" inside her sensitive love box. She was arching her back and crying out like an animal in no time, and then he felt her loins clench hard around his member and felt his own jism spurt into her with a rush of fulfillment. She milked him hard until there was nothing left to yield, and then she quieted down somewhat and mewed softly in satisfaction, only pausing for a little bit to regain her breath before urging him to go at it again with renewed appetite and ardor. "Mmmmrrrrrreeeooowwwlll..." she growled in triumphant relish as she looked up at him with her furry face flush with wonder and excitement, but then she shocked Ranko by moaning out the word, "Mmmmaster..." "H-Huh?" Ranko blinked, "M-Master?" That was all that he was able to get out of her for the next several minutes, but in that time Ranko went all out and found himself being drained far worse than in any sparring match that he had been through lately. This girl was inexperienced but had an instinct to rut that would have put to shame a Miroku, and with the raw animal power at her disposal it was all his guy-form could do to keep up with her demands. All too soon he found that he was beginning to tire, and for the first time he felt the urge to roll over and pretend to go to sleep like some guys were reputed to do, anything to discourage her from demanding more sex before he was ready! "Need an assist?" someone asked, and before Ranko knew what was happening he felt hot water being poured over his head, and suddenly she was back to her real form, causing her to gasp out a loud, "Whaaat...?" "Sorry, Oneechan," Meiko smiled down at her, "I would have come and helped you sooner but I had trouble convincing the captain that we were on the level. Since I knew from my own memories of the past that you and Cheshire were gonna have your first-ever meeting here, I just thought it was the right time to change you back so you can finish Taming her, then we can get back to our quest without further interruptions." "Taming?" Ranko asked, then her eyes screwed up and she made a very different sound as Cheshire attacked her once again with renewed ardor, the Pokegirl having only paused in confusion at the change in the sex of her partner, but far from discouraged once she made the appropriate adjustments. "Thought you'd have a better chance of surviving it as a girl," Meiko replied, already heading for the exit while Ranko found herself once more being pressed down by a hungry wildcat, "I'll come back and check on you two in a bit, but until then have fun, and don't do anything I wouldn't be doing in your place." Ranko was more than a little perturbed about the cheerful laughter of her younger sister, but at the moment she had a literal Tigress by the tail, and with her strength renewed she was ready to give back as good as she was being given. It was a matter of Saotome pride, after all, and---guy or girl---Ranko never shrank from a challenge. So she endured the heavy tongue-lashing of the Pokegirl as Cheshire's roughened tongue played with her nipples then floated down her belly before going for the prize by eating Ranko out and thensome. Only when the Pokegirl relented for a bit and created an opening for Ranko to exploit did she get to turn the tables and return the generous favor, and like that she flipped the other girl over once again and climbed atop of her, straddling her down before proceeding to work her over with a mouth that had honed its skills in the pelvises of some of the most wanton ladies in the known Multiverse. It was not long after this that Cheshire once more experienced a series of intense orgasms, the more lingering and lasting the better until she was screaming and panting for more, then worked her way into a classic "69" position and gave a good accounting of herself with her Paratime sister-lover. It was long past when they both drifted down to earth and snuggled in close to one another that someone else made their way into the chamber. For a time Ranko was too content to feel the closeness of the furry Cheshire against her body, but then she sensed that someone was watching them both, and only after deciding that she could not stand the suspense did she open her eyes and look up at the new arrival. She started upright in shock and dismay as she saw her own face looking back down at her with a mildly perturbed expression. The redhead studying her was dressed in some manner of Chinese outfit but in all other ways appeared to be like a much, much older version of Ranko, possibly in her early thirties or late twenties, and regarding the two girls before her as though attempting to classify them by genus and species. "So...it's true," she said, "You are Jusenkyo cursed, and you're one of my kids." "P-P-Pop?" Ranko got up so fast that she left Cheshire mewing in complaint, the irrational urge to reach for something to cover herself leaving Ranko feeling twice as exposed as was actually the case. "Guess I am...in a manner of speaking," the redhead replied, "Only not quite the Pop you're thinking about. My name is Saotome Ranma, and I'm the Captain of this vessel, the Tung Chao." "Tung Chao?" Ranko started to relax a bit, but then she belatedly remembered what that was the other name for and said, "Captain?" The redhead smiled, an oddly leering smile when compared to the expressions that Ranko knew from her father, "Most people call it the Worthless Piece of Junk, but I prefer the old name, it's a little more classy." Ranko just goggled and said, "Y-You're the Captain?" "That's right," the redhead continued to smile, a bit with rue and a bit sardonic, "And believe me, it wasn't my idea either, but once I defeated the previous owner the rights and title fell on me, so I get to play nursemaid and Pirate Queen on this Kami-forsaken floating brothel." "B-But what happened to Madam Lao?" Ranko asked, only to give a start when a familiar woman stepped in with foam blue-green hair, wearing very little (if anything) more than a few simple silks and some ornaments and otherwise very much playing the part of a Harem slave girl. "Did I hear someone mention me?" she asked with a smile that seemed both relaxed and casual...and yet also hinted at a certain feral hunger, "I used to go by that title, but I'm just as glad to be rid of it and to serve my Mistress as her First Mate and Chief of the Harem." Ranko looked shocked as she turned back towards the nearest equivalent to her father, "You...got a Harem, Pop?" The redhead actually looked embarrassed for a few seconds then shrugged, "I inherited a few things more besides the title to the ship and a symbiotic link to the Kraken, Kid. When I took over I was left minding the store with all these people who depend on me, so...what else was I to do? Seemed simple enough at the time to try and steer things one way...it just kind of took on a life of its own beyond that." "You seem awfully familiar with both this ship and its reputation, Saotome Ranko," Lao mused with a gentle, appreciative nod, "But given the story your sister told us about your travels, I suppose that is only to be expected. No doubt you are acquainted with different versions of me who are very much like what I was...commanding, authoritative and totally ruthless." "Uh...yeah," Ranko nervously swallowed, altogether aware that she was standing naked inside the enchanted slaving vessel that was notorious on a thousand different versions of these very same High Seas, being eyed by a woman whom---in most of the incarnations that she had encountered---saw beautiful young girls like herself as nothing more than a prize to be hoarded and sold at her leisure...after a suitable period of methodical indoctrination... "Well, you can relax on that count," Lao assured her, "I am not the one giving the orders here. That obligation falls upon your father, my beloved Mistress." "And gee, ain't I the lucky dog?" the Captain smiled half-ironically then said, "Don't sweat it, Kid. You're not merchandise, at least not after the way that Meiko-chan talked up a storm about your mission. Hey, we even left you the magic pendant that's supposed to warp you lot out of here, taking some of my brood of kids with you. I ain't happy with the idea, of course, but if it's a matter of the fate of all reality and all that..." Cheshire stirred at that moment, stretched and yawned, then looked at Lao and sat up with a most alarmed expression, "MREEOOWWW??" "Huh?" Ranko turned around and stared at the furry Pokegirl, seeing that fur stand on end as she literally backed herself into a corner. "It seems that I am both known and remembered on the world that she comes from," Lao mused with a tinge of sadness, "Only the Lao she remembers was somewhat more ruthless and came to a very bad end. Proof that things could always be worse, I suppose, but I guess that's how it goes on certain timelines..." she shrugged a bit sadly. "Mrrreeeoow?" the Pokegirl asked with a note of confusion. "What's wrong?" Ranko asked, "Why she talk normally?" "Her companion explained it to us," the Captain replied, "Some kind of physiological state she called Threshold madness...or something like that." "On her reality women appear to be engineered with a genetic flaw that grants them extraordinary abilities at a terrible price," Lao explained, "Either they are born as what are termed 'Pokegirls' or they revert to that state sometime after puberty, at which point they undergo Threshold Madness. Being that she was born a Pokegirl the condition is far less dramatic, but keeping her state under control requires regular hormonal treatments, some sort of prescription drug that she normally carries with her to maintain stability so that she does not revert to a Feral state. Fortunately---or unfortunately---there is one cure for her affliction, but it requires the cooperative assistance of another party." "Sex is the cure for her affliction," the Captain explained, "Loud, vigorous and messy sex can keep her stable and avoid her going totally Feral. Of course her vocal chords are temporarily frozen as her body adjusts to some internal changes in her biochemistry, but you kept her stable, and that's something to be proud about, young lady." "I...?" Ranko blinked, "Wait a minute...sex is the way to keep her from reverting to...what kind of state again?" Lao glanced at her Mistress and smirked, "She's your daughter all right, there's no denying that..." "Yeah, well, genetics, what can you do about it?" the Captain shrugged, "Of course, according to Colt, there is a downside to what you two just did together. You Tamed her...that is, you bonded with her while having sex, and now you're officially her Tamer until further notice." Ranko blinked again then said, "Tamed her?" "You're her Master now...or Mistress," Lao gave an ironic smile at that, "With you Saotomes one title is as good as another...right, Master?" "I'd prefer it if you call me Airen in front of the kid," the Captain replied. "But of course, Airen," Lao said the word with a smile that showed complete and utter devotion, adding in a sensual purr, "She who freed me from the curse that afflicted me for so many years, she who is my knight in shining armor, who grants me liberty and enslavement, who fondly holds the reins over my savage disposition so that I do not revert to the monster that I once was..." "You still go Tiger when the kids want to ride on your back," the Captain pointed out. "Well, there is that..." Lao shrugged as though the matter were a mere trifle. "Uh...wait a minute here," Ranko's mind was whirling with the new data that she had to absorb, staring at the now-calm Cheshire once again before saying, "I'm...your what?" "Mmmmasssster," the Pokegirl managed to say, then she tried again and said, "Mmmmisssstresss..." "But...but I...!" Ranko started to protest when it hit her like a wave, an overwhelming sense of empathic bonding that made her completely aware of the other girl's state of mind and body, causing her to feel the rush of a pulsebeat that was not her own, of yearnings and desires that were strong and growing stronger by the instant, even of a desire for renewed sex that was only slightly diminished by all the vigorous activity that they had been undergoing for the past two hours or so. "Congratulations!" Meiko's voice startled her as her sister strode boldly into the room wearing next to nothing at all besides a thin gold chain that supported some wispy silk strips over her loins, which concealed nothing of importance, "You finally tamed her. Now Cheshire is your Pokegirl and you get to have your own personal assistant, Sis, just like I knew was gonna happen." "Huh?" Ranko whirled around, "You...knew this was gonna happen?" "Hey," Meiko shrugged her shoulders, completely immodest about the way this caused her breasts to jiggle, "I would have warned you but you know what the rules on continuity are. Directly interfering in your own past is tricky business, and if I'd said or done anything to prevent it then the whole structure of my reality would have fallen apart, and I'd have wound up a completely different person. This way I know that you've got a loyal friend who'll always watch out for your back and who was always nice to me growing up, and Cheshire here gets to have a decent Tamer who can look after her and keep her out of trouble." Ranko was still attempting to process this when two more girls entered the room, this time far less familiar. One of them had shockingly reddish-pink hair, the other one had hair that was salt-peter streaked with white and black lines, giving her a curiously tigerish look very similar to that of Cheshire. The former girl was a complete stranger, but the latter was somehow disturbingly familiar and set off alarm bells in the back of her head. She knew that she had encountered this girl from somewhere before, but at the moment her mind was too much in a whirl for her memories to clarify which timelines. "So, you're the merry leader of the band we rounded up," said the latter girl as she eyed Ranko in a way that a hungry cat would eye a mouse, "What a shame you don't get to stay...I'd love to spend time getting to know you better." "And you'd make a fine addition to our crew," the Cherry-pink haired girl agreed before saying, "You want us to gather them up, Pop? Because the crew is still having a going-away party in their honor." "We'll be along shortly enough, Amber," the Captain replied, "Let the girls have their fun. From the sound of things, it's gonna be rough where they're headed." "Shame we're not going to make any profits off this cruise," the tigerish girl remarked as she continued to eye Ranko with a leer that bespoke of claim rights and liberties that were intended to be enforced very shortly, "Because I think these two would bring a fine price in the ports of Singapore..." "Now now, Tyger," Lao gently chided, "Selling sisters into bondage is expressly contrary to the wishes of your father. I know how much the idea excites you sometimes, but until you are captain of the POJ you'll have to content yourself with training and conditioning them to be good little submissives." "I know, Mother," the girl named Tyger purred, "But a girl can dream, can't she?" With a soft chuckle she leaned up against her Cherry-haired sibling, who did not seem to mind at all the familiar way in which Tyger put an arm around her waist and leaned against her, using her other hand to fondle a bared breast. Ranko bit her tongue to repress a soft groan. Of course...now she remembered where she had seen that other girl before! Tyger Tiger, daughter of Madam Lao, and here was yet another incarnation of the Princess of Shinobi Bondage whom she had encountered before on at least three other alternate timelines, and not always under the friendliest of circumstances. The next moment she became aware that Cheshire was sliding her arms around her waist and rubbing her naked body up against her own, and Ranko swallowed, very much reminded that she had somehow won a very different kind of convert to her cause, the long-term implications for which she steadfastly refused to even consider at that particular moment... "Much as we'd like to stay, guys," Meiko apologized for the both of them, "We do have to get going, and the longer we delay the more the Multiverse will be in peril and all that. Let's gather up the Posse and get dressed before we head on out of here or else that Pendant of yours will transport us naked to wherever it is we're going next." "Uh...right," Ranko replied, trying to urge the Pokegirl from drawing her back down to the silk cushions and pillows for another round of what they referred to as "Taming." She was similarly trying very hard not to **notice** the other naked girls in the room as Meiko herself was proving to be a powerful distraction, and while Ranko was no stranger to sharing affections with a Paratime sister, she did not exactly feel good about screwing around with a girl who might appear to be her own age but who was supposed to be no more than eleven! As for Amber and Tyger...well...giving into temptation there was bound to have its own brand of perils! They left the Captain's cabin and proceeded down a stairway leading to one of those endlessly long corridors that the enchanted ship seemed to possess beyond all reason. Within minutes they arrived at a larger cargo-sized chamber that was reserved for the offspring of the Harem, and after sliding the doors wide to view the contents within Ranko felt another wave of dismay mingled with nostalgia. The perfume-like odor was really intense here, and the view inside reminded her very much of the House of the Miroku. A full-blown orgy was in progress, nearly exclusively female with only one guy in a separate corner being attended to by a half a dozen randy females. That guy, of course, was Tsuyoma, and not very far away from him both of his sisters were being "attended to" by their own affectionate admirers. Lots of heavy "Taming" was certainly in progress here, and with a liberal use of sex-toys like strap-on devices. One girl was bent down over a bench with her head and hands in a brace while another girl was doing her from behind while yet another girl was underneath the bent-over girl giving affectionate attention to her breasts as the girl being humped could only groan and beg for more of such treatment. "Sure brings back memories, huh Sis?" Meiko whispered into Ranko's ears, and suddenly the redhead was both enormously curious and dreading to know the exact implications contained within that statement. "Mreow?" Cheshire murmured at Ranko's other shoulder, sounding very much intrigued and even more turned on at the sight of the writhing naked bodies strewn all about the chamber. "Home sweet home," Tyger said slyly, leaning up closer to Ranko and Meiko and giving both girls an affectionate pat on their bare rears, "Why not come inside and join the fun? It's better than cumming on the outside..." Ranko yelped a bit at the squeezing of her rump while Meiko just turned a smirk towards the taller girl and said, "That's not a melon you're squeezing, you know..." Amber just groaned softly, "Sister, you are incorrigible." "So don't encourage me already," the girl with the striped hair purred in sensual hunger, "Besides, you know I like to do it with lots of rope as my favorite sex-toy. After all, a girl in restraints can scream a lot more, and you can do so much more with her when she can't struggle and fight back..." "Let's just go in there and sort the bodies out by type, shall we?" Captain Ranma said in faint resignation. "Now Airen," Lao gently chided, "You know the girls are just having some harmless fun with the new faces." "It's not their faces I'm worried about," the Captain said as he surveyed the insides with a faint mix of resignation and exasperation. "Okay," Meiko said, once more taking the lead for her sister, who was still trying to sort her way through the conflicting emotions that she was feeling, "Let's pick out our own people and pry them away from their new buddies. Might help if somebody had a crowbar..." "Oh, I never use the rough stuff myself," Tyger replied, "It's far too messy." Finding their missing companions proved not to be too difficult a problem, even in a sea of dimly lit faces and flawlessly perfect bodies moving together in a sensuous sea of feminine pulchritude, but convincing their new friends to separate from their new friends proved to be somewhat more...problematic. Honeysuckle was not at all happy about having to extricate herself from a lesbian love-chain that she had become a part of, having her loins be licked and suckled by another girl with enormous melons for breasts while she herself was eating out a girl sitting on her face, and each of her own breasts were in turn being suckled upon by a pair of exotic-looking blue-skinned women who seemed to really know their business. Similarly Leona did not appear to be in any hurry to be let out of the stocks in which she had been bent over into for the past hour or so being "punished" by two of the locals. Maya seemed to be conducting her own worship-service with a gaggle of devoted acolytes who freely gave the sensuous girl their full and utter devotion, while off to the side the newcomer, Valda, was making out like there was no tomorrow with a green-haired cutie who seemed even wilder than Cheshire in her lovemaking. Reiko was crying out for mercy while two girls took great delight in tickling and sucking on her bare feet while plying her skin with a pair of frilly pink and blue feathers, and Yui was very much into the action with three women sharing her body, giving back as good as she got despite her normal "Ice Maiden" appearance. About the only member of their group who was not immediately present was Colt, but some inquiries as to her location turned up a rather surprising discovery, and after hunting her down in the next room they found a group of older and more mature women giving the Centauress their combined and quite expert attention. Ranko, who by now was quite exhausted with having to pry apart reluctant partners from their fun, just stood in the doorway and said faintly, "I think I'm gonna faint now..." "Whoah," Meiko was more round-eyed as she stared at the sight before them, "Am I imagining things or did she actually get her whole arm inside there?" "Must be," Leona sounded more than faintly disturbed, "Considering the size of her flanks, it would take a pretty big...you know...to do that..." "You'd have to be hung like a horse you mean," Salon mused before giving her brother a wry look, "Give you any ideas, Tsuyoma-chan?" "H-Huh?" the exhausted boy asked in confusion. "Mmmmrrr...Colt..." Cheshire managed to purr out the word, "Loookssss like you'rrrre innn gooood handssss, yesssss..." "Vocal chords are starting to unclench, huh?" Amber mused, "Guess that means you'll be talking normally in another few minutes." "Okay, break it up, everyone take a powder," the Captain called out, causing the older women to pout and look towards their Mistress with sadness and disappointment. "But Ranchan," one of these twenty-something (or older?) women complained, "We were just having a bit of fun seeing which of us could get it in the deepest..." "I know, and no harm done," the Captain sighed before glancing at Ranko, "See what I have to go through in order to keep this place in some kind of order? Nothing but work, work, work all day long, and I never get a break from the action, nosirree. Sometimes I wonder who the slave is here and who exactly is the Mistress." "You are, of course, my darling Ranma-sama," said a familiar dark-haired girl with an aristocratic smile plain on her features, turning to eye the other assembled kids with a look of interested...speculation. "You're the top dog with us, Ranma-kun," said another familiar looking woman whose short brown hair was in a familiar pageboy setting, "Right Oneechan?" "Oh my, yes," said a fourth extremely familiar looking and agelessly beautiful woman. "Airen is always in charge as far as this one is concerned," cooed a purple haired woman who needed no introduction. There were other faces present, some familiar, some not so familiar, but it left Ranko's mind awhirl with the full implications of what she was seeing even as Meiko said, "All of these are your wives, Dad?" "Well...most of them are either wives or concubines or hangers-on or what-have- you," the Captain shrugged, "Don't ask me how I gathered them all up on this ship, they just seemed to show up one right after the other, and before you knew it I was breaking them into the saddle..." "Which reminds me," Lao glanced around then said, "I wonder where Blossom and Lotus are at, to say nothing of your mother's equivalent..." "Someone talking about me?" a mature version of Tendo Akane appeared from down the corridor, and unlike the other women present she was dressed in some manner of military uniform and carried a sword at her hip, looking hardened and ready for action, "Now what's this about me having kids by the Captain?" "Ah..." Ranko said as she turned around and came face-to-face with this equivalent of her mother, seeing not recognition in the older woman's eyes but a note of caution and curiosity, not to mention a certain wary apprehension. "Lieutenant," the Captain addressed this woman directly, "Sorry to call you away from your duties, but I thought maybe you'd like to meet the newest passengers on our ship. Seems they come from different timelines, and on the one where these two came from...um...well, seems like you and I were...married." "Married?" the woman scowled, "Is this another trick to get me into your bed, Captain?" "No, no, no!" the Captain hastily waved her hands in denial, "I know you're happy enough where you are and all that, and I've got no complaint with the way your Marines are handling their duties..." "Fine," the Lieutenant said crisply and decisively, turning her focus back on Ranko and Meiko, "So...another dimension, huh? And you're supposed to be my daughters?" "Um...that's right," Meiko said a bit shyly before adding, "Mother." A faint smile crossed the older woman's lips before she said, "Well, don't expect any special treatment out of me. I run a tight operation down below, and no kid of mine will get off without doing her full share and pulling her weight around here, so...do what the Captain tells you and we'll both be happy. If he decides to give you over to me...well...the Marines are a good career move, and there's lots of room for advancement if you've got what it takes and can play your cards right." "Er...right," Ranko swallowed, suppressing the urge to salute this woman since she reminded her a little too much of some of Ranko's Cadet Majors back in the Time Patrol Academy. She privately wondered if all drill sergeants read from the same script or something... "Unfortunately they won't be staying," the Captain informed his lieutenant. "Oh?" the uniformed Akane replied with a lifted eyebrow, "You've got a buyer lined up with them already?" "Not...exactly," Lao spoke up for her chagrined Mistress, "It would take too long to explain, though, so maybe you should just hang back and save the debriefing part for later." "Fine with me," Akane replied, and at once fell into parade rest with hands clasped behind her back and feet planted shoulders-width apart. "Ah...Pop?" Ranko motioned the older woman off to the side then leaned closer, "Could you mind explaining this to me? I mean...you got to be captain of this ship...how?" "I beat Lao in a fight hands down," the Captain shrugged, "It was right after Pop and me left central China, while we were trying to get away from Shampoo over there. We needed to find a boat that could get us back to Japan, or so we thought that was what we were doing, and trust the old Panda to get us booked on a slaver vessel..." "Oh, right," Ranko nodded, making perfect sense out of that explanation. "Well, seems the Captain had other ideas and thought I was just some cute girl with her pet panda who could be trained and sold somewhere, but I got loose from my bonds and challenged her to a fight, and...well..." the older redhead shrugged, "You know what she turns into thanks to her Jusenkyo curse?" Ranko mutely nodded, fully understanding this point as she replied, "The Nekoken?" "Yeah," Ranma sighed, "I went Neko and beat her...wasn't easy to do. I mean, she's as tough as they come in a fight, but I managed to pin her down and get her to say Uncle. Next thing I know I'm married to the lady and she's calling me her Airen, and I've just become the de facto captain of this bloody ship, with all that it implies including a mental link to the big guy down below decks," she pointed downward, and Ranko again understood implicitly what that meant, and shuddered. "But...Pop...you're a Slaver?" Ranko blurted. "Wasn't exactly like I meant for that to happen," Ranma said in obvious discomfort, "Hell, when I took over I tried to free the slaves and let everybody go. Turns out no dice...the ship wouldn't let me." "Wouldn't...let you?" Ranko repeated. "The Undines I mean," Ranma explained, "They're bound to the ship, the souls of every woman who died here over the last eight hundred years or so. They're the permanent crew in charge of running everything, and they're really not that bad a lot for the elementally trapped spirits of dead people." "Okay," Ranko replied, "The Undines I can understand, but...why the others?" "Well," Ranma ran fingers through her red hair and looked faintly tired, "Turns out Lao did a pretty good job of conditioning her people to total loyalty and obedience. Turns out most of them refused to get let out of their contracts and volunteered to stay here and serve me and all that. A few I did manage to let go, mainly the recent converts and the ones who had lives back on shore that they wanted to get back to. I did what I could to make it up to them for the inconvenience, but that just left me with sex-crazed crew of hardened lesbians with Amazon training, and that's a pretty dangerous combination, let me tell you. Just having to feed and house most of them can take a small fortune..." "And you turned to slavery to foot the bills?" Ranko asked. "Didn't start out like that," Ranma shrugged, "At first I tried legitimate means like shipping cargo and acting like a ferry service for people who wanted to avoid normal handling charges. I tried to do things above-board, but some of the customers I had to deal with...were more than a little shady. Before I knew it I got myself in over my head and had to rely on Lao here to advice me on the best way of getting out of that mess, and by then I had a bunch of Interpol arrest warrants out for me on a complete misunderstanding, and that led to a series of other problems too numerous to mention." "In other words," Meiko joined in, "You found out Lao's way was the lesser of two evils." "It started when these three girls from Interpol staged a raid on my ship and tried to take some of my crew hostage to force me to surrender," Ranma sighed, "We subdued them, but then the question was what to do about those girls...Rose, Chun-Li and Cammy were their names, real tough fighters, hard, dedicated. Turns out one of them had ties to Shadowloo, but we didn't find that out until later. The point is...I let Lao have her way with them, and before you knew it they were singing her praises and swearing loyalty to me and all that. They were the first girls I actively recruited into my Harem, and you can see them over there smiling at me now like they plan to drag me off somewhere and do unspeakable things to me or something..." "My girls," Lao said proudly, "Taught them everything they know. Before they knew me they were complete virgins." "So, that kind of was like the camel's nose inside the tent," Ranma continued, "But what got the rest of the camel to follow was when Pop managed to get loose and swam to shore, got back to Japan and then told an old friend of his about some cock-and-bull story about me being kidnapped by pirates. That's how my Mom and the Tendo girls wound up here, along with Ucchan and Kodachi and a bunch of others. Shampoo was Lao's idea on account of how she's her cousin..." "So, you wound up with your own harem, eh?" Meiko said wryly, "But that doesn't explain the slavery part..." Ranma just sighed, "Do you know how much it costs to feed a crew this size? We were barely pulling in any profit, in spite of the massive cargo space that we could handle. Too many damned ports wouldn't deal with an infamous pirate vessel like ours no matter how much we lowered our rates...and then Nabiki came along and put things back in financial order." "Aunt Nabiki?" asked Honeysuckle, who---along with the others---were now crowded around to hear the rest of this story. "Mmmmy mmmmommm...?" Cheshire managed to growl out with a note of interest. "Once she understood the working principles of how this ship operates she was just full of ideas to turn it into a profitable operation," Ranma explained, "Before we had a lot of human cargo that we smuggled dirt-cheap, mostly refugees from Asia who only wanted a good life somewhere. The problem was finding a place that would take them in since most countries have pretty tight immigration policies, and with all the messes there are in the world, it just didn't seem humane to turn them away, know what I mean?" "So you selectively singled out the best looking women among those refugees and trained them to be slaves...and sold them to interested buyers who might give them decent homes and useful lives, Father?" the girl named Tyger asked with a sly look as if already knowing the answer. "Ah...that's kind of how it turned out, yeah," Ranma sheepishly glanced down, "I ain't proud of it or nothing, but...well...I don't deal with the bad types who brutalize or misuse the girls I sell, and Lao handles all of the training and stuff. I just kind of act as CEO and let Nabiki handle the accounting..." "I cannot believe what I am hearing," Sometra averred, "My father would never condone piracy and slavery...it's inhuman!" "Seems pretty human and humane to me," Valda remarked, "But it is kind of...weird...I mean, my Dad's pretty straight-laced, but my Mom..." she rolled her eyes towards the heavens. "Um...shouldn't we, like, get dressed or something?" Honeysuckle spoke up with a noticeable reluctance, "I mean...it's been hours since we got here, but that pendant thing's bound to start acting up at any second..." "Good point that," Maya remarked, "And wherever we wind up next, I would rather be clothed than be naked." "That's a first for you," Leona snorted. "Our clothing has been stored away for us," Yui spoke up, "I suggest that we retrieve it." "Yeah," Reiko averred, "No since winding up somewhere in the buff if we don't have to..." "That would be a novel change of pace," Ranko murmured faintly, hoping that no one asked her for further clarification. Minutes later they were back in the same room where the orgy had been taking place, only now the teenaged girls who had taken part in the mass screwing were standing around wearing costumes that would be noted for their absence more any pretense at concealment, with more jewelry and ornaments on display than a Diamond House Jewelry exchange center, and everyone looking on with lustful gazes as the Posse retrieved their belongings and hastily began getting redressed. "I don't get this," Salon said as she glanced over her shoulder at the very girls with whom she had been casually screwing not so very long before this moment, "Are all these yours, Dad? All of these are our sisters?" "Well, more or less," the Captain shrugged, "It's kind of hard even for me to keep track any more, but since I'm one of only a handful of guy who can sex- change into a man, I guess you could say I did my part to proliferate the species. Of course, Lao keeps some Instant Nanniichuan water on hand, so some of these belong to her and several of the other girls who wanted to have a baby together. I try to accommodate, but it's not for nothing that there's an age limit of fourteen here with the other kids kept separate from these types of fun and games." Honeysuckle shuddered as she looked away and averred softly, "I am never going to complain anymore that I've got too many mothers, brothers and sisters..." "Nothing wrong with keeping a well-stocked Harem that I can see," Colt remarked as she hitched her only real belonging of any importance, a web-belt from which were suspended her two blasters, "Tamers do it all the time in our world. In fact, Chesh here was part of a large clutch owned by her father, my master, Breeder Saotome Ranma." "Mrowl...yessss..." Cheshire smiled as she slipped on her shorts and vest, "It'sss a sssign of virility...to belong to a large clutcccchhh....and my Dad'ssss the best Tamer around...exxxxcept for you, my Masssster." She deliberately rubbed hips with Ranko, who found herself without an adequate thing to say about the matter." "Do you really have to go?" asked one of the blue skinned girls, "Oh father...please say that we can play with them some more..." "Oh yes!" a girl with long brown hair cried eagerly, "It's been so long since we've had anyone this exciting to play with..." "Now girls," Lao softly chided, "You have your chores to tend to, and a Harem doesn't run itself on lust alone. We'll find something to keep the rest of you occupied for later. Now...where is Breeze at? She should be tending to these wild scallions of ours..." "I can find her for you if you want, Mother," said the cherry-pink haired Amber. "Never mind, I'm sure she'll turn up sooner or later," Ranma noted, "Don't forget she's got a Harem of her own to take care of, and a husband who'll be expecting her to drop by the next time we visit his island." "This...certainly has been an eye-opening experience," Tsuyoma noted as he finished putting on his own clothes, pausing to glance at the women he had been making out with before adding, "Um...are you sure some of these are my sisters?" "What's the matter, Big Boy?" Valda purred, "You got something against doing it with your sisters?" "Um...well..." Tsuyoma winced. "He's fine just as he is," Sometra frowned, "And leave my brother out of this, you Hentai. I don't know what came over us just now...we must have taken leave of our senses or something, because if our parents ever find out what we did..." "You planning on telling them?" Salon asked. "I sure won't!" Leona avowed, "Knowing my mothers, they'd be pestering me for all the kinky little details..." "Oh really?" Maya asked, considering the point, "Perhaps your parents have much in common with my own, though if anything I doubt my mother would be so approving." "So, we all set and ready to leave already?" Reiko asked, "Because as much fun as this has been, I sure don't relish the idea of Dad finding out what we've been up to, do you, Sis?" "It would not be something to look forward to," Yui mildly replied, "But knowing our mother, they are bound to find out one way or the other..." "Well, it's sure been swell guys," Meiko grinned as she waved at the assorted girls that comprised this junior wing of the Harem, "We gotta do this again sometime...in fact, I'm counting on it next time Sis and me swing through this time zone." Ranko looked at Meiko and asked, "Just who the heck has been raising you all these years, and what have you been getting into?" "You don't expect me to answer that with a straight face, now do you, Oneechan?" Meiko winked, even as the sound of her words started to come as though from a farther distance than was actually the case, and then Ranko noticed that their surroundings were starting to fade out from them altogether. "Here we go again," Honeysuckle winced as she noticed the same shifting phenomenon affect herself and the others. "Hey...are we coming along with you?" said Amber as she stared at her own hand, then at Tyger Tiger, who likewise was becoming no less transparent. "So, we're in for this as well?" Tyger seemed amused at the prospect, turning a speculative glance towards Ranko before adding, "How very...interesting..." And then the shift happened once again, leaving Ranko to murmur to herself, "Why am I so lucky...?" Continued. Comments/Criticisms/Serial Climaxes: shadowmane@ridgenet.net It's everyone versus Celestine, so why doesn't he look worried? Find out next time in: "Shifty Business," or, "Pardon Me While I Gift-Wrap My Sisters!" Be there!